Bible in Context

A woman clothed with the sun vs. a seven-headed dragon leading to a cosmic war and a male child ruling with an iron scepter in the middle.  What to make of it, and what this sweet & sour “little scroll” message has to do with the struggles of Christians both then and today.

In Revelation 11 John smashes together image after image from the prophets. By tapping those stories that define God’s people, he tries to show that it is our story too. We are part of God’s witness to the world. Like a long line of prophets before us, our witness will be marked with the power of God and with suffering. Take heart. God has overcome the world.

Big angel, little scroll, and a tasty-looking message that can turn your stomach. Revelation 10 starts part 2 of the book. Paralleling The Lion of the Tribe of Judah holding the scroll of destiny, Revelation 10 zooms in on a lion-speaking angel holding a smaller message about God’s prophetic voice in history. Leaning into Revelation 11, God will make clear the power of his message and the suffering his prophets will endure carrying forth his word to many peoples, nations, languages, and kings.

How does God judge the world? Revelation 9 gives a glimpse into God’s hands in everyday events and how to interpret what we’re experiencing.

Revelation 8-9 give a picture of God answering prayers and going to war.

What is Revelation about? Centering on that is more important than every detail. Using chapter 7 as a model, we look at how the genre functions and the perspective on life Revelation brings.

Revelation 7 witnesses God marking “144,000” with a special seal. Who are they? To what end? What message does this bring to seven churches in the 1stcentury AD?

Today is Revelation 6. The lion opens the seals and God’s justice and judgment unfolds. It’s a message of justice and judgement, hope and warning, with a promise to God’s oppressed of a vindication to come.

*Due to some technical difficulties, the last few minutes of the session were not recorded.

The symbols in Revelation draw on Jewish and Roman imagery that John weaves together in a double-helix of meaning. Today we dig into the images we see in Revelation 4-5, along with faith, and the pax Romana v the pax Christi.

Today is about the ethos of Rome manifest in the Caesar cult. We dive into the headspace, culture, and worldview those seven churches were immersed in. It’s key to understanding the symbols John uses in Revelation 4-5, and through the rest of the letter.