A MESSAGE FROM REV. KAREN KINNEY: IS RESISTANCE FUTILE?
Grace and peace to you,
Dragons, beasts, false prophets and the number 666! What are we getting ourselves into as we explore Revelation Chapter 13? This series has been eye-opening for me as I have researched the Book of Revelation for the class that convenes each Wednesday evening on Zoom at 7 p.m. (the last one will be next Wednesday, Aug. 27 – the Zoom link is bit.ly/41buEvA).
Repeatedly though, we are reminded that God is 
in control (even when it doesn’t feel like it) and that we are to stay faithful witnesses to God and Jesus – their power, their love, grace, mercy, forgiveness. We are to imitate the way in which Jesus witnesses to God’s love and power (I’m not that clever, to be honest!).
But perhaps the point being made especially in Chapter 13 is that evil exists in our world – it exists in systems and structures and people, but we don’t always recognize evil, do we? We get swayed by false prophets who promise us the world and capture our attention. We get bedazzled by all the shiny things.
Or we deny that evil exists. Either way, this Chapter asks us to recognize evil by seeing the deceptive practices behind it. Then we can answer the question: To whom do we truly belong – to the forces that destroy or the Lamb who liberates? Who will we bear witness for? Will we give up hope and say resistance is futile (I’m a Star Trek fan) or will we stay hopeful and keep resisting? Will we turn our attention to God and discern how we are to respond in this moment in time? Lots of questions!
Come and see, come and explore!
Pastor Karen