Revelation – ‘unveiling, uncovering, drawing back the veil’ – gives us the word ‘apocalypse’.
Today's popular culture takes the word 'apocalypse' to mean chaos, disaster, or catastrophe, but it isn’t that at all.!Apocalypse is merely giving us a glimpse into the ‘end times’ – more accurately, ‘the end of time’ as we will see as we see Daniel and John 'draw back the veil' in their writings today.
In Revelation (and Daniel too) we see how the end is going to be, and because the fine details are not explicitly given, people struggle with it - as they also do with the book of Daniel - another apocalyptic book (the most referred to book in the New Testament too).
Daniel was taught to me as a ‘closed book’ for he was told (25th November 2018Daniel 12.4) to shut up the words, and ‘seal the book’ – it’s a tough book filled with things that are, at first (and second) glance confusing in its imagery and language. With Revelation, John was told ‘not to seal the book’ (Revelation 22:10). Take a look at Danial and Revelation side by side and you’ll see this is the case.
Revelation shows us Jesus, the Christ, in all His glory at the end of time – it is the revelation of Jesus, not a chronicle of the events of the end times. People get so bound up with wanting to know that the miss the fact that we should wanting to know Jesus.
Daniel is also an apocalyptic book – from the Old Testament – he is one of the four major prophets (the others being Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel) – and some six hundred years before Jesus appears, he opens the curtains to reveal the ‘end times’ (albeit in this closed way).
The books are full of symbolism. Some consistent and some open to conjecture, which means it is easy to assume or interpret them wrongly. Remember, it is all about Jesus, some of the things the words after hung on are quite possibly not what we (or those claiming to be much cleverer that what we is) think they are!
So what do we have before us?
Daniel brings us into the very throne room of God the Father (‘the ancient of Days’) – and He is described just as you’d expect with a flaming throne, white hair, white robes and all that ‘God’ stuff. There’s a river of fire which flows from His throne. Fire speaks of splendour, majesty, might, and (a bit worryingly) justice: Which means judgement! Which fits the bill nicely as ‘court’ is the word that features here. Just as I experienced last week when accompanying someone to Court, for the Court sits and the books are opened – the trial is about to begin. But it’s not just satan in the dock because here ‘the guilty’ are also to be judged and dealt with.
Then (verses thirteen and fourteen) in enters one like ‘The Son of Man’ – the glorified Jesus, the Christ, who approaches the Ancient of Days. “Jesus is given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.”
Here we see the fulfilment of the acts of a Generous and kind God who gives all humanity Jesus, truly God, truly man, to take upon Himself flesh and die on our behalf – each and every created person – as an atonement for our sins. Here we have in a nutshell the marriage of the two words ‘gladness and generosity’ for here love, sacrifice, redemption and reconciliation come down into one. And that unity of the Godhead is Jesus!
This sixth Century BC Prophet has ‘revealed’ to us the glory of Christ, the King, for us here today.
Just as Revelation was sent to seven real churches so too can we learn from the words (there’s parallels here as Paul sent letters to seven churches—Rome, Corinth, Galatia, Ephesus, Philippi, Colossae, and Thessalonica: and seven beatitudes [blessings] too – seven signifies fullness and completeness) – Once again it’s all about Jesus.
We begin with an affirmation of the Godhead as the Trinity, the ‘three in one’:
The greeting (grace and peace):
From Him who is, and who was, and who is to come – God the Father
From the seven Spirits before His throne – God the Holy Spirit
From Jesus, the Christ – God the Son
Jesus is: The faithful witness The firstborn from the dead
The ruler of the kings of the earth ('The King of kings)
Three: is the number of perfection: Seven: is the number of fullness and completeness.
There are things at work in the apocalyptic writings that we can see and understand if we would but stop and look and think!
By the shedding of His blood Jesus has made us to be a ‘kingdom’. As we find in 1 peter, we are a people who once had no name now have a name – beloved – and a kingdom we together minister as priests before the throne of God. The use of the word ‘king’ is not about power or rank or privilege, that’s earthly thinking, but about His all-encompassing role and service to all humanity. A true king is a servant not power-grabbing or self-serving and flawed person.
And John, in writing Revelation draw back the curtain on the second coming of the Christ:
Look, He is coming (returning) and all creation will see Him – redeemed and far off – with the clouds (from the heavens) and people with grieve over their wrongdoings. Is it any wonder the only response is, “AMEN”? Meaning: “Let it be as you have said.”
Two images of a returning and triumphant Christ – the King.
In our Gospel reading Pilate asks Jesus whether he is the ‘King of the Jews’, a question perhaps provoked by the man before him who was obviously neither an agitator, madman, or a deluded person. Jesus asks Pilate where he got that idea. Had he been listening to the high priests and others or was that his own thought? As to be expected, Pilate gets a bit irate, after all he’s a Roman not a Jew. But Jesus tells him that His kingdom is ‘of another place’ – the place that Daniel and John have affirmed in our previous readings.
Pilate exclaims, “You are a king, then!” Jesus replies, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
So here we are with glimpses of the end times – the apocalyptic is brought before us. Are you glad that you can look to the bloody awfulness of a beaten, kicked, spat on and crucified man and from that rejoice in the hope of eternity with god made real for us; realised in the resurrection?
Are you grateful that the generosity of a God who takes on flesh and becomes man – the sacrificial gift of the Father made once and for all for us?
If we are then how can we not live out this gladness and generosity in the way that we treat others?
If we are then how can we not live, think and act differently to those who do not know the love of the Godhead made real for us in Jesus?
Hard questions indeed.
As we begin our two months of ‘Gladness and Generosity’ and travel through Advent to Christmas to celebrate with gladness with the Magi at Epiphany, how are you going to hone these two Christian traits in your life each and every day of the two months and beyond?
The Collect
God the Father, help us to hear the call of Christ the King and to follow in his service, whose kingdom has no end; for he reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, one glory. Amen.
Daniel 7:9-10,13-14
“As I looked, “thrones were set in place, and the Ancient of Days took his seat.
His clothing was as white as snow; the hair of his head was white like wool. His throne was flaming with fire, and its wheels were all ablaze. A river of fire was flowing, coming out from before him.
Thousands upon thousands attended him; ten thousand times ten thousand stood before him.
The court was seated, and the books were opened.
In my vision at night I looked, and there before me was one like a son of man, coming with the clouds of heaven. He approached the Ancient of Days and was led into his presence. He was given authority, glory and sovereign power; all nations and peoples of every language worshipped him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom is one that will never be destroyed.
Revelation 1:4-8
John, to the seven churches in the province of Asia:
Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth.
To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen.
“Look, he is coming with the clouds,” and “every eye will see him, even those who pierced him”;
and all peoples on earth “will mourn because of him.” So shall it be! Amen.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, “who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.”
John 18:33-37
Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”
“Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”
“Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”
Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”
“You are a king, then!” said Pilate.
Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”
Post Communion Prayer
Stir up, O Lord, the wills of your faithful people; that they, plenteously bringing forth the fruit of good works, may by you be plenteously rewarded; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
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