BLOG 3/30/16. THE BEAST AND THE LAMB ARE STILL WITH US, ALAS!

Georgia’s governor, Nathan Deal, has just won plaudits from the editors of the New York Times and many others for vetoing the so-called Religious Liberty Bill passed by the Georgia legislature at the insistence of those who ostensibly were acting out of some kind of Christian zeal to preserve the integrity of Christian leaders. In so doing they proposed discriminating against all kinds of persons, whose way of life seemed not to conform to the prejudices of those particular legislators. One wonders what such legislators’ understanding of the Christian faith is all about? what their concept of God’s Kingdom? or God’s infinite love for the brokenness of this world and its human community unfolds itself in the behavior of his people?

This twisted understanding of Christian faith is before us almost ad nauseam during these wearying months of political campaigning. It’s not the outsiders, the alternative lifestyle folk, or the ethnic minorities, or terrorists, or whoever who disturb me so much. The world has always been filled with human depravity, and folk who had all kinds of alternative religions. This is the world that Jesus came into, and which he died to reconcile to God and into God’s shalom. What, indeed, is human flourishing? What is your/my purpose/telos? What takes me captive and forms my life and attitude and behavior? What is God’s ultimate good news?

First off, I am one of those weird people who has always been hugely blessed by the final book in the Bible: The Revelation. I think it is the necessary capstone on the canon of scripture because it spells out in colorful apocalyptic style the battle that shall be with us through this present age until Christ has put all of his enemies under his feet and the new heaven and the new earth comes down from heaven. But, … meanwhile there is a cosmic battle going on between the beast and the Lamb. There is a perennial warfare going on, beginning at the birth of Jesus, when Herod sought to kill the infant Jesus, and climaxing on the cross where Jesus triumphed over Satan on the cross, and made a show of him, i.e., disarming and dethroning him, so that Satan ultimate destiny is the lake of fire. But meanwhile … we are between the ages.

Ah! But meanwhile the Beast makes war on the people of the Lamb, who often are the victims of brutal assault, martyrdom, and horrendous persecution, … but note: … ultimately they overcome him, note again: “by the blood of the Lamb, by the word of their testimony (i.e., words and behavior/lifestyle), for they loved not their lives even unto death:” (at the risk of their lives). [Revelation 12:11]. If you’re looking for ‘comfort-zone’ Christianity, forget it! This is a calling to life for, and to suffer with, Jesus in the battle against all that is engaged with Satan’s kingdom of darkness. God’s saints are never, never, promised temporal or political or popularity power—we are only called to be faithful in our calling to b conformed to the image of God’s Son, and to be the incarnation of God’s New Humanity. And in that calling we are also called to often suffer with him. That is nearly always in very complex and ambiguous cultural and ethical settings.

So what, in brief, is that lifestyle? Try the opening of Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount (Matthew) or Sermon on the Plain (Luke). Those followers of his who are authentic, who have kingdom integrity, and who are the blessed, are those who identify with the poor, those who mourn over the tragedies of themselves and in lives of others, those who are meek, those who hunger and thirst for justice/righteousness, those who are merciful, those who are single-minded / pure in heart, those who are peacemakers, those reviled and persecuted for righteousness sake … for their reward is great in heaven. But more than that, even those hostile to them (according to the following verses) they are the very salt of the earth, and people shall see their good works and give God praise for such.It is in such lives that we are the present people of the Lamb of God, and who overcome … even if it costs us our lives.  The warfare between the Beast and the Lamb is ongoing. But Easter ultimately sealed the doom of the Beast. That is our great confidence. We are those who are always in readiness to be agents of God’s gospel of peace!