A Wake Up Call

Revelation... a book that has divided, distracted, and derailed the mission of God's people... but a book that can call us to faithfulness...

It is apocalyptic in that it enables hope and resistance by revealing truth about unseen present and future realities.  It is rich in symbols… one commentator said to imagine Revelation as a political cartoon – overdrawn, exaggerated and caricatured in order to appeal to the imagination and address profound realities which God’s people can experience and hope for (I think it was probably Gorman, but I didn't write it down).

One of those profound realities is that

Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of earth.

It is prophetic – but not in the sense of future telling. Instead, biblical prophecy is meant to speak words of comfort and challenge to God's people then and now. Any depiction of the future is not the point… instead, the future is meant to serve as both warning and comfort to live into the present reality.

One thing we know about both the present and the future, which serves as both warning and comfort is the reality that

Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of earth.

And it is pastoral. John writes to specific people, specific churches in Asia Minor. The letter speaks to real children of God and treats their life of faith as central. Everything else is peripheral.

And the outstanding call to the children of God, throughout the letter, is to remain faithful, no matter what comes… and this is possible, because no matter what it might look like here and now, 

Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of earth.

But we are often asleep to this reality... calling ourselves, our comfort, our families, and our goals kings. We need a wake up call.

Revelation is that wake up call. Revelation is full of shocking language and startling images to wake us up to what is real… Call it imaginational whiplash! to force our eyes open and to surprise us into seeing that, whether we realize it or not, we are giving our allegiance to powers other than Jesus Christ. 

Revelation wakes us up to what is real.

John uses cosmic, extraordinary language… and here’s an interesting tidbit.  Out of the 404 verses of Revelation, there are 518 references to the scriptures that have come before… but there are no direct quotations.  It’s as if God knew that if we read the words in the same way we’ve heard them before, we might miss them… and so, by his Holy Spirit, and through John, He gives us this wake up call to everything we’ve heard before… but said in a completely different way.

But saying, clearly, distinctly, something that we’ve already heard, we’ve already read, we’ve already believed… but said in brand new ways:

Revelation proclaims loudly, boldly, and clearly:

Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of earth.

When is the last time you read the book of Revelation? And what was your response to it?