Revelation 1
Justo Gonzelez, contributor to Disciple Bible
Study* suggests that it is important to know what kind
So, while portions of the Revelation are puzzling and
mysterious, and while portions of the book do reveal what to expect, that is
not the primary purpose for the book.
Jesus and John have a conversation here in the first chapter that
explain the book’s purpose and how we are supposed to receive it. Jesus appears to John and tells John to write
these things down with the understanding that the churches will read aloud
these letters and so hear the Word of God, that is the Living Eternal Word made
Flesh, Word of God revealed to the people of God.
And the singular message is this: Jesus is coming back as
the King of Glory to get the Church, his Bride.
So be ready. That’s it. That’s the message. Now, we can take a little more time looking more closely at that message, and just as important, what that
message does for us. Because the next
question we ask when we get this message is very, very important to our
faith.
Often we are tempted to ask, “When?” It’s a natural question. And it almost seems like John wants to address
the “when” throughout the book. But
that’s not the purpose of the Revelation.
The better question for us to ask is, “So now what?” And that’s the question that is going to
direct our conversation this summer.
Jesus is coming back as the King of Glory to gather his Bride to himself
and to reconstitute the cosmos (heaven and earth). So, now, what?
So is this important?
So are we supposed to talk about this?
So who is the bride…and for that matter who are all the other people in
the book; that is, so who is who? So
now? So this is important now? So we are supposed to be doing something
now? So is this happening now? So now
that we know, what do we do now? So
what? So what is so important? So which parts are important and which parts
are just weird? So what, if anything,
can we do about any of it? So what does
this mean for me and my family, or families in any place? So, now, what?
Sometimes we can get so overwhelmed by the questions and the
mystery and the “not yet” feel of this book, that we do just feel like
shrugging our shoulders and saying, “So now what?” And left without an answer, we continue to
just go about our every day existence, not paying any mind to the message of
this Revelation. Or we worry that we
will misunderstand or miss some sign in the Revelation and we stew and fuss and
poke our family and friends to be worried too.
The point of the Revelation, ironically, was to avoid both of these
responses.
We are to avoid complacency.
We are to avoid fear and paranoia.
We are instead to have a sense of urgency, but a sense of excitement
too. Kind of like the couple the week
before their wedding day. I have been
invited to officiate 7 weddings this year.
Seven! That’s a lot for me. Each one has been unique to the couple: big
church wedding, small church wedding, family elopement, off site party. But the one common denominator so far has
been the glazed look in the eyes of the couple when I meet with them the week
before.
I meet with couples 3 times before their wedding. Once a month or 2 before just to get to know
them better and for them to get to know me.
Once to really dig in and talk about their relationship. And once to go over the order of
worship. It’s at this final meeting that
every one of them, bride and groom, say, “We’re just ready to get this
done!” Amen and hallelujah! That’s where I want them to be the week
before the wedding. You see that tells
me two things: One it tells me that they
are finally bored with all this party planning and we can actually talk about
being married (which the tough news I have to break to every couple during
pre-marital counseling is that the marriage lasts a lot longer than the
wedding, hopefully!). Two, it tells me
they are not afraid to get married, but rather, quite ready to get on with it.
That is the urgency that John tries to convey to the
churches as we writes the Revelation that Jesus gives him*: First, we can’t live life like we always did
before Jesus was raised from the dead.
Everything has changed. Life
without Christ should at the very least bore us. We have this new relationship and it’s time
to live into that! Second, we don’t need
to be afraid of what happens next. If I
have confessed that Jesus Christ is Lord, then I don’t have to worry about the
unfolding of the future because I trust that my future is in God’s hands. But the other thing the urgency does, in
addition to squelching same ole same ole and eradicating fear, is that urgency
compels me to tell others the message.
Now, if we use the metaphor of the bride and groom, we can see this as a
guest list. It happens so often that a
wedding that started as a “small family affair” nine months ago has grown into
a party for hundreds by the day of the wedding.
Why? Because they are excited and
they want to tell everyone and share with everyone and they want all the place
settings of their china! In the case of
the Revelation, it’s not just that Jesus wants everyone to know that we are
invited to the party, Jesus wants everyone to realize we are invited to be the
Bride. It’s not an invitation to attend
a party for someone else. It’s an honor
to be at the side of the One for whom the party exists.
That’s the drama of the message. The characters are Jesus and the angels who
bring the message from Heaven, John who reports the message to the Church, the
Church or the saints or believers who believe the message, the rest of humanity
who doesn't believe the message, and the Enemies of Jesus who oppose the
message. We will meet each of them in
turn, and yes we will run into ourselves.
Hopefully we learn more about ourselves as we witness ourselves in this
drama.
In this opening scene, John is exiled to the island of Patmos (Rev. 1.9)
Jesus reveals himself to John not as the lowly carpenter of Nazareth but as the King
of Glory. He tries to use human language
to describe what human eyes have never seen.
Or maybe they have…for the prophets have tried to use the same words:
Son of Man (Daniel 7.13), long white robes (Daniel 10.5), hair like wool (Daniel 7.9), skin like bronze (Ezekiel 1.7), voice like
waters (Ezekiel 1.24), face like the sun (Matthew 17.2), words like a sword (Hebrews 4:12).
We know the feeling. Trying to
explain a funny moment or a delicious meal or a beautiful scene to someone who
wasn't there. “You had to be there,” is
our default. But John doesn't get a
default button because Jesus says, tell the church what you've seen. Jesus doesn't tell John what to write, he
tells John to write down what John has seen.
There is a difference. And it
requires our imagination. Not to imagine
something fantasy. But to imagine
something more real than we've ever known.
Like imagining cells before there were microscopes or black holes before
there were telescopes. But it’s the
task. Tell the churches…the seven
churches, that is the complete Body of Christ, my bride.
Tell them what?: “Do not be afraid. I am the first and the
last, and the living one. I was dead,
and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and Hell.” It's as if Jesus is saying, with hands outstretched, if this is the beginning of your life (waving his right hand) and this is the end of your life (waving his left hand)
then I'm here
(waving both hands across the imaginary timeline). And whatever comes against you here, here, and here (demarking spots with his right hand across the line), I have the keys to that. Because I've got you, right here in the palm of my nail-pierced hand. So, don't be afraid.
* With reference to Disciple: Under the Tree of Life video series.
*With reference to Wright, NT, Revelation for Everyone. Westminster John Knox Press, Lousville, KY. 2011
