12 "See, I am coming soon. We find these words three times previously in Revelation (2:16; 3:11; 22:7), and in each case it is on lips of Jesus. My reward is with me, to repay according to everyone's work. Only the risen Lord can do this. Revelation also presents Jesus as an eschatological judge of deeds in 2:23, a role that the gospel tradition similarly ascribes to Jesus as the Son of Man (e.g., Matthew 16:27). Rewards, by definition, are favors or perks bestowed based on performance. Jesus says as much when he says that his rewards program is based on “everyone’s work.” So, it would appear that some tallying system is in place in the marketing department of heaven whereby points accumulate for each of us, and these points are directly tied to our “work” on earth. We do not know the nature of these rewards, but we do know, based on the words of our Lord himself and the abundance of biblical citations, that the rewards are coming. Consider a small sampling:
“For the Son of Man is to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay everyone for what has been done” (Matthew 16:27).
“For all of us must appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each may receive recompense for what has been done in the body, whether good or evil” (2 Corinthians 5:10).
“Be on your guard, so that you do not lose what we have worked for, but may receive a full reward” (2 John 8).
“For he will repay according to each one’s deeds” (Romans 2:6).
In Revelation, Jesus is the one who brings judgment functions both as a promise and as a warning. In the case of those who persevere in faith, the speedy return of Jesus is a source of hope and encouragement (e.g., 3:11). However, in the context of apostasy or immorality, the message of the return of Jesus has the intention of leading to repentance (e.g., 2:16). Is this type of reward, based upon a future act of the Lord that we have no way of experiencing in this life, sufficient to attract and keep followers? Jesus seems to indicate that some rewards will be greater than others. Speaking to the farmers and townspeople in the area of Tiberius, Jesus said in his “Sermon on the Mount,” “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:11-12). Jesus could have said that those who are persecuted and reviled will receive an unspecified reward on judgment day. But instead, he explicitly says that the reward will be a tier above, a step above ? a reward unlike the typical reward received by those who have merely been faithful. Throughout Scripture, this reward seems to be linked to suffering. Those who undergo suffering for Jesus’ sake are, ipso facto, members of a unique club. To these sufferers, Jesus will offer “crowns.” There are several tiers or types of crowns:
Imperishable crown: “Athletes exercise self-control in all things; they do it to receive a perishable garland, but we an imperishable one” (1 Corinthians 9:25). This crown, or garland, is given to the spiritual athlete who has trained, suffered and sacrificed to win the race. Paul reminds his readers in the previous verse that not everyone wins this prize. The winners of an imperishable crown have suffered much.
Crown of rejoicing: “For what is our hope or joy or crown of boasting before our Lord Jesus at his coming? Is it not you? Yes, you are our glory and joy!” (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20). Some Bible teachers refer to this crown as the “Soul Winners’ Crown.” The apostle Paul expected the Thessalonian church to be his “crown of rejoicing” when he gets in line to receive his reward (see the NKJV).
Crown of righteousness: “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. From now on there is reserved for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, will give to me on that day” (2 Timothy 4:7-8). Here, the link between suffering for the sake of the gospel and the reward of a crown is explicit.
Crown of glory: “And when the chief shepherd appears, you will win the crown of glory that never fades away” (1 Peter 5:4).
Crown of life: “Blessed is anyone who endures temptation. Such a one has stood the test and will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
Other tiers might include something the apostle Paul called an inheritance. For example: “Whatever your task, put yourselves into it, as done for the Lord and not for your masters, since you know that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward; you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24).
And finally, there is a reward level that involves great administrative responsibilities: “His master said to him, ‘Well done, good and trustworthy slave; you have been trustworthy in a few things, I will put you in charge of many things; enter into the joy of your master.’” (Matthew 25:21).
American Colonial theologian Jonathan Edwards preaches on the subject of rewards in heaven, acknowledging that some will be rewarded more richly than others, although no one will be envious of anyone else. Here is a classic way of dealing with such passages.
There are different degrees of happiness and glory in heaven. As there are degrees among the angels, viz. thrones, dominions, principalities, and powers; so there are degrees among the saints. In heaven are many mansions, and of different degrees of dignity. The glory of the saints above will be in some proportion to their eminency in holiness and good works here.
Christ will reward all according to their works. He that gained ten pounds was made ruler over ten cities, and he that gained five pounds over five cities. Luke 19:17; 2 Cor. 9:6, “He that soweth sparingly, shall reap sparingly; and he that soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” …
It will be no damp to the happiness of those who have lower degrees of happiness and glory, that there are others advanced in glory above them. For all shall be perfectly happy, every one shall be perfectly satisfied. Every vessel that is cast into this ocean of happiness is full, though there are some vessels far larger than others.
And there shall be no such thing as envy in heaven, but perfect love shall reign through the whole society. Those who are not so high in glory as other, will not envy those that are higher, but they will have so great, and strong, and pure love to them, that they will rejoice in their superior happiness.[1]
In verse 13, we find three statements of self-predication on the part of Jesus, all of which the reader encounters earlier in Revelation. The interesting thing, however, is that not all of these predicates had applied to Jesus; some had rather been used of God. 13 I am the Alpha and the Omega (1:8 and 21:6 refer to God), the first and the last 1:17 and 2:8 refer to Jesus as well), the beginning and the end (21:6 refers to God)." The author of the work is thus quite comfortable in attributing epithets to Jesus that are also used of God, which demonstrates a view of Jesus’ identity that would be at home with the prologue to the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1-18). The three predicates all seem to express the idea of Jesus’ eternal existence. The phrases are a statement of the mystery that we mean by the word “God.”[2] They refer to the notion that the exalted Lord shares the life of the Father that embraces all ages.[3] God is not restricted to being first or last. God stands above the alternative of beginning and end and is Lord of both. For him, one of the challenges of a theology of creation is to express the way in which the eternal God embraces the beginning and end of the creaturely world by not only bringing forth time as the form of existence for creation but by having the divine life enter the created world in way that preserves it and rules it.[4] Verses 14-15 are a final blessing. 14 Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they will have the right to the tree of life (see 22:2) and may enter the city by the gates. We have the seventh and final beatitude in the Book of Revelation. The other six are in 1:3; 14:13; 16:15; 19:9; 20:6; 22:7. The beatitude is like 7:14. The form “blessed are…” is the same as that of the beatitudes of the Sermon on the Mount [Matthew 5:3-11, Luke 6:20-22]). The meaning of this beatitude is not immediately clear, but a survey of similar language in the rest of the book can shed some light on the problem. In 2:7, those who have access to the tree of life are those who “conquer,” a reference to persevering in good works. Revelation also makes an association between clean garments and right living in 3:4, where those who have “not soiled their clothes” are the few in Sardis who are worthy to walk with Jesus. Thus it seems fair to understand “those who wash their robes” in 22:14 as a reference to those who have maintained faithful obedience to Jesus and his teachings. To these individuals immortal life is granted (“the right to the tree of life”), life that will be lived in “the city,” i.e., the New Jerusalem described in 21:1-22:5.
16 "It is I, Jesus, who sent my angel to you (plural in Greek) with this testimony (the content of the book of Revelation) for (the benefit of) the churches. We should probably thus assume that John’s fellow prophets, a group that is mentioned in 22:9, are intended to work alongside John in disseminating the content of his visions to the churches of Asia Minor. I am the root and the descendant of David (an allusion to the messianic prophecy of Isaiah 11:10), the bright morning star (alluding to a messianic prophecy (Numbers 24:17), appearing earlier in Revelation 2:28)." These self-predications emphasize his messianic identity. Verses 17-21 have a liturgical ring to them.[5] 17 The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." I find this to be a beautiful image. It most likely means that the Holy Spirit and the Church respond to Jesus’ assertion that he is coming (22:12) with a hopeful and expectant “Come!” “Everyone who hears” should articulate this same sentiment; thus, the reader of the book should also yearn for the imminent return of Jesus. And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift (John 4:13-14). It is not clear to whom the text addresses the invitation; some scholars think it is an invitation to the Eucharist (and thus 22:6-17 would have a liturgical function), while others view it as directed to those not yet part of the Christian community, and still others understand it as an expression of encouragement to beleaguered Christians.
20 The one who testifies to these things says, "Surely I am coming soon." Amen. Come, Lord Jesus (in Aramaic, maranatha)! This might be a prayer for the eschatological return of Christ. Yet, its use in I Corinthians 16:22 may also connect the word to a relation to the Lord present at the Eucharist. “Maranatha” is not just a request for the eschatological coming of the ascended Lord to consummate the kingdom, but also as a request for his coming for table fellowship in anticipation of the coming rule of God. The phrase is a petition. Yet, it is also a proclamation of the presence of the Lord in the Supper. In the second century, the congregation addressed this proclamation to the Logos and to the Spirit.[6] John's Revelation clearly expects that Jesus will literally be returning at any moment. The struggling, persecuted, fragile churches in those first years long for the new age to be inaugurated by Christ's presence. But until the Parousia becomes a reality, the infant church finds solace and strength by bringing Christ's presence into their midst through the Eucharist. Their longing for Christ to "come" is answered liturgically and experienced spiritually every time the bread is broken and the cup is drunk. In this way, John's final word to every church reading his letter comes true. In each celebration of the bread and the cup, 21 The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all the saints. Amen. John adds an epistolary postscript in 20:21 (cf Romans 16:22, 1 Corinthians 16:21, and the other letters of Paul), reminding us that the entire book has the form of a letter (see 1:4). Although the book of Revelation is filled with mysterious messages, magnificent visions and astounding, even inexplicable portents, it remains at its heart a letter. In its most basic form, Revelation is simply a letter sent out by a prisoner-preacher, intended to be read aloud to the small and struggling churches scattered throughout the Asian region.
The concluding note is one of comfort, of love, of encouragement. He closes his book with visions of hope and of heaven, promising that at the last we shall enjoy the vision of God because of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. John has written to provide pastoral encouragement for Christians confronted with persecution and cruelty. The book intends to help them face their fear, renew their commitment, and sustain their vision. One might legitimately wonder if genuine Christianity can exist if it does live in this expectation. It must live with this promise, and not just celebrate possession, even though that presence is undeniable. In that sense, the church is always in its Advent season. It hopes for the world’s redemption and consummation, looking and marching toward it, in a movement from Christmas, Good Friday, and especially Easter.[7]
Within each of us is a desire for inclusion in a future life with God; all that is required is that we knock on the door that beckons to us and ask to come home. As C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires that nothing in this world can satisfy, then the logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”
In my better moments, I believe this. I keep trying to do so. After all, if I were to follow Occam’s razor, the only explanation for this world is this world, rather than an appeal to another world. Christians have more than a pious wish for the end to be as the Book of Revelation describes it. Its foundation, of course, is the resurrection of Jesus. Properly understood, his resurrection points us in the direction of the future redemption of creation, human history, and our individual lives.
In Phaedo, Plato presents a speech of Socrates on the last day of his life, delivered to Phaedo. Scholars think of it as coming from the middle period of the writings of Plato. The theme, quite naturally, is that of death, immortality, and the philosophic way of life. Socrates makes the case that the way of life of a philosopher is to prepare one to die. For Plato, the human mind or soul can get into non-sensible contact with the ideal and eternal objects of the transcendent world. We are briefly at home here, but we are also lastingly at home there (107cd). He argues that the immortal is obviously imperishable. The Form of Good, Beauty, Justice, and so on, is assurance that they do exist with certainty, even if they are present in an imperfect and uncertain way here. The point is that these perfect Forms participate in their sensible imitation in the world. Plato moves toward the end with a mythological story of the nature of the afterlife (107c). If the soul is immortal, we need to cultivate it in this life for the sake of its life in eternity. The guardian spirit of each soul will judge the goodness and piety of their lives. He thinks those who lived pious lives will have release from the prison that earth had become. Those who purify themselves with philosophy will live in the future without the body. They make their way to beautiful dwelling places. We need to share our virtue and wisdom in the course of our lives because the reward is beautiful and the hope is great. Here is the point I want to stress. He makes it clear that a sensible person would not insist upon the truth of the myth. However, he does think it worth risking the belief, for the risk is a noble one. One can be cheerful of one’s soul because one has ignored the pleasures of the body and concerned oneself with the pleasures of learning, such as moderation, righteousness, courage, freedom and truth (114c-115a).
The Book of Revelation presents a noble belief. Its nobility lies in its realism of the human situation. This world is a battle in which we will need to take sides. The economic and political institutions that human beings create can become beastly. They can set themselves against the good people of the nation. They can set themselves against the church. Behind these types of governments are forces of evil. They are demonic and satanic. They are at war with God and therefore with the people of God. The spiritual battle is real. We will need to make choices. Yet, in the drama presented by the Book of Revelation, in the end, the spiritual battle will be a cleansing, renewing, and transforming one. God will find a way to perform a new act of revelation that will bring into existence the redemption of creation, human history, and of our individual lives. The spiritual battle in which we engage in this life will have its fulfillment in this eschatological act of God. We will not have earned it. The act is pure gift and grace. I think speculating about its specifics is not fruitful, however, for it will surprise us how God fulfills this promise. In my better moments, I am willing to live my life with the belief that the surprise of God will come.
[1] Jonathan Edwards, “The Portion of the Righteous,” December, 1740, in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, Vol. 2, online at Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
[2] Gordon D. Kaufman (In Face of Mystery: A Constructive Theology, 1993, p. xix, 414, 438)
[3] Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 1, 402)
[4] Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 2, 140).
[5] Caird
[6] Pannenberg (Systematic Theology, Volume 3, 320)
[7] Barth (Church Dogmatics IV.3, [69.4], 322)
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