Days of Vengeance - The Preterist Archive

21:1
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THE NEW JERUSALEM
The Bible is a Storybook, with one Story to tell. That
Story, which is of Jesus Christ and His salvation of the
world, is presented again and again throughout the
Bible, with innumerable variations on the same basic
theme. One important aspect of that Story is of God as
the Warrior-King, who raises His people from death,
defeats His enemies, takes for Himself the spoils of war,
and builds His House. For example, there is the story of
the Exodus: “Moses said to the people, ‘Do not fear!
Stand by and see the salvation of the LORD which He
will accomplish for you today; for the Egyptians whom
you have seen today, you will never see them again
forever. The LORD will fight for you while you keep
silent’” (Ex. 14:13-14). Accordingly, after the successful
Red Sea crossing (the baptismal resurrection of Israel
and the baptismal destruction of Egypt), Moses exulted:
“The LORD is a Warrior!” (Ex. 15:3). Egypt and all its
wealth and glory were completely wiped out; all that
was left was what the Israelites had “plundered,” of
silver and gold, and articles of clothing (Ex. 3:21-22;
11:1-2; 12:35-36). Much of this was later turned over to
the Lord for the construction of the Tabernacle, God’s
House (Ex. 35:21-29; 36:3-8), which He entered in
flaming Glory (Ex. 40:34).
The pattern is repeated many times, another wellknown
example being the story of David and Solomon:
David acts as God’s Warrior, fighting the Lord’s battles
with Him (cf. 2 Sam. 5:22-25), and his son Solomon
builds the Lord’s House (2 Sam. 7:12-13); and again,
the sign that God has moved in is the descent of fire (2
Chron. 7:1-3). All these were provisional victories and
House-buildings, anticipations of the definitive Victory
in the work of Jesus Christ.
One of the most striking announcements of the coming
Warrior-King occurs in the prophecy of Ezekiel. As we
have seen, the Book of Revelation is self-consciously
tied to Ezekiel at many points; and the last twelve
chapters of Ezekiel are especially in the background of
St. John’s concluding chapters. In Ezekiel 37, the
prophet sees a vision of Israel in exile, represented as a
valley full of dry bones; humanly speaking, all hope is
gone. But as Ezekiel preaches to the bones and
intercedes for the people with the Spirit of God, the
Lord performs the miracle of re-creation, raising up the
people of Israel to life, bringing them out of their
graves, and turning them into “an exceedingly great
army.” A united Israel is restored to her Kingdom, with
David again ruling as King, forever.
After this Resurrection, however, there is the War:
“Gog of the land of Magog” comes with the armies of
the heathen nations to make war against the restored
Israel (Ezek. 38). He is destroyed by fire and brimstone
from heaven, his spoils are taken by the victorious
Israelites, and his armies are devoured by the birds of
the air and the beasts of the field (Ezek. 39). Following
this scene, Ezekiel writes some of the most elaborately
detailed chapters in the Bible (Ezek. 40-48), in which
he describes an ideal Temple-City, a New Jerusalem in
which God Himself dwells among His people and sends
blessings out from His Throne to the ends of the earth.
St. John has already used the resurrection-battle-
Temple theme several times in Revelation (one of the
most notable examples is Chapter 11, in which the two
witnesses are resurrected, the Kingdom comes, God’s
wrath falls upon the nations, the destroyers are
destroyed, and the Temple is opened). But Ezekiel’s
specific outline is clearly in mind in Revelation 20: The
saints share in the First Resurrection and reign in the
Kingdom with their greater “David”; then they are
attacked by Gog and Magog. The enemy is destroyed by
fire from heaven – the sign that God is entering His
holy Temple. All this brings us up to 21-22, St. John’s
vision of the final Temple, the consummate Paradise
that has become the City of God, where God dwells
with His people in perfect communion. Adam’s original
task has been accomplished, and its cultural implications
are fully realized as the nations willingly bring
their treasures into God’s House and the River of Life
flows out to heal the world.
All Things New (21:1-8)
1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first
heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no
longer any Sea.
2 And I saw the Holy City, New Jerusalem, coming down
out of heaven from God, made ready as a Bride adorned
for her Husband.
3 And I heard a loud Voice from heaven, saying: Behold,
the Tabernacle of God is among men, and He shall dwell
among them, and they shall be His people, and God
Himself shall be among them,
4 and He shall wipe away every tear from their eyes; and
there shall no longer be any death; there shall no longer
be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have
passed away.
5 And He who sits on the throne said: Behold, I am making
all things new. And He said: Write, for these words are
faithful and true.
6 And He said to me: It is done! I am the Alpha and the
Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give to the one
who thirsts from the spring of the Water of Life without
cost.
7 He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will
be his God and he shall be My son.
8 But for the cowardly and unbelieving and sinners and
abominable and murderers and fornicators and sorcerers
and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake
that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the Second
Death.
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