May 8, 2011
Background Scripture: Revelation 4
Devotional Reading: Psalms 11
You probably remember the little boy who came home from Sunday school and told his parents that his teacher said the Bible began with “geniuses” and ended with “revolutions.” He actually wasn’t far off, for Genesis does contain some of the Bible’s top geniuses, and Revelation is very revolutionary. In the original Greek it was entitled “Apocalypse,” which is commonly, if not consistently, translated as “Revelation.”

Apocalyptic literature was a whole class of Jewish, Christian and Persian texts between the eras of the Old and New Testaments.** These texts portrayed their own time as a dark age of mounting conflict between good and evil which eventually would be transformed by a new age of Divine intervention, judgment, rewards and punishments.

The last book in our Bible is hard to understand because it was written almost 2,000 years ago for people with a wholly different worldview. It is a book of dreams and visions, symbols and allusions, including astrological references that are obtuse for most of us today.

But, for those Christians apocalyptic in their outlook, this book presented Christianity in a thought-form meaningful to them.

Revelation today
So why is it in our Bible and why study it today? Because, even with its strangeness and difficulties, it contains aspects of the Christian faith that are helpful and inspiring for many today. It continues to reassure us of the Christian hope. When you read it, think of it as imaginative and abstract, rather than data and history.

Valere and I once visited the Aegean isle of Patmos where the book was said to be written by a man identified only as “John.” We were shown the cave where tradition says God delivered His revelations through a great crack in the cave’s ceiling.

It occurred to us that, if we concentrated solely on the details of the cave – the voice, the trumpet, the throne – we might easily overlook the message that God was sending through him. So, read Revelation 4:1-11 and then spend some time thinking about John’s vision.

What is the significance of “the open door”? (4:1). What do you think it means for John to write: “I was in the Spirit”? (4:2)? Is that something you could experience?

The “throne” (4:4) of God seems to be the focus of this passage. What is its significance? And what does it say to you about the apparent darkness of the days in which we live?

Lighten our darkness
Note how in these times of apocalyptic deep darkness, God is represented by light: from glimmering jewels (4:3), golden crowns and white garments (4:4), flashes of lightning and seven burning torches (4:5) and even a rainbow (4:3). Is this promise of light intended only for Christians in the days of John, or is it extended to us and our own times?

The four living creatures (4:6-8) link the worship of God with the Old Testament images that the prophet refers to in Ezekiel 1:22-26 and 10:1-22. Later, Christians identified “the face of a man” with the Gospel of Mark, the “lion” with Matthew, the “ox” with Luke and the “eagle” with John.
By the time we get to verses 8-11, the anthem, “Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God almighty, who was and is and is to come,” it is evident that John’s vision is an experience of worship of the God who will banish the darkness and fill His creation with light.

And, we can see ourselves falling down before the Mighty God and singing: “Worthy art thou, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for thou didst create all things, and by thy will they existed and were created.”
What John is saying here is not just that we should “go to church” to win points for ourselves, but to catch the vision of God on his throne and all humankind joining in shouts and hymns of praise. Remember the prophecy of Ralph Waldo Emerson? “And what greater calamity can fall upon a nation than the loss of worship.”

**Somewhat later there were also Islamic apocalyptic writings.

The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and not necessarily those of Farm World. Readers with questions or comments for Rev. Althouse may write to him in care of this publication.