Revelation, a book of consolation

V EASTER SUNDAY: Rev 21:1-5

The book of Revelation also called Apocalypse is a strange yet appealing book, like so many strange films that are made nowadays, where dream is mixed with reality. The book of Revelation belongs to a type of writing that is called apocalyptic and which was very common during in the years before and after Jesus. The message is encrypted and transmitted through dreams and visions full of symbolism. It is not surprising that many people get lost in the twisting of thoughts and images, mainly when one forgets the situation in which it was written and the purpose for which it was written.

Given consolation to the persecuted Christians

The book of Revelation was written as a book of consolation for the Christians undergoing severe persecution from the Roman State, who saw them as enemies of the State and as people without religion.

There are plenty of people who see the Revelation as a book about the end of the world, describing the terrors that people will go through and announcing in no uncertain terms the punishment that will be carried out by God. There are people who try to calculate the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, using the symbolic numbers of the Apocalypse. They are wasting their time and subjecting themselves to ridicule.

Denouncing the totalitarian claims of the Roman State

The book of Revelation denounces and indicts the Roman State, and specially the Roman Emperor, because of its abusive claim to absolute power and its oppressive demand of total and religious obedience, claiming for themselves the dignity and the glory that belong to God alone. In opposition to that claim, the book of Revelation proclaims the Christian faith in Jesus Christ, as the Son of God, the Lord of Lords and Saviour.

In the Roman Empire, under the leadership of the Emperor, the Christians were less than second class citizens, deprived of all rights. It was for them that the book was written, to give them hope and courage.

The book of Revelation makes it clear that the oppressive powers that are at the service of the Prince of Evil will come to an end and they will be destroyed, and God and his Christ will be completely victorious, with the faithful ones sharing in that victory. When the victory is complete, the Kingdom of God will be established, and God will make "the whole of creation new". There will be a new heaven and a new earth, where the glory of God will be present and manifest in the faces of his people.

God with us

“Then I heard a loud voice call from the throne, ‘You see this city? Here God lives among men. He will make his home among them; they shall be his people, and he will be their God; his name is God-with-them. He will wipe away all tears from their eyes; there will be no more death, and no more mourning or sadness. The world of the past has gone.” (Rev 21:3-4)