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Revelation and Human Reality

Explore the concept of the river of life and its significance in the biblical narrative, symbolizing healing and abundance in the world. Discover how this vision of wholeness transcends human reality.

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Revelation and Human Reality

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  1. Revelation and Human Reality sktonstad@llu.edu Session 61 A-level Amphitheater LLUMC April 2, 2011, 10:30-11:30 AM

  2. More Than Paradise Regained – 3 “The work of redemption will be complete. In the place where sin abounded, God’s grace much more abounds. The earth itself, the very field that Satan claimed as his, is to be not only ransomed but exalted. Our little world, under the curse of sin the one dark blot in His glorious creation, will be honored above all other worlds in the universe of God. Here, where the Son of God tabernacled in humanity; where the King of glory lived and suffered and died –

  3. More Than Paradise Regained – 4 – here , when He shall make all things new, the tabernacle of God shall be with men, “and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God.” And throughout ceaseless ages as the redeemed walk in the light of the Lord, they shall praise Him for His unspeakable gift, – Immanuel, “God with us.” -- Ellen G, White, The Desire of Ages, 26.

  4. Paradise Regained:The River of Life NRS Revelation 22:1-2 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

  5. Wholeness: Ilusions and Actuality The vision finds the world in a state of need – broken, hurt, and in need of healing. The horizon of wholeness is eschatological – actualized only in the world to come.

  6. River of Life in the Old Testament Genesis 2:10 A river flows out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it divides and becomes four branches. Zechariah 14:8 On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter.

  7. Running Water Ezek 47:1-2 Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and the water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and the water was coming out on the south side.

  8. Deep Waters Ezek 47:3 Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Ezek 47:4 Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. Ezek 47:5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen;it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed.

  9. Abundance NRS Ezekiel 47:6-7 He said to me, "Mortal, have you seen this?" Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other.

  10. Healing Waters NRS Ezekiel 47:8-9 He said to me, "This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes.

  11. Abundance NRS Ezekiel 47:10-11 People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.

  12. Leaves for Healing NRS Ezekiel 47:12 On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing."

  13. Healing from the Holy Mountain “No amount of exegetical finesse or insistence on ‘what the Bible plainly says’ can transform the poetry of this passage into a topographically and ecologically realistic account of an event in time. The richly symbolic language of water healing and bringing life and fertility to the wounded earth recalls, as we saw earlier, the great water source that fertilized Eden, flowing out in four branches around the inhabited world (Gen. 2:10-14). The logic of the symbolism requires that the headwaters arise on high land, the ‘very high mountain’ to which Ezekiel was transported (40:2), the ‘holy mountain of God’ on which, according to the poem on the king of Tyre (28:14), Eden was located.” Blenkinsopp, Ezekie, 231.

  14. Healing of the Nations Revelation 22:2 On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

  15. Paradise Regained: Healing of the Nations Isaiah 11:1-10 Isaiah 11:9 They will not hurt or destroy on all my holy mountain; for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea.

  16. Healing of the Nations – 1 “On that day the root of Jesse shall stand as a signal to the peoples; the nations [Hebr. goyim; Gr. ethnē] shall inquire of him, and his dwelling shall be glorious” (Isa 11:10). “I am the LORD, I have called you in righteousness, I have taken you by the hand and kept you; I have appointed you as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations [Hebr. goyim; Gr. ethnōn]” (Isa 42:6).

  17. Healing of the Nations – 2 “I will give you as a light to the nations [Hebr. goyim; Gr. ethnōn], that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth” (49:6).

  18. Healing of the Nations – 3 “Just as there were many who were astonished at him-- so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of mortals-- so he shall startle many nations [Hebr. goyim; Gr. ethnē]; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which had not been told them they shall see, and that which they had not heard they shall contemplate” (Isa 52:14-15).

  19. Healing of the Nations – 4 “Nations [Hebr. goyim; Gr. ethnē] shall come to your light, and kings to the brightness of your dawn” (Isa 60:3; cf. 60:5, 11; 66:12, 19).

  20. Deciphering the Figure of Echo Echoes in real life pick up and amplify only a small part of a sentence. Revelation combines an echo from Ezekiel (‘leaves for healing’) with an echo from Isaiah (‘the nations’). How will Revelation 22:2 sound if we try to echo it today?

  21. To See His Face NRS Revelation 22:3-4 Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

  22. Hidden from God’s Face NRS Genesis 4:14 Today you have driven me away from the soil, and I shall be hidden from your face; I shall be a fugitive and a wanderer on the earth, and anyone who meets me may kill me."

  23. God’s Face NRS Exodus 3:6 He said further, "I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob." And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God. NRS Exodus 33:20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face; for no one shall see me and live.”

  24. Face to Face NRS Exodus 33:11 Thus the LORD used to speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. NRS Deuteronomy 34:10 Never since has there arisen a prophet in Israel like Moses, whom the LORD knew face to face.

  25. Paradise Regained:Face to Face NRS 1 Corinthians 13:12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known.

  26. Revelation 22:4 And they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

  27. Making Whole There is physical healingthat extends to all creation, human, non-human, and the earth. There is spiritual healing; revelation has overtaken misrepresentation. There is ministry of healing because the healing river of life also runs from the lush land of the future into the arid lands of present reality, giving access in some small way to the healing river that flows from the throne of God in the here and now (22:17).

  28. No More Night NRS Revelation 22:5 And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

  29. Conversation with the Author Centennial Complex, 3rd floor 3:00 PM today

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