23 Apr Tuesday

The Book of Revelations has always seemed to be more a Book of Consolation. All the events and visions prepare the Church for the wedding feast of the Lamb and the Church. The whole cosmos is being prepared for this by a great purification. Jesus appears to John to help him to endure the distress on the way to the reign of God.

The vision only looks forward, no looking back. The Alpha and the Omega, once dead, lives forever. The anticipation of the feast begins here in promises and in covenant.

The keys remind us of the keys of binding and loosening; death is a binding and life is a loosening. Sin binds us, and forgiveness frees us for this new life, so that we can process to the wedding feast.

After the command to write everything down, the second thing the Lord tells us is “Do not be afraid.” The proclamations in the opening vision here assure us of the certain identity of the Lord and where we are going with him.