Dear HLPC family,
It has been encouraging to have visitors worshipping with us these past few weeks and months. I hope you who are a part of our church family already are going out of your way to make them feel welcome. May God keep us a friendly church that is warm and welcoming.
I must admit that I entered this sermon series on the book of Revelation with much fear and trembling. It’s a difficult book—the only book of Scripture on which John Calvin does not have a commentary! It’s difficult because of all the imagery in the book. It’s a vision, it’s a dream, so we expect strange sights. Over the years, there have been various perspectives on the book that have left many of us confused.
I believe one of the key commitments we need to keep in mind, that I bring up most weeks, is that Revelation meant something to first century Christians. It was a vision from the Lord to the Apostle John with significance for those who first heard it and read it. Most teaching I heard about this book when growing up focused on wild speculations about how this book was predicting every current event on the world stage, especially in the Middle East. I know the Bible teachers I heard were sincere in their commitment to Christ and to the authority of the Bible, but it made this book seem too fantastical and complicated for the “average Christian” to ever understand. I hope our study dispels some of that thinking and that we all gain a deeper appreciation for this book and learn we don’t have to stay confused.
One of the glorious joys of this book is that Jesus Christ is powerfully exalted! We’re bound to be encouraged by the book of Revelation, that being the case! Looking forward to pressing on with you!
Your Pastor,
Paul