Diversity and Unity
This is the sermon I preached on Sunday, May 12 at St. Timothy Lutheran Church. The text was Rev. 7:9-17. The book of Revelation is one that is easy to shy away from. We get side-tracked with beasts and horsemen on different color horses, an apocalyptic end of the world as we know it and on bad theology we pick up in movies and books. The thing is, the title of the book is not the Revelation of JOHN, but rather as its first few words say, “the revelation of Jesus Christ.” This book is all about Jesus, so rather than avoiding it, say a pray before reading and embrace it. John wrote this book much later than other New Testament books were written. It was a time of great persecution for Christians under the Roman emperor Domitian. Many were martyred; thereby being added to the heavenly court. Revelation is a book of symbols, filled with hope to encourage these beleaguered Christians. Who are these gathered for worship in Revelation? They are an assortment of people from...