Longing, Fulfilled One Day

The 21st chapter of the Book of Revelation has got to be the most
glorious prose ever written. John, the author of this book, has been
given an inside look – into the future, into heaven, into an
allegorical parallel of what is happening or is to happen here on
earth, it's hard to say, but it's a fantastic and vivid perspective.
For he sees God being worshipped, Satan being defeated, judgment being
rendered, and bad guys being eternally punished.

And then we come to the 21st chapter. And the absence of evil and the
presence of God make for a wonderful place. I would say that it is
heavenly, except that it is indeed heaven. It is the New Jerusalem, a
city rebuilt and redeemed. It is bejeweled and gilded. Death is no
more, crying no more, pain no more. Nation after nation streams in to
offer its best. The city has no need of a gate, for it is perfectly
safe; no need of light, for it is perfectly lit. Because the fullness
of the presence of God is there.

It is appropriate that the Bible ends with the very next chapter, and
that the very next chapter ends with a prayer, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
Indeed, given how glorious a place heaven is, and glorious it will be
to be in the very presence of God and in the utter absence of evil,
how appropriate it is for us – even more this Advent season, which is
all about longing – to also pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!" And one day,
that deep longing of ours for Him to come, for that glorious place to
be here and that glorious time to be now, one day that deep longing of
ours will be fulfilled.