Blake,
I love this analysis of Revelation 18-22. A lot of the specific things you pointed out made me realize how much St. John the Evangelist echoes Isaiah 60 while applying it to Christians as well. Suddenly, the Christians are the nations flocking to Jerusalem, “[proclaiming] the praise of the LORD” (Isaiah 60:6, NRSV-CE). No longer is Jerusalem solely central to the Jews, but it has become a place of centrality for Gentiles as well.
I also appreciated your reflection on “getting to Heaven”. I also grew up in a household that emphasized “getting to Heaven” over everything else. To my family, Heaven was perfectly synonymous with the Kingdom. It was certainly not a works-based idea, yet the first time I professed Christ, it was simply out of fear of Hell. I was four years old and all I understood was that Heaven was good and Hell was bad. It’s strange now to realize how simplistic that was, especially as I reconsider every idea I’ve ever had of Heaven and Hell.
