Posts Tagged ‘Apocalypse’

Revelation – a book for our times?

May 17, 2025

Easter 5 – 2025

Revelation 21:1-6

Marian Free

In the name of God in whose hands is our future and the future of the world. Amen.

Can you believe that nearly one quarter of the 21st. century has already passed? 24 ½ years ago the news was filled with stories of impending disasters, in particular that all the computers would crash and with them all of the infrastructure that they ran. Some people were busy building supplies of water and tinned food in preparation for the expected a destruction of the world. Others were predicting the sort of chaos depicted in The Book of Revelation – especially in relation to the release of Satan after 1,000 years of captivity.  (Indeed the 1000 years has taken on a meaning of its own, despite the fact that judgement did not rain down and the world was not destroyed at the beginning of the 11th century.)

The Book of Revelation is responsible for a great deal of fearmongering, predictions of dire judgement and the end of the world. Most of us can probably remember the anxiety that many people felt when the first credit cards were released – the three nested ‘b’s’ being taken for 666 –  the number of the beast in Revelation. 

Revelation or the Apocalypse of John is the most controversial and confusing book of the Bible. So controversial that it was not definitively included in our scriptures until the year 367 and even now many people choose to avoid it because it is so difficult.  Apart from these few weeks it has no part in our lectionary. The book is filled with fantastic images, lurid descriptions of God’s punishment and impenetrable symbolism. In other words, it seems to be completely incomprehensible and beyond rational belief. 

To some extent that is true, but it is also a book that to some extent is written in code and when one understands that code it becomes much easier to understand. In simple terms the Book describes a cosmic battle between good and evil, in which good is the victor. It is not intended to be a history, but it is based in a time and place and like prophetic literature. It is not intended as a prediction of what will happen in the future but rather a commentary on the current situation. Whereas prophetic literature warned about the consequences of continuing in the current (godless) course of action,  apocalyptic literature is designed to provide hope in situations in which the godly feel victimized and abandoned. 

Typically, apocalyptic theology arises at times when people are feeling the weight of oppression and injustice. It addresses the apparent flourishing of evil and assures the faithful that their persecutors will get their just desserts (while they, the faithful, will be rewarded for their suffering and endurance).

The Book of Revelation was written specifically for the seven churches addressed in the first few chapters. It appears that members of these churches were experiencing some sort of persecution, even martyrdom, but also that their initial enthusiasm for the faith was diminishing. While there was no wide-scale persecution at this time, believers were often isolated – from families, prevented from earning a living, and may have suffered some attacks from their neighbours and fellow citizens. The enduring power of Rome, its decadence and corruption will have been a source of angst and confusion to believers and on top of this there may have been a very real danger of war as armies gathered in the east.

In this climate, the author of Revelation writes to encourage and reassure the faithful and to warn the backsliders. John insists that God is on the side of believers and that good will win in the end. Consistent with other apocalyptic writings, the author also describes in great detail what God will do to backsliders or to those who oppose God and who persecute or oppress the faithful. This does not mean that all who do not believe will be destroyed. Revelation is a call to repentance – the threatened destruction will not affect those who return to God.

While the book appears to be totally chaotic, various commentators have pointed out that the book is extraordinarily well-structured. Michael Fallon[1] for example demonstrates that the Book is divided into seven scenes, the first five of which are bordered by descriptions of heaven.  Schüssler Fiorenza argues that the Book follows a concentric pattern around a central core. Both understand chapter 10 a fulcrum, it looks back to themes mentioned earlier in the book (things which are hidden) and forward to the end (things which are exposed). 

As I have mentioned, Revelation is filled with symbolism and patterns, which make more sense if one understands the code. For example, there are seven letters, each of which follow a similar pattern and include a reference to description of the Son of Man with which the Book begins. In each there is a greeting, a reference to the description of Jesus, a commendation, a rebuke, a call to repentance or a warning, a prophetic saying, a promise of Christ’s speedy coming, an exhortation to hold fast, a call to listen and finally promise to the broader community that those who conquer will be rewarded. The letters are followed by four sets of seven plagues which again follow a pattern – persecution, judgement and victory.

That the book is not meant to be taken literally is evidenced by the seven plagues – each of which threatens to destroy the whole world. The repetition is simply for effect – it is impossible to destroy the world once it has been destroyed. Another clue that the book is not literal is the future reference to the birth of Jesus in chapter 12. Readers of the book would understand that Jesus had already been born.

Which brings me briefly to today’s reading. Revelation ends as it begins with Jesus as the first and the last, the Alpha and Omega. Before that the recipients are assured that not only will God triumph in the end, but that all things will be renewed and that those who hold firm will see an end to sorrow, pain and dying, and that God, who has never abandoned them will wipe their tears from their eyes.

The message of Revelation is that no matter how bad things are, no matter how much suffering we might endure, God will be the victor, and God will restore all things and will bring us to Godself. 

Understood properly, The Book of Revelation is not an archaic, incomprehensible, irrelevant piece of scripture but a message for our own turbulent times.

*************************

NOTES

Some code breakers.

The use of numbers. Seven as you know is the number for perfection (seven days of the week) and by contrast 31/2 (42 months) is the number for imperfection. There were twelve tribes of Israel and 12 Apostles. Twelve is the number for completeness. Four relates to the four. Corners of the world and the four elements, it relates to totality.  There are seven churches, seven letters, seven plagues, the Lamb has 7 horns and 7 eyes and there are seven spirits. The number admitted to heaven – 144000 12x12x1000 – is symbolic not literal. The four sets of seven plagues implies total destruction. The four faced creatures – lion, ox, human and eagle -represent the noblest, the strongest, the wisest and the swiftest. 666, the number which to some holds so much weight, is the number represented by the Hebrew spelling of Nero. (There was a popular belief that Nero would be resurrected and wreak terror on the land.)

Colours are also significant – gold signifies divinity, white – purity, red-war, black- plague and pale green-death.

Structure

A 1:1-8 Prologue and Epistolary Greeting

                  1:1-3 Title

                  1:4-6 Greetings

                  1:7-8 Motto

B 1:9-3:22 Rhetorical Situation in the Cities of Asia Minor

                  1:9-10 Author and Situation

                  1:11-20 Prophetic Inaugural Vision

I                 1:1-3:22 Prophetic message to seven communities

C 4:1-9:21, 11:15-19 Opening the Sealed Scroll

                  4:1-5:14 Heavenly Court and the sealed scroll

II               6:1-8:1 Cosmic Plagues – Seven Seals

III              8:2-9:21; 11:15-19 Cosmic Plagues – Seven Trumpets

D 10:1-15:4 The Bitter-sweet Scroll: “War against the community”

                  10:1-11:14 Prophetic commissioning

                  12:1-14:5 Prophetic interpretation

                  14:6-15:4 Eschatological liberation

C’ 15:5-19:10 Exodus from the Oppression of Babylon/Rome

IV             15:5- 16:21 Cosmic plagues – seven bowls

                  17:1-18 Rome and its Power

                  18:1-19:10 Judgement of Rome

B’ 19:11-22:9 Liberation from Evil and God’s World-City

                  19:11-20:15 Liberation from the powers of evil

                  21:1-8 The liberated world of God

                  21:9-22:9 The different cosmopolis of God

A’ 22:10-21 Epilogue and Epistolary Frame

                  22:1-7 Revelatory Sayings

                  22:8-21 Epistolary Conclusion[2]

a. Introduction                                                                      1:1-3

b. Opening liturgical dialogue                                 1:4-8

c. Prophetic commission                                            1:9-11

                  Heaven

Scene 1 Letters to the 7 churches                      2:1-3:22

                  Heaven                                                                       4:1-5:14

Scene 2 Six seals are broken                                                     6:1-7:9

                  Heaven                                                                       7:9-8:6                  

Scene 3 The sounding of six trumpets            8:7-11:14

                  Heaven                                                                       11:15-12:12

Scene 4 Forces for good and for evil                 12:13-14:20

                  Heaven                                                                       15:1-8

Scene 5 The seven bowls                                            16:1-18:24

                  Heaven                                                                       19:1-10

Scene 6 The final struggle, victory                      19:11-20:15

                  and judgement                                 

Scene 7 The Church of God on earth                21:1-22:5

                  a. guarantee of prophecy                          22:6-7

                  b. Concluding liturgical dialogue       22:8-17

                  c. Conclusion                                                       22:18-21

[1] Fallon, Michael. The Apocalypse: A Revelation that History is Graced. Sydney: Parish Ministry Publications, 1990.

[2] Schussler-Fiorenza, Elisabeth. Revelation: Vision of a Just World. Minneapolis:Fortress Press, 1991, 35-36.

Tags:, , , , , ,
Posted in revelation | Comments Off on Revelation – a book for our times?

Do not be deceived

November 17, 2012

Pentecost 25

Mark 13:1-11

Marian Free

In the name of God who alone can distinguish evil from good. Amen.

Some of you (especially those of you who have computers) may have heard or seen this quiz question. If so I apologise. The question goes something like this: It is time to elect a new world leader. There are three leading candidates. Candidate A associates with crooked politicians and consults with astrologers. He has had two mistresses; chain smokes and drinks 8 – 10 martinis a day. Candidate B has been kicked out of office twice previously, he sleeps until noon, used opium in college and drinks about a quart of whisky every evening. Candidate C is a decorated war hero. He is a vegetarian. He doesn’t smoke and drinks only an occasional beer. If you were voting, which of the three would be your choice?

If you chose A – the corrupt chain smoker – you would have been voting for Franklin D. Roosevelt – former president of the United States of America. Candidate B is Winston Churchill – the whisky drinker who can’t get up before noon and former Prime Minister of Great Britain. At first glance, squeaky clean Candidate C, appears to be the obvious choice. That is, until you discover that the vegetarian war hero is none other than Adolf Hitler former Chancellor of Germany. The quiz is designed to remind us that the difference between good and evil is not always evident on the surface and not easily measured by human standards. Each of the three candidates had serious flaws, but only one turned out to be megalomaniac who systematically killed any opponents and who sent more than six million people to the gas chambers.

Throughout the ages there have always been people who, by the sheer force of their personality or skill with words are able to sway whole groups of people – sometimes to do things that in other circumstances they would not do. Hitler was one such person. By all accounts he was an unattractive man with few obvious skills. He spoke badly and yet, through his angry bluster, he managed to capture the imagination of the German people after the First World War.

It is when things are not going so well that people are most vulnerable to the promises of another and most susceptible to the influence of a strong leader. This was certainly the case in post-war Germany. It is well-known that the Treaty of Versailles left that nation with huge debts and no opportunity to re-build. It also left the Germans with a deep sense of resentment. At the same time, the emergence of communism to the east and within Germany itself was, to some, a cause of concern. In 1930 four million Germans were unemployed. Hitler’s rhetoric spoke to the situation of the German people and gave them comfort, a sense of hope for the future and restored their national pride. Hitler united the nation against a common enemy – Marxism and Jews. He played on the fear and insecurity of the German people and, when he spoke, he created a sense of drama and power that held his listeners in his grip. He would arrive late to speaking engagements thus increasing the anticipation of the audience and when he finally arrived, he would wait for complete silence before he began, intensifying the illusion of authority and power.

Jesus knew only too well that, in times of persecution and stress people – including his disciples – are more ready to believe in someone who promises salvation. He knows or guesses what lies ahead for his followers, what trials or tribulations can be expected and he wants them to be prepared. So he warns them: “Many will come in my name saying: ‘I am he’ and many will be deceived.” If his followers feel threatened or disempowered, if the present feels untenable and the future seems bleak Jesus is conscious that his disciples will be looking for answers and will be susceptible to those who offer a solution. He knows that it will not be easy even for his closest friends to distinguish true from false, the Son of Man from any other messianic pretender.

The past century has borne witness to rise of many strong and persuasive characters whose presence and speech have been able to inspire and influence thousands of people from all walks of life. Like Hitler, Martin Luther King and John F. Kennedy encapsulated the spirit of the American people. Such was the power of their words that their speeches are still quoted and recognised today. Another great orator, Billy Graham drew enormous crowds to his meetings and through his passionate sermons and emotive hymns stirred deep feelings in his audience and convinced them to give their lives to Jesus.

For good or for evil people like Hitler, Billy Graham, Martin Luther King and JFK stirred the hearts and minds of their generations and drew from them an almost unquestioning loyalty and devotion, a willingness to go wherever they would lead. As Jesus recognised twenty centuries ago, distinguishing the good from the bad is not always as self-evident as we would like to believe. Good people, including the churches were taken in by Hitler and caught up by his ability to convince them that he and he alone could solve the problems that beset their nation, that only he could re-build their country, restore their self-respect and regain their position on the world stage.

What makes the difference between a Hitler and a Billy Graham? A Gandhi or a Mugabe? All of them use powerful and emotive speeches to tug at the heartstrings of their listeners and to hold them in the palm of their hands. Both were able, as it were, to bend others to their will. The reactions of the crowds who heard them were much the same, yet Hitler was a force for evil and Billy Graham a force for good (or at least not for harm). History has demonstrated how easy it is to be deceived, how readily we allow ourselves to be led astray and how difficult it is to clearly distinguish between a Hitler and a JFK. Past experience shows us that we are not always clear as to what ideals we should be persuaded and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that when we are moved by a powerful speaker that we are not always able to discriminate between what serves our own self-interest and what serves the greater good.

In today’s gospel, Jesus’ disciples ask him for a sign. In response he warns them to be cautious, not to be taken in by everyone who claims to have a hold on the truth. In its context, Jesus’ warning relates to the coming of the end, but it is a warning that holds true for every age and every situation. History has proven Jesus’ anxiety to be warranted – people, including his own followers are easily led astray.

As today’s gospel implies – there are no easy solutions, no quick fixes. Being a disciple of Jesus doesn’t mean that life will go smoothly, just that Jesus will be with us. If and when we face trials and tribulations, we must be careful not to follow those who offer us a way out, but instead face all difficulties head on, confident that the Holy Spirit will not abandon us. Others may inspire us, some may persuade us, but only Jesus can lead us to where we are intended to go.

Tags:, , , ,
Posted in Mark's gospel | Comments Off on Do not be deceived