Preparing Yourself For Sunday Morning

Here is some food for thought in preparation for this Sunday's sermon. I found this here. I will be going in a different direction, but is too interesting and too good for someone not to be able to get something out of it.
Parallels in Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 20-22

Genesis	Revelation
In the beginning (1:1)	I am. . .the Beginning and the End (21:6)
God created the heavens and the earth (1:1)	I saw a new heaven and a new earth (21:1)
Let there be light (1:3)	God gives it light (21:23)
The darkness He called “night” (1:5)	There will be no night there (21:25)
The gathered waters He called “seas” (1:10)	There was no longer any sea (21:1)
God made the two great lights (1:16)	Does not need the sun/moon (21:23)
He also made the stars (1:16)	The Morning Star (22:16)
Subdue [the earth]. Rule over (1:28)	And they will reign forever (22:5)
God blessed the 7th day (2:2-3)	7 angels, 7 bowls, 7 last plagues (21:9)
[God] made it holy (2:3)	The Holy City (21:2, 10; 22:19)
Tree of Life (2:9) He must not take from the Tree of Life (3:22-23)	Tree of Life (22:2) God will take away His share in the Tree of Life (22:19)
A river watering the garden (2:10)	River of the Water of Life (22:1) The free gift of the Water of Life (22:17)
There is gold (the gold of that land is good) (2:11-12)	A measuring rod of gold (21:15) The city was. . .pure gold (21:18) The street. . .was pure gold (21:21)
The bdellium stone (pearls) (2:12)	Pearls, each gate made of a single pearl (21:21)
Onyx (2:12)	Sardonyx (21:20)
You will surely die (2:17) Or you will die (3:3)	No more death (21:4)
A man will. . .be united to his wife (2:23-25)	The bride of the wife of the Lamb (21:9-10)
The serpent. . .was crafty (3:1)	The Devil, who deceived them (20:10)
Shown a garden into which sin entered (3:6-7)	Shown a city into which sin will never enter (21:27)
The Lord God. . .was walking in the garden (3:8)	Nations will walk by His light (21:24)
Walk of God with man interrupted (3:8-10)	Walk of God with man resumed (21:3)
I was ashamed [naked] (3:10)	Anyone who does what is shameful (21:27)
Initial triumph of the Serpent (3:13)	Ultimate triumph of the Lamb (20:10; 22:3)
Cursed. . .cursed (3:14, 17)	No longer. . .any curse (22:3)
Eve’s offspring (3:15)	The Offspring of David (22:16)
I will greatly multiply your pain (3:16-17)	No more. . .pain (21:4)
The Lord God made garments of skins and clothed them (3:21)	Blessed are those who wash their robes (22:14)
God banished him (3:23)	They will see His face (22:4)
He drove the man out of the garden (3:24)	I saw the Holy City (21:2)
Cherubim. . .to guard the way (3:24)	With 12 angels at the gates (21:12)
A flaming sword (3:24)	Fiery lake of burning sulfur (21:8)

The Significance of the Parallels in Genesis 1-3 and Revelation 20-22

1. Immutability: While we are prone to change, God does not change (Mal 3:6a). Even when we are faithless, He remains forever faithful (2 Tim 2:12). In His first dealings with mankind, He provided the sacrifice to meet the needs of the fallen Adam and Eve (i.e., animal skins, see Gen 3:21). In later events, He provided the sacrifice for the needs of His people (i.e., the Lamb, see 1 Pet 1:18-19).

2. Restoration: The world as we now know it is not what God intended. Rather, our world is a result of man’s fall (Gen 3:1-24; Rom 5:12-21). Yet, Revelation 20-22 promises us that God’s original plan for mankind will one day be fulfilled.

3. Progress: The new heavens and the new earth are actually an improvement over the garden of Eden in that there is no sea, no night, no sun, or moon, etc. (Rev 21:1, 23-27).

4. Triumph: God’s purposes are never thwarted by anyone or anything (Rom 9:6-29). Although things may have looked bleak in Genesis 3, Revelation 20-22 proves that God ultimately and forcefully triumphs over the Serpent. Eventually, the big three (sin, suffering, and death) will be forever dealt with. This is one of the reasons the book of Revelation is so crucial. Without it, we would be left hanging. But fortunately, God relieves our apprehension and shares with us His glorious future.

5. Beginning and End: In Revelation 21:6, God says, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end.” Any comparison of these two passages corroborates that He is the controller of all things from eternity to eternity. As Jesus said, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last” (Rev 1:17). We can relax in our great God’s sovereignty.

6. Unity of God’s Plan: Genesis 3:15 points out the plan that God has to defeat Satan through the offspring of the woman. Revelation points to the consummation of that plan in the finished work of the Lamb (5:6-14). Thus, if God has a plan from the beginning and is able to actually carry it out at the end of history, then He must be in control of human history. And He must be who He claims to be!

7. Unity of Scripture: By these extensive parallels (both similar and contrasting), we see that there is very close literary connection between two biblical books, written centuries apart, by different human authors, who were recording the words of a greater, overseeing author, God. Only God Himself could have orchestrated this unity of the Scriptures.

Pastor Phillip