I’m very excited about our sermon series for August and September where we will take a look at Revelation 2-3. In these chapters, Jesus dictates seven letters to seven of the early churches in the ancient world. We often forget that parts of Revelation have already happened–particularly these letters to historical churches!

Church tradition holds that either the apostle John or another fellow named John the Elder were possible authors of Revelation. It is somewhat difficult to discern and early church theologians and historians have different viewpoints on this matter. As you might guess, the apostle John was the disciple of Jesus and has a gospel attributed to his name. On the other hand, John the Elder was another early Christian, but lived after Jesus’ ascension and served as a bishop in the 100s AD.

Regardless of authorship, many church historians believe that this John character was exiled to Patmos during the persecution of Christians by Emperor Domitian of the Roman Empire.

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On Sunday, we explored the first of these letters to the church in Ephesus. The Ephesian church was doing alright except for one thing. Jesus noted that they had forgotten their first love:

Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. (Revelation 2:4-5)

Showing love in any relationship shouldn’t be something that we forget how to do, much less our relationship with Christ. When Jesus told the church to return to their starting point, he meant that the church must remember that “doing church” should be about one thing: loving God. Apparently in Ephesus, the community of believers needed to push the “reset” button, so to speak, in order to reorient their discipleship around what matters most.

We forget our first love so many times in life. We make our day-to-day about chasing after worldly dreams. We might deceive ourselves into thinking that money or fame will truly make us happy. Even in the church world, we often don’t make our life truly about Jesus–perhaps we want to serve our own needs, instead of doing outreach in the community! We make following Jesus about church buildings rather than true discipleship (and in worst case scenarios, we even divide over the color of choir robes or sanctuary carpet!). We can even make following Jesus all about what we want, rather than pouring out God’s love to outsiders who need it most.

Ideally, in my own life, I would hope that Jesus doesn’t have to remind me about forsaking my love for him! I hope to live in such a way as to never forget that he ought to be number one in my life.

Revelation 2-3 is filled with several letters Jesus spoke to early believers. I think it would be helpful for us to ask ourselves this in light of the sermon this week: what kind of letter would Jesus write to you? Would Jesus commend you for steadfast faith? Would he recognize that you’ve always loved him no matter what?

Or would Jesus offer up the gentle reminder that you have forgotten your first love? Would Jesus write that you’ve forgotten what God’s love is all about?

The good news is that regardless of whether we’ve forgotten God’s love or not, Jesus is always willing to welcome us back with open arms. Sure, we might forget our first love for Christ, but he will never forget or stop loving us.

There are about a dozen or so popular Christian views concerning the apocalypse. Disciples of Jesus throughout the ages have adopted many different stances, depending on their historical circumstances and theology. For instance, several of the apostles arguably believed that Jesus would come back very soon, even within their own lifetimes. Others believed that the cosmic events of Revelation occurred during the early church or during the middle ages with corruption in the Roman Empire and the western Catholic Church. And we are all too familiar with some Christians today making bold predictions about how Jesus will come back soon–the years 2000 and 2012 might ring a bell!

Personally, I advise taking a humble view of Revelation. We need to take Jesus seriously when he said no one knows the day nor hour. He may come back tomorrow… he may come back more than a million years from now! It may happen according to the predictions of theologians, or in all likelihood, it could be entirely different and catch everyone off guard. But nevertheless, it is important for our own growth as Christians to have some idea of how to read Revelation. Here are definitions of some important terms related to the book:

• Eschatology (pronounced es-kuh-tology)- The theological study of the end of the world.
• Parousia (pronounced pa-roo-see-uh)- A greek word signifying the second coming of Christ. For some Christians, this means a rapture, while others believe this will just be the final judgment where Jesus physically conquers evil on earth.
• Tribulation– The biblical concept that people will undergo a period of intense trial and persecution. Some Christians believe tribulation will last only seven years, but scripture is vague about the timeframe. Some Christians believe that they will be rescued from this, but Jesus was quite clear that we will all experience some tribulation for following him.
• Millenium– This word could signify either a literal 1000-year period of Christ’s reign, or might be a symbolic period of time for the New Testament church and beyond. In scripture, a thousand-year millennium is often just a synonym for a really long time.
• Rapture– This is one possible interpretation of the parousia or second coming of Christ, arguing that Jesus will appear and bring some followers to heaven. This view was created in the late 1800s and depends on one verse in 1 Thessalonians. Scripture is clear that Jesus will come back again, but the rapture teaching argues that Jesus will actually come back twice instead of once like we find in the passages of Revelation.
• Dispensation– This is another possible interpretation of the end times, namely that there are 3-7 different “periods” in history. Some argue that we are in one “dispensation,” and that during the end of the world, we will enter into another.
• Antichrist– Revelation speaks about some kind of entity that directly opposes God and the forces of good, whether that be Satan, a demon, or another character. Some Christians believe there will be a literal antichrist on earth, while others interpret these passages to allude to the cosmic battle in the heavenly realms.

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Additionally, here is a general outline of the various interpretations as they relate to the book of Revelation. Remember that Christians have interpreted this book in so many different ways, and the “right” theology of Revelation is obviously up for debate!

Post-Tribulation Premillenialism

Christians will undergo a period of tribulation before Jesus’ second coming, then Jesus will reign on earth. There is a tribulation period and there is no rapture–only Jesus’ return to rule over all creation.

Dispensationalism

This view assumes that there will be a rapture, of which will be one of two comings of Christ. Jesus will abandon all non-Christians after the rapture. After this, there will be a time of tribulation on earth, followed by another coming of Christ to finally rule.

Postmillenialism

This outlook says that Jesus will come again after a period of peace, ushered in by the Church’s good works and evangelism in the world. Then after this millennium, Jesus will come back to earth.

Amillenialism

This is a symbolic interpretation of words like tribulation, where the millennium after Jesus’ ascension will occur an unspecified amount of time before the last judgment.

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Like I said, Christians can have very different views concerning Revelation. Personally, I am mostly an “amillennialist” who believes that Christ will come back after this symbolic millennium of the Church’s work in the world. Likewise, when Jesus promised us tribulation, I understand that to mean he meant Christians in all times and places will experience hardship for following Jesus–from loving our enemies to pursuing God’s nonviolent way in our world.

One thing to keep in mind is that with apocalyptic literature about the end times, it is difficult to discern what is happening on earth versus in heaven or in the cosmic realm. As Christians, we believe God is eternal and not bound by time (in other words, God doesn’t celebrate birthdays or get old like we do! God is not bound by time). So when we read about trumpets sounding, plagues, or even devilish beasts in books like Revelation, it is impossible to know how this lines up chronologically with life here on earth.

A major example of this was Revelation 12, which provided a cosmic view of Jesus’ birth. In this, the incarnation of Jesus signaled a massive battle between the forces of good and darkness (where Satan was depicted as a dragon). Notice that this looked quite different here on earth–Jesus was born to poor peasants under oppressive rule in a simple animal stable! Yet we know that his birth carried cosmic significance, namely that the powers of darkness would be overcome by God’s eternal, life-giving love.

So be humble when reading Revelation. Remember that our business as Christians is to live out Jesus’ calling to spread God’s good news. It can be tempting to obsess over the end of the world, but in doing so, we miss the most basic duty of following Jesus: spreading God’s good news and inviting others to partake in God’s family.

You’ve probably heard of the phrase “cherry picking” before, especially related to making an argument. This term comes from the idea that when someone picks a fruit from a tree (like cherries), they will likely chose the best-looking ones, and leave all the rotten ones behind. When applied to arguments, a cherry picked one is when someone ignores major facts, all while misleading others with other facts that support what he or she is trying to say. A comical example of cherry picking an argument is this:

Water is DEADLY! Did you know that 100% of people who drink water will one day die? Water can also be a byproduct of chemical reactions like burning jet fuel. And if that’s not scary enough, ALL murderers have at one time or another drank water, too! So stay away from water!

In this odd example, it is clear that even though all the facts are technically true, they are presented in such a way that ignores others (like the obvious fact that drinking water is necessary for survival!). We all know that we will each die someday–but that is not to say that drinking water itself will kill you. Just because water can be the result of chemical reactions, that doesn’t mean that those dangerous chemicals are actually in water. And finally, just because someone drinks water, that does not necessarily make that person a murderer. That is cherry picking in a nutshell!

We do this cherry picking practice all the time when we read the bible. It is a strong temptation to simply chose verses that fit our agenda while ignoring others (I called this a “bible buffet” on Sunday!). For example, if we really want something from God, then we will likely focus on verses that talk about God answering the prayers of the faithful–never mind the fact that oftentimes our wishes do not line up with God’s will!

On Sunday we explored a huge issue for Christians today along these lines: how do we make sense of seemingly contradicting verses in scripture?

The big problem I preached on was the role of women in the church. As I noted during my sermon, scripture says a lot of different things, from prohibiting women to even teach in front of people, to the women at Jesus’ tomb literally serving as the first preachers and evangelists. Many Christians throughout recent years have used 1 Timothy 2 as justification for not allowing women to speak in church, or even saying women should only bear children in the home.

So how do we interpret the bible? Do we follow every single verse, or were some commandments just for people way back in ancient times? Do we follow every rule and law found in the Old Testament, or do we just following general rules like the ten commandments? Do we listen to Abraham, Moses, Isaiah, Jesus, Paul… or some combination of them? How can we avoid cherry picking scripture?

When reading the bible, it is important to consider other books and verses when faced with ethical issues. We cannot make a theology out of just one verse that we happen to find–we must have a bigger perspective. This brings me to three bits of advice for bible reading:

1. Always keep Jesus in mind

Colossians 1:19-20 teaches us that the fullness of God was in Jesus Christ, which essentially means that if we want to know what God looks like, we have to look at the life and actions of God’s son. When faced with an ethical dilemma–whether that be violence, a relationship issue, or any number of social issues–look to see how Jesus himself would have responded. One problem we often overlook when reading the bible is that many of the “heroes” we admire (like Abraham, Moses, and David) still struggled with sinfulness. Jesus alone was blameless in all that he did, so we ought to worship and follow him alone! Give Jesus priority when interpreting scripture.

2. Listen to the Holy Spirit as you discern

When faced with conflicting bible passages, always remember to pray and seek God’s wisdom when trying to figure out what to do. It always helps to talk it over with other fellow believers, too, particularly with a bible study group or close friends. God often uses other people and conversations to help you understand God’s wisdom and will for your life.

3. Avoid tunnel vision

We often like to make the bible fit our agenda. People throughout history have often sought to use scripture to justify one problematic stance over another–perhaps most notably in America has been slavery and racism. My advice is this: never let your entire theology be based off of one verse. Always consider what other parts of the bible have to say. Just because the authors of scripture mentioned slaves in the Old Testament doesn’t mean that is God’s will for our world today. As we talked about on Sunday, the same might also be said for prohibitions against women in leadership.