The Bible Courseනියැදිය

The river, the tree and the Lord – a vision of the end

Reflect:

Have you ever watched a sporting event that had already happened with a friend and you knew that your team had won, but they didn’t? Knowing the score completely changes your experience of the game.

Revelation announces the final score before we’ve heard the final whistle. In the end, God will put all wrongs right, good will triumph over evil, and we will enjoy a perfect creation.

How would the echoes of Eden have encouraged the churches John wrote to?

We started in a perfect world with the tree of life, and by the end, we’re back in a perfect world with the tree of life. It’s as if we’ve gone full circle. How is this possible?

It's only because of the tree of death. As Christ died on the wooden cross, he took the curses of our fallen world so we can be blessed with new creation. He took our hell so we can have heaven. He was shut out, so we can come home.

What do the words of Jesus, ‘I am coming soon’ mean for you today?

The Bible ends with a simple promise from Jesus: ‘Behold, I am coming soon!’ This reminds us that although we don’t know the exact date, we do know that Jesus will return.

Sometimes it’s easier to live as if this were not a reality. But when life's pressures overwhelm us and cloud our perspective, knowing there is something better waiting for us really matters. This isn’t our final destination; we’re all on the road – hold on and remember you have a compass in Jesus.

At the end of his Chronicles of Narnia, in The Last Battle, CS Lewis finishes the story with the followers of Aslan entering into a new earth and heaven:

For them, it was only the beginning of the real story. All their life in this world … had only been the cover and the title page: now at last they were beginning Chapter One of the Great Story which no one on earth has read: which goes on forever; in which every chapter is better than the one before.

For those whose hope is in Jesus, the best is yet to come!

Respond

Take time to thank God today for inviting you into be a part of this better story. Keep journeying with him.

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