Recommended Reading for Revelation: Comfort and Protest
Written during the height of the apartheid struggles in South Africa, Comfort and Protest by Allan Boesak gives us a study of Revelation in light of oppression and suffering. Looking…
A King in Disguise
Imagine a far-off kingdom, ruled by a tyrannical dictator. He stole the throne while the rightful king was away, and he’s terrified the people are going to rise up against…
Suffer Well
Revelation 7.1-8 Three things stick out to me in this section of the Bible (commonly called “the interlude” between the sixth and seventh seals). First—there’s a warning to the church….
Footnotes
Revelation 6.9-17 I wish my Bible had footnotes that matter. For example, I wish my Bible had a footnote that compared the events of the sixth seal to Jesus’ “apocalyptic…
Habits of the Heart Part 2
There are two main habits of the heart; renewing the mind and putting the sinful nature to death. Our mind is the control room for our behaviors. Whether consciously or…
Expectations?
Revelation 6.1-8 Can I ask you something? What do you honestly expect to get out of reading these visions of heavenly seals and apocalyptic horsemen? Are you one of those…
Habits of the Heart Part 1
Christian character is the result of thousands of hours spent practicing the presence of God. It’s the cumulative effect of a million small decisions— not responding out of anger, …
What Else Can We Do?
Revelation 5.8-14 What else can we do? In the midst of Revelation chapters’ 4&5 dizzying heavenly diptych, we find ourselves caught up in an intergalactic Woodstock—a worship festival for the…
Canada Geese
Flight 1549, a regular U.S. Airways trip from LaGuardia, took off from New York at 3:26 p.m., bound for Charlotte, North Carolina. The captain, Chelsey Sullenberger III, known also as…
John Looks for a Lion, But Sees a Lamb Instead
Revelation 5.1-7 This may be the single-biggest mind-job in the Revelation. The One Who Conquers is called the Lion of Judah—an old title for a messianic warrior—but appears instead as…
Sin Must Be Carved Out
We live with the end in mind, but two sub-points must be made. First, the biblical vocabulary for this eschatological authenticity is the term second nature. Our original nature has…
Suck It, Emperor
Revelation 4.6-11 John’s Revelation was addressed to 7 churches in the Roman Empire. They lived under the authority of Domition, the ‘Lord and God’ of Rome. He ruled from his…