A commentary on Revelation 19
If someone were to ask me what is the best way to acquire knowledge to describe what happens when someone rides a bike, I would think about two ways to answer the question. On the one hand, I would think of the knowledge physicists have and their ability to tell you the laws of physics of what happens when the tire hits the road and the rider balances the bike. On the other hand, I would also think of the knowledge one can acquire by simply getting on a bike and riding it. When I think about the two options, if given a choice, I would choose the second way. The obvious reason is that one may be able to study the physics of riding a bicycle and yet not be able to mount a bike and ride it down the street. On the other hand, those who learn to ride the bike actually put physics to work, turning the wheel inward when they are about to fall. The simple truth is this... the more the bike is ridden, the more the skill is acquired. Those who have mastered the bicycle have learned well enough how to ride that they no longer think about how it is to be done. They simply do it. Could this possibly have something to do with how we deal with bullies? Could fighting bullies be as easy as riding a bike?
This riding-the-bike-parable has in my mind, a lot to do with Revelation 19 and what the church has always considered to be the last great battle between Christ and the forces of evil. The war vision shows Jesus riding on a white horse leading Christians in a dramatic showdown between Jesus and the beasts. It is about Jesus taking care of the real bullies of this world. It is Jesus taking on the forces of evil and sin head-on and fighting for our salvation. It is battle. It is war like no war that has ever been fought, or will be fought, by human armies. What is fascinating is the weapon Jesus uses to fight. What is overlooked is that Jesus fights with a sword in his mouth, not on his side. He wages war by what he says.
Unfortunately, the unhappy consequence of St John’s Armageddon vision has inflamed the imaginations of many believers into consuming fantasies of an end-time holocaust at Mt Megiddo in Israel. However, what is overlooked is that John is writing this to the seven churches as a way to encourage them in their present situation as well as giving them a vision of Christ’s cosmic victory over the forces of evil. What is rarely noticed is that the scene of the marriage supper of the Lamb precedes the battle. This is very significant! Eugene Peterson brings our attention to the fact that St. John’s salvation vision follows the meal and battle pattern that was set down in Jesus passion. He says:
On the night in which he was betrayed, he had a meal with his disciples. It was succeeded by his arrest, with soldiers pouring into Gethsemane with swords and staves and torches. This meal and this war are the polarities of saving action... Eating a meal shows salvation at work in ordinary life, strengthening the people of faith; fighting a battle shows salvation at work defeating the opposition... Salvation, then, is not something that God does: it is something that God is doing, and not only for us but also with us, enlisting us in the saving action. *All of a sudden, a light bulb goes off in my head. Could it be that John in Revelation 19 gives the early church as well as us a strategy on how to fight the real bullies of sin and evil? Could it be that the development of holy habits and practices are at the heart of what it takes to defeat the enemy? Through our baptism and regular practices of communion and reading scripture together in worship, we stand in solidarity with Christ as His witnesses and live into His victory and so overcome the bullies. To get back to the riding-a-bike-parable, it is not just knowledge about riding a bike that gets me down the road, but actually riding the bike. My Christian walk becomes such a habit that I don’t even think about it. It becomes as easy as riding a bike. Along the way, let us not give too much credence to the power of evil. The enemy is defeated, he is confined and on a leash. St. Teresa of Avila encourages us: “I don’t understand these fears, ‘the devil! the devil!’ when we can say ‘God!’ ‘God!’ and make the devil tremble... I pay no more attention to them than to flies.”* Salvation is Christ on the Cross going into battle with the forces of evil with his own blood on his robe. It is the beautiful picture of the slaughtered lamb who is alive and on the throne. But it is also about eating bread and drinking wine. It is Jesus saying to His disciples at the last supper and to us... “Do this as often as you will.” Ps 23 breathes new life into my spirit...
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
*Eugene Peterson, Reversed Thunder, Harper Collins Publishers, 1988.
Questions to ponder:
- Do you regularly practice holy habits and disciplines to fight evil and sin in your life? If not what practices could you start today? i.e. Spending daily time in the word, time in prayer, journalling, joining a life group, etc.
- Does the understanding of Christ's battle being fought with the "sword in his mouth" rather than a sword on his side, along with the blood on his robe being his own, change the way you understand Armageddon and Christ's battle against evil?
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