By REV. LUNA DINGAYAN
www.nordis.net

“Now, God’s home is with the people! He will live with them, and they shall be his people. God himself will be with them, and he will be their God. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes. There will be no more death, no more grief or crying or pain. The old things have disappeared.” — Revelations 21:3-4

Third of four parts
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The Book of Revelation

Now, this brings us to our text from the Book of Revelation. I have chosen Revelation 21:1-8 for our reflections, because first of all, I would like us to identify with the sufferings and hopes of Christians who lived when the Book of Revelation was written. For basically their situation was no different from ours. Hence, we do share, I would like to believe, in their longings for the coming of a new heaven and a new earth.

We have to understand the Book of Revelation in the context of the persecutions of Christians during Emperor Domitian’s reign (81-96C.E.)when this book is believed to have been written. Towards the end of his reign, Emperor Domitian claimed to be worshipped as “Lord and God”. Many compromised their faith for fear of repression, but John called for faithfulness, endurance, and resistance on the part of the believers.

Moreover, I have chosen Revelation, because I would like us to affirm that this book is not only for those desperately waiting for the end of this world, but also for those who are zealously working for the healing and transformation of this world in total obedience and hope in the God who created the heavens and the earth.

The Old World

Now, our text pictures to us, in the first place, the kind of world that we have which would be replaced by the new world in God’s own time and in God’s own way. Verse 8 tells us that this old world is where you can find the cowards, the traitors, the perverts, the murderers, the immoral, those who practice magic, those who worship idols, and the liars. It is in times of crisis, indeed, that we could find most likely such kind of people. For it is in such a time that one’s faith is tried and tested to the limits.

Our text says first of all that in this world, there are cowards. Cowards are not only those who deny Christ for the sake of safe and secured life, but also those who accept Christ then live a secured and comfortable life. Their discipleship is a discipleship without the cross. Cowards are not only those who deny the truth for their own safety, but also those who accept the truth and use it for their own selfish gain. Oftentimes, we are very much willing to die for faith, but not quite willing to live for our faith. The real test of courage is not only to die for Christ, but more importantly to live for Christ.

There are also traitors in this old world, our text says. Traitors are those who say one thing and do another thing. We could perhaps find a lot of them in government, but of course, we could also find them in church.

Perverts also abound in this old world. Perverts are those who allowed themselves to be saturated by the abominations of this world. John, the writer of the Book of Revelation, was said to be writing from Ephesus. Heraclitus, who was known as“the weeping philosopher”, was the most famous philosopher Ephesus had ever produced. And he said that he could not help weeping while he lived in the sinfulness that was life in Ephesus. Jesus Christ our Lord also wept over the City of Jerusalem (Lk.19:41). I’m just wondering if we also wept over the cities or places where we live.

In this old world, our text tells us, we could also find murderers. Murderers, in John’s time, were those who, in persecutions, slaughtered the Christians. Today, however, some people murder for reasons other than religious, although Christians in the Early Church were also killed not so much because they were Christians, but because they were perceived to be a threat to the Roman Empire. Their Gospel message and its practical implications were so radical that they had shaken the very foundations of the Empire.

Some Christians today have also the same kind of experience, they are persecuted not so much because they are Christians per se, but because of living out the practical demands of their faith. Needless to say, I belong to a church whose leaders and members were brutally killed for putting into practice what they truly believe. Yes, some are killed today by weapons of death, but many more are also murdered by criminal neglect as in the plight of the poor and the powerless.

The immoral are also found in this world. Immorality is not only a question of sexual perversion; it is also a question of justice. Perhaps, there is nothing more immoral than a situation where people live in abject poverty, while a few are wallowing in their riches. Just recently, Forbes Magazine Asia listed down 15 billionaires in my country, while about four million Filipinos go to bed each day with an empty stomach.

Those who practice magic are also seen in this old world, our text says. Magic was the stock in trade of the ancient world. Magicians earn their living by deceiving people. In my country, magic is another term for graft. That’s why grafters in government are sometimes called magicians. In the Book of Acts(19:19), the magicians burned their books after listening to the preaching in the name of Jesus. Hopefully,“magicians” in my country would also burn their books of magic.

Those who worship idols also abound in this old world. Martin Luther one time said,“Where your heart is, there your god is also.” In a materialistic world like ours, money is perhaps the number one idol. In my country, hired killers are willing to snuff off the life of someone for a price as low as five thousand pesos. But there are also idols in the church. Our Bible and our theology can also become idols if they distract us instead of inspiring us to do our more essential task as believers, and that is to love God and our fellow human beings.

Then, finally,our text says that liars are also found in this old world. Liars are those who are guilty of falsehood, untruth, and insincerity. In my country, the other name for lie is public relations, advertisement, and statistics. Everybody gets paid handsomely to tell lies. Nobody is paid well to tell the truth. In fact, truth is perhaps the only thing in my country that does not follow the law of supply and demand. It is scarce,yet it is cheap. And worst of all,the bearers of truth often times suffer the cruelty and hatred of liars.

This is the old world that is to be replaced by the new world, the new heavens and the new earth. It is the world of the cowards, the traitors, the perverts, the murderers, the magicians, the worshippers of idols, and the liars. But all these, our text says, would suffer death in their souls when the new heavens and the new earth, the new world will be established. # nordis.net

Continued next week