Wednesday 6th December - Revelation 5
Today’s chapter is Revelation 5
Tom writes:
The scroll represents God’s plan and his authority. He will win back his earth and the scroll says how. But no one can open it. Angels are shouting, John is weeping and weeping and the elders are falling on their faces. But the One on the Throne sits serene and secure. He knows his plan is good. And he knows the one who will enact it. This is a vision of reality right here. Never mind Newsnight. Never mind I’m a Celebrity Get me Out of Here. If we really want to know where it is at, if we really want to get a glimpse of governmental power and authority then we need to flick off the television and get our face in Revelation 5. This is the future. And this is the present. And this is the past. God, on his throne, knowing. God on his throne serene and secure. The root of Jesse enacting his plan to win back his earth. Except there is a surprise in this passage. The surprise is why and how Jesus is worthy. The surprise is what that means for the church. This surprise defines the whole of the rest of the book. Are you ready? The worthiness of Jesus is due to his death. Jesus is worthy because he was slain for the sake of the world. No-one, not even the greatest of the saints was willing nor able to pay such a price. And it is for that reason - his willingness to die an obedient death of atonement - that Jesus is the worthy one.
It is worth really dwelling on this point because the implications are massive. We see what it means to be in the Kingdom. To be the Kingdom is to win battles through love, to be willing to lay down our lives for the sake of this captive earth. Victory in God is found in the death of humble obedience to the Father and the death of sustained love for our neighbour, even when they hate us. When we are persecuted we do not kick back nor fall back. We turn our cheek and love them back. We seek to rescue others by doing good. Even when the people we are trying to rescue are killing us, we continue to act in love. We simply aim for faithful endurance. We take up our cross and emulate the lamb who was slain. Revelation shows us that somehow, in God’s crazy wisdom, losing can be victory; to be seen as worthy of death by this earth can make us worthy of praise by the heavens. All that matters is obedience to our God and sustained love for our neighbour.
Question for reflection
Are you able to lay down your life for those who hate you?