I am reading through James Hamilton’s commentary on Revelation
titled Revelation: The Spirit Speaks to the Church. This is one of the volumes in Crossway’s Preaching the Word Commentary Series. I don’t usually read
commentaries; I use them for reference. But I determined to read one commentary
each year, and this is my New Testament selection for this year.
Chapter 18 of Revelation speaks of the judgment of Babylon. In
writing of this, Hamilton made an observation that set me thinking. Of this
judgment he said:
There will be darkness with no more relationships, as we see in 18:23a: “and the light of a lamp will shine in you no more, and the voice of the bridegroom and bride will be heard in you no more.” Marriage is about the gospel. It is about Jesus and the church. Babylon hates Jesus, rejects him as King, and kills those who preach his gospel. So they have the gift and joy of marriage removed (p.343).
In writing to the Ephesians, Paul addresses the responsibilities
of husbands and wives as they live together. He concludes the discussion by
saying, “This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and
the church” (Eph. 5:32). As Lames Hamilton observed, marriage reminds us of the
gospel.
This reminds me the current cultural debate over the issue of
sexuality and gender identification. Is the world’s hatred of Jesus and his
gospel at the core of the culture’s hostility toward one man and one woman
marriage? If the gospel cannot be destroyed, then perhaps the goal is to deface
this demonstration of it.
How can one man + one woman = one flesh be true of those in
same sex unions? I understand that heterosexual marriages end in divorce and
heartache and that some same sex relationships experience years of loyalty and commitment.
That, however, begs the question exegetically. According to the biblical
category, only one man and one woman can know this one flesh relationship. In the same way, it is hard to image how
When commending human sexual relationships, the Bible speaks in the context of marriage. Serial
fornication without marriage does not demonstrate Christ’s commitment to the
church.
I realize that this kind of language labels me as “bigoted,”
“phobic,” or whatever current disparagement is in vogue. Christians do not hate
people, particularly they do not hate people who are in these kinds of
relationships. Some have acted as though they hate, but true Christians do not
hate.
The culture at large hates the gospel because it is exclusive
and it demands holiness. Current expressions of “sexual freedom” are but covert
attempts to deprive the gospel of one of its most powerful expressions.
