{"id":20872,"date":"2021-12-31T10:44:38","date_gmt":"2021-12-31T15:44:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=20872"},"modified":"2021-12-31T11:02:41","modified_gmt":"2021-12-31T16:02:41","slug":"20872","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/?p=20872","title":{"rendered":""},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/YSv2cGWAgz0\" allowfullscreen=\"\"><\/iframe><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">A Revelation of Heaven on Earth<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p><em>We return today to CAC teacher Brian McLaren, who illustrates how one of the Bible\u2019s most challenging books\u2014Revelation\u2014can be a source of wisdom and hope for us today:<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There\u2019s a beautiful visionary scene at the end of the Book of Revelation that is as relevant today as it was in the first century. It doesn\u2019t <strong>picture us being evacuated from Earth to heaven as many assume. It pictures a New Jerusalem descending from heaven to Earth [<\/strong>see Revelation, chapter 21]. This new city doesn\u2019t need a temple because God\u2019s presence is felt everywhere. It doesn\u2019t need sun or moon because the<strong> light of Christ illuminates it from within. Its gates are never shut, and it welcomes people from around the world to receive the treasures it offers and bring the treasures they can offer.<\/strong> From the center of the city, from God\u2019s own throne, a river flows\u2014a river of life or aliveness. Along its banks grows the Tree of Life. All of this, of course, evokes the original creation story and echoes God\u2019s own words in Revelation: \u201cBehold! I<strong>\u2019m making all things new!\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Rather than giving its original readers and hearers a coded blueprint of the future, Revelation<strong> gave them visionary insight into their present situation. It told them that the story of God\u2019s work in history has never been about escaping Earth and going up to heaven. It has always been about God descending to dwell among us. .<\/strong> . . God wasn\u2019t a distant, terrifying monster waiting for vengeance at the end of the universe. God was descending among us here and now, making the tree of true aliveness available for all. [1]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Earlier in the year, Richard shared the shocking hopefulness of the Bible\u2019s apocalyptic literature:&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>God puts us in a world of passing things where everything changes and nothing remains the same. The only thing that doesn\u2019t change is change itself. It\u2019s a hard lesson to learn. It helps us appreciate that everything is a gift. We didn\u2019t create it. We don\u2019t deserve it. It will not last, but while we breathe it in, we can enjoy it, and know that it is another moment of God, another moment of life. People who take this moment seriously take every moment seriously, and those are the people who are ready for heaven.&nbsp;[2]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Brian offers this final encouragement:&nbsp;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What was true for Revelation\u2019s original audience is true for us today. <strong>Whatever madman is in power, whatever chaos is breaking out, whatever danger threatens, the river of life is flowing now. The Tree of Life is bearing fruit now. True aliveness is available now. <\/strong>That\u2019s why Revelation ends with the sound of a single word echoing through the universe. That word is not\u00a0<em>Wait!<\/em>\u00a0Nor is it\u00a0<em>Not Yet!<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0<em>Someday!<\/em>\u00a0It is a word of invitation, welcome, reception, hospitality, and possibility. It is a word not of ending, but of new beginning. That one word is<strong>\u00a0<\/strong><em><strong>Come!<\/strong><\/em><strong>\u00a0The Spirit says it to us. We echo it back. Together with the Spirit, we say it to everyone who is willing.\u00a0<\/strong><em><strong>Come!\u00a0<\/strong><\/em><strong>[<\/strong>3]<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" width=\"500\" height=\"269\" src=\"http:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image-16-500x269.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-20873\" srcset=\"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image-16-500x269.png 500w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image-16-300x161.png 300w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image-16-768x413.png 768w, https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/12\/image-16.png 1850w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><br><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Revelation of Heaven on Earth We return today to CAC teacher Brian McLaren, who illustrates how one of the Bible\u2019s most challenging books\u2014Revelation\u2014can be a source of wisdom and hope for us today: There\u2019s a beautiful visionary scene at the end of the Book of Revelation that is as relevant today as it was [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20872"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=20872"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20872\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20875,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20872\/revisions\/20875"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=20872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=20872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/co2mannatoday.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=20872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}