The Ending Is a New Beginning (Week 52, August 20)

Readings

• Zechariah 14

• Revelation 21–22

Silent Reflection

Remarks

What is interesting when you read the prophetic and apocalyptic accounts of the new heavens and new earth is that they are anything but a static ending. Instead, the picture is of a dynamic creation, full of God’s original intent.

On one hand, it’s like we’ve gone back to the Garden of Eden in Genesis 1 and are seeing a do-over. You can feel the return to that original intent.

On the other hand, this is not a return to where we were, because so much movement has happened. We started in a garden, naked and completely from scratch. We end in a garden, but also in a city. You can feel the progress and the development that has taken place in God’s world. So this eschatological ending isn’t something that takes us back at all. It’s actually an affirmation of all the good that has been taking place in God’s world all along the way.

Like we looked at last week, the ending is a permanent expulsion of an intruder, not a wiping of hard drives. And of course we wouldn’t want to wipe them, would we? What if suddenly our moments of mercy and tenderness and generosity and celebration were erased from our memories? There is so much to keep—so much that should and will survive the purifying fire of God’s presence.

To state it another way, the ending actually feels like a new beginning. It feels like there is still so much more to come. Who knows what that actually looks like! The Bible doesn’t spend time mapping out the details, but it is fun to dream. We ought to spend more time cultivating the discipline of hopeful imagination.

The disciples were told that they would “reign” with Jesus on twelve thrones. While I think we often hear the idea through the lens of triumphant arrival and picture something more akin to the ending of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe, the idea of “reigning” is much more active and dynamic than that. It’s an idea that communicates participation; it conjures up memories of standing on the banks of the Red Sea, where the people of God exclaimed, “The Lord is reigning, forever and ever!” as they stood victorious over the Egyptians dead on the shore. The idea is that the people joined God in His reign.

We are told the lion will lie down with the lamb in a picture of perfect harmony within creation.

We are told every person will sit underneath their own vine and their own fig tree, with more than enough to go around and blessing to be enjoyed.

We are told there will be a city, and her gates will never be shut—no need for defenses.

We are told there will be a wedding. And if there is a wedding, then there is a marriage—an unending intimacy between bride and Groom.

We are told there will be a party, a banquet, a feast that is only ever just beginning.

We are told of an end—a door just barely cracked as we see the light of eternity shining through, because the end is really just a new beginning.

Silent Reflection

Response

• Do an additional reading of 1 Corinthians 3:10–15.

• What experiences from your life will last in the fire on the day of the Lord? We often say you can’t take it with you when you die, but actually there are things that won’t be destroyed by death—they will only be purified in the Age to Come. What are those things? Celebrate them and rejoice together.

• Do an additional reading of 1 Corinthians 3:16–23.

• What does this mean for your group? What are the takeaways for how this instructs you to conduct yourselves today?

• Reflect on verses 21–23. What do you suppose this means?

Conclusion

Watch the Conclusion to Part D by Marty Solomon.