The Bookends of the Bible (2)

(This is the second of two posts on the bookends of the Bible)

In my previous post on the bookends of the Bible, I discussed the dearth of Satan and sin, man having image and dominion, the tree of life, and the river. This time, I want to highlight two more crucial items that tie Genesis 1-2 together with Revelation 21-22, as well as the rest of the Bible.

The first item is the building. The second is the couple.

This is an unfinished building. Kind of like the church. Sorry, no pictures of the couple for now.

The building actually doesn't appear in the first two chapters of the Bible, but the building materials do. In the garden of Eden, there were three valuable building materials: gold, bdellium, and onyx stone (Genesis 2:12). In the New Jerusalem, there are once again three valuable building materials: gold, pearl, and twelve different kinds of precious stones (Revelation 21:18-21). Along the way, Paul also writes about three valuable building materials: gold, silver, and precious stones (1 Corinthians 3:12).

Through careful examination of these verses, you can see a progression. In Genesis, the building materials are scattered throughout the garden of Eden. In 1 Corinthians, the building materials are in the process of being built on the foundation of Christ. Finally, in Revelation, the building materials are fully built into the holy city, the New Jerusalem.

This building process seen throughout the Bible mirrors the building of the church. This desire was on God's heart from the beginning of time. The Lord Jesus promised to build His church in Matthew 16:18. But the building didn't really begin until the Lord had died and resurrected. Then, all the believers could participate with Paul in the building up of the church through their speaking (1 Corinthians 14:26). This building work is still being carried out today, and in the future the New Jerusalem will be the consummation of the building of the church.

But what about the couple in Genesis 2? Everyone has heard of Adam and Eve. Could their story possibly be related to God's desire for the church as well?

The first key is the verb in Genesis 2:22, which says that Eve was built from Adam's rib. Sound familiar? The church is being built just as Eve was built. The story of Eve's creation concludes two verses later in Genesis 2:24, which is quoted directly by Paul in Ephesians 5:31. Then Paul goes on to explain in the next verse that what he's really not speaking about the marriage between a man and a woman, but about the marriage between Christ and the church. Romans 5:14 says that Adam was a type of Christ, which further strengthens the connection between Adam and Eve and Christ and the church.

Fast forward to Revelation. Christ is the Lamb (John 1:29), but He is also the bridegroom (John 3:29) and in Revelation 19:7, the Lamb is the bridegroom, getting married to His wife. In Revelation 21:9, an angel tells John, "Come, I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." But what is shown in verse 10 is the holy city, the New Jerusalem. The New Jerusalem is the wife because the New Jerusalem is the church and the wife is also church. The story of Christ's romantic love for the church can be seen throughout the entire Bible (if you are a hardcore reader, check out Isaiah 54:5), beginning with the type of Adam and Eve and ending with the marriage of the Lamb with the New Jerusalem.

Note: If you would like to know more about the significance of each of the building materials, find a way to get in contact with this blogger.

The Bookends of the Bible (1)

(This is the first of two posts on the bookends of the Bible)

You can get a pretty good idea about most books simply by reading the beginning and the end of the book. It’s no different with the top-selling book of all time - the Bible.

This isn't the beginning or the end, but I think you get the idea.

The first two chapters in Genesis describe the garden of Eden. The last two chapters in Revelation describe the New Jerusalem. These descriptions contain some striking similarities that relate to themes which persist throughout the entire Bible.

Perhaps most importantly, Satan and sin do not appear in these four chapters. Throughout most of the Bible, Satan lurks like an annoying pest. But in the bookends, he is nowhere to be found! Satan enters the scene in the first verse of Genesis chapter 3. In the following verses, Satan corrupts mankind, starting a downward spiral from God's original intention for man. God has to find ways to deal with the problems Satan creates. However, in Revelation 20:10-15, God permanently eliminates Satan, death, and Hades by casting them into the lake of fire. This is just in time for Revelation 21 and 22, the last two chapters in the Bible.

What is God’s original intention for man?

We have to look no further than the bookends of the Bible for the answer.

Genesis 1:26 reveals that God created man to bear his image and to have dominion over the earth. Though Satan corrupted man, this intention is finally realized in full with the New Jerusalem in Revelation 21 and 22. The New Jerusalem is the consummation of the church, the bride of Christ (v. 9-10). Its appearance is like jasper (v. 11), which is like the appearance of God on the throne (Revelation 4:3). That's God's image! Meanwhile, Revelation 22:5 says that those in the New Jerusalem will reign forever. That's dominion over the earth!

How do we get to the point where we can bear God’s image and rightfully have dominion over the earth?

Once again, back to the bookends! It’s a matter of eating and drinking. Eating and drinking are related to two items that appear in both the garden of Eden and the New Jerusalem.

First, we have the tree of life. The tree of life makes its debut in Genesis 2:9, in which God places the tree of life in the middle of the garden for man to eat. The tree of life makes its final appearance in Revelation 22:2, where it grows on both sides of the river like the vine tree, which signifies Christ (John 15:1). God intends that man would eat the tree of life to be organically constituted with Christ Himself. The idea of eating Christ is also seen prominently in John 6.

The second item is the river. In Genesis 2:10, the river waters the garden of Eden and flows to the four corners of the earth. In Revelation 22:1, this same river proceeds out of the throne of God. This river also surfaces in Psalm 46:4, Ezekiel 47:5-9, and John 7:37-39, where Jesus reveals that the rivers of living water are actually the Spirit. God wants us to eat Christ as the tree of life, and He also wants us to drink the Spirit as the river of life (1 Corinthians 12:13).

Be on the lookout for the next post for more themes that begin in Genesis 1-2, continue to develop throughout the entire Bible, and reach a climax in Revelation 21-22!