The more I learn… …the more I realize how much more there is that I still don’t understand. In other words, the more I study, the stupider I feel. While this may sound like a valid reason to quit studying in order to preserve one’s own sanity, I have since found it to be a great motivator to persevere in attempting to learn as much as my tiny brain will absorb.
Having read through the Bible numerous times has helped to gain the beginning of a “big picture” view of God’s literary revelation of himself to humanity. Now, because he also reveals himself to us through the world around us, and through the various experiences we encounter as we find our way through this adventure we call “life”, it has become my hypothesis that these different avenues of revelation are all important to developing an accurate understanding of who God is, how he relates to us, and most importantly, how we respond to him.
Revelation is the last book of the Bible, and quite possibly the most misunderstood, which unfortunately then, makes it a portion of the Bible that the majority of pastors and teachers make logical sounding excuses to avoid. The reason I know this true is because I, for many years was one of those pastors and teachers. This is not to suggest that I have any delusions that I have since become some kind of apocalyptical expert. Every time I read the book of Revelation I am reminded anew of how little I actually understand, and how much I have yet to learn about this bemusing account of the Apostle John’s amazing vision of things past and things to come.
My objective as we journey through this amazing revelation will be to attempt to identify and remain focused on the big idea of the book, and to avoid — if possible — the temptation of getting tangled up in trying to connect the things John describes with current world events. I also expect that I will encounter numerous things on this journey that raise more questions than answers. It is not my objective to answer all the questions. The ultimate objective of this project is that I hope to come out of it a little more like Jesus than I was going in, and that if there is anyone out there in the blogosphere who would care to join in the journey with me it is my prayer that you might adopt the same objective.