An Invitation to a Dance
Dear readers:
I have decided on a tentative title for volume two, Revelation’s Rhapsody: Dancing to the Lyrics of the Lamb. The focus will be a big-picture commentary on how to apply the Book of Revelation and I plan on using the metaphor of dance to move the chapters along, much like I used the music metaphor in the first volume. Let me give a brief explanation why I chose the title.
One day I began reflecting on the question What do we do with music? We listen to it . . . we begin to tap our foot or snap our fingers . . . and many are stirred to dance. I then did a brief study on dance in the Bible and discovered that it is a pretty significant act in the Bible. For example, there are both good dancing and bad dancing in Exodus 15 and 32, good when the women led by Miriam dance before God because he delivered them from the Egyptian army and bad when they worshipped the golden calf. There is dancing associated with Israel’s major feasts (e.g., Passover, Tabernacles, etc.).
In doing a search I came across the quotation: “Dancing is the only art of which we ourselves are the stuff of which it is made.” I believe I can rightly argue that the metaphor is an appropriate description of the disciple’s life. We are called to be embraced by Christ and embrace him and dance with him, and the dancing we do in this life foreshadows the dancing that will be done by the Bride and the Bridegroom on the new earth.
One way of outlining the book (both John’s and mine) is as follows:
1:1-8 Prologue
A. The Disciples’ Life in Christ (1:9-3:22)
B. The Disciples’ Security because of Christ (4:1-8:1)
C. The Disciples’ Witness in the name of Christ (8:2-11:19)
D. The Disciples’ Conflict on behalf of Christ (12:1-14:20)
E. The Disciples’ Vindication by Christ (15:1-20:15)
F. The Disciples’ Union with Christ (21:1-22:6)22:7-21 Epilogue
Now here are my questions that I invite you to reflect on:
- What does this dancing metaphor mean to you?
- How would you apply it to the relationship we have with Christ?
- How can I use it in creative and appropriate ways to write about discipleship in the Book of Revelation?
I plan on leaving this particular post up until the first week of May and look forward to hearing from you. Please leave your comments below or, if you prefer, feel free to use the form on the “Contact” page to send them to me privately.
Related posts:
Some thoughts on the dance metaphor:
> Christ is is the lead
> The environment = mixture of fallen world and heaven opened (now) — mixture of new heaven and new earth then (the perfect dance)
> Movement and grace touching
> The joy of being invited to dance
> The moment that the bride and groom embrace
> The song “Could I have this Dance for the Rest of My Life?”
> Finally, the perfect song to dance to and the the last dance
The Song “I Hope You Dance…”
The only thing that comes to mind quickly is the fact that dancing is usually both structured and free. There are planned steps, but there seem to be exceptions to most rules. In the same way, we learn and grow in our relationship to Christ, but just when we think we have Christ figured out, we discover a new way to move our feet.
Following the idea of appropriate and inappropriate dance in scripture, there may be some relation to the way that evil parodies good in Revelation.
I hate dancing in public. I love dancing in my kitchen. I thought you might like to know that.
I have been wrestling with this idea for a few days. I don’t know that the insights I have come up with are astonishing, but I was amazed at how easy they are to forget.
It happens so often that we sit around the dance floor and watch the dance and we study it and we take notes and we know which particular steps go with the different types of music, but we haven’t actually gotten on the dance floor. We can tell others the steps to the dance, and we can explain every detail of what we see from the edge of the dance floor. Then, when we actually decide to participate in the dance, we realize that everything we had studied and everything we told others to do doesn’t quite match what we are experiencing. Dancing is completely different from what we thought because we did not allow the music to actually move our body. Once we begin to participate in the dance, everything becomes vivid, and the way we explain it to others will be completely different because rather than speaking in detailed instructions, we begin to realize that the music moves people differently. The same dance steps look completely different with different people executing them.
Is it the same dance step? Yes! Why does it seem different? Different people, different gifts, different passions, different cultures, and different testimonies of Christ’s work in their lives. Oh, the joy of dancing! Why do we ever sit on the sidelines and watch?
How about this/
Dances begin at a given time. (i.e. when we become one with the Savior)
Dances end at specific time. (i.e. when God calls a close on history and time)
The dance band plays a variety of music but few, if any, dance to every tune. (i.e. we have a variety of gifts given by the Holy Spirit)
Frequently, special “dress up” cloths are worn to the dance. (i.e. we’ll be clothed in white garments.