The Letters of Jesus
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Immanence. Think Immanence -- as in “something’s about to happen!” In the decades following the time when the ministry of Jesus had been finished, there was the warm glow of a
sense of immanence. Followers of Jesus believed that the Second Coming would happen very soon. Some believers were willing to give up almost everything in order to live communally as they prepared for it. “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32 NIV)
….It’s because a time will come when there will be no more suffering or death or tears. (Revelation 21:4) And we want it now! We know the end of the story. The Revelation ends with,
“The one who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!” (22:20) We pray regularly in the Lord’s Prayer, “Thy kingdom come…” (Matthew 6:10) We all want to live “happily ever after.” We cherish the thought of the final triumph of God over evil, over death, over suffering.
...What if ”something is about to happen!” We just can’t exactly know when! And that
sense of immance has been capturing peoples’ hearts for almost 2,000 years!
...Still, you can taste it today throughout much of the New Testament writings. And it’s definitely there in the Seven Letters of the Revelation.
There is an urgent call to repentance. There is almost a “now-or-never” tone in the words of each letter. But ultimately, there is hope. Written in a time of persecution, as well as the identity development of The Church, the Apocalypse offers more light than darkness -- especially by the time we’ve read it through to the end. The world has always been full of woe, but it is full of inspiration and hope as well. We should sing “Hallelujah” more than we should want to discover a timeline of disasters. We should want to rejoice in the triumphs rather than think we can read the tribulations of The Revelation into today’s headlines. I believe “faith” in The Revelation, is more about the changes called for than about a cosmic war going on between good and evil.
We can dwell on what might happen eschatologically, or, we can just be prepared and purposeful.
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About the Book
The Letters of Jesus plums the depths of Revelation 2-3, where Jesus, in a vision to John, dictates letters to seven churches in Asia.
He calls on the people of the congregations to repent of particular sins, generally common to all people. He commends them for the right things they are doing, and He promises special blessings in each case.
By highlighting the seven letters of the Revelation, Tom Kingery relays an urgent call to repentance. There is almost a now-or-never tone in the words of each letter.
Ultimately, the apocalypse offers more light than darkness—especially by the time you’ve read The Revelation to the end. The world has always been full of woe, but it is full of inspiration and hope as well.
Kingery brings the words of each letter down to earth and makes them relate well to our human condition. We can all gain something from what he has to say about the letters.
About the Author
Tom Kingery was a United Methodist pastor for thirty-nine years. He retired early to be the full-time caregiver for his wife Carol, who died in May 2019. She had endured multiple sclerosis for about thirty years. He continues to preach at the Church by the Side of the Road, a nondenominational church in Rockton, Illinois. He is also the author of Think about These Things, based on Philippians 4:8; Supplement Your Faith, based on 2 Peter 1:5-7; You Need Milk, based on Hebrews 5:12 and 6:1-2; and We Rejoice in our Sufferings, based on Romans 5:3-5.