Tribulation, Kingdom, and Endurance (Revelation 1:9-20)
I have always found John’s encounter with Jesus in Revelation 1 fascinating. Remember, we are seeing two men who were best friends, albeit one of them being God and all. John is overwhelmed. Part of this has to be due to the apocalyptic and prophetic nature of the vision John is having. After all, he has already encountered the risen Christ. This is something different. Something more.
John’s first statement to his readers is a telling one. His description of what it means to be “in Jesus” is threefold. And this is what we as readers and believers “in Jesus” need to look at the description carefully. As much as we talk about Christianity being about “having Jesus in our hearts,” it is better seen as being in Him.
Being in Jesus means facing tribulation. Does that describe our experience? And, are the things that we western Christians consider tribulation really what John is talking about here? I doubt the Scripture had things like: “having our ‘rights’ denied” or “being offended” as tribulation. When believers live as Christ wants them to, the world hates them. Church history and current conditions of believers in much of the world show a harsher picture of tribulation. Societal rejection, threatened livelihood, and death are realities for a majority of believers throughout history. And that is a big part of why Revelation was written and is relevant for Christianity throughout its history.
Being in Jesus means being a part of His Kingdom. We are not primarily Americans or Europeans. We are in the world but not of it. We are strangers and refugees in this fallen world. This is not our home. We live our lives by a different standard. And, as hard as this might be to imagine, the Kingdom of God was never really fulfilled in Old Testament Israel, nor was it in the early United States government.
Finally, being in Jesus means enduring. This world is not the way it was meant to be. And, while we try to show God’s love in this world and influence it with Kingdom principles, it will never be the way it is supposed to be until God ushers in the Kingdom fully realized. So, we wait. We endure. We patiently live as Jesus commanded until we experience the realized Kingdom after Christs return or our deaths, whichever comes first.
So, the messages and visions John is about to relate to the churches of his day and throughout history up until now relate to all of us in all eras as we consider how we live out our faith in tribulation, kingdom, and endurance.
John’s first statement to his readers is a telling one. His description of what it means to be “in Jesus” is threefold. And this is what we as readers and believers “in Jesus” need to look at the description carefully. As much as we talk about Christianity being about “having Jesus in our hearts,” it is better seen as being in Him.
Being in Jesus means facing tribulation. Does that describe our experience? And, are the things that we western Christians consider tribulation really what John is talking about here? I doubt the Scripture had things like: “having our ‘rights’ denied” or “being offended” as tribulation. When believers live as Christ wants them to, the world hates them. Church history and current conditions of believers in much of the world show a harsher picture of tribulation. Societal rejection, threatened livelihood, and death are realities for a majority of believers throughout history. And that is a big part of why Revelation was written and is relevant for Christianity throughout its history.
Being in Jesus means being a part of His Kingdom. We are not primarily Americans or Europeans. We are in the world but not of it. We are strangers and refugees in this fallen world. This is not our home. We live our lives by a different standard. And, as hard as this might be to imagine, the Kingdom of God was never really fulfilled in Old Testament Israel, nor was it in the early United States government.
Finally, being in Jesus means enduring. This world is not the way it was meant to be. And, while we try to show God’s love in this world and influence it with Kingdom principles, it will never be the way it is supposed to be until God ushers in the Kingdom fully realized. So, we wait. We endure. We patiently live as Jesus commanded until we experience the realized Kingdom after Christs return or our deaths, whichever comes first.
So, the messages and visions John is about to relate to the churches of his day and throughout history up until now relate to all of us in all eras as we consider how we live out our faith in tribulation, kingdom, and endurance.
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