Adult Education – Fall II

The book of Revelation appears violent and fearsome: four horsemen unleash calamity upon the earth; mysterious numbers like “666” spell destruction; mutant locusts and multi-headed beasts terrify; a scarlet whore of Babylon seduces nations with her cup of fornications; an end-times battle of Armageddon leaves millions slaughtered. What is God saying to us in this book?

Revelation is one of the most difficult books of the Bible, full of mysterious symbolism, so it is important for readers to know that the message of Revelation is, most of all, one of hope. Hope is the message that has sustained countless Christians in situations of tyranny and oppression throughout the ages. The vision of hope in Revelation also speaks to us today.

Click on class description to view on YouTube.

The book of Genesis contains at least three different myths that reveal the beginning of the world as we know it: The 7-day creation myth in Genesis 1; the Adam and Eve creation story in Genesis 2-3; the rivalry of Cain and Abel in Gen 4-5; the story of Noah and the Flood in Genesis 6-9; and the Tower of Babel in Gen 11. Each of these myths have tremendous depths of metaphorical meaning and a rich historical tradition behind them. This class will explore these myths, their meanings to their earliest readers, and how they might still be speaking to us today.