The Revelation of Jesus Christ to John is perhaps one of the most enigmatic, if not the most misunderstood book of the Bible. Revelation is written in “apocalyptic” form—a type of Jewish literature that uses symbolic imagery to communicate hope in the ultimate triumph of God to those in the midst of persecution. The very fact that "apocalyptic" and "hope" are both used in the same sentence to describe this book reveals the depth of the mysteries found in its pages. Revelation begins with a brief prologue in which John describes his experience in receiving the visions he recorded for us. He then issues praise and warning to seven of the principal churches of John's day. This takes the reader through chapters 1-3. Our study will focus mainly on the remainder of the book (chs. 4-22) which tells of what comes next. (Participants should pre-read those first 3 chapters before the class begins.)
As Christians, we know Christ will one day return. He told us in the gospels that even He did not know when this would happen, but He did say there would be signs. Revelation, sometimes in vivid symbolism, sometimes in cryptic warnings, gives us a peek at what some of those signs might be. The format for this study will be mainly group discussion with most of the reading done at home, throughout the week.
Led by Kent Brusstar | Room C2