WORSHIP WITH YOUR BRAIN: What to Make of Revelation

This past Sunday I preached from 2 Peter chapter 3 which is about how Christians are to live in the last days. I brought up the issue of Dispensational theology and how it can make our study of last things quite confusing. The book of Revelation is perhaps where the confusion is exceptional. One reason for this is it approaches the Bible as if it is a puzzle or riddle and our role as readers to decipher the riddle and figure out the secrets of what is going to happen in the future. I want to mention two important keys to understanding Revelation. First, view it as a picture book - not a puzzle book. When we see it as a puzzle we over-think the spectacular imagery that is described rather than let the simplicity of the pictures described do what they were meant to do. Second, remember that all the books of the Bible were written to specific people in specific contexts and circumstances for specific reasons. We always need to understand the Bible in its natural environment before we can rightly apply it in our own. Revelation is no different. Many people today assume Revelation was written to some unknown future people and that we are those people. This is incorrect! Jesus delivered his words through John to these Christians as they faced persecution, scoffers, false prophets while wrestling with complacency and compromise in their respective churches. John received this vision from God in order to encourage them and to exhort them to remain faithful in these last days. Imagine that you are a member of one of the churches in Revelation, facing persecution and you are discouraged. The picture of Jesus coming on a White Horse to bring judgment upon those persecuting you and your fellow Christians is going to encourage you to persevere and stand to fight another day.

Is there room for disagreement among Christians over some of the details? Yes! But these basic keys to interpretation ought to guide us. One way we know if we are interpreting Revelation correctly is the outcome of our interpretation. When I preached through Revelation years ago, one thing I was struck by was how God-exalting and God-Centered Revelation is. That is essentially the message of Revelation - behold your God! He is far greater than the greatest earthly pleasure, more powerful than all the armies of earth and hell combined. He is your God - your Savior - your King. Yes you will have troubles in this world and yes you may even be killed for your faith. But Jesus has conquered death and one day death will be no more. Revelation tells us that they might be able to kill the body, but they cannot remove your name from the Book of Life. Revelation gives us hope, gives us courage and gives us assurance in our Savior, his return and his promises to all who are longing for his appearing. I remember frightening a younger cousin of mine once when I was a teenager and thought I knew how the end was going to pan out. My explanation was gloomy to say the least and I think he had nightmares after that! If you experience anxiety when you read Revelation, it may mean you not be a believer: you are realizing that when Jesus comes to judge the earth you will be in that number. The other possibility is you are reading it wrong! It may be time to reevaluate what you have been taught by the Dispensationalist teachers. And because they change their positions a lot, there';s a good chance they have already recanted!

Here's a link to some helpful videos:

http://vimeo.com/11480047

http://www.desiringgod.org/resource-library/conference-messages/an-evening-of-eschatology

Further Study