More of Revelation. The story line is now marked, as this Sunday we enter the open door to heaven with John. Chapters 4 and 5 are crucially important. Not only do they show us the other worldly perspective from heaven’s side, but also set the stage on how we practice apocalyptic spirituality. While we pay bills, look at spreadsheets, drive to yet another art class for the kids or look for a job, there is activity in heaven impinging on our life that is more real than your mortgage payment or rent. In fact, much of our Eucharist liturgy is taken from these scenes in heaven.

"Therefore we praise you, joining our voices with Angels and Archangels and with all the company of heaven who for ever sing this hymn to proclaim the glory of your name,"

We will see the equal worship of God and the Lion/Lamb. We will see the Ascension and Pentecost from the heavenly perspective. Heaven weeps because no one is worthy to open the 7 seals of the scroll of God’s redemptive plan for the world. That is, until the Lion of Judah who appears as a Lamb with the marks of the slaughter appears. Christ’s sacrificial death belongs to the way God rules the world and the way we can live our Christ-centered life.

In his exaltation, Jesus remains the Lamb, the crucified one. The paradox of victory through death elicits praise and song in heaven, but in our ordinary world, a mystery. The exalted Lord remains the crucified Jesus. As Michael Gorman says in Reading Revelation Responsibly, "when this witness is neglected or forgotten, trouble follows…any reading of revelation that forgets this central truth is …dangerous. It is doomed, not to failure, but to success. Human beings too often want an almighty deity who will rule the universe with power on our terms…” That can be success at the expense of a Christ-centered life that is not based on raw power disconnected from sacrificial love.

The lion who becomes the slaughtered Lamb gives us the keys to understanding how to live our apocalyptic spirituality:

Worship- (We will see how our Sunday worship joins with the heavenly worship)

Discernment

Creative imagination

Faithfulness and prophetic resistance to injustice and idolatry

Self examination

Courageous nonviolent warfare

Witness and mission

Hope

It is not common. In other words, this is not a spirituality for the faint of heart.

I have been so encouraged by many of your responses and questions. I know this is a lot to take in as we go through the book of Revelation. There will be more bulletin notes this Sunday. Here is a list of some of the commentaries I am using:

New Testament Theology: The Theology of the Book of Revelation by Richard Bauckman

Reading Revelation Responsibly by Michael J. Gorman

Revelation for the Rest of Us by Scot McKnight

Revelation: A Shorter Commentary by G.K Beale

Reversed Thunder: The Revelation of John & the Praying Imagination by Eugene H. Petereson

Reading Revelation Responsibly by Michael Gorman and Revelation for the Rest of Us by Scot McKnight are the most accessible books from the list above.

Come and See,

+Philip