On Wednesday,
January 15th we begin a new bible study. After many requests we are going to study the book of
Revelation. This is often a
confusing if not troubling book for many.
With all of the symbols and language many become weary in its
reading. Others feel they have
such a grasp upon the meaning that you can easily tell they are trying to have
the text say what they want it to say rather than listening to what it actually
says. Somewhere in the middle we
find ourselves. Here are some
questions that may be running through your mind about the subject and some of
my responses. This is more than
the simple question – should I come?
My answer is – yes.
See you at 7 p.m.
Here are some
others…Why do we study eschatology? What is the purpose of trying to understand
the book of Revelation? How does
this really connect or help me in my faith with Christ?
1. The Bible teaches eschatology (last
things). We cannot get around the
message from Scripture about the soon to be kingdom and the expectation and anticipation
of God’s people. Revelation 1:3
also says – “Blessed is the one who reads the words of this prophecy, and
blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it…
2. Our human hopes, fears, and curiosity
inevitably turn to future events.
Does God have something to say about our unfulfilled human longings?
3. Ethics and Eschatology – The hope of
seeing Christ causes us to purify ourselves (1 John 3:33). The prospect of judgment causes us to
pause and evaluate whether our lives are lived according to the true principles
of the Gospel and its call for love and justice.
4. Evangelism and Social Justice – Our eyes
are often turned toward the heavenly spiritual realities that we often
ignore. God has often used these
concepts to help bring people into the kingdom.
5. Eschatology affects our worldview. If the world is going to burn up – you may
have different priorities. If you
believe Jesus could return today then there is a different urgency about life
than if we believe that we must prepare for tribulation, or the ushering of the
kingdom through the church. There
are different views on this, all of which will be discussed without
preferential treatment of one or another.
(Although I think that my view is the best by the way – lol.)
6. Our understanding of time – we look back
to see from where we came from. We
look forward to see where we believe we are going. In the middle we find ourselves living a life ‘in between
the times’. The desired future of
the kingdom of God into the present is pulled through the work of the
church. All of this affects our
understanding of salvation, the church, and above all our understanding of who
Jesus is.
My hope is not
to provide you with answers. You
will probably leave with more questions actually, but I believe that God’s
presence will be with us as we pray and study together. Please join us, bring your
cluelessness. We will all be in
the same boat. My hope is that we
can hear it, understand it, and live it together.
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