This is really an admission of ignorance on my part. A few months ago I told a friend I was listening to some sermons on Revelation and I would write some things for him to explain it. What I am listening to is a different perspective than what he and I had been taught and I thought I could just get the symbolism down and write it like x = y and this is that thing and here’s the other thing and this is what all this means. WELL…..
It all goes so much deeper than that. This fellow, Aturo Azurdia, talks about what the book meant to the people who read it at the time – you know, the folks John had in mind when he wrote it. And it’s apocalyptic literature which has its own symbolic language but that doesn’t mean it stops there. Apocalyptic was a popular style of literature and it’s not only found in the Bible. There were many apocalyptic books written and you could say this is this thing and this is the other except, like I said, this is the Bible. Nothing is that simple. But it’s not like it can’t be understood.
Pastor Azurdia goes back to the other books in the Bible and points out what something meant in a different book and how it means the same thing all the way through the Bible. It’s called letting the Bible interpret the Bible, rather than using the newspaper to understand it. It can’t mean to us what it didn’t mean to the original writers and readers.
There are no helicopters and no US airlifts of Israelis in Revelation. What there is is so much more. There is a huge battle and it’s going on now and has been since John wrote the book. In the middle of the battle (which is essentially a mop-up now since the deciding battle has been fought) is the protective care that a loving God has for His church. What could be sweeter than being a bride, a beloved lady?
Sunday before last I listened to four sermons in a row. Got started and just couldn’t stop. If you wanted to jump right in to the middle and listen to Enter the Dragon, parts 1 and 2, and then The Counterfeit Trinity, parts 1 and 2, you could do that and still get a lot out of this. It’s not necessary to agree with his take on how things wrap up at the end to see how God has a Big Picture plan running through the whole Bible. And He has a purpose going here and it relates to the cross in a way that I had never seen before.
So, it’s more than I can just write out in a this means this thing and this is the other blog. But if you want to listen and be encouraged in ways you’ve never imagined, check it out at www.spiritempoweredpreaching.com.
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