I love a good novel. You know, one of those “page turners” where each chapter ends with the hero in some desperate situation and you HAVE to keep reading to find out what happens next. It’s even better if there is some dastardly deed that remains unpunished and, of course, if there is some amorous relationship that is waiting to be resolved. I hate to admit it, but I’m just enough of a “romantic” that I want everything to have a good ending and for everyone to live happily ever after.
As we come to the end of “The Story” we’re faced with a similar scenario. But this is no bedtime story to be read in your jammies with hot cocoa and your covers pulled up safely around you. This is real life where hundreds of thousands of people right now are in overwhelmingly desperate situations as refugees, internally displaced people. Where untold people, cities, and nations have suffered catastrophic injustice with no world court or power to vindicate them. We live in a world where countless thousands upon thousands of people go to bed at night and say, “Is there a God in this universe who notices my situation, and does he love me?”
The final chapter of the Bible was written to people just like that in the first century and it’s written for people just like that today. While it hasn’t ALL happened yet, God reveals the end of the story to give us courage to carry on while it’s unfolding. John says, “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.” Rev. 1:3.
If you haven’t read the Revelation from John recently, be prepared for some word pictures and symbolism that you most likely aren’t up to speed on. John went to the end of his extensive vocabulary and THEN some, in order to communicate all that he saw. It’s one reason why so many people have been fascinated by the book and have developed SO many different theories, systems, and narratives about how it all fits together.
But the other reason people are so drawn to Revelation is because our world is desperate for HOPE. We all want to know how the story ends… not just for us, but for all those we love. The best part of this ending is that God says, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Rev. 21:5. Yes, every tear is wiped away, every wrong is made right, and there’s an AMAZING wedding with Jesus Christ as the central figure of our attention for all eternity. Now that’s what I call a good ending!
Come, Lord Jesus!
Kurt