The Celestial City

For Bible scholars everywhere the hardest book to understand is the final book in the Bible, the Book of Revelation. It was written following a vision experienced by St John the Divine. At that particular time the early Christians were living dangerously. They could not be open about their activities and certainly not be critical of the Roman emperor. Part of the book is a reassurance to the Christians that eventually all will be well. They were so heavily persecuted that it was necessary to send them a message that would lift them in their difficult situation.

So the Book of Revelation is, in many places, written in code so that the Roman authorities do not find material to use against them. The word, Lamb had to be used to mean Jesus; "the beast" was the code for the emperor; the number 666 represented a man's name and the intelligent would decipher it as the Roman Emperor. It was a time in which it was too dangerous to openly declare allegiance to Jesus. But, as we can see, it was not a time to give up. The faith went underground for a period and this helped it to survive.

But at the end of this remarkable book we have a beautiful description of the city to which Christians are ultimately travelling. I often use it at a funeral service as an assurance for the mourners. The particular passage spans chapters 21 and 22. It is written in beautiful language to the one who loves the English language.

John says, "I saw no temple in the city, for its temple was the sovereign Lord God and the Lamb." On earth we might need temples to take the place of God and Jesus for us. But in the New Jerusalem God and Jesus will be present and so no temple is needed in which to worship. There will be no sun or moon because God's light will shine perpetually on us. The city gates will be permanently open for there will be no night when gates are normally closed for protection. It will be a perfect place where nothing evil can enter.

Then the angel shows John the "river of the water of life, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the midle of the city's street." Any citizen can drink from it and be revived in the most amazing way. On either side of the river is a "tree of life". It yields a crop each month and its leaves are for the healing of the nations. All who dwell there will worship God forever and they will know true happiness.

In this world of danger, hatred, crime, war etc we need something that tells us that all will ultimately be well. Life is stress from end to end. Despite the consumer society in which people are stupid enough to think that their lives can be made complete by the purchase of this or that latest commodity, there is no rest. Every item purchased is very quickly found to have nothing to really sustain the human spirit. This is because the human spirit is yearning for spiritual nourishment and stimulation. It is obvious that material possessions cannot do this, but on rushes the population, chasing everything that can do nothing for them.

Yet, to meet Jesus is to find the true way forward. He can take us along a path that goes somewhere worthwhile and culminates in the celestial city, the New Jerusalem. No matter how far down life's path you have reached there is still the chance to reach out and grasp the hand of God. He never gives up on you and is always ready to accept you. He is described as a loving father so that we can understand just what he is like. Picture any loving father and what he does for his children and you can see what God is like. Even if you are a Prodigal Son you will always be welcomed back into the family. In other words, you still have the chance to stop what you are doing and claim the hand of God.

Aren't you lucky?