Category: Bible Guide

River of the Water of Life – Revelation Bible Guide Day 29

Previously in Revelation

27But nothing unclean will enter it, nor anyone who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.

Day 29 – 6th Thursday

Revelation 22:1-7

Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb 2through the middle of the street of the city. On either side of the river is the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, producing its fruit each month; and the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. 3Nothing accursed will be found there any more. But the throne of God and of the Lamb will be in it, and his servants will worship him; 4they will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads. 5And there will be no more night; they need no light of lamp or sun, for the Lord God will be their light, and they will reign forever and ever.

6And he said to me, “These words are trustworthy and true, for the Lord, the God of the spirits of the prophets, has sent his angel to show his servants what must soon take place.”

7“See, I am coming soon! Blessed is the one who keeps the words of the prophecy of this book.”

Points of Interest

    • “the river of the water of life” – It turns out that the spring in this city becomes a whole river that is born in the very person of God. Jews long had a hopeful vision of good and beautiful things being born in their largest city of Jerusalem, symbolized by a river flowing out from Jerusalem. This hope was something of a literal impossibility for this dry, elevated location. Now, with God living in the great city that is the whole new heaven and earth, the dream comes true. All that is inside of God flows to all of us.
    • “the tree of life” – This is evocative of the garden of Eden as well as several other moments in the Old Testament. Here, though, there are twelve different fruits and its’ found on both sides of the river. So it’s not so much a tree that God has planted as a whole orchard. I’ve watched a friend of mine plant and tend to a small orchard, meant to nourish its owners with delightful fruit. It is such a gift, and one that takes such immense planning and work and care. All that is the case here, but the produce isn’t just apples or peaches but abundant, many-varied fruit, and medicinal leaves that heal us all. So beautiful.
    • “his servants will worship” – The word for servants is literally slaves. Scholars estimate that around one third of the population of the Roman empire were slaves, so all of John’s first audience were either slaves or slave-owners or knew one of the two. The word is used here but for the opposite of its reality. The slaves have a couple of slave-like qualities still – they are marked by God on their foreheads, a sign of belonging but of ownership as well; and they worship God. But they also are welcome at the throne and the reign with God forever, so they are co-rulers, not slaves at all. I think this indicates a radical and liberating shift in the human experience.
    • “they will see his face” – The new heaven and earth experience is less that of a worker or slave and more of a trusting child or intimate lover. Metaphors of children of God and bride of Christ are used to indicate the trust and openness and immediacy of seeing God face to face.
    • “These words are trustworthy and true” – As John starts to wrap up, he rephrases many of his opening statements, including an assurance of his complex letter’s authenticity and reliability.

Spiritual Exercise

This week, as Easter approaches, and Revelation climaxes with its vision of a new heaven and a new earth, we’ll look to cultivate hope. Take some time and use your imagination to cultivate hope. Picture yourself walking alongside the river of the water of life, sampling the orchard’s abundant fruit, applying the balm from their leaves to any inner or outer wounds. What does this feel like? Take your time. Now picture yourself face to face with God, who is full of light. What do you experience? What do you do or say? What does God have to say to you? What expression is on God’s face?

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for people and groups you are aware of who are most wounded, most oppressed or outcast or hurt. Ask Jesus to grow the orchard of fruit and healing in their lives. Ask Jesus to flow toward them the river of life that begins in God’s self. Pray for God’s presence and healing for them.

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.

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

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.