August 2000 - The Book of Revelation
Understanding the Book of Revelation
Rusty MillerIt may well be the most misunderstood book in all of scripture. It is certainly the most misused and abused book of the Bible. Revelation. What does it mean and does it mean anything for today's readers? Many students have taken up the book to study, only to put it down again, bewildered, confused and alarmed by the sharp imagery which fills its pages. more...
When Was Revelation Written?
Rusty MillerOne of the most important factors in understanding the book of Revelation is in dating the book. Knowing when the book was written impacts what we believe the book to have been about, and there is much discussion concerning the date. more...
Futile Speculations
A Left-Handed, Cross-Eye
Allen Dvorak
A terrible seven-headed beast with ten horns rises out of the sea. Locusts with the faces of men, sharp fangs like lions and the long hair of women come out of the smoke ascending from the pit. With their tails they sting men and torment them. No modern sci-fi movie has produced images more intriguing or mentally startling than those which are found in Revelation. more...
Commendations to the Chruches
Scott EversoleIn the opening chapters of Revelation, Jesus addresses 7 churches in Asia. The significance of His taking specific notice of these congregations is two-fold: encouraging us that He knows and notices His church; but warning that He holds His people responsible for how we treat the church He purchased with His blood. more...
Commendation of the Churches
Jerry DrewIn the book of Revelation, Jesus comments on the conduct of seven of His churches in Asia. Although he compliments and encourages some of them for their righteous conduct, he also reprimands some of them for their failures and shortcomings. He saw problems in His churches that demanded immediate attention and action. But the problems weren't unique to those churches. Similar problems may and do exist in the churches of Christ today. Problems that carry the same consequences and warrant the same responses as those mentioned in Revelation. So let us look to the failures of those churches and learn what to guard against in the church today. more...
An Overview of Premillenialism
Mark RobertsThrough the centuries Revelation has become a haven for false teaching of every kind. Nearly anything imaginable has been derived from this wonderful book, including authority for instruments of music (harps in heaven, 5:8) and the number of the saved (144,000, of course). Yet no system of false doctrine has ever been more deeply indebted to the book of Revelation than premillenialism. more...
The Sights and Sounds of Revelation
David HolderThe Book of Revelation is an audio-video event - a series of scenes and sound bytes that the apostle John first saw and heard on the Island of Patmos in the first century AD. God's people in Asia were hurting because they were Christians, and God had a message for them. God showed the message to John (1:2, 4:1, etc.), who was to show it to God's people (1:1). To show what he saw, John was to write the message (1:11, 19; etc.) so Christians could read and heed it (1:3). The combination of John's seeing and writing results in Revelation being a series of word-pictures recorded so we may "see" and "hear" the drama. more...
Revelation and Jerusalem's Destruction
Rusty MillerWe believe the book of Revelation to be a prophecy regarding the coming destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. But when there is so much disagreement about this in the religious world, how do we prove such? more...
The Preacher's Pen
Mark RobertsEvery now and then the evolutionists slip up and tell us the truth. It doesn't happen often, but we sure want to make note of it when they do. That's why I was pleased to read the following quote in that most fervent advocate of evolution, National Geographic. In the January 2000 issue Paul Davies, physicist and writer said, ""How can a collection of chemicals form themselves into a living thing without any interference from outside? On the face of it, life is an exceedingly unlikely event. There is no known principle of matter that says it has to organize itself into life . . . we have not yet discovered the Life Principle."" more...