In the February 1, 2010 issue of Time, p. 3 under the “Numbers” section, I read the report that 47% of Muslim Americans think of themselves as Muslims first; 28% say they consider themselves Americans first.
In growing up in the Christian church (the Stone-Campbell heritage), I was often told that we were not the only Christians but Christians only. I do not believe I was taught as often that I was a Christian first and an American second. Yet from a biblical perspective, that is certainly to be the perspective that all Christians living in America should have. Of course, that should be the case for Christians living in Austria or Australia or Ukraine or Uzbekistan. I have no doubt that Paul, a Roman citizen, would have considered himself a Christian first, a Roman citizen second (Philippians 3:20-21).
I do not know what the answer would be if Christians living in America were asked: Are you a Christian first or an American first? My fear is that the percentage who would answer “Christian first!” would not be as high a percentage as the Muslims surveyed.
But my final question is this: If I believe that I am to be a Christian first and an American second, at best, what difference should that make in the way that I live?
No doubt the book had meaning for the original recipients. After part four our concern as we conclude this series is this: What is the significance of the book for us in the twenty-first century?
V. CONSIDER THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE BOOK
Only by paying attention to the setting, style, symbolism and structure of the book are we then ready to ask: What is the significance of the book? How does it speak to us today? I have chosen to spend less time on this today because if we get the above right then the significance will certainly become clearer. There can be no shortcuts taken in the previous four categories without risking missing God’s intended meaning of this great book. If we are not willing to follow the first four categories, then we must not preach Revelation.
The Book of Revelation was not written to satisfy our curiosity about the future. We must not use it to work out in detail a schedule leading up to the end of the world. It was not given to us to scare the hell out of people. All who have done this, contemporary authors included, have been wrong, without exception.
By placing this book in the contexts of Christ’s first and final comings, John impressed upon his audience an awareness of the Christian life and mission. It was a context in which Christians were called upon to choose between holy living and unholy living. Revelation asks the Church today: Are you going to be seduced by the whore or are you going to be a faithful and pure bride. No compromise is allowed. There were no shades of gray in the book. Throughout, John sets up stark contrasts between good and evil and invites believers to make a choice. Christians are exhorted to choose between two clearly opposed sides.
Accordingly, there are three areas where we need to strive to keep the balance.
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Having discussed the use of symbolism in part three, we come now to the what many consider to be most difficult feature of the book to understand, the way the book is organized. Symbolism is relatively easy when compared to analyzing the book’s structure, at least to some.
IV. CONSIDER THE STRUCTURE OF THE BOOK
Revelation is a notoriously difficult book to analyze structurally. There really is no parallel to it in the Bible. (It is acknowledged, by the way, that two other writings by John, the Gospel and the First Letter are difficult to outline).
There are three areas where we need to strive to keep the balance.
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Dr. Lowery will be a featured speaker at Ozark Christian College’s 2010 Preaching-Teaching Convention during Feb. 22-24. This year’s event is entitled “Unveiled: The Surprising Plan of God in Revelation.” Dr. Lowery will be speaking at the opening session at 4:00 PM on Feb. 22 as well as at a morning seminar on Feb. 23. More details and registration information are available at the link above.
In the second part we focused on the style of genres of the book. The form shaped the substance in a significant way. Closely related to the genre is the use of symbolism in the book.
III. CONSIDER THE SYMBOLISM OF THE BOOK
I know of no interpreter, denials notwithstanding, who interprets everything in Revelation literally, plain and unadorned. No one believes that Jesus is literally a door or a Lamb or that the Devil is literally a Dragon. There are those who say that anyone who does not interpret Revelation literally is denying its inspired message. This is a bogus perspective. Such accusers themselves do not practice such an approach to language. Once again, we must interpret a book of the Bible naturally in light of its genre. It was the nature of such apocalyptic works in the ancient world to use symbolism.
Rev. 1:1 as translated in the KJV highlights the use of symbolism: “The revelation of Jesus Christ which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass; and he sent and signified it by his angel unto his servant John.” He sent and signified it . . . Unpack one verb, signify. God signified it, that is, God made the message known in signs. As John revealed Christ through the signs in the Gospel, so Christ is revealed through signs in the Revelation!
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