Revelation and Ecclesiastes?
What in the world does Revelation have to do with Ecclesiastes? Consider the ending of both books:
Now all has been heard;
here is the conclusion of the matter:
fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
for God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
here is the conclusion of the matter:
fear God and keep his commandments,
for this is the whole duty of man.
for God will bring every deed into judgment,
including every hidden thing,
whether it is good or evil.
Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
I, John, am the one who heard and saw
these things. And when I heard and saw,
I feel down to worship at the feet of the
angel who showed me these things.
and he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a
fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the
prophets and of those who heed the words of this book;
Worship God.”
these things. And when I heard and saw,
I feel down to worship at the feet of the
angel who showed me these things.
and he said to me, “Do not do that; I am a
fellow servant of yours and of your brethren the
prophets and of those who heed the words of this book;
Worship God.”
Revelation 22:8-9
Fear, judgment, worship, obedience are brought together by these two wise men.
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Categories: Bob's Thoughts, Revelation
I’ve often heard it preached that Ecclesiastes ends in hope. But it seems to me that God bringing all hidden deeds into judgement isn’t a particularly encouraging thought…Is this Solomon’s perspective of the futuility of “religion?” Does Solomon recognize that the experience of God he knows (judgement & sacrifice) is helpless to bring us to God and that without grace, we’re all condemned men regardless of the “good” we’ve done?
Isn’t Ecclesiates a bummer all the way through?
Am I seeing this right?
I like the connection between these texts and their themes.
Good thoughts too Doug. While it might not be “encouraging” to bring every deed (good or bad) into judgment, isn’t this one of the best thing that can happen? If God’s end goal is judgment, than it might be bad, but if God’s end goal is restoration of the cosmos (as Revelation ends)…judgment becomes a necessary and appropriate step toward that restoration. Also, I can think of times where I want to stand before a judge. If the trial envisaged is two groups of people – instead of a long line of individuals…then we can anticipate judgment so that our group will be declared righteous (because we already profess faith in Jesus)?
I guess I would think Solomon would know the God of Creation and Covenant which is a God of grace? But then…maybe that’s the God he should have known but missed?