Sermon from January 14, 2007
The book of Revelation tells a story of conflict. From age to age this conflict rages between Christ and His Bride on one hand and the beast and Babylon the harlot on the other.

The beast and Babylon derive their authority from the dragon, that ancient serpent called the devil or Satan (Revelation 12:9). The Bride follows Jesus, the Lamb of God, wherever he goes, (Revelation 15:4).

The beast was given power to make war against the saints and to conquer them. And he was given authority over every tribe, people, language and nation (Revelation 13:7). The Bride was purchased ... for God from every tribe and language and people and nation. In spite of her treatment by the beast and in the face of overwhelming odds the Bride will reign on earth (Revelation 5:9-10).

The outcome of this age-long conflict is "the transfer of the sovereignty of the whole world from the dragon and the beast, who presently dominate it, to God, whose universal kingdom is to come on earth," (Bauckham, Theology of Revelation, 242).

The secret strategy behind that transfer of authority resides in a mysterious scroll, which no one can open and set in motion, except Jesus, the Lamb of God, looking as if it had been slain (Revelation 5:6). His death on the cross, which seemed like defeat, actually secured His victory over the dragon and the beast and Babylon the harlot.

When the mysterious scroll is opened, it reveals an astonishing extension of the Lamb's victory. The risen Jesus summons the Church to participate in His victory: "To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne," (Revelation 3:21). Revelation 12:11 summarizes how the Chruch overcomes the Beast and Babylon and participates in Jesus' victory. They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony; they did not love their lives so much as to shrink from death.

The Church's participation in the suffering witness and victory of Jesus is the secret strategy of Revelation's story of conflict. That is how "the kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he will reign for ever and ever," (Revelation 11:15).

This conflict and its outcome constitute the matrix in which our lives find common ground with the original recipients of Revelation. Our first task is to hear the summons to overcome in our present situation, so that we too may participate in the suffering witness and victory of the Lamb of God. We begin in Revelation 1:9-11.

The Risen Christ
I, John, your brother and companion in the suffering and kingdom and patient endurance that are ours in Jesus, was on the island of Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus. On the Lord's Day I was in the Spirit, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet, which said: "Write on a scroll what you see and send it to the seven churches: to Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia and Laodicea."

John did what any of us would do after a voice like that startled us out of our skin. Verses 12-16: I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone "like a son of man," dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. His head and hair were white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance.

Sometimes, we make Revelation harder than it needs to be. This description of Christ uses language that we are not familiar with, but if we took time to be familiar with it, it would not be difficult. I've tried to become familiar with it, and here is how I would give the sense of this description.

"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned, I saw someone, who reminded me of God in the writings of an Old Testament prophet. I did not want to look Him in the eye; I felt that He could see the secrets of my mind. When He spoke, you had the feeling almost that you couldn't breathe; He held even great men in the palm of His hand, when He told them who He was and how things had to be. His very presence was like a shaft of light piercing darkness. It was brilliant."

That's not as good as Revelation, but it gives us a sense of what the unfamiliar language of Revelation was trying to do. At the beginning of the next verse 17 we understand easily John's response to what He just saw. When I saw him, I fell at my feet as though dead. And we don't have much trouble with what the risen Christ said next about Himself in verses 17-18.

Then he placed his right hand on me and said: "Do not be afraid." (People in the Bible are always saying that after they have scared someone witless. I think they usually mean, "I know you are terribly frightened; you don't need to be. I mean you nothing but good.") I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and behold I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades."

Who can say that of Himself? How can we resist someone who can say that of Himself? That is the one, who spoke to the churches of Asia Minor. That is the one, who speaks to us. He who has an ear, let him hear!

The rest of chapter one prepares us to hear what the Living One said to the seven churches of Asia Minor. It prepares us to hear what He says to us. "Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels (we can think of them as the spiritual leaders) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches."

This is a vision of Christ among His churches. We seem to be enthralled by names such as Baptist, Catholic, Presbyterian, Methodist, Episcopalian, Lutheran, and Quaker. We would do better to imagine the majestic figure, who was dead, and behold is alive for ever and ever walking the streets and roads of New Castle County, looking in on His congregations, eager to speak a word to them, if they but had ears to hear.

The Risen Christ Speaks to His Church
Revelation 2-3 tells us what the Living One said to each one of the seven churches of Asia Minor. The first letter in Revelation 2:1-7 serves as a model for the other six. Every letter begins like verse one: "To the angel of the church in Ephesus (or Smyrna or Pergamum) write: These are the words of him ..., and then follows a description of Christ. The description is taken from the longer description of Christ that we read in chapter one or from elsewhere in Revelation.

Each letter, except the last one, offers praise for something good about that church. Verses 2-3: "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked men, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary."

Usually, praise precedes warning, although the letter to Sardis at the beginning of chapter three begins with a warning. Every letter except the one to Smyrna has a warning. Here's the one to Ephesus in verses 4-5: "Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love. Remember the height from which you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place." That is sobering. It means that church could be taken out of existence.

Finally, each letter ends with two strong exhortations. First, in verse seven: He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. This is a familiar, biblical way of urging listeners to pay attention to what they hear, because it is central to their participation in God's eternal purpose.

The second exhortation, also in verse seven, introduces us to a major theme in Revelation. To him who overcomes, I will give ..., and the reward offered is different for each church and is usually repeated later in Revelation. This second exhortation brings us back to the central message of the book of Revelation.

Overcomers in the Age-long Conflict
Remember: Revelation tells a story of conflict. From age to age this conflict rages between Christ and His Bride on one hand and the beast and Babylon the harlot on the other. The summons to the Church to overcome is a summons to join the conflict on the side of Christ and His Bride.

Remember also: Revelation presents the outcome of this conflict as "the transfer of the sovereignty of the whole world from the dragon and the beast, who presently dominate it, to God, whose universal kingdom is to come to earth," (Bauckham, Theology of Revelation, 242). This outcome is also a summons to join the conflict on the side of Christ and His Bride.

But there is a perplexity here. All seven letters summon the churches to overcome, but not one letter tells a church what it has to overcome. It is easy to say: "The risen Christ gave them warnings of dangers to avoid. Overcoming means avoiding those dangers." That of course is true. But in the second letter to Smyrna in Revelation 2:8-11, there is no warning, and the risen Christ still exhorts the church to overcome.

It seems right to say that some greater danger threatened all seven churches of Revelation. Dealing with their local dangers prepared them to engage the larger threat that was bearing down on them all.

John does not spell out the larger threat to them until chapters 12-19. It was the threat of a seductive and ruthless Empire that would not stop at murder to stamp out any threat to its political sovereignty.

Already in one of the seven churches martyrdom had become a reality. In Revelation 2:13 Christ says to the church: I know where you live – where Satan has his throne. Yet you remain true to my name. You did not renounce your faith in me, even in the days of Antipas, my faithful witness, who was put to death in your city – where Satan lives.

I said at the beginning of this sermon that the conflict of Revelation and its outcome constitute the matrix in which our lives find common ground with the original recipients of Revelation. That does not seem to be true. Martyrdom does not threaten us.

The Apostle Paul spoke for most of the early Christian congregations and perhaps also the majority of congregations in the world today, when he wrote to the Philippian church: It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him – Philippians 1:29.

We would need to rewrite this verse for American churches: It has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to experience unparalleled personal liberty for an unprincipled pursuit of pleasure. The beast and Babylon the harlot did not perish with the passing of the Roman Empire. They reinvent themselves in other ways at other times. In our time they are as seductive and dangerous as ever; only with us, they have for the time being renounced violence in favor of personal liberty as their way of intimidating us.

The Pastoral Center of Gravity
In this age-long conflict between Christ and His Bride on one hand and the beast and Babylon the harlot on the other, the First and the Last, the Living One, who was dead, and behold is alive for ever and ever, who holds the keys of death and Hades, still walks among the golden lampstands. Still, He speaks to us. What does He say to us?

"To the angel of the Brandywine Valley Baptist Church write:

"These are the words of him whose head and hair are white like wool, as white as snow, and whose eyes are like blazing fire: I know your concern for the poor and the suffering. He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will reward him for what he has done.

"I know your passion to balance the righteous demands of my commandments with the unfailing need for mercy by sinners. You have not cast the first stone. You have tried to remove the plank from your own eye before trying to remove the splinter from the eye of your brother.

"And yet, I have this against you: You are anxious and distracted by many things. The worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth, and the desires for other things threaten to choke the word of God in you. Purity of heart is to will one thing. I counsel you to seek me first. All these other things will then fall into place.

"You are also like the eye that says to the hand, 'I don't need you,' and like the head that says to the foot, 'I don't need you.' Without your brothers and sisters in other churches you are as clumsy as a hand without an eye to guide it or a head without a foot to do its bidding. I counsel you to remember that you are part of a whole. If you do not repent, I will give you over to anxiety and the illusion of your self-sufficiency.

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will give the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations."