Revelation for Today

I recently gave a lecture on Reading Revelation Responsibly based on the great book by Michael Gorman by the same title. Needless to say, trying to cover the entire Book of Revelation in 90 minutes is a lofty task. I began with the following illustration:

What if a silver DeLorean drove up to your house, the doors opened upwards and a voice inside (eerily similar to Michael J. Fox) said, “Get in”? Having seen the Back to the Future movies you might get really excited and think you’re about to do some time traveling! You might be disappointed when you found out this DeLorean doesn’t do that; its an ordinary earthbound vehicle that helps get you to and fro in this life.

Similarly, when Christians open up the Book of Revelation (or attend a class on it), many think they’re getting inside a vehicle made for time travel. Jumping behind the wheel of this wildly confusing book, we hope to be transported forward in time to see how the world is going to end. Popular novels and movies like Left Behind have reinforced this view of Revelation as primarily a road map to the End of Days, just as Back to the Future has shaped our view of flying, time-traveling DeLorean.

I suspect most of the folks attending my class last night were quite disappointed when I suggested that Revelation is not primarily a vehicle for time travel, or a code to be cracked to know how Armageddon goes down. Rather, I argued, Revelation was and is first and foremost a message to help Christians travel faithfully and courageously through the rough terrain of this life.

Based on at least one person’s feedback, I perhaps emphasized the message to the first-century audience so much that I gave the impression that much of Revelation is no longer applicable to today. In hopes of clarifying this, let me share the question/concern and offer a response. For my study has led me to believe there’s perhaps no book more relevant for the church today!

Someone shared the following feedback:

In general, it felt like every prophecy or reference that was negative/scary/end-of-the-world’ish was explained away as having already happened and/or only applied to the first century Christians. And every prophecy or reference that was positive/happy/good was a description of what the coming kingdom would be like. It felt like you were picking and choosing which verses should apply to the future and which we can discount. The first 75% of the Revelation was a theopolitical statement, but the last two chapters should be taken as an accurate description of the coming kingdom.

If anyone concluded last night that the Book of Revelation was a message mainly for the first century, and that all the judgments and warnings only applied to the original hearers, then let me set the record straight. And I apologize for misleading you.

The critique of ‘Empire’ and warnings to the church today not to accommodate (Rev. 2-3) applies equally to today’s Babylon-like cultures, wherever they may exist. Likewise, the call to remain faithful to the way of the Lamb is entirely applicable to today — not just the first century. Moreover, the warnings of judgment (e.g., Babylon) have not happened yet in an ultimate sense and still await the final return of Christ.

Here’s the definitions of ‘Empire’ and ‘Babylon’ I’m working with, which referred to Ancient Rome originally but take various forms today:

Empire is “an entity that has come to widespread (global or nearly global) dominance through deliberate expansion by means of the extreme exercise of some form(s) of power—economic, political, military, and/or religious—resulting in the creation of colony-like clients of the entity and of enemies who perceive the entity as oppressive” (Gorman, Reading Revelation Responsibly, 45).

“Babylon is allegorical of the idolatry that any nation commits when it elevates material abundance, military prowess, technological sophistication, imperial grandeur, racial pride, and any other glorification of the creature over the Creator . . . . The message of the book of Revelation concerns … God’s judgments not only on persons, but also of nations and, in fact, of all principalities and powers—which is to say, all authorities, corporations, institutions, structures, bureaucracies, and the like” (Metzger, Breaking the Code, 88).

Now, Ancient Rome met its earthly demise in history around 476 CE when foreign invaders came from the north, but Rome/Babylon was only a ‘type’ for all future Babylon-like Empires throughout history. I should have emphasized that its not just the historical empires per se that stand under judgment in the Apocalypse, but more importantly its the demonic, Satanic powers (Dragon, the Beasts, 666, etc.) that stand behind and fuel all such empires and cultures of Babylon — then and now!

Revelation is therefore a timeless message in many ways, written TO a real first century situation, but written FOR all subsequent generations of history who will face their own temptations to collude with and be deceived by the propaganda of ‘Empire’ and the alluring paraphernalia of civil religion and nationalism. The call is as urgent now, as it was then, to “come out of her [Babylon], my people”, and remain distinct followers of the Lamb and His Kingdom.

Like the seven churches of Revelation 2-3, the Spirit of Jesus is calling us to faithful witness and resistance as “children of God without fault in a crooked and perverse generation, in which you shine as lights in the world as [we] hold forth the word of life” (Phil 2:15-16). As Gorman sums up the challenge to the churches then and now:

“Will these churches be faithful witnesses both to Jesus and like Jesus (and John!) by refraining from participation in the cultural norm of pagan religion, including the imperial cult, even if it entails serious consequences: social, economic, and political? Will they join the Nicolaitans, Balaamites, followers of Jezebel, and Laodiceans who are participating in various forms of compromise and accommodation, which John labels idolatry, or will they abstain—“come out” (18:4)—and be willing to suffer like John, like Antipas of Pergamum (2:13), and like Jesus himself?” (Gorman, 96)

The Book of Revelation becomes much more relevant when we begin to expose some of the subtle ways the United States, with all its good intentions and positive contributions to the world, is itself complicit in certain aspects of ‘Empire’ and “Babylon”. There are dark sub-human, demonic powers at work in our government and economy and popular culture and schools and, yes, churches. Satan is busy trying to deceive and corrupt all systems and cultures, societies and power structures, so this shouldn’t be a shocking statement.

The message of Revelation is both encouraging and a severe warning. Judgment Day is coming (which I believe is already beginning to happen our nation), and the message to the church is to “come out of her” (18:4) and keep our witness distinct from the worldly politics of Empire that are always, to some degree, under “the ruler of this world”, i.e., Satan (John 12:31).

But there’s hope, too. The entire message of Revelation is that God has judged and dealt the initial death-blow to the principalities and powers on the cross in the first century, and Christ will come again at the End to finish the job, bringing an end to this sinful, broken world we live in and a new world without pain, sorrow and death. We live in between his two royal comings, in the power of the Spirit, announcing that victory and embodying the kind of cross-power witness he taught us, and warning the world that His return is imminent and the New Creation is on the way!

Judgment is coming, on all manifestations of the Beasts. The question is when. Will Christ return in our day to bring judgment in one cataclysmic moment? If Christ tarries another 2,000 years, we must not deny the likely possibility that the United States will go the way of other great empires of the earth. God’s judgment will come, not with Divine violence, but by turning us over to our ways to reap the natural consequences of our idolatrous ways, for living in a godless, prideful, materialistic, dehumanizing, self-worshiping, militaristic, morally confused and self-imploding culture.

Christians should engage with powers and political process to help turn the ship around and speak prophetically to power and work toward the greater good according to their faith convictions. We should be active in social-justice and societal reform as much as possible.

BUT, and this is a huge BUT: Christians must not let their fervor for such political and national (imperial?) causes, no matter how good and noble, eclipse or replace or distort their zeal and commitment to furthering God’s Kingdom through the church.

Revelation urges Christians, then and now, NOT to go in and reform ‘Babylon’ or Empire by political means, but rather to “come out of her” and be faithful witnesses to another Kingdom that Christ inaugurated at Easter and will consummate at His royal return! Our allegiance is to the King of Kings and His multi-national, global family — the church. Not to any earthly kingdom, no matter how great it might be.

So, in conclusion:

1. Empire and Babylon cultures are alive and well today, in various forms and places, all over the world. The Dragon and the Beasts are all on the prowl, masquerading as angels of light, deceiving, distracting and slowly dehumanizing cultures and leading astray. We fool ourselves if we believe such warnings are only reserved for the evil totalitarian regimes of history, and not to good, well-intended nations like ours. Judgment is coming.

2. The church is called to heed the Lord’s voice that says, “Come out of her, my people” (18:4) and resist accommodation to all Babylon-like cultures (Rev. 2-3). We are to heed the message of Jesus by the Spirit to our churches today to be faithful witnesses to God’s coming Kingdom and embrace any persecution that may result when we start going against the grain of the Empire and bowing down before the Throne of the Slaughtered Lamb.

Or, put in bumpersticker form (though I don’t advocate bumpersticker religion!): “God wins. Choose your team. Don’t be stupid.”