thinking about the end

In March and April I've had the opportunity to do a good amount of reading and thinking about the End. One of the neat things about the bible is that the story has an end. We aren't caught in some endless cycle or wandering through some a random serries of events with no conclusion to the drama. God's story has an endpoint. As I've been studying the book of Revelation and thinking about Jesus resurrection, it has been shaping me and helping me connect the "now" of life to the "then" of eternity. I've been teaching a four part serries on Revelation and a ten part series on the ressurection to teenagers, both of which are opening my eyes to the practical implications of the "the end." First, a neat fact - Revelation has inspired some amazing art work. Check out the woodcut to the right. It is based on images from Revelation chapter one.
Second, I've learned that how we see wealth and material possessions presently has much to dow with eternity. Through the bible, God's people are commanded to live lives of incredible generosity. But as you look at the theme of wealth in the scriptures you see a promise of eternal wealth for God's faithful people. In the new heaven and earther (the final state of ressurected followers of Jesus) there is a city who's streets are paved with gold and who's walls are encrusted with precious stones. This is a picture of incredible wealth. It points to the richness of eternal life with God himself. The cure for materialism and greed isn't to down play the significance of money (because it is significant for this life). However, if we seriously think through the concept of eternal wealth and eternal poverty, this will help. If there is a God, who in himself is infinitely rich and plans to eternally welcome his followers as heirs of his wealth, then following him and forsaking wealth takes on a different tone. Third, in Daniel chapter twelve it is talking about the ressurection and says that some will rise to "shame and everlasting contempt." The idea of hell isn't popular and is easily poked fun at, as we imagine a little red guy with a pitch fork and horns. But if hell is a place of unending shame and contempt, it is a lot more realistic. As I talked with teens about a shame that is completely accurate and never fades, the reality of hell and it's horror hit me in a new way. If there is a God and we blow him off every single day... Imagine facing that reality. There would be complete shame for not loving and thanking him. The deepest embarassement for always ignoring what is true and there would be nothing we could do to hide. Yikes