The Estuary of Theology 20 

Challenge of John the Evangelist (3)

“Blessed is he who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written therein; for the time is near” (Revelation 1:3).

 The book of Revelation is a book of training that equips Christians with “God's plan.” It can become efficient as a training book only when it is read aloud. Whether in a group or alone, the reading of Revelation itself trains people. They can be equipped with “God’s plan” by reading the book aloud and listening to it. This is the meaning of the phrase, “those who hear, and who keep what is written therein.” You will find throughout the book the blessedness of those who train themselves to read and listen to it. This blessedness is given when we receive the written revelation also through our senses. Through this training of receiving words also through our senses, as we have discussed in The Estuary of Theology, "God’s plan" will be input repeatedly into our memory of the five-sense data in which it is already placed, and the impression that it is knowledge becomes clearer. That is, our knowledge of good and evil, which is connected to our memory of the five-sense data, comes to be able to distinguish more easily between “God’s plan” and the information of the "serpent" (the accidental information) that is informational and is already becoming knowledge at this stage. Moreover, through repetition, it will become easier for our knowledge of good and evil to build the image of “God’s plan” sharply inscribed in our memory of the five-sense data.

 As it is written, “Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one heard them speaking in his own language” (Acts 2:5-6), the descent of the Holy Spirit enabled all people to have the opportunity to get contact with “God’s plan” and made them turn towards it without knowing it. This situation had begun at the time of John the Baptist as Jesus said, “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and men of violence take it by force” (Matthew 11:12) and became decisive with Pentecost. This is because Jesus’ word, “I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32), had been fulfilled. Christians, being equipped with “God’s plan,” must work for helping people in the world who were drawn to good. This is the very meaning of the phrase, “the time is near.” 

This Revelation was given to Christians because they are expected to envisage the image of the whole “God’s plan” and grasp it, to work in the midst of the time imminent, and to become an accelerator of that time. Christians need to put on the "God’s plan," which was fully announced by Jesus Christ. 

The book of Revelation can be divided into three main parts, except for the beginning and the end. The first part (cf. Revelation 2:1-3:22) begins with the messages addressed to the seven churches. These messages include indications of problems which apply to our day. The first message points out the following remarks: “But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember then from what you have fallen, repent and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent” (Revelation 2:4-5). 

Since the “lampstand” is the “church” (cf. Revelation 1:20), the word, “I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place,” means that the vocation of the “My Church” (cf. Matthew 16:18) will be removed from that church. This reminds us the conclusion that the “My Church” has not yet appeared, which we have been discussing in the Estuary of Theology. This message directs the Christian's perspective to “from what you have fallen.” I will discuss the contents of these messages from this viewpoint. 

To make the meaning of the phrase “you have abandoned the love you had at first” clear, I examined the first occurrence of the word “love” in each Gospel. In three Synoptic Gospels, it was the voice of the Father saying, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17, Mark 1:11; Luke 3:22). The Gospel of John wrote, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The “love you had at first” written in all the Gospels is about Jesus! This result leads us to the conclusion that the phrase “you have abandoned the love you had at first” means that they have abandoned Jesus. This is a serious problem. 

The causes of the various problems described in the following six messages can be summed up as the word “You do not know yourself,” just as the second message says, “I know your tribulation and your poverty (but you are rich)” (Revelation 2:9), and as the seventh message says, “For you say, I am rich, I have prospered, and I need nothing; not knowing that you are wretched, pitiable, poor, blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). Whoever "does not know him/herself" falls into the state pointed out by the fifth message, “[Y]ou have the name of being alive, and you are dead” (Revelation 3:1), the sixth message, “[Y]ou have but little power” (Revelation 3:8), and the seventh message, “[Y]ou are neither cold nor hot” (Revelation 3:15). If anyone who "does not know him/herself" falls into this state, if some “who hold the teaching of Balaam” (Revelation 2:14) in the third message come, he will follow their teachings, and if “the woman Jez'ebel” (Revelation 2:20) in the fourth message comes, he will be subject to her manipulation. At the end of the day, he will be confused, practice immorality, and eat food sacrificed to idols. 

The image, which John described being filled with the Spirit, "from his mouth issued a sharp two-edged sword, and his face was like the sun shining in full strength" (Revelation 1:16), illustrates the characteristics of the word of God in following words of Paul: “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and spirit, of joints and marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews. 4:12). In the training of reciting Revelation, Christians, pierced by this sharp, two-edged sword, become able to discern the thoughts and intentions of their hearts standing before the reality God views. Through training, they will come to know that they are Christians who are equipped with "God's plan" and are able to envisage its image. They, moreover, come to realize the vocation and the role of the Holy Family of the “My Church,” which God expects them to have (cf. The Estuary of Theology issue 8). 

The “My Church” of Jesus is that community of people who had been trained by Jesus personally and, before Pentecost, kept his words, gathered in the Upper Room to pray waiting for the Holy Spirit, and chose another Apostle. As we discussed in The Estuary of Theology issue 8, the characteristics of this community made us understand that the vocation and the role of the Holy Family are in the “My Church” of Jesus. “[W]hen they had entered, they went up to the upper room, where they were staying, Peter and John and James and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot and Judas the son of James. All these with one accord devoted themselves to prayer, together with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers” (Acts 1:13-14). 

The second part (cf. Revelation 4:1-11:19) prepares the readers who recite it for the third part (Revelation 12:1-22:5). The space brought by the descending Holy Spirit wrapped Jesus' “My Church” like a temple, as described in the Acts of the Apostles: “And suddenly a sound came from heaven like the rush of a mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting” (Acts 2:2). This is the fulfilment of what the risen Jesus said before he was taken to heaven: “And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high” (Luke 24:49). The phrase “you are clothed with power from on high” means that you should put on the sense of being always wrapped with this space brought by the Holy Spirit. Revelation, which John wrote seeing inside this space, enables us to have this attitude through the training of reciting it. This sense allows us to connect with the spirit of Jesus who is always ready to give formation to Christians, as John said, “At once I was in the Spirit” (Revelation 4:2). So, we need to know about the significant symbols described in the book of Revelation so that we can practise this training effectively. 

“After this I looked, and lo, in heaven an open door! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up hither, and I will show you what must take place after this’” (Revelation 4:1). As for the phrase "in heaven an open door," even if the Kingdom of God is on the other side of the door, the "heaven" that John saw at this time must be imagined as something other than the Kingdom of God. This "hither" of “Come up hither” is still the earth on which the Holy Spirit descended, and this "heaven" brought for the first time to the place where everyone was gathered together in one place on the day of Pentecost (cf. Acts 2:1) is the new "heaven" that appeared on earth by the Holy Spirit. 

"[A]nd lo, a throne stood in heaven, with one seated on the throne!" (Revelation 4:2). To find out who this one is, let us connect the description, "[B]efore the throne there is as it were a sea of glass, like crystal" (Revelation 4:6), to the description in chapter 22, "Then he showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb" (Revelation 22:1). Then, we will understand that the throne of "there is a throne in heaven" is "the throne of God and of the Lamb," and it is "God and the Lamb" who are sitting on it. So, if we interpret "God and the Lamb" as “the presence of God, and the Lamb which is about to be slain,” then the one sitting on the throne is the “Holy Eucharist," and from this conclusion, we will see that the "throne" is the altar. 

Next, the seven torches of fire and the seven spirits of God in the description, "before the throne burn seven torches of fire, which are the seven spirits of God" (Revelation 4:5), refer to the Holy Spirit since the book describes the torches on fire and the spirits of God using the perfect number seven. The living creatures described in the phrase, "And round the throne, on each side of the throne, are four living creatures, full of eyes in front and behind" (Revelation 4:6), are the four Gospels. The expression "full of eyes in front and behind " suggests that people all over the world will read them. 

“I saw a Lamb standing, as though it had been slain, with seven horns and with seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth” (Revelation 5:6). The Lamb who was slain represents the risen Jesus, and the seven eyes represent the seven spirits of God, namely the Holy Spirit. Therefore, the Lamb in here is Jesus' spirit, which is the combination of the Word that Jesus left on the earth and the will of the Holy Spirit who descended on the earth. The spirit of Jesus is sent out into all the earth thanks to Pentecost. The passage, “[H]e went and took the scroll from the right hand of him who was seated on the throne” (Revelation 5:7), means that the spirit of Jesus took the scroll from the Holy Eucharist. The victory of Jesus Christ allows the spirit of Jesus to open the seven seals and open the scroll (cf. Revelation 5-5). This victory will be continued by the Holy Eucharist and the "My Church." 

Since the scroll had writing on both sides (cf. Revelation 5:1), we can guess that it described two things, the Holy Eucharist and the "My Church." It is only the spirit of Jesus that can open these seals. In addition, since the spirit of Jesus is a spirit, he needed the means to communicate the contents of the scroll when he opened it. So, the four living creatures spoke at the beginning. They are the four Gospels. I came up with an idea of applying the last command of risen Jesus in each Gospel to each of the four living creatures to find out which Gospel each one is referring to. The result is as follows. 

When the first voice was heard, "I saw, and behold, a white horse, and its rider had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer" (Revelation 6:2). We can apply this statement to the last word of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew: "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age" (Matthew 28:18-20). The "bow" leads to his guarantee, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me… I am with you always," the "crown" leads to his instruction, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you," and the phrase, "he went out conquering and to conquer" leads to his instruction, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations.” Therefore, the first living creature is the Gospel of Matthew.

With the second voice, there appeared "another horse, bright red; its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth, so that men should slay one another; and he was given a great sword" (Revelation 6:4). We can apply this statement to the last word of Jesus in the Gospel of Mark: "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to the whole creation. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. And these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover" (Mark 16:15-18). The phrase "its rider was permitted to take peace from the earth" corresponds to the phrase, "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned," and the “great sword" signifies to the authority, that is, "these signs will accompany those who believe: in my name they will cast out demons; they will speak in new tongues; they will pick up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it will not hurt them; they will lay their hands on the sick, and they will recover." The second living creature is the Gospel of Mark. 

When the third voice was heard, "I saw, and behold, a black horse, and its rider had a balance in his hand; and I heard what seemed to be a voice in the midst of the four living creatures saying, ‘A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; but do not harm oil and wine!’" (Revelation 6:5-6). We can apply this statement to the last word of Jesus in the Gospel of Luke: "Thus it is written, that the Christ should suffer and on the third day rise from the dead, and that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem. You are witnesses of these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high" (Luke 24,46-49). What God purchased by handing over his only son Jesus to the suffering and death of the crucifixion, and paying such great price, was that this fact was publicly announced with the crucifixion, and "that repentance and forgiveness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations.” This is a price that will never balance on the scale. And the reason why he said, "I send the promise of my Father upon you; but stay in the city, until you are clothed with power from on high," is because Jesus' disciples were "witnesses of these things," and no one should “harm” any of them. The third living creature is the Gospel of Luke. 

When the fourth voice was heard, "I saw, and behold, a pale horse, and its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth" (Revelation 6:8). We can apply this statement to the last word of Jesus in the Gospel of John: "If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? Follow me! " (John 21:22). There is a correspondence between "its rider's name was Death" and "that he remain until I come" and "Hades followed him" and "Follow me!” Also, the whole passage of “its rider's name was Death, and Hades followed him; and they were given power over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by wild beasts of the earth” corresponds to the following word of Jesus spoken to Peter in order “to show by what death he was to glorify God” (John 21:19): “Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you girded yourself and walked where you would; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish to go” (John 21:18). The expression, “over a fourth of the earth” means that Peter was to be killed when he has lived three fourth of his life on the earth. The fourth living creature is the Gospel of John. 

Next, when the fifth, sixth, and seventh seals were opened, there is no mention of a voice. So, I scrutinized what happened when the Lamb opened the seals and looked for the appropriate verses in the New Testament. 

“When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne” (Revelation 6:9). This description applies to the Acts of the Apostles, which describes persecution, including imprisonment and martyrdom. The description of the calamity that occurred when the sixth seal was opened ends with the word: "[F]or the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand before it?" (Revelation 6:17). The word "day of wrath" appears in the Epistle of Paul the Apostle (the letter to the Romans). That is Paul's words: "But by your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed" (Romans 2:5). These words correspond to the last words of the description of the calamity that occurred when the sixth seal was opened. It is Paul’s letters that are appropriate for the sixth seal. These two groups of books, along with the four Gospels, which have been placed in heaven from the beginning, were used for opening the seals by the spirit of Jesus. So, they are to be placed in heaven too. The following is how this happened. 

“Then I was given a measuring rod like a staff, and I was told: ‘Rise and measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there, but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations’” (Revelation 11:1-2). The word "staff" reminds us of the shepherd's staff and the Apostles. To "measure the temple of God and the altar and those who worship there" is to look for scenes that depict the temple, the altar and those who worship in the Bible. We can find them in the Acts of the Apostles, the book writing about the Apostles. On the other hand, the phrase, "but do not measure the court outside the temple; leave that out, for it is given over to the nations," refers to the letters of Paul, the Apostle of Gentiles. These two groups of books are the "two witnesses" (cf. Revelation 11:3) written in here. As it is written, “they heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, ‘Come up hither!’ And in the sight of their foes they went up to heaven in a cloud” (Revelation 11:12), these two went up to heaven. 

It is written, “When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour" (Revelation 8:1). It is also written, "I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice, as it flew in midheaven" (Revelation 8:13). The "eagle" is a symbol for John. It is this very Book of Revelation John is writing about right now that is connected to the seventh seal, the final seal.

 After this silence, the trumpets are given to the seven angels (cf. Revelation 8:2). When the angels blow the trumpets, various woes occur. The sound of the trumpet is the sound of truth. The creatures, who are ruled by man and who live groaning amid the "work of man," are awakened to “God’s plan” hearing the sound of the trumpets angels blow (cf. Revelation 8:7-19). Then, they try to turn to “God's plan” recklessly. This instinctive change in action comes as great woes on "those who dwell on the earth" (Revelation 8:13). The created world, ruled by man through the “work of man," tries to restructure its framework following “God’s plan” of Creation. So, people, when facing the great woes, wonder why God has sent these woes and ask him for the answer but cannot get it. 

“Then I saw another mighty angel coming down from heaven, wrapped in a cloud, with a rainbow over his head, and his face was like the sun, and his legs like pillars of fire. He had a little scroll open in his hand. And he set his right foot on the sea, and his left foot on the land, and called out with a loud voice, like a lion roaring; when he called out, the seven thunders sounded. And when the seven thunders had sounded, I was about to write, but I heard a voice from heaven saying, ‘Seal up what the seven thunders have said, and do not write it down.’” (Revelation 10:1-4). 

The "seven thunders" which sounded in response to the call of the angel seem to refer to the seven epistles, that is, the letter of James, the two letters of Peter, the three letters of John and the letter of Jude, considering the four Gospels, the Acts of the Apostles, the Epistles of Paul and the book of Revelation have already appeared as the means the spirit of Jesus used. The book of Revelation is connected to all the other Scriptures of the New Testament. In this fact, we can see the guarantee of the blessedness of receiving the written revelation also through our senses, which I wrote about at the beginning of this article. So, the blessedness that pervades the book of Revelation accompanies the Christians who continue this training. Jesus has accomplished all things with his life, and the Holy Spirit is now with us. “Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet” (Revelation 11:15) and the mystery of God was fulfilled (cf. Revelation 10:7). 

“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. But now I am going to him who sent me; yet none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts. Nevertheless I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convince the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:

concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;

concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more;

concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

I have yet many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come” (John 16:4-13). 

When a Christian accepts the reality that God sees, his/her prayer goes solely to thank God. Then, the Christians who set out from this prayer of thanksgiving to God will receive all that Jesus has prepared for them and fully use them in their real life. For this purpose, the book of Revelation gives them the opportunity of training for putting on “God’s plan.” Next time, we will start with the third part. 

To be continued. 

Nov. 2020 in Hiroshima

Maria K