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Printer Friendly VersionThe book of Revelation has often stood as an ominous, mysterious,
unapproachable book. It would be interesting if we could go around this morning
and ask all of you to respond to this question: "What feelings surface
or thoughts come to mind when you think about the book of Revelation?"
I've put that question to different groups across the years and the answers
are fairly predictable.
There are basically two answers that emerge to that question.
One has to do with fear. The feelings of fear in regard to the book of Revelation
come primarily from those persons who were raised in the church and can remember
the evangelist coming to town. Invariably, on Saturday night of revival week
they would all preach their hell sermon, usually out of the images of Revelation.
I can well remember as a child being so scared by those sermons I was literally
afraid to go to sleep at night.
The other basic answer to the question is kind of a "blank".
People who have just had no real contact with the book, never really heard
it taught. I think we have in recent times, to our loss, neglected this marvelous
book.
If we approach revelation with an eye only toward establishing
timelines, fixing dates, and specific events and identifying symbols - we
stand in danger of missing altogether the basic, triumphant message of this
wonderful book. So this morning, given what's happening in our world today,
I want to deal with a passage that I think summarizes the essential message
of revelation. It's a message that speaks to a very real question being asked
today. The question is basically this: "Who's really in control here?"
It seems increasingly as if our world is totally out of control.
The more we experience tragedy and pain in our world, the more we begin to
question whether or not anybody is really in control. We see the shocking
news of terrorism and wonder, "How could that happen?" We witness
through media the suffering of people other parts of the world and we wonder.
We even look at natural disasters and we wonder, “Is anybody really in
control of this world or is it just spinning wildly out of control?”
But the question gets much closer than even all of that. When
the ravages of abuse come close to our homes. When companies play political
games with one another and in the process you lose your job. When people we
know and love are stricken with serious illness. When tragedy strikes, when
life kicks us in the stomach and leaves us doubled over breathless, when evil
seems to be trampling all over good - In those moments we confront the question
- "Who is really in control here?" Is there any purpose in all of
this? Is there any order or plan to be discovered? Are we just part of great
cosmic machine that's been left to wind down? And most importantly, where
is God in all of this? Is God really in control? And if so, what does it mean
in everyday terms that God is in control? Let's think about it for a moment.
When John was writing the words of this revelation, the church
was asking just those kinds of questions. Jesus had promised that in him the
kingdom of God had come. He had been victorious in his mission. He defeated
death and dying in his glorious resurrection and his parting promise to them
was that he would return to bring the inaugurated Kingdom to its full fruition.
They believed it. They staked their very lives on it. And the infant church
exploded in growth as people responded to the gospel. They looked for the
imminent return of Jesus. They really believed it would happen within their
lifetimes.
But the years rolled by, the decades passed. They were being
persecuted terribly by the Roman government. Many had been imprisoned - some
even martyred for giving unwavering witness to the Christ who had redeemed
them. They steadfastly held to the confidence that Jesus would keep his promise
and complete the coming of God's kingdom. They continued to look for the day
when the curse of sin on the world would be finally and completely cleansed
from creation.
But in the realities of life, the questions began to surface.
Is it really true? Is God still accomplishing his work in this world? Is it
still worth being faithful, in spite of the pain, in spite of the persecution,
in spite of the threat of death? Is God still really in control? I think John
was dealing with those questions. He had been banished to the prison island
of Patmos off the coast of Asia Minor, sent there by the Romans because he
had faithfully preached and taught the good news of Jesus. And now he was
isolated, separated by the great sea which cut him off from his people and
his ministry.
Into this setting and background then, comes the revelation
of Jesus Christ to John. The basic message is: God is still at work to accomplish
what he started in the garden of Eden after Adam and Eve chose to be their
own gods--a work that continued for centuries through the history of patriarchs
and the whole nation of Israel- God's chosen people through whom he would
reveal himself to the rest of the world. It’s a work that found its crowning
achievement in Jesus Christ and continues even to this day and will continue
until it is completed. Chapter 21 is a beautiful summary of that work:
Read verse 1
The sea at this time in history was seen by most people as the
source of evil and oppressive forces, a vast chasm of separation - but it
is no longer there.
Read verses 2-3
That is the essence of the promise right there. No more questions,
no more doubts. No more fear, no more injustice, no more sin.
Read verses 4-7
He who overcomes the temptation to fall away because doubts
creep in. The temptation to stop believing because it just doesn't seem to
be working out. The temptation to give up because I just can't understand
what God is doing.
"He who overcomes shall inherit these things, and I will
be his God and he will be my son." And then he gives us a list that by
negative contrast shows what the new order will be like: Not fearfulness but
faith. Not distortion but truth. Not murder but life. Not sexual chaos but
wholeness. Not mysticism but relationship. Not idols but encounter with the
living God. Not deception but the open face of trust.
That hope, that confidence, that promise that God will one day
complete the work he has begun is a basic foundation stone of our faith. It
is a faith affirmation. I cannot prove it to you empirically. I cannot convince
you of it intellectually. But this inspired book proclaims a truth that needs
to be repeated this morning, God is in control! He is still working! He is
bringing to completion the work of Jesus. And one day, you can mark it down,
the questions will be answered, the doubts will be erased and the faithful
will live in the unveiled presence of God. I choose to believe it - God is
in control!
Now, regardless of how strongly we affirm and believe that truth,
the reality is that we still have times when we really struggle with it. Why?
I think one of the basic points of struggle has to do with the difference
between our idea of control and God's control. Our idea of control is every
little detail, every specific circumstance, every temporal situation. God's
idea of control is history of the universe. Over and over again in the Bible,
in example after example we are confronted with the fact that God's agenda
for this world does not run in nearly so narrow a track as ours.
Philip Yancey has suggested that one reason we struggle with
this is because we tend to confuse God with life. God is fair so life should
be fair. It may not sound very satisfying to you but we have got to come to
grips with the fact that we are hopelessly near-sighted. When the book of
Genesis closes, for example, we have a picture of family. God knows their
names, he has been intimately involved with them and has blessed them. But
went he book of Exodus opens they are in slavery in Egypt. And some 400 years
have passed between Jacob coming into Egypt and the advent of Moses.
400 years in which we have no record of God's relationship with
his people. Twice the history of this country - and you can imagine that the
generations of Israel in those 400 years began to ask, "Is God silent,
is God really in control? But God was viewing the larger picture. He knew
where he was going. He looked across millennia (which seems such a long time
to us) and he saw the unfolding of his great plan in just the right time.
Does all this mean that God doesn't care about my pain, my disappointment,
or my questions. Look at the language of Revelation 21. It's not static order,
it's not rigid justice. It's the language of relationship. It’s seen
in the picture of the bride made ready for her husband with all the joy and
warmth that picture brings, in the promise of God's immediate presence and
in his promised remedies for our pressing needs - the drying of tears, the
comforting of sorrows and the elimination of pain. The message here is that
God is deeply concerned and cares very much about our struggles in the everydayness
of life. But his cure is much more complete and much more long-term than ours.
So what should my response be? If I can really believe that
then what about the everyday circumstances in my life? I think one of the
reasons the message of Revelation has fallen silent is because we have tended
view it in terms of escapism. This world is a mess and someday God is going
to fix it but until them we just have to hang on. I would suggest another
model for response - and call it "faithful service." The message
here is not: God is in control - so relax. It's not: God is in control - so
wait to get beamed up.
The message is: God is control so tell everyone you can. God
is in control so touch real needs. God is in control so love one another.
God is in control so comfort one another. In the midst of your pain. In the
midst of your doubts and questions and disappointments. And you can honestly
share those struggles with him. The anger when life is unfair.
But all of those struggles and all of those questions can be
honestly tackled in the context of a firm trust in God. He is in control.
And he is working to bring to completion and perfection the kingdom of God.
When are you most tempted to believe that God is really not
in control? Could you bring that struggle, that question, and that doubt honestly
before God this morning? Could you ask him to touch you and minister his grace
to you at just that point of struggle? Allow him to speak words of assurance
to you that he knows where you are and what you are facing.
On the authority of God's word I proclaim to you this morning - God is in control and he has not abandoned you. "Those who overcome shall inherit these things, and I will be their God and they will be my people."