Content related to Revelation

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Revelation 21:10, 22-22:5

Easter 6C

On the very day when I slated for myself the task of writing up this sermon commentary article on the end of Revelation, I did some thinking about Ezekiel as part of an Old Testament Prophets course I am co-teaching this semester. As my colleague Amanda Benckhuysen pointed out, there is a lot of intertextuality…

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Revelation 21:1-6

Easter 5C

Among the best experiences I’ve ever had in life was snorkeling over coral reefs off the Caribbean island of Bonaire. My wife and I visited the island several times and each time continued to add to our “life list” of different types of fish and other sea creatures we had seen. Rainbow Parrotfish, Blue Tangs,…

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Revelation 7:9-17

Easter 4C

Depending on your church tradition, you may or may not be familiar with a glorious traditional hymn titled “By the Sea of Crystal.” I grew up singing the hymn quite often, including at a good many of the funerals I have attended. It is often sung near the end of funerals and has been known…

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Revelation 5:11-14

Easter 3C

Lucy pushes past the woolen and fur coats only to discover that the wardrobe’s back has disappeared and suddenly snow is crunching beneath her feet. Alice falls through the looking glass and lands in an enchanted realm where rabbits talk and mad hatters hold funny tea parties. The night Max wore his wolf suit and…

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Revelation 1:4-8

Easter 2C

The Sunday after Easter (sometimes even called “Low Sunday”) can feel a bit anti-climactic. In 2016 April 3 is also the start of Spring Break for many schools in the United States and so attendance may be notably down in many North American congregations, especially compared to the prior Sunday when Easter no doubt had…

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Revelation 19:1-10

There are a couple of big questions that haunt my reading of Revelation 19:1-10 (especially when I read it against the backdrop of Revelation 18).  What/Where/Who is Babylon? And how do I react to the fall of Babylon? When I first read Rev. 19:1-10 in preparation for writing this sermon commentary, I knew I was…

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Revelation 20:1-6

Much has been written about the infamous thousand-year reign and not much of it agrees. Pick up three different commentaries and it is quite likely that you’ll get three different views about what is actually being described in John’s apocalyptic letter. Therefore, I believe that it’s only fair to identify myself within a particular tradition…

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Revelation 21:1-27

A City (in) Context I live in “Beautiful British Columbia” (it’s on the license plates)—Vancouver Island, to be specific. The “city” is a boat or plane trip away across the Georgia Strait; people here want the open water, the tall trees and the sturdy mountains. So the first time our church community read Revelation 21…

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Revelation 12:1-17

Special Handling Instructions:  Revelation’s Imagery  Older preaching audiences are going to be more challenged by Revelation’s images than younger ones.  Younger audiences have been shaped by apocalyptic television and movie images which include tsunamis higher than skyscrapers, seismic yawns that swallow whole cities, and asteroids whose impact effectively uncreate creation.  Younger hearers have had an…

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Revelation 5:1-10

Comments and Observations If one searches Google Images for the phrase “Jesus’ second coming,” the top results all have a few things in common: 1) there’s a lot of light, 2) there’s a lot of horses, and 3) Jesus is white, both in clothing and skin color. One of my personal favorites even has what…

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