Principles in Handling the Book of Revelation

You can read a National Geographic article on South Borneo agriculture with idle curiosity — but the issues of Christ rescuing sinners cannot be approached with that attitude.

I am sure that all of you would agree with me that there are many subjects that we could examine with a legitimate degree of curiosity or even a detached indifference. If I were to announce this morning that we were going to occupy our minds with a discussion on the weather patterns in the South Pacific or the agricultural problems of South Borneo, you could listen, if you would listen at all, with a legitimate degree of indifference or, at best, idle curiosity. Sort of the attitude with which some of us read many of the articles in National Geographic. Interesting, informative, but certainly ...

0:00 - 0:48 Read in full sermon

Many approach Revelation as though it were the Christian's crystal ball — if only we could decode the beast and the dragon we could watch all of history laid out with Napoleon, Hitler, Mussolini, and Mao Zedong appearing.

And as you look into the book of the Revelation, you will be able to see the entire panorama of detailed world history. But now the problem is, in the crystal ball you have these unusual figures. You have the beast and you have the dragon and you have these strange creatures that are the combination of locusts and of lions and of horses. and people say, if only we can unlock those cryptic, mysterious symbols, why then we'll have the keys to understand the Christian's crystal ball.

7:04 - 7:41 Read in full sermon

Death is like a large womb in which all God's people are held, and Christ is the firstborn from it — all the rest will follow after their elder brother.

It's as though death is a large womb, and in it are all the people of God, and Christ is the firstborn, and all the rest are going to follow. He says, take heart. But grace and peace, Jesus Christ is firstborn of the dead. His resurrection was not a private act.

44:39 - 44:56 Read in full sermon

First-century believers passed Roman soldiers on their way to their daily commerce, seeing every day the evidences of Rome's imposing might — then they met in secret and heard John say, 'Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth.'

Now get the picture Here's a group of believers Huddled in fear While one of the lecters stands and opens the scroll And they think of all the evidences Of the imposing might of Rome They pass soldiers as they go out to commerce Day after day They see the evidences Of the mighty ones of the earth Now he says grace and peace Jesus Christ is the ruler of the kings of the earth. Now, do you see how the kingship of Christ meets the believers on the very threshold of this epistle? And there's a sense in which the rest of the epistle just expands that and expands it

45:37 - 46:22 Read in full sermon