The merchants of the earth will weep and mourn over her also, because no one buys their cargoes anymore, cargoes of gold and silver and precious stones, of pearls, linen, purple, silk, and scarlet. Every kind of scented wood and objects made of ivory, costly wood, brass, iron, and marble. [Cargoes] of cinnamon, spice and incense, perfume and frankincense, wine and olive oil, wheat flour and wheat grains, pack animals and sheep, horses and carriages, and the bodies and souls of men. "The fruit of your soul's desires have gone away from you, and everything that was luxurious or radiant has perished from you. They will not find these things anymore." Rev. 18:11-14.
Though luxury means as much to people today as it did then, this list is largely strange to us. When God revealed Himself to John, He spoke in the language of the prophet's time and place.
Nearly two decades ago I received a package from a pastor (let's call him George) whom I respected a great deal. It contained a letter asking me to read the accompanying notebook on a most difficult passage in the book of Revelation. He wanted my feedback on his research. A couple nights later I was tossing and turning, completely unable to sleep. So I decided I might as well get up, go to the other end of the house, and look at George's notebook.
The clarity and passion of his presentation fascinated me. Yet for some reason he saw something in each symbol and in each verse that my research indicated was not possible. It appeared to me that he was stringing a series of zeros together, believing that it added up to something. I thought it would not be difficult to set him straight.
Correspondence revealed that we didn't agree on a thing in this text! Finally it dawned on me what was happening. I was reading the book of Revelation as if written around A.D. 90. He was reading it as if composed around A.D. 1990! George wrote as if John were familiar with the words of modern religious authors. He viewed the book of Revelation as of John were alive today and through it speaking directly to the issues that drive certain Christians in today's world.
But the reality is that John did not compose the book of Revelation today or during even the past century. He wrote it during the first century, and it spoke powerfully to that time and place. It is true that it has a message for us at the close of the cosmic conflict, but to read the Apocalypse from one's own point of view is to end up where you begin--with ideas of your own making. God's message for us today is best discerned when we first pay attention to His message to John.
Lord, help me to be patient as I wrestle with the message You gave to John. Help me not to assume that the first thing I see in the text is the very thing You intended for me.
Though luxury means as much to people today as it did then, this list is largely strange to us. When God revealed Himself to John, He spoke in the language of the prophet's time and place.
Nearly two decades ago I received a package from a pastor (let's call him George) whom I respected a great deal. It contained a letter asking me to read the accompanying notebook on a most difficult passage in the book of Revelation. He wanted my feedback on his research. A couple nights later I was tossing and turning, completely unable to sleep. So I decided I might as well get up, go to the other end of the house, and look at George's notebook.
The clarity and passion of his presentation fascinated me. Yet for some reason he saw something in each symbol and in each verse that my research indicated was not possible. It appeared to me that he was stringing a series of zeros together, believing that it added up to something. I thought it would not be difficult to set him straight.
Correspondence revealed that we didn't agree on a thing in this text! Finally it dawned on me what was happening. I was reading the book of Revelation as if written around A.D. 90. He was reading it as if composed around A.D. 1990! George wrote as if John were familiar with the words of modern religious authors. He viewed the book of Revelation as of John were alive today and through it speaking directly to the issues that drive certain Christians in today's world.
But the reality is that John did not compose the book of Revelation today or during even the past century. He wrote it during the first century, and it spoke powerfully to that time and place. It is true that it has a message for us at the close of the cosmic conflict, but to read the Apocalypse from one's own point of view is to end up where you begin--with ideas of your own making. God's message for us today is best discerned when we first pay attention to His message to John.
Lord, help me to be patient as I wrestle with the message You gave to John. Help me not to assume that the first thing I see in the text is the very thing You intended for me.
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