We catch our first glimpse of what I'm calling vulnerability in Rev. 1:9. John was in confinement (e.g., exile or imprisonment) because of preaching God's word and testifying about Jesus. He referred to himself and his readers as companions "in the suffering and . .. patient endurance that are ours in Jesus." All these indicate they were subject to consequences as they practiced their faith.
John then demonstrates his subjection to Jesus by collapsing at His feet and by following His instructions to transcribe letters to seven congregations. The content of those letters also shows Jesus' authority over those to whom they were sent. And, of course, the throne-room scene in chapter four portrays all living creatures bowing before the Lord, giving Him praise, and laying their crowns (the sign of their glory) at the base of God's throne.
At this point we've only scratched the surface. Yet it's enough to introduce relationships involving authority and vulnerability, or involving the power to bring discomfort or pain and a degree of weakness in dealing with it. Whether it's before God or before those who might injure us, we are in many ways vulnerable. Similar words are "exposed" and "susceptible." To be vulnerable is to be capable of being wounded, to be open to attack or damage. In addition to literal wounding, we are also susceptible to criticism and to failure.
Yet vulnerability should not be understood only as a negative characteristic. It's important to understand we are all vulnerable before God (Rev. 20:11-13). When we worship Him, we recognize that He is deserving of the esteem, the dignity, the value we ascribe to Him. First as Creator and then as Lord, we are dependent upon Him. In other words, we are vulnerable before this One who is our superior and also our Benefactor. Genuine worship is to make ourselves vulnerable before the Lord by being open to be changed by Him, directed by Him, and used in His service. Rather than closing off any part of ourself from Him, it is to allow Him to penetrate the inner recesses of our soul, to open our wounds to His healing power, to acknowledge our so-called secret sins, to yield ourselves fully so He may destroy our hidden fears. Being vulnerable means being honest and open with yourself and about yourself, about your weaknesses and failures.
Fundamental to our faith is not only an awareness of the need but also a willingness to be transformed. Fatal to this lifestyle is either of two attitudes: the notion that once we come to faith, "we're in" and nothing else is necessary; or the notion that because we are now Christian, our own beliefs, attitudes, and/or practices are now sanctified---needing no revision and able to be used in justifying ourselves or in correcting others. On the contrary, we make ourselves vulnerable before God by submitting to His direction and His transforming work. The truth is that we are vulnerable before God whether we admit it or not.
At times we are vulnerable against our will (Rev. 13:7, 10). We are exposed to attack, to suffering, to abuse, and there’s little if anything we can do to change the situation. As believers, it’s important how we behave under these circumstances (Rev. 22:11b). But there are other times when we deliberately make ourselves vulnerable. It’s at such times when our love for someone is so real that we’re determined to engage with them even when it’s costly, risky, or painful. We make ourselves vulnerable to what the Lord asks of us and vulnerable to being misused by those we’re attempting to serve.
The paradox of Revelation, of the life of faith in general, is that John’s message is a blend of bitterness and sweetness. On one hand, he portrays the church as invincible, shielded from God’s wrath and protected by God’s power. On the other hand, she is also vulnerable to the attack of the beast from the abyss, who violently overpowers, conquers, and kills Jesus’ faithful witnesses. Jeff Snell writes that “God’s people are securely vulnerable. . . . Self-protective insulation and isolation are actually at ‘cross’ purposes with [God’s] example and agenda. . . . though [believers] are tempted to consider their suffering incompatible with their status as God’s children, the reverse is actually true; mere earthly survival is beneath their dignity as God’s ‘instruments’ and their identity as Christ’s body. . . . the church has something more important to do than survive” (Dragons, John, and Every Grain of Sand, 113).
In Strong and Weak (13), Andy Crouch provides a helpful 2 X 2 chart which can be used to explain the options before us.
For my purpose, Quadrant I (Flourishing) represents the type of earthly life God wants us to experience. Notice from the axis lines that this quadrant involves both Authority (the ability to bring about meaningful change) and Vulnerability (the potential to experience suffering and/or loss). Quadrant II (Suffering) represents those who have little or no ability to effect change, but great potential for loss. Quadrant III (Withdrawing) represents those who are less vulnerable to suffering and less able to bring about change (because they have disengaged from meaningful interaction with the world). Quadrant IV (Exploiting) represents those in positions of Authority (able to effect change) who seem insulated against suffering or loss. They often use their power to maintain or extend their advantage and to minimize or eliminate any perceived threats.
In the Exploiting Quadrant (IV) we can place both beasts of chapter 13, the first rider on the white horse (6:2), the adulterous woman of chapter 17, and certain of the earth-dwellers pictured throughout the book. The efforts of these characters to maintain their authority and power involves the exploitation of those who are vulnerable (some of whom are believers), causing them to suffer in many ways. Those who find themselves in this condition may respond in one of four ways. They may benignly accept their lot and thus remain in Quadrant II (Suffering). Or, wishing to protect themselves, they may move into Quadrant III by withdrawing from the source of their pain and from any efforts to bring about meaningful change. As much as possible, they merely vegetate in any available comfort zone. A third possibility is to struggle against their situation until they find themselves in a position of power, able to change the way things are. In so doing they may well move into Quadrant IV and become exploiters themselves, either by striking back at those who made them suffer or by taking advantage of those now more vulnerable than they are. The fourth possibility is that which holds genuine promise. They may discover true Flourishing (Quadrant I) by creating a balance between exercising their power (ability to bring about meaningful change) and remaining vulnerable (exposed to the possibility of real loss). Such is the example the Lamb has set for us, the example that led to his current exaltation, and the key to the way we are to reign (flourish) as a kingdom of priests in God’s service.
This is why remaining vulnerable to the Lord is so valuable. When we pay attention to what he says, when we cooperate with his purposes, when we respond favorably to the grace he offers, we avoid the dangers from which he desires to protect us. Spiritual freedom recognizes dependence upon God and operates within His statutes. This is the point at which we are susceptible to being deceived, as we were in Eden. We don’t easily recognize the daily vulnerability we have to Satan’s activity. But he is constantly blinding the minds of the unbelieving and he is producing counterfeits.
Those in Pergamum and Thyatira who were eating idol’s sacrifices were motivated by a desire to fit in with the society around them. Rather than making themselves vulnerable to the Lord by submitting themselves wholeheartedly to him, they tried to enjoy the best of both worlds. In their attempt to mingle two irreconcilable societies, they compromised their ability to convince non-believers of the reasons for their differences. They surrendered the distinctives that identified them as Christians and were cooperating with non-Christian spirituality.
For this reason the Lord provides scripture as our antidote to error. Regardless what the majority believes, regardless what political decisions are made, regardless what laws are enacted, God’s people continue to look to and abide by scripture as the basis for beliefs and practices. Despite any temptations we might encounter or any desires which might well up within us, we affirm that God’s way is not only best but also inherently right. This is why vulnerability is our most valuable option. Because we resist pressures to conform or to yield, while continuing to serve the world around us we may be pummeled. But because we purposely submit ourselves to divine guidance, we receive strength, wisdom and blessing which endure even when time is no more.
The powerful image of a lion who shunned violence and made Himself as vulnerable as a sacrificial lamb is the central and overriding symbol presented in Revelation. Jesus is referred to as the Lamb 28 times there. When John breaks out in tears because “no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it” (Rev. 5:3), the Lamb is declared worthy to do so because He was killed, shedding His blood to purchase people for God (Rev. 5:9). Because of the manner and significance of His death, he deserves “power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and praise” (Rev. 5:12). Jesus is crowned, given authority, able to reveal the scroll’s meaning because He made Himself vulnerable. Authority is the ability to bring about meaningful and constructive change for the benefit of others. (It is not, I repeat, it is not exercising power over someone of lower status.) Jesus shows us the way to authority is by becoming vulnerable.
What we see here is Jesus making Himself vulnerable before His adversaries on behalf of those who would live by faith in Him. But why would He do so? Revelation only hints at an answer that we find more fully explained elsewhere. Rev. 12:5 depicts a woman giving birth to a son who was then “snatched up to God and to his throne.” Both the beginning and the end of Jesus’ earthly life is encapsulated in one verse. To ascertain Jesus’ motivation we must read Paul’s words in Philippians 2:6-9a. Though by nature Jesus is divine, He did not cling to His equality with God. Instead He emptied Himself and took the nature of a servant. While in human flesh He humbled Himself and obeyed His Father even to the point of dying on a cross. “Therefore God exalted him to the highest place.” Same beginning and ending as in Revelation, but with a clear statement of motivation: Vulnerability. The Son made Himself vulnerable to the Father.
Here we see the immeasurable depth of love within the Trinity. An astounding willingness to cooperate sacrificially toward a common goal. That same love is expressed outwardly toward a wayward humanity who would largely reject it and who was not yet aware they needed it. This is why John ascribes glory and power to Him who loves us (1:5b-6), because we have never been loved like this before.
When we encounter the ministry of the two witnesses in chapter 11, which represents the way the church is to carry out her ministry, we find the image is based on the example Jesus set. A power-filled and successful ministry is followed by aggressive opposition and death. After a brief pause during which this world celebrates that its tormentor is dead, there is a resurrection and ascension into heaven. This is so startling that some of those who observe it give glory to God by coming to faith. This example of vulnerability which leads to victory is to form the pattern by which the church goes about its business.
There’s a fitting analogy to Jesus’ ministry in the field of chemistry. In construction projects, when builders use materials which are suscep-tible to corrosion (e.g., steel), they will coat it with another metal which has certain chemical properties relative to the original metal. Then, if the coating gets scratched⸺exposing the base metal to air and water⸺the coating will sacrificially donate electrons to the base metal and prevent it from corroding. Since the coating is not structural, it will allow itself to be selectively corroded so the base metal maintains its strength. The process is known as sacrificial corrosion. In a similar way, by making Himself vulnerable to suffering, Jesus prevents spiritual harm to those He protects. Once we are properly related to Him, we can also become vulnerable in ways that benefit those we serve.
John is impressing upon his readers the fact that victory is achieved, that they are able to overcome, not by meeting the adversary on his turf or by using his tactics but by faithfully persevering in the loving way of self-sacrifice (or, as I’m calling it, vulnerability). The Christian’s willingness to make sacrifices and even to die rather than use the same tactics as those who threaten them brings judgment upon those whose very actions condemn them.
Rather than focusing on Jesus as a lion—representing strength and victory—Revelation portrays Him as a sacrificial Lamb—showing the way His victory is achieved: not by power or force but by suffering. Jesus certainly asserted Himself and confronted evil, yet He did so without violence. It was this strategy that turned the world on its head. “And since Jesus Christ is said to be the content of God’s revelation, . . . then the non-violence of Jesus comes from God and reflects the character of God.” Though he was crucified in weakness, he lives by God’s power; in the same way, we who are weak will experience divine power. This is God’s plan for confounding the strength of this world. The way after God’s own heart is the way of vulnerability. This is the vision which must inform all the images we encounter in Revelation!
This is why Jesus has authority to speak as He does to the congregations in chapters two and three. To five of them he says, “I know your deeds.” To one he says, “I know your afflictions,” and to another he says, “I know where you live.” The fact that He is now in authority by virtue of His service to them enables Him to say, “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline” (Rev. 3:19). He is empowered to correct, to criticize, and to warn as much as He is to bring comfort. But these things are the by-product of the fact that He made Himself vulnerable on behalf of His people.
And this is why we see Jesus portrayed as He is at the head of the “armies of heaven” in chapter nineteen. When we look carefully at this image we see that it reveals something other than what has so often been described. At first glance we may assume that an army led by a sword-bearing rider atop a white horse and prepared to strike down the nations signals a military engagement. But when we note that the sword protrudes from His mouth, just as it did when John saw Him in 1:16 (which had nothing to do with warfare), we realize that this is an image of the word of God (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 2:16). The battle here is not military but spiritual, waged by the One who is truth and who speaks truth against those who reject it, deny it, and ignore it in favor of the falsehoods by which they have been deceived.
Then, too, when we notice that the “army” accompanying Jesus is clothed “in fine linen, white and clean,” just as that given to His bride in 19:7-8, we realize these are deceased saints who have no weapons and are not said to engage in battle. It’s also significant that no battle is even described. As soon as the combatants are ready, the conflict is over and the two beasts are captured and judged. The statement that the rest of their forces were killed with the sword in the rider’s mouth demonstrates they were defeated by the truth.
Perhaps the most significant image here is that Jesus’ robe is dipped in blood even before He meets His adversaries (19:13). This is not blood spilled in military conflict but His own blood shed at His crucifixion. It is that of the sacrificial Lamb who willingly made Himself vulnerable. It is that blood by which Jesus once for all entered the Most Holy Place to cleanse our consciences so we may serve the living God (Heb. 9:12-14). We do so in the same way Jesus did, by offering ourselves up in service to others no matter what it may cost.
It doesn’t use the word, but Revelation deals with the issue of believers being vulnerable both to God and to the world in which they live. It also portrays Jesus as setting an example of vulnerability which the church is expected to adopt in her relationships and her ministry. This raises the important question about how she is to do so. I venture to suggest some possibilities.
1. Before God. Are you vulnerable to Him, willing to change your mind about what you hold dear? If not, might you be resisting God’s message, just as those who saw his judgments refused to change their behavior? Are you willing to remain open and humble as you listen to what the Spirit says to the churches? The primary examination should begin in your heart, for there the spirit of self-service and misuse of others finds its root. Not only tyrants are susceptible to such attitudes. Jesus said, “I am he who searches hearts and minds” (Rev. 2:23). Those who follow the Lamb make themselves vulnerable to His searching and refining gaze. When He reveals our ways as offensive or displeasing, we admit it and allow Him to correct it. We submit to Him the things we believe, the things we do, the decisions we make.
2. Before your family. These people know you best. What do they see in you? The attitude of a servant or of one who focuses on self? Are you currently seeking their well-being at least as much as your own (Phil. 2:4)? Do you need to be more open, cooperative, forgiving, service-oriented, tender or gentle (Eph. 5:21-6:4)? This is our greatest and most pressing opportunity for reflecting the example of Jesus in our words and our actions. If we’re not willing to give of ourselves and make sacrifices here, can it really be said that we do it anywhere?
3. Before your coworkers. We often spend more time with them than with our families. They are a rich opportunity for ministry. Do they see Jesus in you? Qualities to be admired and imitated? Diligence in doing your work as unto the Lord (Eph. 6:5-8; Col. 3:23-24)? Can they trust you to have their interests at heart, rather than just your own? Do you arrange time with them away from work to deal with issues brought up there? If you see them doing wrong at work, do you have the courage to approach them discreetly as a faithful advisor? If you’re an employer, do you demonstrate care and appreciation for those in your charge (Eph. 6:9; Col. 4:1)? Can they trust you with their efforts, with the truth about themselves?
4. Before your neighbors. While the trend is to create a buffer around our homes, vulnerability continues to seek ways to reach, to go, to make ourselves available in contact, support, and ministry. As we demonstrate openness, we encourage it in return. When we genuinely listen, without condescension or judgment, people become more trusting, less fearful, more open to the gospel. Fellow believers within the neighborhood can work together toward building understanding and service in the community. As you make your time and resources available to others, not haphazardly but in a purposeful way, you follow the Lamb’s example.
5. Before your congregation. Surprise! Christians are people too. Even when joined by common faith, we encounter relational obstacles within the church. Especially there (Gal. 6:10), we are called to create mutual vulnerability. Paul’s words in Col. 3:12-17 form our model. At times, each of us will find it necessary to submit cherished ideas to the will of the body (Rom. 12:5; Eph. 4:16; Col. 1:24; 3:15). Due to the damage it can cause, we must learn to keep a tight rein on our tongues and refrain from criticism, gossip, and biting darts (James 3:5-6). To demonstrate genuine care and respect for Christ’s body is to give evidence of one’s love for Jesus.
6. Before God’s word. Since you are and will be accountable to the word of God (Rev. 2:16), you must ask to what degree you open yourself to its authority. Do you read it? Do you base beliefs and behaviors on its teachings? Do you engage in group examination of its pages? Do you worship where God’s word is proclaimed rather than some other emphasis or trend? If not, are you courageous enough to correct that? Do you make it a habit to approach scripture with the attitude, “Search me, God, and know my heart. . . . See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Ps. 139:23-24)? Revelation’s two witnesses are dressed in burlap, implying repentance in their own hearts as well as in the message they proclaim.
7. Before those you don’t admire. Even motivated by love, you’re not going to like everyone. You won’t admire or approve of certain mannerisms, actions, or lifestyles. Remaining vulnerable (to God and then to these persons) is valuable because it reminds you that you are distinct, unlike the world around you, that you are governed by another and not by your own desires. Commit to doing the right thing even when others may object or threaten. Deliberately make yourself vulnerable in the cause of the Lamb who has established the pattern for your life. Keep in mind that “the power of God looks like weakness; and weakness⸺not the weakness of ineffectiveness but the weakness of love⸺is our best picture of the power of God” (Herbert McCabe, God Matters, 108).
8. Before those who disagree with you. Differentiate between personal convictions and God’s truth, so you’re less vocal about the former and more vocal about the latter. Many of the issues over which people disagree are personal and secondary opinions rather than fundamental truths. Vulnerability means learning to listen, explain, cooperate, and compromise in such matters without altering or surrendering gospel truth.
9. Before those who criticize you. Prepare yourself to communicate the gospel with those who disbelieve or even oppose it. Be winsome in your speech even though it will provoke animosity. Living in the open involves not only making yourself vulnerable before God but also before others. It is to be as honest as you can, refusing to hide or deny anything you feel. For even more important than your own fears or faults is your concern and love for those you attempt to serve. Vulnerability is the path to achieving the very things you desire. For to the very extent you numb yourself to feelings like fear, embarrassment and pain, you also numb yourself to experiencing excitement, hope, gratitude and happiness. The benefits to be achieved through allowing yourself to be exposed will cause the risks to be worth the effort.
10. Before those you don’t yet know, but who need you. Part of making ourselves vulnerable is making contact with those who need you. That’s what brought Jesus to us. Rather than settling into comfortable patterns, make a conscious effort to locate new mission fields, whether they be individuals or entire groups⸺near or far. They may be the best thing that ever happened to you. This is why your vulnerability is so valuable. It allows you to be useful in the most significant enterprise of all, spiritual transformation.
11. Before those who threaten you. Fully aware of your climate, conscious of risks and consequences, carry out the Lamb’s mission and trust God with the results. Even when it’s not popular or safe, identify yourself with the Lamb. Since the cross “is the criterion and norm of Christian thought and conduct,” in order to bring about what’s beneficial for someone else, we must be willing to endure what may seem to be detrimental for us.
12. Before those who may cost you dearly. To participate in this mission, you must open yourself to divine direction and to the possibility of being misused by those you endeavor to serve. When people injure us, we instinctively want to pull away. When serving in this world hurts, we may be tempted to withdraw from people to protect ourselves. The example of Jesus and the images of Revelation urge us to stay connected, remaining vulnerable to being hurt all over again. This does not infer that you enjoy suffering or seek it out but that you are ennobled, elevated to your greatest potential, when you give yourself to a God, a cause, a strategy that’s worth all you have to offer.
Vulnerability means to: • Open yourself to being taught • Open yourself to being corrected • Open yourself to being used in service • Open yourself to the potential loss of something dear • Make your time, resources/assets, skills available to God and others
Earthdwellers find it mind-boggling that we would surrender independence or self-determination. But we understand it to be the wisest and most ennobling choice. To the degree we are vulnerable to divine direction, we experience and understand the value there is in doing so. Only then can the truth shine through, enabling you to change how you think. If you suffer in God’s service it doesn’t mean He’s missing in action. It doesn’t mean He doesn’t love you (because He didn’t stop your pain). It doesn’t mean He’s not able to overcome it. Redemptive suffering assures you that God is near to you, cherishes you, and reigns over your life. When you suffer as Jesus did, God assures you that you are His child, His heir, that you will achieve His glory. The process transforms you into His likeness. Such knowledge changes every-thing, enabling you to “consider it pure joy” when you face the trials that will develop perseverance and produce maturity. It’s not that you seek a short-cut to heaven by trying to get yourself martyred. For in Christian faith, heaven is not your goal. Jesus is your goal; being in Him, being like Him, being with Him. You make the choices you do because these are the choices He made.
Many people follow a line of thought that goes even farther back than the New Testament. When an individual or group is insulted, mistreated, attacked, etc., the common response is, “How dare you do that to me, my family, my group!” “You just wait! You’ll get what’s coming to you!” When Jesus sent messengers into a village of Samaria to make preparations for His visit, the villagers rejected them because they were going on to Jerusalem. So James and John asked, “Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them” (Luke 9:52-54)? Turn us away, will you? Take that!
We see what appears to be the same attitude in Rev. 6:9-10. John envisioned those who had been killed because of their Christian faith. They cried out, “How long will it be, Lord, before you judge this world and avenge our blood?” No one can treat us that way and get away with it!
Every believer encounters hurtful events, ranging from the common and relatively minor all the way to occasional martyrdom for the faith. Our “flesh” urges us to respond in kind, anywhere from a passive pulling away all the way to an overt attack against wrongdoers. In many cases we find awkward comfort in the knowledge that⸺if we are unable to respond⸺the enemies of the gospel will face judgment (see 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 2:5; Heb. 10:26-27, 31).
Revelation is widely understood to support and even encourage this “pay-them-back” mentality. Non-believers are said to call “to the mountains and the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who sits on the throne and from the wrath of the Lamb! For the great day of their wrath has come, and who can withstand it’” (Rev. 6:16-17)? An angel declares that God’s judgments are fair because those who have shed the blood of God’s people have also been given blood to drink as they deserve (Rev. 16:5-6). God is urged to “give back” to the adulterous woman “as she has given; pay her back double for what she has done” (Rev. 18:6).
It’s not uncommon for us to think like this and even take pleasure in the thought that those who have hurt us will get what they deserve. When they meet the Lord, they’ll get their comeuppance! This is why it’s so easy to overlook the idea that believers should remain vulnerable in the face of their opposition. BUT . . . (that ranks high on my list of favorite biblical words). But God has something else to say. Jesus said the “pay-them-back” way of living holds no promise (Mt. 26:52; 5:38-48). When James and John asked for fire and destruction on a Samaritan village, Jesus rebuked them and simply moved on to another location (Luke 9:55-56). When deceased believers asked when God would avenge them, He strangely indicated that more of His people would be martyred first (Rev. 6:11). When Revelation pictures catastrophes and painful judgments on those who reject and oppose the gospel, it also pictures Jesus and those who follow Him making themselves vulnerable for the benefit of those they are here to serve. All this says that our business is not condemnation or revenge, but loving and even sacrificial service. I’ve shown in the first three articles in this series (located above) how Revelation portrays this fact.
There’s another reason why vulnerability is overlooked in our reading of Revelation. Judgment has always been a subject that pulls us toward the future. To the degree our attention is focused there, we are distracted from the present (except to see current events as possible harbingers of what may be coming). Countless volumes have been written trying to show how Revelation predicts future events, what that means for the church, and when these things might take place.
Of course, whenever there’s a person who believes one thing, there’s another who believes something else. Therefore others interpret Revelation’s images as referring to past events, primarily those surrounding the conquest of Jerusalem and the destruction of her temple in A.D. 70. Again, the discussion is moved away from present behavior. Even those who do interpret Revelation as describing persons and events throughout the history of the church usually take an academic rather than a practical approach. So most of the activity Revelation has caused serves to direct attention away from the vulnerable actions of Jesus and His people.
For years, as I sought to understand this enigmatic book, I too was caught up in this academic exercise. Yet something within was unsettled. Differences of opinion and argumentation are not done away with by trying to defend one position and disprove others. I sensed there had to be another solution. The writings of several current scholars helped to refocus my attention on Revelation’s two witnesses, not as past or future characters but as an image of the church’s ministry as she reflects that of Jesus Himself.
Finally, something "clicked" within me. Things began to make sense. My attention was directed away from a classroom mentality to a lifestyle strategy. No longer can I confine myself to an academic setting or be trapped in a “pay-them-back” style of living. As costly as vulnerability may prove to be, it is the model Jesus has set before us. It is God’s strategy for ministering to a broken world. It holds the promise of enjoying the future God is preparing for us. It keeps us from mistakenly thinking that because God will bring His adversaries to justice, we too can take revenge on ours. As such, we can’t afford to overlook it.
Being in church was a major part of my upbringing. When I became a Christian as a young adult, I began studying scripture for myself. When it came to Revelation, I was confused and at some points turned off. During my Bible-college years I learned about the specific church-historical view that was taught in the early years of my own fellowship. My professors also explained why one of the other interpretations was inadequate. Seminary gave me a broader exposure to additional points of view.
In my first pastorate I taught Revelation by comparing several understandings and explaining why I saw the book as I did. At that point my grasp of various interpretations was still somewhat feeble. I was uncomfortable with the argumentation surrounding Revelation and with arrogant and demeaning comments I would occasionally encounter by those criticizing other viewpoints. All this left me unsettled because I didn’t want to add merely one more voice to the traditional disputes. I was longing for more clarity in my own thinking.
Years later, in another congregation, my Sunday school teachers announced that the next book we would study was Revelation. I already knew their perspective was the one from our fellowship’s early years. I wanted to prepare a document for the class which would provide a basic comparison of various points of view. This would allow them to make an informed decision rather than simply accepting someone else’s opinion. That project turned into three years of extensive research and resulted in my first book, A View from Above: Options for Understanding the Revelation of Jesus Christ.
In the course of my reading I encountered a satisfying answer to my dilemma. I was enabled to understand that the message of the scroll is not where many people are looking. I saw how it pictures the sacrificial and successful ministry of Jesus. I gazed on the portrait of the church (as a whole and as individual believers) as she reflects the pattern Jesus set. This image fits quite well with a major emphasis throughout the book.
This emphasis deals not with a distant or nerve-wracking future but with the attitudes, decisions, and behaviors with which believers wrestle every day. This is the subject of my second book, Reflecting Jesus: Putting Revelation’s Message into Practice. It portrays Revelation as more of an example to follow than a puzzle to be solved. It attempts to sidestep traditional arguments which tend to miss the point, since they are more academic than practical.
Explaining what it means that Jesus is revealed as a lamb, it shows how this refers not only to His atoning death but also to the strategy which brought Him to earth and governed the way He conducted His life. As does the rest of the New Testament, Revelation calls believers to employ Jesus’ method of giving of Himself for the benefit of others, even in the face of opposition and suffering. Reflecting Jesus asks the question, “Are you using the Lamb’s strategy in your life?” It provides guidance for deciding how to do so.
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