My Wednesday night Bible Study on Revelation has drawn a crowd, as Revelation often does. My views on Revelation and issues related to the book are different than those normally expressed in popular religion. I think some folks might have wondered if I was bordering on heresy, but all of them have at least come around to thinking that even if they read Revelation differently, my take is a credible alternative. Some of them have been deeply relieved to have the book recovered for them from the realm of fear mongering and theological extremism. Several folks have expressed a desire for me to put something online about Revelation. So here it is.
The first thing to know about Revelation, and the first thing that easily gets lost, is that Revelation is a book of Jesus Christ. Revelation opens with the phrase, "The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him..." The phrase "revelation of Jesus Christ" is in the genetive case in Greek, which means it can be understood to mean, "the revelation about/concerning Jesus Christ," or "the revelation that belongs to Jesus Christ/Jesus Christ's revelation."
I believe that John means the phrase to be understood in both respects. That is, Jesus is both the subject of Revelation and the means by which the revelation comes to us. Isn't this so in all Christian revelation? Everything we need to know is Jesus. Jesus is the subject of God's revelation. If we see Jesus, we have seen all we need to see.
At the same time, Jesus is the means by which we see. We see everything right when we see it in the light of Jesus. Jesus is the eternal Word of God, self-expression of the unseen God.
Here's why this is important: So many times, folks read Revelation as about something besides Jesus, whether it be the rapture, unrest in the Middle East, the European Union, the Devil, the Anti-Christ, judgment and destruction, the afterlife, coming persecutions, reasons to mistrust the United Nations, and a host of other things. I grew up hearing all about all kinds of things in Revelation. As a child, I had pastors who focused on Revelation as a timetable of the end. I watched all the prophecy shows and read Hal Lindsey when I was ten years old. Revelation may or may not have something to do with some of these concerns. My feeling is that almost all of these issues are absent in Revelation and that focus on these issues is a distraction from encountering Jesus in the book.
Whatever we think of eschatology (theology of end-things), Revelation must be read first and foremost as Jesus's book. Jesus is the subject. Jesus is the means by which everything is revealed. Jesus is every bit as central to Revelation as he is to the Gospels. If we read Revelation appropriately, we will read it in the same manner and for the same reason that we read the Gospels--to know Jesus. If we read it trying to know anything but Jesus, we will read it wrong. If the Jesus we find in Revelation is any different than the Jesus we find in the Gospels, then we most certainly have read it wrong.
Paul said that he wanted to know nothing but Christ and him crucified. The Gospels tell of many people seeking Jesus--"We would see Jesus." When you read Revelation, look for nothing but him. See him, encounter him. That's the best way for the book to begin to make sense. It's the best way for it to be redemptive, constructive, and beautiful.
Good stuff Nathan!
ReplyDeleteAs you stated to your parishioners last night: "The Bible is the church's book." As such, it is the duty of the church, as the body of Christ, to interpret it to its members for their guidance. It is not the duty of individual members of the Body to thump on the church's book and use it to prophesy according to their individual interpretations of it.
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