Texts in Conversation
Revelation 21 describes a new creation where the sea is gone, echoing Jeremiah 51 where Babylon’s sea dries up in judgment. Both follow an ancient Near Eastern tradition where the defeat of the sea represents the defeat of chaos and hostile empires.
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Jeremiah 51:36
Hebrew Bible
35 The person who lives in Zion says, “May Babylon pay for the violence done to me and to my relatives.” Jerusalem says, “May those living in Babylonia pay for the bloodshed of my people.” 36 Therefore the Lord says, “I will stand up for your cause. I will pay the Babylonians back for what they have done to you. I will dry up their sea; I will make their springs run dry. 37 Babylon will become a heap of ruins. Jackals will make their home there. It will become an object of horror and of hissing scorn, a place where no one lives.
Date: 5th Century B.C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Revelation 21:1
New Testament
1 Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and earth had ceased to exist, and the sea existed no more. 2 And I saw the holy city—the new Jerusalem—descending out of heaven from God, made ready like a bride adorned for her husband. 3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying: “Look! The residence of God is among human beings. He will live among them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them.
Date: 92-96 C.E. (based on scholarly estimates)
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Notes and References
"... Interestingly, the book of Revelation has many quotations or allusions to the book of Jeremiah, including about a dozen texts from chapters 50–51. Revelation 18:2-19 picks up on the theme of wailing over Babylon (= Rome) in a taunting dirge for the fallen city. Just as with Israel, Christians are summoned to flee the city (Revelation 18:4). The image of drinking/pouring out the wine of God’s wrath, used in 51:7 (see also 25:15-29) is utilized in Revelation 18:3. In Revelation 18:5, the sins of Babylon are piled so high that they have reached heaven and God remembers their iniquities; in Jeremiah 51:9, it is their judgment (= the effects of their sins) that has reached the heavens. The image of Babylon as a volcano (51:25-26) is also picked up in Revelation 18:8-9. The image of the harvest in 51:22 is referred to in Revelation 14:14-15. The announcement of judgment on Babylon that its sea would become dry (51:36) may be echoed in the promise of Revelation 21:1 that the sea would be no more. The rejoicing of heaven and earth at the defeat of Babylon (51:48) is appropriated by Revelation 18:20. The symbolic act of Seraiah in throwing Jeremiah’s scroll into the Euphrates (51:59-64) is adapted in Revelation 18:21 ..."
* The use of references are not endorsements of their contents. Please read the entirety of the provided reference(s) to understand the author's full intentions regarding the use of these texts.
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