The King is coming!  

The man who falsely predicted that the rapture would happen last week has finally spoken up! What did he say? 

The King is coming! But maybe not in the way some people think. 

Last week I wrote that the true meaning of the gospel in the New Testament is a royal announcement that God has returned to Jerusalem in the person of Jesus to reclaim the world from Satan. I want to expand on what that means for us today, but I first need to take a little detour – but I’ll come back to it!

On Wednesday nights we’re studying the gospel of Mark, which opens with the words, “The beginning of the gospel [or good news, depending on your translation] of Jesus Christ.”

What is the gospel? 

Gospel is a word I hear tossed around a lot. It can refer to a style of music or it can refer to doctrine. Most people will answer something like “the gospel is ‘good news’ about Jesus Christ, specifically his life, death, and resurrection, and the salvation offered through faith in him Jesus died on the cross for our sins.” I googled that, but it’s a typical summation.

I found out that one of my favorite high school teachers died this past Sunday. Maynelle Harwell was the wife of our school president (and pastor – it was a religious school) but also a wonderful history and drama teacher. She had a gift for making history come alive! 

For years I was involved with a non-profit that was run by a married couple who had worked as volunteers from the organization’s inception. They ran it with an iron fist, insisting that everything be done their way, and so were perceived as being difficult by anyone who wanted to do anything differently. But, to be honest, since they had been there from the beginning and knew the ins and outs better than anyone else, their way really was the best way. 

Sometimes I miss my days in seminary. Sometimes not. I started out at Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, KY, but transferred to a smaller seminary in central Indiana affiliated with the church tradition I was raised in. There, in Anderson, Indiana, I had a great little attic apartment . . . right across the street from both the seminary and a cemetery! 

If you didn’t grow up in a church with a checklist, you really missed out. I went to a fundamentalist church as a child and a fundamentalist high school, and they both had lists of things we, as Christians, should not do (notice the word “not”).

This summer has been a challenge – in more ways than one! I’ve had some personal challenges, including helping to care for an old friend . . . but all that should be over now, and I really do appreciate your prayers and understanding during this . . . well, challenging time.

And then there was Revelation! 

I’ve had two conversations recently that began with a question like, “can you tell me something good to make me believe the USA isn’t on fire and going to hell in a hand basket?” 

And my answer? “As a matter of fact, I can. The church is still the church, planting little colonies of heaven wherever they live. That’s the good news.” 

Fill in the blank: 

“I am stuck on Band-Aid brand ‘cause ________.” 
“Hold the pickle, hold the lettuce, ___________.” 
“Nationwide is ______.”
“Plop, plop, fizz, fizz, oh _________.”
“My baloney has a first name, it’s _______.”

I guarantee if you’re of a certain age, you could answer every one of those – and I purposely chose jingles from decades ago, because once they’re in your brain, you NEVER forget them. 

The book of Revelation has been interpreted at cross purposes with the writer’s original intent more than any other book of the Bible. John’s purpose in writing revelation was to bring hope to the  persecuted people of God. The opening verses state that the book’s purpose is not to cause fear, but to be a source of blessing:  “Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of the prophecy, and blessed are those who hear and who keep what is written in it . . .” What’s the repeated word? Terrified? Intimidated? No. Blessed. 

Hexakosioihexakontahexaphobia - do you have it?? It’s the (irrational) fear of the number 666.

I’m here to give you the cure. 

The four Horsemen of the apocalypse riding out onto the world's stage is one of the most famous images in the book of Revelation. But what do they represent? What is their purpose? And what does it have to do with us in the 21st-century?

Now I know Revelation is not everyone’s cup of tea. 

But the problem is, if we don’t talk about it, someone else will. And with the situation in the Middle East, there are a lot of people talking! On social media, too many folks claim to be experts, but actually they know little to nothing about what God is saying to the church through the book of Revelation. 

This past Sunday, when I was preaching about the way believers in places like Syria and Nigeria read the book of Revelation, I didn’t know that I could have used them as recent object lessons for my sermon.  I didn’t know that in the early hours of Friday, June 13, 2025, more than 200 Christian villagers were slaughtered by Islamic Jihadists. I’ve seen     NOTHING in the news about it. 

One of the most fascinating places I’ve ever visited is the ruins of Ephesus on the west coast of Turkey. When you enter the harbor side of the city, you wander down the old harbor road, past the marketplace where Paul sold tents and where Demetrius the silversmith sold images of Artemis. Turning right onto the marble street takes you past the great theater which featured in Acts 19, past smaller temples, the great library, the bathhouses, civic buildings, until you reach: 

When I think of summer, I think of peaches, watermelon, homemade ice cream, cookouts, vacations and (maybe because it includes all those things) camp meetings! 

I was raised in a church that  practiced — strictly practiced — full immersion. When baptized, we went completely under the water. I remember the first time I immersed someone. We were baptizing several youth who came to Christ at youth camp. I baptized a couple of middle-school boys, and that was no problem. 

For years I was hung up on baptism.

I was immersed (dunked) when I was 8 years old. It was my choice. I was absolutely sincere in my faith and in my intention to follow Jesus. But… 

During Holy Week, I went to North Carolina to do a service with Josh Bruce, a young pastor who grew up in my first congregation. While he was showing me his town, I noticed a lot of homeless people. I asked if there were any ministries to the homeless, and he said as far as he knew there were not.