Saturday 10 September 2022

Psalm 46

Background

For much of this week we have been studying the book of Revelation and the imagery of chapters 21 and 22 are the culmination of John’s vision. There is peace and healing, water for life and the language of covenant. It tells of God’s faithfulness to God's holy people. God's church is unstinting, even in this glorious vision of the city of God.

Is Revelation daunting or overly mythic in its descriptions? Have the visions of winged beings and monsters led us to consign it to the ‘hmm… okay then’ pile of things that we don’t know how to deal with in scripture? Our task is to always find the hope in scripture and to share the good news of that hope. What hope is there to be found here in these passages of vision and strangeness?

I’ve never got too hung up on the numbers in Revelation. I’m sure that most of them are symbolic and stand for groups of people and indicate completion and perfection. This is in keeping with the placing of John’s Revelation in the scriptures at the end of the New Testament.

There is much in the vision in Revelation that points to Jesus’ death, resurrection and glorification. We do well to take note of this as it is the bedrock of the New Covenant in Jesus which God has eternally made with his people, the Church.

“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end” (verse 6) is so very satisfying. It’s the name of Jesus which describes his faithful and continual presence throughout all things. When disaster strikes, Jesus is with us. When lockdowns are imposed or energy prices soar, we are not alone. When we are struggling to make sense of who we are in this ever-changing world, we are not alone. This is the hope of the Revelation. God is making it all new. Jesus is the hope. From our own first words, through our difficult times and beyond life itself, Jesus is our constant offer of hope throughout all.

To Ponder:

• How many of Jesus’ titles or metaphors for Jesus (such as 'the bread of life') can you list? Which are your favourites and why?
•  Revelation is a complex piece of scripture; talk about the hope you have found within it.
• How does the Jesus you see in Revelation correspond to the Jesus you hear about in church. Has anything changed your mind this week as you have studied these scriptures?