Who are these robed in white, and where do they come from? They are the witnesses to the truth, and they have come through the great ordeal without capitulating to the comfortable lies of a society that urges them to relax, fit in, and enjoy the benefits distributed by Caesar.
From start to finish the Book of Revelation juxtaposes the truth of the gospel to the lies and illusions of powers that try to deceive the saints and lead them away from allegiance to the one true God of Israel who acted in Jesus Christ for the salvation””the soteria””of the world. The entire book calls us to discern the truth and to make a choice. So, in John’s vision, the martyrs in the heavenly throneroom are models for us. They diagnose our true condition by showing that the world serves false gods, and they offer us a model to be emulated: like them, we must worship only the one true God, and put our lives on the line for our testimony to him.
Wayne Meeks writes about the Book of Revelation, “The business of this writing is to stand things on their heads in the perceptions of its audience, to rob the established order of the most fundamental power of all: its sheer facticity. The moral strategy of the Apocalypse, therefore, is to destroy common sense as a guide for life.”
That is what the testimony of the saints does for us: to destroy common sense as a guide for life….
Thank you for posting this. A deeply moving affirmation, rooted in Scripture, of what pastoral ministry. The gloss on Paul’s allusion to Psalm 116 shows a willingness to take seriously the always present Old Testament in the New. Hays is always insightful when it comes to the use of the Psalms — I learned from him that Paul’s chain of citations from the Psalms in Romans 3 are all drawn from what we would call “psalms of lament”, wrestling with the unjust suffering of the righteous. With that insight, the chapter reads far differently, and far better.
My only complaint is the cheap shot at Invictus. The point in the movie is precisely that the poem is deeply flawed for pretty much the reasons Hays gives (I assume Mandela knew this as well) — and yet here is Mandela. Something that is deeply flawed can still have an astonishing half life (CofE anyone?); on the other hand, when we know we have the right answers, watch out! NOT an argument for relativism; but humility when it comes to ourselves, yes.