Biblical Reflections

This is the longest episode in the series and will be split into 4 parts. It is almost two-hours long. Where we find the gospel message in the book of Revelation is pretty, straight forward, and I do that at the beginning of the episode. Trying to understand the Book of Revelation, well that’s another matter. In keeping with my rather, unique story-telling style, I present four-challenges to reading the Book of Revelation. First, the author presents the story in symbols, not prose or poetry, so how do we interpret the symbols? Second, there are four-

generally recognized schools of interpretation when looking at Revelation. Unfortunately, each school or theological persuasion has “secondary-gain” issues when interpreting the symbols. Third, much of the controversy and the name-calling among fellow-believers, over the Book of Revelation, revolves around the sequencing of the Rapture, the Tribulation, and the Millennium. Finally, there is the challenge of repetition and recapitulation. Spoiler alert, are there 21-judgments in Revelation, or are there 7-judgements described three-times in ever accelerating terms? My goal in this episode, other than to give the gospel message, is not explain or interpret Revelation for you, rather my goal is to give you some tools to help you critically read and understand what you are reading.

Part 2 - I cried when I recorded this episode. We all know the simple children’s stories of faith and rescue in Daniel. But there is another faith story in this book; it a very dark, very bitter story. You will quickly understand why we don’t tell this story to children, but why we need to hear it.

I cried when I recorded this episode. We all know the simple children’s stories of faith and rescue in Daniel. But there is another faith story in this book; it a very dark, very bitter story. You will quickly understand why we don’t tell this story to children, but why we need to hear it.

The church in Philippi was the Apostle Paul’s favorite church. Yet, this favorite church, with his favorite people, had what looked like a small problem on its face, yet it was tearing the church a part. How do you talk gently to people you love that they need to fix something? Along the way, Paul gives the clearest expression of the incarnation, the Son of God taking on the nature of man, without losing the nature of God, and then dying on the cross to take the penalty of our sins.

Psalm 22 is the most quoted Psalm in the New Testament.  Although written by King David 1,000 earlier, Jesus refers to this Psalm moments before he dies on the cross.  Psalm 22 is beautifully written in poetry and takes some time to unfold.  But you understand why Jesus calls Psalm 22 to our attention before he dies.

This episode unfolds the narrative of Genesis culminating in the Substitutionary Sacrifice of Isaac in Chapter 22. It is the account of Abraham, Isaac’s father. Abraham was a deeply flawed man, yet he was a man of faith. Through Abraham, the man of faith, God’s plan of salvation is offered to all the peoples of the world.

This episode unfolds the narrative of Genesis culminating in the Substitutionary Sacrifice of Isaac in Chapter 22. It is the account of Abraham, Isaac’s father. Abraham was a deeply flawed man, yet he was a man of faith. Through Abraham, the man of faith, God’s plan of salvation is offered to all the peoples of the world.

Mary, Martha, and Lazarus are siblings who run a lucrative bed-and-breakfast, in the town of Bethany, a two-mile walk outside of Jerusalem. This is where Jesus and his entourage stayed when they visited Jerusalem for the three-annual festivals at the Temple. These are three different people, and Jesus presents the gospel to each of them, but in ways that are a unique to each person. Which sibling are you most like?

The Book of Isaiah is challenging, one could say difficult, to read and to understand.  Most Isaiah is written in poetry, including the 4th Servant Song, which foretells the death and resurrection of the suffering servant, who suffers and dies for the sins of others.  This will be an interesting look at poetry.

The Book of Hebrews is written in the most excellent Greek of the New Testament.  It presents the gospel, but it does so by comparing the sacrifice of Christ on the cross to the sacrificial system of the Old Testament.  Hebrews was written to Jewish Christians, who would have understood the Old Testament sacrifices.  In order for us to appreciate the message of Hebrews, we first need to understand the Old Testament sacrificial system.