Rediscovering Revelation
I'm still spending time in Revelation in anticipation of our upcoming study in Families of Faith. The more I look at this book, the more impressed I am with the message that it has to offer to the modern church.
Revelation not only calls Christians to endure overt persecution, it also warns against compromising our faith to avoid conflict with social, economic, and political establishments. It invites us to live in preparation for the day of Christ's return, as a bride anticipates the day of her marriage, and warns us of the fate of everything that stands against Him.
There are no grey areas in Revelation. Either you find yourself wearing white, singing the praises of the One on the throne, or you find yourself in soiled clothes. You are either a part of the city of God or a part of a city that is built off of the filth of adulteries. You are either in the book of life or you are not.
Pick the clothes you wear. Pick the city you live in. Decide whether you will be a bride or a prostitute. Choose the second death or choose the resurrection. The last book in scripture reminds us that the choices that we face really do matter.
These messages may have had an immediate, specific application to the situation in which the churches in Asia found themselves. But as is the case in the rest of scripture, they also echo across the centuries, callling Christians of all ages to lives of purity and faithfulness, inspiring them with the promise of one day living in the presence of Jesus himself, as a part of a new creation that is free of pain and sorrow.
Although Christians have always disagreed about the interpretation of some of the images in Revelation, the only popular interpretation today is reflected in the "Left Behind" books. I haven't read those books, and I certainly don't want to discourage anyone whose faith has been strengthened by them. But it strikes me that, by devoting all of one's attention to looking for some literal, future fulfilment in Revelation, it is possible to miss the most powerful and inspiring ideas in the book. The ideas in Revelation are neither confined to the persecution of the first-century church, nor fulfilled solely in future events that precede the end times. They are ideas that are relevant to the journeys of all Chrisitans throughout the centuries.
Revelation not only calls Christians to endure overt persecution, it also warns against compromising our faith to avoid conflict with social, economic, and political establishments. It invites us to live in preparation for the day of Christ's return, as a bride anticipates the day of her marriage, and warns us of the fate of everything that stands against Him.
There are no grey areas in Revelation. Either you find yourself wearing white, singing the praises of the One on the throne, or you find yourself in soiled clothes. You are either a part of the city of God or a part of a city that is built off of the filth of adulteries. You are either in the book of life or you are not.
Pick the clothes you wear. Pick the city you live in. Decide whether you will be a bride or a prostitute. Choose the second death or choose the resurrection. The last book in scripture reminds us that the choices that we face really do matter.
These messages may have had an immediate, specific application to the situation in which the churches in Asia found themselves. But as is the case in the rest of scripture, they also echo across the centuries, callling Christians of all ages to lives of purity and faithfulness, inspiring them with the promise of one day living in the presence of Jesus himself, as a part of a new creation that is free of pain and sorrow.
Although Christians have always disagreed about the interpretation of some of the images in Revelation, the only popular interpretation today is reflected in the "Left Behind" books. I haven't read those books, and I certainly don't want to discourage anyone whose faith has been strengthened by them. But it strikes me that, by devoting all of one's attention to looking for some literal, future fulfilment in Revelation, it is possible to miss the most powerful and inspiring ideas in the book. The ideas in Revelation are neither confined to the persecution of the first-century church, nor fulfilled solely in future events that precede the end times. They are ideas that are relevant to the journeys of all Chrisitans throughout the centuries.
posted by Matt at Thursday, March 17, 2005
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