A Lesson From Apocalyptic Literature: .... .... ....

Today’s reading: Revelation 3:19-22 NASB

SCRIPTURE

¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently....” -Revelation 3:10 NIV

“¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. ²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” -Revelation 3:19-22 NIV

OBSERVATION

The Book of Revelation is the final book of the New Testament. The title came into usage from the first word of the book in Koine Greek: apokalupsis, meaning "unveiling" or "revelation" (an interesting historical side point: the author himself did not provided the title). It is also known as the Book of the Revelation of Saint John the Divine or the Apocalypse of John, (both in reference to its author) or the Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ (in reference to its opening line) or simply Revelation, (often dubbed "Revelations" in contrast to the singular in the original Koine) or the Apocalypse. The word "apocalypse" is also used for other works of a similar nature, and the genre is known as apocalyptic literature. Such literature is "marked by distinctive literary features, particularly prediction of future events and accounts of visionary experiences or journeys to heaven, often involving vivid symbolism." The Book of Revelation is the only apocalyptic document in the New Testament canon, though there are short apocalyptic passages in various places in the Gospels and the Epistles.  Revelation brings together the worlds of heaven, earth, and hell in a final confrontation between the forces of good and evil. Its characters and images are both real and symbolic, spiritual and material. Revelation's cryptic nature makes the book a source of controversy among scholars who try to interpret its meaning and its message. Nevertheless, it has not only endured, but captured the imagination of generations of Bible students, both professional and lay readers alike. The author, named John, has traditionally been identified with John the Apostle, to whom the Gospel of John is also attributed. Historical-critical scholars, however, generally conclude that the author did not also write the Gospel of John. Most scholars think that Revelation was written near the end of the 1st century.

Almost every time, I read this finial book of the New Testament: Revelation.  I pause and pray.... ....  Why? The material, symbolism, and confrontation between good and evil are enchanting!  The text of Revelation enthralls, engrosses, and almost hypnotizes my mind with questions and fascination - that’s why I pause and pray.  I need God to guide and direct me.  I need Him to keep me from going down a miscellaneous rabbit trail - this is where Revelation 3:10 & 19-22 stood out.  Scripture interprets Scripture: A.K.A. What within Revelation symbolism verifies God’s Word?   

¹⁰ Since you have kept my command to endure patiently....” -Revelation 3:10 NIV

“¹⁹ Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent. ²⁰ Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with that person, and they with me. ²¹ To the one who is victorious, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I was victorious and sat down with my Father on his throne. ²² Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches.” -Revelation 3:19-22 NIV

APPLICATION

1. “.... you have kept my command to endure patiently....” -Revelation 3:10 NIV

• To holdfast to God’s commands with “post cross” ramifications:

1. “You (Trevor) shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.” - Matthew 22:37 NASB
2. “You shall shall your neighbor as your yourself.” - Matthew 22:39 NASB
3. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28: 19-20

1. “endure patiently....” - Revelation 3:10 NIV

1.  ³ Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, ⁴ who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God. ⁵ For just as we share abundantly in the sufferings of Christ, so also our comfort abounds through Christ. ⁶ If we are distressed, it is for your comfort and salvation; if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which produces in you patient endurance of the same sufferings we suffer. ⁷ And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings, so also you share in our comfort. ⁸ We do not want you to be uninformed, brothers and sisters,^[a^] about the troubles we experienced in the province of Asia. We were under great pressure, far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself. ⁹ Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead. ¹⁰ He has delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us again. On him we have set our hope that he will continue to deliver us, ¹¹ as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many. ¹² Now this is our boast: Our conscience testifies that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially in our relations with you, with integrity^[b^] and godly sincerity. We have done so, relying not on worldly wisdom but on God’s grace. ¹³ For we do not write you anything you cannot read or understand. And I hope that, ¹⁴ as you have understood us in part, you will come to understand fully that you can boast of us just as we will boast of you in the day of the Lord Jesus.” - 1 Corinthians 1:3-14 NIV

1. “Those whom I love I rebuke and discipline. So be earnest and repent.” -Revelation 3:19

• Scripture interprets Scripture: A.K.A. What within Revelation symbolism verifies God’s Word? 

1.  “⁴ In your struggle against sin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. ⁵ And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline,
      and do not lose heart when he rebukes you,
   ⁶ because the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
      and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” ⁷ Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? ⁸ If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. ⁹ Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! ¹⁰ They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. ¹¹ No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” - Hebrews 12:4-11

PRAYER 

Jesus, thank you for taking the time to speak to my heart & engage my mind.  I find myself grateful that you meet me where I’m at.  I’m amazing at the simplicity and priceless work You accomplished on the Cross.  Thank you for speak directly to my heart.  It seems that as I slow down to read Your read - it reads me.  Help me daily make time for that which is most important - TIME W/ YOU.  Continue to refine and guidance my heart & mind - thank you for being a God that daily gives me great life lessons. ThankYOU. - Trevor

“¹ Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we^[a^] have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, ² through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we^[b^] boast in the hope of the glory of God. ³ Not only so, but we^[c^] also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; ⁴ perseverance, character; and character, hope. ⁵ And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.

 ⁶ You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. ⁷ Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. ⁸ But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. ⁹ Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him! ¹⁰ For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! ¹¹ Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.” -Romans 5:1-11

Cultural Relevance & Faith

Why does faith seem to miss the mark, when it come "cultural surges.”  

First things first, let’s discover what a “cultural surge” is.  

According to Wikipedia the term “cultural” is, 

1. relating to the ideas, customs, and/or social behavior of a society

and the word “surge” would be defined as,

1. a sudden powerful forward or upward movement by a crowd or by a natural force such as the waves, or,
2. a sudden large increase, typically a brief one that happens during an otherwise stable or quiescent period.

This defining the term “cultural surge” as the idea, custom, and/or social behavior seen within a power forward or upward movement by a crowd.

From an early age triathlons captured my attention.  Why?  Why not?!? The sport embraces the ongoing element of change positively; while, breaking through physical, mental, and emotional limits!  Have you not seen the Ford Ironman Triathlon Championship and not been inspired?  It’s not just about how hard I can hit something, how fast I can do, or if I can handle it - the world of a triathlon embraces a variety of aspects.  Changing disciplines, transitions, and environments.  It is multi-sport event involving the completion of three continuous and sequential endurance events. While many variations of the sport exist, triathlon, in its most popular form, involves swimming, cycling, and running in immediate succession over various distances. Triathletes compete for fastest overall course completion time, including timed "transitions" between the individual swim, bike, and run components.  

I remember my first Sprint Distance Triathlon. I had been inspired and encouraged by my brother “Rock,” a friend Jordan Schick, and the Ironman Championship to pursue a dream.  I showed up and was intimidated by the environment—two elite Ironman athlete's were recognized, about a dozen professionals stepped forward (all riding top of the line time trial bikes), and then in the midst of my feeling small I found comfort in seeing other “weekend warriors” alongside me.  Yes, I had completed my training, but had very little concept of what the triathlon race culture was all about.  After several hours, three triathlons, and continuing to engage within the triathlon community my eyes began to see other’s overwhelmed, fearful, and hesitant as they joined this “cultural surge.”

Lance Armstrong said, “If children have the ability to ignore all odds and percentages, then maybe we can all learn from them. When you think about it, what other choice is there but to adapt and hope? We have two options, medically and emotionally: give up, or Fight Like Hell.”

Change and growth create life; while, mediocrity and complacency eventually bring death.

John Dickson from Sydney, Australia spoke at the 2011 Willow Creek Leadership Summit.  He academically touched on two historical aspects of the church: 1) Change. 2) Cultural Surges.  His discussion was based around the principle that “a leadership’s strongest tool is humility,” he continues to say, “it intensifies credibility.” Although change and cultural surges were sub-points of Mr. Dickson discussion, it got me thinking though the implications of those elements.

Why not capture both: Cultural surges / current style; while, embrace tradition and authenticity?

Okay.  What did Jesus do?

Jesus broke all kinds of traditions while embracing individuals right where they were at through-out Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.  We see Jesus embracing cultural surges (social philosophy within diverse groups) and challenging tradition in order to make God known.

I will admit that some of my own personal decisions have been in reaction to cultural influences - what’s wrong with that - and honestly who hasn’t made a decision based on a cultural influence?  Have you ever consumed a bottled product? 

What if Jesus cared so much about people that He was willing to reach them right where they are (couch, clubs, movies, business, media, internet, classroom, etc...)? 

Was Jesus focus more about building a big church or building big people?  

People sometimes assume that I’m a progressive 30-year-old who enjoys to push back just for the reaction, that I must want a super-hip church—which boasts “an awesome worship experience,” a fair-trade coffee bar, its own iPhone app, and I look like a Jonas brother.  Ya, some of that maybe true; however, it all underlined by a desire for people to genuinely know & follow Jesus. 

While none of these features are inherently wrong (and can of course be used by good people to do good things), these days I find myself longing for a church with a social relevant factor of about 7.

That’s right.

I want a church desire to be apart of a church where the term, “come as you are” is truth.  I desire to be apart of a church that’s socially relevant where individuals are transformed as they cultivate a genuine relationship with God. 

Does that mean the Gospel story is always accompanied by a fog machine and light show.  No, but it can be.  

Why do so many church desire to be part of an “uncool” / “socially un-relevant” disconnected church?  

Some reply that, “they want to be part of a community that shares the reputation of Jesus. To not be of the world.” Like it or not, Jesus’ invested his time and energy into people.  Meaning he went after people: CEO’s and unemployed - misfits and scholars - broken and healthy.

Why not follow in the footsteps of Jesus verses swing to one side of the pendulum or the other.  Let’s be like Jesus relevantly - connecting with people right where they are within their culture and stop the friendly fire.  Honestly, one person maybe distracted while another is engaged - one maybe inspired while another is overwhelmed - at my first triathlon their was probably both in the crowd.

Some of us wear our brokenness on the inside, others on the outside and Jesus see’s our heart.

We’re all in need of Him.

We’re all in need of a Savior.

So let’s be people who are the church - outside and inside a building - where the good new is proclaimed in such a way that those who are far from God draw near and those that are mature followers of Christ are being transformed through a genuine relationship with Jesus.  Why?  Because cultural relevance and faith go hand in hand.

Cultural Relevance & Faith by Trevor L Drinen