Blessed: Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation

On April 18th I embarked on an adventure I had never done before and really had no clue what to expect. On my other blog, Living in the Shadow, I decided to take the book of Revelation and write some posts about it. I took a chapter a day, except for when I was in chapters 2-3 (7 churches). I took a day for each one. That effort started on April 18th and ended with a final post on June 2nd.It spurred a thought I never thought I would think. Yeah, you read that right. :)  What if I preached the book of Revelation with the same type of approach?  How about 2023?  The theme for 2023 popped into my mind: Victory! Hmmmm. So I decided to say something publicly to the church I pastor. I think they are shell-shocked because only one person has responded and she said, "Pastor Bill, I've always appreciated your approach to God's Word. If He is telling you to preach on Revelation, I will be glad to hear it. If He says something else, I will be glad to hear it. You listen to Him." (slightly revised).So...at this point...I do plan to preach on Revelation to start 2023. About the time I decided to do that, I became aware of a brand new book: Blessed by Nancy GuthrieIt was a God-send! I was not familiar with Nancy as an author. I had heard the name. But I trusted the publishing company (Crossway) so I bit the bullet. What a phenomenal book!  The subtitle is Experiencing the Promise of the Book of Revelation and she does just that.  Her book includes 12 chapters all focused on "Blessed by..."I found the book easy to read. Yes, there were times I had to go back and read a paragraph or two again. It was mostly because I was reading whenever I could and my mind tends to wander sometimes.  No matter the book!!  :) So I can't and won't blame the book.  But I can say that Nancy's approach was just what I was looking for to help me in my series in 2023. But I am so glad I read it, and not just for sermon prep.  Honestly, I had trouble putting it down so I found myself reading at home (which I almost never do with books of this genre). I prefer to leave that for the office. But here I was toting this book back and forth.I was also pleasantly surprised that Nancy's approach will enhance my focus in my sermons. I'm already formulating how this can be incorporated into my sermon series.  Her thoughts were clear and clearly presented. I anticipate using it consistently during my sermon prep.One more thing: Nancy's approach will not be what many expect. I tend toward the amillennial view of the Second Coming. Not that I think either view (except for post-millennialism) is without merit, but I have favored that particular view. If you are not open to hearing an opposing view, you will not like Nancy's book. She definitely believes in the "recapitulation theory" of Revelation (the seals, trumpets, etc are the same scene from different viewpoints),  characteristic of the amillennial position.  Take that for what it's worth.I highly recommend this book by Nancy Guthrie. Agree or disagree it will give you a greater appreciation for the most misunderstood, most fascinating, most imaginative, most intriguing, most debated, most thrilling book in the Bible.  Thank you Nancy for a book and a job well done.

Fresh insight making sense of the Book of Revelation. The author doesn't fantasy this book nor elaborate wild theories. She brings wisdom, and a logical perspective with the lens of the culture at the time, lens of the old testament and, the lens of the style of writing being apocalyptic. Our english speaking /Western concepts have seriously misinterpreted the book of revelation, quite ignorantly actually. This book is fantastic and a gift from God in educating us to learn the heart of God.

Nancy Guthrie does a great job of making the book of Revelation really come alive and understandable. You can download questions for each chapter to make it an even deeper study. Also, she has a podcast where she interviews biblical experts on the topic which are very deep, but very, very good. I highly recommend this book. A good women’s Bible study. Many people want to know about Revelation, but are afraid of it because it seems so complicated and mysterious. This book makes it much less intimidating.

After I was saved a few years, I got to the Book of Revelation. I decided it was way above my pay grade. Too hard to understand. So I bought the equivalent of "Revelation for Dummies" (you remember those yellow soft covers!). It added very little light to the subject. I already grasped the message of the first three and last three chapters of the book without help, but trusted God would make the rest clear to me sometime in the future when I might become more discerning.So, from time to time, I read it again. I used study guides and read different takes on the symbolism, but still no adequate illumination--no AH-HA moment.Then I read Nancy Guthrie's take on Revelation. As a cisgender man, I concede I'm not all that emotional. So her emphasis on encouraging the reader to see and "feel" what John was describing, was more than helpful, they were keys to understanding the Book of Revelation. For me, it took a spiritual woman to unlock the mystery of how to read it. It made the imagery come alive with meaning as she explored the biblical context that unraveled its mysteries.So much of Revelation remains a mystery to so many believers because it seems inscrutable. And interpretations go from the literal to the mythological. Since the Lord says my people hear my voice and we are encouraged to read John's Revelation and be blessed if we hear it, it must be comprehensible.Well...Hallelujah! So it is.Given the times we live in, Nancy Guthrie's "Blessed" came at just the right moment. Her take was simple. Powerful. Elegant. And anointed.I actually believe it took a woman to open the book of Revelation up to the ordinary, unschooled disciples of Christ (especially the emotionally-challenged men) who are courageous enough to tackle it anew. At one point, Jesus asked his disciples “Are you still so dull? Do you not understand?” A lot of wives ask their husbands the same questions when it comes to emotions.All I can say is "Thank you Nancy. Well done. Yours is the most helpful and insightful book I've ever read on the Book of Revelation."I can't endorse it enough.MAE

I learned so much reading this study with my regular Bible study group. She explains a lot of the “weird” and “scary” things in John’s letter and provides some historical perspective. Studying Revalation is much less daunting with this guide.