a revelation of Revelation.
what if everyhting we've been tought about a certain subject was not completly true, but just another person's perspective. And that person did such a good job of convincing other people that what he was saying is true, that they went on and taught other people that first man's opinions as truth? I'm going to write about something now and I don't claim it as truth. But I want to challenge what we teach and have been taught on this controversial subject.
What I learned about Revelation in Bible college was great. it was adventerous. it was exciting. it pieced together parts from all over the Bible. it was neat to fit the jigsaw puzzle together now that we had the "last" piece. really neat. i felt like i understood God's overall plan for earth better. that was good. but i've also heard lots of garbage and division and sin come out of discussions over the book of revelation. that's not good. theology is a wedge that de-unites the Church of God on earth. I've always thought the secrets of revelation was good to know for your own personal understanding, but it's almost pointless for those who believe, because its not for Christians (i used to hold a pre-trib rapture view), but for the people who continually refuse God who still happen to be living at such a poor unfortunate time in human history. that was just too weighty for me.
as i was peeing the other day, this is what i was thinking...
maybe the book of revelation is not really about a time of tribulation and judgemeent that will happen sometime in the future after all. maybe it is a picture of spiritual warfare. i mean, this guy, John, is being persecuted. left to die. exiled on an island called Patmos in the middle of the Agean Sea. this guy is probably quoting some psalms about: God destroy my enemies. I'm having a hard time here. i preach Your word and i get punished. where is the God of justice? We've all read those psalms of personal lament. those are the things david cried in the desert when he was exiled. i think it is possible that the book of revelation is not so much a future event, but maybe a picture of what haappens during spiritual warfare. in the spirit world. when we worship in the spirit. when we pray in the spirit. we when have our minds set on things not of this world, but on the spiritual realm. jesus may be letting john (and us) in on the "behind the scenes" of spiritual warfare:
as you worship Me and remove the lordship you've given yourself
and return it to me i will save you. you've allowed me to save you.
I'll pour out my wrath on those persecuting you and Me
then I'll give them a chance to stop and turn to Me
and if they won't, I'll do it again.
this time I'll wreck more havoc.
I will destroy them.
You'll have peace. for a time.
then, things may come up again...
And I'll destroy them again.
now that they have been weakened, we'll fight together to destroy them.
we'll destroy them permanently. forever.
you will be free.
you will be with me.
we will reign together over those things we battled together against.
I will come back into your life strong. victorious.
you will continue to dwell with me and bear fruit. all year long.
I always have been. I always am. I always will be.
consider it pure joy, my brethren, when you face many trials. when you face persecution. because persecution becomes character. God-like character.
I'm not talking non-sense like the tribulation period is happening now, or any other type of theological babble like that. I'm just saying that what if all that stuff we've been taught about revelation is the product of somebody's imagination. The fruit of somebody's worries that they don't understand that portion of the Bible and they have to bend it and massage it to make it fit into something they can grasp. i want to know the heart of God. and I know God's heart is to protect us. to fight for us. to grow character in us. to be with us. for us to worship him in spirit. for us to pray to him in spirit. for us to do battle against the things of this world in spirit. and for us to not be left alone, in the dark, stranded, as his children. I don't want somebody else's imagination to be my truth. that's for darn sure.
what i do know is fact:
1. II Peter 3:10-11 tells us that problems will come (future or present) so I MUST live a HOLY life now.
2. in the end, GOD WINS! who's side am i on?
What I learned about Revelation in Bible college was great. it was adventerous. it was exciting. it pieced together parts from all over the Bible. it was neat to fit the jigsaw puzzle together now that we had the "last" piece. really neat. i felt like i understood God's overall plan for earth better. that was good. but i've also heard lots of garbage and division and sin come out of discussions over the book of revelation. that's not good. theology is a wedge that de-unites the Church of God on earth. I've always thought the secrets of revelation was good to know for your own personal understanding, but it's almost pointless for those who believe, because its not for Christians (i used to hold a pre-trib rapture view), but for the people who continually refuse God who still happen to be living at such a poor unfortunate time in human history. that was just too weighty for me.
as i was peeing the other day, this is what i was thinking...
maybe the book of revelation is not really about a time of tribulation and judgemeent that will happen sometime in the future after all. maybe it is a picture of spiritual warfare. i mean, this guy, John, is being persecuted. left to die. exiled on an island called Patmos in the middle of the Agean Sea. this guy is probably quoting some psalms about: God destroy my enemies. I'm having a hard time here. i preach Your word and i get punished. where is the God of justice? We've all read those psalms of personal lament. those are the things david cried in the desert when he was exiled. i think it is possible that the book of revelation is not so much a future event, but maybe a picture of what haappens during spiritual warfare. in the spirit world. when we worship in the spirit. when we pray in the spirit. we when have our minds set on things not of this world, but on the spiritual realm. jesus may be letting john (and us) in on the "behind the scenes" of spiritual warfare:
as you worship Me and remove the lordship you've given yourself
and return it to me i will save you. you've allowed me to save you.
I'll pour out my wrath on those persecuting you and Me
then I'll give them a chance to stop and turn to Me
and if they won't, I'll do it again.
this time I'll wreck more havoc.
I will destroy them.
You'll have peace. for a time.
then, things may come up again...
And I'll destroy them again.
now that they have been weakened, we'll fight together to destroy them.
we'll destroy them permanently. forever.
you will be free.
you will be with me.
we will reign together over those things we battled together against.
I will come back into your life strong. victorious.
you will continue to dwell with me and bear fruit. all year long.
I always have been. I always am. I always will be.
consider it pure joy, my brethren, when you face many trials. when you face persecution. because persecution becomes character. God-like character.
I'm not talking non-sense like the tribulation period is happening now, or any other type of theological babble like that. I'm just saying that what if all that stuff we've been taught about revelation is the product of somebody's imagination. The fruit of somebody's worries that they don't understand that portion of the Bible and they have to bend it and massage it to make it fit into something they can grasp. i want to know the heart of God. and I know God's heart is to protect us. to fight for us. to grow character in us. to be with us. for us to worship him in spirit. for us to pray to him in spirit. for us to do battle against the things of this world in spirit. and for us to not be left alone, in the dark, stranded, as his children. I don't want somebody else's imagination to be my truth. that's for darn sure.
what i do know is fact:
1. II Peter 3:10-11 tells us that problems will come (future or present) so I MUST live a HOLY life now.
2. in the end, GOD WINS! who's side am i on?
