Revelation Study/Getaway Weekend!

Bible, beach, babes.

This past weekend, I attended a mini women’s retreat with a few ladies from my church. We went to a friend’s condo in Oceanside, CA, and spent the weekend walking on the beach, talking, praying, and studying the Bible together. It was a truly special and memorable weekend!

I was asked to prepare a few teachings on the book of Revelation, and so was another woman, named Lynn. Revelation probably isn’t the topic I would have chosen for a women’s retreat (I mean, isn’t Song of Solomon and Proverbs 31 more typical fare for these kinds of things? I’ve actually never been to a women’s retreat before.) but these ladies were really hungry to know what the Word says about this crucial area of understanding– the end times and the return of Jesus.

I admit to being nervous about the teaching. Lynn planned to also teach on Revelation, but from the opposite eschatological perspective. Whereas I believe that the events of Revelation are still to come (the futurist/historical premillennialist view), she believes that most of the events were fulfilled at the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD (the partial preterist/amillennialist view). I really wasn’t sure what form those discussions would take, and even though I’ve studied several different eschatological views, I was really nervous about being able to represent my beliefs well in this kind of situation.

As it turned out, everything went very smoothly. I was amazed at the unity and fellowship that God brought. Several of the ladies got deeply touched by the Father, and we all felt very encouraged. I came to love and respect Lynn very much; she is extremely kind, wise, and hungry for God and His truth. Her wisdom as we candidly discussed different life situations and world issues was invaluable. She has spent years studying Revelation, sometimes for 10-15 hours each week, while being a wife and homeschooling mom. I was deeply provoked by her determination to search out truth for herself, as well as the way she prioritised relationship over debating. That’s a woman who loves Jesus and loves people very well indeed!

I also noticed several themes that we both shared as we were teaching:

  1. Revelation is meant to be understood by all believers, not only the theologically elite.
  2. Revelation becomes clear as we let Scripture interpret Scripture.
  3. Revelation is the revelation OF JESUS CHRIST (Rev. 1:1) – it’s the story of His heart.
  4. Revelation isn’t meant to be fearful- it’s a story of hope and courage for the Church.
  5. Revelation is at its core the story of a jealous God of love, not an angry, trigger-happy God of smitage*.
  6. Revelation sees the Church come into full maturity as the Bride finally looks like Jesus.
  7. Revelation ends with God’s Kingdom being fully established and His Bride being with Him forever.

I also had volunteered to lead worship (I brought my little keyboard and set it up on the kitchen table), and it was such a privilege to glorify the Lord through song with these ladies and invite the Holy Spirit into our midst. God brought a supernatural unity as we fellowshipped, studied, worshipped, and prayed.

Here are the notes from my Revelation teachings this weekend. I’m also adding the timelines from IHOPKC that I used and gave the ladies with the session 1 notes. Many more study resources can be found at IHOPKC.org.

Session 1 – Themes and Structure
Session 2 – Bridegroom, King, and Judge
Session 3 – Jesus’ Second Coming
IHOPKC Revelation timeline
screenshot_2016-09-13-20-43-01-1
*Don’t go looking for that word in any theological dictionary. You won’t find it.

Three Things I Have Learned From Church History

One of my IHOPU classes this quarter is Church History with Jono Hall. Our family history is scandalous, embarrassing, dysfunctional–and glorious, inspiring, and blessed. Through it all, some patterns and truths emerge.

1. Church history is reactive.

I used to wonder why, if truth doesn’t change, theology seems to go through “mood swings.” The answer is that new expressions and emphases are usually in reaction to previous expressions or emphases that got out of hand. In the second century, a sect called the Monatists held that their prophets carried canonical divine authority and often claimed to lose control and be “possessed” by the Holy Spirit while prophesying. In response, the Church excommunicated their leaders and settled on a closed canon of Scripture. However, as a side effect of the Monatists’ ecstatic prophecy, the Church also began moving towards a cessationist belief, that all gifts of prophecy had ceased.

In the 16th century, the Reformation confronted certain abuses and errors within the Catholic church such as the sale of indulgences, relic worship, and penance. This shift eventually resulted in a group called the Anabaptists, who rightly opposed infant baptism and were frequently martyred for it, but also became so focused on sola scriptura (“scripture alone”) that some, led by Menno Simons, rejected all worldly things not directly prescribed by Scripture. Menno Simons is known as the father of the Mennonites and by extension the Amish.

Of course, modern church history is highly reactive as well. Modern charismatic culture is partly a reaction to overly conservative denominations, and some conservative denominations have tightened down on their cessationist beliefs in response to charismatic excesses. And round and round the wheel turns…

2. There is nothing new under the sun.

The church has always battled heresies that threaten the foundation of our faith, and the same old lies keep rolling around. One of the earliest heresies was gnosticism, which is broad enough as to defy precise definition but is centred on the Greek idea of dualism- that the physical realm is evil and the spiritual realm is good. I grew up assuming some remnants of this idea, and I was aghast at first at the idea that my future glorified body would be tangible and some sort of physical, and that I would live on a physical Earth forever. Modern culture prefers to see heaven as a mystical, ethereal realm of light and glory, but the truth is that God likes matter. He designed the universe–including heaven–to be physical, and it will be physical forever. This is an Hebraic idea that flies in the face of ancient Greek gnosticism and modern Western thought.

This also affects how we see Jesus. Jesus really became a real physical Man, and He really will be human forever.

3. Ultimately, Jesus is building His church.

In between all the messy bits, God has been guiding the history of the Church. This is Jesus’ bride, and He is not giving up on her. There is always a remnant of true believers passionately pursuing God. Through the centuries we see church councils fighting for unity and orthodoxy, monks and mystics seeking Jesus in a consecrated life (some even establishing centuries of 24/7 worship), scribes and translators labouring for the spread of the Word, and reformers fighting for open access to God by grace through faith.

Church history gives us hope for the church today. No matter how corrupted or politicised the religious landscape may become, God has already brought us through so much, and He is committed to bringing us to maturity.

“And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.”
(Philippians 1:6)

“On this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.”
(Matthew 16:18)