Devotion - Monday, October 29

The devotion guide I follow has started me reading through The Revelation to St. John.  I am likely to write a few pieces about this, so allow me to offer less of a devotion this morning and a bit of an introduction to this book of the bible.

First, it is "The" revelation.  There are not multiple; there are not many.  There is one.  And what is revealed to John is God's victory over evil.  In the mid 1800's, it became popular to read this book differently.  It was transformed from a celebration of how no forces of evil can oppose God into some sort of a prediction of future events.

While God's ability and readiness to destroy those who oppose and harm God's people remains and we are likely to see expressions of this in the future, The Revelation is an affirmation that while John might worry or suffer, God is the one and only sovereign.  The Revelation came as a word of comfort and assurance for John.  It has been a comfort and assurance for God's people ever since.

Now - there are warnings in The Revelation.  Those who thwart God's ways are crushed.  My suggestion is that if The Revelation frightens you, consider why.  Those who drink their wine from bowls don't fare well.  Neither do those who dwell in ivory palaces.  And certainly those who accept as primary any identity other than "servant of God" are asked whether it is wise to speak first of our membership in some social group or ethnic identity or nationality.

The Revelation to St. John is full of images and references which we are unlikely to catch.  Don't get lost in these.  Read for the overall message; read it in one setting.  And I would love to hear your reaction.