November 5th, 2022

For the last four Sundays, these writings have connected the four gospel accounts to the four living creatures of the LORD’s throne. And those connections have been made on the basis of the historical presents that are in each gospel account. Historical presents are those verbs which, given in the sentence, are usually in the past tense, but they are given in the text in the present. These appearances are somewhat rare, and it is helpful when they appear. Unfortunately, they only appear in the New American Standard version, and even there, the translation appears in the past, but there is an asterisk to note that the original verb is actually in the present tense.

At the start of the Advent season this year, at the end of this November, the gospel texts will again be from the gospel according to Matthew, and the three-year cycle will begin again. It may be helpful to point out at this time that the input of any reader of this blog would be appreciated. The situation continues that I currently serve two congregations that are a significant distance from one another, and, with the current schedule on Sunday morning, it is not possible to offer a serious study of the bible at that time. And thus, the reason for this blog.

Understandably, the reach of this blog is far beyond the area of central Missouri. Input from others would also be appreciated. The title is instructive: A Sabbath Day’s Journey is a short, quick, and hopefully helpful look at a text that combines both testaments and appreciates the structure that was given, pretty much from day one. In the first creation account, in the first chapter of Genesis, FIRST there was evening and THEN there was morning. Without electricity, candles, or anything like that, one must rely on God to do something. And that is exactly what he does. Are there any aspects of the gospel that could be investigated even further? Are there any parts of God’s deep and wonderful scripture that could be further investigated?

Perhaps it may be helpful to look at one more section of scripture that contains historical presents. They appeared in some places in the Greek translation of the Old Testament, they appeared frequently in three of the four gospel accounts. In the account where they were the rarest, in the Gospel according to Luke, there were some strong connections to the historical presents in the Acts of the Apostles. It should be noted that historical presents also appear in the last book of the New Testament, the Revelation of John.

In the previous books, the first appearance of the historical present helped to see their purpose in the rest of the book. For the person (who understands Greek) listening to the Greek text for the first time, to hear that word in the present tense, when it should be in the past, that would be a significant moment. What is in the text has direct ramifications for what is happening at this place and time.

One of the texts for this Sunday, since All Saints’ Day is observed on this Sunday, is from the Revelation of John. The first reading is from Revelation 7:9-17, with the option of including verses 2-8. This longer reading is essentially chapter 7 of the book.

The two chapters before chapter 7, chapters 5 & 6, both contain the first historical presents of the book. In chapter 4, the scene of God’s throne and surrounding area is basically laid out. In the next chapter, chapter 5, the focus is on ‘the Lamb’, obviously Jesus. And in the next chapter, he starts to break open a book that has seven seals on it.
Given that context, here are the first three historical presents in Revelation (in a somewhat-literal translation, with the important verb in bold):

And I wept much, because no one worthy was found to open the book or to look at it. And one of the elders says to me, ‘Do not weep; behold, the lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, overcame to open the book and the seven seals of it [5:4-5].

And (the lamb) came, and he has taken out of the right (hand) of the one sitting on the throne. And when he took the book, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell before the Lamb, having each one a harp, and golden bowls, full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints. And they sing a new song, saying:

Worthy are you to receive the book and to open the seals of it, because you were slain, and you purchased to God in your blood, out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation; and you made them to our God a kingdom and priests, and they will reign upon the earth [5:7-10].

And I saw when (the lamb) opened the seal, the sixth, and a great earthquake happened, and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the whole moon became as blood; and the stars of heaven fell into the earth, as a fig tree throws the unripe figs of it, by a great wind being shaken; and the heaven split apart like a scroll being rolled up, and every mountain and island out of their places were moved. And the kings of the earth and the great men and the chiliarchs and the rich and the strong and every slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and in the rocks of the mountains, and they say to the mountains and to the rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of the one sitting on the throne, and from the wrath of the lamb, for the day, the great one, has come of their wrath, and who is able to stand [6:12-17]?
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There is a noticeable progression from the elder’s encouraging words, then progressing to the new song, and then the contrast to those who are not a part of Jesus’ kingdom. This is a reminder of the bigger picture and what things are EXTREMELY important.