“Maranatha” – “Come, Lord Jesus!”
The Book of Revelation – Series 6
Concluding Reflections
The message of Revelation does not depend upon calculations about the time of the second coming of the Lord – we must be convinced about the “nearness of the Lord” and the certainty of the Christian vision of salvation. Yet, many of the questions raised by Revelation continue to create problems for us today.
What are some of the questions that continue to cause problems today???
As Christians we must question false claims of political and economic systems when they destroy Christian values.
We must question the nature of human compliance with evil and injustice.
We must face the dangers of sectarian groups which pervert the Gospel by claiming to have “inside knowledge” of God.
We must also ask whether we really believe in God’s rule over the cosmos which Revelation presents as real and active.
Revelation uses all the mythic and symbolic resources at its disposal to show us the dangers of a false estimate of the powers of this world – the “new Babylons” of our time in history. As a result, we have to live on the edge – taking our values from the Gospel. We do not need to ask, “What would Jesus do?” Rather, we need to reflect on “What did Jesus do?”. This is the starting point and the ending point for our moral reflection when faced with issues in our everyday life. We are called upon to make incarnate those values that continue God’s dream for the world, a dream that was enfleshed in the person and work of Jesus of Nazareth.
And, when push comes to shove we must join with the voices of those early Christians who prayed in the midst of fear, doubt and persecution – “Maranatha”!!! “Come Lord Jesus!
