THE BOOK OF REVELATION

A note on the Book of Revelation

1.      The letters of the seven churches.

Looking at the common traits in the letters to the seven churches in the book of Revelation, all the seven the letters to the seven churches follow the same literary pattern. In the opening address, all the letters of the seven churches begins with identifying the church, and then give the prophetic message, namely the exalted Christ. Most of the descriptions of Christ are taken from the initial vision that begin with “one like a son of man” (1:9-20).  The body of each letter describes how the church is consoled on account of the sufferings they endure and scolded for their offenses against God. Each letter begins with the phrase “Yet I hold this against you…” and the conclusion of each letter begins with the phrase “to the victor,” which describes the rewards that the faithful ones will receive on account of their devotion to Christ. According to Catherine A. Cory, the common form of these letters is as follows:

Form of the letters to the seven churches: ·         To the spirit of the Church in_____________________________ ·         Write this:________________ says this: ·         I know…__________________ (message of consolation) ·         Yet I hold this against you:__________________ (accusation) ·         To the victor I will give________________________ ·         Whoever has ears ought to hear what the Spirit says to the churches.

   

These letters are:

The message to the church at Ephesus (2:1-7), the message to the church at Smyrna (2:8-11), the massage to the church at Pergamum (2:12-17), the message to the church at Thyatira (2:18-29), the message to the church at Sardis (3:1-6), the message to the church at Philadelphia (3:7-13), and the message to the church at Laodicea (3:14-22).

2.      The four horsemen

The four horsemen in the book of Revelation are white, red, black, and pale horses. The four riders are seen as symbolizing Conquest War, Famine, and Death. The first horseman is the rider on the white horse, represents victory in war John observes that he was given a crown by others, or won. Straightly, they had no arrows. People want peace, so they select a rulers but that give false peace or temporary peace.  According to some scholars of the book of Revelation suggest that John has in mind the Parthians, whose equestrian armies were known for their skill with the bow and who were long-standing enemies of Rome.

The second horseman rides on the red horse. This represents bloodshed. It is the dissension because false peace has led people to conflict. In this case, Rome has made people slaughter one another. It refers to the evil strife that usually follows war. The third horseman rides on the black horse. It symbolizes deprivation because this rider carries a scale for buying and selling, therefore, revealing the consequences of famine due to the result of war.  It refers to poor conditions and lack of food. The fourth horseman is the one using the pale green horse. This rider was named Death. He is given authority over a quarter of the earth, to kill with sword, starvation, and death by disease, and beasts of the earth-rat disease.

The contributions of the book of Revelation to the New Testament and to theology

1.      Literary contribution: The literary genre of “apocalypse” is added to the wide spectrum of literary types in scripture.

2.      Prophetic contribution: The apocalypse dares to stand up against abuses of power in high places.

3.      Symbolic contribution: The apocalypse tutors Christian in the power of symbol and archetypal images.

4.      The Idea of God: The apocalypse sees another side of God, the side of justice and wrath.

5.      Evil: The apocalypse acknowledges the reality of evil.

6.      Eschatology: The apocalypse reminds us that God is a God of the future, not only of the past and present.

7.      Liturgical contribution: The great hymns and doxologies of the apocalypse reminds us of the contribution that prayer, hymn, and songs of praise make to the soul.

8.      Christological contribution: The apocalypse offers a new range of Christological titles and names.

Prophetic contribution: The apocalypse dares to stand up against abuses of power in high place. The book of Revelation was written in times of persecutions and abuse of political power by the emperor. While Mark (12:17), Paul (Rom 13:1ff), and Peter (1Peter 2:17) avoid any entanglement with the civil authority by suggesting compliance with the State requirements and the emperor’s dictates, the author of this book stands up against this situation and uses a language that directly addresses the issues and criticizes the State and civil authority, the emperor. For instance, he names the State as the Harlot of Babylon and depicts the emperor as the beast with the number 666 on its forehead, symbolizing imperfection, and evil.

Eschatology: This word means the study of “last things,” such as Death, Judgment, Heaven, hell. When Jesus speaks of the end times his words are about “eschatology.” The Apocalypse reminds us that God is a God of the future, not only of the past and the present. The Book of Revelation presents what will happen at the end of the time. Eschatology refers to the future, the end of the time, the “not-yet being (Ernest Bloch),” things that we do not know yet. The author of the book presents to his suffering people under persecution and power abuse the image of the future and invites them to hold firm in faith and hope, to never lose heart, but to trust in the Almighty Lord. In fact, the Book of Revelation presents a triumphant end, the victory of the Lamb, Jesus Christ, who will reign and judge the nations.  Apocalypse suggests that there are in the future things that we do not know, things beyond our human life, things that will happen after our death, and so we need to live and look to the future with hope, aware that God will renew the world, making everything new (Rev. 21:5-6).

The message of the Book of Revelation for us today

In the time of persecution, this Book of Revelation is making people aware of the wrong things going on in the society, of the abuse of the civil authority, and calls them to unfailing faith and strong hope. Being encouragement to hold firm in faith and hope, the Book of Revelation still has a relevant message for us today calling us to trust in the saving power of the Almighty God, knowing that God will always triumph.  Therefore, the Book of Revelation is a type of writing which used coded words to give hope to people facing persecution. Its message is that the “end time” (end of the time of suffering) is near.