Apocalypse Now?

The term 'apocalyptic' is in ever-increasing use at the moment, generally used to mean something like 'catastrophic' or 'cataclysmic'. But the original Greek meaning of the word 'apocalypse' is merely 'something revealed'. The 'Apocalypse of St John', more often known by the title 'The Book of Revelation' is the subject of our Bible Study this term. It's from the strange and unsettling predictions contained in this book that we get the colloquial meaning of 'apocalypse', but it would be a mistake to assume that the Book of Revelation contains only promises of doom and destruction. It's full of beauty and hope, too: in the vision of the Lamb that was slain, we're reminded of the conquering power of Jesus' self-sacrificial love. In the promise of a new heaven and a new earth, we receive a vision of the total renewal brought about by that same redemption of the cross and the empty tomb. And throughout the book, we're given glorious kaleidoscopic images of the worship of heaven, full of angels swinging incense burners, and multitudes singing hymns of praise. Our own worship, day by day and week by week is not just an imitation of this, but by God's grace, actual participation in the worship of heaven. 

 

Even in the unsettling passages, foretelling pain or chaos or death, there is comfort to be found. We live in a divided, chaotic and pain-filled world - and those of us with religious belief have often been accused of turning our backs on this reality for the sake of an imagined utopia. But what Revelation reveals is God's continued and loving concern for the messy reality of human life. God is with us in the mess and chaos, even while God is seated on the throne being worshipped by thousands of thousands. Let this be both our comfort and our courage, when we next read a headline predicting an 'apocalypse'.