A lot of mimicking happens in the book of Revelation, some of it good and some of it bad. This is true in life, where some forms of copying are good and some are not. “Plagiarism” is a dirty word, and for good reason. Taking something that someone else wrote and pretending that you wrote it is a form of stealing; an attempt to trick people into thinking you did work when you actually didn’t. There is also something devious about an “impostor,” someone pretending to be another person. It is an attempt to trick people into thinking you are somebody you actually aren’t.
Those are negative forms of mimicking, and later in Revelation, dragons and beasts mimic God in ways that deceive others. The devil is portrayed as an impostor, tricking followers into thinking he is divine and worthy of worship. However, in Revelation 10-11, more positive forms of mimicking take place.
My wife is a wonderful woman in every possible way. She is a faithful, nurturing wife and mom, wise beyond her years, hard-working with the right balance of silliness and seriousness. I should only hope that in twenty-years time, my daughter looks and acts like my wife. Those people we look up to in life are our “Role Models.” We do our best to try to find good role models for our kids to emulate and want to “be like”.
Biblically, the role model par excellence is none other than Jesus. He set the standard for how the Christian ought to behave (Eph. 5.1; 1 Cor 11.1) and in turn, we ourselves serve as examples for others (Phil. 3.17; 2 Ths. 3.1; Titus 2.7). There are only so many ways our lives can truly replicate Jesus’, but insofar as we can, we should. In Revelation 10, John starts to mimic the movements made by Jesus in Revelation 5, and Revelation 11 is a portrayal of the church mimicking Jesus’ life, death, and even resurrection.
After the sixth trumpet blast (ch. 9.13-21), John sees a new vision, one with an “angel” coming down from Heaven. This “Angel” is probably Jesus himself, since he is described in similar terms used to describe God in the Old Testament (robed in a cloud, rainbow above his head, face like the sun, legs of fiery pillars, roaring voice, etc.). In addition to his physical description, he is also pictured holding a scroll, presumably the same scroll Jesus took from God in Revelation 5. The Revelation 5 scroll contained God’s plan for redeeming his people and punishing His enemies; Jesus opening the scroll symbolized his ability to carry out that plan.
Now, John starts to mimic Jesus’ moves from Revelation 5. In both cases, there was one who held the scroll and in both cases, one came and physically took the scroll out of the other person’s hand. With that, John now mimics Ezekiel who ate the scroll which had been given to him (Ezekiel 3.1-3). And like Ezekiel’s scroll, the one John eats is as sweet as honey, but turns his stomach sour.
The significance of eating the scroll for both Ezekiel and now John was to symbolize that the message God had for their audiences would be delivered by the prophets’ mouths; it is a way of depositing the message into the speaker. In both cases, the significance of the scroll being sweet as honey symbolizes that God’s words are true and right (and perhaps there is a foreshadowing of hope?). Yet it turns the prophets’ stomachs bitter because the message involves doom for God’s enemies. In John’s case, the plan of redemption and punishment transfers from God (who developed the plan) to Jesus (who executes the plan) now to John who has been entrusted to communicate that plan to many peoples, nations, languages and kings. Yet, as chapter 11 will show, John is not the only one entrusted to bear witness to God’s plan of redemption and judgment.
Immediately after being re-commissioned to speak God’s message to the world, John is given a sort of measuring-tape and told to measure the temple and those in it. In the Old Testament, “measuring” was a metaphorical way of saying that those “measured” would receive spiritual protection; it has the same meaning as “sealing” in Revelation 7. In the foreseeable future, God’s people might not be protected from physical harm, but while our enemies can take our lives, they cannot take our souls.
This is apparent when we consider the ministry of the two “witnesses” appearing in 11.3, who prophesy for three and a half years and then are killed. The two witnesses symbolize all believers who have been given authority to “bear witness” (the term “martyr” is actually a Greek word meaning “witness”). The “Two” reflects the Old Testament standard where only by the witness of two individuals could a court of law prosecute an offender (Deut. 17.6, 19.15; see also Mark 6.7 and Luke 10.1).
They (we) were given authority to bear that witness for the equivalent of three and a half years. “Three and a half years” does not need to be understood as a literal time frame, but rather symbolically represents the duration of tribulation; any time God’s people are in active conflict with the world, it lasts for a symbolic three and a half years, whether the literal duration is a month or a decade.
At some point, a beast emerges from the Abyss and puts these two witnesses to death once and for all. This is surely a picture of the ultimate sacrifice some believers make on behalf of our Lord: It is no coincidence that the very Greek word for “witness” has become in our modern language a technical term for someone who has been put to death for that very witness: Martyr. The witnesses, or anyone who has died for his/her faith, is denied a proper burial, exposed to shame, and their death is even celebrated.
But while our enemies can take our lives, they cannot take our souls. After three and a half days—the approximate length of time Jesus spent in the tomb before being raised to life—they are raised to life! Then, just like Jesus ascended into Heaven as described in Acts 1.9, the newly revived believers imitate Christ by ascending into Heaven, right before the very eyes of those who put them to death!
Chapter 10 describes the way in which John mimicked Jesus with the taking of the scroll, not for the purpose of executing God’s divine plan of redemption and judgment, but for the purpose of making that plan known. Then, chapter 11 describes the way in which all of God’s people mimic Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and ascension.
We call it “Evangelism”, when we share (“bear witness” to) God’s loving message of hope and forgiveness, and when we are up front and honest about spiritual death as the alternative to spiritual life. In doing so, we imitate Jesus who voluntarily entered a dying world and proclaimed a message about new life.
And like Jesus experienced conflict for almost the entire duration of his earthly ministry (probably not a coincidence that it lasted about three and a half years!), we can expect to encounter the same conflict while telling the world about him. Should we follow Jesus to the grave, paying the ultimate price for bearing that witness, so be it! While the world may take our physical lives, they cannot take our souls: God is in control of that and provides spiritual protection from all harm. God, the author of life, is perfectly able to give back our lives and welcome us into his Heavenly home: As Christ ascended into the very presence of God, so will we. Conflict with the world is certain; death as a martyr is a possibility; receiving new life from God is a guarantee. Jesus experienced all this; it is not out of the question that we may imitate him
As I said previously, my wife a qualified candidate to be a role model for my daughter: I want my daughter to mimic my wife. There are ways in which the Christian’s life mimics the very life of Christ at a much deeper and rewarding level. He is the role model par excellence, even with respect to his death and resurrection. One of the themes of the book of Revelation is that the believer should endure to the end. If we should, there is new life that awaits.
As is the case throughout Revelation, the hymns of chapter 11 interpret and summarize the visions they follow. Namely, they picture a sort of spiritual utopia, where Christ reigns as a benevolent ruler, His faithful saints and prophets (all of us) are rewarded for their faithfulness, and His enemies are given their just punishment. The vision of the trumpet judgments finally ends with the opening of God’s heavenly temple where we are all invited to live in perfect peace and harmony, face to face with God Himself because we have followed Jesus’ example. It is a picture of what will be stated explicitly in chapter 21, where:
the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away!
In our lives, we should seek to imitate Jesus in every possible way: how he related to the Father, how he demonstrated compassion, how he treated his friends and enemies—even if it means following Jesus to the grave, being persecuted for the message we bear. There is not a better role model to follow than Jesus. Whatever it takes and whatever it costs, I want to follow him.
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