After these things I looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven. And the first voice which I heard was like a trumpet speaking with me, saying, “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this.”
2 Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne set in heaven, and One sat on the throne. 3 And He who sat there was[like a jasper and a sardius stone in appearance; and there was a rainbow around the throne, in appearance like an emerald. 4 Around the throne were twenty-four thrones, and on the thrones I saw twenty-four elders sitting, clothed in white robes; and they had crowns[of gold on their heads. 5 And from the throne proceeded lightnings, thunderings, and voices.[Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which are the seven Spirits of God.
6 Before the throne there was[ a sea of glass, like crystal. And in the midst of the throne, and around the throne, were four living creatures full of eyes in front and in back.
Revelation 4
I was at Bridge St United Church just after 8:00 yesterday morning when my phone began to buzz with a series of texts. All five Mundys have the same brand of smart phone and have a "group think" text address along with the individual addresses.
The talk of the morning was daughter Jocelyn's photos of the Game of Thrones exhibit opening today at the Bell Light Box home for the Toronto International Film Festival. She had a sneak preview and let us see the throne. As a graphic designer for TIFF she created images for the exhibit incorporating that throne. Her siblings were suitably impressed, even if her parents were trying to drum up some enthusiasm. It turns out the exhibit is sold out, so what do we know.
It got me thinking about regal imagery and monarchs and thrones. In more liberal churches we earnestly wonder and fret about using this sort of biblical imagery because it might turn people off. Reign of Christ or Christ the King Sunday isn't so popular, and I can't imagine praying with a reference to the Lamb upon the Throne. Meanwhile a wildly popular book and television series is all over this stuff and folk love it.
Will I change my worship language to cash in on the trend? Will I offer a "God of Thrones" sermon series based on the book of Revelation? Nah, but it does cause me to pause.
What do you think about all this? Does God of Thrones appeal to you? Are you glad we have largely pitched the hierarchical language? Are we too PC in the United Church?
3 comments:
I would love to participate in an academic study of the Book of Revelation, looking at the imagery, and sorting out what it meant to people living at the time it was written (Not a diatribe on how we are going to be suffering in the near future... unless of course, all of the fundamentalists have really got it right!) - it is fascinating language, and obviously was important enough to include in the canon of scriptures, so ... on another note - the God on the throne of one's heart is a good topic to discuss and ponder, also.
There is an excellent book called The Rapture Exposed by Barbara Rossing which I have used for a discussion group in recent years. We might look at it here as well.
Sounds like a great idea for a study! :-)
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