One of my favorite passages within the Revelation of Jesus, or even within Scripture on the whole, is early in John the Beloved’s vision. Just after the Lord of glory interrupted John’s “normal” Shabbat prayers in the best, most intrusive way possible,[1] just after John received letters to send to discipleship communities throughout Asia Minor,[2] and just after “the disciple Jesus loved”[3] was brought “up” into the cosmic throne room,[4] the aged apostle experienced something that could scarce be put into words.
But let’s rewind a little bit and consider the worldview he entered the throne room with.
The last question John and his (surviving) comrades asked the resurrected Jesus just before He ascended into glory was this earnest, legitimate inquiry:
“Lord, will You now restore the Kingdom to Israel?”[4]
Before I proceed, I have to (begrudgingly) acknowledge how this line is often taught in modern (Western) biblical theology, built on the premise that the Church has now replaced ethnic, national, and territorial Israel. If Gentile believers inherit all her promises (conveniently leaving her discipline and curses in the Old Testament), we can’t square this conversation up without someone—replacement theologians or the apostles themselves—being idiots. And we don’t want to think ourselves idiotic, so the blame gets placed squarely on the apostles who spent over three years as part of Jesus’ incarnate ministry team and had just spent forty days with a resurrected Son of Man hearing His explicit teaching on the Kingdom.[5] They “mistakenly” couldn’t stop thinking about a political revolution. They couldn’t see that the Kingdom was an ethereal concept Plato would later crystallize. (As if God’s great redemptive plan is to land us on clouds with harps and angel wings.) Joaquin Phoenix’s recent film Mary ruins a great film with this conclusion. I’ve never felt so disappointed.
Could it be the apostles knew exactly what they were talking about and, after forty days of Kingdom teaching from Jesus Himself, had every reason to set their hopes on the restoration of the Kingdom to Israel? Could it be that so many of our modern scholars and M.Divs are the ones biblically illiterate and mistaken?
Let us return to John’s revelation of Jesus, because it matters here what we believe God is doing. If the Kingdom is simply a warm and fuzzy feeling inside us, we can’t make sense of the Revelation (too often, we don’t; we throw that in the “idiot” pile with our misinformed reading of Acts 1:6). If it is a real, tangible restoration human history is barreling towards, that’s a bit different. We can then make sense of the seals, trumpets, and bowls described in the Revelation. We can place it alongside Daniel’s visions of the end. We can grapple with the geopolitical implications of the beast, or the cultural cesspool that will be the harlot. And we can give our hearts room to dream of a real and vibrant life without the toxicity of sin or grief of sickness and death. But now we have questions. How can we reach that true utopia? When can we build that? And—significantly, the question we have been asking since Genesis 3:15—who will lead us there?
This same question slammed into John like a freight train that day as he stood “up here”[6] and saw the Sovereign holding a seven-seal scroll. “Who is worthy to take the scroll, and open up its seals?” a mighty angel proclaimed—not asked; proclaimed.[7] Meaning, who can be trusted with the power, authority, and responsibility to end this “present evil age”[8] and crush the head of the serpent? Much like Isaiah’s insufficiencies immediately cornered him in his own throne room experience,[9] John went through the roll-deck in his mind, through the pages of history books, and looks around in the spirit of prophecy. To his horror, “no one in heaven or earth” was found trustworthy with such a beautiful burden. Mankind and created order would be condemned forever, without even the luxury of a merciful end. But an elder approached him with these comforting words: “Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of Jesse, has conquered, so He can open the scroll and its seven seals.”[10]
Weep no more.[11]
The LORD of hosts has a Day when the pride of man will be humiliated and He alone will be exalted; He will, in fact, be the only One standing when every knee bows.[12] His will be the only mouth silent when every tongue confesses the Lordship of Jesus Christ, to the glory of the Father—because He humiliated Himself first and lived a perfect life of full obedience, all the way to a criminal’s public execution. This is our “blessed hope,”[13] and waiting for His coming on the clouds with glory[14] is a good and right expectation. The apostles gave themselves to their—our—commission[15] with eager and unwavering commitment to “hasten the Day”[16] Jesus takes the scroll, breaks its seals, and fixes every wrong thing right.
He is the only hero. Without Him, the rest of us are only worth a damn.[17]
Stephanie Quick (@quicklikesand) is a writer/producer serving with FAI. She lives in the Golan Heights and cohosts The Better Beautiful podcast with Jeff Henderson. Browse her free music, films, and books in the FAI App and at stephaniequick.org.
[1] Revelation 1:10
[2] See Revelation 1:11; chapters 2-3
[3] John 13:23
[4] Revelation 1:4
[5] Acts 1:6
[6] Revelation 4:1
[7] Revelation 5:2
[8] Galatians 1:4
[9] Isaiah 6:1-7
[10] Revelation 5:5
[11] Revelation 21:4
[12] Isaiah 2:12-22; Philippians 2:5-11
[13] Titus 2:13
[14] Daniel 7:13-14
[15] Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:6-8
[16] 2 Peter 3:12
[17] Romans 3:9-26
