Archive for the ‘Revelation of John 10’ Category
Above: The Locusts of the Apocalypse
Image in the Public Domain
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READING REVELATION, PART XI
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Revelation 8:1-11:9
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Symbolism is going full-throttle in Revelation 8-11. I choose not to decode every symbol, but do opt to make some textual and historical sense of these chapters.
THE FIRST FOUR TRUMPETS
Revelation 8:1-6 depicts the opening of the seventh seal, which sets the stage for the sounding of the seven trumpets.
The first four trumpets round out Revelation 8. The natural disasters–depicted as divine judgment–relate to human sins. Actions have consequences.
Let us be careful, O reader. May we not blame victims. Those who live in Kansas will have to deal with tornadoes because tornadoes occur in Kansas. Hurricanes and tropical storms strike the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. Earthquakes occur at fault lines. Some events occur for natural reasons. But sometimes collective human actions make matters worse. Industrial pollution of a certain variety leads to acid rain. Global warming/climate change makes weather more extreme, and severe storms more frequent. Actions have consequences.
Revelation 8:8-9 contains echoes of Exodus 7:14-25, 1 Enoch, and the Sybilline Oracles. In 1 Enoch 18:13, seven stars like great, burning mountains fall into the sea. These are fallen angels (1 Enoch 21:3-10). The Sybilline Oracles refer to stars (swords, figuratively) that will fall into the sea (3:672-684), as well as to a great star that will fall into the sea (5:158-161). The great star will destroy Rome and Italy for Roman persecution of Jews. In Revelation 8:8-9, the burning mountain represents a fallen angel expelled from Heaven to wreak destruction on the world.
THE DEMONIC LOCUSTS
The demonic locusts (Revelation 9;1-12) represent the Roman Empire, historically. Echoes of the plagues on Egypt continue. One may also detect allusions to Joel 1 and 2.
Revelation 9:1 depicts evil as functioning in the service of divine will. This is not evil’s intention. Yet the sovereignty of God makes evil work for good.
Members of each generation may identify contemporary demonic locusts. Locusts come and go; the motif repeats.
ROMAN IMPERIAL PERSECUTION
The historical reference in Revelation 9:13-21 is the Roman Empire, persecuting Christians. Recall, O reader, that “Babylon” is code for Rome in Revelation. Again, the motif repeats with variations in the evil power of the time.
Also, the failure to learn lessons that history should have made abundantly clear is, depressingly, predictable. Never underestimate human obliviousness, O reader.
EATING THE SCROLL OF DOOM
John of Patmos eating the scroll of doom ought to remind a serious student of the Bible of Ezekiel 1-3.
Revelation 10:1-11 contains many allusions to the Hebrew Bible.
SYMBOLISM AND NUMEROLOGY
Symbolism and numerology drench Revelation 11:1-14. Imagine, O reader, being a Roman censor reading these verses. You would experience confusion. Cracking the code requires understanding parts of the Hebrew Bible. Having a grasp of 1 Enoch 61:1-5 also helps. In that text, angels with cords measure the righteous and the faithful, for protection against spiritual dangers.
Without getting lost in the proverbial weeds (easy to do), the time God will permit the Roman Empire to continue to rule will be like the time Seleucid King Antiochus IV Epiphanes desecrated the Temple in Jerusalem and persecuted Jews (Daniel 9:27; 12:7). Three and a half years–forty-two months–is a mystical and symbolic timeframe. Emperor Domitian is like King Antiochus IV Epiphanes, Revelation says. Evil’s days of governing are numbered.
The Church will outlive its oppressors. The Church–the seemingly dead two witnesses–will triumph. God will destroy the oppressive powers.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
OCTOBER 16, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ALBERT E. R. BRAUER, AUSTRALIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND HYMN TRANSLATOR
THE FEAST OF AUGUSTINE THEVARPARAMPIL, INDIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND “GOOD SHEPHERD OF THE DALITS”
THE FEAST OF GASPAR CONTARINI, ITALIAN ROMAN CATHOLIC CARDINGAL AND AGENT OF RECONCILIATION
THE FEAST OF SAINT HEDWIG OF ANDECHS, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRINCESS AND NUN; AND HER DAUGHTER, SAINT GERTRUDE OF TRZEBNICA, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBESS
THE FEAST OF SAINT JOZEF JANKOWSKI, POLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND MARTYR, 1941
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READING THE GENERAL EPISTLES, PART VIII
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1 Peter 2:1-3:17
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Whenever Christians to my right speak or write about what the Bible says about various matters, I invariably roll my eyes, at least metaphorically. Literalists overlook a documented fact: the Bible contradicts itself. Reading the germane texts for what they are reveals that context is key. If one mistakes St. Paul the Apostle for a systematic theologian, one may overlook the cultural contexts in which he ministered.
The cultural and geographical context of First Peter was northern Asia Minor, the Roman Empire, 70-90 C.E. The culture was hostile to Christianity, a young, small, and growing religion. Slavery, and patriarchy were cultural norms. The author bought into these norms, although he moderated them. The attitude of submission to civil authority (the Roman Empire, in this case) contrasted with the attitude of “John of Patmos,” who wrote Revelation. According of Revelation, the Roman Empire was in league with Satan, so submission to the empire was submission to Satan. Such submission was sinful, according to Revelation. Not surprisingly, the attitude of submission to the empire (in 1 Peter) has long been more popular with governments than the contrasting attitude in Revelation.
As always, context is crucial.
I argue with much of 1 Peter 2:1-3:17. I oppose all forms of slavery at all times and in all places. I affirm equality within marriage. I contend that one can belong to a powerless minority in a society and still say,
X is wrong. The social and cultural norms are askew.
I hold that living the Golden Rule, individually and collectively, is a divine mandate, not a suggestion. Living reverently in Christ (1 Peter 3:15) requires nothing less.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
SEPTEMBER 26, 2021 COMMON ERA
PROPER 21: THE EIGHTEENTH SUNDAY AFTER PENTECOST, YEAR B
THE FEAST OF SAINT PAUL VI, BISHOP OF ROME
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK WILLIAM FABER, ENGLISH ROMAN CATHOLIC HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF JOHN BRIGHT, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN MINISTER AND BIBLICAL SCHOLAR
THE FEAST OF JOHN BYROM, ANGLICAN THEN QUAKER POET AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF LANCELOT ANDREWES, ANGLICAN BISHOP OF CHICHESTER THEN OF ELY THEN OF WINCHESTER
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Above: Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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READING EZEKIEL, PART VI
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Ezekiel 8:1-11:23
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Ezekiel 8:1-11:13, the product of more than one person, contains some unusual editorial choices and odd shifts of attention. I mention that matter to get it out of the way, so that nobody can legitimately claim that I do not know it. Now that I have gotten that matter out of the way, I focus on themes, details, and the application thereof.
The figurer who looked like a man (or fire, depending on translation) in 8:2 is the divine Presence, Ezekiel’s guide. This figure recurs in 40:3f.
The date of the vision in 8:1-11:13 is September 592 B.C.E.
Idolatry recurs as a sin of the people of Judah.
We read that, contrary to what many people think, God has not abandoned Judah–yet–and does see what people are doing (9:9).
Above: Ezekiel’s Vision, by William Blake
Image in the Public Domain
Chapter 10 reads like a redux of Chapter 1, with some differences.
God departs Judah in Chapter 11.
We read of the divine promise of restoration and cleansing of exiles already in the Chaldean/Neo-Babylonian Empire. We read that those still in Judah are doomed (11:41-21). We read that God has moved to the exiles in Babylon (11:23).
Ezekiel 11:21 cautions that divine renewal of the exiles is not automatic; it requires human vigilance. Grace is free, not cheap.
Ezekiel 11:17-21 is thematically similar to Jeremiah 31:33-34; Jeremiah 32:39; Ezekiel 18:31; Ezekiel 36:26. We read that, in an ideal future, by divine action, disobedience to God will cease to be an option.
In Hebrew prophetic literature, as well as in the Revelation to John, divine faithfulness is never in doubt, from the author’s perspective. Also, divine judgment and mercy remain in balance. Creative destruction by God makes way for the establishment for the new, divine order. In Christian terms, God must destroy the old, corrupt order before the fully-realized Kingdom of God can become visible on the Earth, from a human perspective. As C. H. Dodd reminds me from the printed page and his grave, the Kingdom of God is; it does not come. Yet, from a human point of view, certain events make its presence more palpable than it used to be.
Another idea, frequently repeated in the Bible–especially Hebrew prophetic books–is that human sins have consequences. We human beings condemn ourselves. We leave God. We are the faithless ones. We are arrogant; we do not stand in awe of God. We read what he have sown.
Yet grace remains. As the great Southern Baptist theologian Will Campbell said:
We’re all bastards, but God loves us anyway.
And our only hope is in God.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 24, 2021 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF THE NATIVITY OF SAINT JOHN THE BAPTIST
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Above: Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ, who lives and reigns
with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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Ezekiel 2:6-3:4
Psalm 3
Revelation 10:1-11
Matthew 13:10-17
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LORD, how many adversaries I have!
how many there are who rise up against me!
–Psalm 3:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Do not be afraid of their words and do not be dismayed by them, though they are a rebellious breed; but speak My words to them, whether they listen or not, for they are rebellious.
–Ezekiel 2:6b-7, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985)
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The imagery of eating a scroll indicates accepting a prophetic call from God. Often the vocation of the prophet entails being unpopular, for speaking uncomfortable truths leads to that result. Also, speaking such truths might place the life and liberty of the prophet at risk.
For some time the passage from Ezekiel has haunted me, so to speak. The imagery of the bitter scroll tasting as sweet as honey, indicating Ezekiel’s glad acceptance of his commission, has come to mind often. This imagery, echoed in Revelation 10, has reminded me of the mix of the bitter and sweet lives in while following God. It has challenged me to accept bitterness as sweetness in the service of God. I have not lived fully into that challenge yet.
The passage in Luke 13 reminds us of the difference between hearing and listening. We might hear, but we might not listen. Listening is much harder work, after all. And, assuming that we do listen to the prophetic words of God via Ezekiel, Jesus, or anyone else, we might not like them. How we respond or react to them is spiritually telling.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
MAY 3, 2017 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT MARIE-LEONIE PARADIS, FOUNDER OF THE LITTLE SISTERS OF THE HOLY FAMILY
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM WHITING, HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2017/05/03/devotion-for-the-sixth-sunday-after-the-epiphany-ackerman/
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Above: Icon of the Apocalypse of John
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, our true life, to serve you is freedom, and to know you is unending joy.
We worship you, we glorify you, we give thanks to you for your great glory.
Abide with us, reign in us, and make this world into a fit habitation for your divine majesty,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord, who reigns with you
and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53
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The Assigned Readings:
Jeremiah 46:18-28 (Monday)
Isaiah 33:17-22 (Tuesday)
Isaiah 60:8-16 (Wednesday)
Psalm 24 (All Days)
Revelation 21:5-27 (Monday)
Revelation 22:8-21 (Tuesday)
Luke 1:1-4 (Wednesday)
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Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
“Who is this King of glory?”
“The LORD, strong and mighty,
the LORD, mighty in battle.”
Lift up your heads, O gates;
lift them high, O everlasting doors;
and the King of glory shall come in.
“Who is this King of glory?”
“The Lord of hosts,
he is the King of glory.”
–Psalm 24:7-10, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Here are some thoughts for the time between Proper 29 (Christ the King Sunday) and the First Sunday of Advent.
God wins in the end. Conquerors fall to other conquerors, who fall to other conquerors. The faithful who persevere will receive their reward. Some of them will live long enough to witness the triumph of God in the flesh. The story of Jesus of Nazareth, attested to by eyewitnesses, contains suffering, death, and resurrection. The victory of God in that case is one of love and power, not the smiting of enemies, for whom Christ interceded (Luke 23:34).
The Book of Revelation tells of divine creative destruction from Chapters 4 to 20. Then, in Revelation 21 and 22, God inaugurates the new order. There is smiting of enemies here, for the deliverance of the oppressed is frequently bad news for unrepentant oppressors. The new, divine world order, however, contains no oppression.
That divine order has not become reality yet, of course. Nevertheless, as the Reverend Maltbie Davenport Babcock (1858-1901) wrote:
This is my Father’s world,
O let my ne’er forget
That though the wrong
Seems oft so strong,
God is the ruler yet.
This is my Father’s world:
The battle is not done;
Jesus who died
Shall be satisfied,
And earth and heaven be one.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 7, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FREDERICK LUCIAN HOSMER, U.S. UNITARIAN HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF SAINT ANTHONY MARY GIANELLI, FOUNDER OF THE MISSIONARIES OF SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI AND THE SISTERS OF MARY DELL’ORTO
THE FEAST OF CHARLES AUGUSTUS BRIGGS, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN PASTOR THEN EPISCOPAL PRIEST
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROBERT OF NEWMINSTER, ROMAN CATHOLIC ABBOT AND PRIEST
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/06/07/devotion-for-monday-tuesday-and-wednesday-after-proper-29-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: The Temple at Jerusalem
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O God, the protector of all who trust in you,
without you nothing is strong, nothing is holy.
Embrace us with your mercy, that with you as our ruler and guide,
we may live through what is temporary without losing what is eternal,
through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.
—Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 53
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 10:1-19
Psalm 98
Luke 17:20-37
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Sing to the LORD a new song,
for he has done marvelous things.
–Psalm 98:1, The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
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Psalm 98 is the most optimistic reading for this day. In Ezekiel 10 (carried over into Chapter 11) the Presence of Yahweh departs from Jerusalem, leaving it open to invasion and destruction by foreigners. The divine Presence remains absent until Ezekiel 43. In Luke 17:21 the Kingdom of God is present yet persecution and generally dark, eschatological times are en route. On the other hand, in Luke 18, Jesus encourages his followers to continue praying and never to lose heart. There is a way through the difficult times while living or dead, and always faithful to God.
The tone of these readings, taken together, fits the time of the church year well. In the Revised Common Lectionary and several other lectionaries the selected portions of scripture become increasingly apocalyptic during the last few weeks before Advent and into that season. Some Confessional Lutheran bodies even go so far as to label the last four Sundays of the Season after Pentecost the End Time Season.
May we remember that out of the creative destruction in Revelation 4-20 comes a new creation in Chapters 21 and 22. Hope in God is real and well-founded, for God will win in the end.
That is a reason for optimism.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JUNE 6, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF FRANKLIN CLARK FRY, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA AND THE LUTHERAN CHURCH IN AMERICA
THE FEAST OF SAINT CLAUDE OF BESANCON, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST, MONK, ABBOT, AND BISHOP
THE FEAST OF HENRY JAMES BUCKOLL, AUTHOR AND TRANSLATOR OF HYMNS
THE FEAST OF WILLIAM KETHE, PRESBYTERIAN HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2016/06/06/devotion-for-saturday-before-proper-28-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Ezekiel
Image in the Public Domain
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The Collect:
O Lord God, you teach us that without love, our actions gain nothing.
Pour into our hearts your most excellent gift of love, that,
made alive by your Spirit, we may know goodness and peace,
through your Son, Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord,
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 34
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 2:8-3:11
Psalm 148
Revelation 10:1-11
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Psalm 148, with its theme of the praise of God, seems initially to contradict the tone of the other two readings. Each of those lessons speaks of a scroll of judgment, or, as TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures (1985) renders part of Ezekiel 2:10,
lamentations, dirges, and woes.
God commissions Ezekiel to speak hard truths. The prophet accepts his commission, but not without some bitterness. The narrator in Revelation 10 describes an encounter with an angel and accepts his commission to
utter prophecies over many nations, races, languages, and kings.
–Verse 11b, The Revised English Bible (1989)
In each case the metaphorical consumption of the scroll occurs, with the narrator describing the judgments of God as tasting as sweet as honey. One might think more readily of Psalm 19:9b, which reads:
the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
Yet the framers of the daily lectionary attached to the Revised Common Lectionary for Sundays and major holy days saw fit to give us Psalm 148 instead. In a way this brings me back to Psalm 19–verse 19a, to be precise:
The fear of the LORD is clean and rejoices the heart.
—The Book of Common Prayer (1979)
“Fear of God” is a misleading translation, for “fear” should be “awe.” Our narrators stand in awe of God, so even bitter words of judgment taste sweet, so to speak. Each narrator has a role to play, and he accepts it. Thus he can praise God even while performing a bitter task.
As for me, I have learned via living that I have had ample cause for gratitude beyond words to God during extremely difficult circumstances. I have felt closest to God during trying times, not comfortable ones. Perhaps Ezekiel had a similar (in some ways) experience of God; the book bearing his name has given me that impression.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 2, 2016 COMMON ERA
THE NINTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF JOHANN KONRAD WILHELM LOEHE, BAVARIAN LUTHERAN MINISTER AND COORDINATOR OF DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN MISSIONS
THE FEAST OF SABINE BARING-GOULD, ANGLICAN PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
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Adapted from this post:
https://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2016/01/02/devotion-for-thursday-before-the-fifth-sunday-of-easter-year-c-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Part of My Biblical Library, November 22, 2013
Image Source = Kenneth Randolph Taylor
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The Collect:
Almighty God, your Son came into the world to free us
from all sin and death. Breathe upon us the power
of your Spirit, that we may be raised to new life in Christ
and serve you in righteousness all our days, through Jesus Christ,
our Savior and Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the
Holy Spirit, one God, now and forever. Amen.
–Evangelical Lutheran Worship (2006), page 28
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The Assigned Readings:
Ezekiel 1:1-3; 2:8-3:3 (26th Day)
Ezekiel 33:10-16 (27th Day)
Psalm 130 (Both Days)
Revelation 10:1-11 (26th Day)
Revelation 11:15-19 (27th Day)
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Some Related Posts:
Ezekiel 1, 2, and 3:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/03/12/devotion-for-january-7-lcms-daily-lectionary/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/03/14/devotion-for-january-8-lcms-daily-lectionary/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/03/week-of-proper-14-monday-year-2/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/week-of-proper-14-tuesday-year-2/
Ezekiel 33:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/03/15/devotion-for-january-11-and-12-lcms-daily-lectionary/
Revelation 10 and 11:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-22-lcms-daily-lectionary/
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-23-lcms-daily-lectionary/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/week-of-proper-28-friday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-28-saturday-year-2/
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If you, Lord, were to mark what is done amiss,
O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with you,
so that you shall be feared.
–Psalm 130:2-3, Common Worship (2000)
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When I looked, there was a hand stretched out to me, holding a scroll. He unrolled it in front of me; it was written on, front and back; and on it was written, “Lamentations, dirges, and cries of grief.”
–Ezekiel 2:10, The New Jerusalem Bible (1985)
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Revelation 10 borrows a motif—eating a scroll of judgment—from Ezekiel 3. The scroll, in Ezekiel 3:3, tastes as sweet as honey. It is also as sweet as honey in the mouth in Revelation 10, where one reads another detail: the scroll is bitter in the stomach.
I am blessed to have a well-stocked biblical library—acquired mostly at thrift stores, by the way. Germane volumes from said library inform this post greatly. William Barclay writes:
A message of God may be to a servant at once a sweet and bitter thing. It is sweet because it is a great thing to be chosen as the messenger of God; but the message itself may be a foretelling of doom and, therefore a bitter thing.
–The Revelation of John, Volume 2 (Philadelphia, PA: Westminster Press, 1976), page 57
Ernest Lee Stoffel offers this analysis:
The word of Christ is certainly a word of forgiveness of sins. This is “sweet.” But what about the “bitter,” the judgment? I have always felt that the gospel of Christ stands also in judgment, that it stands against whatever violates the love of God in the affairs of nations, in their treatment of people.
–The Dragon Bound: The Revelation Speaks to Our Time (Atlanta, GA: John Knox Press, 1981), page 62
And Carl G. Howie writes:
Ezekiel obediently consumed the message of God so that it became part of him.
–The Layman’s Bible Commentary, Volume 13 (Richmond, VA: John Knox Press, 1961), page 23
Yes, judgment and mercy coexist in God. I have affirmed this in writing in blog post many times. But repenting—changing one’s mind, turning around—can stave off divine judgment. Hence the pronouncement by God can lead to a positive result for the target. This is not merely an individualistic matter. No, it is also a social message, one which Hebrew prophets proclaimed. If one a messenger of God, the result of repentance is “sweet” indeed, but the “bitter” will also occur.
“The world,” in the biblical sense, is not the foe’s playground, something for faithful people to shun and from which to hide. No, it is our community, for which all of us are responsible. May we therefore engage it constructively, shining brightly with the light of Christ and challenging it to transform for the better. We stand on the shoulders of moral giants who did this in their times and places, confronting sins ranging from unjust wars to chattel slavery to racial segregation. Will we content ourselves to speak of these men and women in respectful tones or will we dare to play our parts?
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 27, 2013 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF SAINT JAMES INTERCISUS, ROMAN CATHOLIC MARTYR
THE FEAST OF HENRY SLOANE COFFIN, U.S. PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGIAN
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Adapted from this post:
http://lenteaster.wordpress.com/2013/11/27/devotion-for-the-twenty-sixth-and-twenty-seventh-days-of-lent-year-a-elca-daily-lectionary/
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Above: Torch Seller
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Blessed Lord, who caused all holy scriptures to be written for our learning:
Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them,
that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life,
which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ;
who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
–The Book of Common Prayer (1979), page 236
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The Assigned Readings:
Isaiah 43:1-24
Psalm 90 (Morning)
Psalms 80 and 72 (Evening)
Revelation 9:13-10:11
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Some Related Posts:
Isaiah 43:
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/seventh-sunday-after-the-epiphany-year-b/
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/06/28/proper-2-year-b/
Revelation 9-10:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/week-of-proper-28-friday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-28-saturday-year-2/
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Fear not, for I am with you….
–Isaiah 43:5a, TANAKH: The Holy Scriptures
The text from Revelation, for all its symbolic language, contains a simple message in several parts:
- God will destroy the Roman Empire.
- Yet many people will persist in their evil after the accomplishment of that fact.
- The church will survive its oppressors and thrive. Love will last longer than evil.
This relates well to Isaiah 43, which picks up where the previous chapter ends. The exiles are precious to God (verse 4), who will deliver them and destroy the Babylonians/Chaldeans.
The nascent church was small when John of Patmos wrote. It has grown greatly over the succeeding centuries. It has survived the first five centuries of its existence and arrived at a broad doctrinal consensus with regard to basic questions. There is still no unanimity; there has never been such. And the church is actually more united than appearances might seem; at least we agree on the table of contents of the New Testament, if not the Old Testament. Furthermore, denominational lines are frequently superficial, so the number of denominations is not the best gauge to use.
These days the church is losing membership overall in Western cultures. I wonder how much of this shrinkage is superficial, how much of it reflects actual attendance rates. (Unfortunately, not all of it does.) The fact that one attends church services regularly for a time and carries an affiliation does not necessarily mean that one is more than superficially Christian. So, in many cases, dropping out of church is more of a formality than a reversion. Whatever the details of of church demographics are, the message from Revelation 10:1-11 should comfort us: There is a future for the church yet. We Christians of these days stand on the shoulders of those who have preceded us. Without transforming theologies and traditions into museum pieces, may we honor the past, cling to that which is eternal, and carry the torch into the future.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
JANUARY 3, 2012 COMMON ERA
THE TENTH DAY OF CHRISTMAS
THE FEAST OF EDWARD CASWALL, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST AND HYMN WRITER
THE FEAST OF EDWARD PERRONET, BRITISH METHODIST PREACHER
THE FEAST OF SAINT GENEVIEVE, PROPHET
THE FEAST OF GLADYS AYLWARD, ANGLICAN MISSIONARY TO CHINA
http://adventchristmasepiphany.wordpress.com/2012/02/22/devotion-for-december-22-lcms-daily-lectionary/
Above: The Expulsion of the Money Changers from the Temple, by Giotto di Bondone
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Holy Women, Holy Men: Celebrating the Saints (2010), of The Episcopal Church, contains an adapted two-years weekday lectionary for the Epiphany and Ordinary Time seasons from the Anglican Church of Canada. I invite you to follow it with me.
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Revelation 10:8-11 (Revised English Bible):
The voice which I had heard from heaven began speaking to me again; it said,
Go and take the scroll which is open in the hand of the angel who stands on the sea and the land.
I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He answered,
Take it, and eat it. It will turn your stomach sour, but in your mouth it will taste as sweet as honey.
I took the scroll from the angel’s hand and ate it, and in my mouth it did taste as sweet as honey, but when I swallowed it my stomach turned sour.
Then I was told,
Once again you must utter prophecies over many nations, races, languages, and kings.
Revelation 11:1-14 (Revised English Bible):
I was given a long cane to use as a measuring rod, and was told:
Go and measure the temple of God and the altar, and count the worshippers. But leave the outer court of the temple out of your measurements; it has been given over to the Gentiles, and for forth-two months they will trample the Holy City underfoot. I will give my two witnesses authority to prophesy, dressed in sackcloth, for those twelve hundred and sixty days.
They are the two olive trees and the two lamps that stand in the presence of the Lord of the earth. If anyone tries to injure them, fire issues from their mouths and consumes their enemies; so shall anyone die who tries to do them injury. These two have the power to shut up the sky, so that no rain falls during the time of their prophesying; and they have power to turn water into blood and to afflict the earth with every kind of plague whenever they like. But when they have completed their testimony, the beast that comes up from the abyss will wage war on them and will overcome and kill them. Their bodies will lie in the street of the great city, whose name in prophetic language is Sodom, or Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. For three and a half days people from every nation and tribe, language, and race, gaze on their corpses and refuse them burial. The earth’s inhabitants gloat over them; they celebrate and exchange presents, for these two prophets were a torrent to them. But at the end of the three and a half days the breath of life of God came into their bodies, and they rose to their feet, to the terror of those who saw them. A loud voice from heaven was heard saying to them,
Come up here!
and they ascended to heaven in a cloud, in full view of their enemies. At that moment there was a silent earthquake, and a tenth of the city collapsed. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake; the rest, filled with fear, did homage to the God of heaven.
The second woe has now passed; but the third is soon to come.
Psalm 119:65-72 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
65 O LORD, you have dealt graciously with your servant,
according to your word.
66 Teach me discernment and knowledge,
for I have believed in your commandments.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray,
but now I keep your word.
68 You are good and you bring forth good;
instruct me in your statutes.
69 The proud have smeared me with lies,
but I will keep your commandments with my whole heart.
70 Their heart is gross and fat,
but my delight is in your law.
71 It is good for me that I have been afflicted,
that I might learn your statutes.
72 The law of your mouth is dearer to me
than thousands in gold and silver.
Psalm 144:1-10 (1979 Book of Common Prayer):
1 Blessed be the LORD my rock!
who trains my hands to fight and my fingers to battle;
2 My help and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliverer,
my shield in whom I trust,
who subdues the peoples under me.
3 O LORD, what are we that you should care for us?
mere mortals that you should think of us?
4 We are like a puff of wind;
our days like a passing shadow.
5 Bow your heavens, O LORD, and come down;
touch the mountains, and they shall smoke.
6 Hurl the lightning and scatter them;
shoot out your arrows and rout them.
7 Stretch out your hand from on high;
rescue me and deliver me from the great waters,
from the hand of foreign peoples,
8 Whose mouths speak deceitfully
and whose right hand is raised in falsehood.
9 O God, I will sing to you a new song;
I will play to you on a ten-stringed lyre.
10 You give victory to kings
and have rescued David your servant.
Luke 19:45-48 (Revised English Bible):
(Set shortly after the Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem; the Last Supper occurs in Chapter 22)
Then Jesus went into the temple and began driving out the traders, with these words:
Scriptures says, “My house shall be a house of prayer;” but you have made it a bandits’ cave.
Day by day he taught in the temple. The chief priests and scribes, with the support of the leading citizens, wanted to bring about his death, but found that they were helpless, because the people all hung on his words.
Luke 20:27-40 (Revised English Bible):
Then some Sadducees, who deny that there is a resurrection, came forward and asked:
Teacher, Moses, laid it down for us that if there are brothers, and one dies leaving a wife but not child, then the next should marry the widow and provide an heir for his brother. Now there seven brothers: the first took a wife and died childless, then the second married her, then the third. In this way the seven of them died leaving no children. Last of all the woman also died. At the resurrection, whose wife is she to be, since all seven had married her?
Jesus said to them,
The men and women of this world marry; but those who have been judged who have been judged worthy of a place in the other world, and of the resurrection from the dead, do not marry, for they are no longer subject to death. They are like angels; they are children of God, because they share in his resurrection. That the dead are raised to life again is shown by Moses himself in the story of the burning bush, when he calls the Lord “the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, the God of Jacob.” God is not the God of the living; in his sight all are alive.
At this some of the scribes said,
Well spoken, Teacher.
And nobody dared put any further question to him.
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The Collect:
Blessed Lord, who caused all holy Scriptures to be written for our learning: Grant us so to hear them, read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest them, that we may embrace and ever hold fast the blessed hope of everlasting life, which you have given us in our Savior Jesus Christ; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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Some Related Posts:
Week of Proper 28: Friday, Year 1:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/28/week-of-proper-28-friday-year-1/
Week of Proper 28: Saturday, Year 1:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/05/29/week-of-proper-28-saturday-year-1/
The Church’s One Foundation:
http://gatheredprayers.wordpress.com/2011/06/26/the-churchs-one-foundation/
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As I have written already in at least one blog post, there is a difference between a negotiation and a rescue operation. There is justice, which mercy serves sometimes. Other times, however, punishment must fall. That is the context for Revelation 7-10, which, in vivid imagery, describes God, whose power reaches from the land to the sea to the waterways to the stars, sheltering the martyrs and inflicting punishment on the wicked. The sense of doom upon the wicked is palpable in the symbolic language, the details of which I will not unpack here. Rather, I choose to focus on the main idea, which I have stated already.
We read of John of Patmos eating a scroll containing words of judgment. (This is similar to Ezekiel 2:8-3:3–follow this link: http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/10/04/week-of-proper-14-tuesday-year-2/. John agrees with doom upon the Roman Empire yet regrets the fact that Christians will continue to suffer. Speaking of suffering, the two witnesses in Revelation 11 indicate the continuation of martyrdom. (I suspect, by the way, that memories of the First Jewish War and the Roman destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple influenced Revelation 11.)
Jesus, in Luke’s Gospel confronts the money changers, who used religious sensibilities to create opportunities to enrich themselves at the expense of the poor. He used words and force. Nevertheless, I support that money changers were not absent for long.
Why do the good suffer? Why does God not prevent it? Why does not God not stop all economic exploitation? Ask God, not me. But John of Patmos offers some comfort: The wicked will suffer the consequences of their actions in time. Furthermore, God will hear the cry of those who suffer.
I write hagiographies. My most recent one tells the story of St. James Intercisus, who became a martyr circa 421 C.E. because he confessed his faith to the Persian monarch. The king’s men tortured, dismembered, and killed the saint slowly and painfully, hence his posthumous surname, Intercisus, or “cut into pieces. (Follow this link: http://neatnik2009.wordpress.com/2011/11/16/feast-of-st-james-intercisus-november-27/) His death was unnecessary; the king could have decided differently.
Ultimate judgment belongs to God. May we mere mortals acknowledge this reality, accept it, and act accordingly.
KENNETH RANDOLPH TAYLOR
NOVEMBER 17, 2011 COMMON ERA
THE FEAST OF ROSE-PHILIPPINE DUCHESENE, ROMAN CATHOLIC CONTEMPLATIVE
THE FEAST OF SAINT HUGH OF LINCOLN, ROMAN CATHOLIC BISHOP
THE FEAST OF SAINT ROQUE GONZALEZ DE SANTA CRUZ, ROMAN CATHOLIC PRIEST
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Adapted from this post:
http://ordinarytimedevotions.wordpress.com/2011/11/17/week-of-proper-28-friday-year-2-and-week-of-proper-28-saturday-year-2/
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BLOGA THEOLOGICA 
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