Images of Hope assured

Week Beginning 22nd May

IMAGES OF HOPE ASSURED

Rev 21:10 & 21:22-22:5
A NEW CITY & THE RIVE OF LIFE
Want a Guided tour of what is promised? Here it is right here!

STARTER FOR TEN: Can you tell each other about a city you visited that impressed you. What did you
see there? What were the main sights? What were the things that make that city memorable? Have a
go at describing that city to someone else. Can they guess which city you visited

So as we come to the end of our study of some of the images of hope we see in Revelation, we
now reach the climax of the big story of scripture with this passage.

John describes a vision of the holy city Jerusalem coming from heaven from God, and we’re
going to take a little tour of the vision of the city.

Now then. As with the early chapters in Genesis, we aren’t necessarily supposed to read these
passages literally. Rather there is a good deal of allegory and symbolism here, not least as we’ve
reflected before, because the persecuted Christians don’t want the Roman Empire to fully
comprehend their critique of them. But also because we are dealing with a painting of the big
picture of God’s plans and purposes, a revealing of the big story that is both contained within
the pages of scripture, and that reveals the truth both of how the world is ordered and of how
God intends to order the world. This is not strictly speaking a google maps passage!!

Instead, in a nuanced manner, John uses the image of the city in Revelation 21:10-22:5 as an
image of the qualities of life that make up the new heaven and the new earth. John uses the
descriptions of walls, streets, buildings, the river, and vegetation to symbolize the characteristics
of life in the new Jerusalem.

SIDENOTE: By comparison you my like to briefly visit the city in Revelation 18 – different
from the Holy City – this one is foul, immoral, and the dirge of a funereal song rises from and
over its streets. This darker much less attractive city represents the Roman |Empire, a kingdom
that shall ultimately fail compared with the kingdom of God that shall be established for ever.
For the early church the alternative undesirable empire was of course Rome. For us, and down
through the ages it might be any sense of kingdom or Empire that isn’t of God.

The city we are interested in, the Holy City, stands in stark contrast to this represented by a
vibrant, secure, abundant city.

John implies that readers have a choice. They can choose to live in the city that is not of God
and suffer its fate. Or they can struggle in witness now in order to live in the city of God. In
Revelation 21:10 John re-emphasizes that the new community is a gift that comes from God in
heaven (see Revelation 21:2). It does not come from Caesar in Rome.
So back to the tour of our city – and is our city – won by the lamb, and coming down out of
heaven from God (Revelation 21:2) – A simple introduction but really important – “Out of Heaven” –
reminds us of its origin, and perhaps our prayer, “let your kingdom come on earth as in heaven” – and
it reminds us who this city is of, or from – “from God”. This is God’s city, His gift.

So welcome to God’s holy city, God’s holy gift to us. Let us first regard the walls!!

In Revelation 21:11-19 John sees high walls with gates open on each side... Later in the chapter
we read that the gates are never shut. Why are the gates never shut? Because there is no longer
any threat, any danger, and nothing to fear. Walls are traditional symbols of community and
security.

Here we must pause and ask “Are these literal walls” – is that what will keep us safe in the Holy
City – will literal walls be the means of our security – or might it be that it is the very nature of
authentic God given community as God intended that keeps us safe – where all people feel
mutually supported.

EXPLORE: Take some time to explore this idea of authentic community being a mean of security. What
sort of things might contribute towards such a thing? Have you seen examples of community creating
safe spaces for people? How might we develop in this regard?

Now as we walk around this city, we might notice the scale of it. Revelation provides the cities
measurements (Revelation 21:15). Measurement was a way of saying something is under
control. There is order in this city – no chaos. The city is four-square. The city measures 12,000
stadia on a side (1,500 miles) (Revelation 21:16). Now then – 12000 is mentioned elsewhere in
Revelation chapter 7, declaring each tribe of Israel numbered 12000 – we know the tribes had
more than 12000 people in them – therefore we are back in the realms of symbolism, the
number 12,000 is another way of speaking of community.

The whole community of God can be contained within this city, - is what the symbolism
implies. Compared to the sizes of ancient cities, the size of this one would have been beyond
imagination: the point is it is large enough to provide a safe place for everyone who has been
faithful since the beginning of history. It isn’t an attempt to prescribe the exact measurements
necessary to include everyone – rather it infers this is the case. In God’s provision there is room
for all, and perhaps as an aside, though Rome the seat of the roman empire was a large city, the
new Jerusalem dwarfs it. Not only is God’s provision sufficient for all – it exceeds the provision
of any other empire, regime or kingdom.

The city is gold, and shines like jasper, and studded with gems of every variety. (Revelation
21:18). Again – not a literal description, but one that conveys richness and beauty – what are the
things that would make a city where God’s people dwelt so beautiful – what do you imagine
these gems might represent?

What are the things that would make a city where God’s people dwelt so beautiful? What might all
those gems and richness symbolise. I’ll start – How about peace. What else?

Ok so back to our tour -let’s look for the temple…… wait… we seem to be struggling to find
it!!!! According to Revelation 21:22-24, the city has no temple. But we shouldn’t be surprised
as elsewhere in revelation we read that God is now dwelling with his people – no longer limited
to a temple space!! Indeed, if we revisit the measurements of the city, the length, width, and the
height of the city are all equal (Revelation 21:16), making it a cube…. now bear with us here!

You might have read the instructions for the construction of the tabernacle, (exodus 26) where
God dwelt with his people while they were in the desert, and the construction of the temple in
Jerusalem, in these instructions are a bundle of measurements, but of most interest here are the
measurements of the holy of holies, the place where God dwelt in the temple… and guess what?
It’s a cube!!! --- and this city? ---- it’s a cube!!!! We are pointed towards the very city itself, in
which all the people dwell, is the very place God dwells!! The intent is to demonstrate the
completely intertwined way in which Gods presence is amongst his people!!

SIDENOTE: A quick rush past some other features might include:

The reference to the disappearance of the sun and moon is a double message (Revelation 21:23;
22:5). (1) The sun and moon represent the structures of the old creation. Since that creation will
no longer be in operation, sun and moon are not needed. (2) The Romans often worshipped
astral deities, but the impotence of those gods is now fully revealed.

The new Jerusalem contains only those things that build up community, such as the glory and
honour of the nations, and the nations and rulers living in its ways. But that things that disrupt
community have been destroyed (21:27; see 21:8).

Revelation 22:1-5 recollects an important theme in apocalyptic literature: the end time (the new
world) will be like the beginning time (the world as God created it, before the ancestral couple
ate the forbidden fruit and invoked the curse).

But now we come to this remarkable sight – a river of the water of life!!! And a most impressive
tree!!!

In the semi-arid character of the Mediterranean basin, water is important. The presence of “the
river of the water of life” is a way of saying that the power that sustains life is unending and
irrepressible (Revelation 21:1). That image recollects the water flowing out of the temple in
Ezekiel, across the streets of the city, down to the Dead Sea. Along its route, vegetation
flourishes. So it is also in community: people become generative, and they flourish.

The tree of life — a symbol that God guarantees life — is on both sides of the river and bears
twelves kinds of fruit, one each month. (Revelation 22:2). Provision is ceaseless. Fruit, of
course, is a traditional Jewish symbol for qualities of life.

In those days, they made some medicines by grinding up leaves. The nations — typified by
Rome — suffered from idolatry, injustice, and violence, and they collapsed, one after another.
By contrast, the cities that take this medicine — that live according to the vision of this
community — will be healed (Revelation 22:3).

What a tree!!!

BIG DISCUSSION
What do you imagine a flourishing community, fed by the waters of the river of life and fruit
from the tree, looks like? What kind of qualities would you expect?

And is it something we should wait for – or does this vision of God’s aimed for end goal
encourage us to seek to engender this kind of heavenly community in the here and now? Can we
draw down the vision of the future into our present?

How might we, in some way seek to embody this vision of the future heavenly city in the here
and now?

How might we move towards move towards more of the security, relationality, spiritual
immediacy and abundance of the city of John’s vision, in our current experience, and even
within our current and wider communities?