New Creation

July 16, 2023 • Caleb Martinez • Revelation 21, Revelation 22

Everybody has a deep internal longing to know where we came from and where we’re going. The Christian faith should answer these questions, but our answer often falls short. Instead, Revelation offers us a better conclusion to the human story. Rather than being raptured up to a spiritual heaven, Revelation 21-22 tells us that the world ends in renewal, not destruction.

If God’s redemptive plan includes the redeeming of the created world, then we can take part in renewing creation today. We live in the new reality of renewed bodies, we work to renew relationships with each other, and we partner with God to bring about the Kingdom in the world today.

A Feast and a Fight

July 30, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Revelation 19:6–16

Revelation offers a paradoxical picture, where we witness both a joyful feast of reconciliation and the call to confront evil with determination. Communion represents this promise, while the contradictory battle against societal norms mirrors the war aspect. By embracing both, we can faithfully follow Jesus in the middle of Babylon.

Seduced by Babylon

July 23, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Revelation 19:1–2, Revelation 17, Revelation 18

In the 20th century, two books were written to predict our future: "A Brave New World" by Aldous Huxley in 1931 and "Nineteen Eighty-Four" by George Orwell in 1949. Both books had different ideas about how our future could be grim. Neil Postman compared these books in his work "Amusing Ourselves to Death," where he said Orwell feared the truth would be hidden and people would be controlled by pain, while Huxley feared the truth would be lost in irrelevance and people would be controlled by pleasure. In the book of Revelation, some people read it like "Nineteen Eighty-Four," seeing evil events happening through force and obvious tactics. Others read it like "A Brave New World," where evil systems and powers subtly deceive and seduce us away from Jesus. Revelation 17 talks about a Prostitute, representing a seductive force in the world. Babylon in the Bible is like a city without God, and it symbolizes any place that goes against God. The Prostitute in Revelation seduces people by making sin seem normal and by rewarding strategies that go against what Jesus taught. But we can choose not to be a part of Babylon's ways by turning towards Jesus and living a different way. We can be citizens of heaven, not of Babylon.

Team Dragon

July 9, 2023 • Trey Van Camp • Revelation 12:17, Revelation 13

People often get excited about predicting the future or trying to figure out when the world will end, but Revelation is more about understanding what is happening in our present time. The dragon in the story wants to harm people, and he uses two other creatures to carry out his plans. One of them uses the power of the government to intimidate and control people. This can be seen in history when leaders have used their authority to manipulate and oppress others. The other creature uses deception and propaganda to trick people into believing false information or ideas. It’s like when advertisements or media twist the truth to persuade us in certain ways. The message https://biblia.com/bible/csb/rev%2012-13 is that we need to be discerning and wise in our understanding of the world around us. We shouldn’t be easily swayed by false ideas or manipulated by those in power. Instead, we should seek truth, be critical thinkers, and strive to live according to what is right and good. So, rather than getting caught up in trying to predict the future or obsessing over sensationalized interpretations, we should focus on understanding the present, recognizing the forces that seek to harm and manipulate, and staying grounded in truth and wisdom.