A Robe Dipped in Blood – Revelation Bible Guide Day 25 - Reservoir Church

A Robe Dipped in Blood – Revelation Bible Guide Day 25

Previously in Revelation

¹⁰Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Day 25 – 5th Friday

Revelation 19:11-21

¹¹Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. ¹²His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. ¹³He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. ¹⁵From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. ¹⁶On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, “King of kings and Lord of lords.”

¹⁷Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, “Come, gather for the great supper of God, ¹⁸to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders—flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great.” ¹⁹Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. ²⁰And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. ²¹And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

Points of Interest

- “Then I saw” – Revelation moves to a close with a final series of seven visions, each beginning with these words.
- “Faithful and True” – Revelation’s first white horse (Chapter 6) was the first of four that represented some of the worst trials of human history, such as military conquest. This time around it is Jesus on the horse. If John has encouraged one thing most in the house churches he wrote to, it has been faithfulness – don’t fall prey to Rome’s propaganda, and don’t be intimidated by their violence. Stick with Jesus. Live your life of faith and all it calls you to. Jesus, John says, was the model of faith in his life in Palestine, and is faithful to people and faithful to his purposes in history as well.
- “clothed in a robe dipped in blood” – Like the four horsemen, Jesus is presented as a warrior as well, but an unusual one – his robe is bloody before he’s even met an enemy. We’ll remember this is also the slaughtered Lamb. His robe is stained with his own blood, no one else’s.
- “the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen” – No one wears fine linen into battle. Jesus’ armies are not dressed for war but dressed as Jesus’ followers are, for a wedding feast.
- “From his mouth comes a sharp sword” – Warrior/Lamb/Groom Jesus also has an odd weapon: a sword protruding from his mouth. Jesus accomplishes things through speech, not violence. His name, after all (at least the one in this passage that isn’t a secret) is “The Word of God.”
- “will rule them with a rod of iron” – This is another reference to the Bible’s second psalm, one of the first century’s more popular Messianic passages of the Old Testament, that roused hopes that God would send a human leader to rule in God’s name.
- “will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God” – Revelation has used this imagery before, back in Chapter 14’s seven angels of judgment. This paragraph has been working references to Isaiah 63, one of the Old Testament’s sections most associated with Jewish thought about of the end of history, the end of the world as they would know it. In that section of Isaiah, the narrative is oscillating between vengeance and redemption, violence and mercy, as if Isaiah isn’t quite sure how things will go. Here Revelation uses the symbolism of vengeance and warfare, but without any violence. It’s possible that Jesus will speak a change in history into being with a word, end evil without violence, consummate God’s Kingdom without war.
- “the birds that fly in midheaven” – vultures, and other birds that feast on carrion
- “gather for the great supper” – I hope this isn’t the wedding supper! The birds are feasting on the flesh of people and animals of warfare. We can guess this is symbolic because just about all of Revelation is – that’s its genre – and because there hasn’t even been a war in this chapter. It’s an image of poetic justice and the end of the terrors of war.
- “the beast was captured” – Human empire’s rulers resist Jesus, as they will, but between vs. 29 and 30, the anticipated battle ends awfully quickly. In fact, it never occurs.
- “These two men were thrown alive into the lake of fire” – The violent imagery of Revelation 14 is again summoned, into this scene that reframes symbolic imagery of warfare. The message is that human evil and violence is eliminated, even if John strongly implies that Jesus – stained with his own blood, armed only with his word – will never use the technology of warfare to do the trick.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, in light of the judgment on all human systems that resist God and God’s good and humane ways on earth, we consider the command to, “Come out” and turn away from the evil baked into human societies, our own included. Today, remember any ways that you have perpetrated or cheered for violence, in your own words or actions or in cheering on your nation’s armies or any other violence. Consider that Jesus is opposed to violence in all forms, and will bring it to an end. Ask God what coming out of violence looks like.

A Direction for Prayer

Odds are that if you’re praying regularly for six people, at least one has perpetrated verbal or physical violence – likely covered up, perhaps cloaked under regret or shame – and at least one has been subject to verbal or physical violence as an adult or child. Perhaps without knowing which ones you are praying for, pray for God’s work in their lives of repentance and healing.

The Bible Guide

This blog post is part of a Lenten journey through the book of Revelation. Every year during the season of Lent, we take a focused look at a portion of Scripture as part of our communal spiritual practice. This year, we are exploring what it means to be Children of God in a Fractured World, with Revelation as our lens. On Sundays, we’re exploring this with our sermons; on weekdays, we’re doing so with our bible guide. The bible guide series starts here.

The Marriage of the Lamb – Revelation Bible Guide Day 24

Previously in Revelation

²⁴And in you was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”

Day 24 – 5th Thursday

Revelation 19:1-10

After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying,

“Hallelujah!
Salvation and glory and power to our God,
² for his judgments are true and just;
he has judged the great whore
who corrupted the earth with her fornication,
and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants.”

³Once more they said,

“Hallelujah!
The smoke goes up from her forever and ever.”

⁴And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying,

“Amen. Hallelujah!”

⁵And from the throne came a voice saying,

“Praise our God,
all you his servants,
and all who fear him,
small and great.”

⁶Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
the Almighty reigns.
⁷Let us rejoice and exult
and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
and his bride has made herself ready;
⁸to her it has been granted to be clothed
with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

⁹And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are true words of God.” ¹⁰Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, “You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.”

Points of Interest

“the loud voice of a great multitude” – So begins the seventh and final of Revelation’s worship scenes, this one on the tail end of Babylon’s funeral.
“Hallelujah” – A Hebrew expression of praise, that means Praise Yahweh – the likely Hebrew pronunciation of the name of God (“I am”) first revealed to Moses at the burning bush.
“he has avenged on her the blood of his servants” – The singers are celebrating Babylon’s destruction, consumed by its own violence. They’re not bitter or vengeful; they are relieved that their blood or that of any other servants of God will be shed.
“like the sound of many waters” – The voice of the victory choir sounds like the voice of Jesus in the first chapter. To follow Jesus is to become more and more like Jesus and at the same time more and more like our true selves.
“for the marriage of the Lamb has come” – The unity of Jesus’ people with Jesus is so close, it’s given the metaphor or marriage. The Lamb who was slaughtered and became a shepherd as well is now ready to live happily ever after with the faithful people who love Jesus.
“his bride has made herself ready” – There are four women in Revelation. The first and third are Jezebel, from chapter 2, and the prostitute of Chapters 17-18. One is a historical reference, one a generalized one for people of societies that have lost their way and seek to lead other people away from God and away from what is good and true and beautiful. The second the sun-clothed woman from Chapter 12 who gives birth to Jesus. This is Jesus’ mom, Mary, or maybe a Mother-earth like personification of all humanity. The final woman is what all of us can become – loved by, united with Jesus.
“the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints” – We all know how carefully brides prepare and dress up for their wedding day. The bride of Christ is here called “the saints,” God’s holy ones, and gets dressed in righteous deeds. If you grew up religious, you might have over-specific associations with those words “holy” and “righteous.” Sorry if that is distracting. In the context of Revelation, it’s in contrast to the bad deeds of Rome or any other empire, past or future. It’s resisting the lying, greedy, violent ways of empire and living truthfully, honestly, and peaceably. It’s resisting the marketing propaganda and false worship and exploitation of empire and worshipping the God who cares for us in the incomplete, vulnerable, needy state we find ourselves in this life.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, in light of the judgment on all human systems that resist God and God’s good and humane ways on earth, we consider the command to, “Come out” and turn away from the evil baked into human societies, our own included. Today, consider how you have believed the lies of marketing propaganda and hoped that consumer goods would satisfy you. Invite Jesus if you like, to help you make peace with your emptiness and to look forward to your future fulfillment when you are one with Jesus.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray that God would lead your church to more and more righteous deeds – acts of love and beauty and truth that show the world what Jesus looks like and prepare members of your church for their destiny as part of the “bride of Christ.”

The Bible Guide

Come Out Of Her – Revelation Bible Guide Day 23

Previously in Revelation

¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Day 23 – 5th Wednesday

Revelation 18:1-24

After this I saw another angel coming down from heaven, having great authority; and the earth was made bright with his splendor. ²He called out with a mighty voice,

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great!
It has become a dwelling place of demons,
a haunt of every foul spirit,
a haunt of every foul bird,
a haunt of every foul and hateful beast.
³For all the nations have drunk
of the wine of the wrath of her fornication,
and the kings of the earth have committed fornication with her,
and the merchants of the earth have grown rich from the power of her luxury.”

⁴Then I heard another voice from heaven saying,

“Come out of her, my people,
so that you do not take part in her sins,
and so that you do not share in her plagues;
⁵for her sins are heaped high as heaven,
and God has remembered her iniquities.
⁶Render to her as she herself has rendered,
and repay her double for her deeds;
mix a double draught for her in the cup she mixed.
⁷As she glorified herself and lived luxuriously,
so give her a like measure of torment and grief.
Since in her heart she says,
‘I rule as a queen;
I am no widow,
and I will never see grief,’
⁸therefore her plagues will come in a single day—
pestilence and mourning and famine—
and she will be burned with fire;
for mighty is the Lord God who judges her.”

⁹And the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with her, will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning; ¹⁰they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say,

“Alas, alas, the great city,
Babylon, the mighty city!
For in one hour your judgment has come.”

¹¹And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore, ¹²cargo of gold, silver, jewels and pearls, fine linen, purple, silk and scarlet, all kinds of scented wood, all articles of ivory, all articles of costly wood, bronze, iron, and marble, ¹³cinnamon, spice, incense, myrrh, frankincense, wine, olive oil, choice flour and wheat, cattle and sheep, horses and chariots, slaves—and human lives.

¹⁴“The fruit for which your soul longed
has gone from you,
and all your dainties and your splendor
are lost to you,
never to be found again!”

¹⁵The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,

¹⁶“Alas, alas, the great city,
clothed in fine linen,
in purple and scarlet,
adorned with gold,
with jewels, and with pearls!
¹⁷For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!”

And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off ¹⁸and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning,

“What city was like the great city?”

¹⁹And they threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying out,

“Alas, alas, the great city,
where all who had ships at sea
grew rich by her wealth!
For in one hour she has been laid waste.”

²⁰Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets! For God has given judgment for you against her.

²¹Then a mighty angel took up a stone like a great millstone and threw it into the sea, saying,

“With such violence Babylon the great city
will be thrown down,
and will be found no more;
²²and the sound of harpists and minstrels and of flutists and trumpeters
will be heard in you no more;
and an artisan of any trade
will be found in you no more;
and the sound of the millstone
will be heard in you no more;
²³and the light of a lamp
will shine in you no more;
and the voice of bridegroom and bride
will be heard in you no more;
for your merchants were the magnates of the earth,
and all nations were deceived by your sorcery.
²⁴And in you was found the blood of prophets and of saints,
and of all who have been slaughtered on earth.”

Points of Interest

“Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great” – John invites us to a funeral, sung in a series of seven laments and songs. The one who has died is Babylon. In real history, Rome wouldn’t fall until 410 AD, when King Alaric and his Visigoths would attack from the North. As far as John is concerned, though, its destruction is sealed, as is the judgment and death of every Babylon that dares to pretend to be good like God while using its power and wealth to manipulate and harm the many while enriching the few.
“Come out of her” – Since Babylon is dying, we might want to keep our distance, lest we catch her fatal disease. This is the call for people in empire – live there, do your thing, but notice the evil, and don’t do it.
“I am no widow, and I will never see grief” – Classic pride-before-the-fall Babylonian line, quoted during its funeral dirge.
“And the merchants of the earth” – The people who are most upset about Babylon’s end are the people who made the most profit from it. At the deepest level, we all win when justice is done. But in the near term, it hurts those who have profited from it.
“slaves – and human lives” – The weeping merchants include the slave traders. As with American history, Rome’s was chock full of slaves. By the end of the first century, slaves were about half the population of the city of Rome.
“Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets” – Those who love and worship God can always celebrate God’s justice being done. I’ve been imagining as I write this how I would respond to a world economic shake-up that left me less privileged. What if I sensed that this was part of God’s justice? I am among the top ten percent, maybe higher, of the world’s wealthiest people. Would I be able to celebrate a change in the world’s economy? Truth is, I don’t know.
“in you was found the blood of prophets and of saints, and of all who have been slaughtered on earth” – Empires look shiny on the outside and have great propaganda, but they hold not very well kept secrets in their historical cores. Where there is blood at the roots, God grieves and promises justice will be done.
As we wrap up John’s perspective on Babylon, a final quotation. “Revelation has a warning for believers down through the years. Babylon is allegorical of the idolatry that any nation commits when it elevates material abundance, military prowess, technological sophistication, imperial grandeur, racial pride, and any other glorification of the creature over the Creator…. The message of the book of Revelation concerns the character and timeliness of God’s judgment not only of persons, but also of nations and, in fact, of all principalities and powers – which is to say, all authorities, corporations, institutions, structures, bureaucracies, and the like.” (Metzger, Breaking the Code, 88)

Spiritual Exercise

This week, in light of the judgment on all human systems that resist God and God’s good and humane ways on earth, we consider the command to, “Come out” and turn away from the evil baked into human societies, our own included. Today, consider how you have benefitted from the American consumer economy. Ask God to reveal where your wealth or consumption have come at the expense of other people, societies, or God’s earth. Consider what change might look like.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your six, that they would cultivate lives that love God’s justice. If any of them are hungering for more justice, pray that they would be encouraged that God shares their longing and will bring it to pass.

The Bible Guide

The Great City – Revelation Bible Guide Day 22

Previously in Revelation

²¹and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.

Day 22 – 5th Tuesday

Revelation 17:1-18

Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, “Come, I will show you the judgment of the great whore who is seated on many waters, ²with whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and with the wine of whose fornication the inhabitants of the earth have become drunk.” ³So he carried me away in the spirit^[^a^] into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. ⁴The woman was clothed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her fornication; ⁵and on her forehead was written a name, a mystery: “Babylon the great, mother of whores and of earth’s abominations.” ⁶And I saw that the woman was drunk with the blood of the saints and the blood of the witnesses to Jesus.

When I saw her, I was greatly amazed. ⁷But the angel said to me, “Why are you so amazed? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. ⁸The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to ascend from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the inhabitants of the earth, whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, will be amazed when they see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come.

⁹“This calls for a mind that has wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; also, they are seven kings, ¹⁰of whom five have fallen, one is living, and the other has not yet come; and when he comes, he must remain only a little while. ¹¹As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. ¹²And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received a kingdom, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. ¹³These are united in yielding their power and authority to the beast; ¹⁴they will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for he is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with him are called and chosen and faithful.”

¹⁵And he said to me, “The waters that you saw, where the whore is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. ¹⁶And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the whore; they will make her desolate and naked; they will devour her flesh and burn her up with fire. ¹⁷For God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by agreeing to give their kingdom to the beast, until the words of God will be fulfilled. ¹⁸The woman you saw is the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.”

Points of Interest

“great whore” – There are several places in Scripture where male writers use prostitutes, whores, or adulterous women as metaphors for people or societies who are unfaithful to God. This is at best complicated. To my ear, it’s also unintentionally misogynistic. I consider the Bible to be an authoritative witness to the person and mission of Jesus and also a penetratingly insightful record of people’s understandings of and experiences of God. It’s critical to me in guiding me toward insight and truth about God, myself, and all of life. But it’s also written by real people in real cultures, that had real flaws. It’s OK to interrogate and push back on the parts that seem to reflect the shell of those cultures more than the core of its intended message. I find the “whore” language distracting and unhelpful, but I can hear the underlying truth that there are leaders and nations that look beautiful while they actually entice people to harm.
“with whom the kinds of the earth have committed fornication” – Rome grew its empire through war and conquest but also through the submission, allegiance, and selling out of collaborators. That doesn’t end well for them or the people they represent.
“clothed in purple and scarlet” – The Babylon/whore character has aspirations to wealth and royalty but is really just a parody of God’s reign and rule.
“Babylon” – John is clearly writing about the Roman empire. There are hints of this everywhere in the text. But if he called Rome the “mother of whores and of earth’s abominations” and predicted its destruction, he would be executed and the churches he represents would also likely be persecuted or destroyed. So, he writes in thinly veiled code, calling Rome by the name of Israel’s ancient enemy, who destroyed their temple and city of Jerusalem in the sixth century B.C. He also gives the world a universal symbol for human powers that have impressive might and wealth while they are also full of evil. Babylon is Rome, but it is also every human society that builds great cities and amasses great wealth while doing violence, exploiting economically, proudly announcing its own greatness, while also leading people toward dependence on self and society and not on God. Babylon is also undeniably us.
“drunk with the blood of the saints” – The non-Christian Roman historian Tacitus describes Emperor Nero’s brutal, bloody execution of followers of Jesus. Later emperors would do this again.
“about to ascend from the bottomless pit” – Apparently, there was a widespread legend that Emperor Nero would arise from the underworld to rule and do evil again.
“was and is not and is to come” – Human leaders and rulers that give Babylon its being are a parody of the good rule of God who was and is and is to come.
“the seven heads are seven mountains” – One of many allusions to Rome, the city of seven hills, which – by some ways of counting – had had seven emperors by the writing of Revelation.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, in light of the judgment on all human systems that resist God and God’s good and humane ways on earth, we consider the command to, “Come out” and turn away from the evil baked into human societies, our own included. Today, consider how your praise or love of country has obscured your vision of what is good and true and beautiful. Ask God for clarity of vision to see your country’s blessings but also its violence and its evils for what they are.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for the churches of America, that they would repent of any ways they have sold out to American patriotism that covers up past violence and pursues America first blessing over God’s desire for all peoples of the earth to love and follow Jesus into life, truth, joy, and peace.

The Bible Guide

Flashes of Lightning, Peals of Thunder – Revelation Bible Guide Day 21

Previously in Revelation

⁸and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.

Day 21 – 5th Monday

Revelation 16:1-21

Then I heard a loud voice from the temple telling the seven angels, “Go and pour out on the earth the seven bowls of he wrath of God.”

²So the first angel went and poured his bowl on the earth, and a foul and painful sore came on those who had the mark of the beast and who worshiped its image.

³The second angel poured his bowl into the sea, and it became like the blood of a corpse, and every living thing in the sea died.

⁴The third angel poured his bowl into the rivers and the springs of water, and they became blood. ⁵And I heard the angel of the waters say,

“You are just, O Holy One, who are and were,
for you have judged these things;
⁶because they shed the blood of saints and prophets,
you have given them blood to drink.
It is what they deserve!”

⁷And I heard the altar respond,

“Yes, O Lord God, the Almighty,
your judgments are true and just!”

⁸The fourth angel poured his bowl on the sun, and it was allowed to scorch people with fire; ⁹they were scorched by the fierce heat, but they cursed the name of God, who had authority over these plagues, and they did not repent and give him glory.

¹⁰The fifth angel poured his bowl on the throne of the beast, and its kingdom was plunged into darkness; people gnawed their tongues in agony, ¹¹and cursed the God of heaven because of their pains and sores, and they did not repent of their deeds.

¹²The sixth angel poured his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up in order to prepare the way for the kings from the east. ¹³And I saw three foul spirits like frogs coming from the mouth of the dragon, from the mouth of the beast, and from the mouth of the false prophet. ¹⁴These are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty. ¹⁵(“See, I am coming like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and is clothed, not going about naked and exposed to shame.”) ¹⁶And they assembled them at the place that in Hebrew is called Harmagedon.

¹⁷The seventh angel poured his bowl into the air, and a loud voice came out of the temple, from the throne, saying, “It is done!” ¹⁸And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, and a violent earthquake, such as had not occurred since people were upon the earth, so violent was that earthquake. ¹⁹The great city was split into three parts, and the cities of the nations fell. God remembered great Babylon and gave her the wine-cup of the fury of his wrath. ²⁰And every island fled away, and no mountains were to be found; ²¹and huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, dropped from heaven on people, until they cursed God for the plague of the hail, so fearful was that plague.

Points of Interest

“seven angels” – They’re back. In the long middle section of Revelation, we’ve had seven seals, then seven trumpets, now seven bowls. The bowl plagues aren’t entirely new – they’re at least in part a recapitulation of the material covered with the trumpets.
“seven bowls of the wrath of God” – There are at least three ways of understanding the wrath of God generally, and so these bowls in particular. The harshest read is that people are basically awful and deserving of whatever hellish punishments God can dream up. God’s angry with you, so Jesus chooses you to rescue you from that anger or… good luck! You can maybe tell I’m less sympathetic to that understanding. A second read is that much as God loves people, God sees clearly the great evil and injustice that humans and human systems perpetuate. God punishes people and societies sooner or later, and those that don’t turn away from their evil and seek forgiveness will be punished eternally. That hatred of evil and resultant punishment is the wrath of God. This is also a very common perspective, and I think a reasonable view: the one I most used to hold. Increasingly, I’m inclined toward a third perspective that’s also been held by many Christians. That is that the wrath of God is a metaphor for the consequences we bring upon ourselves when we turn from God and choose evil. God isn’t angry per se, but has designed a universe in which evil catches up and turns back on us eventually. We reap what we sow. Regardless, the point of this chapter – and of the idea of God’s judgment in general – is that God will judge unrepentant evil. It’s God’s job always, not people’s, and it is good news that evil can’t endlessly harm and destroy without consequence.
“every living thing in the sea died” – Each of these seven judgments are against various crimes of human empire, and the judgment is often inherent to the crime. Humans exploit each other and exploit the earth, and so despoil the earth. Stretches of sea where nothing can live are not hard to imagine.
“You are just…. It is what they deserved.” – At the center of this chapter, a witness – personified as “the angel of the waters” proclaims God’s absolute justice. However we understand God’s judgment, no fair observer will consider it to be biased or harsh.
“did not repent of their deeds” – As we saw in Chapter 9, punishment does not seem to be effective as motivating people to turn around. Judgment is a consequence of evil and a means of stopping it, not a tool for change.
“who go … to assemble them for battle” – Late in the bowls, as with the trumpets, things get funky. A drought creates conditions for war, as droughts often do, and demonic frogs make things worse with their propaganda. Helpful to remember that people who stir leaders up to war are in the service of evil.
“Harmagedon” – This word, spelled differently, has become famous, attached to what I consider a bad interpretation of this book. Some readers have understood this chapter – and the whole middle section of Revelation – as predicting the events that lead up to a catastrophic end of the world. In this reading, Armageddon is the place of the last great, bloody battle. However, scholars can’t agree on where this place is or what it means, or even how to spell it. Best as we can tell, it represents a place where earth’s leaders destroy themselves, either in a war that ends an empire, or perhaps in all war.
“Flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder” – This is the stock language of theophany, the dramatic appearance of God. As we’ll see over the next two chapters, John assures his readers that God will make sure all human empires that exploit and harm – Rome included – will come to an end.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, in light of the judgment on all human systems that resist God and God’s good and humane ways on earth, we consider the command to, “Come out” and turn away from the evil baked into human societies, our own included. Today, ask God to reveal some aspect of violence or injustice in your nation, your city, or your ethnicity that you participate in through your actions or thinking. Ask God for ideas on how to turn away from that and for the courage to do so.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your six, that any who have had exposure to a harsh or arbitrary view of God’s justice will find hope that God is motivated not to hurt or harm but to bring an end to that kind of behavior.

The Bible Guide

All Nations Will Come – Revelation Bible Guide Day 20

Previously in Revelation

²⁰And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse’s bridle, for a distance of about two hundred miles.

Day 20 – 4th Friday

Revelation 15:1-8

15 Then I saw another portent in heaven, great and amazing: seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is ended.

²And I saw what appeared to be a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had conquered the beast and its image and the number of its name, standing beside the sea of glass with harps of God in their hands. ³And they sing the song of Moses, the servant of God, and the song of the Lamb:

“Great and amazing are your deeds,
Lord God the Almighty!
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations!
⁴Lord, who will not fear
and glorify your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your judgments have been revealed.”

⁵After this I looked, and the temple of the tent of witness in heaven was opened, ⁶and out of the temple came the seven angels with the seven plagues, robed in pure bright linen, with golden sashes across their chests. ⁷Then one of the four living creatures gave the seven angels seven golden bowls full of the wrath of God, who lives forever and ever; ⁸and the temple was filled with smoke from the glory of God and from his power, and no one could enter the temple until the seven plagues of the seven angels were ended.

Points of Interest

“seven angels with seven plagues” – In John’s culture, if something was worth saying once, it was worth repeating in slightly different language. The seven angels of judgment from Revelation 14 are about to come back, this time with bowls in their hand.
“conquered” – This is in many ways the goal of this life, according to Revelation – withstand suffering, don’t buy into the false promises of violence and wealth and pleasure that harm your soul or anyone else’s, and learn faithfulness to Jesus, who is faithful to us. This is what conquering looks like.
“song of Moses” – The hero of past Jewish deliverance joins in song with the Lamb, whose death and resurrection is for the liberation of the whole world. While this song is very short, it calls to mind both of Moses’ songs in the Old Testament, his Exodus 15 victory song over oppressive evil, and his Deuteronomy 32 song that calls people to trust God and not the many false promises of security that come our way in pluralistic times.
“all nations will come” – The song reiterates the hope of the worship scene in Revelation 7, that people of all the nations – who have fought one another in our Beast-driven violence – will together worship God instead.
“the temple was filled with smoke” – However we’re supposed to understand these scenes of judgment in the middle of Revelation, we’re meant to find the presence of God here. The temple filling with the smoke of incense and burnt offerings was meant to evoke God’s unseen presence. The exposure of all our society’s lies and violence, and even the exposure of our own collaboration with it all, isn’t meant to scare or harm us but to find God again.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, we respond to the idea of judgment by practicing critique and truth telling – noticing places in our own contemporary American consumer empire that overpromise, lie, or do violence. Consider anything in your upbringing that has led to you fear or resent other nations or cultures. Ask God to help you to see all the peoples of the earth as potential friends and partners in worship instead.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your church’s journey of faith and worship, that increasing devotion to God will lead to deeper communion with people from all nations and deeper confidence that God is with us on earth.

The Bible Guide

A Voice from Heaven – Revelation Bible Guide Day 19

Previously in Revelation

¹⁸This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.

Day 19 – 4th Thursday

Revelation 14:1-20

Then I looked, and there was the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion! And with him were one hundred forty-four thousand who had his name and his Father’s name written on their foreheads. ²And I heard a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters and like the sound of loud thunder; the voice I heard was like the sound of harpists playing on their harps, ³and they sing a new song before the throne and before the four living creatures and before the elders. No one could learn that song except the one hundred forty-four thousand who have been redeemed from the earth. ⁴It is these who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins; these follow the Lamb wherever he goes. They have been redeemed from humankind as first fruits for God and the Lamb, ⁵and in their mouth no lie was found; they are blameless.

⁶Then I saw another angel flying in midheaven, with an eternal gospel to proclaim to those who live on the earth—to every nation and tribe and language and people. ⁷He said in a loud voice, “Fear God and give him glory, for the hour of his judgment has come; and worship him who made heaven and earth, the sea and the springs of water.”

⁸Then another angel, a second, followed, saying, “Fallen, fallen is Babylon the great! She has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

⁹Then another angel, a third, followed them, crying with a loud voice, “Those who worship the beast and its image, and receive a mark on their foreheads or on their hands, ¹⁰they will also drink the wine of God’s wrath, poured unmixed into the cup of his anger, and they will be tormented with fire and sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and in the presence of the Lamb. ¹¹And the smoke of their torment goes up forever and ever. There is no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image and for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”

¹²Here is a call for the endurance of the saints, those who keep the commandments of God and hold fast to the faith of Jesus.

¹³And I heard a voice from heaven saying, “Write this: Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord.” “Yes,” says the Spirit, “they will rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them.”

¹⁴Then I looked, and there was a white cloud, and seated on the cloud was one like the Son of Man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand! ¹⁵Another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to the one who sat on the cloud, “Use your sickle and reap, for the hour to reap has come, because the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.” ¹⁶So the one who sat on the cloud swung his sickle over the earth, and the earth was reaped.

¹⁷Then another angel came out of the temple in heaven, and he too had a sharp sickle. ¹⁸Then another angel came out from the altar, the angel who has authority over fire, and he called with a loud voice to him who had the sharp sickle, “Use your sharp sickle and gather the clusters of the vine of the earth, for its grapes are ripe.” ¹⁹So the angel swung his sickle over the earth and gathered the vintage of the earth, and he threw it into the great wine press of the wrath of God. ²⁰And the wine press was trodden outside the city, and blood flowed from the wine press, as high as a horse’s bridle, for a distance of about two hundred miles.

Points of Interest

“the Lamb, standing on Mount Zion” – The fifth of Revelation’s seven worship scenes begins with the Lamb atop Jerusalem’s mountain. In John’s spiritual tradition, this is tantamount to saying Jesus is standing up as King of the world.
“a voice from heaven like the sound of many waters” – Jesus’ beautiful and powerful voice is mingled with the songs of the people Jesus has redeemed. While some people have been busy buying into Empire, Jesus has been buying into the songs and freedom of people.
“they are virgins” – As with just about everything in Revelation, reading this literally doesn’t do service to the text. Sexual purity is used extensively in the Bible and in apocalyptic literature as a symbol for devotion to God. The worshippers aren’t buying the lying seduction of Empire, be it the gods of Rome or the promises of Western consumer capitalism.
“another angel” – The rest of the chapter is structured around seven messengers of God – three angels, a Christ-like figure on a cloud, and then three more angels.
“the hour of his judgment has come” – The message of the angels is judgment. I’d like to suggest we read these symbols of judgment less as punishment, and more as truth telling and exposure. Revelation’s purpose isn’t to threaten but to literally reveal how God is with us and how God sees things. From God’s perspective, the promises of civic religion – peace and victory for Rome, life and liberty and happiness in our time – are bankrupt. They lead us away from God’s “springs of water” and into “the wine of wrath,” away from health and toward that which intoxicates us but leaves us worse off.
“fire and sulfur” – If you’ve ever wondered where the expression “fire and brimstone” comes from, this is the spot. Brimstone is sulfur, a long and slow-burning, nasty smelling rock. John’s vivid language is polemical, meant to scare people out of compromise.
“Blessed are the dead who from now on die in the Lord” – There’s a note of comfort in this passage, that people who hold to the faith of Jesus and die – whether naturally or through violence – will rest with God and be gathered to God in the metaphorical grain harvest of vs. 14-16.
“the great winepress of the wrath of God” – The grain harvest is followed by a grape harvest, which is less comforting. John didn’t invent the phrase “blood as high as a horse” but borrowed it from common use in apocalyptic literature, to evoke the violence that comes to the enemies of God who live by violence themselves. It’s ironic that in American history, the phrase “grapes of wrath” borrowed from this passage came to be used in the “Battle Hymn of the Republic” to threaten the violence America’s armies would do to our enemies, as if a violent God is on the side of our country. This is the language and behavior of the dragon or the best, not of God’s Kingdom.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, we’ll respond to the idea of judgment by practicing critique and truth telling – noticing places in our own contemporary American consumer empire that overpromise, lie, or do violence. Ask God if there are places in your life where you have seen God as on your side, or the side of your country and group, and cheered on harm to your enemy. Seek God’s forgiveness and a faith and mindset free of this pollution.

A Direction for Prayer

For your six, that they would have the perspective to notice false promises they have believed in. Ask God for their redemption and freedom.

The Bible Guide

The Image of the Beast – Revelation Bible Guide Day 18

Previously in Revelation

¹⁷Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.

Day 18 – 4th Wednesday

Revelation 12:18-13:18

¹⁸Then the dragon took his stand on the sand of the seashore.

13 ¹And I saw a beast rising out of the sea, having ten horns and seven heads; and on its horns were ten diadems, and on its heads were blasphemous names. ²And the beast that I saw was like a leopard, its feet were like a bear’s, and its mouth was like a lion’s mouth. And the dragon gave it his power and his throne and great authority. ³One of its heads seemed to have received a death-blow, but its mortal wound had been healed. In amazement the whole earth followed the beast. ⁴They worshiped the dragon, for he had given his authority to the beast, and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who can fight against it?”

⁵The beast was given a mouth uttering haughty and blasphemous words, and it was allowed to exercise authority for forty-two months. ⁶It opened its mouth to utter blasphemies against God, blaspheming his name and his dwelling, that is, those who dwell in heaven. ⁷Also it was allowed to make war on the saints and to conquer them. It was given authority over every tribe and people and language and nation, ⁸and all the inhabitants of the earth will worship it, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb that was slaughtered.

⁹Let anyone who has an ear listen:

¹⁰If you are to be taken captive,
into captivity you go;
if you kill with the sword,
with the sword you must be killed.

Here is a call for the endurance and faith of the saints.

¹¹Then I saw another beast that rose out of the earth; it had two horns like a lamb and it spoke like a dragon. ¹²It exercises all the authority of the first beast on its behalf, and it makes the earth and its inhabitants worship the first beast, whose mortal wound had been healed. ¹³It performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in the sight of all; ¹⁴and by the signs that it is allowed to perform on behalf of the beast, it deceives the inhabitants of earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that had been wounded by the sword and yet lived; ¹⁵and it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast so that the image of the beast could even speak and cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be killed. ¹⁶Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, ¹⁷so that no one can buy or sell who does not have the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. ¹⁸This calls for wisdom: let anyone with understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a person. Its number is six hundred sixty-six.

Points of Interest

“I saw a beast” – Great: the devil dragon has friends. Announcing the rise of the sea beast and the land beast! In a chapter full of parody, we have a demonic trinity.
“a beast rising out of the sea” – This looks a lot like Asia’s experience of Rome, rising out of the Mediterranean in their powerful ships. They had known seven Roman emperors (seven crowned heads). John unmasks these powers as selfish, exploitative liars.
“They worshipped the dragon” – And yet people buy the lies of empire. When they weren’t being crushed by Rome’s armies, the world celebrated the peace and victory of Rome. Did you know that much of the world reads this material in Revelation and doesn’t think of Rome but of us? Over the past century, the United States has been the dominant force in the world: economically, culturally, in politics and in military force. Our calling card has been freedom, democracy, and prosperity, but that hasn’t consistently been people’s experience of our power, to put it mildly. Much of the world has a love-hate relationship with America. That’s always how it is with power and wealth – we think we want it and we worship it but the costs to our lives and our souls are high.
“It was allowed to make war on the saints” – Empire’s war against the innocent powerless is part of its demonic liturgy. In Rome, think crucifixions and brutal lion attacks against Christians. In all times and places, think of public executions and the loud cheers for death of the enemy in war.
“If you are taken captive…” At the heart of the chapter, we get a grim statement of karma and a grim call to endurance. Worship empire and you’ll be its prisoner. Be empire, and you’ll die by your own violence. Trust Jesus, endure, and have faith. There’s a better way.
“another beast that rose out of the earth” – The land beast in John’s context probably represents local collaborators with Rome. West Asian political and economic powers were eager to welcome and kiss up to their Roman colonizers, even building large temples to Rome’s gods to curry favor.
“two horns like a lamb” – The collaborators with empire are a parody of the true faith. They look a little like the Lamb, when they’re really more like the dragon. I think of how often our churches sell out – looking or talking like communities of faith in Jesus when what we most prize is the wealth and security and approval of power.
“It deceives the inhabitants of the earth” – Empire that opposes God’s way on earth does so through propaganda – promising much, working occasional wonders, but largely not delivering on its promises.
“the image of the beast” – Roman coins had the faces of their emperors on them. You couldn’t participate in their economy without participating in their empire. Same for us? If you think the United States is immoral or violent or sham-religious while actually godless, do you really stop buying all consumer goods that hurt the environment or hurt global workers? Do you stop paying taxes? It’s not easy to disentangle from our collective sins!
“Its number is six hundred sixty-six” – Ah, one of Revelation’s infamous symbols that’s made its way into our superstitions. In John’s world, this is a number of ultimate imperfection. One less than a perfect seven, magnified by three. It also, through some complicated numerology, may be code for Emperor Nero, who had been the first Roman emperor to scapegoat and slaughter followers of Jesus.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, we’ll respond to the idea of judgment by practicing critique and truth telling – noticing places in our own contemporary American consumer empire that overpromise, lie, or do violence. Reflect on places where your use of money is tied to larger injustices. Ask God were you might have freedom to lower your participation in economic injustice or propaganda.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for some of the largest companies or industries you can think of in your country or region. Pray that their activity and marketing will be more beneficial for residents of the earth, less exploitative or unjust, and more truthful.

The Bible Guide

A Great Red Dragon – Revelation Bible Guide Day 17

Previously in Revelation

¹⁹Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Day 17 – 4th Tuesday

Revelation 12:1-17

A great portent appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet, and on her head a crown of twelve stars. ²She was pregnant and was crying out in birth pangs, in the agony of giving birth. ³Then another portent appeared in heaven: a great red dragon, with seven heads and ten horns, and seven diadems on his heads. ⁴His tail swept down a third of the stars of heaven and threw them to the earth. Then the dragon stood before the woman who was about to bear a child, so that he might devour her child as soon as it was born. ⁵And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne; ⁶and the woman fled into the wilderness, where she has a place prepared by God, so that there she can be nourished for one thousand two hundred sixty days.

⁷And war broke out in heaven; Michael and his angels fought against the dragon. The dragon and his angels fought back, ⁸but they were defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. ⁹The great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.

¹⁰Then I heard a loud voice in heaven, proclaiming,

“Now have come the salvation and the power
and the kingdom of our God
and the authority of his Messiah,
for the accuser of our comrades has been thrown down,
who accuses them day and night before our God.
¹¹But they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony,
for they did not cling to life even in the face of death.
¹²Rejoice then, you heavens
and those who dwell in them!
But woe to the earth and the sea,
for the devil has come down to you
with great wrath,
because he knows that his time is short!”

¹³So when the dragon saw that he had been thrown down to the earth, he pursued the woman who had given birth to the male child. ¹⁴But the woman was given the two wings of the great eagle, so that she could fly from the serpent into the wilderness, to her place where she is nourished for a time, and times, and half a time. ¹⁵Then from his mouth the serpent poured water like a river after the woman, to sweep her away with the flood. ¹⁶But the earth came to the help of the woman; it opened its mouth and swallowed the river that the dragon had poured from his mouth. ¹⁷Then the dragon was angry with the woman, and went off to make war on the rest of her children, those who keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus.

Points of Interest

“a woman clothed with the sun” – Have you seen Mother, the Darren Aronofsky/Jennifer Lawrence horror movie? This scene reminds me of that film. An innocent woman is pregnant, and everything in her world conspires to ruin her idyllic life and destroy her baby. It’s an old symbolic story, as John’s writing here evokes the ancient story of Isis and other Egyptian and Greek myths told in first century Western Asia.
“a great red dragon” – In John’s retelling of the myth, the woman and her baby are up against an impossibly powerful and evil force. This is David and Goliath, this is itty bitty house churches trying to pursue faith under the watch of a hostile Roman Empire, this is baby Jesus at the mercy of a cruel world, hell-bent on wealth and power and rarely kind to innocent, vulnerable love and truth.
“rule all the nations with a rod of iron” – Almost every time you read something strange in Revelation, it’s because John is living in a literary, symbolic universe that you don’t know about. That’s both the challenge and the delight of this odd book. Here John is quoting Psalm 2, which had become famous by John’s time as speaking to a human leader who’d double as God’s leader on earth: God’s Messiah, or in Greek, the Christ. So John says this vulnerable human, protected by God and born to rule the earth, is Jesus.
“the great dragon .. who is called the Devil and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world” – In Revelation’s universe, the world a battlefield. In one corner, the mighty forces of human Empire, who rule through violent force and deceptive propaganda. The spiritual force behind that is called Satan. In the other corner is the beauty and wisdom and goodness of God – immensely powerful but visible on earth only through a Christ born as a baby and crucified like a lamb, and through communities gathered in Jesus’ name that struggle to live faithfully, rather than getting caught up in the world’s ways of greed, violence, and false worship of money and sex and security.
“Now have come the salvation and power” – John’s witness is to say that though the odds look bad, God’s way of love works. Resurrection follows death. The crucified Jesus looked like a symbol of defeat but was in fact a victory. The ancient church called this “Christus victor” – Christ in his death defeated the power of evil, submitting to it only to defeat it in resurrection, liberating his followers from fear.
“Then the dragon was angry” – This is John’s serious realism within his symbolic universe. Just because Jesus wins doesn’t mean a life of faith will be easy. We live in a hostile world, where humility and love and kindness get crushed sometimes. John encourages us: hold on, it’s temporary.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, we’ll respond to the idea of judgment by practicing critique and truth telling – noticing places in our own contemporary American consumer empire that overpromise, lie, or do violence. Think of a force in our society that uses power and violence to oppose good for the vulnerable. Pray for Jesus’ help for the vulnerable in this scenario.

A Direction for Prayer

For your six, that God will help them be alert to the stakes of the times we live in and give them the opportunity to serve God’s purposes in our generation. Pray for their protection from evil and harm as well.

The Bible Guide

Those Who Destroy the Earth – Revelation Bible Guide Day 16

Previously in Revelation

¹¹Then they said to me, “You must prophesy again about many peoples and nations and languages and kings.”

Day 16 – 4th Monday

Revelation 11:1-19

Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told, “Come and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, ²but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations, and they will trample over the holy city for forty-two months. ³And I will grant my two witnesses authority to prophesy for one thousand two hundred sixty days, wearing sackcloth.”

⁴These are the two olive trees and the two lampstands that stand before the Lord of the earth. ⁵And if anyone wants to harm them, fire pours from their mouth and consumes their foes; anyone who wants to harm them must be killed in this manner. ⁶They have authority to shut the sky, so that no rain may fall during the days of their prophesying, and they have authority over the waters to turn them into blood, and to strike the earth with every kind of plague, as often as they desire.

⁷When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up from the bottomless pit will make war on them and conquer them and kill them, ⁸and their dead bodies will lie in the street of the great city that is prophetically called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. ⁹For three and a half days members of the peoples and tribes and languages and nations will gaze at their dead bodies and refuse to let them be placed in a tomb; ¹⁰and the inhabitants of the earth will gloat over them and celebrate and exchange presents, because these two prophets had been a torment to the inhabitants of the earth.

¹¹But after the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered them, and they stood on their feet, and those who saw them were terrified. ¹²Then they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” And they went up to heaven in a cloud while their enemies watched them. ¹³At that moment there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell; seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified and gave glory to the God of heaven.

¹⁴The second woe has passed. The third woe is coming very soon.

¹⁵Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying,

“The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord
and of his Messiah,
and he will reign forever and ever.”

¹⁶Then the twenty-four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, ¹⁷singing,

“We give you thanks, Lord God Almighty,
who are and who were,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
¹⁸The nations raged,
but your wrath has come,
and the time for judging the dead,
for rewarding your servants, the prophets
and saints and all who fear your name,
both small and great,
and for destroying those who destroy the earth.”

¹⁹Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and the ark of his covenant was seen within his temple; and there were flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake, and heavy hail.

Points of Interest

Where are we again? Since chapter six, we’ve been reading a coded historical review – John’s perspective of God’s perspective on history. It’s been portrayed as a written announcement with seven seals and an oral proclamation of seven trumpets.
“the temple” – The chapter begins with John measuring the temple and ends with him finding the ark of the covenant inside, which is confusing because Jerusalem Temple 2.0 was destroyed by Rome a generation before this and the ark was lost when version 1.0 was destroyed by Babylon centuries earlier. But the temple always symbolized God’s presence with God’s people on earth. To me, this sounds like John is saying that all is well. God is still here, still with people that love and wait for God.
“forty-two months” – Various versions of three and a half years and three and a half days are all over the middle of Revelation. It’s half of John’s number of perfection and means something like “feels like a long time, but it’s only a little while.”
“two witnesses” – We don’t know who these two witnesses are that speak for God. Jewish law and culture required two witnesses for any trustworthy statement. These could reference lots of Old Testament prophets. The best scholarship I’ve read is that this may be Jesus and the church of Jesus. The rest of this review has been threats of plagues and suffering if people don’t shape up, and we saw in 9:20 that punishment doesn’t work to change hearts and minds. So, near the end of this section, we see God taking another strategy – speaking truth, dying, and rising again. This is to be the pattern of Jesus’ church in the world too – speaking and living the truth in love, even to the point of suffering, and trusting God for resurrection.
“the seventh angel blew his trumpet” – We’re ready for the final beat in this long historical review. More punishment, more suffering, more plagues, right? Wrong. There’s a surprise coming. Death and resurrection leads to a new community, a new way of God on earth, and a different kind of victory.
“the kingdom of the world” – This is radical stuff. In John’s time, the kingdom of the world was the Roman empire, looking like the mightiest force the earth had ever seen. John says it’s breathing its dying gasps. The kingdom/Empire/country of God is just beginning.
“destroying those who destroy the earth” – Scripture teaches that God’s deepest ways are grace and mercy. But there’s a form of karma in God’s ways as well. People and empires that destroy will themselves be destroyed, if we don’t call out to God for mercy and start to change. That looks like wrath when it happens, but really, it is justice.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, we’ll respond to the idea of judgment by practicing critique and truth telling – noticing places in our own contemporary American consumer empire that overpromise, lie, or do violence. Is there a distraction or pleasure that culture promotes that you’ve hoped will shield you from suffering and pain? Ask God for the courage to let it go, and trust God to comfort and deliver you from pain.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your church’s witness in your city, that your church would remind people God is with us – not as another destroyer of the earth, but as one who has died and risen to establish a better community and a better way of life.