I get the feeling that when we read the book of Revelation, We tend to watch each scene unfold from a safe distance - I don’t think it was meant to read this way, • we’re supposed to feel a threatening closeness • we’re drawn into the dream – it’s our collective nightmare - John was certainly more than a spectator • characters approach him, converse with, and engage him ◦ in this chapter he’ll be told to take and eat what he has been shown • we do not merely read the Revelation, we encounter it ◦ we go on an adventure through this fantastical other-world ..read more

When my children were small, I’d read to them every night First from a book of fairytales, then from a Bible storybook - we would pray, say goodnight, and turn off the lights • we were careful about the last thing that entered their minds before bed • I doubt we can prevent our kids from having nightmares ◦ but we can do things to help them sleep well ◦ and we can comfort them after a nightmare - I certainly would have never read from Revelation the last thing before bed! • this makes me wonder why God gives us this nightmare stuff • anyway, we know that God can make good use of anything ..read more

They came on the first day of week, first thing in morning They knew what spices and ointments to bring, - and knew what they were doing – they had done this before • what they did not know, was that overnight their world had changed • so what they found at the tomb was not what they expected - I love the lines: Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen • they had come to the wrong place, looking for wrong thing ◦ they came to a cemetery looking for a dead body ◦ but Jesus wasn’t there – and he wasn’t a corpse • they were wrong that morning – but not they were no ..read more

How did Palm Sunday become recognized as a holy day? I don’t mean, how did it get put on the Church calendar, - but why do we celebrate it? • Palm Sunday is not like Christmas, Good Friday, or Easter ◦ these were the major events in Jesus’ life and ministry • but Palm Sunday is not noteworthy in the same way ◦ in fact, if you’ll excuse the expression, it sort of fizzled out ◦ by the end of the week, Jesus had been crucified - I’ll share with you why I celebrate Palm Sunday • because this was only time that Jesus permitted public recognition ◦ until now, he told his disciples to keep his identi ..read more

Revelation is not a normal book – in fact, it’s a conundrum We enter a mystical world of symbols without a map or compass - as I understand it, the Revelation is meant to open our eyes to a reality beyond our knowing or experiencing • there is no way for us to go straight into it with our rational minds - I’ll share something with you that helps me understand this • consider a person blinded by cataracts since birth ◦ when, as an adult, the cataracts are removed, they do not immediately see clearly ◦ the world appears to them as a confusion of shapes and colors ◦ they cannot recognize or under ..read more

You may not have noticed, but something is missing The action that began prior to this chapter involved a magic scroll secured with seven seals - six of those seals have been opened (chapter 6) • but now in chapter 7, there’s no mention of the seventh seal • instead, we have come to an interlude before returning to the seventh seal - this will happen again (after six trumpets sound, then there's a delay before the seventh) • while I’m at it, “After this” is not chronological ◦ it does not refer to the next thing that happened as in a sequence, but the next thing John saw • he’s not marking day ..read more

A long time ago, I became interested in Douglas Coupland’s works of fiction One novel he wrote as if it were the journal of a young man traumatized as a child - his character had lived on a military base that came under a nuclear threat, and everyone was rushed into a shelter • this had left a lasting and foreboding impression on him • an entire chapter consists of brief scenarios he imagined of his life interrupted by an atomic explosion ◦ he gives graphic and creative expression to the experience of a flash like lightning, except for it being everywhere, and powerful blast, and the world dis ..read more

Among Jeremiah’s prophecies, we find one that is different from the rest. The difference is that this one brings a positive message regarding Israel’s future - after receiving the prophecy, Jeremiah says, At this I awoke and looked, and my sleep was pleasant to me (Jer. 31:26) • when I wake up from a pleasant dream, I want to go back to sleep and continue it • that's because some issue was resolved, finally “worked,” or I just got a lucky break ◦ dreams help our brains work through stresses, upsets, some puzzle is solved - explaining the unconscious, some psychologists use an iceberg illustrat ..read more

Chapters 2 and 3 may be the most well known section of Revelation At least two of our favorite quotations are found here - what’s the theme of these chapters? Answer: “Church Repairs” • in chapter 1 Jesus appears in a form not found in the Gospels • in his right hand he held seven stars–which represented the angels of the seven churches ◦ in scripture, the hand represents power, control, and ownership - so in these two chapters, Jesus acts as General Contractor has the seven churches in his hand • he will tell each church what repairs need to be made If you notice, reading the letters we are s ..read more

Revelation gives us a unique picture of the inner life of our Christian experience It is much different from Paul’s carefully structured teaching - with his separation of the new self from the old self • and his contrast of having the mind of the Spirit versus the mind of the “flesh” • Revelation reaches into our inner lives through symbols and bizarre events Therefore, I feel comforted when reading the first few words of verse 4 - they have a familiar ring–like finding a street you know when you’re lost • we recognize this same type of greeting from many of Paul’s letters i.e., “Paul, an apos ..read more