Visions…

A guest blog by Shawn Blythe.

Our Bible reading for this week takes us to the book of Revelation.  It is a book centered around the vision John experienced while exiled on the island of Patmos.  Although I have personally never experienced a vision that I would attribute to God (most of my visions are likely attributable to eating entirely too much before bedtime), the use of visions in the Bible to communicate important information from God is well documented.  Old Testament examples include Abraham, Jacob, Ezekiel and Daniel among others.  The New Testament tells us of visions experienced by Peter, Paul and, of course, John.

Some visions are clear.  Few people struggle with Peter’s vision regarding a call to share the gospel with Gentiles (Acts 10).  Nathan’s vision that it would be Solomon who would build the temple (II Samuel 7) seems reasonably straight-forward.  Other visions are less clear.  I would place the visions of John and Ezekiel into this category.

Both are at least partially about times and things that are yet to come.  They reveal something about God and his plans, but in a way that suggests that the full truth is beyond our understanding.   In thinking about the readings for this week, I was drawn to the similarities between John’s and Ezekiel’s vision.  Although there are clearly differences – there is a general consistency between them.  Both attempt to describe a heavenly throne, both reference measuring the temple (although Ezekiel’s version wins the prize for excruciating detail on this one) and both describe a river of life – among many other similarities.

But what struck me most was the common circumstances of their vision.  Both were given to people who were not where they wanted to be.  Ezekiel was included among the Israelites taken captive and forcibly removed from their homeland by the Babylonians.  It is generally accepted that John was exiled to Patmos as a result of his evangelical work.  It is conceivable that both men questioned where their lives were going.  Neither would have chosen to be in their current circumstances and may have been less than optimistic about any future change for the better.  They may have questioned what possible good could come from their remaining time on this earth.

Yet, it was at this time that God chose to reveal similar visions to these two men separated by nearly 700 years.  And nowhere in these visions do Ezekiel or John receive any suggestion of relief from their current situations.  The visions really have nothing to do with them or their situation. 

It is a reminder of the eternal consistency of God and the undeniable inevitability of God’s plan for this world.  Perhaps more specifically it is a reminder that neither the Babylonians, Romans or any other earthly power has anything to do with God’s plan for us. 

We (like Ezekiel and John) are living in a world filled with the ramifications of a sinful world – illness, death, dishonesty, hate, etc.  Solomon reminds us in Ecclesiastes 9 that regardless of who we are, we are trapped by evil times that unexpectedly impact us.  We are compared with fish caught in a net, or birds caught in a snare.  We are fodder for a sinful world that marches over us irrespective of our personal needs or accomplishments.

But it was in this moment of complete hopelessness that God chose to reveal something about himself to Ezekiel and John.  Although I won’t claim to fully understand the visions of Ezekiel and John, they are a comfort to me that the things of this world will, in due time, be no more.  God has bigger things in mind: a day of reckoning, an unarguable justice, and an eternity filled with the peace, wonder and beauty of the indescribable presence of God.

The books of both Revelation and Ezekiel end with the conclusion of their respective visions.  What is not recorded is the fact that both authors lived another day – and perhaps many more days.  After having glimpsed eternity, they found themselves exactly where they were before the vision.  There would be continuing discomfort, unfairness, unhappiness and the frustration that comes from living in this world.  Their current situation of earthly hopelessness remained unchanged.

But they (and we, through their writings) have experienced a hint of what is to come.  We know that God has not forgotten us.  We know that God has plans for us – BIG plans!

And so, in light of this undeniably bright future we continue to behave as Christians do – with kindness, love and compassion, living our lives as Jesus taught us to live.  We do this in a world that doesn’t value such things, but with the full understanding that it is not this world’s opinion that matters.  And this world’s days are numbered.