From the minister... 

Dear friends

‘God is on his throne.’ That was the headline which appeared in my email inbox on the morning of Wednesday 6 November, a link to a website which was aiming to offer a specifically Christian take on the news that had sent shockwaves around the world. Donald Trump had just been re-elected as President of the United States, with the jubilation of his supporters matched by fear and foreboding on the part of his opponents. I don’t normally get messages on politics from church members but several people contacted me that day, all expressing their sadness and anxiety about what had just happened and what would happen next.

‘God on his throne.’ This is a phrase we often turn to in moments of political drama or in other crises. It is a line rooted in biblical imagery and also a form of shorthand, its four words conveying a sense of God’s enduring power and majesty. But when the world seems so out of joint, with a rise in wars and deepening divisions in our society, what difference does it actually make that he is on his throne and what is he doing there?

As I’ve reflected on those questions, I’ve turned again to Revelation, the final book in the Bible which contains much of the imagery that comes to mind when we think about the heavenly throne room. Revelation is sometimes hard to make sense of and a book which has been frequently misinterpreted by those who see it only as a code to be deciphered in order to predict the end times.

When reading Revelation, it’s important to remember that we in Selsdon in 2024 were not its originally intended audience. It’s believed the book was written during the 90s AD, a time of intense persecution of Christians that took place near the end of the reign of the Emperor Domitian. Revelation is a type of book often described as ‘apocalyptic,’ a word derived from the Greek apokalypsis, meaning ‘disclosure’ or ‘unveiling.’ It is as if a curtain between heaven and earth is pulled back momentarily, allowing us a privileged view of what is occurring in the heavenly places.

One of the most famous scenes in Revelation occurs in chapters 4 and 5, when the Spirit gives John a vision of ‘a throne in heaven with someone sitting upon it’ (4:2). The throne is surrounded by four living creatures and twenty-four elders, all of whom are caught up in worship. In chapter 5, a debate begins about who is worthy to open a scroll held in the right hand of the one seated on the throne. What happens next is the one of the most remarkable moments in the whole book:

5 Then one of the elders said to me, “Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.” 6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the centre of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Revelation 5:5–6

These verses contain a strange paradox which is conveyed through the contradiction between what is heard and what is seen. John hears about a lion but what he sees before him is a Lamb! There on the throne is the one who has suffered terribly, reigning but with his appearance forever altered by what he has been through. A few chapters later, John will add yet another paradox to this picture when he tells us that the Lamb is also our shepherd (7:17).

One of my favourite books about Revelation was written nearly twenty years ago, by the Church of England priest Simon Ponsonby.  It is memorably called And the Lamb Wins, a title that brilliantly sums up the message of the Bible’s final book. The first century church is reminded, even in the midst of persecution, that God is fully revealed in the one who has given himself as a sacrifice and whose love and mercy will prevail over all the forces of sin and evil in the world. They are also encouraged to faithfully bear witness to the Lamb, relating peaceably and lovingly to their neighbours and continuing to give their allegiance to King Jesus.

This Christmas, even as we wonder what the New Year will be bring, I pray that we will know afresh that the greatest power in the universe belongs not to the loudest voices, the most divisive bullies or the commanders of armies. Instead, our universe is governed by a God of immense love and mercy who reveals himself most fully in the baby born in Bethlehem and the lamb seated upon the throne. ‘The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it’ (John 1:5). 

Wishing you God’s grace and peace Trevor