the revelation of Love.

God is love.

First of all, for the sake of clarity, this sentence is to be read with the emphasis on the word God, whereas we have fallen into the habit of emphasizing the word love. God is love; that is to say not a human attitude, a conviction or a deed, but God Himself is love. Only he who knows God knows what love is; it is not the other way around; it is not that we first of all by nature know what love is and therefore know also what God is. No one knows God unless God reveals Himself to him. And so no one knows what love is except in the self-revelation of God. Love, then, is the revelation of God. And the revelation of God is Jesus Christ. 'In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him' (1 John 4). God's revelation in Jesus Christ, God's revelation of His love, precedes all our love towards Him. Love has its origin not in us but in God. Love is not an attitude of men but an attitude of God. 'Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins' (1 John 4). Only in Jesus Christ do we know what love is, namely, in his deed for us. 'Hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid down his life for us' (1 John 3). And even there is given no general definition of love, in the sense, for example, of its being the laying down of one's life for the loves of others. What is here called love is not this general principle but the utterly unique event of the laying down of the life of Jesus Christ for us. Love is inseparably bound up with the name of Jesus as the revelation of God. The Christian Scriptures answers the question 'what is love?' quite unambiguously by pointing solely and entirely to Jesus Christ. He is the only definition of love. But again it would be a complete misunderstanding if we were to derive a general definition of love from our view of Jesus Christ and of His deed and suffering. Love is not was He does and what He suffers, but it is what He does and what He suffers. Love is always He Himself. Love is always God Himself.

Love is always the revelation of God in Jesus Christ.

-dietrich bonhoeffer.

"then i saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and there was no longer any sea. i saw the Holy City, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride beautifully dressed for her husband. and i heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'now the dwelling of God is with men, and he will live with them. they will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. there will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.

He who was seated on the throne said, I am making everything new!' then he said, write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.'

He said to me: 'it is done. I AM the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. to him who is thirsty I will give to drink without cost from the spring of the water of life."

-revelation 21.

manifesto.

"creation sent to me the centipede to witness the complexity of one hundred legs that were moving unexpectedly, ironically, just as they were meant to be, they're fearfully and wonderfully made; an organism praised in circadian rhythms: the sun will rise and then the sun will set, and then the sun will rise again, so lift up your head!

this is life: not a static object preserved and displayed like a relic from the dead. you are not a fruitless tree with a rootless disease growing in a bucket in a rich man's home next to the tv, tamed and alone, learning to lust for the things you don't own, like an armchair warrior who's been dethroned, declawed and fixed, fighting for your life with unattended slit wrists.

don't let your name get intermingled with a number 'cause it's time to awake from the devilish slumber, to freely follow the Forerunner to the fatherland and rally round the Renaissance Man and the wisdom of His ways and all the works of His hands, catch come as catch can, concentrating on the good words of the Son of Man,

the plan is to withstand the demands of a confused oppressor: a wolf in sheep's clothes, with monotonous lectures and questionable gestures, unequal measures, cultural pressures and synthetic textures, force fed instead of the most beautiful architecture of our long-lost forgotten origins: unseen fiber in the blood of my King, and that old rock where we confessed our sins.

oh, my God, fellow man, in this land they all cry out for full restoration, and this will take patience and this will take the tribes and the tongues of all the nations and all of creation groans in anticipation, waiting for the Son of God to be manifest, i can feel it burning in my chest, the liberation of the oppressed!

and it's beautiful like the feet that bring news, it's beautiful like this freedom tune. it's beautiful like the power to choose...to change, beautiful like the long-awaited rain, beautiful like these healing pains, beautiful like the holy flames, coming down.

all creatures of our God and King, lift up your voice and with us sing!

oh praise Him!
oh praise Him!

alleluia!"

-josh garrels.

earnest. reverent. devoted.

"Revelation begins with God, the fountain of all truth. We must remember that the reception comes in two ways. It comes from earnest seeking. God gave men minds and it is often through our minds that he speaks to us. Certainly he does not grant his truth to the man who is too lazy to think. It comes from reverent waiting. God sends his truth to the man who not only thinks strenuously, but waits quietly in prayer and in devotion. But it must be remembered that prayer and devotion are not simply passive things. They are dedicated listening for the voice of God."

-william barclay.

here is the summons...

"here is the summons to steadfastness and to loyalty from the dedicated people of God." -revelation 13:10.

"the word for steadfastness is that great word hupomone, which does not simply mean passively bearing things; it means courageously accepting the worst that life can do, and turning it into glory.

The Christian must accept what being a Christian involves. The Christian must win his battle with the world by presenting to all men the steadfastness and the loyalty which will not be moved by the fear or the favor of men."

-william barclay.

the water of life.

"The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

He who testifies to these things says, 'Yes, I am coming soon.'

Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.

The grace of the Lord Jesus be with God's people.

Amen."

revelation 22.

the freedom of God.

"To assume that the world for all its immense grandeur is a little cymbal in the hand of God, on which at certain times only one soul vibrates though all are struck; in other words: to assume that the entire complex of natural laws is transcended by the freedom of God, would presuppose the metaphysical understanding that the laws of nature are derived not from a blind necessity but from freedom, that the ultimate is not fate but God. Revelation is not an act of interfering with the normal course of natural processes but the act of instilling a new creative moment into the course of history."

-abraham joshua heschel.

the Lion of the tribe of Judah.

"Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. (...) But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. Then, one of the elders said to me, 'Do not weep! See, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has triumphed. He is able to open the scroll and its seven seals.'

Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing in the center of the throne. (...). He came and took the scroll from the right hand of him who sat on the throne. And when he had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. (...) And they sang a new song:

'You are worthy to take the scroll
and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
and with your blood you
purchased men for God
from every tribe and language
and people and nation.
You have made them to be a
kingdom and priests to
serve our God,
and they will reign on the earth.'

Then I looked and heard the voice of many angels, numbering thousands upon thousands, and ten thousand times ten thousand. They encircled the throne and the living creatures and the elders. In a loud voice they sang:

'Worthy is the Lamb, who was
slain,
to receive power and wealth
and wisdom and strength
and honor and glory and
praise!'

Then I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and on the sea, and all that is in them, singing:

'To him who sits on the the throne
and to the Lamb
be praise and honor and glory and
power,
for ever and ever!'

The four living creatures said, 'Amen,' and the elders fell down and worshipped."

-revelation 5.