Revelation to  Genesis

Jesus comes.

Jesus Comes

20He who testifies these things says, Surely I am coming soon. Revelation 22:20aAmen. Come Master Joshua. Revelation 22:20b (Revelation 22:20 BRB)
8They heard the sound of the Master God walking in the paradise in the cool of the day and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Master God among the trees of the paradise. A 1 John 2:28 Genesis 3:8-9 (Genesis 3:8 BRB)

Jesus says he's coming in next to the last verse of Revelation. Of course the Bible ends and Jesus does not come. He will come to the planet again, for all to see, but in terms of the Book Chain his statement is fulfilled early in the next book, Genesis.

There are a number of times when Jesus shows in Genesis.(Gen 11:5-8) [1] Colossians and other scriptures state that Jesus was involved in creating,(Col 1:15-21) (1 Cor 8:5-6) so he's present right off the bat in Genesis even if he's not identified there. Someone, however, walks around in the garden where Adam and Eve were residing. The Book Chain says that someone was Jesus.

Genesis identifies this person as Yahvah God, not Jesus. Yet Jesus is clear in John that he and the father are one and if you have seen Jesus you have seen the father.(John 14:8-11)[2] So it holds that if you have seen the father you have seen Jesus.

Tree of Life

14Blessed are those who do his commandments that they may have the right to the tree of life and may enter in the gates to the city, (Revelation 22:14 BRB)
24The Master God drove him out and made revolve from the east to the paradise of Eden cherubim and the point of a turning sword to preserve the way of the tree of life. (Genesis 3:24 BRB)

The tree of life is a prominent theme near the end of Revelation and the beginning of Genesis.

Revelation and Genesis are both concerned with who has rights to the tree of life. In Revelation those who can go into the city and access the tree are those who obey God. In Genesis Adam and Eve loose access to the tree because of disobedience.

The connection between Revelation and Genesis is more profound though. Where the tree of life is located in Revelation? It's in the New Jerusalem. Does the Bible contain a transplanting story? No. So Eden is in the New Jerusalem.

That matters because of other details in Genesis and Revelation. Isn't it a bit odd that God installed winged creatures to guard the way back to the tree of life? Why bother if Eden is on the planet? Well, it's not on this planet. John, standing on this planet, saw the New Jerusalem descending out of the sky. One would need wings to get to the tree of life.

This makes sense in light of what Jesus did and what he offers. He ascended into the sky after his resurrection, to return to his throne elsewhere in the universe. And, he promises resurrection, everlasting life, and access to that other place to those who follow him now. He is not promising a new earth, he is promising a new earth and new skies. A good slogan might be: To boldly go where we're from.

Revelation mentions other things that appear in Genesis. Revelation mentions the river, the same river that waters the garden in Genesis. Revelation mentions the bright morning star, a reference to Jesus no doubt, but a likely nod to the stars and the making of light in Genesis.

Ryan Eaton 2008-09-10 2010-10-31

[1] 12:7, 17:1, 18:1, 19:1, 26:2, 35:9 and more.

[2] John