Genesis 1; Revelation 22

Styles of reading and writing differ across time and regions. Readers of English read from left to right across a page, whereas Hebrew and Arabic read from right to left. Some languages, such as Mongolian and Chinese, are read from top-to-bottom.

Likewise, various cultures structure the communication of concepts and themes differently.

The modern-day style of writing is to introduce the main point at the beginning of a paragraph, then provide details throughout the paragraph that reinforce the main point. However, the literary pattern of the ancient Biblical writers was different. When writing, they often used a technique called a chiasm.¹ A chiasm does not start with the main point. Instead, a series of themes or concepts build toward a main point; then the same themes are mirrored as the reader moves away from the main point.

For example:

Theme a

       Theme b

              Theme c

                     Main Point (the pivot)

              Theme C

       Theme B

Theme A

We often use simplified chiasms with a mirrored structure in modern language.

For example:

“It’s not the dog in the fight, it’s the fight in the dog.”

“When the going gets tough, the tough get going.”

Although the simple examples above use the same words in their mirrored equivalent, utilizing the same terms is not required. It is the theme, or concept, that matches, not necessarily the wording.

Thousands of chiasms can be found throughout the Bible, and they range from short and simple to long and complex. Sometimes they are contained within a few verses (Joshua 1:5-9); sometimes they create the structure of an entire book (Esther, Revelation), and sometimes chiasms cover large swaths of the Bible.

The following chiasm² forms bookends of the Bible, paralleling key themes within the first few chapters of Genesis with the same themes within the last few chapters of Revelation.

I encourage you to take your Bible and spend some time flipping back and forth between the corresponding themes instead of quickly reading through them on a computer screen. Start at “a” (Gen 1:1) and then flip to “A” (Rev. 21:1), then “b” and “B”, and so on. Using a paperbound Bible to flip back and forth within the Scriptures helps to solidify and retain the knowledge via tactile engagement. If your Bible has room in the margins or between lines, underline the verses in Genesis and Revelation and write its mirrored equivalent for future reference.

a) In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth - Gen. 1:1

    b) The darkness He called night - Gen. 1:5

        c) The gathering together of waters He called seas - Gen. 1:10

            d) God made the two great lights (the sun and the moon) - Gen. 1:16

                e) A river flowed out of paradise to water the land - Gen. 2:10

                     f)  For in the day that you eat from it you will surely die - Gen. 2:17

                        g) Satan deceives mankind - Gen. 3:1, 4

                            h) I will greatly multiply your pain - Gen. 3:16

                                 i) Cursed is the ground because of you - Gen. 3:17

                                     j) Man was driven away from the Tree of Life - Gen. 3:22-24

                                         k) Man was driven from God's presence - Gen. 3:24

                                             X) And He who sits on the throne said,

                                                          “Behold, I am making all things new.” - Rev. 21:5

                                         K) Man sees God’s face - Rev. 22:4

                                     J) The Tree of Life reappears - Rev. 22:2

                                  I) And there will no longer be any curse - Rev. 22:3

                            H)  There will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain - Rev. 21:4

                        G) Satan is banished forever - Rev. 20:10

                    F) And there will no longer be any death - Rev. 21:4

                E) A river of the water of Life flows from God’s throne - Rev. 22:1

            D) And the city has no need of the sun or the moon - Rev. 21:23

        C) And there is no longer any sea - Rev. 21:1

    B) There will be no night there - Rev. 21:25

A) I saw a new heaven and a new earth - Rev.21:1

Finally, as you are flipping back and forth in the Bible, take some time to let what the Scriptures are saying sink in. These verses bring hope and excitement! Paradise was lost, but it will be reinstated; and next time, it will be even better! The pain and sorrow you endure in this fallen world are only temporary – an unimaginable paradise awaits those who have placed their faith in Christ as Savior.