If I asked you to give me a quote from the book of Revelation you would most likely come up with, “I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away and the sea was no more”. Or maybe it would be, “See the home of God is among mortals. Death will be no more, mourning and crying and pain will be no more for the first things have passed away.”
If I asked you what else was in the Book of Revelation there might be those who remember the messages to the seven churches in Asia, and you might remember the vivid visual imagery which abound in its pages.
Revelation, is one of those bible books that is often avoided because the whole book is beyond comprehension. It was once described as being the visions of someone coming down from a drug induced trip. And it is a book which many Christians avoid reading when they attend bible study groups.
Yet what is special about Revelation is that it is about the future. While most of us have stopped thinking about the future for fear of environmental catastrophe, nuclear warfare having taken a back foot in recent years, or similar, we try to squeeze as much as we can out of the present. Many in the world have become obsessed with momentary gratification which erodes our capacity to plan and build for the future.
Unlike today, New Testament Christians eagerly awaited and longed for the future. They believed the complete reign of Christ on earth was a more certain reality than the seeming victory of evil. Jesus gave John the strangely beautiful vision recorded in the book of Revelation to give us hope.
Revelation touches us at the point of our despair, our world-weariness, our future shock, our fear of persecution, our collaboration with a sick, though friendly, society. And it could be argued that Revelation is quite possibly the most relevant book of the bible for this moment in history.
But how do we go about understanding this highly symbolic book. It was meant to be read at one sitting, which is still the best way to absorb its contents.
Many people misunderstand the book because they feel it is difficult to understand. Though it is highly symbolic, the major reason we have difficulty in understanding the book is because unlike the first readers we are largely illiterate when it comes to the bible.
The old testament holds important clues for decoding Revelation. Of its 404 verses, 278 allude to the old testament…that is more than half. Though in fairness no one direct citation is actually quoted. The reading we had from Revelation 7, ‘the sun will not strike them, nor any searching heat,’ is a reference to Psalm 121, where we can read ” the sun will not harm you by day”.
The book is a biblical implosion. Ideas, symbols, names and themes from the old testament have been powerfully pulled together through the inspiration of the spirit to form a collage, a kaleidoscope effect in the message.
If we treat Revelation as a book of predictions that too can lead to misunderstandings, for Revelation is not so much a prediction of future events as it is an exposé of spiritual realities that affect us now and will bring the events of history to a worthy end.
John wrote Revelation between AD 90 and 95 from his place of exile on Patmos Island. Tradition tells us that prior to his exile John left Israel to live in Ephesus, capital of the Roman province of Asia. The seven churches to whom the book is addressed were visited by a courier travelling on the circular road through modern Turkey.
Revelation is a vision communicated through words…. so we are not meant to only hear the words as thoughts and ideas but also to see them. John in writing Revelation wants us to experience in some measure the vision he received and take it into our hearts.
You know, a child might understand Revelation better than we do. For as adults we approach it with preconceived systems. A child would probably hear the story and conclude ‘I’m so glad the Lamb won over the dreadful beast’. They would have truly heard and taken to heart what is written. For Revelation is written for those with eyes to see and we are a generation whose mental eye has been starved of imagery. It is in some ways the most important book of the new testament.
Enjoy reading Revelation afresh, ideally arm yourself with a concordance so you can check up the old testament references and remember that it is primarily a book of hope. As has been said, of the three Christian virtues, faith, hope and love, the one most needing attention today is hope. So read Revelation with hope. This strangely beautiful vision given to John by Jesus was primarily to give hope to Christians who were facing suffering and persecution. It also encouraged those early Christians and helped them to remain faithful.
And so today it can encourage and give us hope too. The underlying theme is that God will finally and totally defeat all his enemies and will reward his faithful people with the blessings of the new heaven and a new earth when this victory is complete.
AMEN
Rev’d Edwina Wallace