Sermon – Revelation 21:1-5 – August 25, 2019

What does the Bible say about the Book of Revelation?

I want to spend some time giving an overview of this mysterious book of the Bible. Some people have heard little bits and pieces of it, but don’t really know the big picture. 

However, before we do that, I want to offer a way of interpreting this book, that may be helpful. Some of us may have heard very literal readings of the book, but there are other more helpful ways to read it, and ways that are probably more consistent with the intention of the author. In other words, the author did not intend it to be read as a prediction of the future, or as a novel. On the contrary, it is intended as a political commentary, or satire or perhaps most accurately a political cartoon with words instead of pictures. The author is drawing word pictures the people, institutions, and governments of his time. Just like political cartoons on the editorial page of the newspaper that use outrageous or exaggerated images so does Revelation.