Revelation 19
Generally, a person can live
up to 40 days without food. Depending on circumstances you can survive four
days without water. With some variance we can live 4 minutes without air. But
we cannot last four seconds if we are completely without hope. The Book of
Revelation is about hope for God's people under persecution.
It is not intended to be a
future chronology that describes a timeline of far-off future events. If the
1st century believer cannot connect and understand the Revelation and find in
it hope what was its point or value? The first readers and hearers of this book
put everything on the line for Christ. They had been brutalized by the powers
of darkness at work in the government, in false religion and philosophy, and by
the economic systems. Many died and those who were left must find the answer to
the question, “Was it worth it?” That question is answered three ways in this
chapter.
This is a story far beyond
anything that a movie could portray. It
works on us with the emotion of a grand epic fairytale. For years a vile and wicked whore/madam with
her cohorts hates and abuses a beautiful, young, virgin girl. The old woman tries to pull the girl into her
brothel offering her wealth and pleasure, failing that she uses intimation and
threats. The girl refuses, she is bound
to be faithful to her fiancée. One day
much to the surprise of the whore the beautiful young girl appears in wedding
grab and is met by her beloved, a might (Almighty) Warrior King. Now the abuse the bride has suffered at the
hands of the desolate, wasted whore is going to be avenged. This chapter begins by looking back at the
persecution of the Saints, and at the blood spilled by the monstrous whore.
Then we see in three ways the vindication of the disciples’ commitment to
Christ.
First, there is a revelation
of the bride, the church. She is no small, huddled mass of defeated, desperate,
irrelevant believers. Her voice rolls like thunder and she is beautifully
dressed by her good works. We are never saved by our good deeds, but they
should mark our lives. Never under value the importance of the acts of
righteousness done now for they have eternal consequences.
Second, there is a
manifestation of Jesus as the warrior, king and judge. This moment is unlike
the manifestation at the Incarnation. The humble carpenter from backwoods
Nazareth has returned, but now He is an avenging, warrior king. The time for
choosing sides is over. Now is the time for the consequences of the choice that
has been made.
Third, we see the
destruction of the enemy. The tiny, persecuted, powerless, faith community in
the Roman Empire sees their hero come to their rescue. What seemed like an undefeatable power is
completely obliterated. In fact, all the powers of Darkness assembled are
destroyed without a real fight. They're sent to destruction by the weapon of
Truth. They are completely blown away. This brings us back to the original question,
“Was it worth the cost to be a follower of Christ?” Yes, absolutely yes!
Questions to Ponder
C. S. Lewis described
Christianity as a “True Myth”. He was
talking about the way that the Christian faith excites our hopes and emotions
and calls us to loyalty to Christ. As
you look at chapter 19 what true events described here do you see in fairy
tails or myths?
During Jesus’ life on earth
He didn’t appear heroic in the grand use of the term. As the returning Warrior, King, Judge and
Lover He is the ultimate hero. Which of
His roles do you find most inspiring?
Why? Which do you think would
have meant the most to the first readers of this Revelation?
