Resources

Afternoon Seminar
Preaching through the Revelation: A Workshop
-Gordon Fee
Listen to Recording

In a follow-up seminar to his plenary address from the night before, Gordon Fee provided participants with a guide for preaching from Revelation. His rubric split the book into a 13-sermon series that has different emphases while maintaining a cohesive pastoral purpose. Fee set out to create a model for preaching from John’s Apocalypse while clearly defining how apocalyptic was to be interpreted by and for the Church.

Professor Fee gave the participants an outline of Revelation that divided each sermon of the series into smaller sections based on different thematic and narrative passages. By describing the purpose and meaning of each of these sections, Fee left his listeners a chance to create their own personal images of the events in Revelation. He described how the first chapter introduces the central figures of the story, including the Living One who holds the keys of death and Hades. He discussed how the seven churches should be thought of representatively as well as literally. While asking listeners to think critically about the pastoral aim of the text, Fee answered the question of how long the saints would suffer by pointing to the text: things will get worse before they get better.

Along with these shorter descriptions, Fee illustrated a musical theme from the composition of the book. In using terms like overture, interludes, and “staccato notes,” Professor Fee gave the text a symphonic tone that brought greater meaning and artistic power to its message. Conjuring images of historic plays and dramas, his implicit illustration beautifully begged the question, is this not the story of all stories? In our current global situation of war, plagues, and natural disaster, Professor Fee noted this book’s relevance to building up the church and providing answers to God’s persecuted children.

Ultimately, the purpose of the seminar was to instruct pastors how to accomplish the two tasks of appropriately preaching from Revelation: satisfying congregational curiosity exegetically and explaining John’s picture of who is in control in the midst of trial.

-Mark Hofman

13 Sundays on Revelation

The Intro (vv. 1-12)
The picture of Christ (1:13-20)
The 7 churches (emphasis on Christ’s knowing them)
The 7 churches (emphasis on their being a mixed bag)
Chs. 4-5 (the divine framework for the whole)
Chs. 6-7 (the 7 seals / two interludes / justice for the martyrs)
Chs. 8-10 (God’s judgments and evangelism)
Ch. 11 (witness and martyrdom / God’s final triumph)
Ch. 12 (the theological center of the book)
Chs. 13-14 (primarily Ch 14-how are we to live in this context)
Chs. 17-18 (God’s judgments on abuse of power)
Chs. 19-20 (God’s final judgments on evil and righteous)
Chs. 21-22 (the final glory)