Ears to Hear: Re-engaging John’s Apocalypse in 21st Century Doxological Communities

Statement of Thesis

A liturgical reading of Revelation, rejoined with the proper hypothesis of scripture will begin to
form apocalyptic and apostolic Christian communities in 21st century post-Christian
environments.

In taking on the task of a Master’s Thesis, I have decided this will be a “treatment” of

Revelation. It will not be an in-depth look at observations and components turned over time and

time again, but a theological exegesis directed at bringing a forgotten book back into the minds

and hearts of the Church. I have selected key texts I believe serve as a great primer for

Revelation letting the average Christian read the text apart from highly figurative elements

usually associated with the book. This is not done out from disregard, but from the conviction the

selected texts are the most basic to the eschatological vision of eternity orthodox Christianity has

stood on for thousands of years. In the spirit of Thomas Oden1, I understand many of the quests

to name rather fantastical elements of the book are complicated and decisive, so for this

introductory work I will limit my scope.

In his sermon The Law Established Through Faith, John Wesley begins his discourse

with the idea the easiest way for a preacher to make void a doctrine is to not preach it. Going

further in this assessment, by not preaching it, the doctrine and understanding of the law is made

void in both the life of the believer and in the doctrine of the church. Following this model, by

not teaching Revelation the pastor effectively separates it from the Biblical canon. If separated

from the Holy Scriptures, Revelation no longer abides in the mind of the Christian, exists in

1 Oden writes of the hazards of founding strong doctrine in a symbolic passage in volume 3 of his Systematic
Theology: Life in the Spirit pg 421. What is likewise highly influential are his statements regarding the ideological
tendencies in millennialism on pgs 429-430
prayer or actions in the world. We are left with a faith devoid of eschatology, and separated from

the theological boundaries of orthodoxy. While this seems slight, what happens to our views on

creation, ethics, heaven, salvation, worship, social engagement and spiritual development when

we take eschatology out of the mix? In the words of Wesley, we become “unskilled in the word

of righteousness”, lacking the necessary dimensions of the Christian faith. Is a Christianity

without Eschatology still Christianity?

Diving into Revelation immerses oneself in the grandiose tradition of mystical

apocalyptic writings but also invites the random hordes of homespun exegetes to invade the

mind. For this reason, I believe the apocalypse given to St. John has metaphorically separated

itself from the Bibles of the average Church go-er. It is the domain of either the scholar tucked

away in the ivory tower or the ruddy and loud television preacher. In the minds of many, it

simply isn’t a book for church folk and rarely becomes part of the devotional reading forming the

believer in the path of sanctification. The Holy Spirit isn’t allowed to form us as an

eschatological people. Instead, we just stay away from discussion needing to happen. This

failure belongs to the clergy as well. In the quest to distance ourselves from the various fear

tactics espoused by fundamentalists, we neglect the preaching and teaching of Revelation and the

wider category of Eschatology. By the clergy allowing the individual member to form their own

individual opinions, this decision makes Revelation the most thoroughly postmodern book in the

canon. If it is appropriate and allowable for this book to be ripe for individual interpretation, we

must be prepared for a Church which has forgotten where it is going and will slowly forget why

it is traveling.
 The task at hand presents Revelation to those terrified of the book. I want make a crack

in the wall which has been built up by countless abuses and misgivings. I hope my work will aid

in developing a radically new eschatological vocabulary absent from the Church in the last

generation and will be exercised both formationally as well as liturgically.

In choosing the texts, I ultimately decided on the six lectionary readings present in Year C

during EasterTide.2 Those in the Roman Catholic and Mainline traditions will recognize them,

and for the free church tradition, they are a great primer towards a non-fantastical reading of

Revelation. They will be amended at times to greater serve the pericope, but will be the

foundational passages of this thesis.

The basic structure of these five passages will be three parts; Exegetical, Theological, and

Formational. Through this structure, I believe it possible to give serious attention to the text, but

at the same time have a view directed at local congregations. The final reading will hopefully

connect these passages in the day to day worshipping life of a congregation; showing both

Orthodox realities as well as a comfort directed at the last book of the Bible.

The final piece of this study will be an entrance into the Apocalypse as a Wesleyan in the

21st century. The popularity of Revelation, especially among younger scholars, is growing.

However, many fail in their reading, get bogged down in deep textual data, the language of

apocalyptic studies and an avoidance of a theological interpretation. Another segment of modern

scholarship avoids the complicated eschatological dimensions of our times by simply viewing

Revelation as a piece of historical data to be mined. By divorcing it from any spiritual reality,

2 These are Revelation 1:4-8, 5:11-14, 7-9-17, 21:1-6, 21:10 with 22-22:5 and 22:12-14,16-17 and 20-21
the book instead turns solely into an example of subversive data to a burgeoning community. It

takes the aspect of vision, eschaton and Christian time out of the text altogether. With these

observations, I wonder what it means to read Revelation as a Wesleyan? How do we take our

rich theological heritage and allow it to inform our reading of the Apocalypse? How do we

understand Revelation canonically? The revealing characteristic of Revelation shows a God of

finality and perfect communion. This should be a veritable theological playground for a

Wesleyan. To think of the story of New Jerusalem in chapter 21 and an exploration of can only

be fully explored by understanding John Wesley and his view of the Godhead as a family

relationship is a textbook example of a Wesleyan hermeneutic. I want to read Revelation as a

young Wesleyan living in the 21st century.

The conviction of this thesis is to begin a lifelong study devoted to putting

Revelation back in the hands of the Church. As stated earlier, the interpretation strategy of

Revelation is thoroughly postmodern for the majority of the Church, and I aim to offer an

approachable reading of Revelation only available within the community of the Christian

Church.
Thesis Outline

I. Introduction
A. Statement of Thesis 2.pgs
B. Cultural Significance 3. pgs
C. Pastoral Concerns 3. pgs
D. Necessity for Revelation and the Church 2.pgs
E. Congregational Reading 2. pgs
F. The Reason for a Liturgical Reading 3.pgs

II. 1:4-8 10. pgs

III. 5:11-14 10. pgs
IV. 7:9-17 10. pgs
V. 21:1-6 10. pgs
VI. 21:10,22-22:5 10. pgs
VII. 22:12-14,16-17 and 20-21 10. pgs

VIII Conclusion
A. Vision of a New Reading 2. pgs
B. An Eschatological People 2. pgs
C. Integration with Secular Eschatology 2. pgs
D. Conclusion 2. pgs

The main body of the thesis (sections II through VII) will be formatted similarly under the three
major readings of Exegetical, Theological, and Doxological.
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