The Hope (1): Something to look forward to!

By Chris Theobald    26th May 2002    0 responses

I think that anyone’s first reaction to reading any part of an apocalypse (e.g. Revelation) is “what on earth does this mean?” This is perfectly understandable; apocalypses form part of a literary tradition that has largely died out in current Christian writing. There is a strong tradition of this type of book in biblical times, their purpose being to reassure the readers about what is currently happening and what is to come.

“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.” Revelation 1:1
Jesus gave this revelation to John (see below) in order to provide a clear message about what is going to happen in the times at the end of the world. This sounds initially strange as a proposition. The book of Revelation is full of ‘weird’ images that seem indecipherable and scary. So before plunging into Revelation it is best to look at other pieces of writing which talk about the end of the world and the rapture.

“But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is.”
This verse (1 John 3:2) sums up what will happen to us when Jesus returns. Returning to Revelation briefly this means that when we see Jesus as John does in chapter 1 we will become as he is seen there. For our part this is not a possibility but a certainty, we shall both see him and be like him because we have come to know him. John is perhaps one of the three people best placed to comment on this:

“After six days Jesus took Peter, James and John with him and led them up a high mountain, where they were all alone. There he was transfigured before them. His clothes became dazzling white, whiter than anyone in the world could bleach them.”  Mark 9:2-3

This description is of Jesus; the phrase “he was transfigured before them” means that Jesus became a being of pure light in front of Peter, James and John. Notice how John reacts when he encounters Jesus “as he is” in Matthew 17:5-7

While he was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown to the ground, terrified. But Jesus came and touched them. “Get up,” he said. “Don’t be afraid.”

And in Revelation 1:17-18

When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
(See also Daniel 10 [especially vv12 and 19] and Isaiah 6)

Jesus comes to meet John (and the other disciples in Matthew) and tells them not to be afraid, he reassures them of who he is and what their relationship with him means. In Revelation, John seems to die in the presence of Jesus but Jesus revives him. We all have life through Christ, if we believe in him. In passages such as these we see a part of that glory, and we too are naturally scared; but Jesus knows us and knows that we will react like this, so he will reassure us.

A good starting point for studying Revelation is to read it through and then read Isaiah and Daniel. It is from these sources that many of the images in Revelation originate, for example the beasts in Revelation and in Daniel have the same meaning – they represent kingdoms or powers that will rise up against the Church but which will ultimately be defeated. This is explained in Daniel 7:15-18

“I, Daniel, was troubled in spirit, and the visions that passed through my mind disturbed me. I approached one of those standing there and asked him the true meaning of all this.
“So he told me and gave me the interpretation of these things: ‘The four great beasts are four kingdoms that will rise from the earth. But the saints of the Most High will receive the kingdom and will possess it forever–yes, for ever and ever.’”

The Book of Daniel precedes Revelation by a considerable number of centuries yet God’s message to the people of that time is the same as it was to John and is now to us: Kingdoms will rise and fall but God will triumph and we will triumph with him as his “saints”. Let us not forget that Paul makes many references to the church as the saints, it is not just a reference to those who have been canonized!

Why was Revelation written? This question is tied up with whom it was written by. To summarise centuries of scholarly work, it was written by someone who was of the Johanine tradition that sprang up around John. Linguistic analysis shows that the finished product is unlikely to have been written by John, and that the book we have is the result of redrafting. The most likely option is that John the apostle had the vision but it was not written down until later by one of his followers.

This in terms of dating means that it was sent out at a time when Domitian was Roman Emperor but the vision that sparked the book was probably experienced while Nero was in power. Domitian’s reign was the height of the emperor cult in which people were forced to worship the emperor or lose their status as citizens. Persecution under Nero was more brutal; it was then that the concept of throwing Christians to the lions in the Collosseum reached its height.

Reading Revelation in the light of either of these will show that the central message is one of reassurance because we know that we are safe in Christ no matter what may happen to us on earth. Comparison with Daniel shows a remarkable similarity; the story of Daniel in the lions’ den is amazing because he trusted God fully to preserve him (Daniel 6 – note the reaction of Darius in vv25-28). We also see the story of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego in Chapter 3 and are able to compare Nebuchandnezzar’s statue with the emperor cult under Domitian (again we see a fantastic example of faith and the changing of the king’s heart in vv28-30)

The apocalypse of Daniel was also written at a time of persecution under the Babylonian kings to encourage and uplift the people of God. It is worth noting the frequent references to Babylon in Revelation in the light of Daniel. Apocalypses are meant to bring hope in times of trouble.

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By Chris Theobald

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