Review: John writes this book to reveal the nature of revelation. The only proper understanding of ultimate reality begins with revelation, what comes down from above. It is hardly understood, but must be absorbed; one must surrender to total immersion. The very thought processes must be washed, renovated and reorganized into a framework of truth and understanding from God's point of view. Human logic itself must bow the knee to revelation, seeking to reconcile all things to the Light from above. John is almost militant in rejecting the Western rationalist frame of reference as the basis for understanding anything which matters. He demands a return to the parabolic style of teaching Jesus used, and any other approach to Revelation results in madness.
John sent to his flock a message of comfort and hope. God sees our sorrows; He knows intimately in His Son the mindless rejection of truth which brings oppression and persecution. Pain and suffering are inherent in a fallen world, and becomes greater as our awareness of sin increases. The presence of the Holy Spirit compels us to resist sin, and this divides us from the mass of humanity. After His Ascension to the Throne of Heaven, the fullness of what the Lamb has done is revealed in John's mystical visions. The very nature of sin, wrath, redemption -- how things work during this age before the Return of Christ -- is written here. While it all points to a final climax on the way to that return, it is critical we understand the pattern, the nature of things contained in these visions. Again, they are not fully understood, but absorbed into the soul where the Holy Spirit works behind the conscious mind to change our natures into that of Christ. Modern writers of Christian faith should rightly struggle to bring disciples across the divide from modern Western materialism into the mystical world of ultimate truths, opening the spiritual eyes and provoking a contemplative, other-worldly mindset. This is the only hope for facing a world which hated Our Lord first, and now hates us because of our allegiance to Him.
In the previous cycle of the Seals, we hit an interlude in chapter 7. Now we come to a similar pause leading up the last of the Trumpets. We begin with the vision of a particularly high-ranking angel. There is no reason to presume this is Christ, but an archangel adorned with symbols fitting the occasion: the rainbow of Noahic Covenant, the cloudy garment of heavenly authority, and the legs of fire showing the holiness of God Almighty in contact with the earth. Whatever else this says, it reminds us God's authority is far above that of any human authority; He rules all rulers. The angel stands on land and sea to establish the authority of his message, which is universal to all living beings. The roaring voice cannot be ignored. Our attention is fully arrested, we are brought up short, as we would be if we had heard that of a lion. The echo from Heaven confirms the authority of the message he brings, but John is not permitted to reveal the content, only the fact. We are prepared to receive a revelation which is tied to God's dealings with human authority, an authority prescribed in the Covenant of Noah, as symbolized by the rainbow.
The manner of raising his hand before Heaven is rather like our modern military salute, rendering honor and indicating the source of authority yet again. Swearing by the Eternal One, we get but a short message: No more delay; the mystery of God would be fully discharged, complete at the Seventh Trumpet. We know Paul used the word "mystery" repeatedly in his letters. While there is some overlap in the concepts, it hardly means in the Bible what the term indicates for us today. Something is a mystery in the biblical sense when it defies human logic. It is hidden in the sense fallen minds cannot grasp it, but the elect are allowed to experience that mystery by the invasion of God Almighty into the human personality at spiritual rebirth. It's a mystery because it rises above logic and human language. There will come a time when this work of God is complete, finished, and all those whom God has elected will be marked as such. Then follows the final revelation and time will be no more.
It is this mystery which the angel holds in his hand, represented by the little book. John echoes the experience of Ezekiel 2 and 3, where the prophet in exile was called to speak to his nation. God says His Word is sweet, and so it is. Ezekiel was to take that Word to a people who would have no excuse for rejecting the message because it would be in their own tongue, from a man who was one of their own. They did reject that message, and finally so in executing their Messiah. As Paul says in Romans 11, the mystery of truth is their rejection brings the Messiah to all the world. Thus, John must take this sweet Word to "many peoples and nations and tongues and kings." In this, John represents all of us.
However, John adds a unique element to the image, for after tasting the sweetness of God's truth, it brings bitterness to his stomach. Not to the point of regurgitation, but simply heartburn. Today we use that term as a symbol of being upset, and rightly so. In the Hebrew mind, the belly was the seat of emotions and feelings. Fully absorbing the truth of God will turn your world upside down. Following Christ will magnify the common suffering of humanity, because it demands things which bring pain to the flesh. What we would like to forget is the old teachings of mortification -- the flesh must die that the spirit may shine forth in truth. All our human hopes, dreams and plans are forfeited at the foot of the Cross. Serving the Kingdom will never come at your personal convenience; quite the contrary.
Thus, we come full circle, for the whole theme of John's Revelation is understanding why human governments inevitably turn to persecution of those who follow Christ. While human governments as a concept were ordained by God in the Covenant of Noah to restrain by the sword destructive human lusts against each other, that sword will inevitably turn against Christians who do no harm. Fallen human organization is granted what little it can grasp, for true justice and authority escapes fallen man. There is no human government possible that it should not become a god unto itself, sooner or later. Thus, the come and go at God's whim. The whole mission of the Church is to carry this mystery of the Kingdom throughout the whole of humanity, knowing it will cost us our human lives. To this precisely we have been called as the natural result of divine election. It ends only with our death, but in the wider sense, it ends when God says it is finished.
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Ed Hurst
12 September 2007
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