Ch. 7 Called to Love:
The Gospel According to John and the Book of Revelation

  1. What is the one key idea of this chapter. Pay attention to the title of the chapter!
  2. Write about two major ideas you want to remember. Write a short paragraph on each clearly stating the idea and then telling why you want to remember it.
  3. One image that captures the chapter for you.
  4. One significant question you have from this chapter. It can be intellectual or personal.

Journal

  1. In this chapter we are "Called to Love". This chapter explores Jesus' message through the Gospel of John and the Book of Revelations. The chapter's main idea is that we are called to love by Jesus. He loved us unconditionally, so we must love our neighbors as best as we can. Jesus taught that we should love in actions and service to others, and that when we unite with God we unite with everything: God, human, or otherwise.
  2. One major thing that I want to remember is the symbolism in objects, numbers, and colors in Revelation. The Alpha and the Omega both represent Jesus Christ in the beginning and in the end. Certain beasts represented evil such as the Roman emperors or Satan. Swords and horns represented power, while eyes represented wisdom. Numbers were symbolistic also. The number "1" symbolized God, "3" symbolized the Trinity, "4" symbolized universal because four is the number of cardinal directions there are. 666 was the number for absolute imperfection because of Nero's Hebrew numerical equivalent. Seven was perfection, while 10 was absolute perfection (how perfection and absolute perfection are different, I will never know). I want to remember this because, being based in a lot of the visual symbolism of film, I have come to enjoy reading farther into the meaning of something. Symbolism is a powerful tool to express your opinions or the truth without the heat of persecution (in film's case, the censors) breathing down your neck.

    Another thing I wish to remember is the seven signs that John used in his gospel. Number one was Jesus changing water into wine, number two was Jesus healing and official's son, and number three was Jesus healing a paralytic. Number four was Jesus' feeding of the five thousand, number five was Jesus walking on water. Number six was Jesus restores sight to a man born blind and number seven was Jesus raising Lazarus to life. I find it interesting that John decided to use seven instances because as we know from the Revelation symbolism, seven is the number of perfection. I think that it is good to know this because although John may not have written Revelations, it is a nice example of the two books' connection.

  4. If someone loves and becomes in union with God, but then falls away, does that person lose the union that he/she had with God? Is it like a union in marriage where husband and wife can have their differences and separate for periods of time... or even divorce? Oh, and what is the definition of "love": is it love as in service, or love as in falling in love.

    I think that although you may fall away from loving and being in union with God, God is always watching. The more you welcome him into your life, the more that you will unite with him. I also think that the love and union with God is slightly undefined in the Gospels. Because it is so simple, we cannot imagine something loving us so unconditionally.
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