Bible in 90 Days - Day 87 (Jude-Revelation 17)

God, our helper,

by your Holy Spirit open our minds

and lead us into your truth

for the sake of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen.

Jude is a short letter written (most likely) by another of Jesus’ brothers. Some false teachers have crept into the church, and Jude uses several Old Testament examples to remind the church of the danger involved. Jude quotes from several stories that are unfamiliar to us, like the story of Enoch from the book of 1 Enoch, an ancient writing that is part of tradition but not part of the Jewish or Christian Scriptures. The letter ends with instructions after the examples. To those inside the church, the command is to remain in God’s love, which we do by building up our faith, praying in the Spirit, and waiting expectantly for the mercy of Christ to bring us to eternal life (the NIV doesn’t quite reflect the centrality of the command to remain in God’s love). The instructions for treating those outside of the church center around showing mercy. The examples in the letter can make it sound judgmental, but the commands reflect James 2:13 – “Mercy triumphs over judgment.”

And now for Revelation – the last book we are reading, and the one that often brings the most questions. The main message of Revelation can be summed up in 2 words – “God wins!”

Revelation begins with an introduction that contains several names and images for Christ, and these appear again in the 7 sermons (or sermonettes) to the 7 churches. (Someday soon I would love to teach a Sunday School class on these 7 sermons.)

The scenes in chapter 5 leave me awestruck. There is so much singing and praising going on, and the focus is all on Christ. Sometimes there is an attempt to defend heaven from being boring, and teachers and preachers emphasize that there will be a lot to do there. As I read this, I really don’t think boredom is a threat when we are in the presence of the living God.

As for the other chapters we read today – Wow! Amazing imagery, amazing glory, amazing power. Sometimes frightful, sometimes glorious, but as always – God wins!