The Beginning vs. The End

I love the comparison between Genesis vs. Revelation, the beginning vs. the end.

J. Sidlow Baxter in his work, Explore the Book, said, “A comparison of Genesis to Revelation proves that this book is a completed revelation of God to man. They complement each other.

“In both, we have a new beginning and a new order. In both, we have the tree of life, the river, the bride, the walk of God with man; and in both paradises we have the same moral and spiritual ideals…

“Mark the contrasts between the one book and the other. In Genesis, we see the first paradise closed (3:23). In Revelation we see the new paradise opened (21:5). In Genesis, we see dispossession through human sin (3:24). In Revelation we see repossession through divine grace (21:24). In Genesis we see the curse imposed (3:17). In Revelation we see the curse removed (22:3). In Genesis, we see access to the tree of life disinherited, in Adam (3:24). In Revelation we see access to the tree of life re-inherited, in Christ (22:14). In Genesis we see the beginning of sorrow and death (3:16-19). In Revelation we read, ‘there shall be no more death, neither sorrow’ (21:4). In Genesis, we are shown a garden into which defilement entered (3:6-7). In Revelation, we are shown a city of which it is written, ‘There shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth’ (21:7). In Genesis, we see man’s dominion broken, in the fall of the first man, Adam (3:19). In Revelation, we see man’s dominion restored, in the rule of the new man, Christ (22:5). In Genesis, we see the evil triumph of the serpent (3:13). In Revelation we see the ultimate triumph of the Lamb (20:10, 22:3). In Genesis, we see the walk of God with man interrupted (3:8-10). In Revelation, we see the walk of God with man resumed, and a great voice says from Heaven ‘Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He dwell with them….’ (21:3).

“Note the complements of the one book in the other. The Garden in Genesis gives place to the city in the apocalypse, and the one man has become the race. In Genesis we see human sin in its beginnings; in the apocalypse we see it in its full and final developments, in the Harlot, the False Prophet, the Beast, and the Dragon. In Genesis, we see sin causing physical death on earth; in the apocalypse, we see sin [bringing about the consequence of a spiritual ‘second death’ in a Lake of Fire]. In Genesis, we have the sentence passed on Satan; in the apocalypse, we have the sentence executed. In Genesis, we are given the first promise of a coming Savior and salvation; in the apocalypse, we see that promise in its final and glorious fulfillment. Genesis causes anticipation. The apocalypse effects realization. Genesis is the foundation stone of the Bible. The apocalypse is the capstone.”