DAY 344

DRAMA!

Hosea 1 & 2 and Revelation 1

For today and the next 21 days we will read 12 short books of the Old Testament, most of them in one or two days. We will also read The Revelation to St. John, often just abbreviated as Revelation. We will read this New Testament letter more slowly; only one chapter a day. My plan is for these Old Testament books, which are all from prophets, is to give you an overview of each of them and highlight any specific verses. I won’t be going deeply into them. I will be going deeply into Revelation. The Revelation to St. John is one of those Biblical books that has confused scholars, delighted speculators, and been a source to skeptics. My challenge will be to draw a balance between explanation and application. I am using a commentary from a series entitled The Bible Speaks Today and Michael Wilcox is the specific commentator on this book of the Bible. I will follow his approach and view this work as a drama in eight scenes.

Drama, we who live now in the 21^st century should be able to relate to drama, possibly more than people who lived in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. We are visual people. We live in world that has movies with tremendous special effects. Yet at the same time we ought not be too literal with the visual descriptions, if that makes any sense to you. John is “seeing things” and his brain is trying to process them. This means he will draw on his memory. You and I do the same thing. When we see something that we do not know, we try and draw comparisons with what we do know. We saw Ezekiel do this early in his book as God was approaching him.

The eight scenes begin with a Prologue (1:1-18) and then Scene One: The Church in the World (1:19 – 3:22).

In the prologue we see that this is a text for US! It is not first for the scholars, it is first for us—the revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants. That would be you! Revelation means to unveil…to unveil truth…and we are blessed who read it.

John gives his standard greeting and makes it clear that this is a message from Jesus Christ, the Alpha and the Omega…the one who loves us and freed us from our sins by his blood—pretty straightforward.

Then, in an instant, a voice that is like a trumpet blasts is heard, John turns to see where the sound is coming from and looks up and sees an amazing vision. One like the son of man (whom he describes) standing in the middle of seven lamp stands and holding seven stars—and from his mouth is a two edged sword. We know that the Word of God is sharp, like a two edged sword and we are told what the lamp stands and stars stand for.

So before we read all sorts of “stuff” into this imagery, imagine you are sitting in a theater, you are attending a play, and into the dark stillness comes a voice that sounds like a trumpet and you hear, “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one, I died, and behold I am alive forevermore…” And even before you can get your bearings, you turn and see one “like the son of man” (meaning like a human) in a long robe, a gold sash…eyes like a fire of flame…and more. You mouth would probably fall open.

That is the prologue—that is what we are invited to enter. That is where we are going to stop…you really do not need anymore because at this moment you have been drawn into the drama…standing or sitting there in awe…that is the point of the prologue.

I will write about Hosea tomorrow…but I believe you will see the parallel between an unfaithful Israel and a unfaithful spouse.