"I saw a new heaven and a new earth"
Revelation 21:1-6
Easter 5C, May 6, 2007
A Sermon by Fr. James Haney V
The Book of Revelation. Episcopalians, in general, are a bit mystified by Revelation. After all, there are lots of strange people out there with kooky interpretations of this book. There are lots of people who try to match up, verse by verse, the account of Revelation with current events. They try to use Revelation to predict the future. And their predictions are usually bizarre.
Because of that, we Episcopalians usually keep Revelation at arms length. Maybe if we keep quiet and ignore it, it'll just go away. And that's a shame. By keeping quiet on the subject we forfeit our place in the public marketplace of ideas. Thus the only interpretations out there tend to be the strange and kooky ones.
I'll admit, at face value, Revelation can seem to be a difficult book. It tells of strange creatures, 6 foot tall flying locusts, and beasts with 10 horns. There are many unusual images, Jesus with white hair, and a sword coming from his mouth. Various symbolic numbers keep popping up over and over again 3, 4, 7, 12.
But, if you read it with the right set of lenses, the book of Revelation becomes almost crystal clear. What's more, it provides a perfect close to the entire trajectory of the story in Holy Scripture. What's more, it provides the most sublime statement of the Good News of God in Jesus Christ. But it is essential that you read it with the right set of lenses.
I have no doubt that most of you have the ability to distinguish between a newspaper's front page and its sports page. Suppose you read on the front page, "The store owner gunned down the looter who was attempting to steal the television." Then, suppose you read on the sports page, "The catcher gunned down the runner who was attempting to steal second base." Is there anyone in here who couldn't easily distinguish between these two similar statements? Of course not. In our culture we are trained to distinguish between literal language in one context and more figurative language in another. It's a piece of cake.
The same is true for the book of Revelation. In its original context, for its original intended audience, it was intelligible and clear. Let me say that again. For its original intended audience, Revelation was not mysterious. It was intelligible and clear. To understand Revelation, we simply need to put on the lenses of those for whom it was originally written. We simply need to approach Revelation from the standpoint of those Christians who lived at the end of the first century.
Those first century Christians didn't view Revelation as some sort of obscure set of indecipherable images that wouldn't become clear until the 21st century. No, no, no. They understood those images and symbols, at that time, in their present, not their future. And in those images, they found Good News. And that same Good News is there for us as well.
A few simple rules for understanding Revelation:
Rule #1: Revelation is part of a larger genre. It does not stand alone. There are many other ancient writings of the same genre. The larger genre to which Revelation belongs is called Apocalyptic. The Greek word Apocalypse, which is the first word of the book, means "uncovering." In other words an "apocalypse" is a revealing, a revelation of what is happening in the world. What's more important, it also reveals what's happening behind the scenes. The world may appear chaotic, but behind the scenes, God is in control. That's part of Revelation's message.
Rule #2: Apocalyptic writings are code books. They are not meant to be taken literally or at face value. They were written in highly figurative language. The reason is simple. These books were written by people under military occupation. If ancient Christians wrote openly against the Roman empire, they would have been in trouble. If their writings were intercepted, the writers could have been executed. By writing in code, they were safe from arrest. The codes are often elaborate. They draw heavily upon the Old Testament. They involve numbers and animals and monsters and lots and lots of symbolism. But the important thing about these codes is that they were supposed to be readily understandable to the average early Christian who received these writings. They were meant to be obscure to pagan outsiders, but clear to Christian insiders.
Rule #3: Such writings deal mainly with current events, not future predictions. This genre basically follows a 90/10 rule. About 90% of Apocalyptic is about explaining what has already happened or what's currently happening at the time it is written. Only the last 10% is a message about what to expect in the future. Ignoring this rule gets us into such trouble. For example, everyone tries to identify the beast whose number is 666. Who is this Antichrist? Throughout history, many people have been identified as that beast. Napoleon. Hitler. More recently, Saddam Hussein, Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan have all been identified as the antichrist. It turns out, the number 666 is a clear code for Caesar Nero. The writer uses that code to apply to Nero's successor Caesar Domitian, who persecuted the church some 1900 years ago. Remember, Revelation was written primarily to interpret its own time, not our time. About 90% of its message is about the events that were taking place when it was written. So what is the message?
For the early Church, the meaning was clear: Hold on. Things are bad right now. The Roman Empire is persecuting Christians. But hold on. The persecution of the Romans, especially of Caesar Domitian, will not last forever. Caesar claims to be Lord and King. But that's not so. Jesus Christ is truly King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Things are bad. But God's power is far greater than the power of the Roman Empire.
It's important to remember, the very first thing Jesus says to his people in Revelation is, "Do not be afraid." God is in control. Do not be afraid. And the rest of the book offers that same comfort and reassurance.
We can see that so clearly in the glorious, final two chapters. If you want to hear what Revelation says about the future, don't look for beasts and locusts and bowls. Don't try to match up the first 90% with events in the newspaper. Instead, look to the end of the book. That's where the future is dealt with. In chapters 21 and 22 we get a wonderful vision of God's future plans for the world.
We heard a portion of ch21 this morning. We'll hear more from ch21 and 22 the next two weeks.
And what we hear is a message of hope. The old world is going to be transformed. God will bring a New Heaven and a New Earth, which will be joined together. God will bring the New Jerusalem down from heaven. And God will dwell in there, intimately, in the midst of his people.
There's glorious symbolism here. We miss it if we look at things literally. The new Jerusalem is described as an enormous cube that is 1500 miles in length and breadth and height. If you take it literally, you wonder, "How could that possibly be, since the top of the city would be in the vacuum of outer space?"
But first century Christians would have understood what that code meant. They knew of another cube shaped building. It was the Holy of Holies in the recently destroyed Jewish Temple. The place where God's presence dwelt. A place that was hidden and inaccessible.
But now, the whole city, the whole new Jerusalem will be a huge Holy of Holies. Unlike the old one, it will be big enough for all to dwell in it, that great multitude which no one can number. And its gates will stand wide open to admit people from every tribe and language and nation. They will dwell with God forever, with God and the Lamb in their midst and at their center, bringing light to all.
Ultimately, Revelation brings the Bible full circle. We'll hear next week that the tree of life will be there in the New Jerusalem, planted eternally beside the waters that flow from God's throne. In the beginning of the Biblical story, Adam and Eve were thrown out of the Garden of Eden. And they were kept out by an angel with a flaming sword, so that they would not have access to the Tree of Life. But at the end of the Bible the Tree of Life is there for all of God's people to partake of.
Also, all of the divisions between nations and peoples that arose in Genesis as a result of human sin will be healed in the end. God's redeemed people will come from every family, language, and tribe. And the leaves of the Tree of Life will bring healing to the nations.
Revelation is the perfect book to have at the end of the Bible. Things were perfect in the beginning of Genesis. Then they got messed up. But by the end of Revelation, everything is put back together again. God's kingdom finally comes. God's will is finally done, both on earth and in heaven. And God will be in the midst of his people forever and ever.
The book of Revelation doesn't exist to give us a checklist for predicting the future based on current events. None of us knows the details of how the future will unfold. That's God's business.
Instead, the book of Revelation assures us that God is in control. It tells us that God has been active in the past. It tells us that God will be active in the future. It promises that ultimately God will set things right.
It is for us to embrace God's gifts of light and life. It is for us to bask in God's eternal presence. It is for us join the heavenly chorus and worship him.
And so, "To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!" Amen.
The Rev. James P. Haney V
Good Shepherd, Wichita
May 6, 2007
