On October 24, 2014, this series began with a hypothesis that a “Cycle” of human behavior exists throughout the Bible. For nearly three years, I have been researching and developing the Cycle and recording how it is repeated over and over throughout the Bible. In the back of our minds has been the hypothesis that the Cycle of human failure can be broken only by Jesus, the Messiah of Israel, when we repent; only then can we be restored to perfect unity with God.
The entire series came about immediately subsequent to the publication of Streamside – Finding Peace through Perfect Unity (see blog to obtain a copy), which is itself a hypothesis searching for answers in the four Gospels of Jesus about our failure to respond to Jesus’s prayer for perfect unity in John 17:20-26.
Hypotheses are meant to be tested. The word comes from the “scientific method” of inquiry and is not often used by theological scholars.
My Bible study approach has been intensely inductive, guided by how the entire Bible fits the hypothesis of the Cycle or not. But as I indicated last week, I have hit a roadblock in my efforts to classify every verse according to the Cycle.
Why? First, the Psalms are a hymn book, full of wonderful inspirations for life experiences, but they are mostly written by David, whose history we have already studied. I have now found that in Proverbs, the verses completely defy classification according to the cycle because nearly every verse contains a contrast between good and evil, or wisdom and folly. Similarly, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon define wisdom and love, which are hard to press into the categories of the Cycle. So I am going to move through them quickly and likely highlight only small sections of interest in weekly blogs.
Second, I feel an urgency coming straight from the Holy Spirit to ask a serious question that I know is coming when we return to the New Testament where Streamside began. This urgency is partially because of the modern times we live in and somewhat by the fact that it will take me a very long time to get through the entire Bible the way I am doing it. And frankly, I am not getting any younger – I will be seventy this year, and every new day is a gift with no guarantee of another. I want to get the message out that God challenged me to deliver!
I started Streamside on the hypothesis that the final prayer of Jesus for perfect unity among those who would come to believe in him, uttered only moments before his betrayal, arrest and murder, summarized his entire teaching to us. I concluded that our failure to obey his commands has caused his prayer to go unanswered. It is not that God cannot answer it. But I believe that God has chosen to wait until we do obey his commands.
The Apostles, especially Peter, believed that Jesus was delaying his return on purpose. In 2 Peter 3:4, Peter acknowledges that scoffers will claim Jesus should have returned by now; that he has been delayed. And in Revelation 3 Jesus himself claims he is coming soon, but he has not.
So here is the question that all of my work over the past thirty years of studying perfect unity has brought me to, “full cycle”:
What might Jesus be waiting to see from us that might trigger his decision to return and inaugurate his kingdom here on earth?
The question is so profound, so deep, and so exciting that after a great deal of prayer and an even greater amount of trepidation as to whether I am even able, I have begun work on a novel that will address this question for the widest possible audience.
Notice that I said “might trigger” not “will trigger.” The novel will be a “novel” way to propose a hypothesis (pun intended) worthy of the Cycle we have studied for so long. I have felt the Spirit so strongly that to not proceed with the book would feel like disobedience.
Please pray for wisdom for me, that I will follow through on the Lord’s will for this. Please pray that it will attract a publisher. And most of all, please pray that a life or two will find complete restoration in Jesus as a result.
I will continue the “If My People” series, but also keep you posted on the novel as we move forward.
The entire series came about immediately subsequent to the publication of Streamside – Finding Peace through Perfect Unity (see blog to obtain a copy), which is itself a hypothesis searching for answers in the four Gospels of Jesus about our failure to respond to Jesus’s prayer for perfect unity in John 17:20-26.
Hypotheses are meant to be tested. The word comes from the “scientific method” of inquiry and is not often used by theological scholars.
My Bible study approach has been intensely inductive, guided by how the entire Bible fits the hypothesis of the Cycle or not. But as I indicated last week, I have hit a roadblock in my efforts to classify every verse according to the Cycle.
Why? First, the Psalms are a hymn book, full of wonderful inspirations for life experiences, but they are mostly written by David, whose history we have already studied. I have now found that in Proverbs, the verses completely defy classification according to the cycle because nearly every verse contains a contrast between good and evil, or wisdom and folly. Similarly, Ecclesiastes and Song of Solomon define wisdom and love, which are hard to press into the categories of the Cycle. So I am going to move through them quickly and likely highlight only small sections of interest in weekly blogs.
Second, I feel an urgency coming straight from the Holy Spirit to ask a serious question that I know is coming when we return to the New Testament where Streamside began. This urgency is partially because of the modern times we live in and somewhat by the fact that it will take me a very long time to get through the entire Bible the way I am doing it. And frankly, I am not getting any younger – I will be seventy this year, and every new day is a gift with no guarantee of another. I want to get the message out that God challenged me to deliver!
I started Streamside on the hypothesis that the final prayer of Jesus for perfect unity among those who would come to believe in him, uttered only moments before his betrayal, arrest and murder, summarized his entire teaching to us. I concluded that our failure to obey his commands has caused his prayer to go unanswered. It is not that God cannot answer it. But I believe that God has chosen to wait until we do obey his commands.
The Apostles, especially Peter, believed that Jesus was delaying his return on purpose. In 2 Peter 3:4, Peter acknowledges that scoffers will claim Jesus should have returned by now; that he has been delayed. And in Revelation 3 Jesus himself claims he is coming soon, but he has not.
So here is the question that all of my work over the past thirty years of studying perfect unity has brought me to, “full cycle”:
What might Jesus be waiting to see from us that might trigger his decision to return and inaugurate his kingdom here on earth?
The question is so profound, so deep, and so exciting that after a great deal of prayer and an even greater amount of trepidation as to whether I am even able, I have begun work on a novel that will address this question for the widest possible audience.
Notice that I said “might trigger” not “will trigger.” The novel will be a “novel” way to propose a hypothesis (pun intended) worthy of the Cycle we have studied for so long. I have felt the Spirit so strongly that to not proceed with the book would feel like disobedience.
Please pray for wisdom for me, that I will follow through on the Lord’s will for this. Please pray that it will attract a publisher. And most of all, please pray that a life or two will find complete restoration in Jesus as a result.
I will continue the “If My People” series, but also keep you posted on the novel as we move forward.
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