Mount Vigil

Blaine's written a book, folks! It's an epic introduction to Jesus in terms of the story of God. If you've been following MV, this book is for you. From night raids and necromancers to witch kings and dragons, Blaine and Anthony talk through the presentation of Jesus in our time.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

We've spent hours contemplating Revelation. Now it's time to hear the text itself. 

This will be our acid test: Can our long-term engagement with theology, Church history, and culture transform our experience of the scriptures? Can we see Jesus in the Apocalypse? We hope so. But you'll have to listen and see for yourself. Enjoy this dramatic reading of Revelation: we hope you will directly experience Jesus, slain and risen king of the universe, as you hear the voice of God in scripture. 

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

This is it: the finale of the 5-part series on Revelation, as well as the finale of the 19-part series on the Story of God in the Bible. In this episode, Blaine and Anthony draw together the main threads of the podcast so far: God’s design for the cosmos as revealed in Scripture, the nature of evil, and the restoration of all things through Jesus of Nazareth. “For I consider,” said Paul, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). 

Friends, there are good things to come. Come quickly, Lord Jesus. 

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

Mentioned in this episode:

Good books on the whole story of God in the Bible:

• Stephen DeYoung The Religion of the Apostles
• NT Wright How God Became King, Simply Christian, Simply Jesus
• Tremper Longman III An Introduction to the Old Testament
• Michael Heiser Unseen Realm, Supernatural, The Naked Bible Podcast Revelation

Good books on Revelation:

• Michael Gorman Reading Revelation Responsibly
• Scot McKnight Revelation for the Rest of Us
• GK Biel Revelation: A Shorter Commentary, The Book of Revelation, The Use of Daniel in Jewish Apocalyptic Literature and in the Revelation of St. John
• Justin Bass The Battle for the Keys

Good books on following Jesus in Babylon:

• John Mark Comer Live No Lies, Practicing the Way
• Letters to the Exiles
• Shane Claiborne Jesus for President
• Walter Bruggeman Sabbath as Resistance
• Stanley Hauerwas Resident Aliens
• Henri Nouwen Making All Things New

In this series, Blaine and Anthony have argued that Revelation is the theological capstone of the Bible. Nevertheless, because its method of doing theology draws upon the Jewish (rather than the Greco-Roman) tradition, many of its claims go right over the head of modern readers. In this show, Blaine and Anthony drill down on some of the most notorious elements in Revelation: the 144,000, the  Whore, the Beast, the Mark, and more. The actions of Revelation are not a disturbing fever dream. They are instead a profound picture of the world as it really is, and when we learn read our lives in terms of Revelation, we know how to follow Jesus as he establishes heaven on earth.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

Mentioned in this episode:

The Seven-Part Structure of Revelation

1. Prologue – 1:1-8
2. Vision of Christ and the Messages – 1:9-3:22
3. Vision of Heaven – 4-5
4. 3 cycles of 7 Judgements – 6-16
5. Fall of Babylon – 17:1-21:8
6. New Jerusalem – 21:9-22:9
7. Epilogue – 22:6-21

Sources

For a wonderful introduction, check out:
The Bible Project’s Two-Part Overview

• Part One
• Part Two

For a good book on the whole of revelation:

• Michael Gorman Reading Revelation Responsibly
• Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett Revelation for the Rest of Us

For a more scholarly take:

• Richard Bauckham The Theology of the Book of Revelation
• Richard Baukham The Climax of Prophecy

For a book on key elements and Old Testament allusions:

• Brandon Smith The Trinity in the Book of Revelation
• Tremper Longman III Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes 

“While each church receives a message reflecting its own situation, there is one overarching issue: whether or not to compromise. Specifically, will these churches be faithful witnesses both to Jesus and like Jesus (and John!) by refraining from participation in the cultural norm of pagan religion, including the imperial cult, even if it entails serious consequences: social, economic, and political?” Gorman

In this third part of the series on Revelation, Blaine and Anthony continue their discussion on the major movements of the Apocalypse. In particular, they discuss the messages to the seven churches from 1:9-3:22 and the vision of heaven in 4 and 5. 

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

Mentioned in this episode:

The Seven-Part Structure of RevelationPrologue – 1:1-8

1. Vision of Christ and the Messages – 1:9-3:22
2. Vision of Heaven – 4-5
3. 3 cycles of 7 Judgements – 6-16
4. Fall of Babylon – 17:1-21:8
5. New Jerusalem – 21:9-22:9
6. Epilogue – 22:6-21

Sources

For a wonderful introduction, check out:
The Bible Project’s Two-Part Overview

• Part One
• Part Two

For a good book on the whole of revelation:

• Michael Gorman Reading Revelation Responsibly
• Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett Revelation for the Rest of Us

For a more scholarly take:

• Richard Bauckham The Theology of the Book of Revelation
• Richard Baukham The Climax of Prophecy

For a book on key elements and Old Testament allusions:

• Brandon Smith The Trinity in the Book of Revelation
• Tremper Longman III Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes 

In this episode, Anthony and Blaine continue their Story of God series by returning to the book of Revelation. Questions discussed in this conversation: How does John use the Old Testament? What is the structure of John’s Apocalypse? Who is/are the seven spirits in 1:4? What is going in in John’s prologue? We hope you enjoy.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

Mentioned in this Episode

• John’s Use of the Old Testament in Revelation by G. K. Beale
• The Climax of Biblical Prophecy: A Guide to Interpreting Revelation by Brian Hand

The Seven-Part Structure of Revelation

1. Prologue – 1:1-8
2. Vision of Christ and the Messages – 1:9-3:22
3. Vision of Heaven – 4-5
4. 3 cycles of 7 Judgements – 6-16
5. Fall of Babylon – 17:1-21:8
6. New Jerusalem – 21:9-22:9
7. Epilogue – 22:6-21

“Revelation is not only one of the finest literary works in the New Testament, but also one of the greatest theological achievements of early Christianity.” So says New Testament Scholar Richard Bauckham, and yet few of us experience it that way. In this episode, Blaine and Anthony begin a conversation on the literary and theological marvel that is Revelation, drawing on diverse scholarship to frame its historical and prophetic situation. The thesis of this episode is simple: Revelation is a discipleship manual. It orients the people of God to their situation, and it tells them how they should live in view of Christ’s reality.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

Sources

We know from experience Revelation is challenging. For all those of you who are looking to grasp the message and the blessing of the Bible’s capstone book, here are a few recommended resource:

For a wonderful introduction, check out:
The Bible Project’s Two-Part Overview

• Part One
• Part Two

For a good book on the whole of revelation:

• Michael Gorman Reading Revelation Responsibly
• Scot McKnight and Cody Matchett Revelation for the Rest of Us

For a more scholarly take:

• Richard Bauckham The Theology of the Book of Revelation
• Richard Baukham The Climax of Prophecy

For a book on key elements and Old Testament allusions:

• Brandon Smith The Trinity in the Book of Revelation
• Tremper Longman III Revelation Through Old Testament Eyes

When it comes to anticipating the return of Jesus, two New Testament texts loom especially large: The Olivet Discourse and the Revelation of John. In this episode, Blaine and Anthony discuss the first: The Olivet Discourse from Matthew 24 and 25. On the Mount of Olives, the disciples ask two questions: when will the temple be razed to the ground, and when will the final marriage of heaven and earth take place? Jesus answers both questions. He places the destruction of Jerusalem in its cosmic context, and he tells the disciples how they should live in view of his return.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

In this episode, Blaine and Anthony begin a conversation on the culmination of the Story of God: the bodily return of Jesus and the final marriage of heaven and earth.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

In this episode, Blaine and Anthony discuss the everyday life of the people of God. The Church is a glorious reality; on the ground, it is also a gritty reality. The practice of dying to self is not abstract. It looks like loving real people. It looks like owning our sin. It looks like repenting. It looks like leaving church gatherings and then learning to hang in there. The local gathering is an eternal reality embodied by people in process. In this conversation, Blaine and Anthony share their personal experience of learning to live life in Jesus’s Church.

Where to Connect
Mount Vigil has come to an end but you can still connect with Anthony and Blaine at their respective blogs:

• Anthony - Sun Tongue
• Blaine - The Paradise King

Show Notes

• Order some lovely prayer bracelets from St. John the Baptist Orthodox Monastery