Pentecost marks the Church’s historical starting point.
It reflects the work of the Spirit empowering the community of Jesus to embody
His presence and continue His redemptive work in the world.
In response to His disciples’ question concerning whether
it was time for Him to restore the kingdom of Israel, Jesus asserted that
the knowledge of the times and the days were in God’s authority (Acts
1). His disciples were to experience for themselves the powerful presence
of the Spirit. This would make them effective witnesses everywhere in the
world.
Against the background of curiosity regarding God’s eschatological
agenda evidenced in fictional writings and movies, the words of Jesus to His
first disciples need to be heard again. It is not for us to know the time
and date. We need to know and experience what the Spirit is doing so we might
be effective witnesses. Instead of seeing the book of Revelation as a riddle
to be decoded, the Spirit-informed Church will hear from the risen Christ.
The first 3 chapters of Revelation yields sermons suited for
the season of Pentecost. A fundamental element of the theology of the Church
is rooted in the fact that it functions as the strategy of the kingdom against
which the “gates of hell” will not prevail. This focus on the
Church born at Pentecost by the agency of the Spirit is renewed in these 7
letters to the churches (Revelation 1-3).
The historical and cultural backgrounds have been derived from
secondary sources: Robert H. Mounce’s The Book of Revelation (New International
Commentary on the New Testament); William Barclay’s The Revelation of
John: Volume 1 (Daily Study Bible Series); and Leon Morris’ The Book
of Revelation: An Introduction and Commentary (Tyndale New Testament Commentaries).
The sermons were preached to my local congregation, Bronx Bethany
Church of the Nazarene in New York City. This congregation is challenged in
its contemporary setting with the pressures of the American corporate society
to compromise Christian convictions in order to survive and succeed in a materialistic
and consumer-driven culture. The ancient message spoken to the first century
church, as the risen Christ addressed these real but representative churches,
are heard again by this metropolitan church so as to enable it to resist the
powers that seek to seduce it away from faithful allegiance to Christ.
The consensus of scholarly opinion places the writing of the
book of Revelation in the last decade of the first century. Internal evidence
in the text indicates that there is widespread emperor worship at the time
of writing (8:4,12,15ff, 14:9,11; 15:2,16; 19:20; 20:4). This practice, although
overtly present in varying degrees during the reigns of Julius Caesar and
Caligula, evidenced significant wide-spread advance throughout the empire
during the reign of Domitian (ce 81-96). This era seemed to be the culmination
of a growing movement that had taken root in select areas from the time of
Nero. It came into full bloom at this time when Domitian regarded himself
as a god.
The emperor was believed to embody the spirit of the Roman Empire
and was therefore divine. The worship of the emperor was considered to be
the essential act of patriotism and demonstrated ultimate loyalty to the empire.
William Barclay notes that “once a year everyone in the empire had to
appear before the magistrates in order to burn a pinch of incense to the godhead
of Caesar and to say—‘Caesar is Lord’.”1 Failure to
do this distinguished individuals as subversive to the state and identified
them consequently as enemies. This culture of emperor worship was imposed
in order to achieve national unity and to demonstrate gratitude to the Roman
rule that ushered in the Pax Romana. The Pax Romana provided systemic security
and civic order along with a functional infrastructure, which facilitated
transportation and communication. Pax Romana was the cornerstone of increased
economic prosperity and reinforced the idea of the greatness of Caesar and
the divinity of Rome. It becomes clear that Christians, for whom there can
be no other Lord but Jesus Christ, would be regarded as traitors.
The power and popularity of the Roman Empire presented for the
Christian community a pessimistic outlook on human history. Christians suffered
and died. John, a prominent leader in the Christian community in Ephesus,
was exiled on Patmos, a small barren island with a stone quarry where prisoners
were used for slave labor. This epitomized the condition of the Christian:
powerless and hopeless. In this context, the Holy Spirit conveyed to John
the vision of the resurrected Christ “who discloses” the hope-filled
perspective found in the Revelation. The kingdom of this world (in which John
and his community seem neither to have a stake or a hope) has become the “the
kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ and he will reign for ever and ever”
(11:15b).
John then writes the Revelation (a synonym for disclosure or apocalypse) to
the embattled Church, as a letter of encouragement steeped in the language
and perspective of Old Testament prophecy and in a style of contemporary writings
known as apocalyptic. The apocalyptic style is full of cryptic symbols familiar
to the contemporary readers but unfamiliar to outsiders. In some cases, keys
to the cryptic symbols are indicated in the text. However, most of the keys
are embedded in Old Testament prophetic expectations and Christian theological
perspectives held at the time of their writing. In some instances, the keys
are “lost” because what was familiar to the first hearers are
not known to others.
As we listen to the text, we understand our benefit is that
it conveys timeless truth about the sovereign, redemptive presence and purposes
of God. It cannot mean to us what it could not have meant to the original
author and audience. Just as it gave them hope and power to persevere in a
historical context of hopelessness and powerlessness, it offers us that same
hope and power to persevere in our context. The resurrected Christ comes alongside
the comparatively puny church community and gives it fortitude to stand up
under the pressure of the mighty Pax Romana and emperor worship.
The first chapter of Revelation displays some classic elements
of an ancient Greco-Roman letter, although it uniquely includes a prologue.
This prologue gives a brief introduction to the writing and hints of its prophetic
purpose and of the involvement of angels. This signals at the very outset
the apocalyptic writing form. After this prologue, the more typical beginning
of an ancient letter becomes evident: the identification of the writer and
the intended recipients (the 7 churches in the Roman province of Asia), salutation,
doxology, and the body of the letter.
The Revelation letter’s body, like other apocalyptic writings,
addresses a perspective of hopelessness, persecution, God’s final judgment,
and His salvation. This literary genre routinely includes heavenly visions,
cryptic symbols (especially numbers), fantastic imagery, and a super-historical
perspective on reality.
Revelation draws heavily on the language and imagery of the
Old Testament prophets. It presents its own prophetic vision of the culmination
of history as the certain triumph of God, the vindication of His people, and
the final judgment of evil and its perpetrators (including, but not limited
to the Roman Empire).
The purpose of Revelation was to encourage Christians in the face of intense
and institutionalized suffering. This suffering was a direct result of their
commitment to the sole Lordship of Jesus Christ and resistance to the imperial
cult.
The book begins with an inaugural vision of the resurrected
Christ (1:9-20), whose awe and majesty dwarfs that of Caesar and therefore
demands careful priority, undivided attention, and ultimate allegiance. This
vision places the message of the whole book in context and is the reference
point of the particular address to each one of the individual churches in
chapters 2 and 3, to which the whole letter is sent as a collective group.
The author and recipients shared essentially in 3 things: Suffering,
kingdom, and patient endurance (1:9-20). These 3 elements seem to summarize
their reality. Their present suffering cannot negate their status as participants
in God’s ultimate kingdom. In the meantime, their disposition in the
face of incredible difficulty is to be the model of “patient endurance.”
The text indicates that the Spirit is unhindered by John’s Roman-imposed
solitary confinement and becomes the medium in which he is shown the pivotal
governing vision of the Lord “on the Lord’s day.”
The vision shows the strategically placed abiding presence of
the resurrected Christ (v. 18) “among the lampstands” (v. 13).
The symbol of “lampstands” is interpreted as the churches in the
text and gives a clue as to the anticipated use of symbols to follow (v. 20).
This passage describes the vision in terms of Old Testament images, which
are loaded with meaning, some decidedly messianic such as “son of man”
(v. 13). In their original Old Testament context, these images referred to
God himself. However, in Revelation the images refer to the resurrected Christ.
Robert Mounce asserts that “this ascription of the titles and attributes
of God to Christ is an indication of the exalted Christology of the apocalypse.”2
There are elements of the vision that completes the intended
picture, such as “the stars in the right hand of the resurrected Christ”
and “a sharp double edged sword” that comes out of His mouth.
The sight is terrifying and overwhelming, but the personal touch of the resurrected
Christ is accompanied by reassurance and encouragement.
Demonic competition with the living God for worship is the main
issue of the text. This competition has been a main theme throughout Scripture
with God’s competitors utilizing either coercion or seduction. In this
text, one is faced with the coercive oppression of imperial Rome of God’s
servant, John. There is the attempt to coerce him into submission to the sacrilegious
emperor worship. At issue then, is the suffering of Christians because of
their commitment to Jesus Christ. This suffering is inflicted upon them by
the institutional pressures of the prevailing society expressed through political
power and cultural consensus. The powerlessness and hopelessness of the beleaguered
Christian is accentuated by the fact that there is nothing they can do to
change the situation. It is the reality of their existential context.
The text portrays an astounding revelation of the resurrected
Christ: He was resurrected in particular from crucifixion, the death inflicted
on Him by agents of the Roman Empire. He is the expression of God’s
ultimate power that is the true reality. This majesty, awe and indomitable
power of the risen Christ are in the closest proximity to the Christian in
the churches. Christ’s abiding presence and tender assurance is sufficient
to neutralize any threat of institutionalized tyranny and coercion that society
can muster.
The Christian facing suffering is called to have hope for the
future, prior allegiance to Christ, and consistent perseverance. The comparative
majesty and power of Christ makes buckling to Caesar and his kind an absurdity.
The sovereign authority and personal assurance of God elicit reverential respect,
undivided attentiveness, and glad obedience in spite of threatened consequences.
We listen to God above the threats or seduction of any and all other distractions.
(For the full manuscript
of this sermon go to www.preachersmagazine.org and click on “Sermons.”)
The institutions and culture of human society may overpower
and beleaguer the faithful Christian. However, the Christian is encouraged
to place confidence in God by the indomitable resurrected Christ, who is present
with them in their suffering and represents God’s inevitable triumph
over evil and evildoers.
The sermon engenders confidence and trust in a trustworthy God
revealed in the resurrected Christ. The faithful will persevere in the face
of the discouraging pressures of society.
1. William Barclay, The Revelation of John. Volume 1. Chapters 1-5. (Edinburgh:
Saint Andrews Press, 1990), 19.
2. Robert Mounce, The Book of Revelation. The New International Commentary
on the New Testament. (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1977), 78.
