What is the story so far?
A promise. Learned obedience. Centered in relationship. Interpreting and practicing the faith
As we conclude our time in Holy Scripture, we arrive at an ending – one that is as improbable as it is confounding. The apocalypse.
Week Five: Restore
In the first part, we reflected on the promise God made to the people. In the second part, we saw how the people responded to that. In the third part, we explored the the turn toward relationship through Jesus. In the fourth part, we focused on life after Jesus.
Prompt: The book we call Revelation is so full of imagery and destruction. In what ways do these images drawn you in? In what ways do they repulse you? And how are you able to see beyond them, as we have with the rest of scripture, to see the forest for the trees?
Suggested Readings: Revelation 21-22. Revelation is known for its evocative destructive imagery. Let’s read its end, focusing on the new heaven and the new earth.
Assignment: Taking down thoughts in a journal while reading Revelation is essential! Just as essential are reputable commentaries that help us really dig into what we’re reading.
And let’s remember our focus is not memorization or even understanding every verse we read. We’re trying to learn the story. Having spent the last five weeks reading scripture and learning the story, let’s put it all into words. Try to describe the story, the whole story, in a way that makes sense to you.
A Note About Reading: The last book of the Bible is a real test. Not of one’s ability to read or of our faith. It is subversive, evocative, and forces the modern reader to confront her biases. As easy as the gospels are to read and connect to, Revelation is the opposite.
One of the common struggles readers have with Revelation is with violence and the idea of divine destruction. We remember that this is something we thought about a few weeks ago. It takes a new form here that appears less about good v. evil and more about indiscriminate destruction. While I can’t entirely sooth everyone’s discomfort, I am reminded of what it feels like to watch a Quentin Tarantino film, which is to say, morally compromised. And it is that feeling that we ought to harness for our understanding. For the idea is not “is violence good.” In fact, the text presupposes that violence is already being visited upon the poor and innocent – and that is bad. Given that reality, shouldn’t we expect transforming that violence and restoring creation requires an overhaul of the operating system?
In any event, I really do find Revelation is best read in community with resources to better understand it. Particularly when it comes to its critique of empire, and our tendency to take its imagery much too literally.
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