Reclaiming Revelation
Sep 4, 2017 | by Brad Sumner
I have a confession to make…
There’s something I’ve been avoiding talking about in pastoral work for 18 long years. But with the help of some good friends, I’ve finally gotten over my fears and decided that it’s time to face it.
This fall, I’m finally going to preach through the book of Revelation.
My aversion to the 66th book of the Bible started when I was a little boy. I was part of a church that had strong roots in fundamentalism but was concurrently obsessed with figuring out precisely where we stood on items like the tribulation (pre-trib? post-trib? mid-trib?), when the millennium and rapture were going to start and who would be “left behind” (here I’m reminded of belting out Larry Norman’s plaintive song “I Wish We’d All Been Ready” and the sleepless nights I spent in fear after watching the 1972 move “A Thief in the Night” at summer camp).
We had prophecy conferences and "experts" on the end times who rolled out imposing scrolls stretching from one of the church sanctuary to the other. These had pictures of blood moons and beasts on them as they laid out which current political leader was the Antichrist and why the introduction of Interac probably constituted the mark of the beast (I mean, some of those chip cards ended in the number 666!)
The challenge was that I left those encounters more confused than comforted or convicted. I was left with the distinct impression that perhaps Revelation is the most read but least understood book of the Bible.
Unfortunately, the book of Revelation has been misused by some to create elaborate apocalyptic timelines and neglected by others as too bleak or violent or inaccessible. But I was challenged last year to re-read those dusty 22 chapters of the New Testament by Vancouver pastor and author Dr. Darrell W. Johnson.
In his excellent book on Revelation, Discipleship on the Edge, 
Johnson challenges us that the end of the Story is not a bleak or bloody divergence into apocalypse, but rather a vivid and poetic picture of how Jesus wants to speak hope in times like ours where there is so much fear and confusion about the future!
Johnson reminds his readers that “Revelation is not a ‘crystal ball’ revealing esoteric secrets that enable one of escape the harsh realities of life on earth, but a down-to-earth manual on how to be a disciple of Jesus facing the harsh realities of life on the earth” (15).
I began to see with fresh eyes that the final book of the Bible provides perhaps the most vivid vision of God’s redeeming purposes for the whole of creation. I was reminded again as I read Revelation 1:3 that no other book of the Bible opens with such a clear promise for those who read and who heed its contents.
So I invite you to come along with me on this journey. Let’s work together to get over our hurts and hang ups as we press in past the strange images to find out how evil is being challenged and overcome through the victory of Jesus and how can we become participants in the unfolding drama of persevering faith, courageous hope and costly love. The series launches Sunday, September 10 at our outdoor gathering and BBQ and continues through Advent 2017.
- Pastor Brad
PS - I want to give special thanks to Jared Crossley for his exceptional graphic design work for this series and to Pastor Dave Esau of Eagle Ridge Bible Fellowship for his generous coaching and resourcing on this journey.