God's Cry to the Church

Martin Ellgar

Description

Revelation, the last chapter of the Bible, can appear like a house of horrors with unimaginable creatures within it. Who dares to enter? The author finally has, and in a sense has cast out some of those demons. God's Cry to the Church is an insightful commentary on the book of Revelation, chapters 1-8. Within it, the author has given a unique and reasoned perspective that welcomes others to enter. The author's perspective draws upon the structure of a Roman Triumph, an emperor's victory parade in Rome. This perspective reveals God's own victory parade as a conclusion to the Bible. In the format of a parade, the vivid images presented in Revelation are dealt with in a way that is helpful and reveals God's grace. Revelation is an urgent message to the church, one that needs to be heard anew. There are words of warning but there is encouragement and good news too. The last chapter of the Bible concludes the word of God with an ending of hope and promise.The insights from this book make it a valuable resource for preaching, teaching and for meditation on the word of God for personal growth and faith.

Sujets

• Philosophie et théologie

Informations

• Publié par: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Date de parution: 28 août 2020
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781786937346
• Langue: English

Extrait

God’s Cry to the Church
A Perspective on Revelation 1-8
Martin Ellgar
Austin Macauley Publishers
2020-08-28
God’s Cry to the Church About the Author Copyright Information © Acknowledgments Preface Introduction Part 1 The Seven Letters from Home Chapter 1 The Speaker Introduced Chapter 2 Letters to the Churches To the Church in Ephesus To the Church in Smyrna To the Church in Pergamum To the Church in Thyatira To the Church in Sardis To the Church in Philadelphia To the Church in Laodicea Summary to Chapter 2 Part 2 The Seven Seals on the Scroll Chapter 3 The Throne in Heaven Chapter 4 The Scroll and the Lamb Chapter 5 The Four Horses and Riders The White Horse and Rider The Red Horse and Rider The Black Horse and Rider The Green Horse and Rider Summary to Chapter 5 Chapter 6 The Souls Under the Altar Chapter 7 A Victorious Image of God Chapter 8 The 144,000 Sealed Chapter 9 A Great Multitude Chapter 10 The Day of Atonement Appendix The Wedding at Cana Summary
About the Author
Martin’s parents came to Australia from Europe in the early 1950s as refugees after WWII. In Martin’s mid-life, he studied theology at Luther Seminary Australia and education at Flinders University. Martin and his family moved to New Zealand for a few years where he served as pastor to a Lutheran parish. On their return, Martin continued in his electrical trade until retirement. He now volunteers as a church worker and writes children talks, sermons and Bible commentaries. Martin is passionate about revealing God through fresh perspectives to challenge the reader in their faith journey with God.
Copyright Information ©
Martin Ellgar (2020)
The right of Martin Ellgar to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by him in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.
Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.
Austin Macauley is committed to publishing works of quality and integrity. In this spirit, we are proud to offer this book to our readers; however, the story, the experiences, and the words are the author’s alone.
A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.
ISBN 9781786295156 (Paperback)
ISBN 9781786937346 (ePub e-book)
www.austinmacauley.com
First Published (2020)
Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd
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Acknowledgments
Foremost, I acknowledge God, the Creator of all who has driven me to wrestle with the given Biblical text, in order to write a fresh perspective.
Then, I thank Marlene Cooper, and my wife Jill for their efforts towards making it a better book.
Preface
I have had many failed attempts in trying to find rhyme or reason in the book of Revelation. It seemed to me to be full of graphic and violent images like a house full of screaming demons. They have stopped my approach at the front door. I had joined the chorus of many before me: that there is no grace within, and that the book does not belong in the Bible. The Book of Revelation appears like a psychedelic painted house that does not belong in many a street.
Today, I sing its praises, and call upon all Christians to return to it, and listen attentively to its message. I have entered the book of Revelation from another perspective. It was like entering a house through a side window, and discovering a treasure within. The treasure is good news, and grace for all people. It is a treasure to be shared with others.
The call to approach the book of Revelation again came when my wife, Jill, and her Bible study group decided to study it. Jill encouraged me to have another attempt at the book so that we could discuss our findings over a cup of tea and a couple of Yo-Yo biscuits. Jill and her group followed a popular study guide, and finished their course in a matter of weeks. Meanwhile, I was unhappy with the popular study, and was left wrestling with the first few graphic images, hoping for some clarity.
Over many years, my Bible study skills had improved through writing sermons and other Bible commentary. Entering the word of God had always been for me a matter of meditation, research, and more meditation over a prescribed text. It became a matter of wrestling with the text until an answer was received. In a small way, I feel like a kindred spirit with Jacob who also wrestled with God for a blessing (Genesis 32). Wrestling with the word of God allows the veil of popular belief to be lifted from one’s eyes to see a perspective of God that was formerly hidden. It comes all of a sudden, as if seeing for the first time another facet of God. It adds to the light and sparkle in the understanding of God. Once the view has been glimpsed, there is no denying it, and it becomes part of a new dialogue with others. Hence, the following commentary is my perspective of what God has revealed to me through my wrestling with the book of Revelation. As always, God has been the driving force for me to put my words on paper so that others may see something new, and be blessed through it.
This commentary concludes shortly after chapter 8. It is a good place to stop. My prayer and hope is that one or more people may capture this ray of light into the book of Revelation, and develop it further. More people are needed to employ its urgent message to the wider Christian community, for the sake of the life and mission of the Church of Faithful Witnesses, and for the sake of the world, and its wellbeing.
Introduction
A perspective on the book of Revelation: Chapters 1-8
The Lord called Abraham to leave his homeland, and to follow him to the land that he would show him (Genesis 12:1-5). It was a call primarily to leave a culture and society that was not in favour with God. On the way to the Promised Land, God would guide and teach Abraham a better way to life that was centred in a life of faith in him. The nature of culture and society that Abraham had left behind are still with us today, and are founded in the self-serving of human nature. Throughout the book of Revelation, God also calls Christians to leave such a culture and society in which they find themselves in, and to follow Jesus into life. The calling of Abraham is extended to all Christians for the purpose of being a blessing bearer that is an agent of God’s blessings to others. The following commentary on Revelation chapters 1-8 reveals the act of salvation given through Jesus, and the calling and challenge for Christians to be Faithful Witnesses to Jesus.
The book of Revelation is only about a moment away from being two thousand years old. Insightful books continue to be written about it. They include topics that deal with: the identity of John, the date of authorship, the various genres within the text, the context of the early church in Asia Minor, and of course, how to decipher the complex images into some sort of reasonable meaning.
Therefore, this commentary will only provide a brief summary of the context of the early Church at the time of the author. It becomes a starting point in the examination of the text in hand, but first a word about the author, John. The general Church overall acknowledges that he was a respected community leader amongst the churches of Asia Minor, which is modern day Turkey. He wrote towards the end of the first century AD. He wrote letters to all the churches in the area, expecting them to have it read out aloud in all the Christian congregations. As a faithful servant of God, John passed on the testimony of Jesus to the seven churches of Asia Minor. John’s words describing the testimony of Jesus have been acknowledged by many Christian denominations as the word of God that came to him in various visions and encounters with God. The word of God came via John to all the congregations to encourage them to remain faithful, and to be an instrument for change. That same testimony of Jesus continues to be a benevolent force for change today as it has been throughout the ages. It is a call to leave a life that fosters violence and death, and to follow Jesus into a new life of peace.
John wrote to the fledgling Christian communities, the members of which were only just beginning to stretch their wings in faith with their new identity. It took the various Christian communities many years to formulate a common faith in the one true God. It was not until the end of the fourth century when The Apostles Creed was formulated giving Christians everywhere a common confession of faith. It also gave them a firm identity as true followers of Jesus Christ.
In the meantime, the new converts to Christianity faced a changed world. They needed to reconcile their inherit values from their culture and society, with the teachings of Jesus. All aspects of their life had to be re-evaluated in the light of Jesus. Without guidance and encouragement, it would have been easy to succumb to the all-familiar common public opinion and pressure. Hence, while they were experiencing persecution and suffering, they had a strong need for guidance and encouragement from Jesus through the letters of John.
The various congregations throughout Asia Minor would have consisted of two main cultural and religious groups. Included in the first group were the early Christians who had fled persecution from their fellow Jews. Later, both Jews and Christians fled the war and destruction centred on the city of Jerusalem, as it was sacked by the Roman army in AD 70. The other group in Asia Minor were the gentiles who had converted to Christianity away from their populist pagan religion and culture.
The visions that John saw contain a mix of images that spoke to each of