Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“And she gave birth to a son, a male child, who is to rule all the nations with a rod of iron. But her child was snatched away and taken to God and to his throne.”
NL Daily Devotion for Tuesday, August 26, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
This imagery is about Jesus. The male child who will rule is the messiah. The dragon who wants to kill him represents “the violent opposition that Jesus met during his earthly ministry,” and the child being snatch away is about Jesus ascent into heaven. The woman, meanwhile, has been interpreted to be Mary, the Christian church, or the Jewish people. (Metzger, p.73-74) Why John of Patmos decides to go back from what seemed like the end of the book (Rev 11) to sort of start all over again I have no idea. I guess he felt like we needed more reinforcement?
Honestly, it’s fun to dig into the imagery of this book and wonder openly about how it all came to be put down in this way. Clearly it was a response to what was happening in the earliest development of Christianity within the context of the Roman Empire. But I wonder if these are a collection of actual visions John had, or dreams, or if he was otherwise inspired in some way to dig back into scripture to cull these bizarre and wondrous and frightening images in order to paint this vivid picture of how God will redeem God’s people from their persecutions and pains. I honestly cannot believe for one moment that John was just some dude who sat down and thought, “I’m gonna sit down and write out this wacko account just because it’ll be fun and one day, it’s gonna confuse a lot of people.” Of course not. While I do not personally believe that God directly wrote the Bible, I do believe that the writers were inspired in a powerful way. And while I believe the Bible is deeply flawed because of its human composition, I also believe there is a great deal of truth to be found in it, and much to learn. Through the Holy Spirit, we encounter God in its pages and are drawn into the mystery and invited to engage in its expression of who God is and who we are in relationship to God. So, you know, what was John thinking when he wrote this??? We can’t know, of course. We can only dive in, envision, wonder, wrestle, discuss, and listen for where God is calling us through the text to a closer walk with God.
How do the images and ideas in Revelation appeal to me? How are they frightening? How are they applicable to our modern context?
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Metzger, Bruce M. Breaking the Code: Understanding the Book of Revelation. Nashville, TN: Abingdon Press, 1993.
