PeniG said:
Revelations is not the central creed of any version of Christianity. To be a Christian, you have to accept that a man named Jesus of Nazareth acted as scapegoat for all your sins and that, if you let him, he will clean up your soul and get you into heaven.
Revelations may not be seen as the central creed in many Christian denominations, as the Gospels themselves were witheld from the people by the Catholic church for centuries until Luther's revolt. Still, the Book of Revelations is the primary writing which cemented the bond between Christianity and Judaism, giving Christianity the sound foundation it stands upon today. The resounding similarities and inspiration Revelations draws from the dreams of Daniel the prophet are mentioned at every turn in Christian theology. The importance of these books is that they prepare the world for the critical events to come at the end of days, thus allowing those of wisdom to know when the time is near.
It might be enough for any church for one to accept that Jesus died for our sins, or to confess his divinity, but this is not enough for Jesus himself who told us that faith without works is dead alone. It is sad to see the merchants of faith stepping out into the world as ravening wolves beseaching people to confess that Jesus is Lord and believing that this is the type of good works Jesus spoke of.
Faith in Jesus, his life and sacrifice, demand a very high standard of works in good spirit which bring good fruits into the world. Not converts to churches gone wrong with false holy pride adding more lost sheep to a growing social construct devoid of the spirit Jesus gave. When Jesus was in the world, his strongest detractors were the religious hypocrites of his time who flaunted their pomposity at a humble secular world and oppressed them with a devouring spirit of holy superiority. It was the religious class of his time that condemned Jesus to death.
Much in the same way that the church and the many pretenders who say they believe in him would do to him today if he appeared before them as a man. Sadly, many who speak vainly in Jesus' name today are the ravening wolves he warned the world about.
Though perhaps unintentional, Peni, your unfortunate use of words directed singularly at me bears some introspection on your part. Do you know who I am and what my relationship with God is that you use such a tone with me? If Jesus died for the sins of all of us, including yours, why not use the term "our" instead of "your" sins? Did you perhaps feel you need to teach me something even before you realize that it might be I who could teach you something about Jesus? Did you rush into a preprogrammed preaching mode you use with everyone to display some moral superiority with? Are you walking humbly in God's ways today or perhaps proud and confident in having already attained a place in Heaven, allowing a feeling of self righeousness to overcome you?
Where is your Heaven, Peni? Is it awaiting you at the end of your long jouney in this life or do you remember that Jesus taught that the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. Is it truly my soul that you've found needs to be cleaned in order to "get me into Heaven", or was that perhaps an attempt to make additional points for yourself in order to prepare you for that eventual anticipation? And if so, why do you not yet have the Kingdom of Heaven within you?
EVERYTHING else is optional. People fuss enormously about the optional bits, and some are less optional than others (the Christian who doesn't believe in Jesus's divine nature is vanishingly rare), but "Jesus died for our sins and saved our souls" is really, truly all you need to claim the religion. It won't get you into a lot of denominations, and many, many professors of the faith will find excuses to exclude Christians of whom they don't approve, but for definition purposes, it's all you need.
If Jesus and God were looking for a definition, Peni, I might take your advice. I believe that God is looking for a little more than religious intimation from us. A little more than empty declarations. A time is coming when all who've taken his name in vain for the sake of bolstering a socio-religious intimation, will realize the grave error which the churches have perpetuated and suffer the wrath of the judgement which is coming.
Revelations was usually ignored in the (liberal United Methodist) churches I was raised in; when it was not, it was read symbolically. The only book that gets this treatment more often is probably the Song of Solomon (which is seriously hot stuff if you read it in the proper frame of mind).
The Song of Songs is truly a masterpiece and courageous work. "Seriously hot stuff", however, is the type of description I leave for those entertained by its perceived allusions. When read in the truly proper frame of mind, it is a warm an passionate story of the sizzling love affair that the Maker of our world desires with his bride, the people whom he gives his name to.
