This is a real question for me. It seems to me that too many people are consumed with studying Revelation and trying to figure out what all the symbolism means. Or they take it literally and try to figure out exactly how to fit specific parts of the prophets into this account.
Why bother?
In spite of that I have been reading through Revelation and studying it a bit because I have a friend who thinks that this is the cats meow. To him this is the whole purpose of life, knowing exactly how the end times fit together. And I find it as I read, there are things that come out to me not because of prophecy, but because of inspiration.
As I start chapter 4, and you have all the strange beasts and the elders, I can read over that and not bat an eye. But then I come to a passage like this it is different,
Revelation 4:8 (KJV) And the four beasts had each of them six wings about [him]; and [they were] full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and is, and is to come.I really don’t care how many wings they had or which direction their eyes looked. I will leave the deep, hidden meaning of those things to you to explain to me if you can keep me awake long enough to get me to listen. However, what they had to say strikes a cord in my life. Why? Take a moment to look at the second half of that verse. Do those words seem familiar to you? They should. You find them in one of the great hymns of the church.
And then, at the end of the chapter after more glorious information about the 24 elders, you find this,
Revelation 4:11 (KJV) Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.That is something worth thinking about, studying and digging into the words used in relationship to each other. It’s also worth repeating ourselves, and as you would probably guess these words appear often in songs or through music.
Why study revelation? Things keep popping up. They are not the things that my eschatological friends want me to find but they are the things God reveals to me.
Study on.
homo unius libri
Yes, unfulfilled prophecy can look very weird. Look at the prophecies of Christ in the O.T., but when it was fulfilled I’m sure many thought “Now I get it!”. Very dangerous to speculate. Lotta weirdness out there that I’m sure non-Christians just put in the weird file with UFO’s, etc.and miss the real Jesus. Anyway, I still find myself corrected by the letters to the churches and the overall theme of judgment, God is in control, Satan’s defeat, Christ’s victory and the wonders of our future in heaven. Everything else I’m okay with not having figured out. We’ve got plenty to go on. I’ve found a lotta people want me to “preach” from the obscure parts of Revelation and not the letters to the 7 churches or other passages in Scripture dealing with sin or taking responsibility for a walk w/ Jesus before we meet Him face-to-face. God bless!
ReplyDeleteYour willingness to not have everything figured out deserves a big "Amen." Keep your priorities in preaching. Everyone knows what you should have said but I doubt if they have spent as much time praying over it as you have.
DeleteGrace and peace