In this panel discussion, Greg Boyd, Shawna Boren and Dan Kent discuss three problem issues in Revelation 14-18. The first issue pertains to the nature of hell, the second deals with God crushing people like grapes, and the third addresses the denigrating language about women. The panelists interpret these passages to show how they align with the revelation of Jesus on the cross.
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Doomscrolling the Apocalypse
• Dan Kent, Greg Boyd, Shawna Boren
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There are three significant problem passages found in Revelation 14-18, that raise troubling questions about the nature of God. In this panel, Greg Boyd, Shawna Boren and Dan Kent explain what’s going on in these passages. This is especially crucial because all three of these sections have been used to cause harm and mislead people regarding God’s character.
The first question is about Revelation 14:9-11, which appears to depict God as torturing people in hell while the Lamb looks on in delight. Is this a correct interpretation of this passage? Greg addresses this question by first talking about how these verses have been used to argue for hell as eternal conscious suffering. Then he shows how this passage is not actually about hell as eternal suffering but about how sin is burned away, and we are made pure by God’s refining fire.
The second question is addressed by Dan. He focuses on Revelation 14:14-20 where it seems to say that God will crush people like grapes. On the surface, this looks like God is acting violently, but the reality is that something else is going on beneath the surface. Dan demonstrates how this imagery is not about God acting violently, but about how the faithful followers of God will endure suffering, and God will meet them in that suffering.
The third question arises out of Revelation 14:4-5 and 17:1-6. Shawna dives into the issue of negative depictions of women and how these two passages have been used to denigrate women. She shows showing that they are not about the value of women at all, but that the first is about the call to spiritual warfare, and the second is about resisting the false promises of the world.
Hide Extended SummaryTopics: End Times, Judgment, Role of Women
Sermon Series: The Unveiling, The Last Exodus
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The MuseCast: March 31
Focus Scripture:
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Revelation 14:9-11
A third angel followed them and said in a loud voice: “If anyone worships the beast and its image and receives its mark on their forehead or on their hand, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath. They will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and of the Lamb. And the smoke of their torment will rise for ever and ever. There will be no rest day or night for those who worship the beast and its image, or for anyone who receives the mark of its name.”
