speaking truth in the age of kairos
be dangerous
“The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place.” What must soon take place. Some folks have taken that and proposed all manner of timelines and horror movie themes: creatures with eyes in front and eyes in back and locusts with hair like women’s and teeth like lions’. A dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and seven crowns.
Well, maybe the point is made!
Sober reflection has often been tossed to the wind. Actually, that applies to the entire book of Revelation. We might encounter explanations so convoluted to suggest we are at our wit’s end!
To be fair, the book can seem like a conundrum wrapped in an enigma—with a couple of head-scratchers chucked in for good measure.
Nevertheless, in the quest for meanings, humility is called for. We are reminded, “If you’re unwilling to live with any uncertainty, you’re more likely to read into Revelation things that are not there. [Emphasis is mine.] Beware of interpreters who appear to have all the answers to even the small questions. ‘Experts’ who claim absolute knowledge about every detail of Revelation should immediately raise suspicion.”
We are counseled, “Take Revelation seriously, but don’t always take it literally.”
One more note at the outset: the book is also known as Apocalypse. No one needs to explain how the word “apocalyptic” conjures up dystopian images!
Coming from Greek (ἀποκάλυψις, apokalypsis), the word has to do with an unveiling, an uncovering, a revelation. Every verse in the book’s introduction (its initial unmasking!) contains vibrant, vivid images. There is plenty to unpack. However, I would like to focus on verse 3. “Blessed is the one who reads the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”
I admit I will be doing an injustice to the expression, “the words of the prophecy.” I will hardly be doing a deep dive into full examination of its importance.
Still, a common mistake should be addressed. When people hear the words “prophet” or “prophecy,” frequently the assumption is we’re getting a word about the future. That is not necessarily the case. In fact, it happens a small minority of the time. Prophets relay a message from God for the people right then and there. It often concerns corruption or injustice, or a message of grace to point the way forward.
Having said that, what I would like to examine is to the extent these words are all about truth. After all, a revelation of Jesus Christ can hardly be a lie!
Two verses later, Jesus is called “the faithful witness.” This is not a witness who will lead us astray. From start to finish, the book of Revelation is a testimony to the truth. In the final chapter, we are reassured protection from the lie, because cast “outside are the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood” (22:15). Everyone who loves and practices falsehood.
That’s a word we need to hear.
The famous Russian dissident, Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who inspired many around the world, issued a warning in 1974 in an essay titled, “Live not by Lies.” He released it on the day of his arrest, February 12, but on the next day he was exiled to the West, where he was given a hero’s welcome.
His warning concerned his own country and the willingness to go along with the strong arming, the censorship, the lies of the government. However, we in the western democracies are moving in the same direction. I won’t go into great detail, but increasingly those who express legitimate concerns are labeled as uttering misinformation or hate speech.
To those who refuse to reject the lies and to speak the truth, Solzhenitsyn says, “Let him say to himself plainly: I am cattle, I am a coward, I seek only warmth and to eat my fill.” (To which I say, “Yikes!”)
Again, here is the list of those characters Revelation 22 reprimands: “the dogs and sorcerers and sexually immoral and murderers and idolaters and everyone who loves and practices falsehood.” (Double yikes!) Can we see any possible likeness?
We use our freedom to give away our freedom. That also applies to the church. Underlining all of this is the abandonment of truth. Maybe we strike a pose of cynical sophistication. Maybe we don’t believe we fall prey to those sneaky shenanigans. A similarity of Solzhenitsyn’s and Revelation’s list is just that: abandoning the truth, choosing falsehood over the truth.
What happens to those who are deceived, indeed, self-deceived? Do they (do we?) feel like a failure? Is it a question of failing others, failing God, failing oneself? Or is it a sense of being so far gone we no longer realize the deception?
Do we wear a mask? Have we forgotten it’s even there? (Though I suppose if we have forgotten, there’s no point in asking the question!)
Let’s recall those who do choose the truth: they are twice called “blessed.” That is, those who hear and keep the words of the prophecy. They enjoy a happy relationship with their Lord. Their lives are not plagued by a guilty conscience.
The writer Ryan Holiday, who has a special interest in Stoic philosophy, recently wrote about an address at the Naval Academy. It contained a section they wanted him to omit. It concerned some comments regarding books which had been pulled from their library. He declined to provide the requested deletion, so they canceled the lecture. He wasn’t angry, simply disappointed. He lamented what he considered a timid approach to pursuing the truth.
That being said, the Academy was in a bit of an awkward spot, given their stance on being apolitical and dealing with new guidelines that are political.
Holiday’s remedy to us all: “Read dangerously. Read curiously. Plunge into unfamiliar territory. Get behind enemy lines, and seek to understand anything and everything, particularly the points of view of the people you disagree with… Investigate rather than persecute. This is what [the first century Stoic philosopher] Seneca was saying: We must read like a spy in the enemy’s camp.”
If there is any group familiar with being in the enemy’s camp, it would be John’s audience. During his lifetime, persecutions have been rather sporadic, at least compared with the fierce rage on the horizon. Still in verse 9, he declares, “I, John, your brother who share with you the persecution and the kingdom and the endurance in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.”
Patmos is something like the Devil’s Island of its time. Prisoners are sent there in exile. Escape is almost impossible.
The declarations of the believers are dangerous. They are unfamiliar territory. Those words are unpopular; many folks want them to just shut up. These followers of Jesus issue bold statements intertwining with the political. Repeating the assertions of their Lord, “I am the Alpha and the Omega,” will get them in hot water with the imperial authorities. It sounds suspiciously like a challenge to the powers-that-be, and a challenge that might require urgent action.
Speaking of urgent, there is a schedule associated with these “blesseds,” a sense of being on the clock. Well, kind of. The schedule added is, “for the time is near.”
There are two words for “time” in Greek. The first is χρόνος (chronos), which roughly corresponds to the clock, to days, to seasons of the year. It is time that can be measured. The second is καιρός (kairos). It carries a variety of nuances, but it essentially means “the critical time” or “the decisive moment.” It is just the right time! (373, 374)
[A vision of kairos]
We have a mirror image of kairos at the end of Revelation. The angel who has been showing John, who has been taking him all along this little trip through the book, says, “Do not seal up the words of the prophecy of this book, for the time is near” (22:10). The kairos is almost upon us. So John, do not cover what has been uncovered for you. Do not re-cover the truth. Do not hide the truth!
Now is the moment. Now is the time of decision. Always now.