I’m filling in at Sunday morning bible Class at Resurrection on May 19.  I can teach anything I would like.  Since I’m preaching on Rev. 22 on June 2, over in Illinois, and the Epistle lesson for May 19, is from Rev. 21, why not give myself a head start by looking at the texts leading into Rev. 22.  You will recall that Rev. 22 is the last book of the bible and starts with the river flowing with the water of life right down main street.

Rev. 21 begins with the Bride of Christ, New Jerusalem, which is the church descending from heaven and God taking up residence on the earth in the New earth and new heaven.  To understand that whole new earth and heaven thing we need to look back at the description of the resurrection in Rev. 20:11-15 which also mentions heaven and earth fleeing God.  But then to understand the resurrection scene we need to look at the judgment of all the demonic enemies of the believers which is featured in chapters 17-20:10. Then we need to look at the first and second deaths and the first and second resurrections.

But to understand the Bride of Christ we need to look at Rev. 19:6-9.

Now if you are still hanging in there with me and not twirling around in circles you can see that if I’m not careful I’m going to end up back in Rev. 1.  By the way speaking of circles, Rev. is not written in a linear fashion beginning at the beginning and ending at the end.  It is a series of circles which lap back on one another with flash backs and leaps ahead, besides all the visions of seven horned beasts and numbers that aren’t to be taken literally.

But despite the risk of turning into a whiling dervish, I am going to teach Rev. 21 on May 19, after we cover parts of Chapter 20. Take that John.