The end of the sea

"The sea is no longer." Revelation 21. 1

The description of the new heavens and the new earth can disappoint lovers of the oceans : no more sea ! Yet, what a spectacle to the glory of the Creator that this incessant wave movement, these changing reflections of the sky on the water, this variety of coastal landscapes - not to mention the incredible diversity of marine species. Yes, really, how to design a new land without sea ?

We must remember that the language of the Apocalypse is very largely symbolic and also related to the historical experience of John, the one by whom this beautiful and complex text has come down to us.

John is exiled on the island of Patmos, in the middle of the Aegean Sea. Every morning, he finds himself surrounded by water ; the sea is like the wall of a prison, it prevents him from reaching the continent and his friends. Nothing to do with the tiny sea of ​​Galilee on which he was once a sinner and where the earth was seen all around. He is also a spectator of the storms of the Aegean, sometimes extremely violent. No wonder Jean does not see the sea in a very favorable light.

John is also a Jew, a people of shepherds who have also become farmers, but not sailors ! For the Hebrews, the great sea was especially a threat. No wonder it was taken by the prophets as the symbol of the whirlwind of the world. Isaiah said : "The wicked are like the rough sea, which can not keep quiet, and its waters cast out mud and mud" (Isaiah 57:20). The sea was the home of the leviathan, the sea monster that symbolizes the forces of evil (Isa 27: 1).

The same images are repeated in the visions of the Apocalypse : John sees a foul beast, which represents the Antichrist, come out of the sea (Revelation 13: 1). Under the direct influence of the devil, this world dictator will emerge from the chaos of peoples in the future and will concretize opposition to God and his Messiah.

But from the beginning of his visions, John had seen before the divine throne "like a sea of ​​glass, like crystal" : the agitation of the peoples, so well symbolized by that of the sea, does not reach anything at all. sovereignty of the Almighty. And, in echo, in the last vision, eternal calm has definitely replaced the agitation and sin of men. Let's anticipate the "end of the sea" while remaining calm in front of the jolts of our world.

Source (Pleasing the Lord)