Put on your explorer gear, maybe your Indiana Jones fedora and the well-worn

Transcription

1 Revelation 1:4-11 Write What You See Put on your explorer gear, maybe your Indiana Jones fedora and the well-worn leather jacket; get your passport, travel guides and maps; pack up the library of ancient history and mythology and linguistics- you ve got a few volumes in the house someplace, don t you; and get ready for a trip to the island of Patmos in the Aegean Sea, somewhere between Turkey and Greece. We want to discover what happened there around the turn of the first century. There are many items and areas of knowledge we need to possess before we can attain a true understanding of the events of that time and place. Even though some folks think they can decipher the whole thing without trying to understand that old world, think that the symbols in this book represent Soviet Russia or the European Union, or secular humanism, or America s first Kenyan born president or Sharia Law, and many other strange and naïve things. But that s merely personal bias on their part. Such beliefs do not employ the diverse tools necessary to dig deeply into ancient literature and worldview. We should realize it was never the author s intent to send a secret message 1900 years into his future to Christians in the United States. Look, right away he tells us, this vision, this warning, is for the seven churchesand those just a hundred miles away. I don t have all the tools to tell you exactly

2 what this is all about, but I have sufficient to tell you it s not about us. We can learn from it, but it is purely arrogant to think John wrote this book to save a raptured few in America. We may want to recognize how John begins, with confessions about Jesus Christ that believers made from the beginning and, 1900 years later, still do: about the one who loves us, this first born from the dead; about forgiveness through his life s blood; and his coming again so that all will see him; about this man, the first and the last, he is called, preexistent and eternal. This one John sees later in the chapter, who is glorious and beautiful and mighty, with eyes that burn like fire and a face that shines like the sun. A powerful personage! And comforting words for those times when believers might be hurting or uncertain. But what new things can we learn from these confessions about Jesus? There are two phrases in verse 5 that are not, I think, the usual descriptions of Jesus. He is called the faithful witness. Of course, a witness reveals what he sees or knows. And so, John presents Jesus as the one who faithfully and steadfastly told the truth and lived the truth, and died for the truth while on this earth. Witness because Jesus was the revealer of the truth about God, about God s grace and love, God s purpose for creation, the meaning of living. He is

3 also, the revealer of things that John will see, the witness to everything that is coming to the seven churches. And then, there is this. The Greek word for witness is martyr, and by this time believers had died for their faith, and they were called martyrs. So the readers might remember, during their sufferings, that Jesus had also suffered, long before they ever did. He was a martyr too. But his resurrection is witness to God s love and power, and witness, as well, to this assurance of life that believers have been given. As he says later in the chapter, Fear not I am the living one and I have the keys of death. The second phrase of verse 5 is ruler of kings on earth. Here is the title the Roman Emperor claimed for himself- as king of the biggest and most powerful nation; but he also considered himself God s chosen king- ruling as a son of God, and ruling by divine mandate. But it was only ruthless power that proved his divine right. And the only witnesses to his authority for kingship were his cruelty and pride and the fear he inspired. Here in these verses, though, John tells us why Jesus Christ is the real ruler of kings: he was the true witness and martyr, and he created a kingdom among those he loved and set free. So, he is greater than any other king, the King of kings because of the kind of king he is.

4 He is the ruler of a empire without geographical boundaries, a kingdom that exists within every kingdom; a kingdom that does not end- because this emperor will never die; a kingdom mightier than any other because it is not built upon weaponry or coercion but upon mercy and charity, built not even upon the rule of law but upon the law of love. Here is another powerful assurance to us in these verses: we are that kingdom, all of us who by our selfless love bear witness to his love. John is commanded to write in a book the things he will see and send it on to the churches. Which means not everything had been revealed yet. There were still things the people had to learn. Even John, called by God to bear witness to the good news of Jesus and to suffer for it, does not yet know all; not only is his knowledge of the future limited, but also what he believes about Jesus Christ is incomplete. In this vision on that Lord s Day, he is still being taught, and he bears witness to the churches, and to the rest of us, as well. And so, write what you see, words the loud trumpet-voice speaks to him, points to future events facing these churches, but it directs us to the past. That s why we need the archaeological tools, the shovel and chisel and brush and magnifying glass: there is a cave on Patmos where some think John lived when he

5 had his visions- we might want to look there! We need the literary tools to understand the words and symbols of sacred writings in order to know better the real purpose of scripture: this surely is one of those religious works we cannot take as literally true, but it is full of symbols that perhaps revealed to the churches in that time and place the things that might come; and it certainly showed them, and shows us, the kind of Lord and King they worshipped: heavenly, Almighty, victorious; but also, a Lamb who shed his blood, humble and obedient and loving. So write what you see is an injunction for all of us, believers past and present, to continue to watch and grow, to learn, because we don t have all the answers yet. Within that process of growing and maturing is also the process of witnessing and becoming more faithful, telling what we have seen and learned, and living in such a way that matches the compassion and mercy of the perfect faithful witness, Jesus our Lord. This kingdom Jesus rules over, this international kingdom, is all of us. All of us in all places, who believe in him and love one another. It s not heaven, not a reward, not later on, or something we have to wait for. We have a king right now, and we are citizens, this moment, living under the rule of the one who loves us. And love

6 is the key factor in the government of this kingdom, the thing that makes each of us free and equal citizens- really, there are no preferred denominations, no special classes of people, no hierarchies: John says we are priests of the kingdom- serving one another, brought together not as keepers of rules, but priests and priestesses of selfless love. And our allegiance must be to this kingdom, in contrast to all other kingdoms- our denomination; our country; any form of government or brand of politics; our personal stories and prejudices, clans or regions or causes. That doesn t mean we can t be happy and dedicated Americans- or Swedes or Indonesians- or any other nationality; or capitalists or socialists- or any other kind of economic system; we can be conservative or liberal politically or theologically. Those things don t matter! One viewpoint has no advantage over another when our allegiance is given to this King, who is the faithful witness to God s mercy, the faithful witness in word, in life, and in death. And we are called to be witnesses, and that means to tell the story of his love and to give love to one another, and even perhaps, to witness as martyrs for the sake of those other persons our Lord loves. Perhaps sacrificing something of ourselves- maybe sacrificing an allegiance to some other kingdom- so that we may love as Jesus Christ has loved us.