Imagine momentarily that you are the risen Christ. The first century is coming to a close. In spite of many hardships, your new Church is growing rapidly.
Focusing on the big-picture battle between the kingdoms of light and darkness, you want to both encourage your followers and warn them about difficult days in the future. To complicate matters, you know that your words need to remain relevant to your people for not only hundreds, but thousands of years to come.
Would you have come up with speaking your truth by way of sharing a series of visions? Sure, these highly imaginative word-pictures will be subject to all kinds of wild interpretations. But they will also merit careful study by the finest of biblical scholars.
To my way of thinking, what Jesus pulled off was beyond genius. The apocalyptic approach was a style the early Church understood. Moderns can also appreciate the complications involved if our Lord attempted to be too literal in His approach. For example, how does one refer to countries like the United States or Brazil, or a religion such as Islam, when none of these have come into being yet?
What Jesus did was craft a message that was applicable to the early Church, the Church through the various ages, and even the Church of the modern day. His work has been especially appropriate for Christians in settings where persecution exists. Then again, people who have experienced peace all their lives also gain much from the study of it.
Parts of His Revelation still remain a mystery. Its basic message, however, is not only understandable, but incredibly helpful in terms of how you and I live our lives as His followers.
———————————————
Please click here to visit David Mains’ Sermon-Coach.com website.
You will also find a variety of resources for pastors and congregations at the Mainstay Ministries website. Please click here.
