Revelation 22:5

“There will be no more night. They will not need the light of a lamp or the light of the sun, for God will give them light.  And they swill reign forever ad ever.”

In 21:1 we read that there will be no sea of separation in heaven.  I see that this was great good news to the suffering churches, now separated from their beloved John, by a wide and threatening sea. Patmos was cut off from all land, isolated in the great Mediterranean Sea.  I see this as a vision of uninterrupted fellowship, nothing to divide or separate, a vision for the future. That is the will of God.

In 21:4 we read, “There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain.” The seven churches felt the sharp swords of the Roman military might.  They were prey for Roman deadly weapons.  The Emperor could abide no disloyalty.  All who refused to acknowledge his divinity had to suffer, and the surely did.  John’s words paint the picture of the tragedy –  death, mourning, crying, pain.  All that shall surely pass.

In 21:22 we read, “I did not see a temple in the city, because the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.”  We have already pondered that amazing omission – temple gone! For the Jews, the temple marked their people hood.  Now God and the Lamb are that Temple.  This is dramatic, indeed. And now the gates of the New Jerusalem are never closed. The gates only serve as a reminder of the past. Now no evil can enter, not one bit.

In 22:5 we read, “There will be no more night.”  No more need to fear evil that seems to rule the dark night, where evil people devise ways to curse the righteous.  In many cultures evil spirits rule the night.  They are much aware of that.

In 22:15 we read, “Outside are the dogs, those who practice magical arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” Now, as the vision makes clear, none of that will have access into the New Jerusalem. This holds true for all peoples for all times.

As I think of it, not only are my African Christian friends surrounded by evil powers, we are as well, but are less equipped to confront them because Satan disguises himself as harmless, a trick he is quite good at.

In many ways the Church, the followers of the Lamb throughout the world, are already experiencing the New Jerusalem to a degree. They know what God desires but evil persists.  This vision given to John speaks loudly and truly.  That evil will have no place in the New Jerusalem.

The vision is not a hope but a certainty, a million times more certain than the Roman hope to be in power forever.  God reigns for all time and for all eternity.