Bøger af Harold T Bryson

The origin of this book has kinship with the merging of two rivers. Two rivers existed side by side. One had flowed longer than the other river. It had received the water and rich deposits of rivers, creeks, and streams. The other river was formed later. The two rivers existed separately, but ultimately they merged. The water from the older river mixed with the younger river. Their waters became intermingled. As they flowed together, their waters blended thoroughly. Other tributaries flowed into the combined river, and this one river was filled with deposits from many sources. As the river flowed, it emptied its waters in a large gulf. If you looked at the river, you could not tell what water be­longed to what river.This analogy fits the formation of this book. James C. Taylor resembles the description of the river which existed longer. He has been a pastor, a navy chaplain, and a seminary professor. He has taught preachers to build sermons for over three decades. Through these decades many streams of homiletical information flowed into his life and ministry -Charles W. Koller, George Buttrick, Andrew W. Blackwood, H. Grady Davis, John A. Broadus, Austin Phelps, Phillips Brooks, Halford Luccock, Ralph Sockman, and others. Students from several generations have learned from this teacher of preaching. They have observed the character of his life, and they have applied his techniques of building a sermon. Also, he has listened to their feedback; thus, he has been able to improve his content and method of teaching continuously.The other river in the analogy is Harold T. Bryson. His system of preaching was influenced by Taylor in an expository preaching class. Bryson listened to Taylor's theory of preaching and applied it in his student pastor­ate and in subsequent pastorates. He sought each week to build sermons with the idea of helping his people, according to the system shared by Taylor. Bryson served as a pastor for nineteen years. The mechanics of "building" a sermon to meet people's needs intrigued both men. Bryson, in the pastorate, and Taylor, in the seminary, shared ideas with each other. They listened to each other. They learned together about one system of building a sermon. They continuously insisted that the system of sermon construction must be subservient to helping people with their needs.

The book of Revelation is the strangest book in the New Testament. It opens with an unusual vision of a person who has hair white as snow, eyes as a flame of fire, feet like burnished bronze; and from his mouth comes a sharp, two-edged sword. The narrative continues with One seated on a throne who is described with precious jewels. He is surrounded by twenty-four elders and four living creatures. In the throne area a Lamb appears and looks as if he has been killed. But the Lamb is alive, and he takes a scroll from the right hand of the One on the throne. Action in Revelation intensifies with seals opening, trumpets sounding, and bowls pouring. Strange creatures appear: a beast with the qualities of a leopard, bear, and a lion; a woman clothed with the sun, the moon under her feet, and a crown of twelve stars on her head; an enormous red dragon with seven heads, ten horns, and ten crowns on his head; an army of locusts with human-like faces and tails that sting like scorpions; and a rider riding a white horse and wearing a robe dipped in blood. Readers of Revelation encounter frequent use of numbers such as seven seals, seven trumpets, seven bowls, ten horns, and ten crowns. They wonder about a beast numbered 666, a reign of a thousand years, and the appearance of 144,000 people surrounding the One on the throne. The book of Revelation closes with the appearance of a celestial city with streets of gold and gates of pearl. Though Revelation is a strange book, it is intended to be an understandable book. Do you think God would have given a message to John that the seven churches of Asia could not understand? The reason Revelation seems so different to modern readers is because of its unusual language. The kind of writing is called apocalyptic literature. First-century readers knew about Jewish apocalypses and the messages they conveyed. The writer of Revelation adopted the figurative and symbolic language of apocalyptic literature to communicate God's message to seven churches. Revelation was understandable to its first-century readers. It can be understood by any reader who takes the time to learn the book's life situation and its unique, apocalyptic style. Under God's inspiration John writes to believers in an alien, hostile environment. These readers desperately needed the message of Revelation. They suffered persecution from the Roman authorities. It was a time of chaos, uncertainty, and fear. The future seemed extremely dark and painfully hopeless. God instructed John to lift the veil so the readers could look beyond the visible. The central truth John wants to communicate is that the world and all its events are under the control of God.