A Revelation Invitation

“Write therefore the things that you have seen, those that are and those that are to take place after this.”(Revelation 1:19 ESV)

Picture a general surveying the battlefield as two opposing armies form their battle lines. He sees the things that are. He compares the size of his army to his foe’s. He considers the weaponry of his army in comparison to his enemy’s. He examines the formations for insight into his adversary’s strategy and tactics. Then he imagines the things that are to take place after this. He schemes how the battle should play out, how his larger army and superior tactics will doom his enemy. He estimates the losses his army will take. He envisions how the flaws in his enemy’s strategy will be their undoing. He dreams of glory. All the while he dictates his observations and insights to his aide-de-camp to record and report to the king.

This analogy gives a sense of what Jesus intended when he as general ordered John as aide-de-camp to record what he saw. Jesus and his people were embattled with Rome and the forces of Satan. Here stood their king surveying the field of conflict and envisioning how it will play out. The letters to the seven churches in chapters 2 and 3 of Revelation describe the things that are. The heavenly scene of chapters 4 and 5 also unveil to the believers the invisible powers on their side: the throne of God and the lion of the tribe of Judah. The remainder of the book narrates the things that are to take place after that: the war on earth and in heaven as it plays out in victory for Christ and his people.

The general in my analogy is limited in that he does not actually know how the battle will conclude. One word in verse 19 shows that our general, the one like a son of man, is superior, because he is sovereign over the nations and his account of the future battle is certain. That word assures us that he sees the present and the future clearly. That word is “therefore.” John was told, “Write, therefore, …” Jesus’ perspective on the present and his vision of the future of the kingdom of God and of the people of God was trustworthy because of what he had told John in the previous verse: “Fear not, I am the first and the last, and the living one. I died, and behold I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of Death and Hades” (v 18). A king who lives despite having died cannot therefore be defeated. It’s impossible. A general who is sovereign over Death and Hades, who has the keys, can therefore also secure life and victory for his army, the church. We can count on it.

Lord Jesus, you lead me into battle, one in which victory is certain. Thank you for that assurance. That certainty gives me courage to persevere through whatever tribulations may come. Because you have been raised to new life, I know that you cannot be defeated and therefore, I will be victorious as well. That certainty brings me joy and confidence. Amen.