Bible in Context

Zach Schmidt steps in to guest teach the class. He focuses on doing a review of what the class has covered so far.

Part 2 of Christians and culture. In light of the worldviews we face, today explores how to recognize their patterns, and live and witness in the midst of them.

Revelation 17-18 talks about a prostitute, beast, and Babylon. It’s really about Christians in their culture. Culture and society are gifts, but with them come temptations and seductions. The seven churches of Revelation were no exception. Today traces ways of thinking that undergird various cultures that have the power to seduce or confuse. Part 1 of cultural worldviews.

Today is Revelation 17. Its message? Don’t sleep with the prostitute. It’s certainly good advice in any day and age, but John prepares the church for the seduction of a pagan culture with a call to come out of any way they might be adulterating themselves with it.

Part 2 of Revelation 16. Armageddon, worldviews, and how to interpret the Bible.

Just about everyone has heard of Armageddon, even if they’ve never read the Bible. Revelation 16 introduces it. Part 1 of a look at what Armageddon is and why the Bible talks about it.

Revelation 15-16 is frightening. God’s wrath is poured out, but heaven keeps reminding us: “Good and just are your judgments.” How do we reconcile this and come to terms with a good and gracious God who punishes?

Suffering and persecution are real. Revelation doesn’t soft-pedal it. But it does give a vision of hope. The lamb and his army are prepared and the fury of God’s wrath is building. Revelation 14 brings a hope of vindication to those suffering at the hand of the dragon and the beasts.

Dave gives an amplified reading that unpacks the symbols of Revelation 13 to make sense of its message. This passage of warning and hope shows every generation that there’s a reason behind the persecutions and temptations we face and that faithfulness to Jesus matters in not just what we think, but in what we do and say.

Today starts Revelation 13. Beasts, marks, signs, and numbers. It all has to do with a cosmic war between a dragon and a woman’s offspring. A cosmic perspective on the challenge those first Christians faced before the Roman Empire and that Christians face in every day and age.

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 sufferin...

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.

Revelation 4-5 brings us into the throne room of God. All kinds of creatures, images and symbols - everything finds its purpose in relation to God’s throne. A high altitude look at the role these two chapters play in the life of everyone.

Symbols can be confusing. Today we look at how to interpret them.

Further into Revelation 2-3. Patterns and points in Jesus’s edicts to the 7 churches.

A satellite view of Revelation 2-3 and how John subverts Imperial Edicts for Christ.

Revelation 1 begins today with visions of Jesus in a whole new way and hints of themes to come.