21:1-6 Look at the density of OT references here.Pay attention to its rummaging through the Isaiah corpus for images ( at least in 25, 65, 55 60 and 43 for starters).
Are the former things the former evil in Isaiah? Could it be death itself, with death now passing away?
Again, this may be a good time to look at the mythic meaning fo the sea. If one is of a scientific bent, how could we, should we speak of this in terms of science or are we pushed to metaphor here?
The holy city is an anti-Babylon. It is probably anti-Roma as well. The offerings of Babylon and the new Jerusalem are rather different, no? Are there sources of different types of hope as well?
Is new heaven an image of annihilation or transformation or utter novelty? The city image deserves some treatment perhaps. We are led to the new temple of Ezekiel starting at 40-or the recently read Is. 65:17-25.(Could the worship been connected to the month of AV and its consideration of the destruction of the temple, especially as this was probably written within a generation of Roman destruction?
Now go a bit further and we encounter the lake of sulfur and fire. How many sermons on Hell, how many studies on Hell have we done?
Look at what comes for free here, without price, without cost. God’s presence with us and the healthy clean waters v. the polluted waters of a port city.
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