Beginning Again: Revelation, Resistance, and the Journey of Listening

Dr. Craig Goodwin-Ortiz de León, Ph.D.| July 30, 2025

The Book of Revelation has always been my favorite book of the Bible. Despite its terrifying symbols and apocalyptic visions, I have long read it as a story of hope and redemption. Its pages offer a promise that all things will be made new and that suffering will not have the final word. Revelation gives me hope for a new heaven and a new earth, where there is no more death, no more crying, and no more pain. That vision has nourished my faith and drawn me closer to God’s promise of justice and healing.

This summer, I am reading Can I Get a Witness? Reading Revelation through African American Culture by Brian K. Blount as part of my Vacation Bible Study. Blount is a biblical scholar and theologian who invites readers to approach Revelation from the perspective of African American culture and experience. His work explores how Revelation speaks to communities that have endured centuries of oppression and yet continued to proclaim God’s faithfulness. As someone who has not been formed by the Black church tradition, I am aware of my own limited understanding. I come to this study as a learner, ready to listen, to wrestle with discomfort, and to be changed.

Before I open Blount’s book, I am returning to the text of Revelation itself. I want to encounter its words freshly, without the filter of my past assumptions or interpretations. Reading Revelation again will prepare me to hear the voices Blount lifts up and to enter more fully into the world he describes. I believe Scripture has the power to speak anew when we slow down and open our hearts to it. This time, I am reading with new questions, shaped by the voices and lives of people whose stories have too often been ignored.

I am writing this post to mark the beginning of a journey. I do not know where it will lead, but I believe it will draw me deeper into the heart of the Gospel. I hope to share reflections along the way, not as a teacher or guide, but as someone who is walking and learning. Revelation calls us to be witnesses, and I want to take that call seriously. Bearing witness begins with seeing, hearing, and telling the truth about God’s justice and love. It is my prayer that this reading will help me become more faithful in that work.

If you have never read Revelation, or if you have avoided it because of how it has been misused, I invite you to read it with me. If you are curious about how Black faith has interpreted Scripture in ways that give life and strength to the weary, I encourage you to learn alongside me. I will post more reflections as the summer continues, and I would be honored to read your thoughts too. Together, we can seek a deeper understanding of what it means to hope in God’s promise. The Lamb who was slain is worthy—and we are invited to follow.