Daily Readings January 18-22

Day 1 - Revelation - Why Bother?

Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading – Revelation 1:1-3 Isn’t it just too strange, too hard to understand, too scary! If we can put aside all the hype and wild speculation for a moment, we might realise that the is given as a message of encouragement. The book is part of what is called apocalyptic literature, meaning the unveiling of things not previously known. Apocalyptic writings developed from the time of the exile in when what God’s people needed most was a message to inspire hope.

John, writing from the Island of , has been exiled by the powers of the day in an attempt to stop his fearless preaching. However exile has provided him time for prayer and reflection, time to receive an overwhelming vision of God’s love and his purposes. One could say that John’s writing is rather like an impressionist painting; it appeals to the imagination rather than to logic. Pictures and symbols are all John can use in attempting to capture the wonder of what is revealed to him in visions. A key to understanding it is to remember it was written during a time of persecution. The message is subversive, obscurely pictorial, in part so that if it fell into hostile hands it was difficult to understand.

John writes in the tradition of the prophets. Their aim was never to paralyse people into a fatalistic lethargy, but to call for an intelligent response and to urge people to align themselves with God, and become actively involved in the struggle against injustice and evil. Neither is Revelation some cosmic calendar predicting specific events which can be pinpointed in current history. Reread verse 3. We are told that blessed is the person who reads and hears what is in this book. It is God’s Word to us today, just as much as it was to John’s first hearers. So, be on the outlook for encouragement, hope, and a new revelation about God himself.

Questions to Consider What has been my attitude to Revelation? Have I ever read it? Ask God to speak a message of hope to you through this series.

Prayer Father God, please open my eyes and my heart to receive something new from you through this book. May I come to see you more clearly, Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes) Day 2 - Every Eye Will See Him

Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading – Revelation 1:4-8 This introduction to the book tells us a huge amount about God. John is worshipping on “the Lord’s Day” when he receives this vision. His mind is bent towards the God he loves. John is a pastor, responsible for a circuit of churches on the mainland, and he writes to encourage them in the primary task of worship. Eugene Peterson writes, “Worship shapes the human community in response to the living God. If worship is neglected or perverted, our communities fall into chaos or under tyranny.”

In the midst of turmoil John worships a God who is eternal, “who was...who is...who is to come.” A God who offers freedom from sin, grants acceptance into his family, provides purpose and meaningful service, and is all glorious and all powerful. This God is the and Omega (the first and last letters in the ). He is before all things and will wrap up all things at the end of time as we know it. As John begins this record of remarkable visions, his glimpse into heavenly realms and his audience with the risen , he says that what is now hidden will one day be made plain for every eye to see. It is Jesus who dominates John’s vision. “Everything that is to come flows from the central figure, Jesus himself, and ultimately from God the Father” NT Wright.

Worship washes right through the book of Revelation. It is rightly the glory of God that must dominate the reading of John’s vision. It is not written to incite fear; only perhaps the fear and awe that will cause us to fall to our knees in reverence and praise. Peterson concludes, “In keeping company with John, our worship of God will almost certainly deepen in urgency and joy.”

Question to Consider Why might John picture Jesus as a ruler (v5)? How does, or should, worship shape a community?

Prayer Eternal Father, I worship you as the one who stands before and after time, the one worthy of all praise. May we be a community shaped by your vision and worship of you? Help us to prioritise worship in a society that ignores and undermines the reality of spiritual things. May you be glorified forever, Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes) Day 3 - Standing Amongst the Lampstands

Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading – Revelation 1:9-20 John turns to see the voice he hears speaking. This is appropriate since Jesus is called “the Word” John 1:1. John’s record warns us against some cosy image of Jesus that we might snuggle up against. John’s reaction? - To fall to the ground at Jesus’ feet as if dead. This is a figure of glory and strength and power. John is bringing together images from the Old Testament prophets, particularly Daniel, where at the height of suffering for God’s people, Daniel sees a vision of the ‘Ancient of Days’ seated on the heavenly throne and a figure like ‘a son of man’ standing before him. In John, when we look at Jesus it is as if we look through him to the Father himself.

“Hold the picture in your mind, detail by detail. Let those eyes of flame search you in and out. Imagine standing beside a huge waterfall, its noise like sustained thunder, and imagine that noise as a human voice, echoing round the hills and round our head. And imagine his hand reaching out to touch you...” NT Wright. Fear may indeed be a natural reaction. But as so often in the the word’s Jesus speaks are, “Do not be afraid.”

Jesus stands among seven lamp stands which represent the seven churches (and all churches). And he is saying, “It’s all right.” No matter the situation, the pressure, the persecution, he is right there in the middle of it with us. And he holds keys to death and . He is the one in charge; there is nothing to fear. “To grasp all this requires faith. To live by it will take courage. But it is that faith and that courage which this book is written to evoke” NT Wright.

Question to Consider What is the problem with the image of a comfortable cosy Jesus? What does it mean to me to hear Jesus say, “I am the living One?” Is the image of Jesus standing right in the middle of the churches comforting? Sit with this image for a few minutes.

Prayer Lord Jesus, thank you for revealing yourself as the living Lord who stands with your people and is charge of all things. Thank you, that as I trust in you, I have nothing to fear. Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes) Day 4 – Losing Your Place

Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading – :1-7 John records a message from the risen Jesus to the seven churches in . While each church had various characteristics, and receives praise, correction and promised blessing, these churches are representatives, so that the message may be applied to any church throughout history and today.

Throughout Revelation there is a constant theme of conquering. The young churches faced persecution from the surrounding pagan society. Emperor worship was dominant forcing the issue of whom one was going to serve. John writes as a companion in “suffering, the kingdom and patient endurance.” It was not through fighting back that the churches were to conquer, but by following Jesus who also suffered and endured in obedience to his Father.

The first church is , in what is today western Turkey. The leading sea port in the region of around 33,600 to 56,000 people, it was a centre of travel and commerce. Incredibly wealthy it boasted the Temple of Artemis, considered one of the Seven Wonders of the World. John established a Christian community in Ephesus and is believed to have lived here with Mary the mother of Jesus. Returning from Patmos John is believed to have returned to Ephesus, written his , and died there. The Apostle Paul also worked and ministered in Ephesus. As late as the 5th century Ephesus hosted several great Christian councils. Yet Jesus’ warns this vibrant church that they stand in danger of losing it all, “I will come to you and remove your lamp stand from its place.” Tourists visit Ephesus today to see the great ruins, but what they do not see is an active church, nothing remains. If Christians are there, they may be in hiding. No individual, so church, no community can afford to rest on its laurels. Jesus delivers a sharp message to Ephesus – we should not miss its edge today.

Questions to Consider What is the danger of living off past glories/ministries/faith/achievements?

Prayer Heavenly Father, give me ears to hear the challenges you want to put before me today. Help me not to rely on the past but be ready to follow you today, Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes) Day 5 - Love is a Verb

Silence, Stillness and Centering before God (2 minutes)

Scripture Reading – Revelation 2:2-5 It is so easy to let things slip. Who hasn’t started out the New Year with admirable resolutions, only to have given them up or quietly forgotten them altogether within weeks? Jesus has commended the church at Ephesus for their hard work, perseverance, discernment, endurance and tenacity. Yet they seem to have let go of the core value that matters most. “You have forgotten the love you had at first.” This may have been love for God himself, but it seems more likely that Jesus is speaking of something that people must do. “Repent, and do the things you did at first.” Jesus’ followers were slap bang in the middle of a pagan society, and all the faith and belief in the world would be fruitless unless it could be seen and touched and experienced.

“‘Love’, in the early Christian sense, is something you do, giving hospitality and practical help to those in need, particularly to other Christians who are poor, sick or hungry. That was the chief mark of the early church. No other non-ethnic group had ever behaved like this. ‘Love’ of this kind, reflecting (they would have said) God’s own self-giving love for them, was both the best expression of, and the best advertisement for, faith in this God” NT Wright.

Ephesus, to all outside appearances was doing well. They worked hard and did not tolerate false teachers. They had suffered yet had carried on. But somehow their care and concern for one another had waned. The New Year is not a bad time to take stock and examine what we are filling our lives with. It may not be a matter of adding anything new or trying harder at the old activities. But perhaps we might stop and evaluate what is driving our pursuits. What are the values that fuel our involvement? Who have we been placed close to that needs our care? Perhaps the only vision of Jesus those around us will see is the picture that is projected through the love we show one another.

Question to Consider Do I tend to think of love as something I feel or something I do? What would have been the result if God had felt deeply about us, but not taken action to express that love?

Prayer Father God, you long for your people to be tender hearted and passionate, but also to be your hands and feet to others. Help me learn to love as you have loved us, Amen.

Conclude with Silence (2 minutes) Saturday/Sunday Notes...