(Please read this Scripture passage first, before the homily.)
We are approaching the end. First, we have the Devil or Satan locked up and sealed in prison. Then, we have the sea giving up its dead. The underworld, called Death and Hades, also surrender its dead. Then Death and Hades along with the sea are destroyed in what is described as the second death. All the dead are emptied out of the captivity of death, whether by sea or on land. Then the forces of death are destroyed by the second death, the death of death.
The ruins of death are what remains after death is destroyed. In a strange way the ruins of death are the resurgence of life. Life puts an end to death. This picture from the book of Revelation coincides with the rest of the New Testament, that by dying Christ destroyed death and by rising he restored life.
So out of the former sea and the former earth, a new heaven and a new Jerusalem come down out of heaven, adorned like a bride for her husband and spouse. Death has to die so that life can be renewed. Autumn has to give way to winter so that spring can bring new life. Negative things are destroyed so that the positive happens. Things that seem to be give way to what actually is.
All these are the pangs of new birth and life. What looked like mortal combat has turned out to be life-giving. The persecutions and bloodshed seemed horrific, but the Lord God of all creation has remained seated on the throne of majesty because God has everything under control. God has prevailed.
We need this message of life in these our days. We need to appreciate that the changes brought by a virus or by a change in administration or any other challenge we face do not forebode destruction or completion in themselves. It is only in the dying to ourselves that we come to the new life. Whatever the challenges that face the world, the nation or own selves, the result can be life and not death to the glory of the One sitting on the throne of majesty. The book of Revelation challenges us to see God’s plan in action.