Essay 107 (1-28-06)

TEACHING THE APOCALYPSE (4)

We conclude this thematic study of Revelation by looking at two more major themes.

When John wrote Revelation evil forces were fiercely marshaled against the church. Domitian, the emperor at the time, made Caesar worship compulsory. It was actually against the law to be a Christian. At anytime a believer might be required to enter a pagan temple, go to the altar, take a pinch of incense and sprinkle it over the eternal flame. When the incense sparkled, one was to say Caesar Kurios (Caesar is Lord!). He didn’t have to mean it, but he had to say it. Those who dared to witness that Iesou Kurios (Jesus is Lord!) did so at the risk of martyrdom.

Persecution against the church was so vicious that Rome, depicted as "Babylon," was described as being "drunk with the blood of the saints and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus" (Rev. 17:6). Her cruelty was so consummate that God mandated that "in the cup which she has mixed, mix double for her" (Rev. 18:6). Her evil was destined for absolute destruction: "Great Babylon was remembered before God, to give her the cup of the wine of the fierceness of his wrath" (Rev. 16:19).

John’s readers had little hope that the persecution would be lifted or that there would be recompense against their enemies. Their loved ones were in prison or had been martyred. The whole world was ruled by one totalitarian power. Could such a power ever be overthrown? John writes to assure them that those who "overcome" – remain faithful even to martyrdom – will be gloriously rewarded, and that all their enemies would eventually be destroyed – even to being "cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev.19:20).

This is the theme of chapters 17 through 20 – the victory of Christ and the church over all their enemies. All the institutions of evil will meet their inevitable doom and destruction. First, Rome -- described both as "Babylon the Great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth" (Rev. 17:5) and as "a great harlot who sits upon many waters" (Rev. 17:l) – is to be destroyed (chapters l7, 18).

Second, the Roman Empire itself – symbolized as "the beast" -- and its Caesar priesthood cult -- referred to as "the false prophet" -- meet their end in Chapter 19. Their end could not be more graphically described: "Then the beast was captured, and with him the false prophet, who worked signs in his presence by which he deceived those who had the mark of the beast, and those who worshipped his image. These two were cast alive into the lake of fire burning with brimstone" (Rev. 19:20).

Then the evil nations beyond the bounds of the Empire – referred to as Gog and Magog – meet their doom (Rev. 20:7-9). After a millennium of imprisonment in a bottomless pit, Satan is released so that he might "deceive the nations that are in the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog."

These nations —"whose number is as the sand of the sea" – are arrayed in battle against "the camp of the saints and the holy city." The language of their destruction is equally graphic: "Fire came down from heaven and destroyed them all." (Rev. 20:9) This is typically apocalyptic. God himself is the destructive agent, not a human army.

Next, Satan himself, who had deceived the nations, was "cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast and the false prophet are." Then, as if to expose the last dregs of the cup of God’s fury, the writer adds: "And they shall be tormented day and night forever and ever" (Rev. 20:10).

Finally, the righteous dead are separated from the wicked dead in the Great Judgment (Rev. 20:11-15). The sea gives up its dead, and Hades gives up its dead, and "they were judged, each one according to his works." The drama of the judgment closes with: "Anyone not found written in the book of life were cast into the lake of fire."

The destruction of sin and evil is complete. John writes with utmost confidence. His faith is unwavering that all the forces of evil – however invincible they may presently appear to be -- will be annihilated. Truth and righteousness will triumph. This is all relative to us and our time. We too are beset with ever encroaching sin and evil. They pervade all areas of society, including the church. In teaching the Apocalypse we must demonstrate John’s unshakeable faith that all injustice and wrongdoing will receive their due recompense, and that Christ and the church will be victorious.

One thing is sure about the author of the Apocalypse – he was a firm believer in the eternal bliss of the redeemed. No equivocating! He may have used symbols that are strange to us – but perhaps not to his immediate readers – but his faith is sure and profound. It must have been joyously reassuring to his harassed readers to be told that eternal bliss awaited them, and that they were to be part of a holy city – a new Jerusalem – that would come down out of heaven from God.

The world around us cries out for such hope. Some, who can afford it, have arranged for their bodies to be frozen at death in hope that some future medical breakthrough will allow them a few more years on planet earth! Even the church has little grasp of the hope poignantly depicted in the Apocalypse. If we immersed ourselves in John’s vision of a future perfect life, it would affect our whole outlook on our mission in this world.

He paints two such pictures. The first is in Rev. 7:9-17. He allows his readers to look into heaven with him. He sees the church catholic – a multitude that could not be numbered from all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues. Note the plurals -- peoples, not people. This is present in both visions. If ever there was an ecumenist, it was this early Christian teacher. Unlike some of my brethren today who can tell you precisely who will be saved, this writer says that no man could number them!

This multitude stands before the throne. They are given white robes and palm branches. They cry out praises to the One who sits on the throne. They are surrounded by angels, elders, and living creatures, all of whom fall on their faces before the throne.

An elder comes to John – indicating he is now part of the scene – and asks him if he knows whose these are who are arrayed in white robes. The apostle can only reply, "Sir, you know." He is told that "These are the ones who have come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the lamb." The tribulation would be the persecution and martyrdom imposed by the beast and the false prophet.

Jesus assured his disciples that "in this world you will have tribulation" (John 16:33) – in all ages of the church – and John is assuring us that there is a tomorrow for such ones -- God’s tomorrow. And how blissful that tomorrow! God dwells with them. They serve him. It is a glorious, perfect life – no more hunger or thirst, every tear is wiped away. Christ is there to lead them to the living fountains of water.

The other heavenly scene is that of the holy city coming down out of heaven from God, with all its detailed description (Rev. 21:1-22:5). Note again that it is God who builds the city and dispatches it to earth. It is not man’s doings.

Since John sees a "new earth," we may conclude that this is part of what God makes new (Rev. 21:5), and that the new earth will be heaven. And since the holy city, the New Jerusalem, comes down from heaven to earth, we may infer that it is heaven’s capital.

The blissful, perfect life for the redeemed is again described – no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. God dwells with them as their God; they are his peoples, again plural.

We are awed by what follows. John is taken to a high mountain so as to get a better view of the city. It is all that real, and he describes it in detail, even its size. It shines with the glory of God, and it is enclosed by a high wall. There are twelve gates – each one is a pearl -- and at each gate an angel is posted.

The city is constructed of jasper, and it is of pure gold, clear as glass. It has no church or temple, for God and Christ are its temple. It has no need of sun or moon, for the glory of God is its light. The gates are not shut by day, and there is no night there. The river of life flows through the city from the throne of God, and on both sides of the river is the tree of life, restored from the Garden of Eden. The tree of life has twelve fruits, which provide healing. The only ones there are those whose names are written in the book of life. No unclean thing ever enters it.

Two facts about life in the city are especially informing. They shall look upon the face of God. While 1 Tim. 6:16 describes God as "whom no man has seen or can see," it must nonetheless be the case that we will in some degree see God "face to face." That is a wow!

The other is in Rev. 22:3: "and His servants shall serve Him." If the new earth is heaven and the New Jerusalem its capital, then our service to God may encompass the entire universe, which might explain why God has placed billions of bodies in the heavens, with many possibly populated by creatures of God to whom we are sent to minister. And being like angels, we will traverse the universe in a moment.

The apostle assures us in closing, "I, John, saw and heard these things," and he confesses that he was so awed that he fell down to worship the angel who had shown him all the glory. The angel seems to understand, but nonetheless tells him to worship only God, for he was but one of his fellow servants, which tells us something of angels. That John – an apostle who knew better – would bow down to an angel is indicative of how overwhelming the experience must have been.

The angel at last tells John, "Do not seal the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is at hand" (Rev. 22:9). Perhaps the time is always at hand. And thank God that the Apocalypse was not sealed, but is there for us to read and to exult in its promises.

While we have not unlocked all its mysteries of the Apocalypse, we have identified some of its major themes – themes that reveal to us the basic message of the book, which may be summarized in its concluding promise: "Blessed are those who do His commandments,, that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter through the gates into the city" (Rev. 22:14).

Hopefully we have come to see that we can learn the great truths of the Bible without having to explain everything.

We make two books by Leroy Garrett available. The Stone-Campbell Movement, a history of the American Restoration Movement ($30 postpaid). A Lover’s Quarrel: My Pilgrimage of Freedom in Churches of Christ, an autobiography ($15 postpaid). Make check to Leroy Garrett and post to 1300 Woodlake Dr., Denton, TX 76210.