Tuesday 22 December 2020
- Bible Book:
- Revelation
‘… Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near.’ (v. 10b)
Background
"The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which."
"But wherever they go, and whatever happens to them on the way, in that enchanted place on the top of the Forest a little boy and his Bear will always be playing."
"It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known."
Some closing lines of books stay with us forever. I wonder if you recognise these three? And I wonder if, without reading today’s passage, you could have called to mind the closing words of the Bible?
Some people have described the Bible as being like a play with several acts. However, they have struggled to agree on the number of acts – and where the story of Jesus’ followers in 2020 fits in. After the final ‘Amen’ in Revelation 22:21? Or, perhaps, sandwiched between the stories of the Early Church and the vision set down in Revelation? Is this a vision of the future – or is the curtain being drawn back to give us a glimpse of the kingdom of heaven as it is today?
Today’s reading is breathlessly expectant. The angel promises that he is coming ‘soon’ (vv. 7, 12, 20) and that ‘the time is near’ (v. 10) when God’s reign will be established, when mourning and crying and death and pain will be eradicated, and when anyone who wishes may receive the 'water of life' as a gift (v. 17). It reflects the belief held by some in the Early Church that Jesus would return in their lifetime. Held together with tomorrow’s reading from Malachi, we are reminded that God’s timing is often not what we might expect. Or perhaps, we are reminded that the kingdom of heaven is near at hand today – and that glimpses of it can be found wherever God’s will is done on earth. In a blaze of glory, or in the mundane realities of life, we pray: ‘Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!’
To Ponder:
- What do you find exciting and hopeful in today’s passage? What makes you anxious?
- In what way does the ending of the Bible mirror its beginning?
- Where would you locate the story of God’s activity today in relation to Revelation?