The Easy Part is Over

Buying a house, as difficult as it can be, is the easiest part of home ownership. Maintaining a house takes considerably more effort. So it is, with marriage. We got here, to this shining city, now it’s up to us to stay here.

22 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2 down the middle of the great street of the city.

The thing that scares us about deep water is our inability to see the bottom, or what’s lurking below. Now there is nothing scary about our future, because we can see it clearly. Not the day to day things, mind you, but the big picture. Now we know where all of humanity is headed, and why we had to take this path to get there. The river of life represents life’s purpose. It is the philosophy that floats the entire world along, year after year. It’s the underlying reason for our living and dying. We are learning all the ways that we can go right, and all the ways we can go wrong, so that when we enter the house of God, we will know how to act.

The great street of any city is its widest, most traveled thoroughfare. The river of the water of life divides the shining city’s main street.

Recall that Jesus is gathering the sheep on his right, and the goats on the left. This verse is telling us that it doesn’t matter which side you are coming in on, both halves of the flock share the same water source. Good and evil both come from God, and both lead to the same place.

That’s a hard concept to grasp, particularly for people who are team-minded, like the Ninevites. In their minds, their team can do no wrong, and the opposing team is unable to do anything right. Before we can get our minds around the idea that both good and evil are working toward the same goal, we have to expand the membership of our team to encompass the entire world.

We need to stop fighting each other, and start striving together. This is far easier to say, than to do, but everything in this book is like that.

We are coming to the end, and I hope you got some good ideas, but I want you to remember that revelation is a journey that will last for your entire life. If you think you’ve gone far enough, you probably haven’t. Go back to the beginning, and remember the churches. We’re carrying Philadelphia, and the other churches seem so far behind us, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t accidentally wander into Sardis, and fall asleep on its comfortable pews.

The lap of the Lord is a cozy place to be. If you feel your eyes drooping, look into your bronze feet, remember who you are, then go out for a nice walk and a talk. The fresh air will do you good.

On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

In this verse, we are building on the idea that both paths lead to the same place. Notice that there is only one tree of life, yet it stands on both sides of the river. It bears twelve crops of fruits, meaning twelve types, because the twelve tribes of Israel have been leavened throughout the entire world, and each requires a different kind of spiritual nourishment.

To understand what each tribe needs, we have to look at the traits that define them. We can do this by examining the things their father, Jacob, said about them. For instance, Judah has his hands on the throats of his enemies. He doesn’t like people talking about him, and stands ready to choke off their words.

That is but one example, and it should be no surprise that it applies to all of us. The twelve tribes have been so thoroughly leavened throughout the world, that each one of us carries a part of them inside us. Their traits work the same way the vanities do. They have a positive and a negative side. Some people hate being talked about, sometimes to the extreme, while others embrace it. Same trait, different voltage (potential).

Mind you, the leaves of the tree aren’t the fruit. The leaves take in nourishment for the tree (sunlight and some water), while the fruit passes that nourishment on to the world. Both sunlight and water come from God. This verse is telling us that the gifts God gives the world, when we see them clearly as gifts, can heal the way we interact with others.

If we understand that our neighbors, like us, are reacting to their vanities, just like we do, then it becomes much harder to judge them, and much easier to feel compassion for them.

We all want mercy for ourselves, but not for those who have wronged us, but mercy is not our gift to give. It is only a fruit that we get to eat of. It is not ours to hoard, or hide away from others. It is free for all.

3 No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him.

It’s hard to curse, when we see the totality of God’s plan, and accept it, but that’s what happens when the shining city is built inside us. That’s what we get for marrying a carpenter. Our hearts become big enough for everyone. When we realize that everything is God’s will, even our petty little rebellions, then what else can we do but serve Him?

Our curses toward Him aren’t really curses, if He put them in our mouths, in the first place. Self-deprecating humor is a gift, just like everything else. If you’re tempted to hate a comedian who makes fun of God, just stop and take a breath, let your wrath pass, then eat up that good gift of humor, knowing he doesn’t see God any clearer than you do.

4 They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.

This is an interesting line. We know that the forehead is the seat of logic, and that God cannot be defined by our language. This verse tells us that we will never stop trying to figure Him out. That is the great game that we have been playing since the moment of our creation. Only now it is obvious to us, that we have been playing it.

5 There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for the Lord God will give them light. And they will reign for ever and ever.

When we’re lit from within, that light shines out onto the whole world. When we reach this moment in our revelation journey, we truly understand that God is moving in the world, and moving us. With this knowledge, and His whispers in our ears, we can take those massive leaps of faith, and sit beside Him on our throne, as co-captains of our ship.

Why was it necessary to say, “for ever and ever?” Isn’t one “ever” enough? Remember that ever, like forever, is a construct of Time. When we die, Time ends for us, but it doesn’t go away. It’s a pool we can jump back into, if we want, and trust me, that’s something that every soul in Heaven wants, because any life is better than no life. The dead know nothing, after all.

God constructs the life and its lessons, and we live it, collecting the Easter eggs He left hidden in it, for us. The world is His amusement park, and we are its biggest fans.

John and the Angel

6 The angel said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true. The Lord, the God who inspires the prophets, sent his angel to show his servants the things that must soon take place.”

7 “Look, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy written in this scroll.”

8 I, John, am the one who heard and saw these things. And when I had heard and seen them, I fell down to worship at the feet of the angel who had been showing them to me. 9 But he said to me, “Don’t do that! I am a fellow servant with you and with your fellow prophets and with all who keep the words of this scroll. Worship God!”

10 Then he told me, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this scroll, because the time is near. 11 Let the one who does wrong continue to do wrong; let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy.”

There, in the last line of verse eleven, lies our instructions for the future. Let the vile person continue to be vile; let the one who does right continue to do right; and let the holy person continue to be holy. Why? Because the lessons we need to learn come from both sides of the river. This verse assures us that there is still a lot of life left to live, for all of us. We don’t know when it will end, because we don’t know how many more lessons God has planned for us. So, we should carry on.

This is also an advisory that we should hold what we have, until something changes. If you’re struggling with some problem, and God doesn’t seem to be listening to you, as you beg for assistance, then you should take that as a sign that you still have more to learn from your circumstance. You aren’t finished wallowing in the mud.

Epilogue: Invitation and Warning

12 “Look, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to each person according to what they have done. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.

How we take this line, depends entirely on what we think of as a reward. Some of us live by the motto, “No pain, no gain.”

Alpha and Omega mark the borders of the Greek alphabet. All of the other letters lie between them. We can’t make words without letters, and there can be no written communication without words. John left us his dream in a letter. We know about those who came before us, by what was written about them. We can learn about Jesus by reading what others wrote. That’s all that is left of him.

He was the first to walk this path, and he will be the last to leave it, because a good man holds the door open for his lady. He is still in the world, guiding us, inspiring the prophets and herding the apostles.

The beginning is our desire, the end is our attainment of that desire. Both are Jesus. Alpha and Omega, first and last, and beginning and end are three separate statements that give us a better look at our intended groom. They encompass the plan, and the communication of it, the road that it leads us on, and the reward for travelling it.

14 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city.

We wash our robes in water. Water is philosophy, or belief, or in this case, faith. If you don’t know what to do, just have faith. Trust that God will put you where He wants you, at the appropriate time. Remember, though, that your life is unique. We should all refrain from covering the lives of others with our expectations, and we should not allow expectations to cover our lives.

That means we should let God decide how much life we get, and what things we need to collect while we are living it. Maybe our life is nothing more than a cautionary tale for others? If so, let it be. It still has value, and purpose. Walk and talk with God, so that He can show you the path He wants you to take. If your dream is to live to one-hundred, remember that Jesus died at thirty-three. (My son is almost that age.) We get as much life as we get, and not a moment more.

15 Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.

Even the dogs are worthy of some scraps. If you find yourself inside the shining city, the easiest way to get kicked out is to look down your nose at those who haven’t found their way in, yet. Why? Because thinking that you are better than anyone else is the most pure form of deceit. You are lying to yourself, and there is no place for liars in Heaven. Instead, thank God for letting you in, and trust that everyone will find the door, in God’s good time.

16 “I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.”

How can you be the root and the offspring of someone, unless you build a time machine and go back in time and become your own ancestor?

That’s not the only way. If you are the firstborn of the children of light (Lucifer), who then enters the world and becomes the descendant of David, then you fit the bill.

But also, if the worst part of you fell into the world, and inspired a boy to become a king, then later the best part of you was offered that boy’s throne, as his heir, you would also fit the bill.

Evil inspires some to be better, even as good inspires some to be worse. There is an old adage that I think fits well here. It says, you either die young, or live long enough to become the thing you hate. I suppose it’s lucky for us that Jesus died young. He might not have been in such a hurry to give up his life for us, at 80.

17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.

Moses loved too much. Elias loved too little. Jesus loves us just right. He won’t do everything for us. We have to make the effort.

18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll. 19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll. 20 He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming soon.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God’s people. Amen.

Let’s be clear. I didn’t add any words to this prophecy, nor did I remove any. I am interpreting them. If you think that I’m splitting hairs, then ask yourself what language they were written in, and what language you are reading them in. Then ask yourself why it was okay for whoever translated them in the first place, to do so, given this warning.

Also, how many people have interpreted them differently than I have, and why was it okay for them to do it, but not me? All of the ideas that are floating around about what these passages mean, came from someone’s interpretation. If you don’t like mine, or theirs, then go and ask God for one of your own. He’s always happy to share.

Our biggest concern shouldn’t be that someone else will take words away from this scroll. There are far too many eyes on it, for anyone to make any meaningful changes to it. The real warning is for us, the reader. It urges us not to cherry pick the parts we like, while discarding the ones we don’t. We have to be all in. Anything else is unacceptable.

The shining city is a place we can move in and out of, just like the seven churches, the seals, and the plagues. Our stay isn’t guaranteed. We might just be there for a quick rest, before our next set of challenges begins. The important lesson is that God will take us where we need to be. The road might seem scary, but a little bit of faith will get us through.

Remember that it’s easier to find a place, if you’ve already been to it. Once we’ve walked our way into New Jerusalem, even if we accidentally wander out of it, all we have to do is turn around and retrace our steps.

Remember too, that change is a matter of perspective. We are as we were always intended to be. It feels as if we are moving, but that is only our misunderstanding. It’s easier to understand this, if you think of a movie as a bunch of still pictures that are being fed in front of a lens, one at a time. Just because you’re seeing this moment for the first time, doesn’t mean the scenes that follow it aren’t already on film.

Walk, talk, and trust. That is the best advice that I can give you. Even those three simple little words are easier said than done. Finishing this book is just the beginning. The hard part is living it. You’ll probably fall down. I still do. Just remember to keep your chin up, you Sons of Man.