WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
April 22nd 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Revelation 1:4-8 Revelation 5:11-14
“Revelation; It’s Not about Getting Left Behind” Part I
Millions and millions of people have had contact with the Left Behind phenomenon. In the ten years since the publication of the first volume there have many volumes, multiple spin-off mini-series, a couple of movies, a prophecy club, daily emails on the end times, daily devotionals, bible studies, kids books, and even graphic (read comic) books. And now, there is even a new video game. In case you haven’t heard about this one there was some controversy over the convert them or kill message given to the followers of Jesus. The impact of the series of fiction has and continues to reach far and wide.
Some of you might be aware that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church has taken the position that the theology of the Left Behind series is not in line with the reformed tradition. Our denomination is but one of many that has taken this stance. Despite this being the case, my plan for this sermon series is not to attempt to take on the immensely popular work of fiction. Ultimately, I will not condemn and certainly not commend the series to you. Instead, my hope is that over the next few weeks we will simply learn more about the book of Revelation. The goal is that by the end of our time together, that we better understand this, often misinterpreted and even ignored, book in the bible.
Our plan this morning is to use our readings as a jumping off point to talking about major themes and background information for the book. In order to guide our engagement with the book of Revelation this morning I will use three questions. Question one: What does the word Revelation mean? Question two: What is the background of this John and the Churches to which he wrote? And finally; Question three: What does worship have to do with it? With those as our guide, let us now turn to the task at hand.
Question one: What does the word Revelation mean? The word revelation is a Greek word which means to reveal, to uncover, or to make known. The book of Revelation seems quite unlike other New Testament books. However, it is not unique in the bible or in our faith tradition. It is part of a genre known as Apocalyptic Literature.
Apocalyptic Literature has its roots in Judaism. It is always written during periods of persecution or conflict. Apocalyptic scripture uses vivid imagery and coded language so that the oppressors will not understand and so those who are oppressed will be encouraged. The main purpose of this scripture is to inspire fidelity to God alone.
One commonality in this type of work is the role of human participation in violence. Apocalyptic Literature is undeniably violent. However, biblical apocalyptic literature never sanctions or calls the followers of Jesus to resort to armed struggle. Any use of the book of Revelation to justify violence is patently unbiblical. The followers of the Jesus are called to be faithful not violent.
Question two: What is the background of this John and the Churches to which he wrote? It is unclear whether the John who wrote this book is the same one who wrote the letters of John and the Gospel by the same name. On thing is clear however, the Greek language and grammar in those other books is nothing like what is found in the book of Revelation. In fact, the Greek in this book is unlike that which is used throughout most all the New Testament. In most of the New Testament the Greek is rather rough. It is the language of the street. However, in Revelation we find a level of sophistication which would indicate the author was well educated.
Another important facet of the author was the fact of his exile. We know that John writes his vision while in exile on Patmos. Exile was a form of punishment imposed upon the elite of society instead of execution. So, we know that John is not only well educated but part of the upper crust of society. This is about all we really know about John.
Unlike John, we know a great deal about the seven churches. In the words to each one of the churches in the text, we learn much about these communities of faith. Some are wealthy and some are poor but each has their own struggle with remaining faithful to the gospel. Beyond the internal information we also know that each one of the churches is located in the western most part of modern day Turkey. These churches were located in a part of the Roman Empire which did not experience a great deal of chaos. Unlike many places which had been conquered by the Romans, Gaul, Judea and others, this area saw the occupation as a gift. These communities welcomed Roman domination and had made peace with it. It was so peaceful in fact, that there was not one Roman Legion in the area around these churches. There was no resistance to the empire. This lets us know that these churches did not experience widespread persecution. Now, let us turn to our final question.
Question three: What does worship have to do with it? While that may seem like an odd transition to go from resistance to the empire to worship, it is not. In fact, since these communities were not facing widespread persecution we are left wondering why this message has such great urgency. The reasoning in the letter is fairly clear. The call is for those in the church to be more faithful. This is to be done by ceasing to participate in the many worship practices of the empire.
Worship in the empire was always very nationalistic. The liturgies and cultic practices claimed divine support for the Roman Empire as well as requiring the worshipers to pledge their allegiance to emperor and to Empire. For the churches addressed in this book they did not see a problem with worshiping God and worshiping Country. However, the main claim in the Book of Revelation says unapologetically that allegiance to God and allegiance to Empire cannot coexist.
At the heart of the book of Revelation is worship. And the understanding of worship in this book is undeniably political. It is political in the sense that worship, in the ancient world, was about making a public show of your allegiance. It is clear in the book of Revelation that there is no room for divided loyalty. God and Country, in this setting, are not to be used interchangeably. After all, the empire was the antithesis of everything pure. As a result, the followers of Jesus could only remain faithful by resisting the empire. Nowhere was this resistance more important than in worship.
I am evermore convinced that any reading or interpretation of Revelation which ignores or is unaware of this background has removed the Word of God from its very foundation. However, to take the Left Behind series to task over its clear misuse of this book is far too easy and so we will not engage it further. What concerns me most is not arguing about the book but recovering what it actually says and the messages we may glean in order to live more faithfully.
Revelation is most concerned that the followers of the Lamb, Jesus, remain faithful by resisting the ways of empire. It is clear that the followers of Jesus in these churches had become overly comfortable with the ways of Empire. Their worship had become intermingled with nationalistic liturgies and had lost focus on the risks inherent with being a follower of the Lamb that was slain by the very same empire. In order to live faithfully, the followers of the lamb needed to recommit themselves to non-violent resistance and mutual support to one another in the worshiping community.
Over the coming weeks I want to encourage each one of you to read the book of Revelation again, or for the first time. As we journey through a few passages in this book your reading will help to make the text come alive. More importantly though, is my prayer that our focus on the book will lead to more faithful living and even show us the ways in which we have become overly comfortable with the ways of Empire today. And, I pray all this in the name of the “one who is and who was and who is to come, amen.”
April 22nd 2007
Rev. Mark R. Bradshaw-Miller
Revelation 1:4-8 Revelation 5:11-14
“Revelation; It’s Not about Getting Left Behind” Part I
Millions and millions of people have had contact with the Left Behind phenomenon. In the ten years since the publication of the first volume there have many volumes, multiple spin-off mini-series, a couple of movies, a prophecy club, daily emails on the end times, daily devotionals, bible studies, kids books, and even graphic (read comic) books. And now, there is even a new video game. In case you haven’t heard about this one there was some controversy over the convert them or kill message given to the followers of Jesus. The impact of the series of fiction has and continues to reach far and wide.
Some of you might be aware that the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church has taken the position that the theology of the Left Behind series is not in line with the reformed tradition. Our denomination is but one of many that has taken this stance. Despite this being the case, my plan for this sermon series is not to attempt to take on the immensely popular work of fiction. Ultimately, I will not condemn and certainly not commend the series to you. Instead, my hope is that over the next few weeks we will simply learn more about the book of Revelation. The goal is that by the end of our time together, that we better understand this, often misinterpreted and even ignored, book in the bible.
Our plan this morning is to use our readings as a jumping off point to talking about major themes and background information for the book. In order to guide our engagement with the book of Revelation this morning I will use three questions. Question one: What does the word Revelation mean? Question two: What is the background of this John and the Churches to which he wrote? And finally; Question three: What does worship have to do with it? With those as our guide, let us now turn to the task at hand.
Question one: What does the word Revelation mean? The word revelation is a Greek word which means to reveal, to uncover, or to make known. The book of Revelation seems quite unlike other New Testament books. However, it is not unique in the bible or in our faith tradition. It is part of a genre known as Apocalyptic Literature.
Apocalyptic Literature has its roots in Judaism. It is always written during periods of persecution or conflict. Apocalyptic scripture uses vivid imagery and coded language so that the oppressors will not understand and so those who are oppressed will be encouraged. The main purpose of this scripture is to inspire fidelity to God alone.
One commonality in this type of work is the role of human participation in violence. Apocalyptic Literature is undeniably violent. However, biblical apocalyptic literature never sanctions or calls the followers of Jesus to resort to armed struggle. Any use of the book of Revelation to justify violence is patently unbiblical. The followers of the Jesus are called to be faithful not violent.
Question two: What is the background of this John and the Churches to which he wrote? It is unclear whether the John who wrote this book is the same one who wrote the letters of John and the Gospel by the same name. On thing is clear however, the Greek language and grammar in those other books is nothing like what is found in the book of Revelation. In fact, the Greek in this book is unlike that which is used throughout most all the New Testament. In most of the New Testament the Greek is rather rough. It is the language of the street. However, in Revelation we find a level of sophistication which would indicate the author was well educated.
Another important facet of the author was the fact of his exile. We know that John writes his vision while in exile on Patmos. Exile was a form of punishment imposed upon the elite of society instead of execution. So, we know that John is not only well educated but part of the upper crust of society. This is about all we really know about John.
Unlike John, we know a great deal about the seven churches. In the words to each one of the churches in the text, we learn much about these communities of faith. Some are wealthy and some are poor but each has their own struggle with remaining faithful to the gospel. Beyond the internal information we also know that each one of the churches is located in the western most part of modern day Turkey. These churches were located in a part of the Roman Empire which did not experience a great deal of chaos. Unlike many places which had been conquered by the Romans, Gaul, Judea and others, this area saw the occupation as a gift. These communities welcomed Roman domination and had made peace with it. It was so peaceful in fact, that there was not one Roman Legion in the area around these churches. There was no resistance to the empire. This lets us know that these churches did not experience widespread persecution. Now, let us turn to our final question.
Question three: What does worship have to do with it? While that may seem like an odd transition to go from resistance to the empire to worship, it is not. In fact, since these communities were not facing widespread persecution we are left wondering why this message has such great urgency. The reasoning in the letter is fairly clear. The call is for those in the church to be more faithful. This is to be done by ceasing to participate in the many worship practices of the empire.
Worship in the empire was always very nationalistic. The liturgies and cultic practices claimed divine support for the Roman Empire as well as requiring the worshipers to pledge their allegiance to emperor and to Empire. For the churches addressed in this book they did not see a problem with worshiping God and worshiping Country. However, the main claim in the Book of Revelation says unapologetically that allegiance to God and allegiance to Empire cannot coexist.
At the heart of the book of Revelation is worship. And the understanding of worship in this book is undeniably political. It is political in the sense that worship, in the ancient world, was about making a public show of your allegiance. It is clear in the book of Revelation that there is no room for divided loyalty. God and Country, in this setting, are not to be used interchangeably. After all, the empire was the antithesis of everything pure. As a result, the followers of Jesus could only remain faithful by resisting the empire. Nowhere was this resistance more important than in worship.
I am evermore convinced that any reading or interpretation of Revelation which ignores or is unaware of this background has removed the Word of God from its very foundation. However, to take the Left Behind series to task over its clear misuse of this book is far too easy and so we will not engage it further. What concerns me most is not arguing about the book but recovering what it actually says and the messages we may glean in order to live more faithfully.
Revelation is most concerned that the followers of the Lamb, Jesus, remain faithful by resisting the ways of empire. It is clear that the followers of Jesus in these churches had become overly comfortable with the ways of Empire. Their worship had become intermingled with nationalistic liturgies and had lost focus on the risks inherent with being a follower of the Lamb that was slain by the very same empire. In order to live faithfully, the followers of the lamb needed to recommit themselves to non-violent resistance and mutual support to one another in the worshiping community.
Over the coming weeks I want to encourage each one of you to read the book of Revelation again, or for the first time. As we journey through a few passages in this book your reading will help to make the text come alive. More importantly though, is my prayer that our focus on the book will lead to more faithful living and even show us the ways in which we have become overly comfortable with the ways of Empire today. And, I pray all this in the name of the “one who is and who was and who is to come, amen.”
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