By Wendy Choy-Chan

As I circled back to Genesis in my Bible reading, I realized that the vision of John in Revelation 21 and 22 is not just some imaginary pie in the sky that God was drawing up for John. The city of God, the river of life, the tree of life – they were all God’s original design from the very beginning, as in Genesis 1 and 2. 

“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God” (Rev21:3) – this has always been how it should be. God created Adam and put him in the garden of Eden. He talked with him and walked with him in the garden, taught him how to work and keep the ground, and (I imagine) God had quite a laugh as Adam wrecked his mind to name all the animals – “Adam, if this one is ‘laaaaaamb,’ why is that one ‘cow’ and not ‘mooooooooo’?” (If I were to make this joke in Chinese, it would be the other way around!) 

Creation was turned upside down in Genesis 3, but God never forfeited his original plan, even though it took 1,185 chapters to finally see God’s creation restored. And then, just as I was wondering what it would be like to live in New Jerusalem, my Bible reading took me back to Genesis to show how Adam and Eve actually lived this life with God in the garden of Eden. 

Sometimes, as I read those 1,185 chapters, my emotions go up and down, seeing God continue to invite and draw people back to him but people continue to sin and turn their backs on God. On days when it is gloomy and rainy outside, or when the pandemic seems to linger on and on, or when I hear more news of natural disasters due to global warming, I wonder if Revelation 21 and 22 was just too good to be true. But as I go from Revelation to Genesis, it gives me great hope that it is not too good to be true, for this has always been God’s plan and desire, from beginning to end, from creation to restoration, to dwell with us as our God, and us as his people, in his beautiful garden and city.

Wendy Choy-Chan came to North America from Hong Kong when she was 15. After graduating with a MScE, she worked as a telecommunications engineer for a few years before becoming a full-time mom. She earned her MA in Theology at Fuller Theological Seminary in 2016, and is now pursuing a D.Min in Affective Spirituality and Christian Formation at Multonmah Biblical Seminary. Wendy lives in Seattle, WA with her husband and two daughters.