Day 45

The journey I began 45 days ago ends here, with the Revelation to St. John. I’ll have some closing thoughts tomorrow about the entire experience, but right now, I’m wrestling with a book that is incredibly “known” in our culture, but not understood. I’m not implying I’ll give anyone any understanding of this text — as with the rest of the Bible — but maybe my own reflections will inspire you in your discernment.

There are a few things I know about Revelation from my past studies that impact how I read it. First, Babylon refers to Rome. Second, 666 is the sum of letters in Emperor Nero’s name using the practice of gematria — a sort of alpha-numeric code using either Hebrew or Greek letters. Fun fact, in other manuscripts, the number in 616 because they use the name “Nero” instead of “Neron.” So, if you fear the number 666, maybe think about trying a new superstition. Third, the book draws heavily upon Hebrew cosmology and prophecy.

Now, if I didn’t know these things, I would be so confused. I still am confused! This book has a lot going on. There’s a lot of imagery, destruction, plagues, angels, scrolls, seals, fire, death, poetry, etc etc. What remains during and after reading it is an obligation to choose how it will be handled. Will I read it literally as a prophecy for a set time — that of the fall of Nero and eventual downfall of Rome? Will I read it literally as a perpetual prophecy — and see it as an image of the end times as fundamentalists do? Will I read it purely symbolically? Or disregard it entirely?

I choose a both/and here. It is undeniably a prophecy for a specific time. However, there are images and proclamations that are relevant to here and now. I’d like to think that with all of the prophetic books. Human beings tend to repeat patters and we will always need the words of prophets — past or present — to call us out.

I’m left wondering if this book is not a story of selfish salvation but a broader salvation. A salvation that sees the Beloved Community realized in the world. As to the destruction? I found myself unable to read this text without imagining Babylon as Capitalism and the plagues as the unfolding climate crisis. And yet, despite the loss, the greed, the destruction — people emerge and commit to a vision of a new creation…a new world.

If I were to write an apocalypse for today, I imagine it might have cultural references and imagery that, while making sense to us in the 21st century, would favor symbolism. Sometimes the wicked problems of the world are too awful to rehash over and over again. The seas will indeed boil in our time (the Great Barrier Reef is nearly dead). Blood will be poured out and wipe out life in the oceans (have you heard of the plastic island in the Pacific?). Thunder and storms and winds and lightning will be unleashed by angels (it snowed today in in Kentucky. In late April). Monstrous locusts will be unleashed like an army of destruction (no, not the cicadas. But did you know tropical viruses will eventually reach the Southern USA — like Zika, Dengue, Ebola, etc?) The merchants will keep trying to sell their wares as Babylon comes crumbling down (and they have already in the Great Depression and Great Recession). Revelation hit a chord. Again, I don’t take it literally. But I do think the symbolic power of the text has enduring value for a society such as ours so deeply ingrained in Christianity. We are living in a time when our own seals are being broken on the scroll. Is a new world possible? I hope so.

One Word for Revelation: Creation

Parts of the Text That Stayed With Me

1. Rev 4:5, Many Spirits? God is described as having seven spirits. What’s a seven person version of the trinity? Septinity?
2. Rev 6, Opening the Seals. I had a visceral reaction to the opening of the seals. It was as if I could hear them crack open as our world faces unprecedented existential threats.
3. Rev 10:4, Secret Thunder. What the seven thunders tell John is sworn to secrecy. So much so, he eats the scroll they are written on. Guess what? This scroll tastes like honey, too! Except this time, John had a sour stomach afterwards.
4. Rev 16, Plagues Poured Out. Another visceral reaction to the seven plagues.
5. Rev 18:11-13, Merchants Weeping. The merchants bemoan the fact no one will buy their wares — so many lovely wonderful things in Babylon. Nevertheless, they still try to sell them.
6. Rev 21-22, New Creation. Here’s the vision of a new world. But first, everyone must endure what awaits.

This post is part of a lager series where I read the entirety of Hebrew & Christian scriptures in 45 days. Take a look a the original post for more info, as well as links to other reflections on this journey.