Revelation 21, 22: The Seventh Facet

Week 10, Thursday: The Lord Face-to-Face
In the new heavens and new earth – the City to Come – the servants of the Lord will “see” Him “face-to-face.” But, given that God has no visible form, but is a most pure Spirit, we must ask ourselves how this can be.

More importantly, we should ask ourselves what this will be like.

Read Revelation 22

Meditate on Revelation 22.1-5
1.      The “river of life” mentioned in verses 1 and 2 is a theme with long-standing Biblical roots (cf. Pss. 1; 46.4; Jer. 17.7, 8, 13; Ezek. 47.1-12; Jn. 7.37-39). What does this image represent? How should we interpret what we read in verse 2?

2.      This bearing of fruit from the trees which draw refreshment from the river of life is a perpetual fact of the new heavens and new earth. What does this suggest about life in eternal time?

1. The “leaves” of the trees that are nourished by the river of life “are for the healing of the nations” (v. 2). But surely, in the new heavens and new earth – where there is no more death or sorrow, and no more curse (Rev. 22.3) – all the nations will already be “healed”? Do you suppose this verse intends to reflect back into historical time? Explain.
    

4.      We cannot see God as He exists in His pure spiritual essence. Meditate on 1 John 3.1-3. How will it be that, in the City to Come, we will “see His face”? Does the book of Revelation provide any counsel on what we should expect when we “see His face”? How should the prospect of this affect us in the here and now?

5.      In the new heavens and new earth the “servants” of the Lord, who “see His face”, will “reign forever and ever.” What will that reigning entail? Can you see how this suggests that, even in the new creation, in eternal time, we may expect to know progress, development, cultivation, and the making and enjoying of new things? What does such a “reign” suggest for our lives here and now?

My Reflection
Much of the book of Revelation points forward to our coming hope at the same time it seems to point to our life in the Kingdom here and now. To what extent, and in what specific ways, does this represent your outlook on life? Is this how you go about “conquering and to conquer” in your Personal Mission Field? Should it be?

The Glory of God
We can never exhaust the glory of God. Even in eternal time He will shine with unending, inexhaustible radiance, and we will be ever engaged in growing in Him and in cultivating the new heavens and new earth to refract His glory. And He will daily and moment-by-moment refresh us by His Spirit for ever-new and ever-more joyous experiences of His glory. Should we expect at least a foretaste of this in our lives here and now? Explain.

Glory to Glory
Meditate on 2 Corinthians 3.12-18. Paul says we are being transformed from glory (revealed in the Word of God) to glory (expressed as likeness to Christ) in the here and now. Thus we fulfill God’s purpose of making His glory known throughout the earth (Hab. 2.14). What place does the book of Revelation have in that process?

Memorize
Recite Revelation 21.6, 7. How do you understand the words “overcomes” and “all things” in these verses?

Closing Prayer
Let the heavens rejoice, and let the earth be glad;
Let the sea roar, and all its fullness; 
Let the field be joyful, and all that is in it.
Then all the trees of the woods will rejoice before the LORD.
For He is coming, for He is coming to judge the earth.
He shall judge the world with righteousness,
And the peoples with His truth.

Psalm 96.11-13

T. M. Moore

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The book of Revelation is the culminating episode in the story of God’s covenant. To learn more about that covenant, and to discover the way it integrates all of Scripture into the Gospel of Jesus Christ, order a copy of T. M.’s book, I Will Be Your God, by clicking here.

Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.