Scripture Reading: Revelation 18:1-20; 21:1-7; 21:23–26; 22:1-2

Insights into the big picture of work come in Revelation’s concluding chapters, where the worldly city Babylon is set against God’s city, the New Jerusalem. Babylon represents the dead-end street of humanity’s attempt to build their culture apart from God. It has every appearance of being the paradise for which humanity has always longed. But it is in fact a counterfeit, doomed to be exposed by God in the final judgment.

The lesson that God would judge a city for its economic practices is a sobering thought. The fact that much of the condemnation appears to stem from its self-indulgence should hit with particular force at modern consumer culture. But the most worrisome thing of all is that Babylon looks so close to the New Jerusalem. God did create a good world; we are meant to enjoy life; God does delight in the beautiful things of earth. It is precisely the genuine benefits of technological advance and extensive trading networks that constitute the danger. Babylon slowly but inexorably twists the good gifts of God—economic interchange, agricultural abundance, diligent craftsmanship—into the service of false gods.

Revelation offers an alternative vision of life together: the New Jerusalem. At one level, the New Jerusalem is a return to Eden—there is a river flowing through it, with the tree of life standing by with fruit-laden branches and leaves for the healing of the nations (Rev. 22:2). Humanity can again walk in peace with God. But the New Jerusalem is not simply a new and better garden: it is a garden-city that forms the counterweight to Babylon.

Parsing out precisely how this works is not easy. Will there still be farming in the new heavens and new earth? Will a godly computer programmer’s 1.0 software be consigned to the flames while version 2.0 enters the heavenly city? The Bible does not answer these types of questions directly, but we may once more look at the big picture. God created humans to exercise dominion over the earth, which entails creativity. Would it be sensible for such a God to then turn and regard work done in faith as useless and cast it aside? On balance, it seems far more likely that he would raise it up and perfect all that is done for his glory.

Prayer: Jesus, I want my work to honor you. Help me do everything I do for your glory. Amen.

For Further Exploration: Read Babylon and the New Jerusalem: A Tale of Two Cities (Revelation 17-22) from the Theology of Work Bible Commentary.

Author: Theology of Work Project

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