Are These Really The End Times? – Exploring The Book of Revelation Artistically – Part 14

Opening Prayer

Blessed are you, O God of justice. Blessed are you, O God of beauty. Blessed are you, O God of gentleness. Blessed are you, O God of wild unbridled winds. We find you in all things. We find you in every creature. We find you in the depths of our ever-living souls. Praise be to you.

• J. Philip Newell, Celtic Treasure – Songs of the Soul, p. 172.

Are These Really The End Times? – Exploring The Book of Revelation Artistically:

The Book of Revelation is the strangest book in the Bible – and the most controversial. Instead of stories and moral teaching, it offers only visions – dreams and nightmares. These sessions are for all who seek to move beyond the quest to decode this book with plain answers and find an alternate way to navigate the Book of Revelation.

The End (Revelation 19-22) – The Millennial Kingdom (20:1-6) (cont’d)

“After the angel has sealed the door over the abyss, John tells of a kingdom in which the saints reign with Christ for a thousand years. John does not actually say whether his vision of the thousand-year reign of the saints takes place on earth or in heaven, which is surprising given the usual assumptions that are made about this passage. On the one hand, he may well be speaking of a kingdom on earth, since the scenes that follow refer to the opponents of God coming from the four corners of the earth to attack the saints, and warn that fire will come down from heaven to destroy these enemies (20:7-10). On the other hand, the vision could refer to a heavenly kingdom, since John introduces it simply by saying that he ‘saw thrones,’ and in previous visions the throne of God and the thrones of the twenty-four elders were said to be located in heaven (4:2, 4; 11:16). Therefore, the thrones in 20:4 might be heavenly as well. In either case, noting John’s vagueness about the location is a helpful way to check speculation about the nature of the millennial kingdom.”

“John speaks of the saints’ whereabouts in relational rather than in geographical terms. Each time we might expect him to say that they ‘reigned on earth,’ he says that they ‘reigned with Christ’ (20:4,6). The point bears repeating. If we ask, ‘Where are the saints?’ we receive the answer, ‘They are with Christ.’ The relational answer ‘with Christ’ points us to the heart of the millennial kingdom. John is more concerned with ‘who’ than with ‘where.’ Having assured readers that the saints will be ‘with Christ,’ John leaves most other questions unanswered, as if to say, ‘What more do you need to know?’”

“Readers may venture further by asking, ‘Who, specifically, will reign with Christ in this kingdom?’ John’s prose is, again, remarkably vague on the point and most modern translations paraphrase the text to make it read more smoothly. The King James Version preserves the ambiguity of the Greek. Those who share in the millennial kingdom are described in three ways in 20:4. John refers to: (1) those who sit on the thrones, (2) those who were beheaded for their witness, and (3) those who had not worshipped the beast. The question is whether these descriptions apply to one, two, or three different groups. If John envisioned three groups, he might have thought of (1) the twenty-four elders sitting on thrones, giving a just verdict on behalf of (2) the martyrs and (3) all the faithful. If John referred to two groups, they would be two of those listed above. If he spoke of only one group, however, it would be the martyrs sitting on thrones as vindication for their faithfulness.”

“John may have been content with such imprecise language because for him, the martyrs epitomize and represent the faithful. When John spoke of ‘those who had been beheaded for their testimony’ (20:4), he presumably referred to all martyrs, not only those who met their deaths in this particular way. Similarly, his earlier visions spoke as if all the faithful would die at the hands of the beast and its henchmen (13:15),

so that in effect being faithful meant being a martyr. Jesus ‘conquered’ by suffering death faithfully (5:6), and his followers also ‘conquer’ by remaining faithful to the point of death (12:11); but faithfulness, rather than the manner of death, is the key point. John was not making strict predictions about a future time when every faithful Christian would be ‘beheaded,’ but was calling all of his readers to show the kind of endurance and faithfulness that would accept martyrdom if necessary (13:10, 14:12). The martyrs represent the faithful.”

“Those who have been faithful to the point of death are raised to life at the beginning of the millennial kingdom – something that constitutes the ‘first resurrection’ – while the rest of the dead are raised to life only after the thousand years are complete (20:4-6). In other words, the martyrs and those like them are raised first, and this ‘first resurrection’ gives them everlasting life and vindication from society’s negative judgment against them. Having been raised, they will not die again or be subject to further judgment by God, but will reign with Christ. The second phase of the resurrection will occur in 20:11-15, when the rest of humanity is brought back to life Those who are raised in this second phase are subject to God’s judgment, with the result that some receive eternal blessing and others experience the eternal punishment that is called ‘the second death’ (20:14).”

“Revelation is unique among New Testament writings in referring to resurrection in two phases. Its emphasis on the ‘first resurrection’ that brings both life and vindication offers incentive to readers to persevere in faith at all costs. In the opening messages to the churches, the risen Christ assures his readers that even if society condemns those who prove faithful, God will not condemn them. They can ‘be faithful until death’ in the confidence that Christ will give them ‘the crown of life.’ God may subject his opponents to the punishment that is ‘the second death,’ but he will vindicate the faithful, who will reign with Christ (2:10,11). This message is designed to promote faithful endurance (13:10; 14:12), not to make readers despair of grace. Eternal life belongs to all whose names are included in the Lamb’s book of life, not only to a select spiritual elite. The resurrection may occur in two phases, but the result is finally the same; all the redeemed are brought to everlasting life, and all reign with Christ forever (22:5).”

(Koester)

(Source: Craig R. Koester, Revelation and the End of All Things.)

For this week: For reflection:

• Read Revelation 22. “The book closes as it opened, with the notice that what has been revealed is the word of God, coming through Jesus Christ.”

(Source: The CEB [Common English Bible] Lectio Divina Prayer Bible.)

An invitation to our virtual participants: Discussion and comments are very much encouraged and welcomed. Online discussions can be held in the comments section in the upcoming post on Social Media for this week’s Deacon’s Reflection which is part of adult formation at St. Francis Episcopal Church.

Closing Prayer – Prayer of Blessing

The blessings of heaven, the blessings of earth, the blessings of sea and of sky. On those we love this day and on every human family, the gifts of heaven, the gifts of earth, the gifts of sea and of sky.

May the light of God illumine the heart of my soul. May the flame of Christ kindle me to love.

May the fire of the Spirit free me to live this day, tonight, and forever. Amen.

• J. Philip Newell, Celtic Treasure – Songs of the Soul, p. 173.

“Are These Really The End Times? – Exploring The Book Of Revelation Artistically,” Deacon Joe Dzugan, St. Francis
Episcopal Church, 2025.