The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John – Revelation 1:1

Today's Scripture Reading (May 28, 2021): Revelation 1

Artist Paul Klee argued that "Art does not reproduce what we see. It makes us see." That is probably why we all seem to see something different when we look at a piece of art. Art, wherever we find it, draws reality out of us. It is also why art needs to be contemplated over time and not evaluated at a quick glance. The images grow on us, revealing themselves as we allow them to work their magic on us. Art is not a process that can be rushed; its creation and enjoyment are slow processes.

John begins his writing by telling his readers exactly what it is that he is writing. It is a Revelation of Jesus Christ. The revelation does not belong to John; the message is all Jesus. And as you proceed through the revelation, you find that it is made up of complex images, many hard to interpret. Revelation is a piece of art, and, therefore, it cannot be rushed and must be slowly contemplated.

The revelation was given to John to share with the church because it is about what must soon occur. It is about the future, but this is where it gets a little tricky. We read it as if it is about our future; we assume that the totality of the revelation is about the End Times. And there is no question that some of it is. But there are elements of the prophecy that might have been fulfilled in John's lifetime. Many of the hardships that the Christian church suffered during the reigns of Nero (ruling from 54 to 68 C.E.), Domitian (ruling 81 to 96 C.E.), both reigning before the revelation had been written down, and even Diocletian (284 to 305 C.E.) ruling two centuries after the writing of Revelation, are reflected in John's writing.

One question. If portions of Revelation pertain to Nero and Domitian's reigns, both of whom reigned before the writing of Revelation, but is about the future, how is that contradiction resolved? Part of the problem is that we don't know if there was a time gap between the vision and the writing of Revelation. Current scholarship believes that John was exiled to Patmos, where he received the vision which resulted in Revelation, during the reign of Domitian. But it is not out of the question that he was exiled during Nero's reign, as the Emperor was having other Christian leaders, including Paul and Peter, executed. If that is true, then the revelation was written as a vision about the immediate future. And the primary purpose of Revelation was to remind the emerging church that just because they are suffering persecution doesn't mean that God is no longer in control, a message that revelation makes very clear.

But history repeats itself, which means that even if portions of revelation reflected John's reality, it is also about our future, making it an important document. And one that we need to contemplate slowly, allowing the images to wash over us, making us see, like the work of art that it is.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Revelation 2

Personal Note: Happy birthday to my Wife, Nelda