Grace and peace to you from him who is, and who was, and who is to come, and from the seven spirits before his throne, and from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen (Revelation 1:4-6).

Revelation was not given to us to provide a calendar for the End of the World.  Revelation was given to provide us with an overwhelming vision of Jesus Christ.

And to teach us how to live in the Light of Who He Is.

Jesus is given more than two dozen names and titles throughout the book: Alpha and Omega, Lamb, Lion of Judah, Bright Morning Star, King of Kings and Lord of Lords, among many others.  Each and every one expands and deepens our understanding of who Jesus is, what he has done for us, and how he is at work around and through us now.

Just look at this seven-fold cluster of titles which opens the book! Jesus is

• The Christ/Messiah, God’s anointed King!
• The Faithful Witness!
• The Firstborn from the dead!
• The Ruler of the kings of the earth!
• The One who loves us!
• The One who has freed us from our sins by his blood!
• The One who has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father!

John is writing from a punishing place of exile to seven tiny Christian communities scattered along the primary mail route in what is now western Turkey.  Allegiance to Jesus as Lord was very costly and these communities are under all kinds of pressures from many different angles: pressure to compromise, to check out, to give in, to give up and just go along with the imperial propaganda of Rome and the prevailing culture of their time. 

Some things never change.

It was all too easy for them to get so enmeshed in the everyday challenges and pressures of life that they were tempted to reduce Jesus to the size of their immediate worries and concerns.

Some things never change.

In the face of these pressures, what they needed was not punishing rebuke, a checklist of behavioral to-dos or a timeline for what was going to happen in some distant future.

What they needed was for their imaginations to be converted, to be set on fire.

Some things never change!

Whatever you know of Jesus, he is More!  Whatever you have experienced, he is More!  We are not who we think we are because he is not who we think he is – he is More!

Here’s a Revelation-based clue that we’re finally starting to understand.  

Throughout the book, one of the most frequently repeated commands and invitation is Sing!  Join with the angels – that’s what they’re doing!  Join the martyrs and the Church Triumphant – that’s what they’re doing!  Join with all of Creation, which, even as it groans, is learning to sing a new song, the Song of the Magnificent Lamb!  Here’s just one verse from that song that has no end:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
    Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
    King of the nations.
Who will not fear you, Lord,
    and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
    and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

This week, keep reading into Revelation.  Don’t look for predictions or get lost in the visions; listen to the songs of our Magnificent Christ.