The Book of Revelation As God's Vision for the World

The Book of Revelation unveils God's vision for the world since the beginning.  In the first creation story in Genesis, nothing existed but dark primordial waters.  God began by bringing light upon the waters and separating the light from the darkness.

In the ancient Middle East and in many other ancient cultures, waters were a symbol of chaos and destruction.  Flooding was a constant source of extreme anxiety, as it could instantly effect starvation and suffering.  The sea was unknown and dangerous.  It represented and reflected all the anxiety and danger that has existed for humankind from the beginning.

The climactic scene in the Book of Revelation envisions Jerusalem descending from heaven to earth, representing the full realization of God's vision on earth.  We are told in this vision that the sea was no more.  This represents the fulfillment of God's vision from the beginning; the complete absence of chaos and destruction and brings the creation story full circle; where there was once nothing but the sea, now there is the complete absence of it.  Where there was once nothing but chaos and destruction, there will be the complete absence of it.

The Church is called to articulate this vision and to make this vision a reality.  The human race yearns for the end of anxiety and fear borne of all the insanity that is inherent in the natural world and human systems.  God's vision is not to draw us out of the world, but to bring the New Jerusalem down from heaven into the world; God's desire is the transformation of the world to reflect God's vision.

Deciding Who Will Lead Us Around

Jesus tells Peter in one of the post-resurrection narratives in John's gospel that when he was young he went where he wanted, but when he is old someone will grab him by the belt and lead him to where he does not wish to go; referring to Peter's life before and after his conversion

I would add a corollary.  If we are not led by God's Spirit, we think that we are free to go where we want to go.  Actually, we are always drawn by powerful cultural forces that grab us figuratively by the belt and lead us where we want to go.  These cultural forces are wise enough to lead us to believe in our own self-determination.  We are dragged around without being conscious of the fact that we are being dragged around

The purpose of the Church is for us to wake up to the realization that culture drags us where it wants us to go for its own benefit, and then to allow ourselves to recognize Christ, and allow Christ to grab us by the belt and take us where we need to go to fulfill God's purposes.  We will know that we are being dragged by Christ and not culture because we will be drawn to those places where we would choose not to go.  This requires the Church to be a place where we hold ourselves and each other accountable to be led by God's Spirit and not the principalities and powers of this world.