Revelation: God is present and active
In his book ‘The Message of Revelation’, Michael Wilcock describes the next scene in Revelation as the Drama of History, in which we see seven visions of cosmic conflict. The passage is Revelation 11:19-15:4.
Are you ready? Then let’s go!
Then God’s temple in heaven was opened, and within his temple was seen the ark of his covenant. And there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder, an earthquake and a severe hailstorm. Revelation 11:19
God is present and active. That’s how today’s passage starts. And this is how it ends.
“Great and marvellous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Revelation 15:3-4
And now to make some sense of what happens in between! Throughout this section, as throughout the whole letter, we can imagine the readers on the edge of their seats, hungry for more, repeatedly asking ‘And what does John see next?’. And the answers are what give us the structure for this section.
Vision 1>a beast from the sea: a creature with worldwide power and authority and domination. For John, this was the Roman Empire. For all peoples to follow, there has always been a recognisable dominant political force. Systems may topple but it’s not long before they rear their ugly head again.
Vision 2>another beast from the earth: this creature has the appearance of good but evil at the heart. It represents false religion (an alternative message/way/ideology). We can find its influence in the established church as much as in outlandish sects. Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life.
Vision 3>the Lamb and his followers: his followers are the redeemed, the disciples of Christ
Vision 4>the angels of grace, doom and warning: this is the message from God – the good news of how to be in a right relationship with God, an explanation of why all is not well and an ultimate personal challenge.
Vision 5>a white cloud of the final reaping: a time of judging (sorting) and of gathering in
Vision 6>another portent of seven angels with seven plagues: this will be unpacked and explained more fully in the next scene tomorrow.
Vision 7>a sea of glass and the song of victory: this song resonate with Moses’ great songs of praise in Exodus, celebrating deliverance from evil for God’s people. However, this final deliverance is the real deliverance, the long awaited deliverance from evil for all God’s people.
Which brings us back to this.
“Great and marvellous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.” Revelation 15:3-4
Whatever we are to face as individuals, communities, nations, the planet, God has already won the final victory. Nothing can separate us from the love of God.
