Revelation for Everyone

‘Revelation for Everyone’ by Tom Wright
 This was my chosen study for winter ‘24/’25 but has taken me all the way through until Easter ‘25 to complete. I had a ‘week or two off from judgement’ for Christmas; but the study is not all judgement as it may appear. It has beautiful glimpses of heaven and worship of God; at the start when you glimpse into heaven’s throne room, with the lamb on the throne; or at the end, with a New Jerusalem coming down from heaven in the form of a massive cubic Holy of Holies. God will one day dwell among us after He has cleansed the earth from sin.
 
The book of Revelation was written by John the Divine, not the Gospel or epistle writer.  Revelation draws on Old Testament visions or prophesies found in Daniel, Ezekiel, Isaiah and Exodus. In the New Testament we see the reality of Jesus being the Lamb of God, the Lamb on the throne and eventually the faithful being the Bride of the Lamb.
 
I found the judgements difficult, until I recognised that all the symbolism of dragon, the whore of Babylon and monsters can, unfortunately, be found in this world today! John is talking about the Roman Empire and Babylon. It is not very hard to look down the ages and find oppressive war-like regimes either in my lifetime or at present. I have felt for some time that we do not have to judge because God will. However, this  does not mean we have to accept injustice.
 
After the first few chapters, I felt I was reading a book like the fantasy ‘Lord of the rings’ by Tolkien.  At one stage, Professor Wright refers to the character Golem. Underneath is the underlying message ‘keep the faith’, no matter what happens.
 
Just as today we see wars probably over resources, including land and unneeded power, our real battle should be with the environment and reduction of growth, worldwide – if we iare to care for this planet that God has given us as a beautiful home. We should be loving our neighbours as ourselves, welcoming refugees and helping countries suffering the ravages of global warming.
 
This study helped me to realise God is in charge and justice will be done. The last words in Revelation are ‘Look, I am coming soon’.  AMEN! COME, LORD JESUS!
 
Paraphrased synopsis of this book:
Writing in an accessible and anecdotal style, Tom Wright helps us to negotiate the final book of the Bible, regarded by many as the hardest to understand. He encourages us to see how the Revelation of John offers one of the clearest visions of God's ultimate purpose – the overthrow of evil and the victory of God. In a world that often seems filled with violence, hatred and suspicion, John's glorious images of the end of days are a wake-up call to all Christians to be tireless witnesses to God's love.
 
Nicholas Thomas Wright FRSE known as N. T. Wright or Tom Wright is an English New Testament scholar, Pauline theologian and Anglican bishop. He was the bishop of Durham from 2003 to 2010. He was research professor of New Testament and Early Christianity at St Mary's College, University of St Andrews until 2019. He is now senior research fellow
at Wycliffe Hall, University of Oxford.