Wednesday, April 11, 2007

Reveling in the Revealing!

Well, that was a load of fun; and what a great turn out! Thank you for being with part of the Tuesday study as we begin this great journey through the ancient words of Revelation!

We covered quite a lot of ground in the first study dealing with the background of the book of Revelation.

If you want the notes from April 10 (I mean the whole load of hay--all 11 pages), go to www.princeofpeaceonline.org, click on the "Ancient Words" button at the bottom and then click on the "Notes" button on the April 10 line.

Warning: this is only for the truly "Type A" personalities. :-)

Otherwise, here’s a brief, quick recap:

· Who wrote it: John.

· When was is written: Late 90’s—end of the 1st century.

· Where it was written: Island of Patmos, 37 miles off the mainland of Asia Minor in the Aegean Sea.

· What was the situation: The political/religious climate of the first century was extremely difficult for the Christian Church. Emperor Nero blamed the Christians for the fire of 64 AD that nearly wiped out Rome and in the 90’s Emperor Domitian ferociously oppressed Christians and mandated that he be hailed as “LORD and God”.

· Why was it written: Not to ‘fore-tell’ the future as if we were looking into a crystal ball, but to "forth-tell" or proclaim the hope of the future in Jesus Christ who will ultimately reign supreme!

· What kind of writing is it: “apocalyptic’—a type of Jewish literature that used symbolic imagery to communicate hope and promise and the ultimate triumph of God. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apocalypse)

Major Themes:
· God’s Sovereignty
· Christ’s Return
· God’s Faithful People
· Judgment
· Hope

We concluded by considering a general working outline of the whole book. Whew! All of that in one hour!

If you have Craig Koester’s book, Revelation and the End of All Things, chapter 1 will give you even more background and you’ll begin to feel very confident wading in the swirling waters of this amazing writing. The Genesis Bookstore will have the next shipment of Koester's book in by next Tuesday, April 17 and available for $19.17.

Next Tuesday, April 17:
We’ll be jumping into chapters 1-3 in the biblical text of the book of Revelation. It would be helpful to read those chapters in advance of the session on Tuesday. According to Koester, this would be Cycle One. As you read through the verses of chapters 2 And 3, notice the issues in each of the seven churches.

· Ephesus 2:1-7 The church that lost its first love

· Smyrna 2:8-11 The church encouraged to be faithful to death

· Pergamum 2:12-17 The church tempted to compromise in an evil community

· Thyatira 2:18-29 The active church tempted to tolerate evil in its midst

· Sardis 3:1-6 The church that was dying

· Philadelphia 3:7-13 The faithful church with the open door before it

· Laodicea 3:14-22 The lukewarm church

Ask yourself these questions:
· What new things are you learning in your reading of these chapters?
· What is going on in each of these congregations—what are their issues?
· What is going on in my own life right now that is reflected in these churches?
· What are the words of hope and promise for you in these verses and chapters?

Go to…
http://www.ancientwordsfromrevelation.blogspot.com/
Pastor Paul’s Ancient Words Blog for notes, updates, information, etc.

pgauche@princeofpeaceonline.org
Pastor Paul’s E-mail

http://www.princeofpeaceonline.org/
Click on the Ancient Words button at the bottom of the page

Posted by Paul at 10:51 AM

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Join Pastor Paul Gauche at Prince of Peace each Tuesday beginning April 10 and running through May 22 for an exploration the ancient words from the Book of Revelation! This important, yet, challenging and often misunderstood biblical text reveals timeless truths about God’s vision for the church, the people of God, and what it means to be in relationship with Jesus Christ. Often, Christians confidently construct detailed end-time scenarios from the book of Revelation. Others, bewildered by the mind-boggling imagery, believe Revelation is too obscure to understand. Between these two extremes lie truths for today and a message of tremendous hope for followers of Jesus Christ. Craig Koester, professor of New Testament at Luther Theological Seminary, St. Paul, Minnesota writes, “The power of a book can be seen in what it does to people, and few books have affected people more dramatically than Revelation. In positive terms, Revelation has inspired countless sermons, theological treatises, artistic works, and musical compositions ranging from the triumphant ‘Hallelujah Chorus’ (Handel’s Messiah) to the gentle strains of ‘Jerusalem My Happy Home.’ “On the negative side, it has fed social upheaval and sectarian religious movements that have often foundered and misguided attempts to discern the date of Christ's return.” (from Revelation and the End of All Things, page 1). You’re invited to a lively study of these ancient words from the book of Revelation!