Comforting Interlude

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is based on Revelation 7. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

Today being Mother’s Day, I would like you to know that like all mothers, my mother thought I was an angel. Then I turned two. That said, we turn to another theme in Revelation – angels. We know that no one can see God and live. Even Moses could not see God in all his holy righteousness and glory. When he asked God to let him see his glory, God answered that he would permit Moses to see his mercy. Then God said that Moses could not see his face, for no one can see God and live.[1]

God used various natural forms to speak to humans, such as a burning bush, a cloud and pillars of fire. God appeared in the form of an angel or heavenly figure in human form to Abraham, Jacob, Moses, Joshua, Gideon and others. He gave the Torah to Moses on Mt. Sinai through angels.

Angelology (the study of angels) developed in Judaism because of the belief in the remoteness and transcendence of God, part of which was due to his terrifying and overpowering majesty, which no human could approach.[2] All of this should lead us to ask why Jesus used angels to communicate the bulk of Revelation’s prophetic message. Is it because no human being could stand before him?

In chapter one, when the exalted Son of Man appeared to John to commission him to write Revelation, John said, “When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead.”[3] We find the same in the Transfiguration accounts. The disciples fell on their faces and trembled with terror. Paul’s experience was similar when he encountered the Risen Lord on the way to Damascus.[4]

If we look to Revelation for an answer, we find none. The exalted Christ began mediating the first part of the message directly to John before turning it over to angels, but there is no explicit answer as to why. Scripture does not reveal the mind of Christ regarding this action. The best we can do is to speculate that the exalted Christ first wanted to establish beyond any doubt that this revelation came from God and himself. Once this was established, he could turn the work over to the angels. Given the mysterious character of Revelation’s message, if this were not established, the early church may not have accepted the Letter into the canon. But since the risen Lord directly commanded John to receive and write this revelation, there is no doubt or question as to its origin and godly purpose. Christ established the origin and authority of Revelation by mediating the first part of it, then he safely turned the messaging over to angels.[5]

The point that Jesus made (in chapter one) regarding this was that John could not continue to stand face to face before the holy, majestic presence of the risen Lord because of his earthly decay as a human and Christ’s exaltation as holy God. So, he allowed and empowered John to stand before him until John knew for certain that the message was of God. Just as God in the Old Testament had angels by whom and through whom he spoke to Moses and others, so now Christ in his state of heavenly glory has angels through whom he speaks to John, and they continue the message.[6] That brings us to today’s passage.

Chapter seven is a comforting interlude between the openings of the sixth and seventh seals during which John sees the 144,000 sealed and the saints before God’s throne in heaven. The four winds refer to the whole earth and should not be associated with the four horsemen. The four winds, however, are a symbol of suffering and destruction, but are restrained so that God’s people may be sealed.

This sealing is the work of the Holy Spirit through Word and Sacraments by which the Christian is kept in faith and protected in hope through all the tribulations, sufferings and persecutions executed by the four horsemen. No matter how dire dangers become for the Christian, God keeps us in faith and hope regardless of what is thrown at us, including death. With that in mind, St. Paul encouraged the Philippians and Timothy to press on, to fight the good fight for the victorious crown awaited the Christian. The victorious Lamb is our Good Shepherd.[7]

The 144,000 have been thought to be faithful Jews who believed in Jesus, the nation of Israel or Jewish Christians. Most scholars believe that the number is symbolic and refers to all Christians on earth throughout the time period covered in Revelation.[8] Similarly, St. Paul used the phrases “true Israel of God and true sons of Abraham” in his Letters to the Romans and Galatians.[9]

The number suggests total completeness and gives the reader an image of God’s people marching in perfect step, fully equipped and ready to do God’s work. John drew from Israel as an organized military camp in the wilderness ready to conquer the promised land.[10] And so the church stands ready to carry out its marching orders.

The saints arrayed in white robes symbolize the purity and righteousness of Christ given to them through his blood. Waving palm branches to celebrate Christ’s triumph, and praising God through song shows the redemption of God’s people in Christ. They came out of the great tribulation just as John did. Recall in chapter one, he wrote that he was their “brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus.”[11]

We should also remember as we read this that Christians have always suffered tribulation. In Acts, we read how Jews from Antioch and Iconium stoned Paul and left him for dead outside of Lystra, and how he then encouraged disciples “to continue in the faith, and … that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”[12] He referenced this in his Second Letter to Timothy when he wrote, “all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.”[13] Jesus himself said, “If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.”[14]

But as John tells us later, God permits tribulation to occur to show the Church’s faithfulness to Christ. Wherever and whenever Christians experience tribulation, God is present to shepherd them and remind them that Christ is coming to take them home. Jesus himself described such terrifying days in Matthew when he said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory.”[15]

The picture of eternal glory of Revelation 7:14 is for the comfort of all Christians of all times as they experience whatever tribulations sorely test their faith and patience.[16] Folks, Christians continually emerge from tribulation because we live in eternal communion with God. The final image of comfort for any believer is that God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. God will wipe away every tear from your eyes.

Friends, in nearly 150 countries, God wipes many tears of those imprisoned, displaced or killed for being Christian. Stephen Rache, an American lawyer who works extensively in persecuted Christian communities in Iraq and Nigeria, told an audience that the Nigerian government has abdicated its responsibility to keep its citizens safe, resulting in widespread religiously motivated violence and a general lawlessness.[17]

What is even worse, four years ago the U.S. State Department removed Nigeria as a “Country of Particular Concern” on a watchlist of countries with the most egregious violations of religious freedom. In 2024, more than 3,100 Christians were murdered and more than 2,000 kidnapped. Christian persecution is a daily experience in Nigeria and other countries as well.[18] Islamist extremism is at the heart of the violence.

Christians face tribulation even in countries like Finland, where its top prosecutor appealed a unanimous court decision rejecting her allegations of “hate speech” against a Christian politician who quoted the Bible on Twitter. Finland’s identity privilege laws would effectively outlaw Christianity in that country.[19]

That said, I don’t think the situation of John’s churches is vastly different than those of churches throughout the world today. We don’t live in Country of Particular Concern, but how many days until our tribulations are similar to those of Christians in Nigeria, Finland or elsewhere? How will we remain faithful? As I pondered that, I came across an article entitled, “Fire Upon the Earth.”[20]

It begins like this, “Contempt for religious faith has been growing in America’s leadership classes for many decades.” Later in the article, we read, “God’s grace is the beginning of glory in us. It’s what paves the way for each of us to experience the glory of God in our lives. This is the grace we were given when we were baptized. As we build on this grace day by day, we start to experience the heavenly life that the saints now enjoy fully.”

The author continues, “Happiness is tied to wisdom, and wisdom grows out of risk and suffering, the beauty and hard edges of experiencing the real world. … Happiness requires other people. The joy of a young mother is linked to the gift of life she makes to a new and unrepeatable soul in the act of birth—to the pain and effort she experiences in bearing her child. Happiness is either created and shared with others here and now, or remembered as moments shared with others in the past. This is why, even as he was beaten and starved in a Nazi death camp, the Holocaust survivor Viktor Frankl could know happiness and the interior freedom it brings when he remembered the love of his wife.”

Friends, reading Revelation should remind us that we who love Christ will experience tribulation. We who love Christ will also experience God’s grace, God’s love and God’s hope through Word and Sacrament. That alone should suffice for us to remain faithful to our beliefs. If Viktor Frankl could know happiness and freedom by remembering his wife, imagine how much more happiness and freedom we will experience recalling Christ.

Today, I ask you to take time to pray for all the saints experiencing tribulation throughout the world. Take a moment to thank God for grace, hope and love, and remind yourself that our Good Shepherd gently wipes away all the tears in the world. When you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus the Risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia!

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[1] Exodus 33:20.

[2] Louis A. Brighton, Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1999), p. 207.

[3] Revelation 1:17.

[4] The section in Luther’s Small Catechism (Questions 126-152) regarding Christ’s state of humiliation and his state of exaltation may help us understand why John, the three disciples and Paul reacted as they did.

[5] Brighton, pp. 208f.

[6] Brighton, p. 209.

[7] Brighton, p. 187. See Philippians 3:12-14; 2 Timothy 4:6-8.

[8] Brighton, p. 189.

[9] Romans 4:1-12; 9:6-8; 11:11-27; Galatians 3;26-29.

[10] Brighton, p. 190. See Numbers 1:1-46; 31:1-6; 26:1-64.

[11] Revelation 1:9.

[12] Acts 14:22.

[13] 2 Timothy 3:12.

[14] John 15:20.

[15] Matthew 24:29-30.

[16] Brighton, p. 199.

[17] Jonah McKeown, “Expert Urges Attention to Persecuted Christians as Bishops Decry Islamist Violence in Nigeria,” National Catholic Register, January 29, 2022, www.ncregister.com.

[18] “After Thousands of Deaths and Kidnappings, Nigerian Christians Call on US to Recognize Their Persecution,” Fredrick Nzwili, Christianity Today, March 24, 2025. www.christianitytoday.com.

[19] Joy Pullmann, “Finnish Prosecutor Will Keep Prosecuting Christian Politician For Quoting The Bible,” The Federalist, May 2, 2022, www.the federalist.com. See also “International Religious Freedom Summit examines religious persecution in the West,” Tyler Arnold, Feb. 6, 2025. Catholic News Agency, www.catholicnewsagency.com.

[20] Charles J. Chaput, “Fire Upon the Earth,” First Things, May 2022, www.firstthings.com.

Revelation's Symbols

 

God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is based on Revelation 5. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

As I mentioned last week, there are various meaningful symbols throughout John’s Revelation. One of them is the lamb. Lamb appears in the Bible over 275 times. It is first mentioned in Genesis (4:4) when Abel, who was the keeper of the sheep, brought the firstborn of his flock to the Lord as an offering. Lamb was the main menu item for the Passover meal. Its blood was smeared on the doorframes on the first Passover when God delivered his people from slavery. Unblemished lambs were offered to God as a sin offering.[1]

Paul says that Christ is the sacrificed Passover Lamb.[2] In the accounts of the Passover meal before Christ’s death, there is a connection between Christ’s body and blood and his impending death, and the Passover lamb whose blood was shed. Apart from Paul, no other New Testament author explicitly calls Christ the Passover Lamb, but the fact that Paul does implies that such a connection was widely known. It was clear in the early Church that people saw in the Passover lamb a type of the sacrifice of Christ.[3]

The phrase “Lamb of God” is found in only two places in the New Testament. John the Baptist speaks the phrase twice in chapter one of John’s Gospel. A verse in 1^st Peter reminds readers that their ransom paid to God “was the precious blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God.”[4]Of course, the phrase has been used in Christian worship and theology and is foundational to the message of Christianity.

In Christian art, the Lamb of God depicts Jesus as a lamb carrying a halo and holding a cross symbolizing victory. The cross normally rests on the lamb's shoulder and is held in its right foreleg. The cross usually has a white banner suspended from it with a red cross on the banner. Sometimes the lamb is shown lying on top of a book with seven seals hanging from it. This is a reference to the imagery in today’s reading. Some artists depict the lamb bleeding from the area of the heart, symbolizing Jesus shedding his blood to take away the sins of the world.[5] There is probably no other symbol or title of Jesus that touches the heart as the Lamb of God, and its relationship to Jesus calling himself the Good Shepherd.

As we read Revelation it is important to remember that its Christology deals primarily with the exaltation of Jesus Christ and his glorious reign. The foundation of this exalted Christology is the theology of the Lamb of God who suffered, died, and rose again. By this he earned the eternal glory of his Father, and now (in Revelation and in our time) he shares that glory with his people. Throughout Revelation we are constantly reminded that Christ is the exalted Son of Man, Lord of lords and King of kings because he was and is the Lamb of God who was sacrificed for the sins of God’s people.[6]

In today’s passage, we find three hymns of praise sung by elders, angels and all creatures. The first hymn is called a new song. Later, in chapter 14, the church sings a similar song as they follow the Lamb. It indicates that worship and praise of God’s people on earth is parallel to that of the saints in heaven before God. In chapter 15, as the church is engaged in battle with the beast, she sings the song of Moses and the hymn of the Lamb. These are victory songs. Despite the suffering caused by the beast, the church sings a new song. The song had never been sung before. The songs of Moses and the Lamb express God’s rightness and show his anger and judgment on earth towards the beast and evil forces. This new song in today’s passage, which has no Old Testament references, echoes verse 11 in chapter 4 and is a victory song sung before the battle because the promise has been fulfilled. Christ came and won the victory for God and his people.[7] This new song exudes the believers’ confidence.

In verse 11, the angels join in the cheerful praise of the Lamb, who at the right hand of the Father is worshipped and adored. Notice in 4:11, that God the Creator is given glory, honor and worship. Equally, the victorious Christ is given the same in this song. Note too the additional words of worship and praise given to the Son: wealth, wisdom, strength and blessing. These are given to Christ because in his earthly life of humiliation, suffering, death and glorious resurrection, he earned them. Christians see in Christ the wealth, wisdom, strength and blessing, and through them receive from God the gift of salvation through the proclamation of the Gospel.

At this point, if you are lost, here’s how to find your way to understanding all this: Read the difference between Christ’s state of humiliation and his state of exaltation in Luther’s Small Catechism. Questions 126-152, succinctly explain these two states.

In the third stanza, every creature in heaven, on earth, under the earth and in the sea sings, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!”[8] Every creature (angels, people, earthworms and whales) sings this because it is only in Christ that the human race receives and acknowledges the wealth of God’s saving grace, and it is only in the Lord Jesus Christ that the wisdom of God is received and acknowledged, especially that wisdom which leads the human heart in repentance to a saving faith.[9] Then the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped. Can I get an “Amen!” to that?

Folks, this passage is John’s vision of God’s heavenly majesty and the coronation and enthronement of Jesus Christ. God’s redemption and restoration of the human race came through his Son. The whole purpose of God’s activity toward all people and creation is that it would end in worship and praise of God as Creator and Savior through his Son.

This vision is Christ’s ascension. This is Jesus’ high priestly prayer for glory for himself, his disciples and all believers that we read in John 17. In verse 24 of that chapter we read, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world.” This is what the three disciples saw on the mountain when Moses and Elijah appeared in glory and spoke of Jesus’ departure, and what he was about to accomplish at Jerusalem. Peter, James and John saw his glory.[10]

This is Martyr Stephen’s vision. “As he gazed into heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God, he said, ‘Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.’”[11]At the beginning of Acts, we read of Christ’s ascension from the perspective of those who saw it from earth. Revelation 4 and 5 are the exaltation of Christ at the Father’s right hand from the perspective of heaven.

This is the flip side Good Friday’s mourning when Jesus was crowned with thorns and nailed to a cross when darkness covered the face of the earth. The crown of thorns gives way to a crown of many crowns. The glory of the cross is now seen in the glory of exaltation of Christ at the Father’s right. Heaven is no longer mourning for the celebration has taken its place.

Friends, as we read the rest of Revelation, we interpret everything through this vision of Christ’s coronation. It gives us hope because it tells us how it all is going to end. This vision helps us, as Church, to carry out Christ’s mission for us on earth.

I was thinking about how this passage applies to our lives, and because the NFL draft was recently held in Green Bay, I wondered, “Did Revelation’s victory influence Vince Lombardi’s confidence?” It’s a debatable question, and I say it did based on this Lombardi quote. “When we place our dependence in God, we are unencumbered, and we have no worry. … This confidence … is both contagious and an aid to the perfect action. The rest is in the hands of God – and this is the same God who has won all His battles up to now.” … God has won all His battles up to now.

Successful people like Lombardi inspire people. But what if you are not Lombardi. What if you are Garth Fritel? The story of Garth Fritel is how a man won a war in the soul by crossing into the unknown territory of pain, isolation and a collapsing body to say only one thing: “Yes, God — I give it all to you.”[12]

Fritel died last August at age 47 in Spokane, after suffering from ALS for seven years. The disease claims lives in less than three years. His wife, two daughters and a group of people prayed for a miracle of physical healing for Fritel, but for the last three years of his life, Garth did not move a single body part below his neck.

An online article tells us that Garth laid awake at the loneliest hours of the night, where a shifting kaleidoscope of thoughts came into view. His wife, Adeline, slept like a stone beside him. She spent each of her days pushing boulders up Mount Spokane juggling her work as a pharmacist, caring for their daughters and handling carpools, meals, cleaning, etc. He never dared to wake her. In total silence Garth looked at the choice he was faced with: A. Quit and die. B. Live.

He chose option B. He learned that suffering with and for God is the inseparable companion of union with Christ on the cross. He said, “I can choose to pick up the cross or I can choose not to. I can choose to give my suffering over to Jesus or I can choose not to. With God or without? I have the power of choice. … How people survive ALS without faith is a mystery to me.” Each evening, Garth gathered his family in the living room where they prayed as a family, and a single question was asked: What was your blessing today?

Friends, what is your blessing today? For me, it is God giving me the opportunity to delve into the Word. It’s Pastor Louis Brighton whose knowledge of Scripture, and Revelation in particular, which blesses me with understanding and insight. Yours might be the presence of your loved ones or beautiful memories of those now with the Lord. Whatever your blessing is in health or in suffering, in riches or poverty, in peace or in persecution, know that your victory has been won. When you sing your victory song, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus the Risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia!

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[1] Leviticus 14.

[2] 1 Corinthians 5:7.

[3] Louis A. Brighton, Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1999), p. 149. See Matthew 26:28; Mark 14:24; Luke 22:20.

[4] The New Living Translation of 1 Peter 1:19.

[5] Revelation 5:6; John 1:29, 36.

[6] Brighton, p. 149.

[7] Brighton, pp. 141-142.

[8] Revelation 5:13.

[9] Brighton, pp. 143-144.

[10] Luke 9:31-32.

[11] Acts 7:55-56.

[12] Kevin Wells, “A Man of Heroic Courage, Nailed to the Cross of ALS,” National Catholic Register, April 21, 2022. See https://www.ncregister.com/

A Revelation

 

           God’s grace, peace and mercy be with you. … My sermon is based on our second reading (Revelation 1:4-18). Let us pray. Heavenly Father, the psalmist wrote, “I rejoiced when they said to me, ‘Let us go to the house of the Lord.’” Now that our feet are within your gates, we rejoice to hear your Word. As we listen, may your Spirit enlighten our minds and move our hearts to love deeply as Jesus loved. This we pray to you, Most Holy Trinity. Amen.

In 1983, I spent six weeks studying Polish language and culture in Lublin, Poland. We travelled at the beginning of the program and on the weekends, but most of our time was spent in Lublin learning the language, history and culture of Poland. After four weeks, a few of us decided to see a movie. The movie we chose was Escape from New York. As we waited in line to purchase tickets, a young Polish man asked us, “Are you here to learn English?” I answered, “No. This is the only movie that’s playing.” Of course, Snake Plissken did not speak Polish; the movie was dubbed with subtitles.

I mention Escape from New York because it is an entertaining apocalyptic movie. The genre of apocalyptic movies does not so much match the primary definition of the word apocalypse – something viewed as a prophetic revelation – but it skirts the latter definitions – a large, disastrous fire or a great disaster.

The origin of apocalypse comes to us from the Greek apokalyptein meaning to uncover, disclose or reveal. Apo means off or away from, and kalyptein means to cover or conceal. Only in 1858 did the word apocalypticism become associated with the belief in an imminent end of the present world. Apocalypse is also the title we give to Revelation.

There is an enormous difference between what we see on theater and television screens, and what we read in the Bible. The former is entertainment, and the latter is God’s plan: a message that Christ’s victory will never be overcome by evil no matter how scary it is. That said, today, I will spend some time on the difference between public and private revelation, and John’s letter to First century Christians. And since we will be reading the Book of Revelation during the Easter Season, I will address various themes and topics along with examining the passage for the day.

Revelation is communication of some truth by God to humans through means which are beyond the ordinary course of nature.[1] God speaks to His creatures through angels or prophets – Moses, Elijah, Isaiah, Malachi – or a dream. The essence of this revelation is that it is the direct speech of God to man. God may use supernatural means to affirm truths about natural laws, the mysteries of our faith or how to worship (as opposed to worship through natural religions).

There are public revelations, which are contained in the Bible and transmitted by the Church. Public revelation closed with the death of the last Apostle. Private revelation regularly occurs among Christians. For example, in the movie, Father Stu, there are a couple of private revelation scenes that he experienced. Private revelations mean something for the recipient, and hopefully, are not misinterpreted, but none of them are binding for other Christians. Public revelation, for example, what Jesus taught, is binding. Private revelation, something revealed to an individual today, is not binding.

Now, what about the Book of Revelation? It is the last book in the Bible, but it is a letter and not a book. By letter, I do not mean a private letter that you may receive from a loved one or your attorney. Those are meant for your eyes only and should not be read in the same vein as Revelation.

This letter was written to the churches of Asia. In verse three, we read, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” It was read aloud in the gathered community of faith who offered praise and prayers to God. Imagining this letter being read to a congregation might be like a group of people who gathered to listen to the original radio broadcast of Orson Welles on October 30, 1938. A public reading of Revelation evokes feelings comparable to those evoked by the public reading of War of the Worlds.

Like most letters, this one has an author and a particular group of readers. Now, without debating the identity of the author (most agree it is John who wrote the Gospel and three Letters), why did John depart from his earlier style and write apocalyptically? Why not address the churches as Paul did to the Philippians or Corinthians? To answer that, let’s briefly examine the audiences.

The letter is addressed to seven churches in modern Turkey: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea. These churches were established by Paul and his co-workers during the fifties of the first century. Pauline Christianity was well established by the time this letter was written, and Ephesus was the center of Paul’s work.[2] Colossians 4:16 instructs Christians to read his letter in the church of the Laodiceans. Like others, these two were established congregations following Paul’s teaching.

What happened that John found it necessary to address these congregations forty years later? A lot. First, Rome suppressed an uprising in Jerusalem between 66-70 A.D. People were displaced. Jews and Jewish-Christians migrated to Turkey and settled among these cities. Because the Temple and religious authorities were then destroyed, Jews began to question their identity and ask what it meant to be a Jew. Christians got caught up in these conflicts.

Jews and Christians began referring to Rome as Babylon since Rome besieged and destroyed Jerusalem just as the Babylonians did centuries before.[3] We find this in the closing of First Peter, “She who is at Babylon, who is likewise chosen, sends you greetings.”[4]

The people of the Roman Empire lived through other wars. The Parthians (62) defeated the Romans. The Roman Army fought rebels in Gaul (68) and Germania (69). If the people were not impacted by wars, they were by several famines. And in 79, Vesuvius erupted and buried Pompeii and other neighboring towns creating a cloud of darkness throughout the Mediterranean.

Pagans came to terms with this by turning to philosophy, their own religions and superstition. Christians pondered what it meant in such a cataclysmic world to claim that God was sovereign, and that Jesus was his anointed king.[5]

Another problem Christians faced was suspicion. They were considered adherents to a sect that appealed primarily to the lower classes, a sect that had no history or glorious institutions. Instead of public buildings, Christians met in private homes on days that were not a public holiday and were suspected to be unpatriotic. When they spoke of eating and drinking Christ’s Body and Blood, people thought they were cannibals. Their practice of love was grossly misunderstood. Their leader was crucified by the government as a rebel and an enemy of the state. Because they attracted so many slaves, Christians as a group held no political power. Unlike the pagans, they worshipped no “gods,” and were thus seen as atheists. Suspiciously viewed as outsiders, Christians soon considered themselves outsiders.

Christians were victims of mob plundering and violence. In Hebrews we read, “You had compassion on those in prison, and you joyfully accepted the plundering of your property, since you knew that you yourselves had a better possession and an abiding one. … In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.”[6] In First Peter, we read, “If you are insulted for the name of Christ, you are blessed, because the Spirit of glory and of God rests upon you. … Yet if anyone suffers as a Christian, let him not be ashamed, but let him glorify God in that name.”[7] Peter later exhorted Christians to resist their opponent, the devil, and to be firm in their faith, “knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.”[8] Beset with all these troubles, it is easy to understand why Christians began to ask, “Who are we?”

Even though Christians considered themselves the true Israel of God, since Abraham was the father of all who believed, the Jews did not share this perspective. When Christians sought the same protection from the Roman Empire that was afforded to Jews, both Jews and Gentiles rejected them. This influenced John’s prophetic response. But wait, there’s more! Before I move on to today’s passage, next week I will begin with persecution and emperor worship.

Looking at our passage, we see that revelation comes from God the Father. By writing “him who is and who was and who is to come,” a reminder of how God identified Himself to Moses in Exodus (3:14), he states that God is continually present now, as he was in the past and always will be in the future.[9] He also emphasized that the Father is the first among equals. This is a theme that runs throughout Revelation.

The seven spirits are a reference to the Holy Spirit. In biblical thought, the number seven symbolizes God. It is the sum of the number three, which symbolized God (Trinity Δ), and the number four, which symbolizes creation. Seven symbolizes the God of creation. Because God rested on the seventh day, the number refers to perfection, completion and holiness, especially in reference to God’s activities and creative works. John wrote of the seven stars, lamps, horns and eyes. Through these, God is present with his creation through the sevenfold presence of his Spirit. The seven churches, then, are under the spirit of God.[10]

Revelation also comes from Jesus Christ, the conqueror of death and ruler of the kings of the earth. Jesus was faithful in his messianic mission and went to his death but was the first to rise from the dead. John described him as the one who set people free from their sins and made them a kingdom for God. This kingdom of priests offers worship through Christ to God the Father by the Spirit.

This explicit referencing to the Trinity is like an imprimatur on the entire Bible because there will not be another word spoken until Christ comes at the end. All God’s people must listen for the time is near – the time of judgment, but more importantly, the time of blessing in the presence of the exalted Christ.

The overarching message of Revelation is: “Remain true to your call. Give no ground to the forces of evil. The challenges and sufferings you face are daunting, but a share in the Lord’s permanent victory is guaranteed for everyone who perseveres.”[11]

So, how does Revelation apply to our lives today? We may not live under the curse of war, as do Christians in Ukraine. We may not live in the grasp of a regime that overtly oppresses Christians, as people do in North Korea, China, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nigeria, Libya or dozens of other countries.

This, however, is what I see. Recall that I started this sermon by telling a story that happened 40 years ago, That’s the span of time between Paul’s letters and John’s revelation. As changes occurred in those seven churches during a period of 40 years, changes occurred here too. There has been an outright attack to destroy the family, fatherhood, marriage, biological sexes and life itself. Christians know that we fight against a closed media that ignores, maligns or suppresses competing data. Power and control are the emphasis, not debate, real science or reason. For instance, in 2021, worldwide there were 3.5 million deaths attributed to Covid 19, and 43 million abortions.[12] While both are tragic, abortion is preventable, but sadly it is the choice some make, and others celebrate.

A lot has changed in America, in this congregation, and in your life. At times, we are like the Christians of First century Turkey wondering about our identity and increasingly seeing ourselves as the world’s outsiders. If so, take heart.

During Lent we considered Christ’s words of encouragement to His disciples. We read how He comforted them and told them that His death was not His final act but, His victory over the powers of darkness. All this was done so that in Jesus we might have peace in God's Son who overcame the world for us.

In a world filled with tension and uncertainties, God steps into our lives. The revelation John passed along to the seven churches – that Jesus is God's faithful Witness, the Firstborn of the dead, the Ruler of kings on earth – is God's message for us, too. Jesus will come again—in God's time. This is what the early churches needed to hear – that the One who “freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom” is coming back. When He does, He will take us to live and be with Him forever.[13]

Friends, as you live in this world, know that evil takes on many forms today and in the future. The devil is not limited in his ways to persuade people from heeding God’s message, but he cannot overcome what Christ did for us, does for us, and will do for us. Do not live fearfully, but hopefully. As you do, may the peace of God that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus the Risen Lord. Amen. Alleluia!

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[1] See more on revelation at https://cyclopedia.lcms.org/ and https://www.newadvent.org/cathen/.

[2] M. Eugene Boring, Revelation. Louisville: John Knox Press (1989), pp. 8f. See Acts 19.

[3] Boring, p. 10. See 2 Kings 25

[4] 1 Peter 5:13.

[5] Boring, p. 11.

[6] Hebrews 10:34; 12:4.

[7] 1 Peter 4:14, 16.

[8] 1 Peter 5:9.

[9] Louis A. Brighton, Revelation. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House (1999), p. 40.

[10] Brighton, pp. 41f.

[11] Joseph A. Mindling, “Reading Revelation: How to read—and not read—the Bible’s most puzzling book,” The Word Among Us.

[12] Carrie Gress, “Second-Wave Feminists Pushed the Sexual Revolution to End America, And It’s Working,” The Federalist, April 19, 2022.

[13] Paul Schreiber, “From then until Now,” Lutheran Hour Ministries Dail Devotion, April 20, 2022.