Clever Way to Handle Revelation
I am currently teaching Revelation on Wednesday night. We finished our last lesson midway through chapter 16. The study is challenging but empowering as we see the clear gospel and the power of God.
One of our men found an old Adult Bible Quarterly from 2000 on Revelation. We recently spent a good bit of time working through chapter 13 because it is such a difficult chapter. He was curious to see what this book said about that chapter.
He soon discovered that this Quarterly had a clever way of handling Revelation — you skip all the hard chapters. Chapter 13 wasn’t even covered. They also skipped chapters 16-18 and 20-21. hmmm
This may make it easier on the writer but it doesn’t do anything for the teacher or the student. While these chapters are difficult to understand, they are also very powerful testaments to the glory and plan of God.
Ignoring them is an insult to the Holy Spirit’s efforts to give them to us and leaves us without the full message of judgment. How can that benefit anyone?
Will are discussing. 
Will 9:08 am on January 19, 2012 Permalink |
hUM…I’m doing a Monday Night Bible study with those interested in studying the book of Revelation, and I’m using the material gathered by James M. Booth, from the web site http://www.padfield.com. I find James material refreshing and rather easy to teach and understand.
Eugene Adkins 9:59 pm on January 19, 2012 Permalink |
I used the pdf class outline for Revelation from Padfield and it was very useful along with a commentary by Donald R. Taylor called “The Apocalypse: A Revelation of Jesus Christ”. I found them both to be useful when I taught through the book of Revelation in our teenage class (by request). I don’t think they thought it was as “exciting” as they “thought” is was going to be. No doubt though, there are some wonderful lessons to learn from Revelation about the work/will of God that go along with the “small” glimpses of heavenly glory that can comfort us greatly when understood properly.
Good article Richard.