Robert Lowery

The State Journal-Register (Springfield, IL) recently ran a piece entitled, “The End: World conflicts give rise to talk of the second coming of Christ and Armageddon” (October 15, 2006). In addition to some other local figures, Dr. Bob was cited in the article:

Robert Lowery, dean of the Lincoln Christian Seminary in Lincoln, says using contemporary events to predict Christ’s second coming has a perfect batting average: zero.

“I’m very skeptical of that approach,” says Lowery, an authority on New Testament scripture and author of “Revelation’s Rhapsody: Listening to the Lyrics of the Lamb (How to Read the Book of Revelation).”

“The scripture doesn’t support that,” he says. “The evangelicals don’t even agree among themselves (about these events or dates).”

Read the whole article.

One of the visitors to the website recently offered an observation and posed a question. He correctly noted that one of the supposed strengths of certain approaches taken towards interpreting Revelation is that it makes John’s writing relevant NOW. People are drawn in, seeing some special prophetic message that helps them understand the days in which we live. With the book of Revelation being laid alongside today’s newspaper headlines, people’s hearts are stirred, thinking that they are seeing biblical prophecy being fulfilled before their very eyes. They eagerly await God to bring the curtain down. Linked with this observation, he raises a valid question: Could some be guilty of going to the other extreme, myself included, thereby making the book abstract with no apparent relevancy for today’s readers? Does the book NEVER speak to situations in our day?

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If you’re familiar with Amazon, you probably know about the customer reviews.

Amazon allows customers, whether they’ve purchased the particular item at Amazon or not, to jump on the site and give a testimonial about a product they’ve used. It’s a great system for learning more about an item before clicking that “buy it” button.

If you’ve read Revelation’s Rhapsody and you’re an Amazon customer, why not write a review yourself? It will only take a few minutes and will give you the satisfaction of knowing you helped others find this helpful resource.

Isaac Gaff, a music faculty member at LCC, interviewed Dr. Bob for 20 minutes after Tuesday’s chapel sermon. Here are a few things they discussed:

• “Deleted scenes” from the sermon
• “Worship as war” theme in Revelation
• “Do over” sermon changes
• The perspective of age
• Recommended reading
• Keith Green’s music
• Bob’s nervousness at preaching in college chapel
• Bob’s “two cents”

If you listened to or heard the sermon live, take the time to listen to this interview for some extra insight into Bob’s thinking behind the sermon.

Post-Service Follow-Up at www.lccchapel.com

Photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Revelation, sermon, Robert Lowery, interview, Lincoln Christian College

I am delighted to have the opportunity for you to listen to a sermon that I recently preached in chapel for faculty and students of Lincoln Christian College. Even though I have preached on Rev. 21 many times, I have never taken the approach that I took in the sermon that you are able to listen to.

The text and the sermon was especially meaningful to me because of my present situation. Sermons are prepared in a variety of contexts–notably the context of the student-preacher and the context of the listener. The sermon I preached was prepared and preached in the context of a health issue that I am dealing with (please see below). Your prayers are appreciated.

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The Logos edition of Revelation’s Rhapsody will be released November 28. It is still available at the discounted price of only $12.95 for orders placed before the release date! If you’re on the fence about getting the electronic version, read what LCS graduate Dan DeVilder says:

Even if you have the hard copy of [Revelation's Rhapsody], get the electronic and discover the power of libronix. I can not use enough superlatives to describe how helpful it is. Plus, I flunked English and grew up in Germany. WUNDERBAR! Seriously, get them!

Technorati Tags: Revelation, Revelation’s Rhapsody, Bible, Logos, Robert Lowery

Dr. Bob preached a moving sermon in college chapel this morning. Get your audio below:

A Party City - Revelation 21.1-4

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Check back to the site later in the week to listen to a post-sermon interview with Dr. Bob, courtesy of Isaac Gaff’s LCC Fall Chapel Project.

Photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Revelation, sermon, Robert Lowery, Lincoln Christian College

Dr. Bob preached in seminary chapel (and refers to Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s excellent little book Life Together) in September. You can listen to the audio from the links below:

Living Life Together: In the World, Not of the World - John 17.13-15

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Photo credit: el_davo

Technorati Tags: Bonhoeffer, Robert Lowery, sermon, Lincoln Christian Seminary

One of my former students (and a good one at that!), Chris, wrote me recently and wanted to know if I have changed my thinking regarding the book of Revelation since I taught him more than fifteen years ago. After all, aren’t professors expected to hold the same conclusions year after year, using the same set of lecture notes? Have I changed? Certainly! My motto as a teacher, preacher and author is taken from James 3:1-2 – “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly. We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says (or writes, my addition), he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.” I am not a perfect teacher, either in my methods of teaching or the content that I teach.

Let me be succinct and then expand on the following sentence: Whatever New Testament writing I have taught, be it Matthew or Revelation, I am constantly refining, rethinking, and being redirected to a deeper, richer understanding of Scripture. I am on a pilgrimage to be the best student of Scripture I can be. And along the way I have had my errors pointed out to me, sometimes graciously and sometimes not. In all of my classes I remind students that the deeper we probe Scripture the more powerfully it speaks to our lives and the more clearly and powerfully are we able to proclaim God’s truths.

People’s questions, students papers, and my own personal study have combined to help me see more clearly and correctly John’s message to us today. Let me give a few examples.
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A favorably-written article on the new book and the writer’s experience in one of Dr. Lowery’s seminary classes appeared in this past Sunday’s Pantagraph. Reporter Steve Arney (previous mentions here and here) fairly and accurately represented both the book and the class.

Here’s an excerpt from the story’s opening:

LINCOLN — In talking about Revelation, the final book of the Bible, seminary teacher Robert Lowery frequently quotes Martin Luther.

According to Lowery, Luther said, “If Christ were coming tomorrow, I’d plant my garden today.”

The quote beckons people to avoid obsessing on how current and future events fit into Revelation.

Internet sites overflow with writings on Bible prophesies and how today’s events present their fulfillment. Volumes of books match Middle East developments with the Second Coming of Christ and predict a Rapture or Secret Rapture — that is, the sweeping of all true Christians into heaven to spare them the warfare that is to precede the Second Coming.

Lowery and his students offer something quite different.

Lowery’s new textbook is titled “Revelation’s Rhapsody: Listing the Lyrics of the Lamb; How to Read the Book of Revelation.” It is devoid of predictions, and its cover is dominated by a photograph of a symphony instead of the eerie images of Armageddon that typically accompany such discussions.

It isn’t that the teacher discards signs, evil and the potential of a Second Coming of Christ. Lowery states he is sure Jesus is the Messiah (the Christ), he resurrected, ascended into heaven and will come again to judge, vanquish evil and reward the faithful.

And the Second Coming of Christ could indeed happen very soon, even tomorrow, he added.

It’s just that Lowery intends to plant the garden today.

Full article with photographs at the Pantagraph.com.

Our thanks to Steve for a job well-done.

Technorati Tags: Revelation, news, Pantagraph, Bloomington, Robert Lowery