SermonHeathmont Uniting ChurchRevelation 4 -

A primary school teacher was giving a drawing class to a group of six-year-olds. For twenty minutes one of her students was totally absorbed in her task. The teacher asked the girl what she was drawing. Without looking up, the girl said, “I’m drawing a picture of God.” Surprised, the teacher said, “But nobody knows what God looks like.”The girl replied, “They will in a minute.”

This is our second week in the book of Revelation. It’s a book with large, bold, breath-taking - and confusing scenes, creatures and perspectives. We have often avoided reading it or preaching on it because we do not believe that it has anything relevant to say to us.

Last week we started our introduction to the book. I noted that I had grown up with an understanding of Revelation as proving our version of the world to be right – that we could name the antichrist (From the pope to President Gorbachov of Russia. That the book proved that our God would be vindicated and, by extension, so would we and our faith – or more specifically, our version of (Reformed) faith. I also noted that

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we had a well defined habit of “cherry picking” the scriptures that we would quote or read or study.

I hope that we can come to this series with an open mind – that there will be things we might learn differently about this book, through our reading and study .. and through modern apocalyptic story telling in movies, TV series, comics and images; Planet of the Apes, Last week’s TV movie San Andreas, the War of the Worlds, to the Matrix.Andrew Walker deftly introduced us to a mode of expressing apocalyptic that spoke to younger generations. Some of these are science fiction stories (set in a future), but others are disaster or end of the world stories set in the present. These movies and other modes of story telling draw on the images of the letter of Revelation.

Revelation is the final book on our scriptures, book-ending a first creation with a final creation, and breathless silence at the beginning, with earth-shaking worship at the end. It’s a letter to a particular group of people from a particular person. The one who wrote it and the ones who had it read in their presence understood the context into which it was being spoken; we need to have it re-explained to us. While it may not be written to us, it nevertheless has a message for our time.

We noted particularly that one of the primary contexts for the book is that of persecution. That to say “Jesus is Lord” was to say that Caesar was not – and in many cases that could mean death. We read some historical material from Governor Pliny to the Emperor Trajan outlining some of that. In order to live, these Christians would have been interrogated and, if they were willing to denounce Christ, would need to make an offering to the gods including to Caesar, and to curse Christ. If they were not willing to do that, they would be killed. Martyred.

The whole of the book is predicated on this thesis “Jesus is Lord” - that the christian life, and posture and perspective of Christians towards this world is based solely and exclusively on Christ: that the Lord of the Church and the Lord of the world are Jesus … in spite of appearances.

For Christians to say that “Jesus is Lord” is, and always has meant; - to invoke a particular understanding and practice of justice, of hope, of unity with the oppressed, and of dignity for the downtrodden. - to imply or state that any social or systemic or even government practice or expectation which is the antithesis (opposite) of the above posture towards other people, peoples and creation, … is ‘anti-christ’. In Revelation and Paul’s writings these are called “powers" and “principalities”. - to expect that our primary allegiance is to Jesus.

This book is prophesy in that it is the words of God spoken by an individual to others; it is not Nostradamus – describing particular events of far future times - like OUR times. This was the word of God through one person to a particular group of people for their context.

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We noted that CITIES will be important (we were introduced to churches in 7 cities last week), and that numbers are important – and we noted that 7 is particularly important with 7 churches, the 7 stars, and the 7 blessings that occur in the book.

Finally we noted that the vision itself represents a conflict between a theology of extinction and an eschatology of hope – between extinction and hope.

So lets move to Chapter 4.

The vision moves from earth (where the address is to the seven churches) to heaven. The readers / hearers have their gaze lifted, and their perspective enlarged. … their / our own situation is placed within the much broader context of God’s universal kingdom. This is really Big PICTURE stuff. And it’s a doxology – a hymn of praise to God.

In chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation, Jesus is pictured as walking among the churches – “I know you”. I know. I know the persecution, the struggles the faithfulness and the unfaithfulness.

But there is another reality presented in the vision; The Heavenly Throne Room. This is the first major glimpse into John’s deep reflection on the person and character of God.

Creatures and numbers

Lets have a look at the 4 creatures - representing all creation worshipping God -

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powerful beasts - note that the human representation is not superior - all are equal.

The four living creatures become part of the ongoing vision and narrative told by John. But they most likely find their origin in the vision of Ezekiel chapter 1 - another stunning apocalyptic vision - where the four living creatures appear. There their role is the eyes of God. Here their role is worship, as symbolising God’s creation. The total picture of the living creatures and the elders, is one of Creation - human and non-human in worship of God together. It’s a provocative image, which invites us to consider that if God created all this, and there is something of the divine in creation, then all creation can (as the psalmist says) give praise to God by fulfilling its ultimate purpose.

The early Church found great symbolism in the four living creatures, and it’s from here that artists from the second century have used them to describe the four gospels: Matthew the man, Mark the eagle, Luke the ox and John the Lion.

Back to the throne room:We don’t know what the stones were, though the same names are used by Plato, and in Ezekiel and Exodus. They are also the same stones used in the foundation of the final new city of Jerusalem. The 24 elders are not defined, but most likely represent the fullness of the whole church - the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles: the 24 are symbolic representation of God’s faithful people.

The one on the throne. This is the central image of what is going on in this chapter. I have heard it said that people today don’t understand thrones and all that stuff. But if you have young people around you, you will know that all the chatter today is around the Game of Thrones series. There is an understanding of Thrones. Because we understand power.

On your TV tonight - the G20 summitThe WhitehouseThe images of our ParliamentEven locally in the Mayor with Mayoral chainsThese are symbols of power. We understand it. But what we struggle with is how it is exercised.

As we started to see in Revelation 2 & 3, the vision comes at a time of intense persecution for the early church where the Roman Emperor used religion and politics to his own ends. When the vision pictures a heaven with a throne, it is intensifying the conflict. It is saying that there is a throne that is bigger than that of the emperor.

John makes no attempt to describe the one on the throne … there is no anthropomorphic representation of God. There is no ‘vision of God’ in any human sense, but simply of the throne. There is no old man with a hairy beard. The

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judgments are not from the one on the throne … the exercise of power is the opposite to the image of a human despot wielding power in an arbitrary manner.

John’s purpose is not to compare divine and human power, but to contrast the two. The throne is used to highlight the differences, rather than the similarity, of human and divine power. It is oppositional rather than comparable.

So John’s use of language in describing God is non-human (John almost never uses the word “father” for God) - Alpha and Omega, the one who is and was and is to come - these are NON human descriptions, unlike “Father” or “Mother” or Shepherd.

*The Lord God Almighty – is used 7 times. The greek word is Pantokrator – Supreme, All mighty, All sustaining, all powerful. The image used (see the beginning of the sermon) is an Icon which is often replicated to represent this Pantokrator – the All powerful God.

*The one who was and is and is to come; OR who is and who was and who is to come. Eternal … not passing. This is linked to “Alpha and Omega”, another name that is used 7 times. Remember that 7 is a number that indicates completeness or wholeness. God precedes all things as their creator; and God will bring all things to their fulfilment. The origin and goal of all history. God who has the first word in creation and the last word in the new creation. Therefore God speaks twice - at the beginning and at the end (where God declares “It is Done”). All of these are spoken of God in relation to time and creation. God chooses God’s past present and future in relation to the created world.

*Our Lord and God … And at that point you should look over your shoulder to see if anyone is looking – because it’s the phrase that was used of the Caesar. And if you used this phrase of anyone else … your head would be on the chopping block – literally! Not Caesar or the emperor. For Domitian and other Roman Emperors demanded worship as Lord and God. And yet here all creation is looking in a completely different direction to Caesar and declares “THIS is our Lord and God.”

*Creator - It’s also a statement of God as creator. In the most real sense everything in the world made by God as creator has a purpose. Humanity has many powers and abilities - but has not yet found a way to create; we can rearrange things we have, we can make things from existing material. But this is not a statement about humanity in general, but about those who claim to be god - and about the one who is God and is worthy of praise.

Revelation four makes this subversive and deeply political statement

So Angela Merkel, Donald Trump, Malcolm Turnbull, “There is a God on the throne - and you are not it!"

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First, the revelation of John is NOT about justifying or vindicating human religious institutions (like the church).

The Book of Revelation starts by describing a situation of turmoil and pain and fear. Yes that’s true, it says. But let me show you this vision as well. There is a God on the throne.

The Book of Revelation starts by acknowledging that there are humans who exercise power violently and for their own ends. Yes that is true. But let me show you this reality as well.

The Book of Revelation starts with the power of Caesar, his might and authority. Yes that is true. But let me show you something bigger.

Yes your fear is real, but let me show you a different picture. And so in our time when there is discussion about North Korean missiles that could reach our shores, as economists talk about recession, and our nations politicians seem more concerned with their own welfare than the welfare that’s given to those in need … we hear these words: Yes that’s true, but lets remember that there is also something else – one on the Throne.

Caesar is human, the One in Revelation 4 is indescribableSome world leaders create fear, the One on the Throne one Creates.The Emperor demands worship, the One on the throne is truly awesome.

So into a very similar context the Psalmist says “Be still and know that I am God … “

Let’s be still.

-end-

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