Kevin:

Your concluding remark is my point. We do not get the full story JUST with the death. Now ask yourself this question. Why is the crowd able to sing about the cross and Jesus' death in Revelation? Because they have endless fellowship with the Father because of it! That is the point. The death is not merely a transaction, it is a transition into new life. The reference to the cross is a kind of synecdoche- a part for the whole (the way into life is through the death- that is what makes it great, because of what it enables in an openended way). It is the base, the starting point, you can't get there without it, but it alone is not the story. The same author who writes Rev 4-5 also writes John 17:3 where eternal life is what Jesus thanks God for giving-- and it is defined relationally as knowing the Father and the Son. Does this help?

dlb

 

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