Reformed Herme...what?

This morning didn't really go as well as I had hoped. I think I had two lessons packed inside of one, but I didn't realize it until we were in the middle of it together. I hope you got something out of it. Tackling the reformed hermeneutic in 30 minutes is pretty tough! As always, I'm open to your questions here. I'd much rather answer your questions as you raise them than have you wait a week, especially if you're confused.

Can I give you a task for this week? We didn't get into Revelation 13 like I wanted to. Would you take a look at that chapter and see how you do with interpreting it? Here's what you need to know: the first beast, the one out of the sea, is a symbol for political and societal persecution. The second beast, the one out of the earth, is a symbol for religious and philosophical deception. Neither beast is any kind of wacky, weird, end-of-time monster yet to descend upon us. Instead, they're symbols of the persecution and deception that will be in play throughout the last days (i.e., the time between Jesus' first and second advents.) See how you do with taking that and using it to read Rev. 13 for hope for today.

Let me know your thoughts or your questions. I hope you all have a good week.