Reading: Revelation 1-3, Psalm 40

We’ve reaching the last book in the grand Story, and it is a doozy. Probably the most fascinating, terrifying, misunderstood piece of literature ever put to paper by human beings, the book of Revelation stands out from the rest of the New Testament. It is what has been called “Apocalyptic” literature, in that it purports to reveal those things that are and are to take place after this. It is literally an unveiling. Like a screen or curtain being pulled back, this is an account of God’s revelation of what has been, is, and will be going on “behind the scenes” of the Story we have been reading this whole time.

The book is basically narrated by John, who is in exile on the isle of Patmos on account of the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus. He writes to a persecuted people as a persecuted apostle. There has been some debate about who this John is, but early tradition claim it to be the apostle who wrote the gospel and the three epistles, and I see no particular reason to doubt this. The writing style is very different, but it is also a very different kind of message.

While the bulk of the book is John’s first person account of a great vision, the opening chapters we read today are comprised of some more short epistles, which simultaneously call out and encourage various churches in their commitment to the gospel. These letters are absolutely packed with imagery from the Hebrew Scriptures. Temple pillars, white stones, new names, burning lamp stands, open and closed gates, hidden jars of manna, and so much more. There simply isn’t time to go deep on all these, but I’ll talk about a couple things that I find fascinating.

The most famous lines from this part of the book are from the letter to Laodicea. Jesus is standing at the door of the hearts of the Laodiceans, knocking and waiting to be let in. Then there is the threat to spit you out of my mouth due to their lukewarm commitment to the gospel. This takes on some really interesting context when we consider ancient hospitality and water supply. Both cold and hot water (and other beverages) were socially acceptable to serve to guests. Lukewarm water was a deliberate insult, indicating the guest was not worth the host’s time to chill or heat it. We hear the Jesus’ admonition that the Laodiceans are neither hot nor cold in antipodal terms- one must be good and the other bad, and he would that they were one or the other. But that is not what ancient readers would hear. To them, either hot or cold were good because they indicated commitment. A host had to take time to heat or chill the aqueduct water from its lukewarm state. Similarly, the door image is often read as an invitation to accept Jesus into one’s heart- but this message is to a church who already believed, but weren’t behaving like it. They believed they were rich, but Jesus says they are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked. The invitation is to be transformed, not to believe.

There is at least as much to say about each of the other letters, but time and space limits my comments. The gist of it is, John communicates the seriousness and importance of staying committed to the Kingdom of God in the face of persecution. The way Jesus appears to him here also communicates this: he appears in glory, and declares himself the first and the last, the living one. I died and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades. At the time, death was a very real possibility for believers in some places. A century later, it would be a reality throughout the empire. John’s book is addressed to people who had sworn allegiance to Jesus as King, and who were being challenged by the empire in their commitment to that allegiance. These preamble and the seven letters are intended to encourage and warn the people of God that this is how it works. Jesus faced the same, and he defeated not only the empire but the power of Death itself.

From here John will recount a vision of God’s throne room, a supernatural war between the angels and the Serpent, and the final victory of God in the cosmic conflict that we have seen bits and pieces of when God “pulls back the curtain” for a moment in the books of Kings, Isaiah, Daniel, and Ezekiel.