Here's a Better Story

Blessed are you who hears it

Most people approach Revelation in one of two ways: obsession or avoidance. We’ll deal with obsession later, but for now let’s talk about avoidance. It makes perfect sense why many people would rather just avoid this book. Isn’t it confusing and hard to follow?  Sometimes. But at least we saw last week that the main idea of Revelation always remains the same for us to come back to and be encouraged by.

Okay. But aren’t some parts of Revelation scary? I’ve always heard that Revelation tells a story of terrible suffering. The last thing I need in my life right now is more things to worry about. Why would I want to read something like that?

And you’d be totally right if you thought that…kind of. Revelation does deal with a lot of suffering, but its purpose isn’t to scare us about the pain that lies ahead but to recognize that grief is part of our lived experience and to provide a way forward. At every moment, we or people we know are dealing with something, and usually that something is something big.

The message of Revelation is not, “Everything’s fine now but you'd better buckle up for the end!” It would be silly to think that it only answers our questions about future problems because our everyday experience tells us that things are already difficult.

Last week, we saw that Revelation comes from a genre of books called “apocalyptic writing.” Contrary to popular belief, that word “apocalyptic” has nothing to do with the end of the world, but it’s easy to draw that connection because the goal of these kinds of books is always to bring hope to people at their lowest, when their world feels like it’s falling apart. That’s how we know that Revelation isn’t just concerned with something far off in the distant future; it becomes immediately relevant to us in our current circumstances because the suffering it addresses are the needs that God’s people are always facing. If this book was encouraging to people 2,000 years ago, shouldn’t we expect it to meet our needs today?

But more importantly, Revelation can’t just be about future suffering because it insists that the best is yet to come.

Isn’t that so opposite of how we often tend to think? How often do we live in the past when times were better “back then,” longing for the joy of the “good ol’ days”? How easy is it for us to wish for days when “times were simpler”? How many people have you heard say things like, “If we could just get back to...”? 

Revelation comes to rescue us from the mindset that our best days are behind us, to save us from buying into the lie that it’s all downhill from here. In fact, it tells us so right up front. Let’s jump ahead a couple verses and check out Revelation 1:3 (don’t worry, we’ll come back to the ones we skipped next time):

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take it to heart.”

Do these words sound familiar? You’ve heard something similar before. That’s right. Matthew’s Sermon on the Mount. And Revelation has just taken a page out of Matthew’s book by giving us two more beatitudes.

What is a “beatitude” anyway? In Matthew 5, Jesus begins describing what the perfect nation would be like. The kingdom of heaven, He calls it. And the best part? He says it’s coming soon to a place near you.

To a crowd of people who are poor (inside and out), exhausted, and hungry for more, Jesus says: “Blessed.” To the people who are confused by disappointment even though they faithfully try their best to get by, Jesus says: “Rejoice.” The beatitudes are much like the book of Revelation because they recognize that though the despair we experience tells us otherwise, we absolutely will be taken care of. It’s only fitting that Revelation begins this way.

Many people have focused so much on the stories about Jesus—the things He did and what He’s eventually going to do—that they have missed the stories that Jesus Himself told about what He’s up to right now. Jesus was an almost unbelievable storyteller, and not just because He was so good at it, but because that’s exactly how His stories sometimes feel: how could I ever believe that?

This is exactly the point we cannot miss. That perfect reality Jesus talks about isn’t just on the way. Jesus was able to tell such unbelievable stories because of how certain He was that the kingdom of heaven is among you. Greater glory is coming—of course—but there is glory to be experienced even here and now. John's Gospel puts it another way: “I come that they may have life, and have it to the full.” So let’s return to the question. What’s a beatitude? A beatitude is a summary of the new story we now get to experience, one that we can count on when we need it most. It's both a better story than the one we are used to and  the belief that we can actually be part of it. How do we know? The author told us so.

Think of this as an invitation. Revelation opens this way because it's a better story, and we’re invited for the ride. Will there be suffering on the way? Yes. Revelation is not afraid to admit that. And why would it be? Its purpose is to address the needs of real people living real lives, and life simply is hard. But many people believe their lives are defined by a story that, honestly, is not a very good one. Maybe you do too. It’s easy to think that grief is the only thing certain in life, and that a little joy might get sprinkled in there if we’re lucky.

But Revelation says otherwise. Blessings are just as guaranteed as our suffering; keep holding on, or you might just miss the good part.

It’s almost as if Revelation anticipated our fears, worries, and concerns. It’s almost like the book knew we were about to give up, that we sometimes believe the stories that our hurt is always telling us and said, “Stick around...here’s a better one.”

So stick around. I’d like to tell you more about the author.

Discussion
1.    What are some of the hardest things that make it difficult to trust that you are taken care of? Be honest. I’m guessing God is big enough to handle it.
2.    Check out Psalm 13:1 and compare it to Revelation 6:10. As we’ll see in the weeks to come, we are part of a long legacy of believers who had tough questions for God. Do you believe that it’s “okay” to be honest with Him about your questions? What’s stopping you?
3.    Now go back to Psalm 13 and read verses 5-6. We’ll see this later in Revelation too: God will handle the tough questions if we can handle trusting Him for the answers. Think back to a time in your life when you were in a real pickle—a time when if someone said to you, “Blessed are you…the best is yet to come,” you would not have believed them. Where are you now? Did God come through?

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