Reading Through The New Testament in 2016 - December 30th, 2016 - Revelation 22

Well, this is it. We’ve come to the end of the New Testament and the end of our reflections.

Thank you to everyone who’s been reading along with us. Thanks for the comments, likes, or even just silently reflecting at home with us. It’s been huge for me to read through the New Testament and notice things I’ve never seen before.

So, thank you for taking this journey with me!

Let’s read together an excerpt from Revelation 22:

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. 4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

The Bible ends with the restoration of the fall in Genesis 3. The story of “The End” is being brought back to the garden and to the Tree of Life. We’re brought back to the time when there was no sin and we were able to walk with God and each other with no shame.

We can eat from the Tree of Life again.

We can drink from the river that has living water.

This, my friends, is the hope for all those who’s names are written in the Book of Life.

But what do we do until then?

How do we wait for this time? How do we live in the promise that is yet to be fulfilled?

Well, we live like citizens of Heaven on earth.

We begin to live, act, serve, worship, etc. like we already live here. We live to see more and more of Eden restored right now, while we wait for it to be accomplished.

Because before the river runs through the new Jerusalem you can still get tastes of it right here and right now. (Jesus offers living water to a Samaritan woman in John 4, it’s something Jesus wants to give us now.)

So, this is how I want to end our reflections and our year reading through the New Testament:

Live in faith and hold onto this promise that if you are faithful you will see this promise fulfilled. Live like a citizen of Heaven right now. Live like Jesus is your King right now.

Let’s bring this vision of Eden Restored to our lives right now. Let’s pull it into our daily lives and let’s live more and more and more for the God that will win in the end.

So, have faith, hope and love. You’re a citizen of heaven. You are loved by a God who is putting all this back together.

God bless you! and thanks again for reading along with me!

I love you all so much,

Justin