The point of Revelation is to reveal consolation in Jesus, not to revel in chaos and confusion.
Reading the book of Revelation can feel a bit like reading a great fantasy adventure. Through John’s vision, we see “fantastic beasts and where to find them” as they circle the Lamb’s throne and sing Christ’s praises. We’re drawn through the wardrobe of Scripture to see glimpses of the new world that awaits those in Christ: the new heavens and the new earth.
There are angels and archangels arrayed like the forces of Middle-earth fighting the dark-lord Sauron. There’s the ancient serpent, the dragon, Satan, slithering through history, swinging his chaotic tale and breathing tyranny and death everywhere he roams. And yet, just like Harry overtaking He-Who-Shall-Not-Be-Named, we see the dragon overthrown and taken down by the Boy who was born, lived, died, and lives again forever. There’s even a warrior king mounted on a mighty steed.
For all the similarities Revelation has with great and fantastical adventures, there is one important and essential difference, however. One interpretive key that remains necessary for us to begin to interpret this wild, mysterious, yet wonderful book. Through all the symbolism, illustrative language, Old Testament allusions, and quotations, Revelation is a true story. It is not a tale told or invented by men, made up in our imagination, but God’s story told through his servant John. As the opening words of Revelation 1 remind us, it is the revelation - the story revealed - of Jesus Christ. And it is Jesus who holds us, as he did John and the churches and their pastors, in his pierced and resurrected hands.
There are lots of wrong turns one can take while reading Revelation. And so care must be taken. It’s tempting to follow the false trail that reads Revelation like a side quest to predict the end of the world. But remember, Jesus says, “Concerning that day or that hour, no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (Mark 13:32). It’s also tempting to read Revelation like the legend on a treasure map, like a series of secrets that requires hidden knowledge to decode. But remember, while symbolic and mysterious, the point of Revelation is to reveal consolation in Jesus, not to revel in chaos and confusion.
In response to the myriad of misinterpretations of Revelation, I recall something G.K. Chesterton said in Orthodoxy: “Though St. John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.”
Revelation is a book of immense mirth and consolation. It is the holy Word of God that gives us life in Jesus crucified, risen, ascended, and reigning for you to bring you comfort and consolation in him. It wasn’t given to sow discord and despair but confidence and peace in Christ, who rules and reigns as King. The story of Revelation helps us to know the end of the story of history while we’re still living in it.
This is why Revelation is yet another story of eucatastrophe. Author J.R.R. Tolkien coined the term “eucatastrophe” to describe the sudden, joyous turn in a good story. Just when all looked dark and grim and hopeless, like catastrophe would win the day, there was a sudden, joyous turn. A good catastrophe. Something unexpected, undeserved, and unseen entered the story and, with it, brought rescue and victory and everlasting joy.
For chapters on end, it seems like death and destruction, and the dragon are winning the day. But just when it seems like the world is spinning out of control into eternal catastrophe, God gives John a revelation of eucatastrophe. And this happens over and over again. Through all the cycles of the seals, trumpets, bowls of wrath, and so forth, the pattern of Revelation is one of catastrophe followed by eucatastrophe. When it appears that sin, death, and the devil’s triumphs are around every corner, the story of Revelation takes a sudden joyous turn in a Eucatastrophe of God’s rescue, grace, and victory in Jesus. This is one of the greatest recurring themes throughout Revelation. Here are just a few examples:
After the sins and warnings, and calls to repentance to the Christian church in Revelation chapters 1-3, God gives John a vision of the heavenly throne room in chapter 4. It is a vision of holy eucatastrophe. John saw a door (perhaps something like a wardrobe!) standing open in heaven, and the throne of heaven filled his vision. John’s eyes and ears are given a eucatastrophe, a sudden turn from all that is seen here on earth to the Lamb ruling in heaven. Around the throne, the angels cried out the same song they sang in Isaiah 6, the song of eucatastrophic rescue and victory in the Lord.
“Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty,
who was and is and is to come!”
In Revelation 5, John hears the voice of a mighty angel proclaiming, “Who is worthy to open the scroll and break its seals?” John realizes the answer and weeps. But soon, his mourning is turned to dancing. He witnesses a joyous song of the sudden, joyous turn of eucatastrophe.
“Weep no more; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has conquered so that he can open the scroll and its seven seals.”
John’s weeping and despair is replaced with worship and joy for the Lamb who was slain and yet lives.
“Worthy are you to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God
from every tribe and language and people and nation,
and you have made them a kingdom and priests to our God,
and they shall reign on the earth” (Rev. 5:5-10).
In Revelation 6, as the seven seals are opened, the story of Revelation descends into catastrophe once again. The vision turns to images of slaughter, persecution, martyrdom, pestilence, famine, and death. There are earthquakes, stars falling, and the sky is rolled up like a scroll, an un-creating of creation. And yet, what does John see and hear in the next chapter? The catastrophes of Revelation 6 give way to the Eucatastrophe of Revelation 7.
“Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.
“Therefore they are before the throne of God,
and serve him day and night in his temple;
and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence.
They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore;
the sun shall not strike them,
nor any scorching heat.
For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd,
and he will guide them to springs of living water,
and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes” (Rev. 7:13b-17).
This pattern of catastrophe and eucatastrophe continues on in Revelation, building and swelling like a tsunami of chaos and consolation, until finally the wave rests in a climactic series of eucatastrophes in Revelation 21-22:
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.”
And he who was seated on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” Also, he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.” And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty, I will give from the spring of the water of life without payment. The one who conquers will have this heritage, and I will be his God and he will be my son” (Rev. 21:1-7).
These are some of my favorite chapters in Scripture. Just as the Lamb is the lamp and light of the city of God in Revelation, Jesus is the lamp and light and Lamb of Revelation and of our lives. By his dying, rising, ascending, reigning, and his promised second coming, he brings us out of the catastrophe of sin and death into the eternal eucatastrophe of rescue, life, and everlasting victory.
Like the saints in Revelation 1-3, we do not always know what each new day will bring. We cannot always see each chapter or page of our story. The road goes ever on, but we do not know what is around the bend. History remains a clouded tale for us. We see through murky windows. We do not know what trials, persecutions, and suffering await us in the coming pages of history. And yet, through it all, the Lamb is seated on the throne. Christ was slain and yet reigns in victory. He brings the great eucatastrophe of his incarnation, life, crucifixion, and resurrection to us here in the midst of our own catastrophes. He takes our sorrows, sin, and suffering and makes it his own, and he takes his righteousness, redemption, and rescue and makes it our own.
What is more, we know the end of the story. We know how this tale ends. It ends in victory. It ends in the return of Christ and the resurrection of the body. It ends with a never-ending story of grace and mercy in the presence of the Lamb. It ends with the dragon defeated and the dungeon crawl of death being overthrown and cast into the lake of fire forever.
This is the story of Eucatastrophe that fills all our lives of catastrophe with the grace, mercy, and joy of the Lamb of God, who makes all things new. And the best part is, it’s all true. And it’s yours in Jesus.
