This study of the book of the Revelation to John was presented as a series of Sunday School lessons that lasted over six months. Since I was writing the study as we went along, they study was a journey more than presentation, and the earlier lessons, in particular, show influences from the variety of opinions from those of us in the class. Later lessons show a clearer focus and understanding, as we together came to share a closer understanding of this book.

I based this study on a number of different source books so that I could at least skim over the range of popular opinions concerning this unusual book. My conclusion from doing research and teaching the study is that we too often make it into something it is not. I have found no reason to interpret this book as a foretelling of events in the previous centuries or centuries to come. This is a marvelous book of hope and reassurance, intensely steeped in the culture of that time. Once we understand more about that culture, heritage, and ways of story telling, everything in the book makes sense—at face value!



We are covering the book of Revelation during the Wednesday night Bible study at Peace United Methodist Church, with my goal to complete this study in nine weeks. I am including the handouts for that Bible study as downloadable document files in Microsoft® Word format below: