Daily Bible Guide - Reservoir Church

One Seated on the Throne – Revelation Bible Guide Day 11

Previously in Revelation

And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

Day 11

Revelation 6:1-17

Then I saw the Lamb open one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures call out, as with a voice of thunder, “Come!” ²I looked, and there was a white horse! Its rider had a bow; a crown was given to him, and he came out conquering and to conquer.

³When he opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature call out, “Come!” ⁴And out came another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that people would slaughter one another; and he was given a great sword.

⁵When he opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature call out, “Come!” I looked, and there was a black horse! Its rider held a pair of scales in his hand, ⁶and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s pay, and three quarts of barley for a day’s pay, but do not damage the olive oil and the wine!”

⁷When he opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature call out, “Come!” ⁸I looked and there was a pale green horse! Its rider’s name was Death, and Hades followed with him; they were given authority over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword, famine, and pestilence, and by the wild animals of the earth.

⁹When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slaughtered for the word of God and for the testimony they had given; ¹⁰they cried out with a loud voice, “Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long will it be before you judge and avenge our blood on the inhabitants of the earth?” ¹¹They were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number would be complete both of their fellow servants and of their brothers and sisters, who were soon to be killed as they themselves had been killed.

¹²When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and there came a great earthquake; the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, ¹³and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree drops its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. ¹⁴The sky vanished like a scroll rolling itself up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. ¹⁵Then the kings of the earth and the magnates and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, ¹⁶calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one seated on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb; ¹⁷for the great day of their wrath has come, and who is able to stand?”

Points of Interest

“seven seals” – In Ch. 5, Jesus the Lamb arrived to open a scroll with seven seals, with a version of human history from God’s perspective, through a kaleidoscopic lens of symbolic imagery.
“white horse” – Evoking the crazy history of Revelation’s interpretation, the seals begin with the famous “four horsemen of the apocalypse.” Each represents some of the worst trials of human history – military invasion, death in war, economic injustice, famine, disease. Unlike the Lamb, the horses are aggressive & violent. They don’t suffer for others’ good, but slaughter & cause suffering.
“its rider was permitted” – While these horses and riders are not from God or of God, they are permitted by God. I think John means this to be comforting – that even the worst collective human evil is still under God’s control. Yet it is disturbing as well. While Revelation promises God’s victory and our victory over evil, it doesn’t try to answer why God doesn’t insist on a history without violence and suffering. Perhaps the image of Jesus knocking is helpful here – God will gently intervene in history but not crush our will and micromanage. Perhaps we can remember the slaughtered Lamb as well – that Jesus interrupts human violence by becoming a conquering victim, suffering with us now and promising a future age without violence and suffering.
“Sovereign Lord” – The first century and all of history also includes the unjust suffering of people who refuse to respect corrupt human authorities but pledge their allegiance to God instead.
“How long” – Human victims utter the age-old question that is stated twenty times in the Hebrew prayer book of the psalms.
“white robe” – Seems odd at first that the innocent victims of history are given a lousy bathrobe and told to wait around. The white robe, though, is an answer to part of the “how long” question. It symbolizes victory. Unjust suffering is always temporary. God will vindicate.
“a great earthquake” – The cataclysm of the sixth seal is typical symbolic biblical language for massive societal and political upheaval. This too is occasionally part of history.
“the wrath of the Lamb” – This is an unexpected, ironic phrase. Overpowering anger isn’t the first thing we’d expect from a gentle, slaughtered lamb! Many theologians – particularly from Eastern traditions – point out that anytime God is personified, there is symbolism at work. Here, the symbol would be for the consequences of human evil. God doesn’t magically wipe out the enormous suffering that comes with personal and collective human violence. God allows the fearsome consequences captured in this chapter, leading John to ask, “How can we endure?” We’ll come back to that tomorrow.

Spiritual Exercise

In the midst of Revelation’s drama, we see this week our third of seven scenes of worship. These remind us that in the drama of our times, we can still find solidarity with one another and connect with a good God who listens to us through worship. Each day this week, you’re invited to withdraw from the stress and urgency of daily life and reflect on God’s power and goodness. Today, consider that in all of the very worst evil and suffering in the human story, both present and past, God is still alive, still good, and still promises victory and redemption. Let God know you know that is true, or that you hope that is true, or even that you want to hope that is true.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for each of your six by name, that wherever they are asking “How long?” they will experience hope, faith, and courage.

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. The series starts here.

Honor and Glory and Might – Revelation Bible Guide Day 10

Previously in Revelation

Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Day 10

Revelation 5:7-14

⁷He went and took the scroll from the right hand of the one who was seated on the throne. ⁸When he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, each holding a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. ⁹They sing a new song: “You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slaughtered and by your blood you ransomed for God saints from every tribe and language and people and nation; ¹⁰you have made them to be a kingdom and priests serving our God, and they will reign on earth.” ¹¹Then I looked, and I heard the voice of many angels surrounding the throne and the living creatures and the elders; they numbered myriads of myriads and thousands of thousands, ¹²singing with full voice, “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” ¹³Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, singing, “To the one seated on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” ¹⁴And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” And the elders fell down and worshiped.

Points of Interest

“the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb” – The Lamb gets the same worship as Creator God did in the last chapter. In many ways, Chapter 5 is a parallel to, or a recapitulation of Chapter 4. Stories are told about this Lamb, songs are sung, just as with God. This is part of the first century Jesus community’s working out what it means that Jesus and Creator God are two persons that share the same nature and identity. It’s also part of their working out that Jesus is the deepest, clearest, most accurate picture the world has yet seen of the nature and character of God. Want to know what God looks like? Look at Jesus.
“the prayers of the saints” – Our worship and prayer on earth reaches God and are both beautiful and valuable to God.
“You are worthy… for you were slaughtered” – Jesus can see and reveal God’s plans for history because Jesus endured suffering on all humanity’s behalf. Conquering comes through self-giving, vulnerable suffering, not through violence. This would have shattered the Roman ideal of redemptive violence that peace is secured through war, that military conquest brings glory. The myth of redemptive violence is also an obsession of contemporary American entertainment and nationalism. We see and hear that through violence, heroic victories are won, national freedoms are protected, and justice is secured. But God doesn’t use violence as a tool or a means to an end. Jesus is worthy for using sacrificial love and powerful vulnerability as a means to redemption.
“and by your blood you ransomed for God saints” – Ransom is an old metaphor for the meaning of Jesus’ crucifixion. People were enslaved to our own foolishness and addiction and the power of evil. Jesus can free us, and his blood is the ransom payment. It’s metaphor. No one is necessarily being paid off, but God pays the full cost of our freedom, not us.
“from every tribe and language and people and nation” – Jesus is drawing people to God from every conceivable human demographic across the globe.
“to be a kingdom and priests serving our God” – The destiny for God’s children isn’t just freedom but authority. Keep in mind that many of the first century believers were slaves. What good news this is that all people, regardless of how much they have been diminished, are made to be co-rulers with God on earth.
“to receive power and wealth…” – A second worship song, sung by millions in full voice, to the slaughtered Lamb. It’s a stunning scene of hope and victory. Jesus has the right to all the things the most powerful emperor could ever dream of having. His victory is total. For people who suffer or make counter-cultural choices to align with Jesus, this is a scene of great hope for them as well. Team Jesus wins, but not at any one else’s expense.

Spiritual Exercise

This week we invite you to welcome Jesus to knock on your door, to center your life, and to shape your vision of God. Imagine yourself among the millions singing around this throne. Are you comfortable there or not? What victory do you hope Jesus has achieved for humanity?

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your city: that people and churches and media and arts would learn to tell stories of redemptive suffering rather than redemptive violence.

The Bible Guide

A Lamb, Slaughtered – Revelation Bible Guide Day 9

Previously in Revelation

You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.

Day 9

Revelation 5:1-6

Then I saw in the right hand of the one seated on the throne a scroll written on the inside and on the back, sealed with seven seals; ²and I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” ³And no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth was able to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁴And I began to weep bitterly because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it. ⁵Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep. See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered, so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.” ⁶Then I saw between the throne and the four living creatures and among the elders a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered, having seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth.

Points of Interest

“a scroll” – Kings would write decrees and plans on scrolls. God’s got an important one here. Tradition has it that this scroll represents something far more comprehensive than usual – like all God’s plans to judge and save the world and otherwise reckon with human history.
“sealed with seven seals” – Royal scrolls were closed with a single wax seal, as marks of royal authority and disincentive for the wrong person to open it. Security on this one is tight. In John’s world of sevens, perfectly tight. None of us mortals should claim to know God’s plans.
“I began to weep bitterly” – But John really, really wants to know, and he really wants God’s plans to proceed, good as they must be.
“The Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David” – Good News. God’s warrior, God’s human ruler is in town to do the job. These titles evoke royal strength – the king of the jungle and Israel’s greatest king. They also were recognizable Messianic images – Messiah being the promised ruler of God on earth.
“a Lamb standing as if it had been slaughtered” – Well, that is unexpected. The Messiah, the scroll-breaker, the conqueror with the victory wreath was called a king and a lion. When John sees him in the heart of the throne room, though, he looks more like a lamb soaked in its own blood. In Jesus, God is radically reframing what power and strength look like. The whole point of power in the Roman imperial system and pretty much any other human system is to stay at the top of the pyramid – to avoid suffering for yourself, and subject others to it as needed for your own security and wealth or for the supposed greater good. Jesus embraces suffering and is unashamed to continue to be marked by vulnerability and gentleness. As the Lamb is a central image for John, we’ll have more opportunities to reflect on it. For now, consider how this image might reframe your conception of God, or of power, or of leadership, or of masculinity, or of any number of
things.
“having seven horns and seven eyes” — Seven is John’s number of completion or perfection, and horns in his tradition symbolize strength. Though he is a lamb, in this vision the poetic symbolism indicates Jesus also has complete power and perspective, seeing and knowing all things. He sees and knows all things — not just in this throne room, but by the Spirit of God, everywhere, in all the earth.

Spiritual Exercise

This week we invite you to welcome Jesus to knock on your door, to center your life, and to shape your vision of God. Imagine the risen Jesus telling you that he wants to show you what God is like. I’m not sure that the bloody lamb image works as well in our century. Perhaps you could imagine Jesus appearing to you as a hunger-weakened refugee or a prisoner of war. How does being with Jesus the victim of violence shape your image of God? Is it easy or hard to picture Jesus like this?

A Direction for Prayer

Many of our views of God are influenced by our experiences of our parents and other leaders. Pray for your six, for healing from any abusive, controlling, or power-hungry leadership they have seen or experienced in their lives. Pray that Jesus’ spirit sent out into all the earth would encourage and nourish them today.

Bible Guide – Day 10

The Bible Guide

God is worthy – Revelation Bible Guide Day 8

Previously in Revelation

Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; ⁶and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Day 8

Revelation 4:6b-11

Around the throne, and on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind: ⁷the first living creature like a lion, the second living creature like an ox, the third living creature with a face like a human face, and the fourth living creature like a flying eagle. ⁸And the four living creatures, each of them with six wings, are full of eyes all around and inside. Day and night without ceasing they sing, “Holy, holy, holy, the Lord God the Almighty, who was and is and is to come.” ⁹And whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to the one who is seated on the throne, who lives forever and ever, ¹⁰the twenty-four elders fall before the one who is seated on the throne and worship the one who lives forever and ever; they cast their crowns before the throne, singing, ¹¹“You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they existed and were created.”

Points of Interest

“Around the throne…” We’re returning to the palace image from yesterday. In this week’s guide, we’re slowing down the pace to let our minds and imaginations soak in Chapter 4 and 5’s images of God and calls to worship. Revelation gets pretty weird in our material over the next three weeks, but before we go there, we’re trying to do the same thing Jesus
did for John – center our minds in God’s beautiful and powerful being.
“four living creatures, full of eyes” – John reworks a strange image from the first chapter of the Bible’s book of Ezekiel. This tradition of God having other non-human sidekicks may be part of the evolution of faith from polytheistic to monotheistic. Early in the Bible, God is presented as the most supreme of all the gods, the only god worthy of allegiance and the only god able to love and help and rescue. Over time, Jews and then followers of Jesus came to understand that there is only one true god at all. The writers, though, continue to picture God as surrounded by other beings that worship God or do what God
needs done.
“full of eyes… lion, ox, human, eagle” – John’s imagery and metaphors aren’t visually literal but symbolically and imaginatively evocative. Whoever these creatures literally are or aren’t, we’re to imagine, with their slew of eyes everywhere, that they are watchful. God’s people see everything, they don’t miss a beat. They are also noble and strong and wise and fast.
“Holy, holy, holy” – Anyone and anything that’s near God can’t help but keep talking about how awesome God is. “Holy” means other or separate, but in a good sense. God is more beautiful and powerful and perfect than any other known reference point – arrestingly different.
“who was and is and is to come” – God is before and after all time and found in the present within time and in eternity beyond time. This is part of God’s wow factor. I’m hesitant to try to explain this, but for instance: Can we pray for something that already happened? Can we trust that God will be good in the future? Can we hope to find God in this moment, whatever this moment brings? Perhaps a yes to all of that and more.
“they cast their crowns before the throne” – There’s a drama playing out around God. The human representatives maybe stand for all of us that stick with Jesus until we achieve victory in life (the conquering all the letters to the churches talk about). And everyone’s got a crown. Everyone has power and leadership and responsibility and honor. But when the four MCs start singing, everybody throws their crowns to the ground. They all forget about themselves again and love and respect God. This cycle of God loving and empowering us and doing good work, and us losing ourselves in wonder and love and worship seems to be the nature of human destiny as John understands it.
“You are worthy” – In a time and place when all of John’s audience and John himself were subject to a Roman emperor and a whole pyramid of power and class structures underneath that, Revelation’s God is radically counter-imperial. Only God is worth allegiance. Only God has ultimate power. There’s an implicit invitation to all people who read Revelation to ask who and what we follow and lead, who and what promises our security, and to re-center our worship and trust and allegiance on God.

Spiritual Exercise

This week we invite you to welcome Jesus to knock on your door, to center your life, and to shape your vision of God. Imagine for a moment that Jesus has invited you to a sing along. In a beautiful room, creatures of all types are singing about God’s beauty and power. What about God would you find arresting? What song would you sing?

A Direction for Prayer

Pray that your church’s worship life would be vigorous and joyful, that you and others would have your imaginations captured by the beauty and power of God.

Bible Guide – Day 9

The Bible Guide

A door stood open – Revelation Bible Guide Day 7

Previously in Revelation

To the one who conquers I will give a place with me on my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat
down with my Father on his throne.

Day 7

Revelation 4:1-6a

After this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.” ²At once I was in the spirit, and there in heaven stood a throne, with one seated on the throne! ³And the one seated there looks like jasper and carnelian, and around the throne is a rainbow that looks like an emerald. ⁴Around the throne are twenty-four thrones, and seated on the thrones are twenty-four elders, dressed in white robes, with golden crowns on their heads. ⁵Coming from the throne are flashes of lightning, and rumblings and peals of thunder, and in front of the throne burn seven flaming torches, which are the seven spirits of God; ⁶and in front of the throne there is something like a sea of glass, like crystal.

Points of Interest

“a door stood open” — Heaven in the New Testament isn’t a particular place or time, certainly not just some realm in the skies where dead people go. It’s the sphere of reality where God lives and rules, both outside of space and time as we know it and yet accessible in our space and time as well. Mysterious, but accessible – the door is open.
“in the Spirit” – Chapter four begins the first of seven visions which make up most of the rest of Revelation. John’s vision is described metaphorically as a journey he takes into heaven – God’s realm – to see what’s going on with God behind the scenes of what we see on earth.
“there in heaven stood a throne” – This throne-room scene feels like a mash-up of two places familiar to John: the center of a temple and the center of a palace. From the Jewish temple in Jerusalem and the imperial cult of the Roman Empire, these centers of beauty and power and mystery were familiar to John. The Old Testament often pictures God living in a temple or ruling from a throne. Each time, the writers go overboard with the imagery to communicate that God is more powerful and more beautiful than anything they have yet seen. At least one goal of this imagery is to re-center us. No president or boss is the center of power on earth – God is. And no celebrity or marketing prop most radiates beauty – God does.
“jasper and carnelian” – God’s looking pretty fly. Jasper is a stone that, when clear, sparkles and flashes, and carnelian is a deep red. What this evokes for me is that God is stunning and beautiful, on the one hand absolutely transparent with nothing to hide, and on the other hand, possessing the depth and power and light of fire.
“a rainbow” – Above everything that is powerful and mysterious and fierce around this throne is a beautiful, green-hued rainbow. Dating back to the ancient flood story in Genesis, this has been an image of the kindness and mercy and promise of God.
“around the throne are … twenty-four elders” – God isn’t ever alone in this temple or throne imagery. There are always loads of messengers and worshippers and helpers. Here God’s council or cabinet is two groups of twelve – perhaps representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 first apprentices of Jesus, representing Jesus’ whole Jewish heritage and the worldwide church of Jesus.
“lightning… thunder… torches… sea of glass” – The throne of God also is never a dull place. It’s electric with power and busy with God’s Spirit going out, symbolized by messengers or angels or flashes of lightning. And yet it’s somehow still peaceful. The ocean for Jews was a place of terror. Here it is replaced by a sea of crystal glass – still and beautiful.

Spiritual Exercise

This week we have the image of Jesus knocking at our door and of Jesus – pictured as a strong lion and also as a vulnerable, slaughtered lamb – being our picture of the nature of God and sitting at the center of our worship. So this week we invite you to welcome Jesus to knock on your door, to center your life, and to shape your vision of God. Imagine for a moment that Jesus is taking you to see what God looks like. Center your imagination on one of today’s images of God’s beauty or power. Hold that picture for a few moments. Notice if anything changes in your mind or body or feelings.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your six, that however close or distant God has seemed to them, they would come to see that God’s door is open. Pray that their greatest ever experience of power or beauty would become an image of part of what God is to them.

Bible Guide – Day 8

The Bible Guide

Listen! – Revelation Bible Guide Day 6

Previously in Revelation

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Day 6

Revelation 3:14-22

¹⁴“And to the angel of the church in Laodicea
write: The words of the Amen, the faithful and
true witness, the origin of God’s creation:
¹⁵“I know your works; you are neither cold nor
hot. I wish that you were either cold or hot. ¹⁶So,
because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor
hot, I am about to spit you out of my
mouth. ¹⁷For you say, ‘I am rich, I have
prospered, and I need nothing.’ You do not
realize that you are wretched, pitiable, poor,
blind, and naked. ¹⁸Therefore I counsel you to
buy from me gold refined by fire so that you may
be rich; and white robes to clothe you and to
keep the shame of your nakedness from being
seen; and salve to anoint your eyes so that you
may see. ¹⁹I reprove and discipline those whom I
love. Be earnest, therefore, and repent. ²⁰Listen! I
am standing at the door, knocking; if you hear
my voice and open the door, I will come in to
you and eat with you, and you with me. ²¹To the
one who conquers I will give a place with me on
my throne, just as I myself conquered and sat
down with my Father on his throne. ²²Let anyone
who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying
to the churches.”

Points of Interest

“Laodicea” — So wealthy it once refused Roman aid after an earthquake, this city was also known for its century’s version of banking, wool, and ophthalmology industries, which John plays on in vs. 18.
“words of the Amen” – this whole line emphasizes Jesus’ dependability and faithfulness and creative capacity.
“because you are lukewarm”— There were hot springs six miles from Laodicea. By the time those waters reached the city, they were lukewarm and diseased – you got sick if you drank them. In the first century, “lukewarm” was not a metaphor for indifference; this is a picture of being unhealthy, not vital.
“I am rich” – These folks appear to be healthy and well and have all they need. People have commented that the 21st century developed world receives Revelation as Laodiceans. We are historically healthy, wealthy, and self-sufficient.
“poor, blind, and naked” – These people are spiritually and psychologically impoverished. Their interior condition is vulnerable and empty. Various scripture passages and psychological theories have language for inner health and vitality. The New Testament author Paul speaks to the fruit of the Spirit of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. The modern Internal Family Systems Model, a psychotherapy approach, describes people who have calmness, clarity, compassion, confidence, courage, and connectedness. Those of us who are materially wealthy often lack many of these things.
“buy from me gold” – Jesus says this inner wealth and rightness, or purity and sight is available from connection with him.
“I am standing at the door, knocking” – Jesus is available but will not force entry. God is gentle, does not insist on God’s own way.
“what the Spirit is saying to the churches” – Michael Gorman summarizes the message of the seven letters as this: “listen for the Spirit of God identifying our own church’s peculiar unholy spirit and offering us the presence and grace of Christ to transform us into a more faithful people of God… whole-hearted, characterized by faithfulness and fearlessness, devotion to Jesus but not to the state, and a preference for the poor rather than the rich.” (Gorman, 99-100)

Spiritual Exercise

This week we have the image of Jesus knocking at our door and of Jesus – pictured as a strong lion and also as a vulnerable, slaughtered lamb – being our picture of the nature of God and sitting at the center of our worship. So this week we invite you to welcome Jesus to knock on your door, to center your life, and to shape your vision of God. Consider the image of Jesus knocking, asking you to have Jesus in for a meal. Picture this in your imagination. Will you open the door or not? Why is that? What inner vitality and wealth are you lacking? What would Jesus like to grow in you?

A Direction for Prayer

Pray that in an age of material prosperity and spiritual poverty, that your church will be deeply responsive to the voice of Jesus, known for people who have wealth of spirit, beautiful and unusual goodness, and clear sight.

Bible Guide – Day 7

The Bible Guide

Wake Up! – Revelation Bible Guide Day 5

Previously in Revelation

To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star. Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Day 5

Revelation 3:1-13

“And to the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who has the seven spirits of God and the seven stars:

“I know your works; you have a name of being alive, but you are dead. ²Wake up, and strengthen what remains and is on the point of death, for I have not found your works perfect in the sight of my God. ³Remember then what you received and heard; obey it, and repent. If you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what hour I will come to you. ⁴Yet you have still a few persons in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes; they will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. ⁵If you conquer, you will be clothed like them in white robes, and I will not blot your name out of the book of life; I will confess your name before my Father and before his angels. ⁶Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.
⁷“And to the angel of the church in Philadelphia write:
These are the words of the holy one, the true one,
who has the key of David,
who opens and no one will shut,
who shuts and no one opens:

⁸“I know your works. Look, I have set before you an open door, which no one is able to shut. I know that you have but little power, and yet you have kept my word and have not denied my name. ⁹I will make those of the synagogue of Satan who say that they are Jews and are not, but are lying – I will make them come and bow down before your feet, and they will learn that I have loved you. ¹⁰Because you have kept my word of patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world to test the inhabitants of the earth. ¹¹I am coming soon; hold fast to what you have, so that no one may seize your crown. ¹²If you conquer, I will make you a pillar in the temple of my God; you will never go out of it. I will write on you the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, the new Jerusalem that comes down from my God out of heaven, and my own new name. ¹³Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Points of Interest

“Sardis” – Already an ancient city by the time Revelation was written, Sardis was high on a hill, hard to attack. Legend has it, though, that twice it had been invaded and conquered when its night watch fell asleep on the job.
“you have a name of being alive, but you are dead” – John evokes Sardis’ past to capture the internal vitality of the house churches there. It sounds like Jesus is pretty alarmed at how weak and vulnerable they are.
“Wake up” – The solution to the Sardis church’s problems is simple – just pay attention. Jesus hasn’t left Sardis alone – after all, he – like those invading armies of old – plans on continuing to show up in their city. But he’d rather they recognize him than have to grab their attention some other way.
“…not soiled their clothes… dressed in white” – The dirty clothes represent a church that doesn’t look any different from the rest of Roman imperial culture. The special white togas reserved for a wedding or victory party symbolize devotion to Jesus that makes them stand out.
“book of life” – This book traditionally represents a place in Jesus’ family or kingdom. The severity of threatening to blot out people’s names seems uncharacteristic for Jesus, but maybe this is part of the stark attention-getting strategy here.
“…who has the key of David” – Jesus has the keys to God’s house, access into the family and presence of God.
“an open door” – Jesus has given an opportunity for their lives to reveal the presence of Jesus to many in their city. With Jesus, our size and status have no connection to our possibility.
“synagogue of Satan”- Some of the churches have resistance from Roman opposition. This is the second community that is experiencing hardship from their Jewish neighbors. John’s harsh language captures the enmity and accusation they experienced, but is over-the-top and has been used to justify later anti-Semitism. It might be helpful to remember that John himself and most of Jesus’ first followers were Jewish, so this language represents an intra-Jewish conflict, not an anti-Jewish attack.
“if you conquer” – Victory for these churches isn’t defeating anybody else. It is maintaining encouragement and avoiding assimilation to their larger world’s temptations.
“a pillar in the temple” – Wealthy donors in our times get plaques on walls of institutions. Roman citizens who served the state well could get their name inscribed on a pillar in a temple. Jesus promises his faithful children that they themselves will become pillars of what God is doing in their midst, with God’s name inscribed onto them.

Spiritual Exercise

What might the Spirit of God be saying to you through today’s passage? Has anything struck your mind or heart? Looking back over the last 24 hours – yours highs and lows, times of joy or sorrow, presence or distraction, anxiety or peace, has the Spirit of God spoken to you through your life or though any other person? Pay attention for a moment, listen, and ask God how you can respond to whatever comes to mind.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your six, that if any monotony or discouragement has lulled them to sleep, that Jesus would get their attention with something new and good in life.

Bible Guide – Day 6

The Bible Guide

The Sword of Jesus’ Mouth – Revelation Bible Guide Day 4

Previously in Revelation

Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death.

Day 4

Revelation 2:12-29

¹²“And to the angel of the church in Pergamum write: These are the words of him who has the sharp two-edged sword:¹³“I know where you are living, where Satan’s throne is. Yet you are holding fast to my name, and you did not deny your faith in me even in the days of Antipas my witness, my faithful one, who was killed among you, where Satan lives. ¹⁴But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold to the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the people of Israel, so that they would eat food sacrificed to idols and practice fornication. ¹⁵So you also have some who hold to the teaching of the Nicolaitans. ¹⁶Repent then. If not, I will come to you soon and make war against them with the sword of my mouth. ¹⁷Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers I will give some of the hidden manna, and I will give a white stone, and on the white stone is written a new name that no one knows except the one who receives it.
¹⁸“And to the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, who has eyes like a flame of fire, and whose feet are like burnished bronze:

¹⁹“I know your works – your love, faith, service, and patient endurance. I know that your last works are greater than the first. ²⁰But I have this against you: you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophet and is teaching and beguiling my servants to practice fornication and to eat food sacrificed to idols. ²¹I gave her time to repent, but she refuses to repent of her fornication. ²²Beware, I am throwing her on a bed, and those who commit adultery with her I am throwing into great distress, unless they repent of her doings; ²³and I will strike her children dead. And all the churches will know that I am the one who searches minds and hearts, and I will give to each of you as your works deserve. ²⁴But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call ‘the deep things of Satan,’ to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden; ²⁵only hold fast to what you have until I come. ²⁶To everyone who conquers and continues to do my works to the end,
I will give authority over the nations;
²⁷to rule them with an iron rod,
as when clay pots are shattered –
²⁸even as I also received authority from my Father. To the one who conquers I will also give the morning star. ²⁹Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches.

Points of Interest

“Pergamum… where Satan’s throne is” – Also a large city, Pergamum was also known for its Roman influence and emperor worship and had a huge and famous altar to Zeus, perhaps what John indelicately labels Satan’s throne.
“Antipas my witness” – This is the one city that has already seen a follower of Jesus die for his faith, perhaps accused as an early “atheist” because he didn’t participate in Rome’s omnipresent civic religious activities.
“Balaam” and “the Nicolaitans”- Whoever these people are, they are bad, bad influences. The second group is obscure but the first name is not – it refers to an old story in the book of Numbers of a non-Jewish spiritual leader who opposes Israel and leads them into trouble. These names appear to be codes or symbols for people in Pergamum who advise conformity with the civic religion of Rome, which would include idolatry and immorality as a cost of participation. Perhaps we could examine what function as the civic religions of our time, such as America-first nationalism or materialism and educational and career excellence. Where do our civic religions lead us away from the voice and teaching of Jesus?
“make war against them with the sword of my mouth” – Jesus’ remedy isn’t physical violence; after all, the sword is that sword that comes out of his mouth, a metaphor for the piercing and powerful words of Jesus. Jesus’ voice is a piercing antidote to our allegiances and loyalties to other things.
“hidden manna” – Legend had it some of the miracle food from heaven, described centuries earlier in Exodus, had been stored up for God’s people at the end of the age. Taken as symbol, the invitation is for God to provide what is more satisfying and nutritious than what your empire of choice has on tap.
“a white stone” – Another apocalyptic hope is that in God, we will fully know who we are and discover that is fully good. As someone who’s paying a therapist as part of my own self-acceptance journey, I get this. Neither Roman armies nor American materialism can give me satisfaction, nourishment, self-acceptance, peace, and love. The Spirit says that Jesus can.
“Thyatira” – This inland city had less Roman connection but was known for its trade guilds that governed economic life. As with Roman civic religion, these trade guilds practiced feasts that included some connection to worship of other gods. Participation was one of the costs of economic flourishing.
“Jezebel” – Here the personification of selling out to empire or other gods is the infamous queen from the narrative of I and II Kings. This is one of several times that scripture uses sexual infidelity and prostitution as a metaphor for unfaithfulness to God. This language strikes many of us today as misogynist and violent. It helps me to notice and push back on that. The underlying message, I think, holds – parts of our soul are bound up with the cultural religion we’re assimilated into. Some of my tax money pays for bombs drones drop in Afghanistan. Some of my brain is colonized by the empty promises of America’s mass marketing industry. Some of my sexuality is flavored by all the sex-soaked media I’ve seen. Some of my hopes and heart are owned by my country’s sense of entitlement. And Jesus says this costs me.
“give authority over the nations… the morning star” – Jesus invites God’s children to hold fast to God in the middle of all this, whatever it costs. We’ll lose prospects for wealth but will gain an immortal authority, signified by two things: joining God in God’s rule and receiving the morning star, which can represent eternal life or the dawning presence of Jesus with us. Is this a present-tense “in our hearts” kind of promise? A future tense “new heavens and new earth” thing? I dunno.

Spiritual Exercise

What might the Spirit of God be saying to you through today’s passage? Has anything struck your mind or heart? Looking back over the last 24 hours – yours highs and lows, times of joy or sorrow, presence or distraction, anxiety or peace – has the Spirit of God spoken to you through your life or though any other person? Pay attention for a moment, listen, and ask God how you can respond to whatever comes to mind.

A Direction for Prayer

How does some aspect of your everyday life – your job, your commercial activity, your entertainment consumption – impact your attention or soul and pull you away from God? What might a shift, a turn – repentance – look like?

Bible Guide – Day 5

The Bible Guide

The Crown of Life – Revelation Bible Guide Day 3

Previously in Revelation

As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Day 3

Revelation 2:1-11

¹“To the angel of the church in Ephesus write: These are the words of him who holds the seven stars in his right hand, who walks among the seven golden lampstands:
²“I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance. I know that you cannot tolerate evildoers; you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them to be false. ³I also know that you are enduring patiently and bearing up for the sake of my name, and that you have not grown weary. ⁴But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. ⁵Remember then from what you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. ⁶Yet this is to your credit: you hate the works of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate. ⁷Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. To everyone who conquers, I will give permission to eat from the tree of life that is in the paradise of God.
⁸“And to the angel of the church in Smyrna write: These are the words of the first and the last, who was dead and came to life:
⁹“I know your affliction and your poverty, even though you are rich. I know the slander on the part of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan. ¹⁰Do not fear what you are about to suffer. Beware, the devil is about to throw some of you into prison so that you may be tested, and for ten days you will have affliction. Be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life. ¹¹Let anyone who has an ear listen to what the Spirit is saying to the churches. Whoever conquers will not be harmed by the second death.

Points of Interest

“To the angel…” Given that an angel signifies a messenger, this could refer to a leader in the church or poetically to a guardian angel or to the Spirit of God who will help each person receive the message.
“Ephesus” – A very large city, one of the biggest in the Roman Empire, famous for its wealth, trade, and ornate temple of Diana that was as large as two football fields.
“These are the words…”Each of the seven addresses follows a formula that includes Jesus speaking to the church. Jesus knows each community intimately and is revealing their true strengths and weaknesses. Each time, an aspect of the opening vision of Jesus (Ch 1) is emphasized.
“your toil and patient endurance” – This church is cautious, steady, and cares about truth and correct beliefs.
“…abandoned the love” – Yet this church also lacks love – perhaps lacking deep love for God, perhaps lacking deep love for others, perhaps both.
“remove your lampstand” – The risk is that without love, this church will cease to exist. Love of God and others is the central command of Jesus and the core to a faith community’s vitality.
“the tree of life” – Adam and Eve and all their descendants were banished from this source of abundant, eternal life. Apparently, the tree is still waiting, and people who listen to and respond to the Spirit of Jesus can enjoy it.
“Smyrna” – As Rome conquered other cities, they’d often build temples to the goddess of Roma or to Roman emperors and vie to show their loyalty and patriotism, knowing that in return they would gain favor and wealth from the capital. Smyrna was well-known for its Roman allegiance and accompanying rewards.
“your affliction and your poverty” – Yet the early house churches are poor, made up of members of the lower classes who aren’t benefitting from the city’s wealth.
“synagogue of Satan” – This has often been read with anti-Semitic overtones. Today, we can repudiate this anti-Semitism and recognize the challenge of people who are marginalized, misunderstood, and slandered for their faith.
“the crown of life” – This isn’t a royal crown but an Olympic wreath of joy and victory.
“Whoever conquers” – a military term. A life of faith can lead to hard work & struggle.
“the second death”- Just as there can be life after death, there can apparently also be a death after death in the age to come. Part of the crown of joy and victory in following Jesus is no fear for anything that death might bring.

Spiritual Exercise

A Direction for Prayer

Are you or any of your six discouraged? If so, pray that the Jesus who has conquered death will bring encouragement. Are you or any of your six lacking in deep love for God and others? If so, pray that Jesus who has God’s Spirit to give will fill you/them up with God’s love.

Bible Guide – Day 4

The Bible Guide

In The Spirit of God – Revelation Bible Guide Day 2

Previously in Revelation

“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Day 2

Revelation 1:9-20

⁹I, John, your brother who share with you in Jesus the persecution and the kingdom and the patient endurance, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. ¹⁰I was in the spirit on the Lord’s day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet ¹¹saying, “Write in a book what you see and send it to the seven churches, to Ephesus, to Smyrna, to Pergamum, to Thyatira, to Sardis, to Philadelphia, and to Laodicea.”
¹²Then I turned to see whose voice it was that spoke to me, and on turning I saw seven golden lampstands, ¹³and in the midst of the lampstands I saw one like the Son of Man, clothed with a long robe and with a golden sash across his chest. ¹⁴His head and his hair were white as white wool, white as snow; his eyes were like a flame of fire, ¹⁵his feet were like burnished bronze, refined as in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of many waters. ¹⁶In his right hand he held seven stars, and from his mouth came a sharp, two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining with full force.
¹⁷When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. But he placed his right hand on me, saying, “Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last, ¹⁸and the living one. I was dead, and see, I am alive forever and ever; and I have the keys of Death and of Hades. ¹⁹Now write what you have seen, what is, and what is to take place after this. ²⁰As for the mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand, and the seven golden lampstands: the seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Points of Interest

“Patmos” – a Mediterranean island, off the Western coast of Asia (modern-day Turkey). John reports being exiled there for his faith leadership. Persecution of Christians by Rome was less common in the first century, but many scholars think there may have been persecution in the 90s under the emperor Domitian. Revelation likely was written then.
“in the spirit” – In writing Revelation, John reports both auditory and visionary hallucinations – the Spirit of God communicating to him vividly through his imagination. Yet the whole book is also an impressive work of literary genius. John makes exhaustive and creative reference to Hebrew scripture and other apocalyptic literature outside the Bible. However much of Revelation came into John’s imagination in prayer, he also worked out the details of his writing carefully with a small library of scrolls on hand.
“the seven churches” – The order of these seven churches represents the order a messenger would have travelled to them all after taking a boat from Patmos to the mainland. The number seven, one of John’s favorites, represents completion, and so these seven churches can poetically stand for all churches in the region or maybe even all churches in the world.
“seven golden lampstands” – These represent a neat poetic image for churches, as places for God’s light to shine. John’s good news is that Jesus (called by Jesus’ own favorite nickname for himself, also a reference to Daniel 7) is with the churches, not absent, whether they see him or not.
I find the vision in this paragraph arresting and utterly beautiful. To do so yourself, you have to embrace Revelation as poetry and symbol. Try to draw a literal picture, and it will be odd or creepy. Let this book’s images work on your right brain creativity and emotion more than your left brain linear logic. In that spirit, the vision of Jesus:
- “head and hair were white as wool” – like God in Daniel 7, who is called the Ancient of Days – wise and old. Also, with the bronze, indomitable, stable, not going anywhere.
- “sound of many waters” – evocative of the richness and power of God’s voice (Ezekiel 43:2) Jesus’ weapon is also his voice, his words
- “eyes … like a flame a fire… face like the sun” – piercing and penetrating in beauty and life and insight
“seven stars” – The lampstands of the churches won’t just be lit by torches but by stars, here stars that are angels. As we mentioned yesterday, this may be a poetic, early Christian way of speaking of the Holy Spirit as the presence and light of Jesus.
“I am the first and the last” – Just like the Almighty God, Jesus is alive forever.

Spiritual Exercise

What might the Spirit of God be saying to you through today’s passage? Has anything struck your mind or heart? Looking back over the last 24 hours – yours highs and lows, times of joy or sorrow, presence or distraction, anxiety or peace, has the Spirit of God spoken to you through your life or though any other person? Pay attention for a moment, listen, and ask God how you can respond to whatever comes to mind.

A Direction for Prayer

Pray for your six, that however much or little they know about Jesus, they would come to understand God to be as beautiful and living and good and alive as today’s vision paints God to be. If you don’t have six non-churchgoing friends in mind to pray for yet, during this season, take a moment to choose six people you’ll pray for in this season.

Bible Guide – Day 3