Revelation 21:10; 22-22:5 (NRSV)
Read Revelation 21:10; 22-22:5 on biblegateway.com
Verse 10And in the spirit he carried me away to a great, high mountain and showed me the holy city Jerusalem coming down out of heaven from God. Verse 22I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb. Verse 23And the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God is its light, and its lamp is the Lamb. Verse 24The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. Verse 25Its gates will never be shut by day-and there will be no night there. Verse 26People will bring into it the glory and the honor of the nations. Verse 27But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb's book of life.
Chapter 22Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb Verse 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. Verse 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; Verse 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. Verse 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.
Devotion
There really is a form of enclosure within our sixty-six booked Bible. In the beginning, light was present before the creation of the sun and the moon. Light was present because God was present. Now, at the conclusion of the sixty-six narratives, there is the same reality. The New Jerusalem has no need of sun or moon for God is present and so there is light. There is also no need of a temple, for Almighty God and the Lamb dwell openly in the city.
And it's all grace. The city of final dwelling is not something we ascend to. It comes down to us. And the gates of this city are never shut, for enemies are no more. There is easy access in entering.
In a time when the empire of Rome reigns supreme, when less than three percent of its population are citizens, and when the great majority are slaves, this is not a bad vision! In our time of a myriad of would-be emperors and economic slavery, it's not a bad vision either. Not a bad vision at all.
Prayer
Dear Lord, open our eyes to the reality that the Holy New City is already descending in the two or three or more that we daily meet in the Body of Christ, the church. Help us daily to walk in the light of the Lamb and to be hospitable to those now entering the open gates. Amen.