Approach with Caution

Jude, Revelation 1-3

Jude is not read or studied very often. One fascinating fact is that out of the 27 verses in Jude 15 appear in whole or in part in 2 Peter. That would be an interesting comparison to make. Verses 5-19 explains false teachers, then verses 20-23 encourage Christians to hold on despite the false teachers.

If you are familiar at all with Jude it is probably because of the benediction in verses 24-25:
"Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy, to the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen". I seem to remember that being given by a preacher or two at the end of a worship seervice. How do these two verses affect you?

Here's a good question from the "Reflect" section of my Serendipity Bible, "What is the most important lesson you learned from this letter?"

Now on to Revelation (notice the book does not end with an "s"). This is apocalyptic literature written in code. It is a strange and difficult book. John Barclay (who has written commentaries on all the books of the Bible) calls Revelation "the playground of religious eccentrics" (The Revelation of John: Daily Study Bible, Vol. 1, pg.1). Some people believe it is about the first century struggle between the church and Rome and others believe it is a prediction of future events.

Here is an interesting exercise, look into millennialism. Here is a good website I found:
www.religioustolerance.org/millenni.htm

I very much enjoyed the discussion this past Sunday in the Faith Builders Sunday School class. They are using the blog for their summer study.