Understanding the Images in Revelation in Their First Century Context - René Breuel/Lindsay Olesberg

The book of Revelation depicts a compelling picture of God’s sovereign rule over heaven and earth. The author paints pictures with words, using symbols and images to carry and embody God’s message to suffering churches under Rome’s thumb. Yet John’s artistic style can feel obscure to us today. The first readers would have readily understood the significance and weight of John’s imagery because they shared a common cultural and political context. This talk explores many of Revelation’s images and allusions using the historical and cultural lenses of the Roman Empire in the first century.

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René Breuel was born in São Paulo, Brazil and has lived in Rome, Italy for the past 15 years, where he serves as the Founding Pastor of Hopera, a church in Rome’s university neighborhood. He holds a Master of Studies in Creative Writing from Oxford University in the UK, a Master of Divinity from Regent College in Vancouver, Canada, a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Fundação Getúlio Vargas, in São Paulo, Brazil, and has completed additional studies at Universität Mannheim in Germany. He has written for the Washington Post, Times Literary Supplement, Christianity Today, The Gospel Coalition, Evangelical Focus, and Protestante Digital. He is the author of The Paradox of Happiness and a forthcoming publication about how churches can grow in cultural awareness and spiritual maturity. René is married to Sarah Breuel, the Executive Director of Revive Europe, and a member of the Lausanne Movement’s international board of directors. They have two teenage boys.

Lindsay Olesberg is a Bible teacher and Scripture Engagement leader with over 35 years of ministry experience. She has provided Scripture Engagement leadership for numerous Urbana Missions Conferences, Cape Town 2010 (Lausanne’s Third Global Congress), and Lausanne’s Younger Leaders Generation. Lindsay is the author of The Bible Study Handbook: A Comprehensive Guide to an Essential Practice (IVP) and Ephesians: Studying with the Global Church (Hendrickson). She serves as chair of Wycliffe USA’s board of directors and as a member of the board for Revive Europe and Servant Partners. Lindsay holds degrees from Pomona College (B.A. Asian Studies) and Fuller Theological Seminary (M.A. Theology). She and her husband Jon, a physicist working in the biotech industry, live in Austin. They have two adult children.

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