First Presbyterian Church
What's A Presbyterian to Do with Revelation? Part 5
Sermon for August 24, 2003
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Children's time: seals

Seals and wills conceal what's inside, guarantee what's inside hasn't been changed or falsified, tell who sealed them, breaking the seals means it is ready to be executed. Show different kinds of wax seals, seal a document closed with sealing wax.

In this sermon series, I've explained how John based most of his images on old testament verses, using the seventh chapter of Daniel as a model. Revelation was written to explain how it could be true that God is sovereign, and Christ will return even though evil flourishes and oppresses believers. In order to help the persecuted early church withstand and overcome their troubles by having a heavenly perspective, John speaks of, to, and for the seven spirits of the seven churches, who despite their problems and disputes, are still called to be the light of the world. In the letters to the churches we see that John, like the old testament prophets, was warning people so they would change. The book is not about punishment, it is about motivation. John knows the troubles of the churches, and the problems they face.

John calls Christ Lord, using language normally reserved for the emperor. John emphasizes Christ's divinity by speaking of Christ the way old testament prophets, especially Daniel spoke about God.

The prophet Daniel asked when history would end, and how and when the prophecies would be fulfilled. The answer was the book was sealed up until the end time. Now the answer finally comes, in Christ. Christ's death and resurrection has begun to fulfill Daniel's prophecies. I'm using Davie Aune's translation of Revelation. Listen for the word of God as it is found in Revelation 5.

1. Then I saw in the right hand of the One seated on the throne a scroll written both inside and on the back and sealed with seven seals.

Then Moses turned and went down from the mountain, carrying the two tablets of the covenant in his hands, tablets that were written on both sides, written on the front and on the back. Exodus 32:15

I looked, and a hand was stretched out to me, and a written scroll was in it. He spread it before me; it had writing on the front and on the back, and written on it were words of lamentation and mourning and woe. Ezekiel 2:9-10

2. Then I saw a mighty angel proclaiming with a loud voice, “who is worthy to open the scroll by breaking its seals?” 3. No one was able, either in heaven or on earth or under the earth, to open the scroll or to look into it. 4. Then I wept a great deal, because no one was found worthy to open the scroll or to look into it.

The vision of all this has become for you like the words of a sealed document. If it is given to those who can read, with the command, "Read this," they say, "We cannot, for it is sealed."

12 And if it is given to those who cannot read, saying, "Read this," they say, "We cannot read." Isaiah 29:11-12

5. Then one of the elders said to me, “stop weeping, behold the lion of the tribe of Judah, the descendant of David, he has conquered so that he is able to open the book and its seven seals.”

Judah is a lion's whelp; from the prey, my son, you have gone up. He crouches down, he stretches out like a lion, like a lioness-- who dares rouse him up? The scepter shall not depart from Judah, nor the ruler's staff from between his feet, until tribute comes to him; and the obedience of the peoples is his. Genesis 49:9,10

The days are surely coming, says the LORD, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. Jeremiah 23:5

6. Then I saw, between the throne and the four cherubim, and the elders, a lamb standing as though slain, with seven horns and seven eyes (which are the spirits of God sent out to the entire earth.)

"These seven are the eyes of the LORD, which range through the whole earth." Zechariah 4:10b

8 Now listen, Joshua, high priest, you and your colleagues who sit before you! For they are an omen of things to come: I am going to bring my servant the Branch. 9 For on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven facets, I will engrave its inscription, says the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the guilt of this land in a single day. Zechariah 3:8-9

7. He came and took the scroll from the right hand of the One seated on the throne.

As I watched in the night visions, I saw one like a human being coming … to the Ancient One. Daniel 7: 13

8a. And when he took the scroll, the four cherubim and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb,

The 24 elders may come from a list in 1 Chronicles 25, a list of 24 families “under the direction of their father for the music in the house of the LORD with cymbals, harps, and lyres for the service of the house of God.” Also, 24 is a number that would include the twelve tribes of Israel in the old testament, as well as the 12 apostles of Jesus in the New Testament.

8b. …each with a kithara [harp] and a golden pan filled with incense (which represents the prayers of God's people.)

Let my prayer be counted as incense before you, and the lifting up of my hands as an evening sacrifice. Psalm 141:2

9. Then they chanted a new song: “You are worthy to receive the book and open its seals, because you were slain and you redeemed for God by your death people from every tribe and tongue and people and nation,

To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. Dan 7:14

10. And made them for our God a kingdom and priests. And they will reign upon the earth.”

Now therefore, if you obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession out of all the peoples. Indeed, the whole earth is mine, but you shall be for me a priestly kingdom and a holy nation. Exodus 19:5, 6a

But the holy ones of the Most High shall receive the kingdom and possess the kingdom forever-- forever and ever." Daniel 7:18

11. Then I saw and I heard the sound of many angels encircling the throne, and the cherubim and the elders (their number was myriads and myriads and thousands of thousands)

A thousand thousands served him, and ten thousand times ten thousand stood attending him. The court sat in judgment, and the books were opened. Daniel 7:10b,c

12 chanting with a loud voice: “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and praise.”

Daniel said: "Blessed be the name of God from age to age, for wisdom and power are his. Daniel 2:20

13a. Then I heard every created being in heaven and on earth and under the earth and upon the sea and everything in them

And Ezra said: "You are the LORD, you alone; you have made heaven, the heaven of heavens, with all their host, the earth and all that is on it, the seas and all that is in them. To all of them you give life, and the host of heaven worships you. Nehemiah 9:6

13b [I heard them] responding, “To the One who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be praise and honor and glory and power for ever.”

To him was given dominion and glory and kingship, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion that shall not pass away, and his kingship is one that shall never be destroyed. Daniel 7:14

14. And the four cherubim responded, “Amen,” And the elders prostrated themselves and worshiped .

Ever since I started this series on Revelation, I've been reminded of Don McLean's song “American Pie.” (1) For those of you who aren't familiar with the 8 and a half minute folk song, the chorus goes like this:

(folk choir sings), “Bye, bye, Miss American Pie, drove my Chevy to the levee but the levee was dry. And good ol'boys drinkin' whiskey and rye, singing this'll be the day that I die, singing this'll be the day that I die.”

It reminds me of Revelation because people have entertained themselves by guessing what the words to the song mean, like people have tried to guess what the images in Revelation refer to.

Years ago, I read a letter from a Don McLean fan to a research columnist named Cecil Adams.

Dear Cecil:
I've been listening to Don McLean sing "American Pie" for twenty years now and I still don't know what… he's talking about. I know, I know, the "day the music died" is a reference to the Buddy Holly/Ritchie Valens/Big Bopper plane crash, but the rest of the song seems to be chock full of musical symbolism that I've never been able to decipher. …I've heard there is an answer key that explains all the symbols. Is there? Even if there isn't, can you give me a line on who's who and what's what in this mediocre but firmly-entrenched-in-my-mind piece of music? --Scott McGough, Baltimore

Even though I didn't have a burning need to understand American Pie, I had a lot of sympathy for Scott—it's hard for me to enjoy a poem or a painting unless I have an idea what it's supposed to be about. If I'm reading a book, I look up the words I don't know. I bought some books on Revelation for this series, and after reading one, I had to buy another reference book to help me to understand that one. So I have sympathy for Scott.

Cecil replies: Dear Scott, Don McLean has never issued an "answer key" for "American Pie," undoubtedly on the theory that as long as you can keep 'em guessing, your legend will never die.

Casey Kasem's "American Top 40" radio show circa January 1972 [said]: "A few days ago we phoned Don McLean for a little help in interpreting his great hit 'American Pie.' He was pretty reluctant to give us a straight interpretation of his work; he'd rather let it speak for itself. But he explained some of the specific references that he makes. The most important one is the death of rockabilly singer Buddy Holly in 1959; for McLean , that's when the music died. The court jester he refers to is Bob Dylan. The Stones and the flames in the sky refer to the concert at Altamont , California .

Cecil searched the Internet for more, and came up with:

February made me shiver : Holly's plane crashed February 3, 1959 .

Them good ole boys were ... singing, "This'll be the day that I die" : Holly's hit "That'll Be the Day" had a similar line.

The Jester sang for the King and Queen in a coat he borrowed from James Dean : ID of K and Q obscure. Elvis and Connie Francis (or Little Richard)? John and Jackie Kennedy? Or Queen Elizabeth and consort, for whom Dylan apparently did play once? Dean's coat is the famous red windbreaker he wore in Rebel Without a Cause; Dylan wore a similar one on "The Freewheeling Bob Dylan" album cover.

With the Jester on the sidelines in a cast : On July 29, 1966 Dylan had a motorcycle accident that kept him laid up for nine months.

While sergeants played a marching tune : The Beatles' "Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band."

The three men I admire most/ The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost/ They caught the last train for the coast : Major mystery. Holly, Bopper, Valens? Hank Williams, Elvis? JFK, RFK, ML King? The literal tri[nity]? As for the coast, could be the departure of the music biz for California .

Or it simply rhymes, a big determinant of plot direction in pop music lyrics (which may also explain "drove my Chevy to the levee").

After printing this letter, Cecil got another one.

Dear Cecil: As you can imagine, over the years I have been asked many times to discuss and explain my song "American Pie." I have never discussed the lyrics, but have admitted to the Holly reference in the opening stanzas. I dedicated the album American Pie to Buddy Holly as well in order to connect the entire statement to Holly in hopes of bringing about an interest in him, which subsequently did occur.

This brings me to my point. Casey Kasem never spoke to me and none of the references he confirms my making were made by me. You will find many "interpretations" of my lyrics but none of them by me. Isn't this fun?

Sorry to leave you all on your own like this but long ago I realized that songwriters should make their statements and move on, maintaining a dignified silence. --Don McLean, Castine , Maine

Because of this silence, many people have enjoyed looking for clues and trying to interpret this song. They look at what McLean 's written since, and try to figure out what he meant. They looked at the turbulent times he wrote, and picked out significant events.

And so it is with Revelation. We try to figure out what John meant, and how to interpret the visions, and most importantly, what should we do about them? There are some who see Revelation as a prediction of how world politics are going to play out in the near future. I am here to say Revelation is not; it presents a harder and deeper challenge: living with Christ as our King.

We don't have an answer key for all the symbols in Revelation; we don't even have a list of what are symbols and what aren't. Did John put in the part about the 24 elders because of the verse in chronicles about the 24 singing families, or because he wanted one 12 to include the Jews by referring to the twelve tribes and the second 12 to include the Christians by referring to the twelve apostles. Or does the 24 refer to the hours in a day, meaning that Christ rules over all time? We don't know.

But we can make some educated guesses, and let history inform our interpretation.

John describes the scroll as if it is a will. Roman wills were summarized on the back and had to witnessed and sealed by five or seven witnesses (2) (3) Only the named executor could unseal the will and pass out the inheritances.

God promised the first human beings that they would reign over the earth; but in the story of Adam and Eve, the humans forfeited this promise. Remember now, Revelation was a text written to persecuted, marginalized people. Was God's promise to them true? Were they blessed, even while they were suffering, or did their suffering mean they were cursed?

Did you notice that John wept when there was no one on earth or under the earth or in heaven worthy of opening the scroll?

I felt like crying this week when I heard about the bombing of the UN headquarters in Baghdad . More than 20 UN employees and Iraqi citizens were killed in the blast and hundreds were injured. I read about Sergio Vieiera de Mello, the senior United Nations Iraq envoy who was killed. As he lay dying in the rubble of the devastated UN headquarters [in Baghdad ] he told a rescue worker, "Don't let them pull the mission out."

UN Secretary General Kofi Annon said at de Mello's funeral, " We cannot accept that Sergio had to die at this time, in this way, or that anything good can come of it…We cannot accept that all his brilliance, his energy, his devotion to his staff and his loyalty to the ideals of the United Nations, have been so abruptly taken from us…Indeed…we can imagine nothing more cruel, or pointless, or unjust. His work there is left unfinished, but, please God, we shall complete it,…Sergio, who has given his life in that cause, [should] find a fitting memorial in a free and sovereign Iraq … Sergio, my friend, you have entered that Pantheon of heroes that the United Nations wishes it did not have…You will shine forever among our brightest stars."

Mr. Annan then wished for Mr. Vieira de Mello to enjoy the noble ideal he had given his life for: "May you rest in peace." (4)

John wept when there was no one to open the scroll. But an elder told him, “Don't weep.” The slain lamb, Christ, as the word and wisdom of God at creation, was found worthy. So in Revelation, Jesus is the executor and the heir of the will, the testament, the book, the scroll. He carries out the promise and inherits it. (5) The slain lamb sits on the throne.

Then the angels and the cherubim and the 24 elders sang that the lamb is worthy to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory and praise. And yet, our world is still filled with violence. How do we join our voices in their song? How do we live our lives giving our power, wealth, and wisdom to the lamb? How can we honor the lamb in a world filled with violence and hatred, where there is so much injustice the powerless choose terrorism and the powerful fund it?

Few of us have the skills needed to prevent or even treat the ills of injustice and the evils of weapons of mass destruction or the horror of car bombs. One thing we can do; we can be witnesses for Christ. We can respond with love and compassion when we are asked. We can weep, and we can write.

The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) Peacemaking Program staff are urging Presbyterians to remember the United Nations in our prayers, and by sending cards and letters. The Presbyterian church has a UN office; our guest a week and a half ago, Mark Koenig, has colleagues in the UN office in New York ; they knew people working in Baghdad .

You've heard me talk before about the difference letters from strangers make, when catastrophe strikes. After the Murrah building bombing in 1995, our little Oklahoma church was the recipient of letters saying “How terrible. We're sorry. This shouldn't happen.” I know how wonderful those letters are. I still have them.

Our letters can bring some comfort. Hold on to the heavenly vision of the slain lamb, seated on the throne. Violence does not have the last word. I invite you to stop by the table in the narthex and write a letter to strangers. Invite your children to write a letter or draw pictures. Or use one of the sharing cards in the pew racks to write a quick note. “How terrible, I'm sorry. “ And sign your name and town.

Rather than writing a book designed to scare his readers about the future, John's purpose was to remind his readers of Christ's presence no matter what befalls them. And no matter what happens to us in the coming weeks and months, we can rely on that same message.

Our God hasn't hopped aboard the last train for the coast. Instead, God's choice is to stick around, especially when times are hard. Among the pile of scary images in John's revelation, that is the one image that comforts us today—a present God reigning in a very scary world.

(1) Adams, Cecil, The Straight Dope, “What is Don McLean's song “American Pie” all about?” May 14, 1993

(2) Aune, p. 342, Beale, p. 345.

(3) Aune, David. Revelation, p. 342.

(4) United Nations News Service, 23 August 2003 , “Annan vows to honour Sergio Vieira de Mello's dying wish that the UN remain in Iraq ”

(5) Beale, GK, The Book of Revelation, NIGTC, p. 342.