Another John - Hope against Hope - The Book of Revelation

It’s very easy to hope when everything is going well.But when everything goes pear-shaped what do you do then? Who do you turn to? Where can you go? One place people go to is the Bible.Surprising as it may seem it’s a book about people who as often as not struggled with hope.

Lives that make a difference

Peter let Jesus down so much; yet Jesus never stopped showing him his love and so he found hope.

Mark ran away in the garden, fell out with Paul and yet kept at it. Paul made things up, he was able to serve Peter: his hope was in a very down to earth Jesus, whose actions spoke louder than his words.

James couldn’t see what others saw in his brother Jesus … until the resurrection. It was in the risen Christ he found a very real hope that simply had to be put into action.

That anonymous writer to the Hebrews grappled with the Hebrew Scriptures and felt sure that Jesus had opened up a way to hope that anyone could follow.

Matthew felt the key to hope lay in the teaching of Jesus and he provided would-be disciples with what amounted to a handbook of hope.

It was in his encounter with the risen Christ that Paul found hope and that sense of hope grew stronger through all the sufferings he experienced. He had

He shared that sense of hope with Luke: it was the healing Jesus brought into the lives of hurting people that gave him grounds for hope.

There was something special for John in the presence of Christ and the love he embodied, a love that was of the very essence of God; that was the basis for hope in his experience.

We have sensed the way in which the books of the New Testaement have emerged from the life of the early church. The people behind the New Testament lived troubled lives and grappled with their faith. Through that struggle they discovered the reality of hope.

In their lives they faced immense pressures from what could be a very hostile world. That hostility erupted into outright persecution on many occasions.

We can be conscious of the hostility of the world around us to the faith we hold dear. That hostility can express itself in the apathy we are very conscious of in our own society. It can express itself in the persecution that we see only too frequently in the Middle East, in some parts of Africa, and in the Far East and China.

How can you retain your faith in the face of such hostility? How can you love when everything seems to be falling apart? What are the grounds for any kind of hope?




Grounds for Hope in a Hostile World – Revelation

The earliest Christian communities faced hostility … from the persecution of the Jewish authorities in Jerusalem at the very outset to the Neronian persecution in Rome and beyond, followers of Jesus Christ had to come to terms with the hostility of a world which could be harshly antagonistic to the way of Jesus Christ. One New Testament book was written in the face of that hostility, to shake those who belonged to the Christian community out of their lethargy and to give them heart and strength to face the difficult times they were experiencing.

It is the one book to have been given a very precise date less than a hundred years after it was reputedly written. Irenaeus, himself from Asia Minor and the friend of a friend of the John who wrote Revelation, says quite categorically that it was written during the persecution of Christians instigated by Domitian in about AD 95. There have been moments when critics have suggested a much later date, but for the most part, most introductions to the New Testament will date Revelation to the final decade of the first Century.

In his under-valued but fascinating exercise in historical detective work, J.A.T.Robinson argues very persuasively for a much earlier date during the Neronian persecution of the mid ‘60’s. The opening and the closing of the Book of Revelation make it clear that it is written from a particular situation of hardship by one who is exiled in Patmos - the seven letters to the churches of Asia Minor reflect knowledge of the particular circumstances, geographical location and customs of those different churches. Whether the letters are for the specific churches, or whether the book of Revelation is aimed at that group of churches, or whether the sevenfold churches are symbolic of the whole church wherever it faces difficulty and hostility, is difficult to be sure about. What is clear is the way in which the whole book provides a means of responding to hostility by the re-discovery of hope. The response is threefold …

· people belonging to a Christian community facing hostility need to strengthen their faith and be true to their calling as Christian people. The seven letters range over the whole spectrum of encouragement and challenge … taken together they are a call to Christian service and commitment in the face of hostility and complacency.

· people belonging to a Christian community need to look continually to the One who is head of the Church, to Jesus Christ. The Book of Revelation is a statement of a remarkable vision of Jesus Christ - as the book opens and as it unfolds the majesty of Jesus, his triumph over all manner of evil, and his ultimate glory provides people facing hostility with the surest possible grounds of hope.

· people belonging to a Christian community facing hostility need to feel sure of the presence of God in the present and the continuing presence of God with them in the future too … the completeness of God’s triumph over all that is evil is conveyed in visionary writing that defies precise understanding yet communicates the wonder of a faith that can withstand the horrors of a hostile world.


Interpreting Revelation

That John was writing to a specific situation is clear. That that specific situation is no longer apparent is also clear. That has led some to see the Book of Revelation as a literal prediction of events in the future; others have reacted against such a crude literalism to see it as essentially symbolic. Since the Twelfth Century writer, Joachim of Fiore, people have sought to interpret the whole sweep of history in the light of the Book of Revelation. “At various times people have seen Revelation as a veiled history of the world or of the church, placing themselves at the penultimate moment and identifying beast and harlot with current bogeys, whether emperor or pope, church or sect.” John Sweet in the Oxford Companion to the Bible concludes that “it is now clear that John wrote for a past situation and that to look for literal fulfilments in the events of our day is misguided.”
There have been almost as many interpretations of Revelation as there have been interpreters … in one sense this makes the book daunting. And it is no small surprise that even some of the greatest commentators like John Calvin have fought shy of tackling it!

An older generation of commentators doubted whether John’s claim to be a visionary could really be taken seriously. They believed that … apocalyptic was an artificial and purely literary affair …. Visions would not spontaneously arrange themselves in elaborately balanced groups of seven, nor would angelic choirs quote extensively from the Old Testament. In any case, many of the things John claims to have seen … are incapable of being visualised…. These objections will appear less impressive to a generation which has accepted surrealist art and has become familiar with the kaleidoscopic quality of dream imagery. G.B.Caird in his commentary on Revelation.

John Sweet notices a variety of structural patterns that have been discerned in the book … influenced by astrology, numerology, the world of drama (noticing that each of the seven cities had its theatre), the world of liturgy. He suggests, however, a structure that is determined by the text itself. “The clearest structural element is the four series of seven (letters, seals, trumpets, bowls). The background for this structure is the apocalyptic discourse of Jesus on the Mount of Olives (Matthew 24; Mark 13; Luke 21,) of which John’s apocalypse may be seen as updating.

1-3 Seven letters warning against deception and lawlessness
Matthew 24:4,5,9-12


4-7 Seven seals on a heavenly scroll, opened by the Lamb
6 War, famine, plague
7 God’s servants sealed, 144,000
Matthew 24:6-8
birthpangs of a new age


8-14 Seven trumpets of warning
8-9 Disasters modelled on the plagues of Egypt
10-11 Counterpoint of witness - the little scroll
12-13 Victory in Heaven, disaster for earth - Antichrist and false prophets
14 144,000 over against worshippers of the beast. Judgement

Exodus 7-11
Matthew 24:15-24


15-22 Seven bowls of God’s final wrath
16 Disasters for the beast’s worshippers and city
17-18 Destruction of the whore - Babylon
19-20 Coming of Christ, the millennium, and the last judgment
21 Descent of the bride, New Jerusalem, in counterpoint with the fall of Babylon
22 The river of the water of life and the leaves of the tree for the healing of the nations

Exodus 7-11 again
Matthew 24:27-31
Genesis 1-3

A Christ-centred Reading of Revelation

One of the great insights of the Reformers in their interpretation of the Scriptures was the value of seeing Jesus Christ at the centre of the Scriptures. Not for them, however, an easy approach to the book of Revelation. Their fondness for the literal, historical interpretation of the Scriptures made it difficult to interpret Revelation. None the less, their emphasis on the centrality of Christ is perhaps a useful key to a reading of Revelation.

The opening words give the book its traditional title: “The revelation of Jesus Christ” - this Jesus is one who is filled with the glory of God and awesome (1:12-17) … yet at the same time he has a gentleness in his love for all people which allays all fear.

Jesus Christ who was dead but is now alive has the key to life itself - he can unlock its mystery, open its secret and enable those who follow him to have life themselves. (1:18-20) And he speaks to Church communities words of challenge, words of comfort and words of encouragement.

The completeness of God’s Spirit reaches out to the whole spectrum of church communities - it is a sevenfold Spirit for the seven churches - a comprehensive Spirit for the whole Church. The letters to the seven churches in 2 and 3 clearly reflect the situation of each of the churches - local knowledge leaps off the page. They range over the need of all churches - and they bring the word of Christ close to the heart of the churches.

We began our course seeing the way in which the Church community came into being in a particular place, in Jerusalem, and how the leaders of the church there had a message to proclaim which centred on the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. Here the Word of Christ is declared to the Churches and is no less powerful.
Don’t imagine that you have to understand every last detail of the visions that follow. Such a task would be impossible. The point of the writing is that the visions give a glimpse of a God whose glory is beyond all we can understand.

The vision opens in chapter 4 with a glimpse of the Glory of God … not so much a glimpse of the hereafter, more a glimpse of God as he really is. And that is not possible to describe - try painting an emerald rainbow! It’s a contradiction in terms! Here we sense the glory, and it is a remarkable glory.

Having caught a glimpse of the glory, John in his vision longs to see the meaning of it all … and there is a scroll which contains the secret to the universe, to life and to everything else (!). But there is no one there to open it. What tears John sheds at that realisation! They are tears that anyone who has struggled with the complexities of life will appreciate.

Then comes that wonderful message, that indeed the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David has conquered and is now able to open the scroll and reveal the secret.

He looks and what does he see? Not the mightiest of beasts, but the gentlest, a Lamb standing as if it had been slain - yet this is the one who is able to hand over the scroll and to open its seals. What rejoicing there is as the tears of despair become the cries of triumph!

The imagery is poetry at its most imaginative - filled with imagery that defies precise definition. This is the kind of writing that inspired C.S.Lewis to create a whole world for the Lion to live in, a Lion which at unexpected moments could become a lamb. Indeed one way to approach Revelation and appreciate the power of its imagery is to go through the door of the Wardrobe and enter into the Land of Narnia once more.

Always winter and never Christmas!

Aslan stood in the centre of a crowd of creatures who had grouped themselves round him in the shape of a half-moon.…. People who have not been in Narnia sometimes think that a thing cannot be good and terrible at the same time. If the children had ever thought so, they were cured of it now. For when they tried to look at Aslan’s face they just caught a glimpse of the golden mane and the great, royal, solemn, overwhelming eyes; and then they found they couldn’t look at him and went all trembly.

I expect you have seen someone put a lighted match to a bit of newspaper which is propped up in a grate against an unlit fire. And for a second nothing seems to have happened; and then you notice a tiny streak of flame creeping along the edge of the newspaper. It was like that now. For a second after Aslan had breathed upon him the stone lion looked just the same. Then a tiny streak of gold began to run along his white marble back - then it spread - then the colour seemed to lick all over him as the flame licks all over a bit of paper - then while his hindquarters were still obviously stone, the lion shook his mane and all the heavy, stone folds rippled into living hair.

As they went on they got the strangest impression that here at last the sky did really come down and join the earth - a blue wall, very bright, but real and solid: more like glass than anything else…. But between them and the foot of the sky there was something so white on the green grass that even with their eagles’ eyes they could hardly look at it They came on and saw that it was a Lamb.

“Come and have breakfast,” said the Lamb in its sweet milky voice.

Then they noticed for the first time that there was a fire lit on the grass and fish roasting on It. They sat down and ate the fish, hungry now for the first time for many days. And it was the most delicious food they had ever tasted.

“Please, Lamb, said Lucy, “is this the way to Aslan’s country?”

“Not for you,” said the Lamb. “For you the door into Aslan’s country is from your own world….There is a way into my country from all the worlds,” said the Lamb; but as he spoke his snowy white flushed into tawny gold and his size changed and he was Aslan himself, towering above them and scattering light from his mane.

C.S.Lewis, the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe and The Voyage of the Dawn Treader


Here in Revelation we meet with the reality of a living Christ who has overcome death and opened up a way to understanding the world which takes seriously the victory of God over all manner of evil.

The visions continue, confronting the evils of the world until they reach their climax in chapters 21 and 22 with the vision of a new heaven and a new earth. Christ comes not just to bring individual salvation to individual believers, but also to transform and renew the whole world, the whole of God’s creation. Such is the community of people who belong to Jesus Christ, this ‘new Jerusalem’ that it reaches out into all the corners of the earth and draws people of all nations in.

There is no temple in this city. For now the presence of God is not located in a particular place but let loose in the new heaven and the new earth.

The water of life that courses through that community of God’s people is what sustains the tree of life as it bears fruit and as its leaves are for the healing of the nations.

Just as the water flows through the city of God, so too we need to allow the imagery of Revelation to flow over us, and bring us back time and time again to the one who is
at the heart of our faith, Jesus Christ himself. What an invitation it is to come to Christ and to discover life itself. “Let everyone who hears say, ‘Come’. And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.”

One Life that makes a Difference

On our journey through the New Testament we have seen the way in which particular communities of the people of Christ have come into being and discovered themselves to be the People of God. They have shared the message of the faith and it has come alive in many different ways in many different communities. We have seen the Jewishness of the roots of the Christian faith, and we have visited the Gentile soil where the faith came to life and grew. Jewishness and Gentileness come together in Christ and in a Christian faith which binds the followers of Jesus into the people of God. It is one message, one Christ that is proclaimed at the heart of the whole New Testament. And that is the message and the Christ who is right at the very heart of the Book of Revelation. There is an urgency and an immediacy about the message the writer of that book leaves with us - and it is one that brings us back to Christ himself and to the reality of God with us that gives us grounds for hope in a world of hostility.


Another John – Hope against Hope – the Book of Revelation

Grace and Peace is what it’s all about.



From the One who is and was and is to come, from the all-ranging, all complete unseen power, the Holy Spirit, and from Jesus Christ. He will open up the fullest picture possible of God. His resurrection has opened up a whole new world of possibilities for us all. He is the ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us, he frees us, he wipes away our sins ... And he enables us to reign with God in heaven. One of us, he is greater than all of us, towering over the mists of time. To him be glory and dominion for ever and ever.


His message is for churches right across the spectrum from the weakest to the strongest, via the lukewarm on the way. But beware! Better to be hot or cold than to be lukewarm!




There must be a secret to the meaning of life in this troubled world of ours. If only we could find the secret.



There is one who has found the secret, and has given his life for it.



More than that, he gives life in all its fullness to all who come to him and through him discover the secret.


At that moment when all seemed lost and the one so many had thought to be a Lion of a King turned out to be no more than a lamb, a lamb that was slain, at that moment all heaven broke out in endless praise. Here was one who was worthy to receive glory and honour and power.


It is through the sacrifice of a life given freely and the subsequent victory over death and all the powers of evil that a new life opens up for all of us to share. It is a new life that only becomes apparent after a great deal of struggle, not least against the powers of this age and its darkness.
But the victory is assured. Grasp the secret of this immense and mysterious act of love and we too can share in that remarkable victory.


We can look to a new heaven and a new earth where there will be no more pain, no more suffering, no more tears, no more mourning. It’s not just that we shall share life in all its fullness at some time in the distant future. As we know for sure that we are heading for the fulfillment of life in all its glory we can live that life out to the full here and now.


Think of that life as a river ... the river of the water of life flowing out into the world. And each side of the river a remarkable tree that bears fruit all the year round. And then picture if you can the leaves of the tree. When you realise those leaves are for the healing of the nations ... Then you will have begun to grasp that secret we all long to know, the secret of life itself.


Look to the Lion that is King and see the Lamb that was slain, and know the victory is assured, life in all its fullness is for you to share. That life is not just for your own good: it is for the good of others. Once we know the secret then we have a task to devote the whole of our life to. The task is hiding in the leaves of the tree. In anticipation of the life to come, our task is here and now to bring healing into a hurting world. For the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.

A Note to Accompany our Quick Read of Revelation

Revelation is arguably the most difficult book of the Bible. Agonise over every last detail in a search for its precise meaning and you will miss the point. Revel in the mystery of its imagery of the Lion that becomes a Lamb, of the victory over all evil that is ultimately ours to share, and you will be on the way towards getting the message! Look again at the Minister’s Memo: one way to get the hang of Revelation is to read the Narnia Chronicles at the same time. Why not give it a go? An even better way, is to take seriously its challenge. At a Church Meeting a few years ago we re-created the Tree of Life of Revelation 22 and invited everyone to think of the leaves that are for the healing of the nations. Think of Highbury as one trunk among many of the Tree of Life. The branches of our tree are our work of mission. And the leaves represent the specific things we do to bring healing into our hurting world.