Book Ends - article by Joel Hempel
As he has announced, Pastor Scott will be preaching from Revelation for the next couple of months. As he stated from the pulpit, when reading this book of the Bible, what stands out are the multiple bizarre and scary images. Those images alone are reason enough for most of us to want to stay clear of the book. But there is one word strategically placed in this book that assures us the content of the book is for our benefit and blessing. That word is grace.
St. Paul – not the author of Revelation – is called the Apostle of Grace because, in his writing, the word grace appears 86 times. However, the word grace is used only twice in Revelation. In Revelation, the word appears as "bookends." You will find it at the very beginning as an invocation and the absolute end of the book as a benediction:
“Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come…” (1:4).
“The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (22:21).
What's so essential about grace that the Apostle John begins and ends the book with it? The apostle answers this most crucial question in verse 9:
“I, John, your brother and partner in the tribulation and the kingdom and the patient endurance that are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos on account of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus” (1:9).
Archeologists have determined that although the island of Patmos was at one time a robust getaway destination, under Roman rule, it went into decline and ended up being a prison, a place to which Rome exiled convicts. So, John was not there on a much-deserved vacation. He was there because of his faithfulness in testifying to the risen Lord, and he was there because he was arrested and persecuted for proclaiming the Gospel.
But just as God’s grace intervened when Joseph was sold into slavery and exiled to Egypt, God, in His love and care for John and the world, creates the opportunity for the aging apostle to write for the benefit of Christians then and now.
Once again, what our enemies (especially Satan) intend for our demise, God converts into grace and transforms us into stronger and wiser people of God.
The psalmist asks, “Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence?” The most obvious answer to that question is, “not Patmos.” Indeed, the question is rhetorical. It doesn’t matter if we do the fleeing or if we are abandoned in some faraway place. God’s grace will find you. Are you concerned about a child or grandchild fleeing from God? Your loved one can’t find a place God’s grace doesn’t already occupy. Our Lord will not be deterred!
