Rev. 7-8: from seals to trumpets

I hardly view my opinion as that of an expert, but I believe from the reading that to be marked with God’s seal as it is mentioned in the text this week (Rev. 7) does a couple of things, indicates divine protection and security through persecution and suffering, not divine protection from suffering. Reddish notes that the way of the Lamb is the way of the cross (Reddish, 145). The other thing “sealing” alludes to is the new people of God, or in other words, designates “new ownership.” We know that letters or other important documents from the ancient world were sealed with a signet ring. These important documents were sealed for protection and the seal indicated from whom the document came.

I think Boring’s mentioning the contact with the Pauline stream of tradition and his seeing a reference to a believer’s baptism to be helpful. Boring writes, “Incorporation into the body of Christ by baptism (1 Cor. 12:13) was sometimes pictured in Pauline churches as the seal which stamped the new Christian belonging to God (ii Cor. 1:22; Eph 1:13; 4:30)” (Boring, 129).

So for readers of Revelation, John’s first audience and for us today, I think the significance of “being marked with God’s seal,” speaks to our protection, security, and new identity in Jesus. Baptism takes on a political meaning, we are exchanging the allegiance and affiliation with Caeasar/Babylon to join or to put on a new Lord, Jesus. Even though we exchange the comforts of Babylon for the cross of Christ, we can expect hardship and suffering. Our seal protects from loosing our new identity as God’s own precious child. This question is a bit more elaborate than an ordinary forum question; nevertheless, it is an important question for ministers. Revelation describes Jesus as a “lamb”. How does this metaphor agree with/contradict God’s dealings with humankind in the course of biblical history? In other words, is this metaphor for Jesus surprising for one familiar with the Bible? Why or why not?

The metaphor of Jesus as a/the “lamb,” when seen just at face value as Jesus being compared to a lowly lamb, seems to contradict God’s dealing with humankind in the course of biblical history. God is depicted as a divine warrior at times in the OT, who vanquishes his enemies. God is depicted as a father, as sovereign over all creation, nations, or earthly powers and then John casts this image of a lamb as that of God’s agent is quite a metaphor. Lambs were animals used for sacrifice, what better picture of Jesus is there than a slaughtered lamb (Isa 53). I think then also, though from first glances the lamb imagery seems to be an almost defeat, really it turns out to be victory won by God at the cross. The way of the lamb is the cross, there as Colossians 2:13-15 so wonderfully declares, our victory was won as a result of the cross, “¹³When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, ¹⁴having canceled the written code, with its regulations, that was against us and that stood opposed to us; he took it away, nailing it to the cross. ¹⁵And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.” So, what we see in the lamb imagery is God being sovereign, choosing to intervene in history in a way that was unexpected, a way that is certainly powerful, life altering and truly sacrificial. God laid all his cards on the table in the Incarnation, and as a result defeated his enemies through the lion-lamb imagery of Jesus.

After the wrath of the 6 seals, John’s interlude, or new vision of heaven, is a needed reminder that God is in control, and that even though God’s people will face hardships and trials, they are his, and will be protected through the trials. According to Boring, in Rev. 7:1-17, John has led his readers to anticipating the coming of God, judgment, and the End culminating in the seventh seal. As in other places in Revelation, this section or interlude is an example of John’s artistry. John is free with the apocalyptic traditions, and instead of seeing the End, John shows us the church. The opening of the seventh seal leads to the seven trumpets, but before we get there, John wants to assure his readers of God’s grand plan, Boring writes, “…it is a reflection of the experience of first-century Christianity. They looked for the End and what came was the church, not as a substitute for the act of God but itself a dimension of God’s saving activity”(Boring, 128).

The church is compromised not of a select few. Let us be reminded that 10, and 12 are important numbers, and have a symbolic meaning of completeness. So, the 144,000 is a multiple of 12 and 10 and is a way of John saying, look here is the new Israel, the new people of God. Then “1000” has a military connotation, this is a picture of a group preparing for battle. Boring sees the text as dividing along “7:1-8…the church militant on earth, sealed and drawn up in battle formation before the coming struggle, 7:9-17 presents the church after the battle triumphant in heaven” (Boring 131).

The great multitude that is seen in 7:9-17 is from every tribe, language and nation is another inclusive picture of the church that reveals the beauty of the church and the grand scope of the gospel’s reach. For persecuted believers, a vision of the church from heaven’s perspective would be encouraging to small house churches, maybe scattered about different cities and maybe meeting in secret for fear of persecution.

Works cited:

Eugene Boring, Intrepretation: A Biblical Commentary for Preaching and Teaching

Mitchell G. Reddish, Revelation.

thoughts on the lion/lamb, woes, and violent/vindictive language — Rev. 5 and 6

John, knowing his audience’s acquaintance with apocalyptic literature, and their familiarity with the “lion” imagery and messianic expectation, drawing from the Hebrew Bible, and the Testament of Judah and 4 Ezra, transforms the image from a lion to a lamb. But, this is no ordinary dumb, bleating lamb. This lamb is not like the history of God’s people, slaughtered by Empire after Empire. John tells us that this lamb “bears the marks its execution, ‘standing as if it had been slaughtered’ (5:6)” (Reddish, 109). Boring notes “Lamb” is the “definitive title for Christ, occurring 29 times in Revelation” (Boring, 108-9). It is important to note that John’s use of the lamb imagery is multivalent in nature. In other words, John’s source for the great lamb imagery and his Christology seems to be drawn from multiple sources; lambs from the daily sacrifices, the Passover Lamb, the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53, and the conquering lamb of 1 Enoch 89-90 (Reddish 109). This rebirth of images helps John’s readers to see the significance of the cross, and the victory won there by the Lamb of God not through military power, but through self-sacrifice, and through death. John wants us to see Jesus, “the one who loves us and frees us from our sins by his blood” (Reddish, quoting Rev. 1:5, 109). There is a merging of symbols of death and defeat and symbols of power and authority (Reddish, 110).Let us not forgot that as John portrays the lamb he is powerful, acting as God’s agent or on behalf of God. He takes the scroll that was unable to be opened. He his depicted as having all power and insight (seven horns and seven eyes).

“Lamb” is the key Christological noun in John’s beautiful imagery, Boring points out that ‘conquer’ (nikao), also translated ‘overcome,’ ‘prevail,’ ‘win the victory,’ triumph,’ ‘win the right,’ is the key Christological verb,” he goes on toe point out that this verb form occurs some 23 times (Boring, 111). As John rebirths the imagery of the lion-lamb, I think it would be right to say he does as well with “conquering” as well. We are meant to hear conquering as we normally associate it, with a military victory per se, but John has adapted or changed “conquering” to equal dying for Christ. Boring writes that “conquering” is what binds believers and Jesus together (3:21), and goes on to say, “that Christians ‘conquer’ not only by what they do but by what Jesus has done (12:11)” (Boring 111). 2. In Revelation 6, the reader finds a series of eschatological woes. Where else in scripture do we see similar literature?

What is the significance of this vision in Revelation 6? Is John writing about the “end times”? Explain your answer. Other places in Scripture where one would encounter similar eschatological woes are Matthew 24:6, 7, 9a, 29; Mark 13: 7-9a, 24-25; Luke 21:9-12a, 25-26. Across the apocalyptic board, there are similarities as to what these woes entail, they “may include earthly events (earthquakes, wars, famines, persecutions) and cosmic disturbances (stars falling, the sun shining at night, and the moon shining by day)” (Reddish 123). The eschatological woes from Revelation 6 reveal the traditional apocalyptic expectation of judgment and catastrophe. I think this is significant for interpretative purposes, for we are once again reminded that John is writing a certain type of literature. In traditional apocalyptic literature one would encounter this eschatological woes preceding the end of the world, or coming before the “arrival of a messiah in the last days” (Reddish, 123). Another significance of the vision of the eschatological woes in Revelation 6 is its contact and allusions to the exodus, and biblical language in general. John’s foundational text is the Hebrew Bible, and he reuses imagery and language from the OT to write for his own day and time. In the sense that war, famine, death and pestilence are common to history and repeat themselves in every age, do I believe that John’s writing extends beyond his own day. John is writing about the “end times,” to be sure. But “end times” needs clarification. To detach Revelation from its historical context is to limit or render the work’s effectiveness to speak to John’s first audience. So, “end times,” must refer to the end of the ungodly and demonic control of the Roman Empire over the people of God.

Boring’s reading was extremely helpful in addressing the violence of John’s Revelation by addressing the violent/vindictive language of the text openly and honestly. As ministers, Christians, etc., we will no doubt encounter people who wrestle with feelings of violence and vindictiveness, and well, this section of reading from Boring will help us to help other makes sense of their pain and agony and hopefully renew a sense of trust in the One seated on the throne! Boring addresses this issue by examining four key interpretative guideposts: 1. the givenness of John’s situation, 2. John’s appropriate of tradition, 3. his use of language, and 4. his theology (Boring, 113).

i. The givenness of John’s situation To help make sense of what we’ve read in Revelation 6, and what follows we must remember that John is writing to a persecuted community, and is warning them that things are going to blow up even more. Revelation was written to use during worship, and as such, the cries for revenge, and the violence in the language would draw the worshipper into their own experiences. John gives his readers an avenue to vent and to anticipate God putting the world to rights.

ii. John’s appropriation of tradition Boring points out that John’s violent language is borrowed from his own tradition (114). This tradition included the ancient Near Eastern combat myth, in which the monster of chaos (aka, Leviathian) was defeated at creation, but was still present at the edges of creation as a threatening force in the world. “The evil of the present world is understood as the remnants of uncreation, so that the present world has a built into tension,” that at God’s coming to put the world to rights, the forces of chaos will be ultimately destroyed (Boring, 114). Also coming from John’s tradition was the apocalyptic scheme of the “messianic woes,” in which there was a “standard pattern” that helped the community to interpret their present troubles “as the leading edge of the period of suffering which must come just before the final victory” (Boring, 114). John also borrows his language from the Bible, for example John draws heavily upon the exodus motif to paint a picture of eschatological deliverance from “the contemporary Pharaoh,” also John relies on a deep stream of biblical theology; the language of God’s wrath, which is used extensively in Scripture, as well as reusing the biblical prophets’s woes against Babylon as a picture of woes against Rome (Boring, 115). The King is coming, that seems to be the understatement of all the John is writing and from the language he borrows. Because the King is coming, the creation cannot stand in His presence.

iii. John’s use of language I have mentioned John’s language already, but is worth nothing that this language is highly metaphorical and not meant to be read literally. Boring notes that what one encounters in this reading is “insider language of the confessing community expressing praise and gratitude for salvation” (Boring, 117).

iv. John’s theology and Purpose John routinely acknowledges the sinfulness of humanity, and the violent language is the judgment of God on sin. Even though John exposes a violent and terrible scene, sin, death and persecution aren’t the final world. John gives us the bad news, but finishes with the good news. He says it better than I do, “While the world may reel under the hammer blows of God’s wrath, it is also redeemed and released from the power of Satan (20:1-6)” (Boring, 118).

Works cited:

Eugene Boring, Intrepretation: A Biblical Commentary for Preaching and Teaching

Mitchell G. Reddish, Revelation.

Thoughts on Rev. 2-3, and 4

I believe that John chose to address his letters to these specific churches because he was familiar with these churches. He was their brother, and fellow companion in their shared sufferings (Rev. 1:9). He knew them and they knew him. Even though John knew the cultural, political and social struggles in each of these seven cities, it must be noted that in Apocalyptic literature the number “seven” has a symbolic meaning, whole, complete, etc., so these letters to the seven churches are really meant to be overhead by all the church in the province of Asia. As was mentioned in class, and was revealed in our readings this week, there is no special significance to the order of these churches other than they are connected by the major Roman road in the area, and the order of the churches are the order in which one would travel leaving Ephesus.

Boring does point out, however, “each of these cities named had a Roman law court, a location where Christians has bee or could be charged with membership in the Christian sect, which was suspected of being subversive; and at least the first three churches addressed were sites of temples dedicated to Caesar (Ephesus, Smyrna Pergamum)” (Boring, 87). Ephesus was the capital of the Asian province, and as Boring notes, Christianity was an “urban phenomenon” (Boring, 87). As such, the issues addressed in the seven letters to the seven churches would have been indicative then for the whole church; a show down between two kingdoms, Babylon or the kingdom of God. So, the issue then becomes how to live out the Christian witness in the kingdom of Babylon without giving up one’s allegiance to the kingdom of God. In other words, the church was facing an identity crisis, and John is writing to awaken the church from its coziness in this world.

I think John’s vision of the “throne” of God is central to book of Revelation. John is writing to a struggling community of believers, who are already facing some intense persecution in some places, and yet warns them of a “soon” coming time when things are going to heat up even more. From all appearances the dark forces are winning, and yet John’s vision of the throne of God is a reminder that contrary to appearances God is still sovereign over his creation. The throne is occupied by the one who was, is and is to come, the creator of the universe. Things may look bad now, but this will not always be the case. The throne room vision is corrective vision for the way things appear.

John draws on imagery from Ezekiel and Isaiah as well as typical Jewish theophanic theology for his great throne room vision, and even pulls in ancient near eastern mythology to demonstrate the majesty and transcendence of God. John’s throne room vision is meant to be seen in our imaginations, and it is meant to draw us to our knees in worship. So, this grand image of worship before the throne of God should offer a rebuke to the contemporary church, in our quest for entertainment over the presence of God. Worship is the central act, and yet most of the time in churches it gets relegated to a couple of songs, and a couple of memorized prayers. Where is the awe and majesty in our worship? May we be transformed by what we encounter in Revelation 4.

Reddish and Boring note that John’s vision has political overtones. Even though Rome is the ruling force in the land, there is a Ruler who is supreme, who has real power and control, and is sovereign over the whole earth. All other claims to divinity or lordship are false claims and will come to nothing. Boring provides a nice summary of this political polemic on p. 103, “The repeated ‘Worthy art thou’ (4:11;  5:9, 12) directed to God/Christ reflects the acclamation used to greet the emperor during his triumphal entrances. The title Lord and God (4:8) is paralleled by Domitian’s insistence that he be addressed by this title. The twenty-four elders may be influenced by the twenty-four lictors who surround Domitian…The act of the twenty-four elders placing their crowns before God’s throne in 4:10 calls to mind Tacitus’ report that ‘the Parthian King Tiridates placed his diadem before the image of Nero in order to give homage to the Roman emperor” (Boring, 103).

I think this is crucial to our interpretation of Revelation 4 and 5. We need to be reminded that only one is sovereign, the one who sits on the heavenly throne. Nationalism, however grand it may be is a dangerous thing if love and loyalty to our country of residence or origin becomes our salvation or our hope. It comes down to who or what do we place our faith in, the almighty dollar and the nation that backs it up or the Almighty God who is the creator and sustainer of the universe.

I think John is addressing the past, in that he was writing to address the contemporary needs of his late first century audience. The political polemic in the throne room vision would have been heard, and understood by John’s first recipients, as well as the emphasis of worship. They were living in an uneasy time. I think Revelation is stripped out of context if we move it to solely addressing events in the future (long range). John mentions several times, that he sees things that are “soon” come to pass. I believe that soon means that same thing it did in the first century, “soon.”

I do think though, that the throne room vision will preach today. We too need to hear the political overtones of John’s message afresh in our time. We still have one King, and must stand up for him at all costs. And we need to repent from our self-centered attempts at worship. So, Revelation certainly has an enduring message, but before we get at contemporary application we must understand it in light of its first century meaning!

Revelation 1:4-8

This is my manuscript for my preaching class this week in Lubbock, for sermon # 1. It has been a good week, and getting to share our work with this morning with our peers was fun.

“What’s In A Name?”
Rev. 1:4-8

Good morning. I am honored to be sharing with ya’ll this week. I hope that our time together throughout the semester is full of God’s good stuff, and some more Buffalo Wild Wings!

The title of my lesson this morning is “What’s in a name?” Names are powerful things. At one time in our world, your name spoke to your occupation; names like John Smith, one who was a smith. Baker, one who baked. Or spoke to your relations, Johnson, son of John. Names are indeed powerful. Names have meanings and those meanings can reveal our character and who we are.
“When the 1960s ended, San Francisco’s Haight-Ashbury district reverted to high rent, and many hippies moved down the coast to Santa Cruz. They had children and got married, too, though in no particular sequence. But they didn’t name their children Melissa or Brett. People in the mountains around Santa Cruz grew accustomed to their children playing Frisbee with little Time Warp or Spring Fever. And eventually Moonbeam, Earth, Love and Precious Promise all ended up in public school.
That’s when the kindergarten teachers first met Fruit Stand. Every fall, according to tradition, parents bravely apply name tags to their children, kiss them good-bye and send them off to school on the bus. So it was for Fruit Stand. The teachers thought the boy’s name was odd, but they tried to make the best of it.
“Would you like to play with the blocks, Fruit Stand?” they offered. And later, “Fruit Stand, how about a snack?” He accepted hesitantly. By the end of the day, his name didn’t seem much odder than Heather’s or Sun Ray’s.
At dismissal time, the teachers led the children out to the buses. “Fruit Stand, do you know which one is your bus?”
He didn’t answer. That wasn’t strange. He hadn’t answered them all day. Lots of children are shy on the first day of school. It didn’t matter. The teachers had instructed the parents to write the names of their children’s bus stops on the reverse side of their name tags. The teacher simply turned over the tag. There, neatly printed, was the word “Anthony.”
Names can be confused, misused and abused. The text we are addressing this morning was given to a people who were abused for the name Christian. Loss of life, property, peculiar glances from neighbors, arrest and imprisonment, economic disparity all because of the name of Christ. Roman society misunderstood the name Christ, and Christian and subsequently abused God’s people. As persecution intensified in some areas of the Roman Empire some of God’s people wrestled with these names. Larger Roman society expected citizens to participate in civic and religious celebrations. To not participate in these observances laden with overt Roman religious symbols and expectations was more or less social suicide. Some Christians capitulated to the large culture and traded in the good name of Christ for the disreputable name of Babylon. It was a case of mistaken identity.
Such was the world of John’s audience and he begins his work with an introduction. Actually two introductions. The first of which introduces the book as an “apocalypse” giving his audience a certain filter or lens to view or hear the rest of the book. Also, know that this first introduction we are told that John’s message comes from God (Rev. 1:1). When we get to the second introduction we notice that this appears to be a standard epistolary introduction common in the ancient world, with in introduction, an offer of grace and peace to the recipients, a body, and a conclusion. As we begin notice, that this letter comes from a man named John, and he writes to the seven churches of Asia Minor, or what is to be understood as the entire church. This is a letter that has a Trinitarian opening, with references to God, as the one who is, who was, and who is tome and from the seven spirits before his throne, or totality of God’s spirit or the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ.
Unlike other apocalyptic writings, the author of this work identifies himself as John. He apparently knew the churches among Asia Minor and they knew him. By his address, and his subsequent letters to the churches, we can say that he is one with authority that comes from God (Rev. 1:1). John, knowing the situation and sufferings of his audience knows the struggles that fellow believers have undergone, and knows the particular power of a good name. Notice, there are three names ascribed to Jesus in our text this morning, 1. “The faithful witness;” 2. “The firstborn from the dead;” 3. “The ruler of the kings of the earth” (Rev. 1:5). These are new designations if you will for Jesus. New names that his audience would have latched onto and appreciated amid all the tension of their day. John is declaring that God acting through his son Jesus knows and understands their needs. He hasn’t abandoned them. He comes to them in their need and traverses the difficult journey with them. He has in everywhere, been in their shoes and is encouraging his followers to remain faithful.
Jesus Christ is “the faithful witness.” He is God’s Word in the flesh. But, more than being God’s final word, he is also one who has stood in their shoes. He too had been brought before the Roman authorities and suffered under Roman rule.
Jesus Christ is “the firstborn of the dead.” The suffering of John’s audience was real, and may eventually lead to death. In order to stand up for Jesus and be a faithful witness, one may even have to give his life. But, even in death, John’s audience isn’t alone in their struggle. Jesus too has suffered and died. But, death isn’t the final word. Jesus conquered death and all those that cling to Jesus in and through persecution are reminded that there is life on the other side of the grave.
Jesus Christ is “the ruler of the kings of the earth.” Eugene Boring points out that this title is one claimed by the Roman Caesars. In other words, what John is doing is reminding his audience that their first and primary allegiance is to Jesus Christ. He is the true LORD, ruler, and King and that all other claims to such lordship are false claims.
John knows his readers need to hear a word from God in their contemporary situation and offers them such a word in God’s agent Jesus. Again, let me be clear this was a suffering community and John just doesn’t offer new names for Jesus, he goes on to remind them of the work of Jesus on their behalf: They were loved (1:5), that they were freed from their sins by his blood (1:5), and that they were a kingdom and priests with a mission in this world to serve God (1:6). John reminds them that they are in this thing together, that they need each other.
We too live at a time of crisis and suffering. People are losing their jobs, the economy is unpredictable, the once comfortable America we lived in is now ailing. Millions of jobs lost, the unemployment line is growing. We live in a very different America than just a few years ago. What can we glean this morning from John’s introduction?
God still continues to speak a word to us today in and through the redemptive work of Jesus. Let us hear afresh this morning the good names of Jesus:
He is the faithful true witness. He too has suffered. He was unemployed, homeless and often hungry (Matthew 8:20). He is the Word of God come in the flesh (Jn. 1:14). He is the Messiah, the true genuine anointed one of God, the one that is depicted as coming on the clouds (Rev. 1:7). He is our umbrella, deflecting the rain or pain, if you will. He is the continuing presence in the storms of life.
He is the firstborn of the dead. People for ages have feared death. In times of uncertainty, death is the final frontier. But, we don’t travel alone. We can lose everything in this life, and yet enter into the grave with presence and promise that death isn’t the final word. He is the only bail out we need. He has come to seek and to save the lost (Lk. 19:10), and for those that have come to Jesus and remain faithful there is life in the everlasting tomorrow. The one is, who was and is to come was there in the beginning and he end (Rev. 1:8).
He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. I don’t care what your political affiliations are. I don’t care who you voted for in the last election. One thing is for certain, politics won’t save you. Obama isn’t the Prince of Peace, or the Lord of Lords. He isn’t the Messiah. But, we know the one is. We know the one who is given all power and authority (Matthew 28:18). We know who at the end of the day, even through economic uncertainties is LORD, and sovereign over all creation. His name is Jesus Christ.
So, what’s in a name? A lot is at stake. Our identity is tied to the names we associate ourselves too. We have head John lovingly plead with his hearers to remember their association. Their identities, their names were those that were bound up in the work and plan of God through the coming of Jesus. So, what name are you known by? Are you defined by what happens to you, a victim of circumstance? Where you name becomes whatever happens to you? Unemployed, bankrupt, divorced? Or do you make lemonade out of the lemons in your life, so to speak? Wearing the proud name of Christ no matter what and wherever.
“The renowned artist Paul Gustave Dore (1821-1883) lost his passport while traveling in Europe. When he came to a border crossing, he explained his predicament to one of the guards. Giving his name to the official, Dore hoped he would be recognized and allowed to pass. The guard, however, said that many people attempted to cross the border by claiming to be persons they were not. Dore insisted that he was the man he claimed to be. “All right,” said the official, “we’ll give you a test, and if you pass it we’ll allow you to go through.” Handing him a pencil and a sheet of paper, he told the artist to sketch several peasants standing nearby. Dore did it so quickly and skillfully that the guard was convinced he was indeed who he claimed to be. His work confirmed his word!”

Works Cited:
Luanne Oleas, http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/n/name.htm, Reader’s Digest.

Eugene Boring, Revelation, (Louisville: John Knox, 1989), 76

Our Daily Bread, January 6, 1993, http://www.sermonillustrations.com/a-z/i/identity.htm