Good morning. Grace and peace to you.
As the month comes to a close, you may want to make sure you’ve grabbed this month’s free and nearly-free books from Logos.
Today’s Kindle deals include a number of titles related to living the Christian life.
(Yesterday on the blog: What Can I Do To Repay My Debt?)

What a great bit of writing by Mary Nolte! “Waiting is often hope deferred, an unanswered prayer that makes the heart sick. It is often a lonely place, fettered by a feeling that all those around are moving forward, their lives a picture of success and fulfillment while I remain stuck, unable to get past the thing I am waiting for. Waiting feels like so much anxious inactivity, convinced I must do something, but there is nothing I can do.”

Kim Riddlebarger offers some really encouraging thoughts on Paul’s doctrine of Christ’s parousia. Well worth the read!

Matthew Martens rounds up 10 things you should know about the American criminal justice system. It’s a system we all think we are familiar with because we have so often seen it on television. But, as he explains, we may not understand it nearly as well as we think.

“It is popular to say (and mock) the cliché, ‘Follow your heart.’ And while I’d love to mock the idea with all of you, I thought it might be better to provide an alternative.” Yes, there is something much better to do with your heart than follow it.

“The great sin of the city of Babel is not tower-building, or unified labor toward a societal goal. The sin of Babel is the sin of seeking independence from God.” Justin Huffman applies this to the present day.

Travis Moroney puts out the call for churches and individuals to prioritize ministry among the elderly. (On a similar theme, see A Standing Ovation for the Older and Wiser.)

I have always been glad that there was one person who brought out her alabaster jar and anointed the Lord before his burial. Most people would have waited.

Weekly, normative, ordinary means of grace gathered worship is one of the more extraordinary and radical things in the world.
—Burk Parsons

There is perhaps no book of the Bible that offers as many interpretive challenges as the book of Revelation. I sometimes debate whether the book is actually perfectly clear while we are pathetically thick or whether the book is extremely difficult to understand because God intended it to be. Either way, though the intent and general message of Revelation is clear enough, the details present a challenge worthy of the most eminent theologian.

Speaking of which, Thomas Schreiner has recently taken on that challenge in three forms: a general-level commentary in the ESV Expository Commentary series; a major academic commentary in the Baker Exegetical Commentary series (which is still forthcoming); and The Joy of Hearing, a short book on the theology of Revelation. The latter work represents the debut volume in a new series titled New Testament Theology, co-edited by Schreiner and Brian Rosner. Each volume will examine the big ideas one of the books of the New Testament and do so in a readable and relatively concise format. (The second volume, The Mission of the Triune God: A Theology of Acts, will release in January.)
The Joy of Hearing, then, offers a theology of Revelation, which means it approaches the book thematically rather than chapter-by-chapter and verse-by-verse. Schreiner begins by telling why it is so important that contemporary Christians read the book of Revelation carefully and know it well. And, of course, this means he needs to address what the book is and is not. “The book of Revelation is not a prophecy chart about the future but a call to be a disciple of Jesus. John tells us to be faithful and fruitful, and we should not give in to despair, for in the end, all will be well.”

My contention is that we desperately need the message of Revelation for today’s world. There is a great conflict between good and evil in our world, and the Christian faith is under attack, as it was in the first century. John reminds us in this book that God rules, even in an evil day; that God has not forsaken his people; and that goodness will finally triumph and prevail. In the midst of evil, in a world in which the Christian faith is under attack, we need hope and assurance that evil will not have the last word, and Revelation teaches us that a new world is coming, that a new creation is coming, and that all will be well. God is just and holy and righteous, and those who turn against God and his Christ will suffer judgment. At the same time, we see in the book that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ are the center of history, or the fulcrum of history. Evil has been defeated because of what Christ has accomplished. The triumph over wickedness was realized not by an act of judgment but through the suffering of the Lion of the tribe of Judah, through the Lamb who was slain. What do believers do as they live in Babylon, as they live in a world in which the governments of the world are like ravenous beasts tearing apart the church? John tells us that we are to stay close to Christ, that we must not compromise with evil, that we must endure to the end, and that we must look to the final reward.

Schreiner then advances to a brief examination of the book’s setting, date, and genre, suggesting that the best evidence is that it was written during the reign of Domitian, which would date it somewhere between AD 81-96.—a time when the churches in Asia Minor were experiencing state-sanctioned persecution. Yet he insists that “no interpretation should be accepted that demands a particular date—an important hermeneutical conclusion that we can draw from the imprecision of the historical situation.” As for the genre, while Revelation is clearly apocalyptic, Schreiner also emphasizes that it was a personal letter. “The epistolary genre in the book reminds us that we should not indulge in what I call ‘newspaper eschatology’ in reading the book. The book was written to readers who occupied a particular social location, and presumably they understood, at least mainly, what was written to them. The hermeneutical significance of this fact is massively important, for it eliminates the popular conception that modern readers interpret Revelation better than the original readers.”
With all this groundwork in place, Schreiner begins the study proper and, through seven chapters, picks up on the major themes of the book:

The deafness of those living on earth
The saints hear and heed
The declaration that God rules on his throne
The good news of the Lion and the Lamb
The testimony of the Holy Spirit
The promise of blessing and the New Creation
Reigning with Christ for one thousand years

Many will want to read this book to know where the author lands on the question of the millennium (and, therefore, which of the three major positions he advocates—postmillennialism, premillennialism, and amillennialism). He treads carefully and writes charitably without advocating one position far ahead of the others. That said, he is clearly most sympathetic toward historic premillennialism and amillennialism while fairly easily setting aside both postmillennialism and dispensationalism.
As he concludes his study, Schreiner says “In a world full of evil, selfishness, materialism, and sexual exploitation, John proclaims a message of hope, although it is an apocalyptic message that is hidden from the world. Thus believers must attune their ears to hear a transcendent message, to hear the words of the Son of Man and the Holy Spirit.” This wonderful little book, which is equally appropriate for pastors, academics, and general readers, will help accomplish just that—it will better equip us all to hear, understand, and apply that transcendent, hope-filled, life-giving, soul-sustaining message.
The Joy of Hearing is available at Amazon or Westminster Books (where it’s currently 50% off).

Buy from Amazon

Grace and peace to you today.

There is another list of Kindle deals to work through today. Note that some entire commentary series are 75% off (NICOT, NICNT, Pillar, etc).
(Yesterday on the blog: New and Notable Christian Books for November 2022)
Video Discipleship In a Digital Age
“Tim Keller once posited a question along these lines: Why is it that so many young church-going people lose their faith within a term or so of going to college? They attend church growing up, youth group, parachurch camps etc. They do the whole Christian young person thing. But one semester into university, they come back home and they’re not believers, or they’re living with their newfound romantic partner. What happened?” It’s a good question.
Tomorrow’s Laughter
This is a lovely piece of writing from Chris.
Exciting New Resources from Visual Theology
Visual Theology is excited to announce several great new resources. They’ve created their annual Advent countdown poster in full color as well as a version you can color each day. And new for this year is a complete coloring book! For 29 days, you’ll follow the Christmas story as told in four distinct aspects of the Gospel. Both for kids and adults, start your Advent countdown today! Subscribe to their newsletter, and you’ll get the first week of coloring pages for free. (Sponsored)
What happened at the ETS?
Denny Burk was at the annual ETS meetings last week and shares some of what unfolded there.
Gray Hair Is a Crown of Glory
“A pastor in our area once told me that the median age of his church was somewhere in the mid-20’s, and that he had no one over the age of 50. Many would have been impressed by such a fact. However, I was a bit sad to hear it…”
What If I Differ with My Pastor on Politics?
It’s a question worth thinking about: what should you do if you differ with your pastor on politics?
God is always working, even when we don’t see
Barbara offers a sweet reminder that God is always working, even when we don’t see it with clarity.
Flashback: Sexual Consent in a Confused, Confusing World
Where God intends sex to communicate, “I belong completely, permanently, and exclusively to you,” today it communicates nothing more “let’s have fun,” or “you’re good enough for now.” It has no great meaning and demands no special context.

He who loves God cannot find contentment in any thing without Him. —Thomas Watson