	Revelation - A Message of Hope
	I have very much enjoyed C.J. Sansom’s ‘whodunnits’ set in the reign of Henry VIII. Written in the first person (that person being lawyer Matthew Shardlake), his stories bring to life the sights, sounds and appalling smells of the Tudor era, the characters being a mixture of the historical (such as Thomas Cranmer, compiler of the Book of Common Prayer) and the invented (such as Shardlake himself). In his latest book Shardlake is hunting a serial killer who is running around Tudor London convinced that he is fulfilling certain gruesome prophecies found in the book of Revelation. Of course, Sansom’s book is a work of fiction, but it does remind us that there are some very frightening images contained in the mysterious book that concludes the New Testament. Part of the background to Sansom’s story involves the belief among some groups of Christians (then as now) that the book of Revelation contains a timetable for the end of the world. For hundreds and hundreds of years such groups have proclaimed the events described there and understood literally to be imminent. I happened, whilst doing some research the other day, to come across a website declaring as a certainty (no ifs, no buts) that the world will end in 2008 – the latest in a long, long line of such ‘certainties’ littering the history of the Christian church. Before going any further I want to make two things very clear: I believe both that Jesus will come again and that the book of Revelation is inspired and in the Bible for a reason. It’s just that I also believe that, today as in the time of Henry VIII, it has been much misunderstood. I don’t claim to be able to offer a definitive interpretation (unlike those who are so certain) but I believe that Revelation points us in quite a different direction. The author known as John (probably not the apostle) received his visions whilst in exile (forced or voluntary) on the island of Patmos suffering for his faith. Between the 1st and 4th centuries after Christ a number of Roman emperors savagely persecuted the Christian church. One of these was Nero, under whose brutal rule many Christians, including St Peter and St Paul, were killed, many of them in ways that are too horrific to be described here. John was perhaps fortunate to still be alive! Revelation, then, is a book that provides echoes of a time when it was extremely dangerous to be a Christian. The experience of suffering and persecution in Jewish communities around the time of Jesus gave rise to a particular type or genre of writing known as apocalyptic (just as Sansom’s novels adhere to the genre of historical fiction, i.e. a fictional story set against a real historical background) and Revelation represents a ‘Christian apocalypse’. In such literature dreams, visions and angelic messengers open doors to a world of strange and terrifying creatures, global catastrophes and dramatic signs in the heavens. The designation has transferred into English; an ‘apocalyptic’ event is one that involves catastrophic destruction and loss of life. The central theme of apocalyptic writing is the overthrow of evil in all its forms and the final triumph of God but the imagery in Revelation, as in other works belonging to this genre, is highly symbolic and much of it, though intelligible to those who read John’s prophecy at the time, is extremely obscure to us. However there are some clues that have been passed down to us; here are two examples:	In 70AD following the Jewish rebellion, the Roman army entered Jerusalem and destroyed the city and Temple. Following this catastrophe, it became common practice for Jewish writers to use ‘Babylon’ (itself a byword for the corrupting power of evil) as a code word for ‘Rome’. This is clearly how John’s readers would have understood his use of the word. Hebrew letters all have number equivalents; if you translate the Greek for ‘Nero Caesar’ in Hebrew and add up the letters they come to 666 (this may sound a bit obscure but we know this sort of ‘language crossing’ was very common at the time). It may well be that Revelation was written after Nero’s time but, rather like Hitler and Stalin, he remained a notorious symbol of state brutality and there was, for many years after his suicide, a fear that he was not really dead and would return. We can begin to see the original meaning of these strange dreams and visions; in his symbolic use of such images as the Beast and Babylon, who are both destroyed in his vision, John is trying to demonstrate to his readers that even the imperial power of Rome is subject to the eternal power and authority of God. What they needed more than anything was hope, and John reassures them that their faithfulness will be rewarded. So above all Revelation is intended to encourage the powerless; it places image upon image, symbol upon symbol to drive home the message that the evil that sometimes seems to be all-powerful cannot last and that the only enduring kingdom is that belonging to God. Many of those who have experienced oppression have testified to the strengthening power of the book; Desmond Tutu has spoken about how the vision of worship in heaven in Revelation 7 v 9-12 helped sustain him through the dark days of apartheid. So Christians shouldn’t be wasting time and energy trying to match the often allegorical details of the book of Revelation with current world events to see whether the world is about to end – people have done that ad infinitum over the centuries and they have all been wrong. It is very significant that after Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1 v 10-11) the angels present with the disciples ask why they are standing there gazing opened mouthed into heaven with the clear implication that it will soon be time to come back down to earth where there is much to be done! Two thousand years on, Christians are still called to build the kingdom of God here on earth by preaching the gospel and working for peace and justice. We do this with hope in our hearts because, although we don’t know when Jesus is coming back (and he clearly taught that only the Father knows that; Mark 13 v 32), we have the book of Revelation to assure us that, although we often feel our weaknesses, the power and the glory belongs to God. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus. Rob Green
	Norbury Parish Church, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. Telephone: 0161-483 6325

Revelation - A Message of Hope

I have very much enjoyed C.J. Sansom’s ‘whodunnits’ set in the reign of Henry VIII. Written in the first person (that person being lawyer Matthew Shardlake), his stories bring to life the sights, sounds and appalling smells of the Tudor era, the characters being a mixture of the historical (such as Thomas Cranmer, compiler of the Book of Common Prayer) and the invented (such as Shardlake himself). In his latest book Shardlake is hunting a serial killer who is running around Tudor London convinced that he is fulfilling certain gruesome prophecies found in the book of Revelation. Of course, Sansom’s book is a work of fiction, but it does remind us that there are some very frightening images contained in the mysterious book that concludes the New Testament.

Part of the background to Sansom’s story involves the belief among some groups of Christians (then as now) that the book of Revelation contains a timetable for the end of the world. For hundreds and hundreds of years such groups have proclaimed the events described there and understood literally to be imminent. I happened, whilst doing some research the other day, to come across a website declaring as a certainty (no ifs, no buts) that the world will end in 2008 – the latest in a long, long line of such ‘certainties’ littering the history of the Christian church.

Before going any further I want to make two things very clear: I believe both that Jesus will come again and that the book of Revelation is inspired and in the Bible for a reason. It’s just that I also believe that, today as in the time of Henry VIII, it has been much misunderstood. I don’t claim to be able to offer a definitive interpretation (unlike those who are so certain) but I believe that Revelation points us in quite a different direction.

The author known as John (probably not the apostle) received his visions whilst in exile (forced or voluntary) on the island of Patmos suffering for his faith. Between the 1st and 4th centuries after Christ a number of Roman emperors savagely persecuted the Christian church. One of these was Nero, under whose brutal rule many Christians, including St Peter and St Paul, were killed, many of them in ways that are too horrific to be described here. John was perhaps fortunate to still be alive! Revelation, then, is a book that provides echoes of a time when it was extremely dangerous to be a Christian.

The experience of suffering and persecution in Jewish communities around the time of Jesus gave rise to a particular type or genre of writing known as apocalyptic (just as Sansom’s novels adhere to the genre of historical fiction, i.e. a fictional story set against a real historical background) and Revelation represents a ‘Christian apocalypse’. In such literature dreams, visions and angelic messengers open doors to a world of strange and terrifying creatures, global catastrophes and dramatic signs in the heavens. The designation has transferred into English; an ‘apocalyptic’ event is one that involves catastrophic destruction and loss of life. The central theme of apocalyptic writing is the overthrow of evil in all its forms and the final triumph of God but the imagery in Revelation, as in other works belonging to this genre, is highly symbolic and much of it, though intelligible to those who read John’s prophecy at the time, is extremely obscure to us. However there are some clues that have been passed down to us; here are two examples:

In 70AD following the Jewish rebellion, the Roman army entered Jerusalem and destroyed the city and Temple. Following this catastrophe, it became common practice for Jewish writers to use ‘Babylon’ (itself a byword for the corrupting power of evil) as a code word for ‘Rome’. This is clearly how John’s readers would have understood his use of the word.
Hebrew letters all have number equivalents; if you translate the Greek for ‘Nero Caesar’ in Hebrew and add up the letters they come to 666 (this may sound a bit obscure but we know this sort of ‘language crossing’ was very common at the time). It may well be that Revelation was written after Nero’s time but, rather like Hitler and Stalin, he remained a notorious symbol of state brutality and there was, for many years after his suicide, a fear that he was not really dead and would return.

We can begin to see the original meaning of these strange dreams and visions; in his symbolic use of such images as the Beast and Babylon, who are both destroyed in his vision, John is trying to demonstrate to his readers that even the imperial power of Rome is subject to the eternal power and authority of God. What they needed more than anything was hope, and John reassures them that their faithfulness will be rewarded.

So above all Revelation is intended to encourage the powerless; it places image upon image, symbol upon symbol to drive home the message that the evil that sometimes seems to be all-powerful cannot last and that the only enduring kingdom is that belonging to God. Many of those who have experienced oppression have testified to the strengthening power of the book; Desmond Tutu has spoken about how the vision of worship in heaven in Revelation 7 v 9-12 helped sustain him through the dark days of apartheid.

So Christians shouldn’t be wasting time and energy trying to match the often allegorical details of the book of Revelation with current world events to see whether the world is about to end – people have done that ad infinitum over the centuries and they have all been wrong. It is very significant that after Jesus ascended into heaven (Acts 1 v 10-11) the angels present with the disciples ask why they are standing there gazing opened mouthed into heaven with the clear implication that it will soon be time to come back down to earth where there is much to be done!

Two thousand years on, Christians are still called to build the kingdom of God here on earth by preaching the gospel and working for peace and justice. We do this with hope in our hearts because, although we don’t know when Jesus is coming back (and he clearly taught that only the Father knows that; Mark 13 v 32), we have the book of Revelation to assure us that, although we often feel our weaknesses, the power and the glory belongs to God. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

Rob Green

Revelation - A Message of Hope

Norbury Parish Church, Hazel Grove, Stockport, Cheshire. Telephone: 0161-483 6325