A View from Above

Those who take this word to heart are blessed. How is this true when we have so much trouble understanding it, or are repulsed by its gruesome images? Revelation can keep us from falling prey to formalism and ritualism, from believing that our connection with the church and/or our adherence to tradition assures us of God's blessing, from believing that salvation rests on behavior or ritual. The opposition the church faced when this book was written served to weed out those whose faith was not genuine. It can motivate us to active and heartfelt faith, open to hearing God and willing to serve Him at any price. Do we wonder if it’s worth it to live a Christian life? Revelation enables us to see the stark contrast between our faith and the options that threaten to deceive us, and so reinforces our commitment to making the wise choice. It reminds us that God still reigns in human affairs, and of the value of living for Him, since “our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Do we struggle with moral and spiritual purity? Revelation indicates that God gives us direction not to exert authority or to spoil enjoyment but to warn us of danger, protect us from harm, and guide us to life’s greatest benefits. We might think that purity isn’t important or that God will simply overlook a pattern of compromise and disobedience. Revelation’s images provide us with the necessary course correction. Those who keep themselves pure are described in radiant terms and granted ultimate blessings. Do we consider giving up, going along with the crowd, doing what we know we shouldn’t? Are we enticed by the seductions of our culture, feeling pressure to adopt its values and practices, thinking it’s not so wrong and it’s worth it to avoid standing out in the crowd? Whether we think of it as worship or not, those things which capture our primary attention and become the objects of our principal focus are the things we worship, the things we adore, the things to which we pay homage. Revelation shows us what lies behind the things that appeal to us as well as the final outcomes of the worldly system and of those who remain faithful to the Lord. Is there hardship or suffering in our walk of faith? Sometimes we expect God to protect us from all harm and give us a relatively pain-free, trouble-free life. Revelation shows us something more real, more in keeping with experience, and more precious than a pain-free existence. Those who mourn will find comfort. Those who are persecuted will inherit the kingdom. Those who follow Jesus must deny self, take up a cross, and follow the way of the One who sacrificed his life for others. It’s those who are faithful even in death who receive the crown of life. It’s those who have come through tribulation who have washed their robes and made them white. It’s those who obey God’s commands and hold on to the testimony of Jesus who become the objects of the dragon’s warfare. It’s not the way of prosperity and comfort but the way of sacrifice and suffering that produces spiritual blessing. When we pass through trials and storms and do not have answers to our questions, do we wonder---even agonize---about why God does not deliver us from our circumstances? Questions like these were asked by believers during in the first century. They were vilified in local synagogues. Some found it difficult to conduct business because they refused to give even lip-service to traditional Roman gods or to acknowledge that Caesar was divine. They were treated as outcasts and martyrdom was a real possibility. In our culture we sense a dramatic shift in attitudes toward the values of our faith. Sometimes we are ostracized for our beliefs and practices. Far more grievous is the fact that in some nations believers are put to death for refusing to adopt the religion of the surrounding culture. There are ominous signs of what might happen in the future. So why doesn’t God do something? Revelation assures us that God is involved in ways that might not be obvious to us. Do we long to understand God's character? What does Revelation teach us about the character and heart of God? What can it mean when those who serve Him are ridiculed, belittled, ostracized, pressured to forsake Him, even put to death for their faith? Amid the pressures and struggles of believers, John portrays the Lord as “him who loves us.” Revelation reminds us of God’s heart and character which was demonstrated when Jesus “freed us from our sins by his blood and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father.” In the same way that Jesus placed His hand on a terrified John and told him not to be afraid of him (1:17), the remainder of the book tells us not to be afraid of our enemies or our circumstances, for the Lord sees and cares and is involved and will be victorious. Revelation portrays Jesus as walking among his churches, completely aware of and concerned about the circumstances and conditions in which His people find themselves. Revelation assures us that the Lord loves us so much that He is preparing an incredible future for us. In graphic symbolism it portrays Him as fighting the battles we cannot fight for ourselves. It promises us that He will overcome His adversaries and that everyone will understand that the grace of the Lord Jesus is with God’s people. In that day believers were pressured to offer what seemed to be a simple sacrifice. Why would this be objectionable? They weren’t asked to forsake their religion, only to express their loyalty to Rome. Those who object must certainly be shunned by neighbors, reported to authorities, and subject to legal penalties. When it came to the point that a believer’s life was on the line, there were those who gave in to the pressure---hoping that God would not hold it against them since they didn’t really mean it. In our day we may be pressured to distort or conceal the truth in order to make a sale or land a contract or boost profits. We may be tempted to take something for our own use which does not belong to us. We may be pressured to accept and condone---or even to participate in---behavior that God has declared to be sin. We may be duped into adopting a currently popular point of view which flies in the face of God’s self-revelation. We may be tempted to put our own comfort and security above the personal and corporate righteousness which God demands. And, judging from ominous developments in the world around us, it may not be in the too-distant future that we are tempted to deny the faith in order to protect our lifestyle or even save our life. The perspective and the encouragement that Revelation provides can give us the fortitude to remain faithful. There are immense benefits and blessings to be found in faithfulness. We can learn something else from Revelation that might be easy to miss. The book is saturated with images from the Old Testament, the sacred writings with which John had grown up. When he described his visions, he used images and concepts which were familiar to him from reading God’s Word. Some people today disregard the reading of Scripture because they don’t understand it or because they don’t think it relevant for modern times. Thus when they face life’s situations, they are unable to make the connection with the Word of God. But for those who have spent time in the Word, it comes back to them in the circumstances of their lives and they are able to think biblically. Thus they are able to apply it to modern life and make sense out of things. If we wish to be ready to respond wisely and well to the challenges that will face us in the future, we must take advantage of the time we have now to immerse ourselves in the Word of God and allow its perspective to become our own.