Revelation 21:3

(4 min)

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Genesis tells us where we came from. Revelation tells us where we’re going.

Historical Context 🤓

• The Apostle John (who wrote the gospel of John and 1, 2 and 3 John) is generally considered the author.
• Revelation is the last book in the Bible, written in ~95 AD during the reign of the Roman emperor, Domitian. Under his reign, Christians were under intense persecution - they were arrested, imprisoned, exiled, or executed for worshiping Jesus instead of Domitian.

Original Audience & Purpose 🤓

• Original audience: Actual people John knew at the time of its writing (Revelation starts off with 7 letters to 7 specific churches).
• Original purpose: To encourage Christians to persevere who were being persecuted by the Roman empire. To provide hope and assurance that their suffering is temporary, and that God will eventually make all things new (Rev 21:5).

Original language 🗣️

(skēnoō - pronounced ‘skay-nah-oh’)

• The word used for ‘dwell’ in verse 3 (skēnoō) literally means ‘to tabernacle’. 
• This is the same Greek word used in John 1:14 (‘the Word became flesh and skēnoō among us’), picking up on the significance of the Tabernacle we learned about in Exodus.

Full Circle: The Unified Story of Scripture ⭕

• God created us with the original intention of being WITH us. No barriers. No shame. No sin or death. Just a perfect, loving relationship.
• But humans sinned, creating a gap between us and God.
• Scripture is the story of God pursuing the restoration of His original intention - creating a way to bridge the gap so He could be with us again.

Jesus: The Ultimate Bridge 🌉

• Temporary bridges like sacrifices in the tabernacle & temple provided (limited) access to God's holy presence.
• But these bridges were signposts, pointing forward to the ultimate Bridge: Jesus.
• The infinite gap between God (perfectly holy) and us (...) created by sin could only be bridged by an infinite Bridge.

Through Jesus’ sacrificial death, he took on the cosmic punishment we all deserve. And through his resurrection, He conquered sin - the very cause of the gap.

And as a result, made a way to bring us back into the unrestricted presence of God.

He parted our ultimate Red Sea (sin) to make a way into the ultimate Promised Land (New Jerusalem).

Prodigals Return Home 🌳

The deepest longing of our heart, whether we recognize it or not, is to be with our Creator.

No barriers. No shame. No sin. No death. No hiding.

That is the beautiful image painted in Revelation.

Our deepest desire, fully satisfied.

God’s prized possession, finally home.

Reflect 🤔

Read Revelation 21:1-8 this week and as you memorize Revelation 21:3, imagine your soul exhaling.

Visualize yourself, finally home, resting in God's presence in New Jerusalem.

Praying that you are moved to gratitude by our ultimate destination,

The Malachi Daily Team 🙏

P.S. Rest week coming! 💬 Next week, everyone who has memorized at least 1 passage with us so far will not be memorizing a new passage.

Too many back-to-back passages in a row can create burnout & make it hard to retain new verses.

So no new passage next week, but you'll get prompts to review verses you've already memorized.

P.P.S Keep your eye out for an update within the few weeks 👀 - we'll share our plans to build in rhythms of rest & review on an ongoing basis!