Revelation 7: 9-17 (New Revised Standard Version, Updated Edition)

John 10: 22-30 (Common English Bible)

The opening of this reading from John’s gospel is during the Festival of Dedication taking place in Jerusalem during winter. This festival dates back to 164 BC after the Maccabean revolt when the Syrians attacked Jerusalem. When the Syrians were in control of Jerusalem, they forced the Jewish people to burn offerings to pagan gods. This ended when Judas Maccabean defeated the Syrians and drove them out of Jerusalem and restored the worship of the one true God, Yahweh. This was the origin of the Jewish holiday, Hanukkah, which is celebrated every December.

The gospel writer John places Jesus in the Temple during the Festival of Dedication. What better place and time could there be for first century Jews to hear Jesus proclaim the Good News within this holy place of worship.

Biblical scholar Dale Bruner recites Jesus’ words as a summary of Jesus’ mission on earth. In John 10: 27-28 Jesus said, “My sheep listen to my voice. I know them and they follow me. I give them eternal life and no one will snatch them away from my hand.”

This is the living reality for Jesus’ sheep, a continuous description of their life with the good Shepherd. When Jesus gives Peter the call of “feeding his sheep,” we can understand what he means. Preach the Word, embrace the Spirit and welcome discipleship.  

Jesus seals this promise by telling his disciples the “Father and I are one.” Now this statement has been misunderstood for centuries. It’s been used to exclude people. What it really means is that God and Jesus are on the same page. They’re in agreement with one another. And this surpasses any particular religion. So it’s really about inclusion and not exclusion. Christ didn’t come to earth to start a new religion, but a new way to live.

The disciples were growing impatient. They want to know if Jesus is the Messiah. Jesus tells them, don’t worry, God and I are 100 percent in agreement with one another.

The Father and Son are about peaceful power. They offer this to everyone who hears and embraces the words of Jesus. The Jesus Way teaches us with the help of the Spirit, to oppose demonic forces and evil men in power.  

When one reads the book of Revelation, realize it’s full of metaphors, symbolism and idioms. It is a very mystical book, somewhat in the same genre as Aldous Huxley’s “The Doors of Perception.” But too many people have taken those fictional “Left Behind” novels as literal serious literature, but they’re not. Revelation was addressed to Christians living in the first century and not the 21st century. But there are lessons even through symbolism that can be used today.

John’s vision of Revelation is framed among the earthly reality of war, greed and empire. By weaving together symbols of John’s cultural and religious background, he transports us beyond our own reality.

It is important to recall that John describes his vision of heavenly hope from an isolated island. He has witnessed the life, death and resurrection of Jesus. John experienced the power of Christ during Pentecost. He watched as the Christian communities grew while the Roman government became uneasy about the new Jesus Movement.

By the time John’s Revelation letters reached the seven churches in Asia in 95 AD, Domitian was Rome’s Emperor and he hated Christians. The Imperial Roman cult around their Emperors has risen to a large social, religious and political power. These two competing allegiances Christ and Caesar, would clash, giving way to the persecution of those first century Christians. And that was the background of the Revelation letters.

Although we in America do not encounter persecution because of our Jesus faith like the first Christians, there are many throughout the world who do. According to the 2017 World Watch List, there are 215 million Christians in the world who are persecuted. Even though we don’t face losing our life because of being Christians, we can jeopardize our faith by following the idols of wealth, status and power.

The image of the great multitude in Revelation reminds us that people from all “tribes and languages” will participate in God’s ultimate victory. The white-robed multitude of diversity is bound together by their faithfulness to Christ during their persecution by the Romans. In a world of increased polarization and fear mongering of different races, many even today are tempted to stay in their own tribe, sometimes behind gated communities.

Revelation 7: 9-17, is an important picture of the blessed dead. TheTribulation or Ordeal that is mentioned is not about the present or future. It’s about the Tribulation during the reign of the Roman Emperor Domitian with his persecution of Christians.

In Revelation the Church is seated below the throne of God, where the people are wearing robes that have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. Their outer garments are worn with dignity and distinction. They wave palm branches just like many did while celebrating the Feast of the Tabernacles to remember the joy of God’s deliverance of the Hebrews from Egypt.

John has given us a small glimpse of heaven. We can see the healing that will continue in heaven. Heaven is a place where all of life’s injustices in this world will be made right, where the lowly will be lifted up and the mighty will be brought low. It is a place where God’s goal of a community of justice, peace and equality will become the new reality.  

As wars rage on and new diseases continue to spread and the global economy struggles, we might experience our own personal tribulation. When war, famine and disease have done their worst, salvation belongs to God above and not the gods on planet earth.

Our souls, once condemned to eternal death, have been given a new value. The old self is gone and we become new beings. Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, we can be assured that nothing in our past can change the love of God given to us. God wants us to come to the knowledge of truth and hope with eternal life with Jesus the Christ. AMEN.