Revelation 21
Consider all that humanity
has lost. Our first ancestors Adam and Eve lived in the garden of paradise. In
that place there was no want, suffering, illness or death. Contrast that to the
slums of the largest, poorest, metropolitan areas on Earth today. Sewage in the
streets, every ditch and gully filled with garbage and sickness. Diseases passed by insects and vermin. In every city there is a place where death
and rot are the order of the day.
Ancient cities had their
points of magnificence, but for oppressed Christians they were far from the
glory of these monuments. In this chapter, we see the incredible fusion of
Eden's perfection with the glory of a great City. Cities could be and in some
ways still are wonderful places, except that they always have the repulsive
underbelly. A place of filthy garbage, waste, wicked people and the sorrow and
misery you see there. This city, however, has the glory of a great city, glory
that surpasses words, but without evil.
It has the glory of a city beyond compare with the clean paradise of
Eden. In fact, God responds to the
sorrow and evil suffered when He wipes away every tear and vanquishes death,
crying, mourning, and pain.
In the ancient world there
was great civic pride and loyalty for an individual on behalf of their City.
But when Christians rejected the pagan rule of their day they lost much of
their identity as citizens of their city. They didn't belong anymore. They
became outsiders to their own community. Here these ostracized believers are
reminded that they have a home, a city that is theirs and it's greater, more
magnificent, and more beautiful than any city on Earth.
Ancient cities based much of
their civic pride and measured their greatness on how secure they were. Some of that security came from its walls,
water supply and a temple of the god who would protect them. Cities on Earth
had foundations of rock walls a few feet thick and high and perhaps a well.
This city has a foundation of precious stones, walls 216 feet thick and miles
high and wide and a spring of life giving water. Cities on Earth had temples to
their gods. In this city God is
personally present so there's no need for a temple because God is there. This is a city to die for; indeed, Christians
would die for it.
But the city is not for
everyone. In verses 8 and 27 there's a reminder that not everyone belongs in this
city. In fact, there is an alternative place for those who have rejected
Christ. It is sort of an anti-city.
Christians were tempted by civic pride, peer-pressure, patriotism, and the
sheer might and glory of the empire, on top of other temptations, to shrink
back from Christ as Lord. This picture of the city requires us to ask this
question, “Why would anyone choose Rome, or Washington for that matter, over
Heaven?”
Questions to ponder
Could it be that our loyalty
to our hometown sports team resonates a deeper aching to belong to something
bigger than ourselves?
If you are from a world
leading city of wealth, culture, education and influence will you be
intimidated by a Podunk little city that has only one stop light? If you are a citizen of the Heavenly city we
see described here will you be intimidated by any power on earth?
