Joy in Our Weakness: A Gift of Hope from the Book of Revelation
Overview
Neither a commentary on the book of Revelation nor a devotional work—though it offers aspects of both—Joy in Our Weakness is instead a theological and practical guide that ushers readers into the very presence of Christ and his lordship over the powers of evil. Marva Dawn writes compassionately for those who suffer, for this book was born out of her own struggles with physical limitations and chronic illness, and it is intended to help the whole church learn how to find joy in every circumstance of life, especially in trials and sufferings. After outlining some important foundational principles in three introductory chapters, Dawn guides readers through the whole book of Revelation, pointing out the errors of those who try to calendarize the end of the world and instead delineating how Revelation reveals Christ’s lordship, exposes the workings of the powers, and sustains those who suffer until evil is ultimately defeated. Now thoroughly revised for a wider readership, Joy in Our Weakness highlights Revelation’s original purpose—to comfort afflicted, suffering believers—and spells out a biblically grounded “theology of weakness,” offering a rare gift to the Church today. A wealth of insight and encouragement truly awaits the readers of these pages.
Top Highlights
“Jesus is the bright Morning Star. Only this letter to Thyatira offers to a church such a particular promise of the presence of Christ. However, only this letter also adds a particular word of caution to the phrase included in all seven letters, ‘To the one overcoming.…’ The additional words here, ‘and does my will to the end,’ seem to suggest that the presence of Jesus is integrally connected with the doing of His will.” (Pages 71–72)
“God’s message to us in the book of Revelation is that in the present we are not always going to win; our lives will not always be characterized by triumph. That is a lesson hard to accept—in fact, impossible—except that it is balanced on the opposite side with this hope: eventually we will win because Christ reigns. These poles stand in a dialectical tension and cannot be brought together because of the intervening reality of opposition from all the powers of evil.” (Page 12)
“In an interesting experiment conducted before glasnost and the breakdown of the Soviet empire, U.S. school children were shown pictures of tree-lined streets and asked why Russians planted trees like that. The children responded, ‘So people won’t be able to see what’s going on beyond the road’ and ‘to make work for prisoners.’ When asked why American roads have trees beside them, the same children said, ‘for shade’ or ‘to keep the dust down.’ Everything depends on perspective!” (Page 4)
“Think of some of the great heroes of the world who have sacrificed themselves in order that others might be released. For example, Dietrich Bonhoeffer died in a prison camp because he attempted to confront the tyranny of Hitler. But Bonhoeffer had no power; he did not rule. Rarely in the history of the world can we find anyone who possesses a profoundly sacrificial love and also reigns.” (Page 35)
- Title: Joy in Our Weakness: A Gift of Hope from the Book of Revelation
- Author: Marva Dawn
- Edition: Revised Edition
- Publishers: Eerdmans, Regent College Publishing, Lime Grove House Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2002
- Logos Release Date: 2015
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. Revelation › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9780802860699, 9781876798840, 9781553610502, 0802860699, 187679884X, 1553610504
- Resource ID: LLS:JOYINOURWEAKNESS
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T00:55:09Z