In the heavenly throne room

Here is my reflection from yesterday's Eucharist at St Martin-in-the-Fields (based on material found here):

The Book of Revelation was written as the Early Church was beginning to experience persecution. Dr. Dennis E. Johnson notes that the ‘historical setting of the book of Revelation is that it is addressed to seven churches in the Roman province of Asia, which is on the west coast of what is now Turkey … It's a period where there is some violent persecution of the church by Roman governmental officials in some places in the empire — not consistent yet. There are also other types of violence, lawless violence, against Christians as well … a variety of churches facing a variety of challenges to their faith — some obvious, overt violence, some far more subtle.’ In Revelation the challenges faced by the Early Church are examined through apocalyptic imagery of a struggle between forces of good and evil, with the assurance given that Christ has won the victory and, therefore, his followers should persevere in the face of persecution.

‘Chapter 4 is where the story really starts. This is where John is given the ‘revelation’ that gives the book its title. Everything from this point on is part of the vision which is granted to him as he stands there in the heavenly throne room.’ Tom Wright suggests that ‘What we are witnessing in [chapter 4] … is not the final stage in God’s purposes. This is not a vision of the ultimate ‘heaven’, seen as the final resting place of God’s people. It is, rather, the admission of John into ‘heaven’ as it is at the moment. The scene in the heavenly throne room is the present reality; the vision John is given while he is there is a multiple vision of ‘what must take place after these things’ – not ‘the end of the world’ as such, but those terrible events which were going to engulf the world and cause all the suffering for God’s people about which the seven churches have just been so thoroughly warned.’

‘John is summoned into the throne room because, like some of the ancient Israelite prophets, he is privileged to stand in God’s council chamber and hear what is going on in order then to report it to his people back on earth ... The rainbow (verse 3) … takes us back to the story of Noah in Genesis 9, where the great bow in the sky was God’s visible promise of mercy, never again to destroy the earth with a flood.’ The 24 Elders may symbolise the 12 Tribes of Israel combined with the 12 Apostles; Christianity and Judaism linked together in God’s ultimate plan and purposes. The four living creatures have come to be associated with the Gospels and the Gospel writers, but are symbolic of the all-seeing nature of God. Finally, God is worshipped for his holiness, eternal nature, and creativity. In the following chapters we are introduced to Jesus as lion and lamb and then see that conflict ensues with the powers of evil until finally we reach the New Jerusalem in which heaven and earth are joined fully and forever.

The big theme of Revelation, as has been said, is that Jesus is Lord, and he has won, is winning, and will win. With that in mind, Wright says, ‘I have spoken of this scene so far in terms of God’s throne in heaven, and John’s appearing before it like an Old Testament prophet. But the idea of a throne room, with someone sitting on the throne surrounded by senior counsellors, would instantly remind John’s readers of a very different court: that of Caesar. We have already heard hints of the power struggle (the kingdom of God against the kingdoms of the world) in the opening three chapters. Now, by strong implication, we are being invited to see that the powers of the world are simply parodies, cheap imitation copies, of the one Power who really and truly rules in heaven and on earth.’

‘As John’s great vision unfolds, we … see how it is that these human kingdoms have acquired their wicked, cruel power, and how it is that God’s radically different sort of power will win the victory over them. This is the victory in which the seven letters were urging the churches to claim their share. We now discover how that victory comes about. It begins with the unveiling of reality. Behind the complex and messy confusions of church life in ancient Turkey; behind the challenges of the fake synagogues and the threatening rulers; behind the ambiguous struggles and difficulties of ordinary Christians – there stands the heavenly throne room in which the world’s creator and lord remains sovereign. Only by stopping on our tracks and contemplating this vision can we begin to glimpse the reality which not only makes sense of our own realities but enables us, too, to win the victory’.

That is the purpose of this book and John’s vision. In a world of turmoil and in times of persecution, we are called to stand firm and to hold on to the faith because Christ has won the victory. He calls us to live in the light of that victory and know it in our own lives even, or especially, in times of trouble.

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Leonard Cohen - The Future.