"What's It All About" (sermon next Sunday) will be looking at the purpose of the Revelation, especially at Chapters 4/5.  In 4/5 several Themes emerge ... a) this book is about God and our return to placing Him in a right and proper place [i.e., He is Holy. He is worthy, he is sufficient] ... b) this book is about going past our 'humanized' ways of trying to 'reach' God (we misuse the Law, the word of the Prophets, God words of wisdom and how we failed to learn from our own history with God) c) it is about allowing God to reach into our hearts for perfect and pure worship in Spirit (v:4:2) and truth (v:4:11) d) this book has nothing to do with resuming temple/tabernacle worship and 'going back' to our failed understanding of the Torah or other Scripture ... it is about returning to right relationship with God, and e) the ultimate purpose is spelled out in 4:9-10 in which the work of Christ has resulted in people from 'every tribe and language and people and nation' being brought into the blessing of life with the true and living God, all being priests who proclaim that God reigns (whether acknowledged by people or ignored by people).

It does kind of come down to that.  Revelation outlines a call to God's people to realize God's promised blessing through Abraham (remember this is pre-law and pre-Jew) ... a blessing that is not about the Jews but about the nature of God.  Even in the New Testament we must remember that while God and Christ have done all that is needed for our salvation and for our reaching the purpose and place He has created, the purpose is for God's pleasure (4:11) and God's will.  That will is a thread that runs from the beginning of the OT to the end of the NT.  What say you?  Pastor Randy