A theme - Christ is the first and the last, the alpha and omega, who is and was and is to come - what we are about to read it timeless - forever lasted and lasting - always applicable - always living.
Revelation? At human thought - an "ah ha!" moment (at least what comes to my imagination) - but an moment like that of Christ? and not just "a" moment but "THE" moment?
With that - this is a pretty big deal. Chapter 1 reveals to us the importance of what we're getting into. The liveliness The Revelation has alone for us as it did for John.
"Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near." 1:3
Johnson in the preface describes the Revelations as a discipleship to Christ - kind of like a Discipleship handbook. Chapter one of Rev. is the agreement to terms of this handbook - the are you ready? It asks us, "are you ready to be taken apart by the life you're going to jump into?" "Are you ready to fall at Christ's feet 'as though dead'?" I see so much boldness in this chapter.
Two things I love that Johnson says about Revelations are
1) we get to see how Christ is now (The timeless factor!)
2) we witness the "living on the edge" (The Godliness "ah ha" moment of all heaven and earth colliding)
What craziness.
We can see a present and future Christ? I think we're so used to the gospels - John, Luke, Matthew - of what Jesus did.... but what He's DOING? Wow. We better prepare ourselves.
And a catalyst of earth and heaven. How surreal that is. It reminds me of the Lord's prayer. "Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven." This gives so much depth. Two opposing forces like the same sides of a magnet striking together. Even in human science that creates a cool mysterious energy that causes many to strive discovery - so we should respond even more. We should jump head first into seeing what God, Christ, the Living Lord has to show us on this explosive ridiculous edge.
And this is day 1....
- Trevor
Trev, nice thanks for the post!
ReplyDeleteTrevor,
ReplyDeleteI share with you in being pumped (among other adjectives). In reading Revelation this morning, I experienced a sense of unimaginable expectation. Together, we will be undone by Revelation because the unveiling of Christ will inevitably cause us to fall flat on our faces in worship.
"Out of his mouth came a sharp double-edged sword." His word is soaked in fullness. When we dive into this deep, deep pool, we are going to witness the PRESENT (as you said) work of Christ.
...needless to say this is going to be quite the journey! Thanks for the post, brother!
Trevor, I love your comment about how we should plunge into this study of our Father in the same way that human scientists explore their field of study. I can't wait to peel back the layers together as a community as we dive deeper for more and more of Him! May we always be seeking more and more discovery and revelation because He will always be willing to reveal new aspects of His character!
ReplyDeleteYes!!!... I have checked this blog thing 4 times today (like it said on our "blog study paper") and was thinking how much more interesting this stuff is than my "school work." I want to do nothing but learn about Him! Pearl- I love what you said about seeking discovery, as we see aspects of His character! so cool <- this is because I lack for better words to describe how awesome this is, I often find myself saying this when I am dumbfounded :)
ReplyDelete