The Story
The Bible ends where it began. That is the secret architecture of scripture, and the last book of it is the one that lays the architecture bare. Eden was a garden with a river flowing out of it and a tree of life in its midst, and there was no death and no sorrow and the people of God walked with God in the cool of the day. The New Jerusalem, in the vision John sees on the island of Patmos near the end of his life, is the same — only better.
It is bigger. It is brighter. It does not have a tree of life; it has a boulevard of trees of life, one on each bank of the river that runs out of the throne of God, and the leaves of those trees are for the healing of the nations. The walls of the city are made of jasper, and the foundations of every precious stone the ancient world could name. The twelve gates are pearls — single pearls, the size of a city gate, which by every law of geology should not exist. The streets are gold so refined it is transparent.
But the architecture is not the point. The architecture is just what John can see. The point is the line that he hears, spoken by a voice from the throne: "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." The story has come home.
There is no temple in the city. John specifically notes this — and he is a Jew, and the absence of a temple is an absence he would feel like a missing tooth — and then he explains: "For its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb." You don't need a tabernacle when the One you wanted to meet there is walking the streets.
There is no sun and no moon, for the glory of God lights the city, and the Lamb is its lamp.
There is no closing of the gates by night, for there is no night.
There is no curse, no death, no mourning, no crying, no pain — for the former things have passed away.
And in the second-to-last paragraph of the entire Bible, the One on the throne says the line that the whole story has been arching toward for sixty-six books: "Behold, I am making all things new." Not all different things. Not all replacement things. All these things — the world, the people, the stories, the body you are reading this in — finally, eternally, gloriously themselves, redeemed, no longer breaking.
The Bible ends with a kiss between earth and heaven. The garden has come back. And this time, John says, the gate is not closed.
Scripture
Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
Revelation 21:1–2 (ESV)
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.
Revelation 21:4 (ESV)
And he who was seated on the throne said, "Behold, I am making all things new."
Revelation 21:5 (ESV)
Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.
Revelation 22:1–2 (ESV)
Lyrics
[Intro]
And I saw heaven standing open…
And behold… a white horse…
And the One who sat upon it…
Was called Faithful and True…
[Verse 1]
I saw the clouds begin to tear,
Like a curtain pulled aside,
And the King whose Name is written
On His vesture and His thigh.
His eyes were flames of cleansing fire,
His crown was crowns of gold,
The armies of the Heaven-host
Behind Him, bright and bold.
[Pre-Chorus]
And every eye began to see…
And every knee began to fall…
From the river depths of Babylon
To the highest alpine wall —
[Chorus]
HE IS COMING!
On the clouds of heaven's shore —
HE IS COMING!
Like the promise said before —
Every nation, every name,
Every mountain once of fame,
Will bow down and call upon the same —
He is King! He is King! He is King!
[Verse 2]
Then I saw a new heaven, and a new earth,
For the first had passed away,
And the sea was gone, and the curse was gone,
And the night gave way to day.
And the Holy City, New Jerusalem,
Came down from God above,
Adorned as a Bride for her Husband —
Shining, shining with His love.
[Pre-Chorus 2]
And a loud voice from the throne declared…
"Behold! The dwelling of God is with men!
He will wipe every tear from their eyes…
Death shall be no more, nor pain, nor end —"
[Chorus]
HE IS HERE!
Dwelling in the midst of us —
HE IS HERE!
Heaven's heart in human dust —
Every garden once was lost,
Every river once was crossed,
All restored at the Maker's costs —
He is here! He is here! He is here!
[Bridge]
And He who sat upon the throne said…
(soft, echoing the very first track)
"Behold…
I make…
ALL THINGS NEW."
(the music swells — echoes of "Let there be!" weaving back in)
"I AM the Alpha —
I AM the Omega —
The Beginning — and the End —
It is DONE. It is DONE. IT IS DONE."
LET THERE BE LIGHT! — and there IS light eternal!
LET THERE BE LIFE! — and the dead rise immortal!
THE SEED OF THE WOMAN — has crushed the old serpent!
THE LAMB WHO WAS SLAIN — stands alive at the center!
THE STARS HE PROMISED — are His children returning!
THE BLOOD ON THE DOOR — became wine for our joining!
THE KING HAS COME! THE KING HAS COME! THE KING HAS COME!
[Final Chorus]
ALL THINGS NEW!
(every tear, every scar!)
ALL THINGS NEW!
(every stone, every star!)
Every weeping turned to song,
Every waiting proven strong,
Every longing answered all along —
All things new! All things new! All things new!
ALL THINGS NEW!
(Hallelujah! Hallelujah!)
ALL THINGS NEW!
(He reigns! He reigns! He reigns!)
From the garden to the throne,
From the cross to coming home,
Every soul He ransomed as His own —
All things new! All things new! All things new!
[Bridge 2 / Invitation]
And the Spirit and the Bride say: "Come…"
And the one who hears says: "Come…"
And the one who is thirsty — let him come…
And whosoever will — let him take the water of life…
…freely…
Come, Lord Jesus…
Come, Lord Jesus…
COME, LORD JESUS —
MARANATHA!
MARANATHA!
MARANATHA!
[Outro]
And there shall be no more night…
No need of sun, nor moon, nor lamp…
For the Lord God gives them light…
And they shall reign…
Forever…
And ever…
And ever…
Amen.
About the song
"All Things New" is the album's hope. After the long story — the fall, the wait, the cross, the resurrection, the Church — we wanted one track that could just stand still and describe the ending. The chorus is the line from Revelation 21:5; the bridge is the river of life, flowing out from under the throne. We tried to write a song that, when the album finishes, leaves the listener standing in that street.