A Noble Note on “The Things to Come”
The book of Revelation is an interesting read, though it is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. Many people treat it as if it’s a survival guide for the “apocalypse”. But John wrote this letter not to help predict the future nor to guide us through how the world ends, but to give us, and all of God’s people, hope and comfort in the midst of the evils and sufferings we face in this life. St. John’s main emphasis within Revelation is reminding us that Jesus has already come, is present with us today, and will return. This is what gives us hope for the things that are to come!
I love the way John ends this book, too. He ends it with a simple prayer which the Church has been praying for 2,000 years: “Maranatha! Come, Lord Jesus” (Rev. 22:20). Most of the time, this prayer is used in times of struggle or as a response to horrible news. But early on in my ministry I realized something new about this prayer. Connect this prayer from John to Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 16:22, and you have the same prayer but in a different tense: Instead of praying “Come, Lord Jesus!” as if Christ’s work is only in the future, we are confident and bold to pray “Our Lord has come!” because Jesus has already come and is at work here and now!
Okay, so why am I pointing this out to you? Because this is the reality of our faith. We can, first and foremost, stand firm on the amazing truth that our Lord and Savior has indeed already come! That God entered His own creation by becoming a man, living in its evils and horrors, facing its ugliness, experiencing pain, and most importantly, He went through death and came out alive; claim victory over all of our foes: sin, the devil, the world, and death. And before Jesus ascended into heaven, He promised to return and make all things new, leaving us to witness His truth and work in this world as we await His return with great expectation. And so, we pray, “Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus!” We wait until Jesus brings heaven down to earth.
The second thing we need to realize though, is that Jesus has already brought heaven down to earth. Through the Word and Sacrament ministry of the Church, Jesus is constantly bringing the relief and comfort of heaven to us! It’s Jesus, the Word made flesh (John 1:1-5,14), who makes Himself present in our lives in a very real and personal way through the Sacrament of the Altar, the Lord’s Supper.
With Jesus’ own words, we hear Him say to us every Sunday that, “This is My body…this is My blood…” (Matt. 26:26; 28). And because these are Jesus’ words we can, with 100
% certainty and confidence, that in, with, and under that bread and wine we truly receive Jesus’ truly real, present body and blood! “Our Lord has come!” You’ve probably heard me say this many times before, but it’s worth repeating: wherever Jesus goes, He brings heaven along with. So wherever Jesus is, heaven is there also! What a wonderful promise our Lord has given us! And so we can’t help but pray, “Maranatha! Our Lord has come!”
Maranatha. It’s a prayer motivated by our passion to see Jesus face to face, while at the same time, it’s a declaration of faith that Jesus is already here.
Maranatha. Our Lord has come! Maranatha. Come, Lord Jesus!
In His Service,
Pastor Noble