Week 20 (The Revelation) – Day 5: The New Jerusalem

Day 100 – The New Jerusalem – Revelation 21:1-22:21

Today we reach the great climax of victory.  There are many visual aspects of this which may overwhelm the senses, as it is meant to do.  One thing which is important to remember is that God is coming down to the new creation.  As we began in Genesis 1, with God creating that which did not have to be created, God’s plan is not one of abandonment of creation.  God’s plan is to fulfill creation, through Jesus.  Heaven, as it were, comes to earth.

I bring this up because many strains of discussion often tend toward the great heresy of Gnosticism in which only the spiritual is important.  God makes clear, in that we are resurrected with a body, as well as the great scene of reconciliation here, that God cares about everything. 

I hope you have enjoyed the great journey through some important part of the Bible.  We hit many things, and also skipped many things.  May this awaken a desire to spend more time with the written Word, so that you may come to know the living Word:  Jesus Christ.

In Christ,

Randy

Week 20 (The Revelation) – Day 4: Halleluiah

Day 99 – Halleluiah – Revelation 19:1-20:15

This passage could lead to months of discussion all on its own.  But here are a couple of key points to consider.  First and most important: God wins!  We all struggle with evil, sin and brokenness.  We see it in our personal lives.  We see it in our local community.  We see it operate in the wider world.  The great questions which so many ponder: Why does evil seem to win?  Why does bad happen to good and good to bad? are answered.  God will bring victory, righting every wrong along the way. 

Does this entail judgment?  It almost has to one some level to make sense that evil does not have the final say.

Babylon, mentioned in the beginning of this passage is a great example of polyvalent prophecy, or prophecy with multiple references.  First, Babylon was the great world power of the past.  At the time Revelation is written, this becomes a veiled reference to Rome, the world power of the day.  For purposes of meaning for us today and into the future, we need to be wary of empires which seem to have world dominion based on economic and military power, as was the case with Babylon and Rome.

In Christ,

Randy

Week 20 (The Revelation) – Day 3: The Throne of Heaven

Day 98 – The Throne of Heaven – Revelation 4:1-7:17

This is a rather lengthy section, regarding the worship occurring at this very moment in heaven.  How would our life perspective change remembering the awesome worship, which as this passage notes, affects the world each and every moment?

In Christ,

Randy

Week 20 (The Revelation) – Day 2: Messages to the Churches

Day 97 – Messages to the Churches – Revelation 2:1-3:22

This section is actually in the form of a letter, with messages to seven churches.  Indication is given that some form of persecution is about to strike.  Encouragement is given, as well as critiques of issues facing each congregation.

As you read through the various issues, what seems relevant for today’s congregations? 

In Christ,

Randy

Week 20 (The Revelation) – Day 1: A Voice & a Vision

Day 96 – A Voice & a Vision – Revelation 1:1-:20

The final week, and what a week it is.  No book in the Bible has caused so much misunderstanding as the Book of Revelation.  Obviously we can’t cover all issues, but I’ll try to hit a few highlights.  This past week we’ve seen the man who “calculated” the date of rapture (As I’ve noted previously, the “rapture” itself involves rather dubious at best interpretation of scripture.)  Thousands of people were duped into crazy actions, and overall, many took the opportunity to paint all followers of Christ as a bunch of loons.  We may be, but not due to the failed calculations of one “prophet” in his own mind.  The point is, our society seems fascinated by this book, yet understands very little of the basic message.

I wanted to quickly discuss the literary genre, which is key to understanding any text.  First, this book is part of a long line of Jewish material fitting the apocalyptic (Greek for revelation) genre.  In fact a Jewish apocalypse (4^th Esdras, which is found in 2^nd Esdras, chapters 3-14 – yes confusing) which came out at almost exactly the same time as this book.  The purpose of this genre is important. This type of writing was meant to give encouragement to suffering faith communities.  It was to bolster faith that no matter the current situation, God would prevail in the end.  So the genre is designed to give hope.  This is the very opposite of the fear seems to drive the fascination.

The first chapter also reveals another central aspect.  Jesus is the main actor.  Many link the book not to Christ but to the “anti-christ”.  Ironically, that term is not even used in the book.

The book is also filled with symbolic language mainly driven by metaphors.  Notice how many times the word like is used, five times in vv 12-16 for example.  Much of this book contains symbolism which we need to understand form the perspective of the time written, then move forward to our own time.  Poring over the details without understanding the context of the time written can cause one to miss the big picture of this book. 

I close with some sage words from David DeSilva regarding how to read Revelation:  “More than needing to be interpreted, Revelation interprets the reality of the audience, showing … the true character…, the true struggle…, the true stakes…, the true nature…” of the world around us.  (Introduction to the New Testament (IVP Academic) p. 889)

In Christ,

Randy

Break before Revelation

Grace and Peace in the name of Christ,

I can not blog over the next week.  I am not even sure I will have internet access.  In light of this, I will not begin the final week until the evening of May 29th.  This is an unfortuante time to stop with just the Book of Revelation to cover.  At one time many weeks ago, I had a dreamed I could post the last week before I left but events have overtaken me.

So you can continue on your own and read my posts after, or take a breather just before the finish line.

Randy

Week 19 (The Apostles’ Teachings) – Day 5: Love One Another

Day 95 – Love One Another – 1 John 3:11-4:21

The final reading of the week takes us to a book focused on love.  We often study the commands to love one another in this book.  And this is important.  But we may miss the larger focus of the book’s concern with love.  This is the larger focus: that God loved us, as revealed through the actions of his Son, Jesus Christ.  If our love for others is based on anything else than God’s love, it will fail.  I like the stick drawing that I keep in my head regarding this issue.  It consists of three stick figures.  Two people, with a third standing in between: Jesus.  Draw a line connecting the two outside figures.  We love through Jesus.  What if you saw Jesus standing in front of everyone you see each day? 

In Christ,

Randy