Podcast:

Article: The Power of FulFilled Prophecy 

Podcast:

Article: Amillenialism & Revelation 

Podcast:

Article: Historic Premillennialism 

Podcast:

Article: Revelation: Mysterious, fascinating 

Podcast:

Also read this concluding Messenger Insight article from Exploring the Book of Revelation

• Exploring the Book of Revelation: Why are we doing this?

Read these next words slowly and absorb them: “Blessed is the one who reads and blessed are those who hear the words of this prophecy and keep what is written in it, because the time is near!” (Rev. 1:3) I can think of no better reason to challenge you to read and seek to understand this fascinating, yet powerful, book inspired by the Holy Spirit than this charge and promise from Scripture itself.

Pastors and people in the pew have often shied away from the Revelation, in part because it is a genre of Scripture that is unusual to us. The letters of Paul are straightforward and the Gospels have a comfortable, narrative style. The Revelation, however, seems mysterious and veiled, which is exactly as it was intended. Yet I am confident that the imagery and picture graphic text had much clarity to those who read it during the time the book was written.

Having read the different approaches scholars take to interpreting this book, you may declare, “They don’t agree, so how can they expect a layperson to understand the text?” One of our aims in presenting the various views is to challenge laity and pastors to take time to struggle with grasping the message of this book. We have tried to present the interpretations in language all of us can understand. In addition, we suggested some books that will help you to study this wonderful book more deeply.

The Revelation is an integral part of the grand gospel story. As you have read the different scholars, I believe there are some conclusions we can draw. First, the Revelation was a Spirit-inspired tract to encourage believers facing trials and persecution. To those living under oppression today, this book is very important.

Second, like many other parts of Scripture, the Revelation had clear meaning to those who read it when the book was written, and yet has a prophetic meaning also. Even interpreters who give little credence to the prophetic side of interpretation admit the book does have powerful end time truth.

Third, one need not get caught up in determining the detail of every image. Instead, I encourage you to struggle with details, but do not miss the forest for the trees.

Revelation is panoramic and gives us the big view of the ultimate victory of Christ and His bride—don’t miss it. The simple truth is that our awesome Lord of Lords and King of Kings wins in the end, as do His people. Those who refuse Christ will ultimately face utter and dramatic defeat for eternity. The Sovereign Lord of the universe sits enthroned. He is large and in charge. Our present and future are in His hands. We have nothing to fear.

I am convinced if you read the book with a broader view while wrestling with the specifics of the imagery, you will be blessed. We are winners! That view is declared by all the interpretative approaches.

This is our second Messenger Insight. I hope you find these helpful and challenging. Our next topic will be the traditions and central theology of Christmas. Where did these traditions come from? Is the virgin birth that big a deal? Is the virgin birth essential to salvation?

I hope you enjoy and are encouraged by the Messenger Insight studies.

Anthony L. Jordan is executive director-treasurer of the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma.

Messenger Insight Articles from Exploring the Book of Revelation

• The Power of FulFilled Prophecy
• Amillenialism & Revelation
• Revelation: Mysterious, fascinating
• Historic Premillennialism
• Revelation presents powerful, vibrant, essential message for future

by Wade Burleson

I grew up being taught that one of the most important doctrines in the Bible was the future coming of Christ and His 1,000-year reign. Through attending countless prophecy conferences, hearing multiple messages on “The Signs of the Times,” and constantly charting current events, I began to teach the dispensational approach to eschatology made popular by Hal Lindsay‘s bestselling 1970 book The Late, Great Planet Earth.

Then, something happened.

My grandmother gave me a letter from A.W. Pink to my grandfather. My granddad, a well-known evangelist before his death, had previously written to Pink in Scotland asking for a copy of Pink‘s book Redeemer’s Return. Pink wrote back a letter, dated Feb. 7, 1948, and stated:

My Redeemer’s Return is quite unobtainable—out of print for many years. It was written 30 years ago, in the days of my spiritual infancy, when I received without question the teaching of older men. For 40 years I have studied Prophecy, and today it’s my firm conviction that most of what has been written thereon was guesswork. My advice is, leave Prophecy alone, and concentrate on the practical portions of the Word!!”

Pink‘s letter caused me to evaluate if what I believed about biblical prophecy was due to conclusions based upon my own study of Scripture, or due to my unquestioned acceptance of what others taught. I determined to examine biblical prophecy for myself. Over the next 20 years, through studying the prophecies of Daniel in Dan. 7—11, the Apostle John in the book of Revelation, and most of all, the prophecies of Jesus Christ in Matt. 24—a chapter often called “The Little Revelation”—I have come to see the power of fulfilled prophecy.

The Latin word preterit means “fulfilled.” A preterist is one who believes that the majority of biblical prophecies, if not all of them, have already been fulfilled. Not one religious book in the world, except the Bible, predicts future events and then sees those predictions fulfilled. The Bible has hundreds of fulfilled prophecies.

Biblical prophecies fall into one of three major categories:

1. There are prophecies that predict the ultimate judgment of God against the Hebrew system of worship and the Old Covenant.

The Hebrews violated the conditional covenant God made with them. The biblical prophets, including Jesus Christ, boldly and specifically predicted the end of the Hebrew Old Covenant age by God‘s judgment and the establishment of a New Covenant age (see Matt. 24:3) . All prophecies regarding the end of the Old Covenant age and the destruction of the Hebrew system of worship were fulfilled in A.D. 70, when God used the Romans to destroy the Temple and the city of Jerusalem.

2. There are prophecies that predict the incarnation, death and resurrection of God’s Son, who would by His actions, usher in the New Covenant.

All the types and shadows of the Old Covenant Scriptures point to Jesus of Nazareth. The Messiah’s exact time of birth (4 B.C.), His sinless life of 33 years, and His death and resurrection (A.D. 30) are all prophesied in the Old Testament Scriptures. God waited 40 years after the resurrection of Christ, called “a generation” in Scripture (Matt. 24:34), before He destroyed the Old Covenant system of worship, the Temple and the city of Jerusalem (A.D. 70). In the New Covenant in which we now live (“the gospel age” or “the kingdom age”), God has a New People (“people who trust Him”), a New Temple (“believers are the Temple of the Living God”) and a New Law (“the Royal Law of love”). The sacrificial, ceremonial, judicial and covenantal laws of Old Covenant Israel are abolished (Heb. 7—10).

3. There are prophecies predicting the ushering in of the eternal age, or Heaven, where the curse is finally and ultimately reversed.

“All of creation is groaning” for this day (Rom. 8:22) when God‘s people “will inherit the Earth” (Matt. 5:5) and paradise is restored. How and when this happens remains a mystery, but we know that our last enemy is “death.” It seems that most of the questions we have about the eternal age can only be answered when crossing the threshold of death, an event that Scripture calls “precious” (i.e. valuable) for the saint. The day of a believer‘s death is a coronation and an inheritance, or as the Apostle Paul says, a day of “profit” (Phil. 1:21). Interestingly, the biblical prophecies that deal with this eternal age are few in number. These are the ONLY prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled.

Many modern Christians have taken the biblical prophecies that predict the end of the Old Covenant age (1 and 2 above)—prophecies that were fulfilled between 4 B.C. and 70 A.D.—and wrongly make them out to be unfulfilled prophecies regarding the end of the world we live in now (category 3). This mistake lessens the power of the Gospel.

For example, during the time that Christ walked the Earth, and for a generation after His resurrection, believers were told they were living in “the last days” (see Matt. 24:3). It is most natural and contextually appropriate to read “the last days” as a reference to the last days of the Old Covenant way of worship, including Hebrew sacrifices offered at the Temple, but not the last days of the world and the New Covenant age in which we live.

The catastrophic judgment of God upon the Hebrew people and their way of worship was predicted by Daniel (Dan. 7—12), Jesus (Matt. 24), and the apostle John (Rev. 4–21).

God used the Roman army to execute His judgment against the Hebrews, just as God used the Assyrians, the Babylonians and other nations to bring judgment on His people at various times in the Old Testament. This ultimate end of the Old Covenant way of worship, however, was permanent. It was also devastating for the Jews, even Jewish believers in Jesus Christ. The Romans delivered upon the Hebrews a “great tribulation” such as the world had never seen.

The detailed prophecies of Jesus in Matt. 24 were given in A.D. 30, toward the end of Jesus‘ public ministry. Jesus said at the time of His prophesy, “Truly I say unto you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place.” (Matt. 24:34). The fulfillment of Jesus‘ prophecies in Matt. 24 occurred in A.D. 70, within a Hebrew generation of 40 years. The prophecies of Daniel (Dan. 7—12) and the prophecies of John in Revelation (Rev. 4—21) correspond to Jesus‘ prophecies in Matt. 24 and were strong encouragements to early Jewish believers in Christ to “persevere to the end” of the Old Covenant age.

The internal textual evidence reveals that Revelation was written in A.D. 68, just “a short time” (Rev. 1:3) before the destruction of the Temple. For example, the Temple is mentioned three times in Revelation as still standing, something that would not have occurred had John written Revelation after the destruction of the Temple in A.D. 70. The Apostle John urged these early Christians, most of whom were Hebrews, to look to the resurrected and reigning King Jesus and not to any standing Temple or city for their strength and comfort.

A solid interpreter of the Bible always reads the Scriptures the way the original readers would have read them. The destruction of the Old Covenant system of worship and the launch of the New Covenant was an Earth- shattering change. The New Covenant of grace through faith in Christ is also good news to sinners and the very power of the Gospel. When one understands that the biblical prophets were pointing to the end of the Old Covenant and the beginning of the New Covenant, then one begins to see the power of the Gospel in fulfilled prophecy.

I still believe in a future coming of Christ to transform the world by ending the New Covenant age and ushering in eternity. I just don‘t know the details. What I do know is that at my death, I will cross the threshold into eternity. I have incredible peace because the biblical message teaches me there is deliverance from the righteous judgment of God by His grace through my faith in Jesus Christ. This gospel message is confirmed through fulfilled prophecy. History has unfolded precisely as the biblical prophets, inspired by God, foretold us it would unfold.

No other religion can make a similar claim.

Likewise, no other religion has a message worth believing.

Wade Burleson is senior pastor of Enid, Emmanuel.

Other Messenger Insight Articles from Exploring the Book of Revelation

• Amillenialism & Revelation
• Revelation: Mysterious, fascinating
• Historic Premillennialism
• Revelation presents powerful, vibrant, essential message for future

by Benjamin L. Merkle

Interpreting the book of Revelation from an amillennial perspective has a long history in the Church and, in fact, has been the predominant eschatological position of Christianity since the time of Augustine (though it was not called “amillennialism” until more recent times).

It is also a position many Baptists have embraced, including Hershey Davis, W. T. Conner, Herschel Hobbs, Edward McDowell, H. E. Dana, Ray Summers and James Leo Garrett. Indeed, some have claimed it was the dominant view of Southwestern Seminary from the 1930s–1990s. Even John Walvoord (a dispensational premillennialist) admits, “The weight of organized Christianity has largely been on the side of amillennialism” (Millennial Kingdom, 61).

The amillennial view of Revelation affirms that the 1,000-year binding of Satan refers to the period between the two advents of Christ. Two items should be noted about this interpretation. First, it recognizes that Revelation contains figurative or symbolic imagery typical of prophetic or apocalyptic literature. This means that the images are not to be taken literally, although they point to literal events and realities (e.g., the dragon John sees is not to be taken literally, but the dragon represents Satan who is real).

So, although the angel coming down from Heaven in Revelation 20 is pictured as having a literal chain to bind Satan and a literal key to lock him up, these symbols relate to us God’s intention to limit Satan’s influence on the world. This binding is said to last 1,000 years. If the chain, key and prison are symbolic pictures, then it is likely that the 1,000 years is also symbolic and represents a certain period of time. Second, John tells us that Satan is bound “so that he might not deceive the nations any longer” (Rev. 20:3). Thus, Satan’s influence is not completely removed, but is specifically tied to his ability to deceive the nations. In contrast to the Old Testament era, when nations were living in darkness oblivious to God’s special revelation, now the Gospel is being taken to all the nations. This will result in people from every tribe, language, people and nation being represented before the throne of God (Rev. 5:9).

One of the strengths of the amillennial approach is that it is Gospel-centered. That is, it views the life, death, resurrection and ascension of Christ as the center of redemptive history. Because of His work on the cross and subsequent resurrection, Jesus has conquered death, defeated Satan and now reigns in Heaven waiting until all His enemies will be put under His feet. Thus, at His first coming Jesus defeated Satan by binding “the strong man” in order to “plunder his house” (Matt. 12:29).

During His ministry, Jesus said He “saw Satan fall like lightning from Heaven,” which was symbolic of his fall from power (Luke 10:18). The author of Hebrews informs us that the incarnation of the Son was necessary so that “through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil” (Heb. 2:14). Similarly, the apostle John states, “The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil” (1 John 3:8). Jesus was able to commission His disciples by stating that “all authority in heaven and on Earth” had been given to Him (Matt. 28:18). Thus, the decisive battle took place at the cross and resurrection where Satan’s ultimate defeat was sealed. Indeed, he is still a roaring lion (1 Peter 5:8), but he is a lion on a leash (2 Peter 2:4; Jude 6).

The book of Revelation offers the believer in Christ amazing confidence and hope. It is not simply a book about the future, but about how knowing the future affects us today. The apostle John was given this incredible vision to give comfort and hope to persecuted Christians in Asia Minor by letting them know the outcome of history—that Satan’s final doom is certain, and that God will vindicate His people. The message of Revelation is that Christ is the reigning and returning King who rules over all creation—including Satan and his forces. Difficult times are sure to come, but in the end, Christ and His people are given the victory.

A missionary once asked some persecuted believers in a third world country which book of the Bible was their favorite. They responded, “Revelation!” Somewhat surprised by their response, the missionary asked them why they cherished this book above the others. They quickly added, “Because God wins in the end.” The book of Revelation offers encouragement for the believer, especially in times of hardship and trial. Even though life may be difficult now, the result is assured—God wins in the end. Christ is the One Who will come triumphantly to once and for all defeat His enemies and reign with His people. The victory belongs to the Lord!

Recommended Books:

1) Summers, Ray. Worthy Is the Lamb: Interpreting the Book of Revelation in Its Historical Context. Nashville: B&H, 1951 (reprint 1999).

2) Johnson,Dennis E. Triumph of the Lamb: A Commentary on Revelation. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2001.

3) Hoekema, Anthony A. The Bible and the Future. Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1979.

4) Riddlebarger, Kim. A Case for Amillennialism: Understanding the End Times. Phillipsburg, NJ: P&R, 2003.

Benjamin L. Merkle is associate professor of New Testament & Greek at Southeastern Seminary.

Messenger Insight Articles from Exploring the Book of Revelation

• The Power of FulFilled Prophecy
• Revelation: Mysterious, fascinating
• Historic Premillennialism
• Revelation presents powerful, vibrant, essential message for future

by Craig Blaising

Many people today find the book of Revelation both mysterious and fascinating. It’s mysterious because it’s filled with visions composed of strange and striking imagery. What is one supposed to make of all that? Hearing that there are differing interpretations of what already seems strange, some lose heart at the outset and prefer to avoid the book altogether. However, its mysteriousness is also fascinating and beckons the reader not to turn aside. Furthermore, features of the book—such as its name, Apocalypse, and its climatic conflict, Armageddon—have entered into public imagination and discourse, so that it cannot be entirely avoided. But there is a more important reason why believers need to pay attention to the book of Revelation. Revelation is the last communication given by Jesus to the churches. It explicitly concerns His coming. As such, we must not only give attention to it, but also heed the Lord’s instruction. If we do, the book specifically promises us a blessing (Rev. 1:3).

I’m going to suggest in this brief essay something that might seem shocking: the book of Revelation is not as hard to understand as many people say. I don’t mean that everything in it is perfectly clear. I admit that there are mysteries and difficulties that challenge even the most accomplished scholar.

However, the overall structure of the book is not difficult to see, and keeping some basic rules in mind will help us navigate the visionary imagery.

I am taking what may generally be called a dispensational approach to the book of Revelation. Let me briefly explain. Dispensationalism is a way of interpreting the Bible that recognizes a future, national Israel in the plan and purpose of God. This future, national Israel is not simply another name for the church, any more than the United States, Mexico or Chad are alternative names for the church. Israel is a political, national and ethnically Jewish reality in Scripture. The church is a multi-ethnic, trans-national, corporate body of believers who are united to Jesus and to one another by the Holy Spirit. Members of the church are also members of political states, like the U.S. and present-day Israel. But, church and state are not the same.

The Bible tells us that God has a plan for the national, political order of human existence. At the center of that plan is a future, national Israel. This plan, however, has mostly been “on hold” since the ascension of Jesus. Its complete fulfillment awaits His future coming. At that time, as Peter explained in Acts 3:20-21, “all the things about which God spoke by the mouth of His holy prophets” will be fulfilled. In the meantime, the Lord has been forming His church out of individual Jewish and Gentile believers, uniting them to Himself and to each other by the Holy Spirit (note Acts 1:6-8).

A dispensational approach to the book of Revelation interprets political, national and ethnic features in its visions consistently with this expectation of a renewal of the political and national plan of God. Revelation speaks of judgment on nations and rulers followed by the coming of Christ and the establishment of His Kingdom on Earth.

There are some differences among dispensationalists as to whether the church and kingdom programs are fulfilled as two distinctly different people groups or as two dimensions of one redeemed humanity. The former are sometimes referred to as traditional dispensationalists, the latter as progressive dispensationalists. Either way, however, leads to a more “natural, plain or literal” reading of the national and political features in the book of Revelation, especially its description of the future political rule of Christ after His coming. This is why a dispensational reading of Revelation is sometimes said to be a “literal” reading of the book. However, this can be confusing because no one disputes the fact that Revelation’s visions are filled with metaphorical imagery. The point is that the national and political program of the Kingdom of God, which Jesus will fulfill at His coming, is not itself a metaphor, but the literal fulfillment of Old and New Testament prophecy.

Three principles should guide us as we proceed to interpret Revelation. First, identify links between the imagery, words, patterns and themes in Revelation with the rest of canonical Scripture, especially the Old Testament prophets, the prophecies of Jesus and His apostles. The book of Revelation is filled with allusions to earlier Scripture. One of the reasons Revelation seems so strange to modern readers is that they really do not know their Bible. The more familiar one is with the rest of Scripture, the more familiar Revelation will appear to be. Second, follow the literary structure of the book. There are structural markers that are not difficult to recognize, and they are key to its overall interpretation. Third, it’s OK to leave some mysteries and enigmas unresolved. Don’t let that hinder you, however, from learning all you can.

I do need to mention two passages that that are often highlighted by dispensationalists. First, there is a promise in Rev. 3:10 in which the Lord told the church at Philadelphia that He would keep them from “the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world.” Most understand this “hour of trial” as the coming tribulation, which is the subject of much of the main body of the book. This promise is consistent with the idea of a pretribulational rapture, that is a rapture of the church occurring before or at the onset of the tribulation (cf. 1 Thess. 4:13-5:11).

I would also point out that in Rev. 20:1-10, we find the millennial Kingdom of Christ. A dispensational approach is premillennial because such a view not only fits with the expectation of Scripture generally that Christ will come with His kingdom, but the grammatical and literary structure of this portion of Scripture is unambiguous about two bodily resurrections of the dead separated by 1,000 years during which the devil is imprisoned and resurrected saints reign on Earth with Christ!

The book of Revelation offers an amazing synthesis, elaborating and expanding upon earlier biblical prophesies of Christ’s coming, the judgments of God and the glories of the future Kingdom. One not only comes to know in a better way the pattern of biblical prophecy, but also the person, power, glory and authority of the Lord Who is coming. All of this fills the content of what Scripture calls our Hope, the basis for steadfastness and endurance in our present walk with Him. For we know, as surely as Revelation tells us, He is coming! And, when He comes, everything changes!

Craig Blaising is executive vice president and provost at Southwestern Seminary.

RESOURCES

Allen, David L. and Steve W. Lemke, eds.  The Return of Christ: A Premillennial Perspective.  Nashville, B&H Academic, 2011.

Blaising, Craig A. “Premillennialism.” In Three Views on the Millennium and Beyond.  Ed. Darrell L. Bock.  Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999.  See esp. pp. 204-27.

Blaising, Craig A. and Darrell L. Bock.  Progressive Dispensationalism.  Grand Rapids: Baker, 1993.

Pate, C. Marvin, ed.  Four Views on the Book of Revelation. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1998,

Patterson, Paige.  Revelation. The New American Commentary.  Nashville: B&H, forthcoming 2012.

Thomas, Robert.  Revelation 1-7. Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press, 1992.

Thomas, Robert.  Revelation 8-22.  Wycliffe Exegetical Commentary.  Chicago: Moody, 1995.

Other Messenger Insight Articles from Exploring the Book of Revelation

• The Power of FulFilled Prophecy
• Amillenialism & Revelation
• Historic Premillennialism
• Revelation presents powerful, vibrant, essential message for future

by Alan Bandy

In the earliest period after the apostles, most of the discussions on the end-times focused on the nature of the future Kingdom of Christ when he comes to inaugurate 1,000 years of ruling with the resurrected saints on Earth based on Rev. 20:1-6.

The belief in a literal 1,000-year earthly reign of Christ to be realized at some point in the future is called chiliasm—from the Greek word for a thousand. The vast majority of interpreters during the second and third centuries were chiliasts. Their literalistic interpretation of Rev 20:1-6, however, was eclipsed by more allegorical and spiritual approaches emphasizing the timeless and successive fulfillment of these prophecies throughout church history.

In modern times, the premillennial position enjoys pride of place among most evangelical Christians, which affirms a futurist approach for interpreting the Book of Revelation that views chapters 4–22 as referring to future events. Not all premillennialists, however, agree as to how Revelation portrays the unfolding of these future events. Therefore they usually take one of two basic forms: (1) historic premillennialism deriving from the chiliasm of the early church; and (2) dispensational premillennialism that developed during the 19th Century in Great Britain and popularized in America with the Scofield Study Bible.

I want to highlight historic premillennialism and share some of the core beliefs maintained by its proponents. Historic premillennialism has been increasingly adopted or adapted by a number of conservative evangelical and Southern Baptist scholars over the last 40 years. For a more exhaustive study, I recommend the helpful book titled A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to ‘Left Behind’ Eschatology, edited by Craig Blomberg and Sung Wook Chung.

At the heart of historic premilliennailism is an uncompromising belief in the inspiration, inerrancy and authority of the Bible. Due to this commitment, they believe in the future fulfillment of prophecy, especially a literal, visible, glorious and victorious return of Christ to Earth at the end of the age. When Jesus returns, He will bind Satan, the saints will be raised (first resurrection), and they will reign with Christ over the nations on Earth for a millennium of peace and prosperity. At the end of this millennium, Satan will be released to allow one last attempt to rally the nations in battle against Christ—a futile effort doomed to failure and the lake of fire. The great white throne will descend, followed by a general resurrection (second resurrection) of all people who ever lived and they will all stand judgment. After the final judgment, God will create a new Heaven and new Earth, where He will dwell with His people for eternity.

Historic premillenialists affirm only one return of Christ and typically believe that the church will persevere through the tribulation. This differs from dispensationalists, who maintain that the second coming of Christ will involve a secret return for the church prior to the tribulation followed by his visible return after seven years. One reason they do not necessarily affirm the need for the pretribulation rapture is due to the reality of the new covenant that makes all believers in Jesus the spiritual descendants of Abraham and, therefore, covenant members of the people of God—true Israel (Rom. 11:1-24; Eph. 2:11-22; Gal. 3:28-29).

However, this does not mean that they deny a future hope for ethnic Israel (Rom. 11:25-32), but God’s promises include, rather than exclude, the church with His plan for Israel. What is more, they believe that the Kingdom of God has already been inaugurated with the resurrection and ascension of Christ, but is not yet fully realized on Earth. We now live between “this age” and the “age to come” in that the Kingdom is already a reality, but not yet fully consummated on Earth.

Historic premillennialism is appealing because it enables interpreters to maintain the future orientation of John’s vision, while affirming a historically sensitive approach that utilizes the best interpretative methods used today by conservative evangelical scholars. They recognize that Revelation was originally written to churches in Asia Minor at the end of the First Century, and must have had meaning for the original audience. That meaning, then, is something that would be true and applicable for all Christians as they seek to remain faithful to Christ in the midst of a satanically influenced society. The primary strength of historic premillieniallism, in my opinion, is that it treats the Book of Revelation as Scripture to be obeyed with a message that has always been relevant for the church throughout church history—both past and present.

Recommended readings:
• Gospel of the Kingdom: Scriptural Studies in the Kingdom of God by George Eldon Ladd
• A Case for Historic Premillennialism: An Alternative to Left Behind Eschatology, Sung Wook Chung and Craig L. Blomberg, editors.

Alan S. Bandy is Rowena R. Strickland assistant professor of New Testament & Greek at Oklahoma Baptist University

Other Messenger Insight Articles from Exploring the Book of Revelation

• The Power of FulFilled Prophecy
• Amillenialism & Revelation
• Revelation: Mysterious, fascinating
• Revelation presents powerful, vibrant, essential message for future

The book of Revelation was divinely inspired in the First Century, but it presents a powerful, vibrant and essential message for the present, as it reveals the future.

While no other book in the Bible has been as difficult to interpret, no other book in the Bible is so compelling and fascinating. There are lions, lambs and locusts, alongside of angels and Armegeddon. We read of Babylon and the Beast, the Dragon and doom.

There is a unique promise to bless those who read and obey its message. This book reveals both a vital message for the church today and an unusual glimpse at the future and eternity. We offer this package of articles with the hope that you will read Revelation again with diligent study, humble obedience and faith. The writers are all experienced expositors of the Book of Revelation. They will present differing views on the understanding of the book, but if you read closely, you will discover an amazing unity on its central message.

The writers represent differing views on the “Millennium” revealed in 20:1-6. As each presents his view on the millennium, we can see his approach to the interpretation of the book of Revelation.

How does the reader understand the symbols that are encountered throughout Revelation? More subtle, but still important, is how to understand the multiple allusions to the Old Testament in Revelation.

The writers will also state their position concerning the people of Israel in the Old Testament and the Church in the New Testament. While each writer will affirm the importance of both, they will differ on how to understand their relationship in this book (as well as in the rest of the Bible). Regardless of differences, they agree that salvation is by grace through faith.

The Book of Revelation is about the Lord Jesus Christ. Its message: He is coming, coming again, personally. The Book of Revelation is about the nature of the one true and living God. He is sovereign, that is Almighty, and in complete and ultimate control over all of creation and history. He is holy and so also are His justice and judgment. There is both Heaven and Hell. The opposition to God, His kingdom, and His people is powerful. There is intense persecution and suffering, “tribulation,” in no small measure orchestrated by none other than the Devil, who is neither a myth nor a metaphor. Nonetheless, he will be vanquished.

Revelation is a part of the history of what God has done, is doing and will do. The truth and promise of Revelation are rooted in history. We are given genuine hope for life beyond death. This will be particularly insightful in the article about the “preterist” approach. The relationship of Revelation to other books and passages of the Bible also demonstrates strong and consistent support for the full divine inspiration and authority of the Bible. You will read insights into the nature of this book, whether it is apocalyptic or prophetic, or both. Prophecy and its fulfillment are a part of the Bible’s own demonstration of divine inspiration.

The seven churches of the early chapters speak to the church today about the allure of worldliness and the lack of selflessness, apathy, consumerism and the loss of our first love, a life lived completely for the Lord Jesus. These churches (which are real historical churches) provide us with models we should follow and models we must reject. We will find a great deal of practical counsel for the church today.

As the four visions are revealed, we see the challenges of the world in which we must proclaim the Gospel. We see the spiritual power of the Gospel and the opposition that emerges from the world around us. It can hardly be overstated that this book presents to us the absolute necessity of perseverance and faithfulness. Prayerfully read and study this book again and find what the Holy Spirit is saying.

Throughout the book, one theme must not be forgotten—mission. The Kingdom of God and its consummation, eternity and God’s glory are seen in places like chapter 5, where angelic beings and people from every tribe, tongue, people and nation are worshipping God before His throne. This glimpse into Heaven presupposes the faithful proclamation of the Gospel throughout history (14:6). We must not ignore the commitment and sacrifice that is required of the believer and the church to proclaim and demonstrate the Gospel of Christ and fulfill the Great Commission. The book ends with a fourth vision, new Heaven and a new Earth, a new creation. God will restore all things. “God wins!”

I want to thank our writers Alan Bandy, Craig Blaising, Ben Merkle, Wade Burleson and Anthony Jordan. They have helped and inspired us.

Recommended readings:
• Back toward the Future: Hints for Interpreting Biblical Prophecy, by Walter C. Kaiser, Jr.
• How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth, by Gordon Fee and Douglas Stuart.

Mark McClellan is professor of theology and missions and dean of the Joe L. Ingram School of Christian Service at Oklahoma Baptist University.

Blessings,
Brian Hobbs
Director of Communications

So I offer this blog by Paul Tripp to help pastors by offering the people they pastor an opportunity to see into the world of many pastors. You can read the actual blog by clicking here – The Depressed Pastor. If you do, take the time to read the comments at the end.

I was there the week it happened. His wife asked to see me. Tearfully she told me that he’d walked into the church building that week and announced to his staff that he was “done.” He said he couldn’t face preaching another sermon; that all that he really wanted to do was to run away from his own life. Sam was forty-five and the pastor of a vibrant and growing church. I am convinced that there are important changes needed in pastoral culture, and that the number of pastors who find themselves in that range from discouraged to depressed gives clear evidence.

Let me suggest four potential setups of this discouragement/depression cycle.

1. Unrealistic Expectations. I taught a class at Westminster Seminary on pastoral care and I was alarmed year after year of how unrealistic the expectations of my future-pastor students were. Year after year my students seemed to forget the two things that consistently make pastoral ministry hard. What are they? The harsh reality of life in a dramatically broken world and what remaining sin does to the hearts of all of us. These two things make pastoral ministry a day by day spiritual war. But there’s another area of unrealistic expectations. It’s the congregation’s unrealistic expectation of the pastor. Churches forget that they’ve called a person who’s a man in the midst of his own sanctification. This tends to drive the pastor into hiding, afraid to confess whats true of him and everyone to whom he ministers. There’s a direct connection between unrealistic expectations and deepening cycles of disappointment.

2. Family Tensions. There’s often a significant gulf between the public persona of the ministry family and the realities of the day by day struggles in their home. We almost assume that the pastor will feel regularly torn between ministry and family and will often be forced to make “the lesser of two evils” choices. Yet this tension isn’t a major theme in the Pastoral Epistles. Could it be that we’re asking too much of our pastors? Could it be that, as pastors, we’re seeking to get things out of ministry that we shouldn’t get and therefore make choices that potentially harm our families? This tension between family and ministry robs pastoral ministry of its joy and it’s seemingly insurmountability is a sure set up for depression.

3. Fear of Man. The very public nature of pastoral ministry makes it fertile soil for this temptation. I know what it’s like to be all too aware of the critical person’s responses to me as I’m preaching on a Sunday morning. I also know the temptation of thinking of what would win that person as I’m preparing the sermon! Fear of man is actually asking people to give you what only God can deliver. It’s rooted in a Gospel amnesia that causes me to seek again and again for what I’ve already been given in Christ. This tends to cause me to watch for and care too much about the reactions of others, and because I do this, to feel that I get way more criticism than I deserve. Each new duty begins to be viewed as another forum for the criticism of others and with this, the emotional life of the pastor begins to spiral downward.

4. Kingdom Confusion. It’s very tempting for the pastor to do his work in pursuit of glories other than the glory of God, and for purposes other than the purposes of God’s kingdom. Personal acclaim and reputation, power and control, comfort and appreciation and ministry success are the subtle little kingdom idols that greet every pastor. Yet in pastoral ministry, the kingdom of self is a costume kingdom. It does a great job of masquerading as the kingdom of God because the way you seek to build the kingdom of self in ministry is by doing ministry!

The reality is that the God who the pastor serves has no allegiance whatsoever to the pastor’s little kingdom of self. In fact I’m persuaded that much of the ministry opposition that we attribute to the enemy is actually God getting in the way of the little kingdom intentions of the pastor. It’s God, in grace, rescuing the pastor from himself. So as the pastor wants recognition, his Lord wants Gospel transformation. As God is calling the pastor to spiritual war, what the pastor wants is to be liked. As the pastor is wanting just a little bit of control, God is demonstrating that he’s in control. It’s discouraging and exhausting to be serving God, yet not be on God’s agenda page. This kingdom confusion robs the pastor of the deep sense of privilege that should motivate the service of every pastor. My pastor friend said it well to his wife, “I just want to go somewhere where life is easy!”

Depression in the pastor may be set up by the culture that surrounds him, but it’s a disease of the heart, and for that we have the presence, promises, and provisions of the Savior. Pastor, he’s in you and with you and for you. No one cares more about the use of your gifts than the Giver. No one cares more about your suffering than the One who suffered for you. And no one shoulders the burden of the church like the One who is the Head of the church and who gave himself up for it. In your despondency, don’t run from him, run to him. Jesus really does offer you the hope and healing that you can find no where else.

We do not use an altar call model simply because we believe that the process can unintentionally communicate that response to the preached Word of God is for those who are unconverted or unconnected (church membership) only.

It is our belief and practice that all people—those yet to respond to the Gospel of the glory of Christ as well as those who have—must respond to the grace of God. In the lives of those who have been converted, there are many ways in which the truth of the Gospel has yet to penetrate deeply. Marital difficulties, anger, lust, envy, bitterness, love of money—all manner of struggles find their common ground in a refusal to believe the Gospel in the depths of our lives.

That said, the model that we use differs little from an altar call model. We do give an invitation. It is an invitation to all present to respond to the Word of God that has been preached. Some need to respond to the Gospel for the first time—proclaiming Jesus Christ as the Son of God, confessing their sin, repenting and receiving the grace of God in Christ. Others who have already publicly professed faith in Christ need to be called back, to remember. They need to be reminded of the grace of God given to them in Christ. They need to confess sin, repent and praise God for the grace shown to them.

Still others may need to utilize this time of invitation to respond in praise and adoration to the God Who has shown them such grace. Whether in prayer, reading of Scripture, singing or even in talking about the greatness of God with those around them in the service—people must respond to God. Though we may not call people to the front, it is always communicated that the elders are available if people want to discuss what God is doing in their life or have questions about the Word that has been shared. Just as often, they are encouraged to talk to trusted friends who are followers of Christ—usually the ones who brought them to church in the first place.

Certainly, there is more than one “system” for effectively and consistently calling people to respond to the preached Word. We believe and have seen that placing the invitation and NEED to respond before everyone present that the “end-of-service” moment is consistent with both Scripture as well as with the sanctifying process in the lives of believers. There are more than a few ways to respond to the Gospel, and our approach to the invitation is an opportunity for them to respond accordingly.

Jay Sampson is pastor of Shawnee, Heritage.