Exploring the Scripture

Today is the first of a five-Sunday series of suggested preaching texts from the book of Revelation. Don’t panic! Take an opportunity to help the congregation understand and appreciate God’s hope and encouragement found in this unusual poetic style of ancient writing, known as apocalyptic literature.

Revelation is, no doubt, the most misunderstood and the most abused text of the New Testament. It isn’t easy to understand because we are not the intended audience. The audience is clear from the first line of today’s text. John’s audience was churches in Asia. He wrote to Christians of his time.

Christians were suffering terribly under the persecution of Emperor Domitian, who ruled from 81–96 CE. John was captive on the prison island called Patmos. We don’t know precisely what landed him there, but it likely had something to do with his inclination to write diatribes against the empire and the emperor.

Oppressed people used the coded language of apocalypse writing to share messages the oppressor could not understand easily. In particular, the apocalyptic texts often directly criticized or mocked the oppressor, making it even more necessary to use coded language. In this case, some language is based on stories and symbols in the Hebrew scriptures that the Roman authorities would not know. Other cultural details particular to this group of early Christians would be understood only by them.

It was difficult for the emperor to understand—and for us. Unfortunately, many have taken advantage of apocalyptic literature to advance their messages and priorities. A common abuse has been to suggest that God created the coded language specifically for whatever period the interpreter is living.

Rather than predicting the world hundreds or thousands of years in the future, apocalyptic literature offered a contemporary message of hope to the oppressed. John was writing to those on the margins, the poor, and the suffering. He offered encouragement. The way things were was not how they ought to be. God had other plans. God was not on the side of the powerful emperor. God was engaged in the struggle for justice alongside the believers.

In this season of Easter, John’s revelation proclaims the resurrection. This is apocalyptic talk. The resurrection was not common teaching in the Hebrew scriptures. Proclaiming the resurrection was to proclaim that God would overcome the powers of the empire and death itself. Circumstances might be bad, but God would win.

John points to an alternative version of reality. God has made the poor, apparently powerless Christians into a kingdom instead of the Roman emperor and his citizens. Rather than the emperor, the crucified God will have dominion forever and ever.

When God is proclaimed Alpha and Omega (the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet), John asserts that God always has been with those persecuted and struggling; God will be with them until the end.

Project Zion Podcast

Hosts Karin Peter and Blake Smith consider how this week's scripture connects to our lives today.

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Central Ideas

1. God always has been with those oppressed and always will be, struggling alongside them.
2. In the end, God is victorious.
3. God has formed a parallel kingdom that, in its way, is more powerful than the empires of this world.
4. Revelation is written in coded language to allow the original readers to understand the text while keeping it from being understood by imperial powers.
5. Persecuted people, to this day, may have added insight and understanding.
6. While we are not the intended audience, we can receive hope and encouragement from the text.

Questions to Consider

1. What are some historical examples of communities of resistance that were oppressed alongside whom God has been struggling?
2. Have you experienced oppression and suffering at the hands of the politically powerful?
3. What likenesses exist between John’s letter from prison and Martin Luther King Jr.’s letter from the Birmingham Jail? (kinginstitute.stanford.edu)
4. If God does not intend for the poor and oppressed to suffer, what needs to change in today’s world? What is our role in the story?