Christ our Hope Anglican Church Valparaiso

As Christ unseals the scrolls of God's plan, we find evil run rampant. Those with authority use it to oppress. Those with might use it to make war. Those with wealth use it gather up luxury for themselves at the expense of the weakest and poorest. But in the midst of it all, the Lamb stands triumphant and calls us to trust him with justice.

In this chapter of John’s Revelation of Jesus, we see the purpose of the Son — to restore all of creation to the right worship of God and to reconcile all things with God. Ultimately, he has accomplished our daily prayer: a re-creation of the world in which the Father's name is hallowed, his will is done, and his kingdom extends throughout all of heaven and earth.

Jesus reveals to us God's throne. This the farthest place from sin and our earthly understanding, yet this is where we will all be going, this is our goal, our end, the purpose for which we have been created: to see God, to love Him, and to worship Him.

We called to witness and worship — to witness BY worship— and we are tempted always toward self-reliance, self-deceit, and compromise with the powers of the world that offer us peace, security, acceptance, and comfort if only we will be willing to accommodate the status quo.

The one whose mouth is a sword speaks and cuts away all the coverings and reveals what is at stake: conquer or be conquered. Conform or be transformed. Follow the Lord of all, or follow the pretender who seeks to subjugate God's people to himself. In this book, there's a lot of mystery, but there's no moral ambiguity — there are only two ways: the way that leads to life and the way that leads to death.

What is visible on earth is not the angelic victory choirs, nor the sunshine face and sword mouth of the glorious son of man, nor the burning lights of the angels of the churches. All we see is this lone pastor praying alone on his prison isle. And yet… when the Lord speaks, reality itself is uncovered and we realized that things were not as they appeared.

If the question of apocalyptic literature is to ask "what's really going on? who is really in charge of the world?" then the definitive answer of John's Revelation is clear: the God who led Israel out of Egypt, the God who created the world, the God who sent Jesus Christ to redeem his people, is the absolute king of heaven and earth.

The promise of God to his people is that although our sin makes his life-giving face destruction for us, he shows mercy. He comes to restore us—to remake us—so that by his Spirit we might be made capable of receiving the life that only comes from his face and the glory that shines out from his presence.

The Psalmist calls all people to the joy of flourishing in the presence and knowledge of God. He calls all to come into the pasture of the one good shepherd — calls us to dwell in joy by expressing a rightful thanksgiving — and the joy is found and the thanksgiving flows from this knowing. Knowing that the God who made the world also made us, and he didn’t then turn away, but instead thinks of us as his people, and even walks with us as our protector, and provider.

The God of the Cosmos turns our “awake and save us” back toward us. He says, “I am awake. Now you wake up and be saved.” We cry out for his help, and the grace and goodness of God is that he reaches out in power to give it.