Meta

A friend sent me a three-minute clip linking Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of the new name for his company (Meta) with the first Greek word in the 4th chapter of the book of Revelation: “After (meta) this I looked, and there in heaven a door stood open! And the first voice, which I had heard speaking to me like a trumpet, said, ‘Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.’” My friend wrote, “He’s coming!!” I’m assuming he was referring to Jesus.

It brought me right back to the 80’s when adults at my church and Christian school speculated that Communist Soviet Union was the beast from Revelation 13 that would force us all to place a mark on our hand or forehead—and that a false prophet (Rev 19) from the Democratic Party would force the entire world to worship at his feet. Those of us who faithfully refused would live through the great tribulation (Rev 7), at least until we were raptured, leaving the world to burn in our salvific wake.

I eventually learned that the book of Revelation is apocalyptic literature, written by oppressed people to unveil the truth about reality. Speaking in code, it is a stinging critique of power, wealth and the use of violence in service of greed. The beast and false prophet were referring to Rome and Caesar during the first century. The great tribulation was what those early followers of Jesus were already suffering—on crosses and in prisons. Mark Zuckerberg may or may not be the anti-Christ. But I do know this: Revelation was written to empower people to get free from empire, not fantasize about getting raptured from the world.