Revelation 22: 1-7

Advent Series: Advent (which comes from the Latin word for “coming”) is a season for paying particularly close attention to our longing for Christ’s second coming. In order to foster that longing this season, we’ll be looking at some of the remarkable things the Bible tells us about eternal life and some of the intriguing pictures it gives us. The year 2020 has reminded us in a unique way that we are in need of a hope that extends beyond this broken world. This advent we’ll spend some time renewing and relishing in that hope.

Summary: The story of the Bible is bookended by paradise. It begins with the perfect paradise of Eden in Genesis 1&2 and ends with the restoration of paradise in Revelation 22. Everything in between is the story of human beings living in exile from the paradise for which we were created–and we see the evidence of that in the multitude of nagging disappointments and unfulfilled longings that litter the story of our lives. Wisdom teaches us to temper our expectations for any supposed ‘paradise’ this world has to offer. But Revelation 22 calls us to get our hopes up. When Christ returns, he will bring us back to the tree of life…and best of all, to the unending joy of basking in the brightness of God’s glory and seeing him face to face. That will really and truly be paradise.