The Very Best news

When we think of good news, we seldom think of the book of Revelation. But it offers some of the best news in the entire Bible! During the next 6 weeks, my sermons will preach the good news as the book of Revelation understands it. If you are frightened by the book of Revelation -- or if you think that it is only for religious fanatics -- you might want to read this sermon and the ones that follow it. You may be surprised what you'll find!

This has been a difficult year so far for many of us. Several of us have lost a family member or a close friend with no advance warning. One day we were walking next to loved ones, and the next day we were burying them. Others of us have lost someone after a long battle with illness. We may have had more warning that we were about to be bereaved, but that didn’t make the funeral any easier to bear. Still others have dealt with other kinds of bad news. An illness has popped up, perhaps, and has caught us completely off guard. Now, I don’t know about you, but I’m tired of hearing bad news. I want to hear some good news for a change! I don’t want Easter to be over quite yet. I don’t want to go back to Lent and think about what I’m doing wrong in my Christian walk – not right now. There will be plenty of time for that later. No, right now, I want to hear about what God has promised to do for me; because right now, I need to hear that -- and maybe you do, too.

So, for the next 6 weeks, I’ll be preaching out of one of the most optimistic books of the Bible – the book of Revelation. I know what you’re thinking. Revelation is an optimistic book? The gospel of John, maybe, but… Revelation? Why, Revelation is one of the most frightening books in the whole Bible! Some folks don’t even go near the book of Revelation because of its violence and its bizarre images. Some of its scenes could be right out of Nightmare on Elm Street. How could a book like that reassure us with its good news?

Before I answer that question, let’s take a bird’s eye view of the book of Revelation. You’ve probably heard it compared to a road map to the end of the world. Many people claim that if we look around in our world right now, we can identify events that correspond to scenes in Revelation. Then we can figure out where we are on our journey to the end of time. After all, the Revelation ends with the last judgment and the New Jerusalem; so it’s not unreasonable to think that the book might be a road map between our time and the end.

Actually, Revelation isn’t a road map at all. Instead, it’s a mirror… and a telescope… and a crystal ball.

·         It’s a mirror because it makes us look at ourselves and decide who we are deep down in our hearts. Revelation presents a contrast between the Church and the World. The Church follows Jesus Christ, while the World follows wealth and power and status. Revelation asks us to decide which side we’re on. When we look into its mirror, we have to take a side.
·         It’s a telescope because it gives us a view into heaven itself. It shows us God sitting on the throne and the angels doing God’s bidding. It shows us realities that are hidden from our human eyes. It shows us truth that we could never figure out on our own.
·         And it’s a crystal ball because it offers us a glimpse of the end of time. It shows us the New Jerusalem where there’s no more pain or suffering, and God enthroned among his people. The images are beautiful, but they aren’t clear. They’re shrouded in mist and mystery. We can’t see much detail as they float in and out of our vision.

All the images from the mirror and the telescope and the crystal ball are intertwined, woven together like a braid, so that sometimes it’s impossible to tell just who and what we’re looking at, and where it’s taking place. If we try to use Revelation like a road map, we’re bound to get lost. But if we use it like a mirror, a telescope, or a crystal ball, we may very well encounter truths that will deepen our faith in ways that we never thought possible.

So, now that we’ve taken a bird’s eye view of Revelation, back to the original question. What good news can we find in Revelation that is worthy of being preached at a time like this? The good news is simply this – that no matter what our situation may be, Jesus has it covered. Jesus is everything that we need, no matter where in life we may find ourselves. But the author of Revelation has chosen to tell us that in images instead of in logical statements. From the very beginning of the book, John shows us pictures to get his point across.

This morning’s selections from Revelation were almost nothing but images (Revelation 1:9-10, 12-18; 22:12-14, 16). Jesus speaks in a voice like a trumpet; he wears a long robe with a golden sash; his eyes are fire; his face is like the sun; a two-edged sword comes out of his mouth; and his voice is like the sound of many waters. Now, John doesn’t mean for us to take this picture literally. This isn’t what Jesus really looks like. The picture is made up of lots of images that John took from the Old Testament and from the culture in which he lived to try to give us the fullest description of Jesus that he can. Jesus speaks in a voice like a trumpet because when a ram’s horn trumpet was blown in the Temple, it meant that God was near. Priests in that time wore a long robe with a gold sash, just like Jesus is wearing in John’s picture. Jesus’ eyes are fire, like the fire of the Spirit, or the presence of God in the burning bush. His face is shining like the sun, shining like the face of Moses shone when he came down from Sinai from receiving the Law. The two-edged sword coming from his mouth is an image of power – the power of the word of God. And Jesus’ voice that sounds like many waters comes from the book of Ezekiel, where the appearance of God sounds like the rush of a mighty flood. If we know how to read it, the picture that John paints tells us that Jesus is Spirit-filled, law-giver, priest, the one who speaks the word of God with power, and even God himself. He is everything that we need regardless of where we find ourselves in life.

We hear very the same message when Jesus himself speaks. “I am the First and the Last,” we hear him say. “I am the Living One, the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I am alive forever and ever, and I hold the keys of death.” How many different ways can Jesus say it? “I’ve got it covered! I’m the first and the last… the beginning and the end… the alpha and the omega. I’m the A to Z and everything in between.” Whether we’re at the beginning of our life, somewhere in the middle, or nearing the end, Jesus has our back. Even on our deathbed, Jesus is there. He not only is the Living One, he holds the keys of death.

That, my friends, is the very best news of all. There is nothing that Jesus is not; there is nowhere that Jesus is not; there is no time that Jesus is not. Let me say that another way. Jesus is all things, in all places, in all times. That’s how the author of Revelation begins the book; and that’s how he ends it, as well. He shows us that Jesus is the beginning and the end by putting him both at the beginning and at the end of the entire book.

There is nowhere that Jesus is not. When we’re having a rough day… Jesus is there. When we get bad news from the doctor… Jesus is there. When we struggle with illness… Jesus is there. When we bury those we love… Jesus is there. And when we take our last breath… Jesus will be there, too. The One who loves us… the One who knows us better than we know ourselves… the One who offers us eternal life… the One who died and rose again and is alive forever… that one is with us always, no matter what.

There can be no better news than that!