I’m still wrestling with the implications of the vision in chapter 5 of the Revelation of Jesus Christ. And I’m sure most of those who were at the Bible study on Friday, 16 March 2018 are in a similar situation.

One of the questions raised during the session was concerning the nature of the document. If we assume that the Revelation of Jesus Christ was written to provide hope for persecuted Christians and if we assume, as I have insisted, that the vision in chapter 5 says that there is no lion of the tribe of Judah – at least not in the conventional sense – but that there is only the lamb that was slaughtered and that God’s way of triumphing over his enemies is through the way of the lamb, then how is this a source of hope? How, in other words, are persecuted Christians to glean comfort from this book if there is only the meek way of the lamb?

In his beatitudes Jesus said, “Blessed are the meek for they will inherit the earth.” At the end of Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus tells his disciples, “All authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.” Do we believe this? Do we believe that the meek Jesus, the lamb that was slaughtered, actually wields all authority? Do we believe that his death was not simply salvific for us but more importantly a victory over the forces that have placed themselves against God? Do we believe that he was telling the truth when, from the cross, he said, “It is finished”?

The Revelation of Jesus Christ asks its readers to think back on the finished work of Jesus. It is all finished. Not just the limited and myopic task of paying for our sins, but also the bigger task of defeating the forces of evil. His enemies are vanquished. Though he may permit them to still terrorize people, they areo already defeated. So whatever evil is unleashed on Christians is only by the permission of Jesus.

Now we may wonder why Jesus allows persecution to happen. Frankly, that question could plague us till he returns for we can never understand the bigger picture. We can barely make sense of our tiny lives! But do we trust that Jesus knows what he is doing? If so, we can take comfort that nothing we experience has taken him by surprise and that nothing we face is too big for him to deal with.

So it boils down to three questions:

• Do you believe that Jesus has all authority now by virtue of his death?
• Do you believe that he is able to deal with everything that comes your way?
• Do you believe he knows what he is doing?

If I have answered, “Yes” to all three questions, then I have an immense reservoir of hope for my life is in the hands of one who legally wields power, who legally possesses all of it, and who has the wisdom to wield it.

And if I have answered, “No” to any of the questions, why am I wasting my time on Jesus?