The Lamb and the Lion

Revelation 5 is very much a transition. Everything that has happened has been building up to this so it's a very important chapter. I think it's good to see the achievement of the cross as it is seen from the heavenly perspective.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhb3kbsd_8f282x9f8

Since it's nearly Christmas I'm taking a wee break from Revelation and will reconvene in January

Worship in Heaven

I found chapter four to be troubling as it shows the contrast between heaven and earth. I realised that Christians are not always good at worhsipping God in all areas of life and that the hypocrisy label can often be a fair one. Later as I thought about these things a little bit more I realised I was reading the chapter as a West of Scotland person with a Higher in Guilt. I realised that the chapter is meant to encourage and to inspire and not to belittle. Or have I got that wrong?

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhb3kbsd_7fr2jx7d5

Commenting

Someone said today they couldn't comment because they don't have a profile. Simply select 'anonymous' as a profile and you can comment. You can mention your name in your post if you like so I know who you are...

What is Jesus Saying to Adelaide Place?

I laid down the gauntlet this morning to the congregation in asking what Jesus would say to us in a message? I thought that we are better than Laodicea but probably not as good as Philadelphia. So it's open to you. For the people of Adelaide Place what do we think? For those further afield what is Jesus saying to your church or the wider church?

My own thoughts will follow later in the week!

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhb3kbsd_4fvsn6mft

Question Time

I don't watch Question Time as a rule but did watch last night to see the BNP in action and hopefully to see them for what they really are, even if that meant that they are misrepresented by the media.

The fascinating thing for me is that an audience member mentioned the Book of Revelation. The gentleman was having a go at Nick Griffin for being anti-Islam. Griffin basically said that Islam conquers to get converts and if Muslims want to stay in Britain then they have to respect the fact that Britain is a Christian country. The audience member pointed out that the Book of Revelation says that Jesus will come back an rule with a rod of iron. So, what is the difference?

I don't know enough about Islam to know if they conquer for conversion. Certainly the Muslim panel member said that most Muslims regard the extremists as not representative of the faith. But I can comment on Revelation and Jesus and the iron rod.

It's in Revelation 12 where a woman gives birth in great pain to a male child who will rule all the nations with an iron rod while a battle takes place between heavenly beings. In chapter 12 the defeat of Satan takes place and there is 'rejoicing' although Satan will have one last hurrah on earth before he is destroyed.

The rod of iron is a Jewish symbol with many meanings. In Revelation it appears in chapter two so is probably used in the context of complete control. In other words, the enemies of Christ will be defeated and peace will reign. In the context of Revelation that means the Roman Empire that persecutes the believers will be destroyed. Which it was.

Christ will come in peace. All lovers of peace will rejoice.

Incidentally, watching Question Time I kept thinking about the Book of Genesis. There was one nation at the time of Noah and he and his family were commanded to go forth and multiply on the earth. By the time of Babel this hadn't happened so it is forced upon humanity. It seems to me that religious and cultural diversity are part of the divine will and should be a cause of celebration, not division.

Son of Man

The link below goes to my talk this morning on the Son of Man vision in Revelation 1. I was wondering if it is necessary, desirable or not to try and understand the Jewish meaning of the symbols. Can Revelation be understood without reference to Judaism?

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhb3kbsd_3cngq7hg8

Further Reading

Next week we're looking at the vision of the Son of Man in Revelation 1. Before that I thought I would recommend a couple of books for anyone who is interested in reading deeper into the text and theology of Revelation. I mentioned Richard Bauckham last week. His book, The Climax of Prophecy, is the most important book on Revelation in the twentieth century. Unfortunately it is now out of print and it is like goldust. Expect to pay upwards of £200 if you can find it online!
Fortunately Bauckham had another book published on Revelation in 1993 and it contains all the important bits of Climax of Prophecy. It is in the Cambridge New Testament Theology series called The Theology of the Book of Revelation. It is available from Amazon or even Wesley Owen if you are that way inclined and want to go to an actual bookshop...

If you are looking for a simple introduction to the book and its background I can heartily recommend the New International Biblical Commentary by Robert Wall published in 1995. It should be no more than £15, probably less than £10 second hand and will serve as a useful conversation partner for the journey we're going on.

If you don't want to buy a book then the Wikipedia entry on Revelation is, um, alright. The first sentence is factually incorrect but it does contain some good background. As I said in the talk, anyone who claims to get it doesn't get it. I thought about it, and I thought I got it but now realise I don't.

So, I look forward to the vision of the Son of Man on Sunday. Please do spare a thought for poor Jeni Rankin who has to fit praise and worship around that theme!

Introduction

So we got started this morning. I know there was a lot of information and some of it was quite confusing. I realise that when I say that no-one gets the book it can make us all think 'why bother?' It isn't that we can't understand it, we can if we remember the context, it's more a wariness of certainty. We're not the original audience so there will always be some uncertaintly.

The beauty of having this blog is that we can discern meaning together and with the guidance of the Holy Spirit we can make sense of what is going on. I like the idea of learning as a discerning community of believers. I hope this blog is a safe place to air our views, I hope it will be blessed.

Anyway, below is the link that'll take you to the text for this morning.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhb3kbsd_1fbfsp3cp

Leaving Behind Left Behind

I'm quite excited about this series, I've never prepared for a series with as much intensity as this one. The danger with that of course, other than it becoming an obsession, is that it completely alienates the hearer. I hope not because I really think this book can speak to us today.

One thing I've decided to do is not mention Left Behind at all. My final word on the subject is this essay that I wrote in June.

http://docs.google.com/View?id=dhb3kbsd_0gq6s9kfx

Interpretation

Thank you to everyone for your comments. I think David raises an interesting point about interpretation, the technical term is hermeneutics. How does hermeneutics work with an ancient text? how can we know what it means today?

There are many literature classics on my bookshelf. One example is Emma by Jane Austen. I quite like Austen, I like the tweeness of the situations and the pictures and characters she creates who have a touch of authenticity sorely lacking sometimes in writing today. But. It was written an awful long time ago which means that some of the meaning is lost on me. The cultural symbols and references are alien to me unless I know what they mean or represent. So my copy of Emma has a running commentary of footnotes to explain to the perplexed what on earth is going on sometimes. It enhances my enjoyment as it means that some sections aren't incomprehensible.

How much more the New Testament? Written to an alien culture 2000 years ago to a group of people trying to make sense of where their beliefs sit in the grand scheme of things. How do we bridge that 2000 year gap? There are broad strategies for doing this and I'll highlight two of them.

Using the example of 1 Timothy 2:11. 'Women should learn quietly and submissively. I do not let women teach men or have authority over them. Let them listen quietly'.

This little statement is deeply controversial, so what do we do with it today?

Option one: It says what it says, don't read anything into it and carry out this instruction now as it was then, therefore women shouldn't be in an authority position in the church.

Option two: Try and understand the culture. Up until the time Paul wrote women weren't even allowed to be taught the Law and the Gospel has given them enormous freedom. They are abusing that newfound freedom so their enthusiasm has to be curbed. Today, this is actually a teaching about putting new believers in leadership and teaching positions.

It's not easy, option one is very direct and culturally ignorant but at least it's clear, option two is wishy washy. Even more so for Revelation, I wonder how it should be read today?

Left Behind

I remember in 1996 going to a Christian bookshop in Armagh, Northern Ireland and buying an interesting looking novel called 'Left Behind'. It tells the story of how Christians will be raptured by Christ so that believers don't have to face all the catatrophes waiting for humanity as described in Revelation. I remember thinking that there would be a sequel. I own all 11 sequels.

The Rapture is a particular interpretation of Revelation called Premillennial Dispensationalism, there are many others. If PreDip is correct then what are the implications for witness, evangelism, Christian living? Does it motivate us to share our faith or does it get us off the hook because Jesus will sort it? Also think about why such thinking is popular in Western culture and not as popular in areas where Christians are persecuted?

Responses and Rapture

I've been away for a wee while and I hope people don't mind if I respond to their comments with a post all its own.

Sonja - Your Dad is right that 'rapture' is a relatively recent doctrine, 1827 with John Nelson Darby although some believe that early fathers like Augustine and Origen were actually the first to do so, this is of course disputed.

John - Excellent questions.

Firstly I don't think a complex message like that in Revelation can be summarised in a Tweet. 140 words can't do it justice. I think perhaps 'This is the true identity of Jesus. Some of you can be encouraged and some should be scared because the Empire is truly evil. God knows this.'

Secondly John was using Apocalyptic imagery taken straight from Daniel and others in the OT. The only change is that the OT was now being interpreted as having its fulfilment in Jesus. At the start of my series I'll be covering who, why, where and what so that's all I want to say for now on this blog if that's alright.

The Name

Credit for the name of the blog goes to my classmate at St Andrews Sam Adams. In the 'Bible and Contemporary World' programme we've been studying the Book of Revelation and its relevance for contemporary culture. Sam started a Facebook group called 'Rapture Survival Group' for the students to interact away from the official St Andrews discussion boards.

Rapture Survival sums up the essence of Revelation today. In the West we have become so influenced by the Left Behind series that a lot of Christians assume that there will be a rapture of saints before the trouble with the antichrist begins and then Jesus coming back. If you Google 'rapture survival' there are 452,00 hits with advice on how to survive the post-rapture period. At St Andrews we as a class watched a documentary which showed rapture survival kits available in the United States, most involve handguns. We couldn't believe it but we probably should.

So thanks to Sam for the name, may we use it well.

First Post

I had a dilemma. I wanted to start a wee blog and had the opportunity to do that on my own church website. But I didn't. I guess I didn't feel comfortable having a church blog and always having to write as pastor of Adelaide Place, I suppose I wanted something independent, that is me and isn't an official Adelaide Place blog. So this is it. My contribution to knowledge, which is crediting it with far too much.
I'm starting this blog for the church as we study together the Book of Revelation, I hope it will become a place of open learning and knowledge. I really do hope so.