The Greek word at the heart of Revelation 21:3 is the same root word John used in his Gospel for the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. The tent that has traveled through the whole Bible is finally pitched permanently. Today we close Season One.

In this letter

- The opening claim — the destination is renewal, not escape

- Skēnē (G4633) and the whole Bible's story of God's dwelling

- The trace through Eden, the tabernacle, the temple, the incarnation, Pentecost, and the new creation

- Kainos (G2537) — all things made new in kind

- It is done — the Greek perfect

- The Alpha and the Omega

- The free water of life

- The closing of Season One — a recap of the ten weeks and the word studies that carried them

- A direct pastoral landing for the tired, the grieving, the doubting, and the not-yet-believing

Scripture

- Revelation 21 (full)

- Genesis 3:24 (referenced — the flaming sword)

- Exodus 25:8 (referenced)

- John 1:14 (referenced — skēnoō)

- 1 Corinthians 6:19 (referenced — we are the temple)

Greek word studies

- skēnē (σκηνή, Strong's G4633) — tabernacle. The word that runs through the whole Bible's dwelling story, from Exodus to John's Gospel to Revelation.

- kainos (καινός, G2537) — new in kind (carried from Wednesday)

- skēnoō (σκηνόω, G4637) — to pitch a tent (carried from Week 7)

Season One word studies, in review

- hypóstasis (G5287) — foundation (Week 1, Hebrews 11)

- parepídēmos (G3927) — sojourner (Week 1)

- makarios (G3107) — fully alive (Week 2, Matthew 5)

- ptōchós (G4434) — empty-handed (Week 2)

- lekh lekha (H3212) — go for yourself (Week 3, Genesis 12)

- chesed (H2617) — covenant lovingkindness (Week 4, Psalm 23)

- radaph (H7291) — to pursue (Week 4)

- splanchnizomai (G4697) — gut-level compassion (Week 5, Luke 15)

- Ehyeh / YHWH (H1961) — I AM (Week 6, Exodus 3)

- Logos (G3056) — the Word (Week 7, John 1)

- skēnoō (G4637) — to pitch a tent (Week 7)

- davaq (H1692) — to cling (Week 8, Ruth)

- goel (H1350) — kinsman-redeemer (Week 8)

- katakrima (G2631) — condemnation (Week 9, Romans 8)

- huiothesia (G5206) — adoption (Week 9)

- hupernikao (G5245) — more than conqueror (Week 9)

- skēnē (G4633) — tabernacle (Week 10, Revelation 21)

- kainos (G2537) — new in kind (Week 10)

Next season | Mail from the Far Country, opening with Genesis 1:1-2:3 — In the Beginning.

> That's this season's last letter. There'll be more mail. We'll be back.

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We'll return in a couple of weeks with season 2 of Letters From Home

Most of us have been taught that heaven is where we go. The Bible says heaven is what comes here. The destination is not escape. The destination is renewal.

In this letter

- The inherited picture of heaven as escape

- What the Bible actually teaches — bodily resurrection, renewed earth, descended city

- 1 Corinthians 15:58 — your labor is not in vain

- Living like resurrection people

- The continuity between this life and the next

- The honest question — what are you walking toward?

- The wiping of tears as God's intimate, hands-on response to grief

Scripture

- Revelation 21:1-5

- Revelation 21:24 (the nations bringing their glory into the city)

- 1 Corinthians 15:58

The question to sit with

How would your life change if you really believed that what you do here is being taken up into what comes? Where have you been living like this world does not matter, because heaven is somewhere else?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter. The closing of Season One.

> There'll be more mail tomorrow.

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A new heaven. A new earth. A city coming down. A voice from the throne. A hand wiping tears. We walk the vision.

In this letter

- Verses 1-8 walked slow

- The sea as the image of chaos in the ancient Near East

- The bride and the wedding imagery

- Skēnē (G4633) — the tabernacle word

- The thread from Exodus 25 through John 1:14 to Revelation 21:3

- The wiping of every tear — what the image implies

- Kainos (G2537) — new in kind, not just in time

- It is done — the Greek perfect tense

- The Alpha and the Omega

- The water of life freely given

Scripture

- Revelation 21:1-8

- Exodus 25:8-9 (the tabernacle, referenced)

- John 1:14 (referenced)

- 1 Corinthians 6:19 (we are the temple, referenced)

Greek word studies

- skēnē (σκηνή, Strong's G4633) — tabernacle, tent, dwelling. The noun form of skēnoō (carried from Week 7).

- kainos (καινός, G2537) — new in kind, new in quality

Coming tomorrow | The Address. The destination is not escape.

> There'll be more mail tomorrow.

An old man on a prison island. Exiled by Rome for refusing to stop talking about Jesus. Given the longest, strangest, most beautiful vision in the New Testament.

In this letter

- John in his old age — the last apostle alive

- The persecution under Domitian

- The exile to Patmos

- The genre of apocalyptic literature

- The structure of Revelation — seven churches, throne vision, judgments, resolution

- The seven churches of Asia Minor

- Why the destination matters to a persecuted church

Scripture

- Revelation 1:9

- Revelation 2-3 (the seven churches, referenced)

- Revelation 21:1-8

Coming tomorrow | The Story. Walking the vision slow.

> There'll be more mail tomorrow.

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The destination. The vision John saw on Patmos when he was an old man. After ten weeks of letters from home, this week we sit with where the road ends.

In this letter

- Where Revelation 21 sits in the Bible — the second-to-last chapter, the destination of the whole story

- The Bible as a journey home, from garden to garden-city

- A slow read of Revelation 21:1-8 (NKJV)

- The direction of the vision — the city coming down, not us going up

- Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men (v.3)

- Behold, I make all things new (v.5)

- The continuity of the new creation — not all new things, but all things new

Scripture

- Revelation 21:1-8

- Genesis 3 (the lost dwelling, referenced)

Coming tomorrow | The Sender. An old apostle on a prison island.

> There'll be more mail tomorrow.

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The phrase more than conquerors translates one Greek word Paul may have invented. Hupernikao. Over-conquerors. Today we sit with the word, and the thunder at the end of the chapter.

In this letter

- The closing thunder of Romans 8:31-39

- Hupernikao (G5245) — the compound that gives us more than conquerors

- Huper + nikao — over + to conquer

- The seven-item list (tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness, peril, sword) as Paul's autobiography

- Psalm 44 quoted in v. 36

- The longer list at the close — death, life, angels, principalities, powers, time, space, anything

- A direct pastoral landing for the suffering, the accused, and the doubting

Scripture

- Romans 8:31-39 (full)

- Psalm 44:22 (referenced, quoted by Paul)

- 2 Corinthians 11:23-28 (referenced)

Greek word studies

- hupernikao (ὑπερνικάω, Strong's G5245) — to more than conquer, over-conquer. The compound of huper (over, beyond) and nikao (to conquer). A word so strong Paul may have coined it.

- katakrima (G2631) — condemnation (carried from Wednesday)

- huiothesia (G5206) — adoption (carried from Wednesday)

- stenazo (G4727) — to groan (carried from Wednesday)

Next week's letter | Revelation 21 — Home. The closing of Season One.

> That's this week's letter. We'll see you Monday with another.

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Paul says there is no condemnation. Most of us live as if there is. Today we ask what voice we are still listening to, and whether it is the Spirit of adoption.

In this letter

- The difference between conviction and condemnation

- The accuser in Revelation 12:10

- Paul's courtroom in verses 31-34

- The cost in verse 17 — if indeed we suffer with Him

- Suffering as included in the adoption, not excluded

- The Spirit's intercession for those who cannot find words

Scripture

- Romans 8:1, 17, 33-34

- Revelation 12:10 (referenced)

The question to sit with

Where is the accuser still speaking in your life? And where are you suffering, and have not yet heard that the Spirit is groaning with you?

Coming tomorrow | The Whole Letter.

> There'll be more mail tomorrow.

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Romans 8 has no characters and no narrative. The story is the structure. From no condemnation to no separation, with the Spirit of adoption crying Abba in us.

In this letter

- Katakrima (G2631) — the legal verdict of condemnation

- The flesh and the Spirit (vv. 5-13)

- Huiothesia (G5206) — adoption as a son, the Roman legal concept

- Abba — the Aramaic word Jesus prayed in Gethsemane

- The three groanings — creation, us, the Spirit

- Stenazo (G4727) — to groan deeply

- All things work together in context — not a bumper sticker

- The chain of vv. 29-30 — foreknew, predestined, called, justified, glorified

Scripture

- Romans 8:1-30

- Mark 14:36 (*Abba* in Gethsemane)

Greek word studies

- katakrima (κατάκριμα, Strong's G2631) — condemnation, judicial sentence

- huiothesia (υἱοθεσία, G5206) — adoption, the placing as a son

- Abba (ἀββᾶ, G5) — Aramaic for father, the child's word

- stenazo (στενάζω, G4727) — to groan

Coming tomorrow | The Address. Do you believe verse one?

> There'll be more mail tomorrow.

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