Sunday 11 August 2019

Apocalypse Now #7: Heaven's Perspective on the Environment

Revelation 16

Listen to this sermon here: https://soundcloud.com/bloomsbury-1/apocalypse-now-7-heavens-perspective-on-the-environment

Did you see the news this week?
            The intergovernmental panel on climate change report for the United Nations
            has found that ecosystems around the world
                        have never before been under such threat,
            and that the climate crisis is damaging the ability of land to sustain humanity.

Some of the world’s top scientists collaborated in the report,
            and they warn that cascading risks are becoming increasingly severe
                        as global temperatures rise,
            with droughts, soil erosion and wildfires increasing,
                        crop yields decreasing,
            and thawing permafrost near the poles.

Meanwhile, I had a long conversation with someone who directed me, approvingly,
            to Piers Corbyn’s assertion that ‘man made climate change doesn’t exist’,
                        and that rather stories of climate change
                        are the product of journalists rather than scientists.

Who are you gonna believe??
            To play my hand early, I tend, strongly, towards believing the scientists….

And this sermon finds its origin in my own very personal engagement
            with the topic of global warming
            and its attendant environmental devastation.

For some time I found myself obsessed, even depressed,
            as I sought to get my mind around the emotions I was experiencing
            whenever I contemplated this troubling reality.
Sleepless nights and panic attacks ensued,
            and I had to ask why it should be
            that I was responding with such uncharacteristic intensity.

Initially I wondered if it was as simple as being afraid of dying,
            but concluded that this was not the case
                        as no-one who rode a high performance motorbike for many years
                        can ever be entirely risk-averse.
Neither was it a fear about the end of the world:
            growing up in the shadow of the cold war
            adjusted me to that terror at an early age.

In time, I had a moment of what you might call ‘revelation’.
            I realised that I had fallen in love with Babylon,
                        and that, like the merchants and seafarers of Revelation 18.9-19,
            I was grieving the loss of my beloved empire.


Revelation 18:9-11, 15-19  the kings of the earth, who committed fornication and lived in luxury with [Babylon], will weep and wail over her when they see the smoke of her burning;  10 they will stand far off, in fear of her torment, and say, "Alas, alas, the great city, Babylon, the mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come."  11 And the merchants of the earth weep and mourn for her, since no one buys their cargo anymore… 

15 The merchants of these wares, who gained wealth from her, will stand far off, in fear of her torment, weeping and mourning aloud,  16 "Alas, alas, the great city, clothed in fine linen, in purple and scarlet, adorned with gold, with jewels, and with pearls!  17 For in one hour all this wealth has been laid waste!" And all shipmasters and seafarers, sailors and all whose trade is on the sea, stood far off  18 and cried out as they saw the smoke of her burning, "What city was like the great city?"  19 And they threw dust on their heads, as they wept and mourned, crying out, "Alas, alas, the great city, where all who had ships at sea grew rich by her wealth! For in one hour she has been laid waste."

Images of environmental judgment

The scenes of environmental destruction found in The Book of Revelation
            form part of the broader picture
            of the author’s representation of divine judgment on evil.

The various images of judgment which he utilises
            serve a double purpose:

On the one hand, they demonstrate that evil in all its forms
            will not be allowed to continue into eternity (cf. 19.20; 20.10, 14),

while on the other hand they serve as warnings
            intended to provoke repentance
            on the part of the nations of the earth (cf. 9.20-21; 11.13; 16.9-11).

The images of final judgment offer John’s readers an assurance that,
            however powerful the forces currently opposing their faithful witness,
these satanic systems will ultimately be called to account
            for their opposition to God’s in-breaking kingdom.

However, it is in the images of warning judgment
            that John depicts the desolation of the created order
            along with humanity itself.

Environmental damage and human suffering
            are presented as inseparable partners.

In the sequences of seals, trumpets and bowls,
            John depicts scenes of environmental devastation with increasing intensity.

The opening of the sixth seal triggers the shaking of the entire cosmos,
            with a great earthquake,

            the darkening of sun and moon,
            stars falling to the earth, the sky being rolled away,
            and every mountain and island being displaced (Rev. 6.12-14).

The sounding of the trumpets leads to
            the burning away of a third of the earth, trees, and all green grass,
            the death of a third of all sea creatures,
                        the poisoning of the earth’s waters,
            and the darkening of a third of the sun, moon and stars (Rev. 8.7-12).

The pouring out of the bowls, which we heard in our reading this morning, triggers
            the death of every living thing in the sea,
            the poisoning of all waters,
                        burning from an intensified sun,
                        and a time of darkness (Rev. 16.2-12).

These visions of environmental destruction
            are each interspersed with scenes of judgment on humanity,
with the entire created order depicted
            as suffering the effects of humanity’s rejection of God.

John’s intent in constructing these images of warning judgment,
            encompassing the entire creation in their scope,
was to provide his audience
            with an alternative perspective on their current earthly situation.

From the perspective of those
            in the seven cities of Asia Minor to whom John was writing,
the unbridled expansion of the Graeco-Roman
            cultural, economic and military empire
            could appear a noble and beneficent project.

However, when viewed through John’s visionary lens,
            the imperial machine is seen as a corrupting whore
                        and a violent beast (chapters 13, 17-18),
            demeaning or destroying all those who come into contact with it.[1]

The series’ of judgments on the earth
            thus represent John’s vision
            of the inevitable end-result of the human obsession with empire.

Whether it be the death of a third of humankind through war (Rev. 9.15, 18),
            or environmental devastation on a global scale,
these are to be seen as the direct consequences
            of human imperial aspiration.

In his subversive portrayal of empire
            as a violent and destructive system,
John provides a powerful critique of all such systems
            which seek to centralise wealth and privilege
            at the expense of exploitation at the margins.

The call to repentance
Simply portraying the effects of empire
            through images of suffering and destruction
            is however not sufficient for John.

He also offers a theological commentary
            on the globally catastrophic results of empire,
lamenting that those who have experienced the judgments
            still ‘did not repent’ (Rev. 9.20, 21; 16.9, 11).

Within John’s scheme,
            the judgments are not personally targeted punishments
                        aimed at those who have denied the lordship of Christ,
            neither are they God punishing the earth
                        for its opposition to the kingdom of Christ.

Rather, they are presented as warnings to the nations
            of the effects of their ongoing investment in empire,
in the hope that the nations of the earth will ‘repent’
            and turn from their exploitative and destructive practices.

The tragedy of John’s presentation
            is that the nations remain unrepentant
            in the face of the warning judgments.

He portrays the imperial aspirations of the nations as so all-pervasive
            that, even when faced with increasing levels
                        of human and environmental catastrophe,
            still they remain committed to the exploitative practices of empire.

In this way, kings, merchants and seafarers
            are heard mourning the destruction of Babylon,
because they have so invested themselves
            in the economic systems of empire
that they are unable to comprehend its ending
            as anything other than disaster (Rev. 18.9-19).

This is in contrast to the response which John expects
            of those who have entered with him into his visionary world
            to gain heaven’s perspective on empire.

They are invited to,
            ‘Rejoice over her, O heaven, you saints and apostles and prophets!
            For God has given judgment for you against her’ (Rev. 18.20).

But if the nations fail to heed the warnings,
            John offers a bleak assessment of the future of the empire
            in which they are investing themselves.

It is portrayed as an ultimately self-destructive system,
            which begets violence, suffering and environmental catastrophe.

Against this background John offers his theological assertion
            that systems of oppression and destruction
            will themselves ultimately face judgment,
something which he vividly depicts in the vision
            of the destruction of the great whore and the great city (Revelation 17-18).

Ian Boxall puts it well when he says:
            ‘Evil and injustice bear within themselves the seeds of their own destruction,
            and ultimately the whole edifice will come tumbling down.’[2]

The extent of environmental judgment
One could be forgiven for thinking at this point that,
            from an environmental perspective, all is lost.

After all, if the nations remain unrepentant
            in the face of the increasingly severe
                        and catastrophic results of their actions,
            surely the end result will be the breakdown
                        of the entire created order?

However, John does not leave his audience
            with a scenario of ecological despair.

From John’s perspective, God has not yet written off creation
            as irredeemably tainted by human sin
            and therefore destined for destruction.

The destruction of the destructive systems
            might be bad news for those who have invested heavily in them,
            but it is good news for the rest of creation.

The judgments against the environment which John describes are not total,
            and it is ultimately Babylon, the satanic empire,
            which is destroyed rather than the earth.

In this way, the results of imperial ecological devastation
            are seen to be limited rather than limitless:

The four angels who have power to damage earth and sea
            are restrained from harming the sea and the trees (Rev. 7.3);
at the sounding of the trumpets
            it is only a third of the earth which is destroyed (Rev. 8.7-12; 9.15-18);
and the locusts from the bottomless pit are told not to damage the grass
            or any green growth or any tree (Rev. 9.4).

The warning judgments of environmental destruction which John describes
            are thus severe, but restricted.

Rather than depicting a downward spiral resulting in the end of the world,
            John rather presents the effects of imperial ecological violence
                        as warnings to be heard alongside
                        his repeated call for ‘repentance’ (cf. Rev. 2.5, 16, 21-22; 3.3, 19).

John’s scheme thus finds clear echoes
            in the contemporary prophetic call for imperial environmental ‘repentance’,
that ‘there is still time to avoid
            the worst impacts of climate change if we act now’.[3]

The end of environmental exploitation
The hope which John presents is not restricted
            to mere divine limitation
            of the extent of environmental damage.

Rather, John points to divine judgment
            on those very systems which oppress and destroy creation.

Following the seventh trumpet,
            the twenty-four elders sing that the time has come,
            ‘for destroying those who destroy the earth’ (Rev. 11.18).

The destruction of Babylon represents, for John,
            the final and fitting judgment on empire.

Those systems which have placed themselves
            in opposition to the peace and stability of creation
            are, it seems, not eternal.

John also presents a positive role for creation.

As a counterpart to his negative vision
            of the destruction of the ecologically destructive empire,
John recalls God’s promise to Noah
            that he will remain faithful to creation
in the description of the rainbow around the divine throne
            (Rev. 4.3; cf. Ezek. 1.28; Gen. 9.13-16).

The earth itself is seen playing an active part
            in the rescue of humanity from the attack of the satanic beast,
            swallowing the river sent from the mouth of the dragon (Rev. 12.15),
while the whole of creation participates
            in the offering of worship
            to the one seated on the divine throne (Rev. 5.13; cf. Phil. 2.10).

The four living creatures before the heavenly throne (Rev. 4.6ff)
            depict the whole created order
            offering a united song of worship before the throne.

In addition to the worship of humanity,
            John also shows us the worship of
                        all the wild creatures symbolised by the lion,
                        all the domesticated animals symbolised by the cow
                        and all birds symbolised by the eagle.

Just as an aside here,
            the association of these four creatures with the authors of the four gospels
is something which occurs much later in the Christian tradition,
            and can’t have been in John’s mind when he wrote Revelation,
            not least because at least two of the Gospels hadn’t been written yet!

Anyway, back to the four living creatures;
it is significant that only one of them has a human face (Rev. 4.7),
            indicating that the worship offered by those on the earth
                        is merely one facet of the totality of worship
            offered to God by the whole of creation.

Through all these various images,
            which as always in Revelation pile up upon each other, ,
with images of destruction interspersed with images of hope,
            and images of judgment sitting alongside images of mercy,
creation is seen as having a hopeful, rather than a hopeless, future.

Rather than facing eventual destruction
            at the hands of human imperial exploitation,
creation is seen to have an active role
            in drawing all things towards unity with the creator.

We’re not so far here from the language of mother earth,
            such as the Greek myth of Gaia, the primal earth goddess.
which of course gave the name to the Gaia hypothesis,
            which suggests that all living things and the planet they live on
                        are inextricably linked,
            working together for the greater good of all things.

In John’s thinking in Revelation,
            he violence which the environment endures at the hands of humanity
                        points the way to a new future
                        beyond slavery to the forces of empire.

Once released from the tyranny of the satanic powers which oppress and destroy,
            creation can be freed to fulfil its function
            as the context for a renewed relationship between humanity and God.

A new heaven and a new earth
John’s image of a new heaven and a new earth (Rev. 21.1-5; cf. Isa. 65.17-25)
             represents his vision of what it means for humanity
                        to ‘repent’ of their obsession with empire,
            learning to live in a new relationship
                        with both creation and creator.

The transition to the new heaven and new earth
            is not one which involves the total destruction
                        of the existing created order
            before re-creation can occur.

Rather, the new creation is brought into being
            as the oppressive powers of the satanic empire are destroyed.

The picture which John draws of the new earth
            is therefore one which encompasses
            redeemed aspects of the present earth.

The vision of the new heaven and the new earth,
            with the new Jerusalem at their centre,
            is primarily a vision for the here-and-now of John’s audience.

It presents them with a challenge
            that they are to be those who give testimony
                        to the in-breaking kingdom of God,
            those who live as citizens of new Jerusalem
                        rather than as citizens of Babylon.

The renewal of the created order
            is therefore not something to be anticipated
                        at some decisive point in the future,
            as the divine answer to the environmental destructions wrought by empire.

Rather, it is to be found in the present
            as the idolatrous claims of the satanic empire
                        are exposed, opposed and rejected,
            and as humanity responds to the prophetic witness
                        to the existence of an alternative
                        to slavish devotion to the beast of empire.

The prophetic call
By this reading of the book of Revelation,
            the hope for creation-under-empire
lies in John’s prophetic challenge
            to the destructive ideology of empire.

It is only once the idolatrous claims of Babylon are rejected
            that a new relationship between humanity and creation becomes possible.

Within John’s scheme, it is when God is named as lord of creation
            that the idolatrous powers of empire are challenged (Rev. 3.14; 10.6; 11.4; 14.7).

In this way, the many worship scenes of Revelation
            acquire distinctly political overtones,
as they challenge the dominant oppressive and destructive powers in the world.

Worship in Revelation is therefore not about making God feel good about himself,
            it is about reversing the effects of the fall.

As God is named lord of creation,
            the idolatrous imperial aspirations of humanity are challenged,
and the way is cleared for humanity, God and creation
            to recover that which was lost at Eden.

The new song which only the 144,000 can sing (Rev. 14.3)
            therefore becomes a song of prophetic challenge,
with those who recognize the lordship of the one on the throne in heaven
            challenging the nations of the earth to join them
            in resisting the seductive yet destructive call of the satanic empire.

The sequences of warning judgments,
            calling the nations to repentance of their imperial idolatry,
pave the way for the ultimate judgment
            on those satanic systems which oppress and destroy.

Within John’s symbolic world, creation is finally and fully freed from satanic oppression
            as the forces of empire are destroyed at the great battle of Armageddon.

The armies of the kings of the earth are defeated
            by the sword that comes from the mouth of the rider on the white horse,
with the word of God from the mouth of the messiah
            victorious over the satanic deceptions of the beast (19.21).

The imperial forces which destroy the created order,
            oppress humanity, and violently suppress opposition
are ironically seen to be themselves destroyed
            by nothing other than the ‘gospel’ itself.

Though John’s own antidote to imperial idolatry
            involves an acknowledgement of the lordship of the divine figure
                        on the heavenly throne
            as a precursor to the redemption of creation,
his work also makes a powerful environmental critique of empire
            available to a wider humanity.

Although John was writing to those
            within the Christian congregations of first century Asia Minor,
nonetheless his prophetic call to the church,
            to enact a faithful witness
            to a non-exploitative view of humanity and the earth,
retains a clear challenge to the contemporary world.

John’s call to ‘come out’ of Babylon (Rev. 18.4),
            coupled with his presentation of empire as a destructive,
                        and ultimately self-destructive, system
present a persistent challenge to those of us
            who want to combine an enjoyment of life-under-empire
            with a concern for environmental justice.

Bloomsbury is already committed to the task of working out
            how to exist as a more environmentally friendly community.
We are pleased to have been awarded the Bronze Echo Church standard,
            but there is much more that we can still do.

And over the next couple of years,
            I firmly hope that we will continue to explore ways
                        of acting together
            to bring about a more peaceful approach
                        to the world that God has entrusted to us.

Harnessing the strengths of empire
            in the search for solutions to pressing environmental concerns
            may or may not solve our imminent problems;

but in the long-term, those who dance with empire
            still end up embracing Babylon.





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[1] Richard Bauckham, The Theology Of The Book Of Revelation, New Testament Theology (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993), 17-18, 35-36.
[2] Ian Boxall, The Revelation of St John, ed. Morna Hooker, Black's New Testament Commentaries (London: Continuum, 2006), 249.
[3] Sir Nicholas Stern, author of the Stern Report into climate change.

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