I enjoy watching murder mystery programmes that are full of twists and turns, red herrings, cul-de-sacs, suspense, deception and intrigue, all the while keeping the viewer guessing about the identity of the perpetrator and the true nature of the crime. Always, in the end, the final reveal should be satisfying, tying up all the loose ends, providing a logical explanation of the events that unfold and leaving the viewer with a sense of wonder. Throughout the programme, I want to know how the mystery ends.

The book of Revelation gives us an opportunity to flick forward to the final page to see how history ends, and it is not only satisfying but leaves us with a sense of wonder. The Old Testament tells us that God has ‘set eternity in the human heart’ but laments, ‘yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end’ (Ecclesiastes 3:11). Thankfully, the mystery has been solved. God has begun the work of our salvation through Jesus’s death, resurrection, and ascension, and one day he will bring all things under one head, Jesus, and as our header scripture tells us, he will make everything new – but what will that involve?  Revelation chapter 21 reveals that the perfected fullness of the kingdom of God will have two overriding ‘new things’: absence and presence.

The end of this age and the ushering in of the new will mean the absence of all the old things that make this world so painful: ‘ “[God] will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death” or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.’ (Revelation 21:4). There will be an absence of ‘…the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars…’ (v.8).

As wonderful as it is that in eternity there will be an absence of all these things, the greatest prospect for the age to come is not absence but presence. What makes the future world so exciting and something to look forward to with sure and certain hope is that God will be there: “And I [John] heard a loud voice from the throne saying, ‘Look! God’s dwelling-place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God.’ ” (v.3).

You can hear John’s awe and wonder coming through in his writing as he sees God making his home with human beings and that he will live among us as our God.

I hope you too are excited by this new future ahead of us, for John’s words are trustworthy and true (v.5).

Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead 
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA

Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm

Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church

Word of Life contact:  
wordoflife@gracecom.church