When a Sunday comes and the text is from the Book of Revelation, most preachers probably feel a little like some earlier church leaders who did not see a use for this esoteric book in the canon of Holy Scripture. Martin Luther, for one, took issue with Revelation and cast it into what was known as “Luther’s Antilegomena,” which is just a fancy word referring to texts whose authenticity or value is questioned.

            It’s not necessary for us, 2,000 years later, to question the authenticity of Revelation. The interpretations of this book over the past 250 years have made it a major player in defining theological worldviews and the resulting ethical implications. Still, we might ask the value question: Does a book full of strange creatures and a punitive God really matter in our life today? It’s enough to get through the day-to-day hurdles of getting the kids dressed, making sure there’s enough money to pay the bills, caring for aging parents while trying to eat healthy and get 30 minutes of exercise (much less make sense of the global political and economic issues that feel like growing storm clouds on the horizon).

            Schedules are so busy; that people still give even an hour or two of their Sundays to worship is becoming more unique than the norm. If we have your attention for 15 minutes, how do we translate this passage into something that makes a difference in your life today, that will somehow make the living of these days a bit more hopeful and, dare I say, tolerable?

            Try this: Revelation provides an antidote for the consumeristic culture we live in today that wants us to stay perpetually young, consume more and fall

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