First Presbyterian Church
What's a Presbyterian to Do with Revelation: Part 19
Sermon for July 17, 2005
by Pastor Susan Barnes

Those of you who have been reading through Revelation might have asked yourselves, “Haven't I read this before? John does repeat himself; if an old testament quote worked once, it will probably work again.   There are slight differences. It's if we are watching the same scene again, this time shot from a different angle using a different camera under a different director.

Chapter 19 quotes from previous chapters in Revelation, showing us another view. It begins with the 24 elders and cherubim praising God, then an angel summoning John. And then there's a vision of a divine warrior destroying nations, and capturing the beast and its prophet, and destroying its armies. Remember the beast controlled who could buy and who could sell. The great whore is Babylon, who controlled the great nations all around her. The results were corrupt use of power and wealth that culminated in the death of many people. Rome behaved the way empires do behave, amassing wealth, safeguarding their power, and enlarging its territories, all the while disregarding at best, or destroying at worst, other religions, traditions, and cultures.  

Revelation is about justice and judgment. Justice for all the holy people who have suffered under Roman persecution. The only tidbits of mercy I've found in Revelation come from allusions to old testament stories and prophets. If we want mercy, we will have to find it other places in the new testament, because we won't find it in Revelation.

Chapter 19 is a judgment on what's happened to the nations' second unsuccessful attempt to conquer the Jerusalem in Revelation.

Listen for the word of God as it is found in Revelation 19.

1 After this I heard what seemed to be the loud voice of a great multitude in heaven, saying, "Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God, 2 for his judgments are true and just; he has judged the great whore who corrupted the earth with her fornication, and he has avenged on her the blood of his servants."

 3 Once more they said, "Hallelujah! The smoke goes up from her forever and ever."

  4 And the twenty-four elders and the four living creatures fell down and worshiped God who is seated on the throne, saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!"

 5 And from the throne came a voice saying, "Praise our God, all you his servants, and all who fear him, small and great."

  6 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals, crying out, "Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. 7 Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and his bride has made herself ready; 8 to her it has been granted to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure"-- for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

  9 And the angel said to me, "Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb." And he said to me, "These are true words of God." 10 Then I fell down at his feet to worship him, but he said to me, "You must not do that! I am a fellow servant with you and your comrades who hold the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy."

11 Then I saw heaven opened, and there was a white horse! Its rider is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. 12 His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems; and he has a name inscribed that no one knows but himself. 13 He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and his name is called The Word of God. 14 And the armies of heaven, wearing fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. 15 From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron; he will tread the wine press of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. 16 On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords."

  17 Then I saw an angel standing in the sun, and with a loud voice he called to all the birds that fly in midheaven, "Come, gather for the great supper of God, 18 to eat the flesh of kings, the flesh of captains, the flesh of the mighty, the flesh of horses and their riders-- flesh of all, both free and slave, both small and great."  19 Then I saw the beast and the kings of the earth with their armies gathered to make war against the rider on the horse and against his army. 20 And the beast was captured, and with it the false prophet who had performed in its presence the signs by which he deceived those who had received the mark of the beast and those who worshiped its image. These two were thrown alive into the lake of fire that burns with sulfur. 21 And the rest were killed by the sword of the rider on the horse, the sword that came from his mouth; and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.

This ends our reading of God's word.

I've come across books by Christians who claim to know what Revelation is about and how we as Americans should respond. It always involves other nations being under God's judgment, but never the United States. It generally does not involve caring for the poor; the idea being that tribulations must happen before Christ's return, so when calamities happen on earth, we bear no responsibility for assistance or even prevention.

I've met just one Christian who believes that. A relative. Fortunately, she isn't in charge of any international public policy.

There's a lot of violence in chapter 19. As usual, the most grisly part comes from the old testament. 1 In Ezekiel 39, the prophet speaks of carrion birds being invited to a feast. To be eaten by carrion birds is to be cursed, to be held in contempt forever, long after you die. They humiliated their enemies by denying them burial. That's the second feast, the one for the birds. The enemies are those who not only did not worship Yahweh God, but killed those who did.         

The angel refers to the first feast saying, “Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” It refers to Passover. Later Christians made the connection with the Lord's supper.

            In verse 11, we have the figure on the white horse; remember the 4 horsemen of the apocalypse in chapter 6.   This figure could be Jesus, it could be the angel Michael. John didn't make it clear; the figure is certainly divine, and is called the word of God. He wears diadems, as the beast and the dragon did in chapter 12 and 13. The diadems symbolize the power he has over the nations. And with the sword of his mouth, these enemies are done for.   The robe stained with blood is from those enemies he has destroyed, or from his own blood. Talk of treading the winepress indicates divine judgment.

And then there's the odd statement of verse 16 “On his robe and on his thigh he has a name inscribed, "King of kings and Lord of lords." What is that about? Well, apparently, some Greek and Roman statues had their names carved into their thighs. This is the king of Kings, and Lord of Lords. The rider is divine. He does have power over the nations.

So what are we to make of this hugely violent passage? It is interesting, isn't it, that it is God who wreaks this vengeance. And the enemies are vanquished with the sword of the rider's mouth. I'd like to think that somehow, the enemies are vanquished with words, rather than actual weapons, and simply lose their power, than be slain and eaten by birds. But given the way Revelation is going, I don't think so.

But I found comfort in noting that even given this violence,   John is not called to join it. He is not asked to kill people in the name of justice; all the judgment comes form the divine servants. Revelation is about reassuring the faithful that God does not approve of the empire's status quo.

The first hearers and readers of Revelation needed to hear about God's power. They had seen the empire's power. Their friends, the other people of the way, were being killed. Where was the justice? How could they believe in God when all these terrible things were happening?

Revelation tells them the long persecution is over, and a celebration feast is planned for those who await Jesus' return.

Revelation acknowledges that ‘empire' always chooses power and wealth over justice. Revelation calls Christians to be pro-God and anti-empire.

What does that look like today? Kevin Cashman and Jan Dockter lead a group called Ministry of Money. They examine stewardship and ask hard questions. They just lead a university group on a spiritual formation and solidarity-building trip.   They visited “schools and AIDS outreach programs within Nairobi's Kibera slum - considered the largest slum in all of Africa. Also one of the largest in the world, over one million people live in a 630 acre settlement along city railroad tracks.”

Jan writes:

"Trip participants who visited Kibera would have a difficult time describing what they saw and what they felt walking through the narrow passageways with rivers of raw sewage running between the maze of make-shift shacks. Sometimes there is not adequate language to express that kind of abject poverty. But I would venture to guess that they would exclaim that they'd never felt so welcomed or so appreciated for their mere presence. In the midst of the overwhelming challenges Kibera residents face on a daily basis, they so genuinely express their joy and hospitality - through warm welcomes, dancing, singing, caring for one another, lively and worshipful faith, and a deep sense of community. And the … groups left Kenya with a hunger to experience more of those things back here in the U.S. and a deep desire to reach out in solidarity to the Kenyan people in whatever ways God leads them.

So, how do we as people of faith in the wealthy world live in this shrinking global environment and in our expanding global economy? How do we reflect God's call for justice and faithful discipleship in this era of globalization? How do the choices we make with the resources we have access to in our everyday lives impact the structures and livelihoods of others around the globe? These are important questions for people of faith to be considering.

… Opening ourselves to the realities of the lives of the materially poor around the world - lives different and yet so similar - breaks down barriers so we can truly become brothers and sisters in God's extended family. It is a mutual exchange - we have so much to learn from one another, so much of God to experience in one another.” 2

Revelation speaks to us today, about inequality and justice. We have opportunities, even in our lives here, far away from Kibera, to work for God's justice.

  And when we come to this table together, when we sit in this sanctuary together, we proclaim God over the other voices in our lives. Some of the other voices say “buy this, own that, acquire this, discard that, honor beauty, youth, power, wealth, and above all else, be entertained.

Sharing this simple symbolic meal, asking Jesus to become our flesh, asking God to nourish us so we can become the people God created us to be, means we are trying to listen to God's voice, and to proclaim with the angels “Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power to our God, for his judgments are true and just.”

Amen.

________

1 Ezekiel 39: 17 As for you, mortal, thus says the Lord GOD: Speak to the birds of every kind and to all the wild animals: Assemble and come, gather from all around to the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you, a great sacrificial feast on the mountains of Israel, and you shall eat flesh and drink blood. 18 You shall eat the flesh of the mighty, and drink the blood of the princes of the earth-- of rams, of lambs, and of goats, of bulls, all of them fatlings of Bashan.   19 You shall eat fat until you are filled, and drink blood until you are drunk, at the sacrificial feast that I am preparing for you.   20 And you shall be filled at my table with horses and charioteers, with warriors and all kinds of soldiers, says the Lord GOD .

2 Letter from Jan Sullivan Dockter, Summer 2005, Ministry of Money ezine, office@ministryofmoney.org