Beloved Disciple Study Completed

…His name is called the Word of God.
Revelation 19:13

Last night, my group finished Beth Moore’s Beloved Disciple study focusing on the life and writings of John. It was my first experience leading a Bible study, and God taught me as much through teaching as He did through the study itself. When I think of this study, I will always remember what God taught me about the Logos and rhema (See “Logos and Rhema” in the February 2006 archives.), but just as important is what He taught me about how the Holy Spirit works through the Word. If you are not diligently studying the Word, you are limiting the opportunities for the Spirit to work in and through you.

I have also been overwhelmed by the love and encouragement expressed by the study participants. If any of you are reading this, thank you for your kind words, your enthusiasm, and your faithfulness in your participation. And thank you for the lovely oil lamp you gave me last night as a parting gift of appreciation! (See photo above.) I will treasure it always.

I have been hesitant to study Revelation because, frankly, it makes me uncomfortable. I think one reason is because my eschatological leanings differ from the majority of Christendom and from my denomination in particular. My general feeling about eschatology (the study of last things) is that it is somewhat pointless when we will never be able to figure out what prophetic writings really mean, and there is so much Scripture that is perfectly clear in its teaching. I don’t know about you, but I will spend the rest of my life learning to walk in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).

Preoccupation with last things is a distraction in the body of Christ. Just watch Christian television for five seconds and you will understand what I mean. What we do know is that Jesus is coming back, and that the bride (the church) should be making herself ready (Revelation 19:7). However, instead of making herself ready, she is spending too much time trying to figure out when he is coming back. This is bewildering to me in light of I Thessalonians 5:2: For you yourselves know full well that they day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.

But, as usual, I digress. Despite my hesitancy to study Revelation, I truly enjoyed and was blessed by the last three weeks of Beloved Disciple. Rather than concentrating on the potentially controversial aspects of John’s Revelation, Moore examined the general truths that could be gleaned. She is blessed with an imagination that enables her to draw lessons from imagery that I would never come up with. (At least, I don’t think I would. But now that I’ve seen the Spirit work in teaching preparation, there’s no telling what I may come up with in the future.)

When I read Revelation 19:13, …His name is called the Word of God, I experienced something akin to butterflies in my stomach. The Logos again. It’s all about the Logos.