Jason Locke's Blog

A crazed gunman killed three people in downtown Fresno yesterday. Sadly, murder isn't a rare occurrence in Fresno or in most big cities across our nation. Tuesday's tragic killing made world news, however, both because there were multiple victims and because the shooter, an African-American man, was targeting white men. Here are some important things to know and to remember about this tragedy: 1. Take time NOW to tell people how much you care. No one is ever 100% safe. I don't say this to make you cower in fear. Just realize the fragility of life. Kiss your spouse when you say goodbye. Hug your kids or your parents as much as you can. Don't leave conflicts unresolved for long. There just are no guarantees in life. Cherish the relationships you have, and let people know how much you appreciate them. 2. Hate-filled rhetoric springs forth in hate-filled actions. People who stir up trouble ought to face some consequence for filling people’s minds with hate.

Who is Revelation written for? Does it talk about the end times? How should we interpret it? The Book of Revelation is without doubt one of the Bible's most difficult books. It is filled with apocalyptic material that confuses modern, Western readers. We don't speak in such symbolic language today. To be fair, however, apocalyptic writings were confusing to ancient readers as well. Jewish apocalypticism was wildly popular starting in the mid-second century BC through the late first century AD. While the metaphorical depictions of apocalyptic preaching were not intended to be taken literally, that's exactly what people did. Rereading the ancient prophets like Isaiah, many Jews took the apocalyptic images literally and believed God wanted them to rebel against Rome. The disaster that followed with General Titus's pillaging of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple nearly caused the extermination of the Jewish people. Clearly, they had misinterpreted the apocalypt