Preacher: Jerry Cisar

Text: Revelation 1:1-8 (NIV)

Themes: Grace, blessing, worship. Hidden Reality.

G.K. Chesterton explained one of the great problems regarding the book of Revelation and its interpretation: “Though John the Evangelist saw many strange monsters in his vision, he saw no creature so wild as one of his own commentators.”

If you think it unwise to do a study in Revelation, you are in good company. Early on, Luther wrote, “neither apostolic nor prophetic…. I can in no way detect that the Holy Spirit produced it…. Again, they are supposed to be blessed who keep what is written in this book; and yet no one knows what that is, to say nothing of keeping it…. Christ is neither taught nor known in it.” (Martin Luther, writing in 1522)

A little less spiritually, George Bernard Shaw called Revelation the “curious record of the visions of a drug addict which was absurdly admitted into the canon under the title of Revelation.”

With that we announce a new series in the book of Revelation. Presently, I only intend to cover part of it (the first 6-7 chapters) while making connections for the rest. We’ll wait and see if it seems wise to proceed. There are typically two responses to the idea of a series in Revelation:

  • “I’m a pan-millenialist… It will all pan-out in the end.” While humorous, it sometimes represents a “I’m not really interested in that book” attitude. Which effectively removes it from the Bible.
  • The other response? Super excited. “That’s my favorite book in the Bible.” While I appreciate the support, I worry more about this response. 😉

My hope in this series is to open up what may be a new way of approaching the book for some. To be sure, by the time we are finished, you will not know when Jesus is returning or who the Antichrist is, but you may better know how to faithfully worship and witness about Christ in a world which is bent on winning even while they are losing.

Handout: http://media.gccc.net/2022/09/20220911.pdf