Reading: Revelation 19-20, Psalm 47
Having dealt with the continually recurring rise and fall of Babylon, John’s vision turns to those who were persecuted by those Babylons through the ages. When Babylon falls, the saints and angels rejoice in the justice of God. But let us be honest: that is all well and good, but the abused and persecuted people of God are still dead. Right here, almost at the end of our story, is one of the most tempting moments to throw aside our care for the world and say that the everything is about some sort of “after-life.” It becomes easy to celebrate the destruction of the world if our final destiny is to be taken away from it and live in a perfect Other place. But that is not the Story we are reading here, and this Story is much better than the one that ends in that Other place.
These chapters reveal what happens to those who have resisted the beasts, the dragon, and the rule of Babylon throughout the ages of the world and have paid the price for it. Jesus appears in the sky in glory, riding a white horse, and all the slain people of God are with him. The nations of the earth, who follow the dragon, are summoned to a great battle… which basically doesn’t happen. Jesus, referred to here in classic John style as the Word of God, appears already covered in blood, and strikes them all down with the sword of his mouth. There is no great war. No battle really at all. Simply the proclamation of Jesus, and the scene ends in victory. The secondary leaders of rebellion are thrown into the lake of fire and the dragon/devil/serpent is locked away. The persecuted people of God come to life in a glorious resurrection and rule the world for a thousand years.
Now, one might think this would make a great end to the Story. God’s people are vindicated. Evil and oppression are destroyed. Faithful humans rule the world beside their faithful King, Jesus. But it is not quite over yet. The end of the cycle of human arrogance that began in Genesis 10-11 with Babel does not mean the end of the human problem. The dragon is bound but not forever. Though a thousand years of glorious peace may come, the serpent can still deceive humanity. It is only when the serpent is utterly defeated that the final judgment of all people takes place, putting an end to the Story and setting up God’s final action to make all things new.
There are approximately a bazillion interpretations of these chapters running around the Christian world, running all the way back to the second century. I think many of them miss the point. John isn’t being given a vision to allow us humans to fit God’s future actions into our frameworks of understanding. He is to communicate this vision to persecuted people. Prosperous people often want to make a timeline of this stuff. Persecuted people see that God will be faithful, redeem his own, and bring final justice to the wicked. The vision exists to tell both groups that the final victory of God is carried out by Jesus, the King of Kings, wearing a robe soaked in his own blood, making a proclamation that defeats evil. What is the great proclamation? The good news that demands a response. A command to repent unto life in the name of Jesus. Like every message from God through this entire Story, it creates a forced choice of who will be worshiped. In the end, this is the only choice that matters, as it leads to all the other choices being righteous or wicked. Worship God and be blessed in glory. Worship the serpent and end up the lake of fire.