The final book of our Bibles is by far the most misunderstood, misquoted, and generally abused or ignored book of the Scriptures. As we study the Revelation to St. John, we will place the book within its literary and historical context and envision how this extraordinary book speaks to us in the church today. Revelation is a liturgical book centered around worship and it tells us that evil is conquered, the saints are redeemed, and a new creation will be brought about not through the force of arms but through the blood of the Lamb and the testimony/martyrdom of Its followers. In preparation for the study I am primarily using Dr. Michael J. Gorman’s Reading Revelation Responsibly and Fr. Lawrence R. Farley’s The Apocalypse of St. John. I will be using Reading Revelation in Prison, a blog post by Richard Beck in “Experimental Theology”, the chapter on “The Meaning and Mystery of Wrath” in The Prophets by Abraham Heschel, and the relevant portions of The Writings of the New Testament by Luke Timothy Johnson and Commentary on the New Testament’s Use of the Old Testament by G.K. Beale and D.A. Carson. This lesson covers fifteen weeks.
Regardless of the interpretive strategy employed or the themes recognized, Revelation, like all of the New Testament, must necessarily be read within the context of …
As we read through these seven letters, the challenge to us to see ourselves as being spoken to within these seven oracles. Continuously ask yourself …
Rather, judgment, harm, and destruction are simply the natural consequential result of turning away from God and the Lamb. When we reject the Lamb and …
The subordination of our religion to the State or the exchange of worshiping God for worshipping the State or something more sinister is always easier …
God’s judgment is not on his creation but on those forces that keep his creation imprisoned. Overall, that which gets harvested and destroyed is what …
God’s wrath is never spontaneous, irrational, and unpredictable but always is in reference to the behavior of humankind and motivated by God’s intimate concern for …
