J. Douglas Dortch, Jr., Ph.D.
First Baptist Church, Tallahassee, FL
“The Consummation: What's Next? ”

From the Series "Beliefs that Build Community"
Scripture: Revelation 22:1-7

February 17 , 2008

If there is any one criticism of our culture that is generally held by virtually everyone, it’s that our culture is comprised of people who pretty much live “for the moment.”  We spend money as if there’s no tomorrow.  We ignore the past as if it’s an unnecessary burden.  We look at planning as if it is an exercise in futility.  Yesterday is gone; tomorrow may never come.  All we have is the present moment.

Our situation reminds me of the Humphrey Bogart character in “Casablanca.”  If you remember the movie, Humphrey Bogart plays “Rick,” the owner of Casablanca’s “American Café.”  In one scene, a female admirer of Rick’s barges into the restaurant, demanding to know where Rick was the previous night.  His response?  “I can’t remember that long ago.”  Not to be put off she asks a second question, “Will I see you this evening?”  To which Rick answers, “I don’t make plans that far ahead.” 

But while Rick was being cool, the truth is that when most of us focus on the present moment, we are simply being irresponsible. 

And yet, when you peal back the layers of our irresponsibility, deep down in our heart of hearts there is a part of our personalities that knows there has to be more than this present moment.  In our heart of hearts there is something that tells us that while we can’t do much about anything that’s already taken place, we do have a measure of control over whatever it is that is out there ahead of us.  And in our more serious moments, we would love to take a peek at whatever that thing ahead of us might be.

I don’t know why, but lately I’ve been noticing how television programming has been doing a better job of letting us know what is coming on “next.”  With about five minutes left in a particular program, a blurb comes on at the bottom or in the margins of the screen that clues us in on the next program to be shown.  Even “ESPN” has been doing it.  Heaven forbid that we miss out on the next good thing ahead of us, or that we be forced to endure something that may not suit our fancy.

Like the story I came across of the man who was involved in a court case and who was giving such unbelievable testimony that the judge interjected and warned him that he was in danger of perjuring himself.  “Sir,” the judge asked, “Are you aware of what will happen to you if you are caught lying under oath?”  “Yes, your honor,” the man answered.  “When I die, I’ll go to hell.”  “But what else?” the judge asked.  The puzzled man thought for a moment and then answered, “You mean there’s more?”

Deep, deep within we know there’s got to be something more beyond this life, but what is it?  What’s next?  And is it good or is it bad?  Do I have any say-so or any control over what will be taking place?

Those questions are answered by the book of Revelation.  There’s probably not another book in the Bible that creates more confusion than Revelation.  Shrouded in symbolic language, Revelation is a blank palate for all types of interpretation.  The technical term for the type of literature Revelation contains is “apocalyptic,” which literally means “disclosure” or “unveiling” but more popularly means “widespread destruction” and “imminent doom.”

I personally find the popular definitions and their application to Revelation unhelpful and even misguided, taking us down paths that actually move us farther from what God wants us to believe.  I can remember as a child being frightened by the book of Revelation.  With all the battle scenes and other conflict in the heavens, Revelation fell for me somewhere between the Wizard of Oz and the Twilight Zone.  I couldn’t make sense of it and what I could understand seemed awfully catastrophic.

Much of that discomfort stemmed from hearing sermons as a child that stopped at chapter 20, completely ignoring the message of the last two chapters, a part of which I’ve read for you today.  These last two chapters are important if for no other reason that they remind us that Revelation is not so much a book written to inspire fear or terror, but it is written to give us a sense of hope.  Do you remember the Lamb, the Lamb who appeared to have been slain and in whose blood the saints have washed their robes white, the Lamb who does battle with the ten-horned Beast?  The message of Revelation is that the Lamb wins, and not only does that Lamb win, so also do those who follow in his way.

Which brings us to the last two chapters – chapters 21 and 22, the final chapters of Revelation, are chapters that deal with the Consummation of God’s plan.  How will God bring closure to history as we know it?  How will He wrap things up?

Closure is a key concern for us humans.  We are wired to put some type of bow on every concern that comes our way.  We don’t like things that are left hanging in the air. 

I took a preaching class in seminary taught by a professor who was the son of a great preacher.  He talked about growing up in a home where many other great preachers would spend the night while in his father’s church for a special meeting.  In the guest room was a collection of mystery books for bedside reading, and the professor and his brother, who also grew up to be a preacher, loved to sneak into the room and tear out the last chapters as a prank.  Imagine the frustration of those guests, reading along and thinking they were coming to a resolution only to have the pages torn from the text.

Thank God we don’t have that situation in Revelation.  How much emptier we would be not knowing what God is about and what He invites us to be about in bringing to full circle His purposes for the universe?

For example, in Revelation 22, the setting is a city, and not just any city – the New Jerusalem, the old Jerusalem having fallen decades ago.  And in the middle of the city is a garden, like the Garden of Eden in the book of Genesis.  There’s a river in the Garden, like the river Ezekiel saw in the 47th chapter of his prophecy.  On either side of the river are trees that bear fruit -- twelve crops of fruit, one for each month.  These trees are the Tree of Life, the angel tells us.

Are you beginning to see the significance of these symbols?  Creation begins in a garden, not a city.  In fact, the city is considered by Genesis to be an evil place, constructed by Cain, the first murderer.  But in Revelation, the Garden is brought back into the city.  Moreover, where in Genesis God forbids Adam and Eve to partake of the Tree that grows in the center of the Garden, in Revelation, the fruit abounds and even the leaves of the tree are meant for the healing of the nations.   Finally, the “curse” that God imposed upon Adam and Eve for their disobedience in Genesis has also been reversed.  Verse 3 puts it plainly: “No longer will there be any curse.”

Do you see what all of this symbolism means?  It means that everything God purposed from the beginning of time – everything that sin marred and destroyed – all of it will be brought to completion and will become all God intended it to be through the victory of Jesus and the faithful witness of all who place their trust in him.

And do you see what it means for you?  It means that whatever has wounded you in this life will one day be healed.  It means that your fears will be calmed, your doubts will be satisfied, and your sorrows will be turned to joy.  It means that you will reign with Jesus and that whatever powers on this earth have been holding you back and keeping you down will no longer pose a threat.  It means that this present moment is even richer and fuller because of the glory you know is ahead for you in the Presence of God and the Lamb.

If that doesn’t get your heart and soul racing, I honestly don’t know what will.  Perhaps it’s just the case that until your present moment is rocked to its foundations; you really never give much thought to what’s coming “next.”

I was recently reminded of that truth as I read an article written by Frederick Buechner.  A Presbyterian minister whose pulpit is the pen, Buechner had written a column, titled “Bidding Farewell.”  In the column he told about his brother Jamie, who had died three years ago and whom he has missed terribly.  So much so, that Buechner called his brother’s empty New York apartment knowing full well that nobody was there to answer.  But he called anyway, because, as he explains it, “Nothing is for sure in this world, and who could say that at least some echo of him might not be there, and I would hear him again, hear the sound of his voice again, the sound of his marvelous laugh.”  So he called and let the phone ring and ring and ring.

And did Jamie answer?  No, of course not; all Buechner heard was the sound of his absence, not a pleasant sound.

But then the thought hit him: “In my Father’s house are many rooms.”  Buechner said to himself, “I would bet my bottom dollar that in one of those many rooms that phone rang and rang true.  And I believe that in some sense my brother’s voice was in the ringing, and I believe that so was Jesus’ too.”

Nothing in this world is sure, not even the present moment.  Sometimes it makes no sense at all.

But never forget what the angel has spoken: “These words are trustworthy and true….  Behold, I am coming soon.” 

“Come quickly, Lord Jesus.  We can’t wait to make sense of all the confusion that’s going on down here and to see what happens next.”