May be over the Christmas period you received a wrapped gift and didn’t know what was inside. If so, hopefully when you opened it, the gift was a pleasing one.
What’s in the Box?
Dramatic ominous signs like thunder and lightning, bizarre looking creatures, mysterious seals to be broken, cataclysmic events… No I am not referring to a Dan Brown style novel or a Middle Earth type adventure. Instead I am pointing to the last book of the BIble – Revelation.
What’s in the Box?
Is the ‘box’ (book) of Revelation too mysterious to make any sense of?
If sense can be made, was it written only for people in Roman occupied Asia Minor (think modern day Turkey )?
Towards the end of the 1st century AD, Jesus followers back then faced all kinds of challenges. They lived in an Empire ruled by men like Domitian who expected absolutely loyalty and to be venerated as a god. Some were in positions of slavery. Some were experiencing opposition because of their beliefs. How might Revelation have been an encouragement to them in the face of pressures and injustice?
Does Revelation contain any prediction of events before the end of the world as we know it?
Many say that it does. Some have come up with intricate details of ‘what happens next’. There are ‘schools’ of thought that arguably directly influence views on the present day Middle East situation. As I wrote in a short blog about part 1 of this series, one way of thinking about Revelation had a toxic impact on me growing up (see https://ichurchleiden.nl/whats-in-the-box/_)
So along the way we will touch on the prediction matter.
Does the book contain anything relevant for our lives in 2025?
I believe that it does and that it is well worth us looking further at Revelation together. So on some of the Sundays in the first months of 2025, we will take a look again at this book and see what it might have to show us about Christ, life, salvation and justice.
As I have quoted before, in Revelation 21 there are these words:
He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away. And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.
(Revelation 21:4-5 English Standard Version)
I believe that Revelation gives not only a hope for the future but also is relevant for life now – even amidst turmoil in different parts of the world and global concerns like climate change.
Really, can that be so? Well let’s take a look in the box and see!
Andy