Hope, Healing, and the New Jerusalem in Revelation

In this Sunday’s Lectionary, the most hope-filled reading is from the book of Revelation (Catholics usually call it the Apocalypse). Revelation’s literary style is unfamiliar and confusing, making it easy to misinterpret, especially by fundamentalist Christians. Scholars describe this and similar books as “apocalyptic,” a word derived from the opening word in the book of Revelation, “The Revelation (Greek apocalypsis) of Jesus Christ, which God gave to him, to show his servants what must happen soon. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John.” Like other apocalyptic works, Revelation assumes that God has decreed in heaven that the reign or kingdom of God will ultimately triumph over all forms of evil on earth. The triumph has been decreed in heaven, but the defeat of evil has not yet taken place fully on earth; evil forces still operate. To encourage the saints on earth to be faithful and persevere against evil, prophets and seers (like John, the author of Revelation) proclaim, often in symbols, the ultimate defeat of evil and the divine triumph on earth.   

Today’s Lectionary gives the beautiful conclusion of John’s vision of the triumph of God’s community at the end of time. It is the final vision (today’s second reading) in a series of seven visions (Rev 19:11- 22:5). The scholar M. Eugene Boring (The New Interpreter’s Study Bible) points out that (1) God transforms what is already there, not making “all new things,” but making “all things new”; (2) the holy city is not lifted up to the heavenly world, but the heavenly city descends to this renewed earth, the present world, so important to God; (3) the fulfillment of God’s purpose is a city, the achievement of human planning and technical achievement.

The city is not reserved for the faithful few, but is large beyond all imagination. Yes, the unruly nations are destroyed (Rev 19:15; 20:7-9), but are ultimately healed; they walk by God’s light and bring their gifts to God (Rev 20:24-26; 22:2). The city is transformed into a place where people love one another (Gospel of John). In this final scene of the Bible, God triumphs and humans live out beautifully their God-given destiny.