The End and the Beginning

Revelation 22

Wednesday, December 7, 2022

As the year comes to an end, and the days are short and draw to a close so quickly, so we turn to the last chapter of God’s word. The last vision we are given is a river flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb, with trees lining the banks. The people of God, living forever, dwell in a paradisal city that the Garden of Eden was always supposed to grow to. In fact, a theologian once said “What is a city, but a collection of ordered gardens?” Maybe the “concrete jungles” we are familiar with don’t seem that way, but in some sense, cities are places where life is put in order, in order to grow. 

It starts with a garden. It ends with a garden. 

With a man in a garden in between. 

“Let not what I desire, but you, God, desire, let that be done.”

The man who said those words also tells us here:

“I am coming soon! My reward is with me.”

In looking at the end, we take a look back at the beginning. God’s desires are made final, and he will be among us. God’s intentions from the beginning are made real at the end. 

He has done this through the one who calls himself “the Beginning and the End.”

As this year draws to a close : may you look to the one who has written the story of your salvation in his blood as you write A to Z. May you think of the one who goes on before you into your day and follows you up at night to bring it to a close. May you honor the Lamb who was planned before the first garden was planted, who will bring about the planting of the last garden, who for our sake submitted his will in a garden, and who for God’s glory was resurrected in a garden. 

The page closes. In a novel, this would be the end. 

For those in Christ this is only

The beginning…

-Jake Ballard

Reflection Questions

1. Verse 7 says, “Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.” If you desire this blessing – how would you keep the words of this prophecy?
2. Verse 12 says, “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. ” What have you done? What do you think Jesus wants you to still do?
3. What thoughts and feelings do you have about “the end” which is really the beginning for those in Christ?