Revelation, chapter 7-8:5 and chapter 12
Key ideas:
1. John presents the concept that our struggles against sin and injustice are part of a cosmic picture.
2. God gives hope even in the midst of judgment, enabling us to witness, no matter what happens.
3. Forces of evil are defeated by Christ’s victory on the cross and by our witness.
I. Opening Devotion on p. 45, 1st column. (Rev. 7:10 and 7:12)
II. Salvation Interludes.
In our last lesson, there were cataclysms and catastrophes. And Chapter 6 ended with “who is able to stand?” It seemed as though no one would be able to stand, and there we were left hanging.
But God’s judgment is not unrelenting. Chapter 7 interrupts the opening of the 7 seals, delaying judgment so that God’s people can be protected. It reassures and strengthens God’s people, giving hope and encouragement. No matter what happens, God is with us. Look beyond the present situation. Our troubles, as real as they are, are not all there is. Life with God cannot be compared with anything that we experience now. What hope! We can stand.
III. Sealing the Saints
Read Revelation 7: 1-3 And have someone read Ezekiel 9:4
Before the awful events, God’s people are marked with a seal. They belong to God. They would not be kept from the coming ordeal, but they would be kept through it.
(p. 40, 5th¶.) For early Christians, this imagery of sealing is probably baptismal imagery And for the Jews, it would have again reminded them of the Passover story, when the Israelites sealed their doorposts with blood from the lamb so the angel of death would not claim their firstborn in the most terrible of the plagues.
John believes God is calling the Christian churches to take a new exodus journey, out of the heart of the Roman Empire into God’s New Jerusalem (p. 40, 6th¶). God’s people are being prepared and protected.
Paul talks about the Christian being sealed with the gift of the Holy Spirit, which enables her to have a wisdom and strength to cope with life in a way that is beyond the attainment of others without that seal.
1st¶ on p. 41. When our ministers baptize, they “seal” the baby or person with the sign of the cross on the forehead and say, “You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit and marked as Christ’s own forever.” Question 1-p. 41
IV. 144,000 Servants of God
Read Rev. 7:4 and point out that in the following verses, 12,000 were from each tribe of Israel.
This number, that John heard, has a deeper than literal meaning. To the small churches of John’s time, this would have seemed like a huge number. And it’s meant to convey completeness or wholeness; not one of the redeemed is missing.
It also indicates a continuation from God’s people of the Old Testament, the Israelites, with God’s people who are followers of Jesus. The number 1,000 is a military division’ the Church militant is prepared to face spiritual enemies.
Question 2 is a possibility.
V. From Every Nation, Tribe, People, & Language.
Read Rev 7:9-14 In this vision John sees an uncountable multitude.
Rossing says these are the same people as in verse 4, and that’s one interpretation. Another view is that the 144,000 represent the church on earth, embattled still, and the great multitude is the church in heaven, at peace. It’s an unlimited universal community of those who celebrate God’s grace.
There’s great diversity and inclusion of many cultures, a mix which would not have been strange to residents of port towns in Asia Minor. And it’s meaningful for us today.
On p. 43, Rossing writes, “As we sing songs of praise together with the angels and elders, and with people from every tribe, tongue, people, and nation, we share in a communion of saints that extends through time and place. Our songs are joined with the songs of all Christians who have gone before us—those who have lived and died in Christ. We all are part of the multicultural multitude.
The white robes signify purity but also victory (emperors often wore white after victories), as do the palms. These faithful appear, in heaven, not battered and worn, but victorious and filled with praise!
As for making robes white by washing in the blood of the Lamb—remember that to the Jews, blood stands for the life. The purity and victory are won in the power and at the cost of Jesus’ death and resurrection.
While the benefits of redemption are provided by Christ, the redeemed also have their part to play; “they washed their own robes.” Paul, in Philippians 2, said, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who is at work in you, enabling you both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
How does one wash her robe, work out her own salvation? (repent, faith, avail oneself of the means of grace—scripture, prayer, sacraments--, seek to serve…..
VI. The Shepherding Lamb, God’s Sheltering Presence
Read Rev. 7:13-17 You might also have someone read Isaiah 49:verses 8 and 10
What beautiful and comforting imagery. Whatever the great ordeal, God is not remote but cares tenderly for his people. Question 4 and/or 5 on p. 43
VII. The Seventh Seal
Read Rev. 8:1-5.
p. 43, next to last ¶: Is this the awe-inspiring silence of being in the presence of God? Or is this a foreboding stillness, like the eye of a hurricane? Question 6 on p. 43
Again, the prayers of the saints rise like the smoke from incense.
John sets the whole in the context of heavenly worship. The struggling churches may wonder what happens to their prayers (so may we); John lets them see from the heavenward side. The earthly church participates in the worship of heaven, creating one continuous community—the communion of saints.
But the immediate result of their prayers is not the glorious coming of the kingdom (although that is the ultimate result) but the precipitation of a series of woes. The path to the kingdom goes through, not around, the woes of history.
Here come more terrifying visions of judgment. But God’s people have been sealed and protected. Chapters 8 & 9 &10 portray more fearsome stuff as 6 trumpets are sounded and 2 woes revealed. Many of the disasters parallel the plagues God brought upon Egypt. Even plagues can be endured, because the exodus is about to occur. In Chapters 10 & 11 comes another interlude, and at the 7th trumpet, voices in heaven say, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Messiah.” Read this on your own, remembering the guiding principles on p. 4 and/or your bookmark.
Witness to Hope—lesson 6
p. 47: 1st ¶: “At the center of the book of Revelation are 2 dramatic and symbolic stories, representing the life & death struggle that is at the heart of the book. “ These are said to represent Jesus’ victory on the cross, an event that has already happened, in which Satan and evil are defeated. And yet, evil still exists. Rossing calls these flashbacks.
VIII. Flashback One
Read Revelation, Chapter 12: verses 1-6 and 13-17.
What a puzzling story! There are parallels to it in a number of Ancient Near East mythologies. The Romans told their history in terms of mythological battles and gods. Everyone would have known these stories. On p. 48, 2nd¶, John uses a popular story of his day, the birth of the god Apollo, with whom the Roman emperors chose to identify, in order to assert lordship over the empire. The details of this story are on p. 48. John uses the story to assert the lordship of Jesus, rather than Apollo or the emperor. “John wants his Christian audience to see its own identity in light of God’s larger story. Their struggle is part of a larger conflict, a once-for-all victory that has already been won in Jesus’ death and resurrection.”
The woman may represent the community of God’s people, the agonizing birth may be a symbol of the crucifixion, the child is Jesus, snatched away and taken to God and his throne, by means of the ascension. The Dragon and the serpent are used interchangeably and personify the opposition to Jesus during his ministry and to the church then and now.
The 1,260 days (from Daniel) can be expressed as 3 and ½ years or a time, times, and half a time (a year, 2 years, and half a year). It became a traditional standard period of time just before the end. When the dragon pursues the woman (followers of Jesus), she is given eagle’s wings, symbolizing God’s care. She is taken to the wilderness. Can you think of other Biblical references to the wilderness? (The Israelites after the Exodus, Hagar, John the Baptist, Jesus) What do you think the wilderness represents?
Have you had a bleak time, a wilderness, when God nourished you? (loss of a child, husband, job, friend. Depression, illness) In hindsight, was God with you?
(Regarding the earth swallowing the river from the serpent’s mouth—Often, in that part of the world, a river might be swallowed up by sand, only to reappear downstream. The meaning here unclear. We can remember that God declared the world he created “good.” We may also think about the terrible things that have been done to the world. Certainly the earth has swallowed a lot. But ultimately “the earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof.”)
IX. Flashback 2
Read Revelation 12: 7-12 War breaks out in heaven. Between good and evil, on a cosmic scale. That Satan and his angels are defeated communicates that Jesus Christ has already won the victory and defeated evil on the cross.
p. 50, 1st¶, Thanks to this victory, Satan is no longer the ruler of this world, although it may sometimes seem so.
Question 3 on p. 50
So Satan has been defeated but still prowls the earth. Rossing calls this the “already-but-not-yet” tension of our Christian life. Consider this example from WWII. After D-Day, that fearsome battle, it became clear (especially in hindsight) that Germany would be defeated. But more battles were to come; the war went on. Evil still seeks to inflict damage even in retreat.
X. Conquering Satan Through Witness and Testimony
Verse 11 says, Our brothers and sisters have conquered the accuser by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they did not cling to life even in the face of death. At top of p. 51, author says, “we actually participate in the defeat of Satan.” 3rd¶--We conquer not by attacking but by identifying with Jesus’ sacrifice, with the sacrificial love of God. And, 4th¶, we conquer by the power of our witness, not clinging to self-centeredness but yielding all to God. 5th¶--We conquer by putting injustice on trial and telling the truth about it. Remember that Jesus is with us now with amazing life-giving power, and Christ will come again to completely defeat the powers of darkness.
Question 5 on p. 51.
The ominous close of this chapter says that the dragon went off to make war on those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus. Have you ever felt that, when you tried to do something you believed to be God’s will, obstacles appeared?
We must not take evil more seriously than we do God. Our witness in word and deed can be used by God to conquer evil. It is the glorious assertion of Revelation 12:10-12, that with the strength and power of Christ, our witness brings down the deceiver of the world.
So it is with hope that we continue to stand against what is evil. We tutor at-risk children, shelter the homeless, visit the lonely and the sick and the prisoner, speak out against prejudiced remarks, stifle gossip…..
XI. Close with prayer on p. 44.
1 comment:
I'm reading "The Help," by Kathryn Stockett - on the beach. Gotta keep speaking out against evil and prejudice, no matter the cost.
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