Revelation: Literally Real, or Really Literal

Ok folks, it's new post time. I know you can hardly contain your excitement since the last, back before Christmas, but I am sure I can whet your appetites for the next couple of months...or maybe not!

Anyway, Christmas has been and gone. Grumpy times over. I am on my second haircut of the year (only another 2 or 3 to go), and life moves on into the monotony of routine.

So I got to thinking the other day about Revelation (that book at the end of the Bible). It's such a confusing and often misused book (there I said it!). It is confusing in the sense that it talks about Dragons and Beasts and horses and numbers. In some ways it seems like it is part of a trashy fantasy series written in the 50s. It is misused in that when people 'use' things they don't understand, mistakes/errors can be made and horrible things can be justified by such misuse! And to be honest, I think for a long time now the function and purpose has been misunderstood, and sometimes abused!

As some of you may know, my degree at university was in Theology. Interesting enough if you're into that sorta thing. I remember that one of my modules was on Revelation. It seemed like a good idea at the time of choosing modules, but when it finally came to my first class, I was filled with a not inconsiderable sense of trepidation. How on earth was I going to sit in an exam and write about REVELATION. I barely understood it, and found it really confusing (and weird). This sense was not helped by the lecturer, who right at the start of the first class suggested that we would end this module with even LESS of an idea about Revelation than when we started. He went on to say that studying Revelation was all well and good, but do not expect to receive enlightenment as the nature of the book can sometimes inhibit that! Needless to say, I was not filled with much confidence by this point. However, I worked through the material, did the coursework, sat the exam, and I passed.

Passing an exam on Revelation still left me with little clue as to the nature of the book. I left well alone for a few years, but it always seems to draw me back. Just what is this book all about? Is it a literal account of the end of time, where God will triumph over his enemies, and Jesus and the Heavenly Host will squash all opposition to God's will and rule? Or is it something else?

You see, on a theological level, I really struggle with the concept of a God who is all war and blood. Jesus suggested that we see the Father through the Son, and whilst Jesus did display anger on occasion, it always seemed to be aimed at the injustice perpetrated by society. He didn't seem to be very much in the game of 'winning' against his enemies. Indeed, he suggested that LOVING one's enemy was the proper course of action, and that losing was ACTUALLY winning. In some ways, comparing the Revelation story with the accounts of Jesus' ministry almost make one think that God is perhaps a bit bipolar!

But of course he isn't! Maybe this gaping chasm in personality can be attributed to how we read Revelation. For the record, I don't think Revelation is a literal account of the end of days, and shouldn't be read as such. It may well come to pass that there will be a human (or group of humans) who so personify evil as to be called Anti-Christ. It may well happen that disease and death and war and famine will hold sway over the earth (and this is not too hard to believe looking at the world around us). Will they ride horses...I personally think not! I believe that the book of Revelation is a metaphor for the world. It is trying to hold a mirror up for us to peer into and see just how WE have a role to play in this story of Creation.

You see, I very much believe that God called mankind into relationship with him at the beginning of it all (Adam, Eve, Garden of Eden etc). That relationship was strained, and throughout history, God has been working to restore and redeem that, the fulfilment of which was Jesus. Of course one of the significant things about Jesus was his death. However, let us not forget his LIFE. I believe that Jesus came to earth, not just to die but to show US how to truly LIVE. That by our actions, we could bring Heaven or Hell to earth and that building the Kingdom was a PROCESS, not a one of event with a floating city coming down out of the clouds.

You see, Jesus was all about justice. In fact, throughout the whole Bible we see God calling for justice and equality; for slaves, women, foreigners. In many ways, Revelation should be a call to action! It is more about what effect WE have on the world, than some beast rising out of the water. Can we honestly say that ALL war, death, destruction, famine, natural calamity, disease etc is the result of external forces riding about on horses? Is it possible that the personification of Four Riders is actually human activity in the world? That it is us, and our abuse of the world and all in it, that cause War, Disease, Famine and Death? Revelation is a call to the underground church, those who are oppressed and downtrodden, who seek justice and love for all. It is less about triumph over enemies and the destruction of the world and more about the restoration of the world, and the hope that God gives...even to those who may be his enemies!

Don't get me wrong, I do believe in a literal Satan (maybe I will write some thoughts on this sometime). I do believe that the world is building up to something-I mean look at how much the world has changed, even in the last decade, and we can see that. I do believe in anti-Christ, although I think that anti-Christ is not always a person, but can be an idea, or a system (basically anything that is against Christ). I do believe that God will work things out and there will be redemption, but I don't think we should be looking to that END, but rather should be looking to what we can do NOW. If anything, Revelation isn't an account of the end, but a wake up call for us here, now. What is YOUR role in creation? Will you be someone who builds Heaven through your actions, or someone who builds Hell? To me, THAT'S the message of Revelation.

It's been years since I studied Revelation at university, and I must confess to a certain degree of confusion, especially with some of the imagery portrayed there. It is uncomfortable and hard to understand. However, as the years have trundled by, I have become more certain that God is not an all-conquering warlord. He is a humble servant. And he invites us lovingly into this Great Task of building the Kingdom, of re-creating the world to the original design specifications. Revelation can be a call to war, or it can be an encouragement to keep going in the LOVE of God.

I guess it's really up to you!