There's a Monster at the End of This Book

            Have you ever read as a kid or to your kids the book There is a Monster at the End of this Book with Grover from Sesame Street? Spoiler Alert Ahead: The whole time Grover is in fear that a monster will be at the end of book and so he tries to stop you from reading the book so you don’t get to the end. But when you get to the end you realize there was really nothing to be scared of and there really was no monster. This is how some people see the book of Revelation, it is the monster at the end of the Book. It is seen as a scary and horrible book that doesn’t make sense as it seems to be filled with disease, destruction and death. The book of Revelation use to scare me.

            Yet the book of Revelation is also intriguing. Books like The Late Great Planet Earth and the Left Behind Series have caused people to have a greater interest into this mysterious book. People try to interpret it in many different ways. The most popular way to read Revelation is to read it literally and try to interpret the events by the current world situations. What will the mark of the beast be? (Could it be a microchip or another mark)? What do the numbers 666 mean? (I once heard that the www of the internet somehow equaled 666). Does the book describe a nuclear holocaust? (People get nervous when they hear of countries like Iran and North Korea possibly having nuclear weapons). Who is the antichrist? (It was thought it could be Hitler, today some say President Obama could be the antichrist). Interesting note: the word antichrist is not found in the book of Revelation at all and is only found 4 times in the Bible overall in 1 and 2 John.

            But what did the author of Revelation have in mind when he wrote this book? First, he would not have taken his work as literal. He did not picture a nuclear holocaust. He did not see modern day objects and then try to interpret them in the language of the day (example: Locusts were actually a symbol for a helicopter but since he did not know what it was he used words that were familiar to him). The pictures were symbolic and were taken from other prophetic works like Isaiah, Daniel, Jeremiah and Ezekiel. The author also referred to other non-biblical works such as the apocryphal book of Enoch (which includes similar pictures of the judgment of the wicked and a new heaven and earth).

            Second, the book of Revelation had a political edge to it. Many of the pictures and descriptions were symbolic of Rome. They referenced the Emperors, its systems and other parts of the Roman Empire (example: the number 666 was likely a cryptic way of referring to the Emperor Nero who persecuted Jews and Christians). This leads to why the author wrote his book.

            Third, the book was written was written to comfort the people who would read it. John (not the disciple John but a different John) had witnessed the destruction of the Temple in Jerusalem and the scattering and torture of many of the Jewish people. He had seen Rome victorious over the people of the one true God. He saw Rome brag about its conquests and its power. He would have questioned just as other Jews did: Where was God when this happened? Why didn’t God protect his people? These were the same questions asked years earlier when other empires overtook Israel and caused the people to be carried off to other nations.

            So what answers are given to these questions? The first is that Jesus is Lord and Caesar is not. While there may not be a specific answer, the readers are to believe that regardless of all that happened that Jesus is greater than Roman rulers. Second God’s kingdom that began through the resurrection of Jesus is greater than the kingdom of Rome. Rome may brag now but in the end God’s justice will spring forth, the world will be put right and all will see the greatness of God’s kingdom. This leads to the third answer which speaks to a new heaven and earth. God will restore the earth and his creation to the way it should have been, the way it looked in the Garden of Eden before sin entered the world. Sin will be completely defeated. The sick will be restored (when Jesus healed people it was not for show but was a sign and picture of what restoration will look like when God’s full kingdom will come).God will reign forever in the New Jerusalem, which will never be destroyed again.

            How can we apply this to the world in which we live today? First, Jesus is the true Lord and any other leader or government system is not. Although it may not look like this is the case we must look by faith and say Jesus is Lord. Second, God’s kingdom is at work in the world even if the full reality of it has not yet been revealed. Third, there is hope of a future in which the world is restored, evil is destroyed and we will be with God forever and ever. God will not blow up his world but rather restore it and his people to the way they should be, the way it should have looked before sin entered the world.

            When read in this new light, the book of Revelation is no longer the monster at the end of the book. In fact I find hope and excitement in Revelation. I see that Jesus is Lord even if things do not look like it. And it gives me hope to look forward to a time when Jesus will right all wrongs, bring restoration and healing and we will reign with him forever.