As we continue in our study of Revelation, something very fresh and interesting happens. Jesus, the one we glimpsed in Revelation 1, who stands behind and before all reality, turns to address the churches which are told he “stands among.”
And unfortunately what Jesus sees isn’t very pretty.
This is not that surprising. The people of God, for all their calling and faith, often struggle to distinguish themselves from the culture they find themselves surrounded by.
This is just as true today as it was back then. So in this episode I offer an exploration of how the idolatries the early church struggled with can find many parallels and connections with the capitalism that undergirds the primary struggles the American church finds itself grappling with today.
The good news is that as overwhelmingly vast a struggle this is - for the church to face and distinguish itself from the surrounding values of capitalist culture - Jesus still walks among the lampstands today. For that reason, we need not lose heart. Instead we fast and we pray, and in small, simple, yet deeply communal ways, we point ahead to a king who is coming once again to release and redeem all things.
Take heart, for the one who overcomes will soon be reunited with him.
With hope,
John
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