We now come to Revelation 8, and the opening of the 7th seal. It is at this point that I want to briefly stop and reiterate a point that I have alluded to before: the importance of reading Revelation, not as some “secret code” that tells the future of the end of the world, but…
At the end of chapter 6, the kings of the earth ask, “Who will be able to stand?” As soon as chapter 7 opens, we start to find out: four angels are standing, then another angel comes forth to seal the servants of God—144,000. Then John sees a great multitude standing before the throne of…
Wirzba, Norman. Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity New York: HarperOne, 2016. (238 pages + notes & index) Norman Wirzba’s most recent book, The Way of Love: Recovering the Heart of Christianity, speaks to our current cultural climate within the American brand of Christianity that often values “right doctrine” over the day to day imitation…
We now come to the part of Revelation where people often get scared. The reason they get scared is because there is very vivid and strange imagery, and they don’t know how to interpret it. Rest assured, though, it is much more understandable than you might think, so let’s jump right into Revelation 6, and…
I want to take the time to shamelessly promote my self-published book entitled, Getting Schooled: The Lessons, Plans, and Life of a Teacher. It is a collection of humorous stories from my years in education, from student teaching, to my time teaching overseas in the Peace Corps, to my time at three different small Christian schools….
The Apocalyptic Symphony Starts With the beginning of chapter 4, we have the “first movement” of the symphony of Revelation—this is where the main concert begins. What we will see is that the main story of Revelation comes in two parts. Part One consists of chapters 4-11, while Part Two consists of chapters 12-22. As…
If you liken the entire book of Revelation to a symphony, and if chapter 1 is considered the program to the symphony, chapters 2-3 can be considered the opening overture. They consist of seven specific messages written to the seven churches: Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, Thyatira, Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. Now even though they are addressed…
Alright, so after John’s introduction in 1:1-8, one thing is clear: God rules, and Christ is king—so don’t despair, even though you might be suffering persecution for your faith. Now it has to be made clear that the Apostle John knows what he’s talking about, and he reminds the churches of this in 1:9, when…
As I begin to go through Revelation, I think it would be smart to first address the pink elephant in the room: the book of Revelation is not a prediction of a future rapture, 7-year tribulation, the European Union as a revived Roman Empire, or a Third Temple in Jerusalem. Simply put, Tim LaHaye’s Left…
Whenever I taught the book of Revelation to my high school students, one of the first things I did was this. I’d take any object, put it on the table in the front of the room, and then cover it with my coat (or anything that could act as a covering). I’d then say, “I’m…