Eastertide Sermon Series: Revelation—The Unveiling of Hope

Full of vivid metaphor and imagery, the book of Revelation will give us fresh eyes to see the face of Jesus again.

This Eastertide, we’ve begun a new sermon series on the book of Revelation. Months ago, your pastors prayed and sought God’s leading for preaching themes, settling on the Revelation to John as a post-Easter series. Now, in our COVID-19 moment, we can’t think of a more helpful and timely book for us. 

Revelation is a letter written to Christians experiencing crisis. It is a book of hope meant to dispel fear and strengthen courage through a grand unveiling of Jesus Christ — the crucified Lamb who stands at the centre of reality as Lord of Lords and King of Kings. 

But, too often, that isn’t the primary vision that shapes our living. Instead, our news feeds convince us that political powers are dominant, that economic systems are unstoppably powerful, and invisible viruses are world-ending forces.

Counter to this, Revelation uses vivid imagery and metaphor to pull back the curtain, helping us see that there is more going on, that things are not as they seem. Eugene Peterson writes that “the power to wake us up is the most obvious use of Revelation.” It gives us fresh eyes to see reality, attentive ears to hear God’s good news that then compels us to radical discipleship.

Revelation is not a crystal ball foretelling future events, nor a calendar of doomsday events yet to come. That is a gross misreading of Revelation. Rather, it offers a powerful revealing of Jesus Christ that strengthens us to be followers of Jesus in the harsh realities of life on earth. And that sounds like a message we all could use in our time today.