CyberGroup Discussion - The New Testament

READING REVELATION AGAIN - Notes on Chapter Ten

Revelation is widely popular for the wrong reasons. Many people view the book as a roadmap for how the world will end and are convinced that Jesus is returning soon.

This reading of the book can be termed "millenialist" and has been popular for the last half century. That is largely due to books like Hal Lindsay's "The Late Great Planet Earth" and subsequent books on "the rapture" by writers like Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins.

Millennialists read Revelation 20 literally and believe that for 1000 years before the end of the world, Satan, the ruler of this planet will be bound and people will live in peace and prosperity. Those who are God's true followers will be taken up into heaven (raptured) leaving everyone else and the earth behind.

This interpretation of Revelation divides the contemporary church. Many accept the millenialist view. Many do not. However, those who do not are frequently without an explanation for this troubling text and often choose to ignore it.

Revelation has always been controversial. At various times it has been rejected from the canon or given secondary billing.

OUTLINE OF REVELATION

Apocalypse means 'revelation' or 'unveiling'. This kind of religious literature often appears at times of great human turmoil (eg. 200 BCE to 100 CE). The book of Daniel in the Hebrew Bible contains similar literature.

A man named John (not the Apostle) has a visionary experience on the island of Patmos. He writes down what he has seen. The book is full of luxuriant imagery, and is written to seven churches in Asia Minor. The issues facing these real live communities are: persecution, false teaching and accommodation to the larger culture. These visions fill most of the book from chapters 4 through 22.

We are introduced to portrayals of God enthroned in heaven; a woman giving birth and a dragon trying to devour the child; the battle of Armageddon; the defeat of Satan and the thousand year reign of Christ on earth. Aften this, a final battle and defeat of Satan takes place and the world ends. We are then given a marvellous picture of what the New Jerusalem - a new heaven and a new earth - will be like.

TWO WAYS OF READING REVELATION: Futurist and Past-Historical

There are two major ways of interpreting this book.

Futurist

Revelation tells about what will happen in the future. This is the millenialist view. Creative interpreters of the stories and imagery of Revelation try to put current names and events to these symbols. This reading has a marked effect on the Christian message. Gospel, according to this interpretation, means that you can be saved from the soon-to-come wrath of God by believing strongly in Jesus who will save you from destruction. This interpretation has an effect on our attitude to the value of this planet and what takes place here. If the world is going to end soon, why worry about pollution or social justice?

The futurist interpretation attracts many, but its uses and abuses lead to humour at best (false predictions of the end) or cynicism at worst (why believe anything in the Bible - it's just a fable).

Past-Historical

Revelation can be understood only by setting the text in its historical context. We can learn from what has taken place without trying to make the symbols fit our own time.

This approach takes the visions seriously but views them as applying to people to whom they were first addressed, not to people thousands of years later. The prologue and epilogue give evidence that John was writing to people of his own day and not to people two thousand years later.

The symoblic language is intriguing. We can't deal with all of it here. 'The Beast' might well be Nero, the Roman emperor. 'Babylon' - the city of Rome. The message is a mixture of warning and encouragement.

1. Despite appearances to the contrary, Jesus is Lord. Caesar and the beast are not.

2. God will soon act to overthrow the rule of the beast and its incarnation in Caesar.

3. Therefore, persevere. Endure. Be confident. Take heart. Have faith.

A futurist interpretation runs the risk of being a mistaken prediction. The second coming of Jesus after the world ends was also mistaken. What the writer of Revelation expected to happen back then did not occur. Attempts at predicting the future or the return of Christ since then have always proven wrong.

Thus, the past-historical interpretation of the Bible takes seriously the fact that the Bible is a human product and it can be mistaken. This is a more serious approach to reading the Bible than the futurist way.

Borg believes it does not make sense to expect a second coming of Christ the way he has so often been predicted. This belief can to taken seriously by interpreting it metaphorically. Jesus comes again and again into the lives of Christians (as at Christmas); in partaking of the Holy Communion; in experiences of the Spirit at special moments, etc.

LARGER IMAGERY

The archetypal imagery of Revelation speaks to both the political and spiritual realms of life and integrates them.

Two Lordships

Revelation portrays the central conflict is between Christ and Caesar. Against the Roman belief that the worship of Caesar was supreme in the empire, John declares the exclusive lordship of God in Jesus the Christ.

Ancient Cosmic Combat Myth

John borrows one of the great myths from the ancient world. He portrays the Christian battle against empire as the meaning behind the great myth of a cosmic duel between good and evil. (Other aspects of this myth are light vs. darkness, life vs. death, etc.). This imagery is universal in the myths of many cultures. It is also timeless (cf. The Star Wars popularity in our day). It taps into something deep within the human memory and consciousness - the awareness of conflict between good and evil and the yearning that good will ultimately triumph. Revelation and Star Wars are powerful for the same reasons.

Revelation and Empire

John's identification with the dragon gives Revelation a stunning political dimension. Here the imagery becomes real. The present incarnation of the dragon is the Roman empire. The woman giving birth is obviously a reference to Mary and Jesus. The dragon is out to destroy Jesus and John's message is that "Rome has been giving us a hard time, but God is ultimately going to destroy her". But Rome as persecutor is only part of the image here. Rome is the then-contemporary incarnation of the 'domination system.' This system is a web of political oppression, economic exploitation and religious legitimation.

Rome is not only a seductive sorceress (Babylon) it is also a ferocious beast (dragon) ruling through intimidation and violence. Ultimately, God's people will be vindicated from this evil domination. Rome's economic taxation will also come to an end. By setting itself up as God, Rome will ultimately be destroyed.

In whatever historical form it takes, ancient or modern, empire is the opposite of the kingdom of God as disclosed in Jesus. John warns against betraying the vision of Jesus by accommodation to the ways of empire.

Two Cities

Babylon is equated to Rome. The New Jerusalem that will appear at the end of time is not a physical but a symbolic place. A new heaven (sky) and a new earth will emerge at the end of this cycle of life.

The vision of a new heaven and a new earth is perhaps best described as "God's dream for humankind". Throughout the Bible, God's dream is a dream for this earth, not for another world. For John, it is the only dream worth dreaming.

Conclusion:

The image of "144,000 men who have not defiled themselves with women" is both misogynist and easily misinterpreted. Revelation often seems more concerned with vengeance than justice. The book is obviously flawed with the biases of the author.

Nevertheless, in Revelation we find the same twofold focus that marks so much of the Bible: a radical affirmation of the sovereignty and justice of God and radical criticism of an oppressive domination system pretending to be the will of God.

John's vision points to the reunion of God with humanity. The exile that began with Eden is finally overcome. Humans will once more see and communicate freely with God as we did at the beginning. This is a powerful way to bring the Bible to a close.

THREE MAJOR CONVICTIONS OF THE BIBLICAL TRADITION

1. There is a deep sense of the reality of the sacred. God is not only real, but knowable.

2. There is a strong assurance that our lives are made "whole" and "right" by living in a conscious relationship with the Mystery who is alone Lord. Life with God is not about believing certain teachings about God. It is about a covenant. A relationship.

3. These is a profound awareness that God is a God of justice and compassion.

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