Revelation: Hope, Meaning, and Purpose
Dec 23, 2009 09:31
Early in our church history, Seventh-day Adventists became known as “people of the Word.” Those church pioneers spent time digging out Biblical truth and gaining insights that helped to form the foundation of our beliefs.
Hope Channel is pleased to announce that a new series titled “Revelation: Hope, Meaning and Purpose” will begin in early 2010. “This is a 24 one-hour episode series that is a chapter by chapter and verse by verse exegetical study of the book of Revelation,” says Kandus Thorp, Hope Channel vice president for programming and international development. “Viewers will visit the locations of the seven churches of Revelation as well as learn details that will draw them into a deeper spiritual understanding of the message of the book of Revelation for today’s society.”
The South Pacific Division of Seventh-day Adventists commissioned Jon Paulien, PhD, Dean of the School of Theology at Loma Linda University, to write an in-depth study guide on the book of Revelation. “This timely and relevant new series heavily integrates the material from the study guides,” says Thorp.
Paulien, a leading scholar of the book of Revelation, co-hosts the series with Graham Bradford, professor of evangelism at Avondale College in Australia. “We must recognize that there have been two massive societal shifts in our world,” says Paulien. “During the early days of our church history, many people were Bible students who already knew basic truths. That is no longer the case for most of society today.”
Many people, especially youth, can be drawn to a study of Revelation, because of the drama and the scope of what it portrays. “When properly presented we can use Revelation as an entering wedge to introduce people to Christ,” says Paulien.
The series “Revelation: Hope, Meaning, and Purpose” was designed to reach people who know Christ and the Bible as well as those who don’t.
“Miles is a neighbor who has no understanding of spiritual matters,” says Paulien. “As we were filming the series, I kept thinking, How can I make this practical so that it will reach Miles and others like him?”
During preparation for the series, Paulien and Bradford developed three criteria they wanted to achieve with the series.
“We wanted to make our study of Revelation Christ-centered, gospel oriented, and with applications of what the book of Revelation has to say about the issues people face today,” says Paulien.
Study materials will also be available for home and group Bible studies. “There is much intrigue and mystery that surrounds the book of Revelation,” says Thorp. “Hope Channel is excited about this opportunity to tell the story of Jesus through Revelation and to share this message with the world.”
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