Hebrews 4:14-5:10 Do you remember the vision of Jesus Christ that St. John had in Revelation 1? I want that image to be seared into your memory forever. Maybe we should all go out and stare at the sun for a few seconds to remind us of who Jesus really is. He is not the baby-faced, Bearded Girly Man Christ of Victorian pictures: He is the visible glory of God the Father. He is the retina-dissolving sun! “And there is... Read more
2 Timothy 3:14-4:8 The lesson this morning is an interesting one because it contains verses from both chapters 3 and 4 which, in this case, means it contains elements from the lives of both St. Timothy and St. Paul. Of Timothy, Paul writes, “But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make... Read more
Revelation 20:1-6 Regardless of our eschatologies, one thing is certain: Jesus Christ has already begun His reign over the earth. How could it be otherwise? He crushed the skull of the Serpent at the Place of the Skull (Calvary); He defeated sin by His perfect life; He rose victorious over death in His Resurrection; and at His Ascension He was seated at the right hand of the Father where He has begun His reign. It would make no sense for... Read more
Matthew 28:11-20 Matthew 28:18-20 has rightly been called the Great Commission, for great it is. “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo I am with you always even to the end of the age.” Why is the Great Commission so great? Because in the Great Commission we see... Read more
Revelation 19 Do you remember the vision of Jesus that St. John had in the beginning of his revelation? It was of a Jesus whose eyes were like a flame of fire and feet like fine brass refined in a furnace; His head and hair were white as wool and snow; His voice was as the sound of many waters; and His countenance was like the sun shining in its strength. What was the response of St. John to this... Read more
Revelation 18:11-24 God’s judgment is just and true and knows no partiality. For this, we are to sing with heaven! It might not seem as if Revelation 18 gives us much to sing about – but it does, because it reveals a just and holy God and therefore one who can also be trusted and who is also merciful. Because God is holy and just, even the nation chosen of the Lord, Israel, was not exempt from the Lord’s judgments... Read more
Revelation 18:1-10 “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues. For her sins have reached to heaven, and God has remembered her iniquities. . . . Alas, alas, that great city Babylon, that mighty city! For in one hour your judgment has come.” What a terrible proclamation, what misery and judgment! I’m glad that this part of Revelation has nothing to do with me! (Yeah, right!) Even though I... Read more
Revelation 15 I love music! I can’t think of a single person I know who doesn’t. Even my daughter Gloria, when she was only one year old, loved to sing, and sung loudly and passionately and well (for a one-year old.) She liked the Gloria at the end of the Holy Communion service, as well as “Gloria” by Them and the Shadows of Night. One of her favorites was the Agnus Dei. She reminds me of Psalm 8: “Out of... Read more
Revelation 14 We could spend the rest of the morning trying to tease out the esoteric meanings of Revelation 14, comparing the symbolism of the Old Testament with that in this chapter, and feeling pretty good about ourselves because we had spent some serious time in the Word. But I find that too many Bible “studies” are more like a convention for the makers of questions for Bible Trivia games. We pull out our own personal favorite facts, or randomly... Read more
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Monday of the Fourth Sunday in Advent – Revelation 20:7-15
Revelation 20:7-15 Today, on the eve of Christmas Day, when we have one eye on the 1st coming of Christ, we must always keep the other eye on His 2nd Coming. Revelation 20 gives us the most vivid picture of the Final Judgment anywhere in the Scriptures, and, therefore, we would do well to pay attention to this picture. Nowhere are the two paths of life, the way of the wise and the way of the fool, more clearly placed... Read more