The churches addressed in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 all have varying degrees of good and bad with appropriate warnings and encouragements related to each situation. Not all churches are doing bad, and some churches are far worse than others. Of all the things the churches have in common, what stands out are the promises made to those who “overcome”.
Unfortunately, “overcoming” necessarily implies a struggle. In order to “overcome”, one must “overcome” something. What is it the readers are supposed to “overcome”? For the churches doing poorly, I suppose they would need to overcome their temptation to sin and stop compromising. For the churches doing well, they may need to overcome their persecutors, even be willing to face death. Either the pagan society is causing them to suffer by pressuring them to compromise their beliefs and behaviors, or the pagan society is causing them to suffer by killing them for maintaining their faithful witness for Jesus Christ. The pagan world around them is attempting to exert control by force. However, though they may threaten you and cause you to suffer, you must Overcome!
With that in mind, Jesus makes certain promises “to him who overcomes”: the right to eat from the tree of life, protection from the second death, authority over nations, the right to sit on God’s very own throne! In sum, eternal life awaits those who overcome. But what about the fate of those causing the suffering? Will they be duly punished for the harm they are bringing onto God’s people? In the end, will justice really be served? I think, if we were honest, we would be disappointed if they weren’t punished.
On the one hand, we want to avoid being too cavalier about the eternal fate of the unrepentant, even those who cause our suffering. Paul reminds Timothy that God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2.4). Likewise, Peter wants his readers to “live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us” (1 Pt. 2.12). Even God himself declares, “I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that they turn from their ways and live” (Ez. 33.11).
Not only is all of this true, but we would do good to remind ourselves that the eternal fate of the unrepentant is exactly what we deserve too. It is only the merciful hand of God that prevents us from receiving the same punishment.
Yet on the other hand, it is right to want to see that justice is served. There is real evil and injustice in the world, caused by really evil people, and that needs to be stopped. In addition, God’s reputation is at stake, under attack by those who attack Christians. God might be considered unjust if he did not punish those people. Perhaps it would also do us good to remember that God does have enemies, evil people working against the causes of good. We long to see that justice is served, we long to see God’s reputation upheld, and we long to be proven right in the eyes of our persecutors.
Throughout the rest of Revelation, God’s perfect balance between justice and mercy is figuratively portrayed, beginning in chapter 4. Here, John describes a vision in which he is in the throne room of God. The picture the author paints is one of concentric circles. At the “bullseye” is the throne and the one seated on it is described in majestic terms. In what follows, our suspicion that this “One” is none other than God will be confirmed, figuratively telling us that He is the very center of the universe and the source of all life.
Immediately surrounding him in the next concentric circle is a rainbow. This reminds the reader of the flood in Genesis where a rainbow became a sign that God’s wrath is always tempered by his mercy. Next come the 24 elders. The natural question everyone wants answered is “Who are they?” My best guess is that they symbolize the 12 Tribes of Israel and the 12 Apostles - figuratively portraying all Old and New Testament believers. However, identifying who they are is not nearly as important as seeing what they do. They, along with four living creatures (symbolizing all of animate life one earth) never stop worshipping the one at the center of the circle. All of life exists to give God ceaseless praise as they all bow down before him, laying their crowns at his feet. He is worthy of our praise because he is the creator, and our very being lies in Him alone.
After vividly picturing God at the center of the universe and the object of praise for all of animate life, the vision then focuses on a scroll, which has writing on both sides and is sealed with seven seals. The image of the scroll comes from Ezekiel 2.9-10, where a similar scroll contains words of “lament and mourning and woe.” After Ezekiel was ordered to eat that scroll, he was commissioned to go to God’s people and speak those words to Israel. In essence, the information contained on Ezekiel’s scroll had something to do with Divine punishment meted out against unfaithful Israel. Here in Revelation 5, we can imply that what is contained on the scroll is quite similar. It is God’s plan for redeeming His people and punishing His enemies.
However, there is a problem. Once the scroll is introduced, an angel asks, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” The seals of a scroll cannot be opened by any ol’ person; only someone who is adequately qualified may do so. I certainly do not qualify, nor does the angel, nor anybody else in the world, apparently. John looked around heaven, earth, and under the earth, but found not one single person qualified to open the scroll and execute the judgments written on it. So John wept.
If there is no one worthy to open the scroll, that means no one is qualified to execute its judgments, and if no one is qualified to execute its judgments, then evil wins. John weeps at the thought of unchecked evil running rampant with no hope of ever being stopped. Christians will continue to be pressured and killed without any just repercussions. Additionally, if there is no one able to serve justice where it is due, then there is no guarantee that those who “overcome” will, indeed, receive what Christ had promised. If all this is true, then all hope is lost.
But all hope is not lost! Immediately one of the elders identifies One who is adequately qualified to open the scroll and execute its judgments: “The Lion of Judah, the Root of David!” He is able, because he, himself, has “Overcome.” It was Jesus who lived a sinless perfect life, overcoming the pressures to conform to the demands of his own society, and it was Jesus who overcame death, who in spite of being unjustly killed (a very real threat for the original readers of Revelation), nevertheless conquered death by rising three days later. Yes, there is someone adequately qualified to take the scroll, open it, and execute its judgments: Jesus Christ!
In the vision, he is figuratively portrayed as a Lamb who still bears the wounds that killed him and as he approaches the throne of God and takes the scroll, immediately Heaven erupts with cheering. In Revelation, it is typical for a vision to be interpreted by the songs that follow, as is the case in chapter 5. The scene climaxes when the Lamb takes the scroll and the living creatures sing a new song:
You are worthy to open the scroll
because you were slain
and with your blood, you purchased men for God!
At this point, the concentric circles expand to include thousands of angels who also join in the praise as well as “every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth” giving praise to the One on the throne and to the Lamb.
Sometimes, there is a helplessness and hopelessness we feel when we consider evil in the world, especially when we recognize that there is nothing we can do to stop it. The first readers of Revelation might have felt even less hope in the face of those trying to kill them. So you may understand how the original audience would have been comforted by John’s vision of One who was able to put a stop to evil in the world, once and for all. In spite of all their troubles and suffering, in spite of the fact that they were being systematically persecuted for their faith in Jesus, all hope is not lost. God’s people will be rewarded for their faithfulness in due time, and God’s enemies will receive justice. Evil, injustice, and even death do not have the last say. We can be sure of this, because there is One who has overcome, and He is in control.
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