Reading for May 8th

THE ACTS OF JUDGMENT In 15.1-16.21: The brief symbolic announceements of judgment now open out into detailed, sequential portrayal. Read Revelation 15.1-8 In 15.1-8: The preparation. This is the third portent; see 12.1,3. These are the last plagues not because they end the story but because they represent the final outcome of the story. The sea is the same as in the worship scene, 4.6. In verse 2: Those who had conquered are the 144,000 of 14.1 and those under the altar of 6.9, who conquer by the death of Christ and by their own deaths (12.11). In verse 3: The song of Moses and the song of the lamb is a composite of the Exodus song (Ex 15; Deut 320 with Ps 111.2;86.8-9; and Jer 10.6-7: 16.19. The community is committed to both Moses and Jesus (see 12.17; 14.2). In verse 6: The plagues are another reference to the Exodus tradition. The scene in the temple recalls isa 6. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 7th

Read Revelation 14.6-20 In 14/6-20: The announcement of the end. For angel, see comment on 2.1. The eternal gospel is the central message of Revelation, the proper worship of God. In verse 8: Babylon was the first destroyer of Jerusalem, even as Rome was the second (2 Kings 24; Isa 21.9). In verse 9: For the mark on their forheads see 13.16. In verse 10: The wine of God's wrath here launches a series of bitter, vioent iamges of questionable morality if viewed as something separate from the choice to worship the beast. In verse 11: There is no rest implies that this is the present experience contrast v. 13, those who die in the Lord will rest. In verse 12: The call for endurance shows that the real purpose of this section is to admonish the faithful to resistance. In verse 14: The white cloud is the traditional apocalyptic symbol of the final judgment; Dan 7.13; Mk 13.26. For the Son of man; see 1.13. In verses 15-18:: The harvest is both a traditional symbol for judgment and a metaphor of consequences: the grapes are ripe (see Joel 3.13; Rev 16.6). The angel with authority over fire recalls 6.3-5, also a judgment scene. In verses 19-20: The wine press is a traditional image of God's wrath (Isa 63.1- 4), but here it is trodden outside the city-a place of rejection (1 Kings 21.13) but also connected with the place of Jesus' death (Heb 13.11-12). Two hundred miles is literally 1,600 stadia, the 1, 600 being symbolic of earth (4x4) and wholeness (10x10) thuse the whole earth. Connected as it is with grain and grape-bread and wine-the allusion here is to the blood of Christ that covers the whole earth in the Eucharist. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 6th

Read Revelation 14.1-5 In 14.1-5: The Lamb and the 144,000. Now we see the Lamb's battle preparations. Mount Zion is the place from which deliverance comes (Ps 14.7; Isa 59.20). For the one hundred forty-four thousand, see 7.4; on the meaning of forehead, see 13.16. In verses 2-3: The voice evokes the opening vision (1.15); the throne scene recalls the second vision (4.2). It is a new song because it belongs to the new age. In verse 4: The characterization of these warriors as those who have not defiled themselves with women, for they are virgins is primarily a spiritual description (contrast 2.20;14.8). Hoy war demanded ceremonial purity (Lev 15.16-32). Still, the idea shares in the ancient notion that women are corrupt and corrupting. First fruits was an offering (Lev 2.14). In verse 5: Blameless is literally without blemish-the requirement for a sacrifical animal (Lev 1.3). Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 5th

Read Revelation 13.11-18 The second beast has the external appearance of the Lamb but the internal character of the dragon; this land beast is modeled on the ancient figure of behemoth (Job 40.15) and represents the civic side of Roman power. In verse 13: The great signs of this beast seems to be connected to the rites honoring the emperor. In verse 15: The image of the best appeared both on countless statues and on all Roman coins. In verse 16: The right hand represents human work and activity; the forehead represents human spirit and worship (see 14.9). In verse 17: The mark here is spiritual, not visible. No one can buy or sell without using the images on the coins, thus defiling their hands. In verses 18: The number six hundred sixty-six is calculated by adding up the numeric values of each letter of the person's name-in this case probably that of Nero-but its real significance is that of six. Six is incomplete and imperfect; it is the day humans were created but refuses to move on to day seven, God's day. It is the human (six) claiming to be perfect (seven) that represents the act of the beast. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 4th

TWO BEASTS ARISE In 12.18-13.18: We first see the dragon preparing for battle. Read Revelation 12.18-13.10 The beast from the sea is the ancient sea monster leviathan, already used as a model for the dragon (12.3), The first description echoes that of the dragon, but this is modified by details from Daniel's beasts (Dan 7.1-7). In verse 3: One of its heads refers to an individual ruler who is cut off, probably referring to the killing of Julius Caesar, whose death did not kill the beast of the empire. Its mortal wound refers to the wound of the beast, not to the head. In verse 5: Forty-two months is the period of evil (see 11.2). In verse 6: The blasphemies are the claims to divinity inherent in the cult of the emperors: Julius was divine and later emperors are sons of the divine Julius. In verse 7: That the beast is to make war on the saints is expected, but it is surprising that it will conquer them (but see 11.7). In verse 9: Let anyone who has an ear, listen repeats the chorus of all seven messages to the churches (chs. 2-3). In verse 10: Both escape and armed rebellion are futile; persistence is called for. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 3rd

THE WAR OF THE COSMOS In 12.1-11.5: The focus shifts from what God is doing to the counterview what Satan is doing, waging war on the saints. Read Revelation 12.1-17 In 12.1-17: The attack of the dragon on the woman. Three actons are shown: the birth of the son, the war in heaven, and the war on earth. In verses 1-6: The birth of the son. A potent is taken or omen or astrological sign (here perhaps Virgo). Here is the sky. Twelve stars recall both the zodiac and the number of God's poeple: Gen 37.9. The woman here is clearly the mother of the messiah, but this could be understood three ways: Mary, Israel, Eve (see Gen 3.15), or perhaps all three at once. The story of the endangered birth also echoes myths associated with Isis, Leto, and Roma. In verse 2: The birth pangs recall both the story of Eve (Gen 3.16) and the promise of the new age (Mt 24.8). In verse 3: The dragon is God's primal enemy in ancient Near eastern mythology, Leviathan is Jewish tradition (Isa 27.1; Ps 74.14; see also Dan 7.7); as an astrological sign, perhaps Scorpio, which follows Virgo. In verse 4: The stars propbably refer to fallen angels, again echoing the Lucifer myth (see 9.1); this may also be the same event described at 8.12. In verse 5: The messiah was the one who would rule (literally shepherd) the nations (Ps 2). In verse 6: The wilderness is both the place of safety after the Exodus and the place where salvation was to begin; see Isa 40.3 and Mk 1. One thousand two hundred sixty days is the time of evil; see 11.2-3. In verses 7-12: The war in heaven. Michael is the prince of Israel (Dan12.1), hence the heavenly counterpart to Israel-or, in our idiom, the inner relaity of Israel. Paradoxically, this war both establishes God's kingdom (v.10) and unleashes Satan's power on earth (v.12). In verse 11: This rests on the greater paradox: Satan's defeat is by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. Testimong here is "martus" (witness), and it is close to it coh=gnate meaning martyr. In verses 13-17: The war on earth. The escape on the wings of the great eagle is an exodus motif (Ex 19.4): The flood is appropriate to the ancient sea monster. In verse 16: The earth is feminine, thus, contrary to the expectation that the hero will come to the rescue, we see the rather remarkable picture of one woman being rescued by another. In verse 17: The rest of her children now come under attack, defined more precisely as law-observant followers of jesus. Most of the rest of the story deatails this attack. Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 2nd

Read Revelation 11.14-19 In 11.14-18: The seventh trumpet This announcement that God's kingodm has come symbolizes the final end ( 10.7). The twenty-four elders represnt God's people (see 4.4), and their worship of God enacts God's rule. In verse 16: We give you thanks is the Greek word "eucharistoumen." In verse 18: This poem represents the desire for justice, rewarding your servants and destroying those who destry the earth. In verse 19: This is pivotal, both closing the action of the throne scene and opening a new action. Seeing the ark means John is looking into the inmost sanctuary, thus the traditional elements marking God's manifestation (see 4.5). Note the similar motif of the spliting of the temple curtain at Jesus' crucifixion (Mk 15.38 and parallels). Comments or Questions..

Reading for May 1st

Read Revelation 11.1-13 The temple and altar represent the inner relity of the community, which will be protected, even while the outer relity (policcal, social, and economic well-being) is at the mercy of enemies. In verse 2: Forty-two months is the peiod of evil, the same as 1,260 days or three and half years. As half of seven,the period of evil is always incomplete, broken. In verses 3-4: The two witnesses dramatize what the temple scene symbolized: they are both conquerored and victorious. They represent the people of God, characterized both as king and priest (two olive trees; see Zech 4.12; Rev 1.6) and the two prophets, Moses (plagues; Ex7) and Elijah (shutting the sky; 2 Kings 17). Their quality as two emphasizes their functions as witnesses (Deut19.15). In verse 5: The fire from their mouth is their testimony (see Sir 48.1). In verse 7; The beast is prematurely shown here but will be introcduced in ch. 13. The war will become the theme of John's new prophecy (chs. 12-22; see 12-17). In verse 8: The great city is a complex symbol; here it stands for Jerusalem, later it symbolizes Rome (17.18). it is prophectically called Sodom and Egypt, places of opposition to God. This is a spiritual or symbolic geography (as is all of John's geography). In verse 9; The three and half days is yet another symbol for the period of evil. In verse 11: The inward possession of breath of life (the spirit) is the final testimony. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 30th

Read Revelation 10.1-11 In 10.1-11.13: John's angelic commission. Encompasses within the sixth trumpet (which ends at 11.14) are two seemingly unrelated scenes of John's encounter with angels; both enact divine protection and thus correlate with the sealing of the saints that was part of the sixth seal (7.1-17(. The cloud, rainbow, and pillars of fire suggest divine presence (Ex 19.16; 13.21; Gen 9.13). In verse 4: The muysterious seven thunders represent additional hidden revelation, known only to John, and also evoke the promise that the seventh trumpet will bring the promised fulfillment. In verse 10: The little scroll is explicity said to represent another prophetic announcement (10.11). In verse 11: To prophesy is to announce the Revelation of God's judgment and salvation. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 29th

Read Revelation 9.13-21 In 9.13-11.14: The sixth trumpet. Like the sixth seal, this is a complicated scene with several actions. In 9.13-21: The angels from the Euphrates. The demonic attack continues. The golden altar is the incense altar (8.3). In verse 18: Plagues that do not cause the recipients to repent are both themes from The Exodus story (Ex 8.32; 10.20). In verse 20 The charge that others are worshipping demons and idols shows John's utter rejection of Greco-Roman culture. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 28th

THE THREE BLASTS OF WOE in 8.13-11.18: As the first four trumpets were introduced by a short dramatic scene (8.3-5), so also are the last three (8.13). Only two of these woes are later marked (9.12; 11.14). The last trumpet is hardly a woe, for it contains nothing unpleasant. Read Revelation 8.13-9.12 In 9.1-11: The fifth trumpet. The star that has fallen is an apparent reference to the myth of Lucifer (see Isa 14; Luke 10.18). The opening of the pit unleashes demonic forces for the first time in the story (it will be close again in 20.3). In verse 3: The locusts echo the plague on Egypt (Ex 10.12-20) and are modeled on Joel 2.4: The seal of God refers to 7.1-3. In verse 10: five months is more that a third of a year, the only other use of five is at 17.10. In verse 11: Abaddon is the Hebrew term for the grave or the pit; Apollyon seems to be apun for its usual Greek translation ("apoleia," destruction), changed to suggest the sun god Apollo. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 27th

Read Revelation 8.2-12 In 8.2-11.19: The sounding of the trumpets. In 8.2: The seven angels indicate the inner circle of angelic beings; the trumpets are more like bugles and were used for signaling in battles. In verses 3-5: The center of prayer. The small scene is a graphic description of how prayers of the saints bring judgment to the earth, preparing the repeated scenes of judgment that follow. In verses 6-12: The four blasts of destruction. The destruction of a third is an increase over the earlier portrayal that affected one-quarter (6.8). The whole human sphere is contaminated; earth, sea, fresh water, and heavenly bodies. In verse 11: Wormwood is a bitter herb; see Amos 5.6-7. In verse 12: The notion that both the day and the night could be diminished by one-third makes sense only poetically. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 26th

Read Revelation 8.1 In 8.1: The seventh seal. The silence is both an image of primeval (see 2 Esd 7.26-34) and the pause before a new action, the sound of trumpets. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 25th

Read Revelation 7.1-17 In 7.1-17: The sealing of the servants of God. Four is the number of the earth. Seal is the same word as the seven seals. The forehead was symbolic of human will and worship; see 13.16; Ezek 9.4. In verse 4: One hundred forty-four thousand is a symbolic number built on 12 (God's people) and 10 (all). In verses 5-8: The regathering of the twelve tribes was expected in the end time (Isa 43), but this list is unique is substituing Joseph and Levi for Dan and Ephraim. In verse 9: The great mulitude is either a second group of gentiles or another image for the same group. In verses 9-12: The scene of Rev 4-5 is repeated and central theme of this story, whorshipping God, is emphasized. In verse 14: The grat ordeal was the time of suffering that would inaugurate the messianic age; not that John's story is already underway. Although sealed from God's wrath, they still suffer. In verse 15-17: This remarkable vision of divine protection is the antithesis of this scene in seal five, Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 24th

Read Revelation 6.9-17 In 6.9-8.1: The thre seals of judgment and salvation. In 6.9-11: The fifth seal. The altar is for sacrifice and these been slaughtered, implying that these lost lives have some significance (see 5.6; 12.11). Souls is simply "lives": thus, the battered lives of the oppressed call for justice. In verse 10: The call to avenge their blood is hardly in the spirit of the Jesus of the gospels (Lk 23.34). However, the retribution John images is based on justice (Rev 16.5-6). There is a similar scene in 2 Esd 4.35-37. In verse 11: The judgment is deferred until the number would be complete, implying both the patience of God and the correlation between the extent of evil and its judgment. In verses 12-17: The sixth seal. All the elements of the final judgment appear here, but no act of judgment is portrayed. We are shown onlythe anxiety of the judged. For these images see Isa 34.4. This anticipation of universal judgement seems to raise the issue of what will happen to the righteous. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 23rd

THE UNSEALING OF THE SCROLL In 6.-8.1: With the removal of each seal, we glimpse an aspect of the cosmic drama of human destructiveness, divine justice, and eventual peace. The whole series enacts a unified action. Read Revealtion 6.1-8 In 6.1-8: The four seals of human destructiveness. The four living creatures represent all of creation, see 4.6. The colors of the horses have their common meaning: white stands for victory or conquest; red is the color of blood shed in war; black is the color of dead vegetation; and pale green is the yellowish-bray color of rotting flesh. In addition, each rider is given an instrument appropirate to his task. The bow occurs here in Revelation, it is never an image of Jesus, and thus the first rider is best seen as a military conqueror (in spite of the fact that Jesus will later appear on a white horse; 19.11). The appearance of such a conqueror leads inevitably to war. the second rider, and war leads inevitably to famine, the third rider. In verse 6: The charge, do not damage the olive oil and the wine, in unceratin but may stem from the fact that these are long term crops not needing yearly planting and thus not as susceptible to the war-induced famine. In verse 8: Hades was Zesus'brother and the ruler of the underworld and thus by metaphor holder of the dead; see 20.13. There is an escalating destruction in the Apocalypse, beginning here with a fourth; the next series will destroy one-third (8.7); the last will destroy all (16.1-12). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 22nd

Read 5.1-14 In 5.1-14: The dilemma of the sealed scroll. Whereas the first scene centers on creation and presents an ideal picture (ch. 4), the second scene presents a story of human failure, judgment, and restoration. The first task is to introduce the one with the power to judge and restore. In verses 1-5: The power to open the scroll. The right hand is the hand of power and favor (Ps 20.6; 44.3; 98.1). The scroll represents secret knowldge and access to it as a revelation (see ps 139.16). Scrolls were orinarily written only on the inside and rarely on the back, either there is too much for the scroll to hold or there is a summary on the outside (standard for contracts and wills, were opened only when they were put to use). The imagery derives from Ezek 2.10 and will be used again in Rev 10. The seven seals signify the perfection of the scroll's contents and may also allude to a practice of Roman will-making. The notion that the book contains God's will is intriguging. In verse 2: Worthy signifies having power or position to do the deed; see 5.9 for the basis of this worth. In verse 5; Both the Lion and the Root of David are messianic images (Gen 49.9; Isa 11.10; Jer 23.5). Both are images of power (Prov 30.30) and righeous violence. In verses 6-14: The adoration of the Lamb. The Lamb image is the antithis of the lion; it is the recipient of violence, not the author of it. Overwhelmningly, it is an image of sacrifice (Ex 29; Lev 14), but also an image of gentleness (Jer 11.19) and of undeserved suffering (Isa 53.7). Seven means perfect here. In verse 8: The four creatures were mentioned at 4.6 and the twenty-four elders at 4.4. John makes the meaning of the incense symbol explicit: it is the prayers of the saints. That such prayers actually cause divine judgment is portrayed at 8.2. In verse 9: They sing a new song because the Lamb's work has brought a new age. The proccess by which that new age is brought to relity is detailed in the song. In vees 10: That the lamb makes both a kingdom and priests reveals the dual political and religious nature of John's vision; see also 1.9. In verses 13-14: The scene climaxes with every creature giving proper praise to God and to the Lamb. It is worth noting that this grand scene of the universal redemption precedes all reference to punishment or destruction. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 21st

THE LITURGY IN HEAVEN In 4.1-11.18: The action of this whole section derives from what happens in heaven. It is thus in the most ovious way a revelation: a glimpse into the hidden inner workings of the divine court. Read Reveleation 4.1-11 In 4.1-11: The order of creation. The scene presents the cosmos as it was meant to be with all creation gathered around the throne of God. The notion of access to heaven through through an open door is also found in the Testament of Levi 5.1 and 1 Enbnoch 14.8-15. The first voice is a reference to the opening vision, 1.10. Come up here expresses John's view of the universe as three-leveled with the earth as the cnter; see also 5.3. The phrase after this both opens and closes this sentence. The basic idea is one of correspondence between heaven and earth so that what John sees in heaven must take place on earth. In verse 2: The phrase in the spirit opened the first vision (1.10) also probably indicates that this was at one time a separate vision. Notice that john ascends by going inward. The throne image is central to Revelation, contrasting God's throne with that of Satan (2.13). It is a political image. Such throne visions were common feature of Jewish mysticism, derving ultimately from Ezek 1.3. In verse 3: We cannot be sure what gems John intended by jasper and camelian; it is surprising that God is described as a stone. The rainbow is a sign of divine protection (Gen 9.12-13; Ezek 1.28; Rev 10.1). In verse 4: Twenty-four is a doubing of the number of God's people; several explanations have been offered (the 12 tribes plus the 12 apostles, the 24 orders of priests; the 24 figures associated with the zodiac). The only clear point is that these elders represent the heavenly counterpart to the earthly community. The white robed signal their victorious lives (3.5) as do the golden crowns, for they are the kind given to victors in athletic contests (1 Cor 9.25). In verse 5: The lightning, thunder, and fire signal the manifestation of the divine presence (or theophany; see Ex 20.18). The seven spirits represent the Holy Spirit; see 1.4-5 and Zech 4.2, 10. In verses 6-8: Four marks the living creatures as of the earth, probably the four orders of creation; the same four appear in Ezekiel 1; see also Isa 6. They are full of eyes because they have full understanding, deriving from fullness of the spirit (5.6). Holy, Holy, Holy derives from Isa 6.1 and had become a traditional part of Jewish and Christian worship in john's time. In verses 9-11: Notice how the various participants work in concert, creating harmony. Such worship is proper. because the object is worthy, and this worthiness is based on the act of creation. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 20th

Read Revelation 3.14-22 In 3.14-22: The letter from the faithful witness to Laodicea: Eat with me. Laodicea was a prosperous trading city, orginally built as a military colony to protect inland trade routes. It lacked water supply and had to pipe in its water. The expression origin of God's creation is ambigous and could mean that the speaker was the first to be created, the source of the creation, or the ruler of creation. A similar exprssion at Col 1.15 links the resurrection with the beginning of the new creation. In verses 15-16: I am rich begins a series of mercantile allusions drawn from the local economy, which included a famous black wool and eye salve. In verse 16: The luke warm spiritual state of the Laodiceans is a taunt on their tepid water; niether hot (like Hieropolis to the North ) nor cold (like Colossae to the South). In verse 20:The imagery is close to the Jesus story in Luke 12.35-37. In verse 21: The throne image opens the door to the next scene, where God's throne is central. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 19th

Read Revelation3.7-13. In 3.7-13: The letter from the door keeper to Philadephia: Advance. Piladelphia was the most remote and least propsperous of the cities. The key of David represents the powers of the steward; much of the imagery of this letter is drawn from Isa 22.15-25. In verse 8: The word of Jesus is both his teachings and his testimony (see also 12.11). In verse 9; The slander that others who claim to be Jews are a synagogue of Satan shows strong hostility between the Jews of John's community and others (see also 2.9). In verse 10: The hour of trail indicates an indefinite, but short, period of testing, widely expected in apocalyptic writings (see the simiiar idea at 2.9-10). In verse 11: The crown is the vistor's wreath (2.10). In verse 12: The Temple image serves various purposes in Revelation; most often it is the heavenly focus of action (11.19; 14.15; 15.5;16.1), but here it more likely refers to the people of God among whom God dwells. At 21.22 the image will be reversed: Since God is there, no Temple is needed. The new Jerusalem is another symbol for the people of God, here spoken of in the present tense as already coming down from heaven (see 21.2). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 18th

Read Revelation 3.1-6 In 3.1-6:The letter from the spirit possessor to Sadis: Awake. Sardis is an inland city, prosperous in John's time but famous for it lost wealth. Its orginal mountaintop location was thought to be impregnable, but it was conquered in surprise nightime attacks. In verse 3: The coming like a thief is a standard apocalyptic warning (Mt 25,42-43; 1 Thess 5.2), but here it is used in an individual and present sense rather than to refer to the end of the age. In verse 5: The white robes may have a sense of purity here, in contrast to the soiled clothes, but the basic meaning of white in this story is conquest, and it is this sense that they are worthy. The book of the image is used repeatedly in Revelation(13.8; 17.8; 201.12, 15). The expression was also used by Paul (Phil 4.3) and occurs in a late first-century Jewish synagogue prayer: 'May the Nazarenes ... be blotted out of the book of life" (Twelfth Benediction). The basic metaphor of God's keeping track of things in the book occurs in the Exodus story (Ex 32.32) Comments or Questions.

Reading for April 17th

Read Revelation 2.18-29 In 2.18-29: The letter from the Son of God to Thyatira: Holdfast. Thyatira was an inland commercial and manufacturing center with many trade guilds. It was also the home of an important temple of Apollo that was famous for its prophetic oracles given through a priestess known as the Sibyl. In verse 20: Jezebel, the ancient queen' who sponsored the prophets of Baal against Elijah (1 Kings 18-22), is symbolic of John's opponent here; Jezebel is not her real name. On fornication and food sacrificed to idols, see 2.14. Paul's regulations were less strick that John's; see 1 Cor 8-10. In verse 22: Adultery is probably symbolic of worshipping other gods. In verse 23: Her children are her disicples. Minds is literally kidneys, the seat of emotions and feelings. The heart was the center of the will. In verse 24: The address to the rest reveals a divison in the community. The deep things of Satan is clearly a local phrase at whose meaning we can only guess. Laying on them no other burden might echo the teaching older than Paul demanding absention from sacrificed meat (Acts 15.28). In verse 27: The iron rod is a reference to the powers of Israel's king (Psalm 2.9). In verse 28: The morning star is Venus, but for John it is a symbol of Christ (22.16). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 16th

Read Revelation 2.12-17 In 2.12-17: The letter from the warrior to Pergamum: Resist evil. Pergamum was a strongly fortified, mountaintop city that had dominated this whole region until Rome's power prevailed. Two-edged sword is Jesus' word: see 1.16. In verse 13: It is no longer possible to decide what John meant by Satan's throne, but throne points to a politcal context. Nothing else is known about the martyr Antipas, the only named martyr in this story. In verse 14: Balaam was an ancient prophet who failed to curse Israel but still damaged the Israelites by counseling cultural accomodation; see Num 22-25. Food sacrificed to idols would encompass nearly all meat offered for public sale in a major city, since it would be dedicated to a god when butchered. Fornication is probably spiritual. In verse 15: On the Nicoliaitians see 2.6. In verse 16: I will come is another present tense; see 2.5. In verse 17: Manna was the miraclous food that preserved Israel in the wilderness after the Exodus (Ex 16), perhaps now symbolic of the Eucharist, see Jn 6. The meaning of the white stone remains obscure, though white is associated with victory in Revelation; juries voted with white and dark stones. The new name is a metaphor for a changed person (Gen 32.24-28); that no one knows it shows that the change in the person is beyond ordinary understanding see comment on 19,12. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 15th

Read Revelation 2.8-11 In 2.8-11: The letter from the suffer to Smyrna: Do not fear tribulation. Snyna was a city of great wealth that had been destroyed and rebuilt. Its riches amid poverty is contrasted with the poverty amid riches at Laodicea (3.17). In verse 9: Slander probably refers to Jewish refusal to recognize John's community as part of the Jewish community, thus exposing them to Roman suspicions as a new religious group. John engages in similar slander by calling them those who say that they are Jews and are not. Synagogue of Satan is not anti-Semitic in this situation since John himself is claiming to be Jewish, but it soon becomes so in Christian tradition. In verse 10: Prison was not a punishment in the Roman world, but a place of detention until punishmnt could be melted out. Ten days indicate full and complete (ten) but relative short (days) time. For a ten-day mourning ritual connected with Smyna, see Iiiad 24.602ff. Crown of life refers to the garland given to victorius athletes. In verse 11: Second death is an idea that occurs only in revelation (see also 20.6, 14; 21.8). It is the opposite of particpating in the first resurrection and the same as the lake of fire. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 14th

Read Revelation 2.1-7 In 2.1-7: The letter from the star holder to Ephesus: Love. Each letter is a unified composition that follows the general pattern: addressee, sender (described with traits from the vision in ch. 1), description of the present situation with statements of praise or warning, a promise to those who conquer, a refrain about hearing what the spirit says (with these last two items reversed inthe first three letters). In vese 1: Angel remains messenger and could refer to the leader of the local congregation, but more likely it refers to the heavenly counterpart (or inner reality) of the church, as in 1.20. See Dan 10.20-21. Ephesus was the leading commerical city of the area. In verse 2: Endurance is a quality John shares; see 1.9. Apostles are those who claim to be sent by Jesus; this is the first clue that the leadership of these churches is divided. In verse 5; I will come is actually a present tense: I am coming. In verse 6: Nicolaitans ("conqueror of people") are undefined in John's story, and another ancient source gives us reliable information about them. In verse 7: Everyone who conquers is the requirement for reward in each if the letters. To eat a sacred meal perhaps alludes to the eucharist, sacred meals were common aspect of ancient temples. The tree of life is a multideminional symbol, referring to the tree in Eden (Gen 2); Wisdom (prov 3.18), and the tree of Artemis, the great goddess of Ephesus whose temple was one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. It may also refer to the cross of Jesus, the true tree of life. Paraduise was a name both for Eden and for the temple enclosure of Artemis; for a connection with Jesus' cross, see Luke 23.43. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 13th

Read Revelation 1.9-20 In 1.9-20: Voices on Patmos. John's choice of the title brother probably indicates a community that does not emphasize heirarchy. Persecution, kingdom, endurance is a very odd triad, since in ordinary understanding the time of persecution precedes the time of the kingdom; they do not overlap. Endurance is an active, not a passive quality; some would translate it "resistance." Patmos was a sparsely settled island in John's day, not a penal-colony as is often said. John's presence there could be the result of banishment (forced relocation by the goverment) or it could be voluntary, either to carry his testimony there or to use the relative isolation of Patmos to collect and edit his visions. In verse 10: In his spirit probably indicates a trance-like state, but more importantly it is a claim that the vision is inspired. The Lord's day is prosaically. Sunday, but poetically it refers to the day of Jesus' resurrection (past) and coming (future; compare the expression"day of the Lord" in Isa 1.3; Joel 2, or Zeph 1). John's particular expression could also be understood as the imperial day, pointing to a contrast between Jesus and the emperor that will become increasingly pointed (see ch. 13). In verses 12-20: The vision of Jesus. This relies heavily onthe descriptions of heavenly realities in Dan 7-10, especially the Ancient One (Dan 7.9-10), together with elements from Zechariah (4.2), Ezekiel (43.2), and Isaiah (11.4; 49.2). The Son of Man figure is complex, with the basic meaning of human (contrasted with beasts; see Dan 7.13). The description of the robe and sash mark the figure as royal or priestly. Holding the seven stars is a sign of control over destiny. The stars above correspond to the lampstands below, as the heavenly corresponds to the earthly. The sword is not in his hand (power, coercion) but in his mouth (word, testimony). In verses 17-20: The comission from Jesus: see Dan 10.9. In verse 20: John clearly explains the meaning of many of his symbols. The worldview is dualistic, with a correspondence between what is above (stars and angels) and what is below (lamps and churches). In modern terms we might think of the inner spiritual relity of the everyday world. Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 12th

In 1.1-11: The opening: orienting the audience. This section contains the basic markers to allow the reader to place this writing: It is first of all a revelation (a message from God); but also a letter (a message from a known person). Read Revelation 1.1-8 In verses 1-3 As v. 3 indicates, the work is to be read aloud, thus the first voice one hears is that of the public reader. This voice announces that the revelation is of Jesus Christ, meaning that it both belongs to him and is about him. The revelation descends through the orders: God, Jesus, angel, John, churches. In verses 4-7: Sunddenly the revelation genre is forced into a letter genre as John speaks in his own voice. This is a standard letter opening, comparable to any of Paul's letters. In verses 4-5a: The grace has three sources: God, Jesus, and the Spirit, each described symbolically. God is described in a terse (and awkward) expression, literally: The being, that was, and the coming. One expects, but does not find a future tense. The Spirit is symbolized as sevenfold, meaning perfect and complete. Jesus has three symbolic tags. referring respectively to his death, reurrection and present reign. In verses 5b-6: This short doxology emphasizes two major themes of Revelation: kingdom (politics) and priests (religion); they are throughly intermixed in John's vision. In verse 7: This oracular announcement places Jesus' coming in the present tense, surrounded by his past suffering and future revelation. In verse 8; The vpoice of the Lord speaks next; God's title here echoes the Exodus story (Ex 3.14). John carefully avoids future tense, instead describing God as "coming," a major theme (for example, 1.7; 3.11; 16.15; 21.2;22.1, 20). Comments or Questions.

Reading for April 11th

Read Ezekiel 48.23-25 In verses 23-29: The southern tribes are listed from the north to the south as Bejamin, Simeon, Isaachar, Zebulun, and Gad. In verses 30-35: There are three gates allotted to the tribes on each side of the square city. The northern gates include Reuben, Judah, and Levi; the eastern gates include Sineon, Issachar, and Zebilun; and the western gates include Gad, Ashr, and Naphatali. The name of the city is The Lord is There ("yhwh shammah") to signify the return of God's presence (See Isa 60.14; Jer 30.11). Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 10th

Read Ezekiel 48.8-22 In verses 8-22: The "holy district," or levitical allotment (45.1-9), is defined in detail. The priests are placed in the north, and the sanctuary is assigned to their portion; the Levities are placed to the south of the priests, and the portion reserved for Israel, which contains the city (Jerusalem), is placed to the south of the Levites. The portion allotted to the prince is on either side of the "holy district." Comments or Questions..

Reading for April 9th

Read Ezekiel 48.1-7 In 48.1-35: The tribes are assigned equal portions of land arrayed along the length of the land from north to south. In verses 1-7: The northern tribes are listed from north to south as Dan, Asher, Naphtali, Manasseh, Ephraim, Rueben, Judah. Comments or Questions..