[CatherineTorpey]

Rev. Jacqui is preaching “For the Healing of the Nations.” I’m excited that her text is from the book of Revelation, chapter 22, verses 1-5.

The book of Revelation is the last book in the New Testament (Christian scriptures). As with all books in the NT, it was written in Greek. You’ll see some bibles which use the title “Apocalypse” as the title, rather than “Revelation.” The word “apocalypse” is the word found in the original Greek manuscript. The word apocalypse comes from “apo-” (a prefix indicating movement away), and “kalyptein” (meaning “to cover”). So, in other words, an apocalypse is an uncovering, an unveiling or a revelation.

There is no other book in the New Testament like it; however, its style and themes fit solidly in the tradition of Jewish prophetic literature, particularly the book of Ezekiel.

The book of Revelation is written by John. John who, you ask? We really don’t know. He is most often referred to as “John of Patmos,” because he says at the beginning of the book that he is on the island of Patmos. There is a tradition that it is the same John as the one who wrote the gospel, but modern scholars find this unlikely. Nevertheless, all of the five NT literature that is attributed to “John” (that is, the gospel, the 3 letters and Revelation) do have some commonalities, and are referred to as the “Johannine literature.” What they primarily have in common is a “high Christology,” meaning that they put a greater emphasis on the divinity of Christ than on his humanity. They all conceive Christ in very spiritualized ways – powerful and heavenly. They really don’t talk much about Jesus as a humble human being.

The book of Revelation can seem puzzling if one grabs only bits and pieces of it, but it is actually quite structured. A central organizing motif is that everything happens in sevens. In biblical numerology, 7 is the number indicating completion.

John addresses himself to the “seven churches of Asia.” (“Asia” in Roman times referred to what is now Turkey.) Judgements are pronounced on these churches, for good and for bad.

After addressing each church, John finds himself before the throne of God. This harkens back to Old Testament prophets like Isaiah. He sees some crazy-looking heavenly beings – “living creatures” (“zoou” in Greek) similar to those seen by prophets like Ezekiel.

At the throne, seven seals of the scroll (biblion) are opened. I believe that each “seal” would have been a string of papyrus wrapped around the scroll. I’ve seen images of strings around the scroll sealed with wax, but wax wasn’t a common material in Rome. It existed, but it wasn’t a candle culture, it was an oil lamp culture. So my not-very-educated guess is that the “seals” were strings of papyrus.

Upon the opening of each seal, John sees visions:
The “four horsemen of the apocalypse” are the first four.
The fifth is the souls of the martyrs
The sixth is total destruction of heaven and earth
The seventh is the release of seven trumpets sounding, which usher in seven beings and seven bowls.

All of these images have given rise to ideas Christians have about the end times and the “great tribulation.” Most of the book of Revelation is full of high drama, which is what makes the ending chapters of comfort so powerful.

At the end of all of John’s visions, there is a vision of a new heaven and a new earth; a new Jerusalem where God lives among the people. It is this renewed earth, after the trying times, from which Jacqui’s scripture comes.

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