4a. God's Imagery in Revelation.mp4
This video captures a lively discussion focused on interpreting the complex imagery of God found in the biblical books of Revelation, Isaiah, and Ezekiel. The central theme explores the difficulty in visually representing God, a challenge faced historically by early Christian and Jewish groups, particularly the Pharisees, who emphasized the Law because they believed any physical image of God was idolatry. The participants contrast the highly detailed, impossible-to-draw, and emotionally impactful visions of God in prophetic texts with modern Christian tendency to make God easily comprehensible, often by equating God solely with Jesus. A significant part of the conversation also highlights Jesus's teachings, which advocated for a personal relationship with God, effectively rendering the traditional temple and its intermediary priesthood unnecessary, a point later contrasted with the political motivations and centralized authority of the Catholic Church's early development. Finally, the video underscores that Revelation's vivid symbols are intended to elicit a powerful emotional response, rather than be logically or academically dissected for hidden meanings.
For many of us, the image of God we hold in our minds is a comfortable one, often shaped by familiar stories and art. We might picture a benevolent, kingly figure or, as is common in modern Christianity, see God as synonymous with the person of Jesus. These images are accessible and human-scale, offering a clear point of connection.
But what if these familiar pictures, in their simplicity, obscure a vision of God that is far more vast, mysterious, and powerful? Ancient texts, particularly the Book of Revelation, present a vision that is not meant to be comfortable. It is complex, overwhelming, and even unsettling. By clinging to simpler, more human-like images, what might we be missing about the sheer scale and awe of the divine as the original authors experienced it?
One of the most counter-intuitive ideas about the Book of Revelation is that it was never intended for academic dissection. The Western approach often involves trying to pick apart its dense symbolism, asking questions like, "What do the 24 elders represent?" or "What is the meaning of the seven candles?" According to the source material, this intellectual exercise causes the reader to completely "lose the message."
The author, John, wasn't writing to the intellect; he was writing to the emotions. The bizarre and powerful imagery—the beings covered in eyes, the throne room filled with lightning and thunder, the sea of glass—is not a code to be cracked. It is a vision designed to evoke a visceral response of awe, wonder, and a profound connection to a heavenly reality that is beyond human logic. The goal is not to understand the symbols but to be overwhelmed by the vision itself.
"...do not try to figure out what the symbols represent because if you try to figure out what the symbols represent you will lose the message revelation is a visual book designed to elicit a response from your emotion it is not designed to be picked apart academically..."
Long before the visions of Revelation, a dominant school of thought in ancient Judaism taught that any attempt to picture God was a form of idolatry. This view, which originated with the Deuteronomists and was carried on by the Pharisees, held that any image of God one could conjure would be inherently incorrect and improper. The focus, therefore, should be shunned entirely.
This prohibition was so intense that it led to an abbreviation of God's name, Yahweh, to YHWH, as even writing the full name was considered a forbidden form of imaging. In place of mystical experience, this tradition substituted "the Law" as the one and only proper way to know God. But another, more ancient tradition of "temple mysticism" took a different approach. Found in the books of Isaiah, Ezekiel, and Daniel, it used complex, abstract imagery to describe encounters with the divine, a tradition that would heavily influence early Christians. The driving principle behind these strange visions was an absolute commandment: "under no circumstances should you envision god as a person."
The story of Jesus overturning the tables of the money changers is often framed as a rebuke of commercialism in a sacred space. However, a deeper look at the historical context suggests a far more radical act. By the time of Jesus, the Second Temple was physically and symbolically empty. During the Babylonian Captivity centuries earlier, Solomon's Temple had been destroyed and its sacred relics, including the Ark of the Covenant, were lost. When the Temple was rebuilt, the Holy of Holies—the dwelling place of God—was an empty room. God "was not there."