A Bible Study for Small Groups
When an author begins a writing project, one of the first tasks is to decide what purpose his or her subject matter will serve. Sometimes it might be to inform, sometimes to inspire, sometimes to encourage, and at other times perhaps it’s to entertain. You might be wondering why we decided that yet one more study book needed to be written about Revelation. Certainly, a quick look on retail book shelves or in online catalogs shows an abundance of material already available on the subject, quite a lot of which we’ve used and enjoyed in our own studies. Nothing seems to exist, however, that addresses the subject in the way we wanted to express and study it. Specifically, we desire to inform, inspire, and encourage our readers, and perhaps even to entertain them a bit in the process!
With nearly six decades of combined experience as small group Bible study participants and leaders, we’ve participated in and have led studies on every part of the Bible. Our common experience was that students were willing to attack almost any topic, but when the time came time to study Revelation, we encountered every emotion from excitement to queasiness to terror. It was our desire, therefore, to write a study on Revelation that could be enlightening without being frightening. Certainly, throughout this study of Revelation we’ll be discussing portions of the book’s fascinating symbolism and imagery, as well as its prophetic time line. Our overarching intent, however, is always to address the big picture of End Times events with an emphasis on Jesus Christ, and upon God’s infinite compassion as well as his absolute justice.
In closing, every first year seminary student is taught a method by which to study Scripture. It would be good for us to adopt this in our own study, as well:
- First, read the text and ask,”What do I see?” – Observation
- Next ask, “What does it mean?” – Interpretation
- Finally, ask, “What do I do?” – Application
In our Revelation study, we will focus mainly on the aspects of observation and interpretation. Once we open our hearts and minds to the Word of God, however, the natural outflow will be to apply it as we live our lives. As God promised in Revelation 1:3 (NIV), “Blessed is the one who reads this prophecy and blessed is the one who takes it to heart. . .” So, open your Bible and prepare to be blessed!
Please see the Study Description and Study Format for further details regarding the Revelation study.