Creation Restored - Revelation 21-22

Revelation 21 – 22

“Amen!  Come Lord Jesus!”  The final prayer of all Christians and Creation closes out the Bible.
 
The Spirit and the Bride say, “Come!”  Anyone who thirsts now, the Church bids “Come!”  The time is short, salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed.

This Jesus, whom you saw ascend into heaven, will come back just as you saw him go into heaven.
 
That is the Great and Final Day of the Lord.  His enemies will be destroyed.  Death sundered.  That ancient serpent, that liar and murderer, will be cast out forever.  God’s people redeemed and all of Creation will be put at rest.  Finally.

On that day, you will love the Lord your God and your neighbor as yourself.  We all will finally see each other rightly.  It will be a glorious day.
 
But above all, we shall see Him.  The one whom no eye has seen and no ear has heard.  We shall see God.  The blessing of the new Creation is that we shall see what no angel has seen as the seraphim covered their eyes so as not to behold him.  But we shall.  We shall see face to face what we see dimly now.

We shall see him because we are now tied more closely to God through Christ.  We will take on more of the divine attributes of Christ because we are in Christ.
 
The final two chapters in the book of Revelation give us a renewed Creation.  We see God dwelling in this new heavens and earth with creatures that are in sync with their Creator.  The final verses of the bible bring us back to the beginning when it was all a paradise.

But this time, instead of a garden, there is a garden city.  A city invites the idea of culture and civilization.  In fact, we are told that in the new creation, “the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it.”  Suggesting that humanity will bring in the remnants of the old creation as we begin anew.
 
This time the renewal will not be sabotaged.  There is no more death nor decay.  There is only the tree of life hanging in the center of the city for all to pluck its fruit and find healing.

The final ending of the story between God and his Creation is that God and the Creation will become one.  They will be consummated for all ages.  We will even celebrate a wedding feast of the lamb in his kingdom which has no end.  A foretaste we receive now in faith and Sacrament.  What else could we say to this all but, “Amen.  Come Lord Jesus!”