A Gentle Ramble Through the Bible - Chronologically

We finish the last three letters to the churches: Sardis, Philadelphia, and Laodicea. The imagery is tied very closely to the shortcomings and challenges facing these believers. John knows these churches intimately. But as difficult as the messages might be to hear, Jesus always offers hope. He reminds them of their call to be light in the word--lampstands for the Holy Spirit. We gather some more building blocks we’ll need for the study ahead, including insight into the significance of the Book of Life.

We cover Revelation 3.

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John uses these letters to define several of the important metaphors he’ll use throughout the book. This is a Master Class in resistance under oppression.

We cover the letters to Pergamum and Thyatira in this class. And while we’re at it we begin to get a feel for why John wrote Revelation as a “dream” in an apocalypse prefaced by a few seemingly innocuous letters.

He uses imagery from the Hebrew Bible as code to talk about "morningstars" and a "Jezebel"--identifying Rome's power as being satanic and setting up a major villain in the story. Amazing.

We cover Revelation 2:12-29.

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I used to wonder why Revelation begins with these seven letters to the churches in Asia. The letters seemed like unnecessary appendages hanging off the beginning of the book before you got to the real story.

I don't think that anymore. Now I understand that these letters are foundational for grasping John's message in Revelation. He defines terms here. He sets up the coded language and imagery he'll use later on.

The part I missed is the part the Roman Empire missed. I was reading Revelation like a Roman would.

The preface to the apocalypse is a set of letters, one for each of seven churches in Asia Minor where John ministered. The letters aren’t addressed to the churches, but to each of their angels. We’ll spend a little time pondering the significance of that.

Each letter praises the churches, chastises them a bit, and then gives each one a promise. There’s a lot of war language used--victory and overcoming and laurels of reward. We’ll think about that a bit as well.

We cover Revelation 2:1-11.

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Revelation opens saying it is an apocalypsis of Jesus Christ. An apocalypse was a particular genre of writing in the time of Jesus. It’s like announcing something is a romance or a sci-fi or a documentary. It alerts the audience that it’s a particular type of story.

And that’s important to keep in mind as the curtain rises on a sweeping story full of angels and demons, saints and monsters.

The book first introduces Jesus Christ as we’ve known him thus far in Scripture, but then reveals him as we’ve never seen him before.

We cover Revelation 1.

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2 Peter and Jude are pretty much carbon copies of each other so we cover them together. Then we move on to 1 John. 2 John is a repeat and 3 John is basically a personal letter with no new theology, so we don’t cover them.

1 John, however, is a letter of encouragement. It’s definitely written in the Johannine tradition and uses terms that are unique to John and his followers. It’s directed at believers who are feeling a little shook up by teachers who pull them this way and that. They don’t know who they should believe.

The author of 1 John gives them tips for staying grounded and being confident as Christians and beloved children of God.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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We finish 1 Peter today. About half of this part of the letter talks about how to act as a believer. It includes the typical household code of the time: slaves obey your masters, wives obey your husbands, and husbands treat your wives well.

One really interesting part is where Peter brings in material from the pseudepigraphal letter of 1 Enoch. It was a very famous, pious treatise in which Enoch (the father of Methuselah, way back in Genesis) is taken on a grand tour of the universe. Of course, Enoch couldn’t possibly have written the book or done the things in it because he’d been taken from this life thousands of years before the book was written.

We take a close look at how Peter incorporates this material and make a good stab at separating the cultural wrapping paper from the more enduring gift--Peter’s understanding of God’s mercy.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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We finish up the story of Peter’s life and begin our look at 1 Peter, a letter he wrote from Rome (“Babylon”) to believers in exile from Jerusalem who are undergoing persecution.

Peter uses a lot of words like “elect” and “chosen” and talks about destiny. He encourages the believers to remember that God knows where they are and who they are. He reminds them of the salvation that is on the way and the healing that is now.

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We take this time to trace the path of Simon Peter, a stable, successful businessman in partnership with another family as they manage boats and hired hands as commercial fishermen on the Sea of Galilee. We follow as his life is utterly upended by Jesus. We watch as Peter rises to leadership among the disciples and then has his faith shaken to the core. It is a remarkable journey.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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The book of James is only 5 chapters long but it is one of the most beautiful books in Scripture. Unfortunately, his writing style is so choppy and disorganized that it’s easy to lose his train of thought and it can come across as a bunch of random pontificating.

In this class we take a completely new approach. We gather everything James has to say about Faith, Perseverance, and Humility by theme and by topic. Through this lens his message is breathtaking. James echoes the words of Jesus as he paints a picture of our merciful, compassionate God who calls us out of our consumerism and jealousy into a life of peace and righteousness.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.

We finish up Hebrews 11, the Faith Chapter, with a look at some rather shocking examples the author selects. Chapter 12 has more of the author’s particular theology. As we’ve come to realize, this author views God as a harsh, authoritarian parent. Nevertheless, we end our study of the book with a final chapter that is surprisingly full of exhortation and blessing.

We cover Hebrews 11:28 thru 13:25.

A free Study Guide is available. A video version of the class is available on YouTube.

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More info at PastorintheWild.org.