(AN: One thing that kept me going when I decided to write down the Time of the End was the promise that, however much I wrote, no matter how uncomfortable it would make me, I would end this story on a high and happy note. Thus we have this chapter. Enjoy!)
A Happy Ending
"For since the beginning of the world, men have not heard. Eye hath not seen, save for Thine, nor hath the ear heard, nor hath entered into imagination, what He hath prepared for them that waiteth for Him."
These words of Isaiah, quoted by Paul in a letter to Corinth John had once heard, now seemed to have new life as John saw the aftermath of the Last Judgment. The earth had been burned away, and Heaven had melted in the fallout: only the New Jerusalem, with the King and all of His people, remained. Then there was a New Heaven and a New Earth, with no sea, either of water or air, to keep one from another. Once the New Earth came to be, the New Jerusalem sat down once more upon land and the herald of the Almighty spoke.
"Behold, the Temple of God is with man, and He shall dwell with them. They shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them and be their God. He shall wipe away all tears from their eyes, for there shall be no more death, no more sorrow, no more crying and no more pain: the old way of things is passed away."
Then John came face to face with the King, the face he had known for three and a half years in his youth: the face of God incarnate, which had come down and saved all mankind, including himself, and was now revealed in power as a conquering king.
"Behold," Jesus said to John, with a smile on His face. "I make all things new! Write this down, for everything you have seen is true and faithful!"
"Yes, yes!" John exclaimed, as his hands, unrestrained by age, wrote what he had been shown. He then looked up, eager for new orders.
"Behold, he that overcometh shall inherit all things," the King said with a smile. "I will be his God, and he shall be My son. I shall give to him that is thirsty water from the Fountain of Life freely." He then turned to the angel at John's side and nodded.
Faster than lightning, Sherael took John over the City and showed him a little part of the City. High were its golden wall, in which there were twelve gates, damasked each with a great pearl, and twelve Watchers at the gates: twelve foundations had the Great City, all of them made of precious stones.
"Behold the New Jerusalem!" Sherael exclaimed happily. "There is no temple within, for the LORD God and the Lamb are the Temple. Nor is there sun or moon in the New Heaven: for the glory of God and the Lamb shall be its light. There will be no more night, so the gates shall never be shut, and those of all nations who love God shall walk in His light, bringing glory and honor to Him. Come now, there is one last thing to see!"
With John holding onto her hand, Sherael swooped down into the midst of the City, and showed him the Garden of Eden that was. The curse was gone, and so there was no longer a Tree of Evil Knowledge: instead, in the midst of the Garden, there stood the Throne of God, covered by its beautiful rainbow, and from the Throne ran the River of the Water of Life, clear as crystal, that flowed out to feed and water the Garden. Furthermore, a little downstream, John saw a massive tree, so great that it had two trunks on either side of the River, whose branches met above the stream.
"What tree is that?" John asked.
"That is the Tree of Life," Sherael replied with a smile. "It bears twelve different kinds of fruit, yielded on each of the twelve months. The leaves, also, shall heal the memory of the curse from the minds of the nations. But there shall be no more curse, for the Throne of God and the Lamb shall be here, and His servants shall lovingly serve Him here, where they shall see His face, and His Name shall be upon their foreheads. There will be no more night, no need to light candles, and no need for the sun, for the LORD God shall be their Light, and they shall reign forever and ever!"
Once more, as before with the previous visions, John fell down before Sherael's feet, and had to be lifted once more onto his own feet.
"Please, John," she said. "Do not worship me, worship God. I am a servant, just like you and the prophets and those who hold to what is within this book." She gestured to the great roll that had accumulated throughout this vision.
"Is..." John stammered, gesturing to the indescribable beauty all about him. "Is all of this true?"
"Yes," she nodded. "The LORD God of the prophets sent me, His angel, to show unto His servants what must surely come to pass. Blessed is he that keeps the sayings of this book."
The angel then fell to her feet, covering her face with her wings in homage. John looked and saw the face of Jesus once more, sitting upon His Throne even as He was now. He looked down at the book in his hands: the mention of the Prophets brought Daniel to mind. Though it had been locked away, secret to all but a few, John had seen things in these visions that were almost identical to the things Daniel had prophesied in Babylon and Persia.
"Do not seal this book away," Jesus said. "These prophecies must be told, for the time is at hand. He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: he that is filthy, let him be filthy still. He that is righteous, let him be righteous still; and he that is holy, let him be holy still.
"And, behold, I come quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every man according as his work shall be. I AM A and O, the Beginning and the End, the First and the Last. I have sent My angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I AM the Root and Offspring of David, the Bright and True Morning-Star."
Like a haze, the gray rain-curtain was once more drawn over the world, the glass dimmed and John found himself back in his earthly prison. Sad he was at heart, for he had seen Heaven and longed to be there. Remembering Christ's last words, he had a little bit more to write before the book of the Last Apocalypse, the Last Unveiling, was complete.
"'Blessed are they that do His commandments, that they may have right to the Tree of Life and may enter in, through the Gates, into the City...'"
With further admonition about what awaited, he finished. The prophecy had been true: though he felt that he had little else to wait for, save for death, when he would at last sleep until the Harvest of the Righteous, he knew now what Jesus meant. He would not taste death until he saw the Coming of the Son of Man, and he had indeed.
"Even so," he begged. "Come, LORD Jesus."
The Grace of our LORD Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
(AN: Thus I take my leave of the New Testament tale, and bring The Early Church to a fitting, hopeful and happy conclusion.)
(Yes, the source material does indeed say that the Tree of Life is on both banks of the River of the Water of Life, that's not just artistic license. As for the famous quote, lol, well, in Greek, Alpha is A and Omega is long-O, and unlike the English alphabet, Omega is the last word of the Greek alphabet: therefore, "Alpha and Omega" is pretty much just "A and O", but it still means "the First and the Last".)
(Closed this chapter to Kamelot's "Memento Mori", in case you were wondering.)
(I hope you enjoyed this venture through about sixty years of Early Church history, as well as a sneak preview at "coming attractions" [lol]. If you have any questions, I recommend you pick up the Word and "Search for the answers!", as Ronnie James Dio would say [:D].)
(Well, now that we're done, where do we go next? Abraham? David? Noah? Daniel? Your thoughts/requests are always helpful. Until then, take care and God bless.)