Open Heaven Church

In the Gospels, we read of John the Baptist, a man called by God to prepare the way for the arrival of Jesus. Whilst John prepared his community by baptising them with water, he claimed that Jesus would baptise them with the Holy Spirit. Since then, Christians have tried to reconcile the difference between their experience of the Holy Spirit and what they read on the pages of Scripture. How do we make sense of experience, unmet expectations, the now and the not yet?

At the beginning of John’s Gospel, we are given a glimpse of the three persons of God together; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. As Jesus, the Son, is baptised, the affirming voice of God the Father is heard, and the anointing Spirit of God is revealed as a descending bird. The New Testament reveals the Holy Spirit as a gift-giver and guide. The Holy Spirit leads us to repentance, empowers our discipleship and enables our witness. The Holy Spirit is an agent of transformation. How do we prepare for this change? How do we partner with new possibilities?

When we read the Bible as a whole, we see that God has revealed himself to us as one God in three persons; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is called ‘ruach’ in Hebrew in the Old Testament. Denoting wind or breath, it creates the image of a gentle, powerful, sustaining, yet invisible entity. The Holy Spirit empowers men and women within the Old Testament, resting on them and appearing to them. In the story of the artist Bezalel in Exodus, the Holy Spirit gives skills and abilities beyond the natural. How do we understand the Holy Spirit through scripture? How do we know the personal presence of God? How do we open ourselves to be empowered by Him?

‘Here’s the reward I have for every conqueror, everyone who keeps at it, refusing to give up: You’ll rule the nations, your Shepherd-King rule as firm as an iron staff, their resistance fragile as clay pots. This was the gift my Father gave me; I pass it along to you—and with it, the Morning Star!’ (Revelation 2:26-28). In the second half of our series on the Book of Revelation, we’ll be doing a deeper dive into the second and third chapters of the book, also known as the Letters to the Seven Churches. 

‘This is the message from the one who is the First and the Last, who was dead but is now alive: “I know about your suffering and your poverty—but you are rich! I know the blasphemy of those opposing you. They say they are Jews, but they are not, because their synagogue belongs to Satan.’ (Revelation 2:8b-9). In the second half of our series on the Book of Revelation, we’ll be doing a deeper dive into the second and third chapters of the book, also known as the Letters to the Seven Churches.

You walked away from your first love—why? In the second half of our series on the Book of Revelation, we’ll be doing a deeper dive into the second and third chapters of the book, also known as the Letters to the Seven Churches. In these seven letters, Jesus gives his specific perspective from Heaven, transforming our view of Himself and the church. In this symbolic book, the number seven is a sign of completeness. As Jesus speaks to the seven churches of Asia, he is, in turn, speaking to the whole church in every place and every age. As we understand Jesus as portrayed in Revelation, we turn our attention to our loving response. How are we, despite the turmoil of the times, to keep our love for Christ and the church from going cold?

One day, Jesus will return and set everything right forever. On that day, every tear will be wiped away. The final pages of the Bible echo its first chapters in the Book of Genesis. The story ends in a garden city, a restored and expanded Eden. The Book of Revelation presents a heavenly perspective of history, the climax of Old Testament prophecy and expectation. It’s a symbolic vision that brings hope, reveals historical patterns of empire and celebrates God’s ultimate promises. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has set ‘eternity in the hearts of men’. The Book of Revelation teaches us to live hope-filled with what is inevitable in the light of eternity.

One day, Jesus will return and set everything right forever. On that day, every tear will be wiped away. The final pages of the Bible echo its first chapters in the Book of Genesis. The story ends in a garden city, a restored and expanded Eden. The Book of Revelation presents a heavenly perspective of history, the climax of Old Testament prophecy and expectation. It’s a symbolic vision that brings hope, reveals historical patterns of empire and celebrates God’s ultimate promises. Ecclesiastes 3:11 tells us that God has set ‘eternity in the hearts of men’. The Book of Revelation teaches us to live hope-filled with what is inevitable in the light of eternity.

What do you imagine when you think of the future? The Book of Revelation is not an ending but a beginning. In the final act of Revelation, a cosmic wedding occurs, symbolising the promised relationship between God and His people. As illustrated in the Gospels, God has come to live amongst us. All things are made new. The old passes away, and a new heaven and a new earth emerge. Humanity and all its diversity work in harmony in the presence of God, which fills the earth.

The Book of Revelation presents us with a war in which Jesus is the ultimate victor. In the book's last chapters, we read of a final battle. As the nations arrive on the battlefield, we see Jesus arrive, not dressed in armour but in kingly and priestly robes, riding a white horse. But He’s covered with blood before the battle begins. Armageddon never takes place, Jesus has already won through His blood poured out on the cross. Although Revelation doesn’t give the details, it does give the destiny of the cosmos.

Will we trust in human structures and powers, or will we worship Jesus? At first glance, Revelation is a truly terrifying text. And yet it inspires us with a first-hand look at the future work of Christ. John, the author, is revealing a drama, a tale of destruction. When you build a city on weak, human foundations, it will always fall to the ground. The historical empire of Babylon fell, and now Jesus reveals to John the unthinkable fall of Rome. In combining metaphors and prophecies from the Old Testament, John creates an archetype of military and economic power, a nation which rebels against God. “This isn’t something limited to the past or the future,” the Bible Project suggests, “it’s a portrait of the human condition.”

Who has your allegiance? Who and what are the idols of our day? Dragons, beasts and lambs. Revelation uses poetic writing to convey central truths, adopting symbolic imagery and numbers drawn from Old Testament prophecies. The author builds images rich with metaphor and allusion to talk about cosmic and earthly superpowers. As it reveals Jesus, so does it reveal the corruption of the Roman empire. It calls every Christian in every era to pull their allegiance to Christ and his Kingdom and be guarded against the allure of the world. At its impressive height, no one could have imagined the fall of the Roman Empire, and yet it is not the beast or the dragon that lasts but the eternal lamb.

The Book of Revelation includes many symbols and numbers. Whilst John, the author of Revelation, worshipped, God showed him a series of dramatic images of praise in progress. A door to heaven, a lamb sitting on the throne, and a scroll to be opened; these three images demonstrate deep truths. First, through Christ, it is safe to go through heaven’s door and approach the throne. Second, the secret of history is that God wins through sacrificial love through Jesus. And third, we reign with the ruler sitting on the throne when we participate and join in worshipping Him.

In the Book of Revelation, Jesus transforms our view of Himself and the church. For the first time, the church gathering is described as ‘ecclesia’, a word reserved for when the King or Emperor summoned people to gather about the city's business. As we understand Jesus as portrayed in Revelation, we turn our attention to our loving response. How are we, despite the turmoil of the times, to keep our love for Christ and the church from going cold?

In this seminar, Phil Knox outlines the importance of connection and community in our daily lives, reflecting on the life of Jesus and allowing this to influence our approach to friendship. 

Ministry is hard graft, but with the master keys of 'place' and 'prayer', we can open doors to establish Heaven on Earth. In this second session, Phil Knox challenges us to listen and learn from our communities to understand the stories of those around us, reminding us that the miracle of Pentecost was a gift of ears as much as a gift of tongues. Through sharing stories, we will reveal and remember the faithfulness of God in our town. By committing to our place, streets, and campus, we will build relationships based on longevity and trust. Finally, as we devote ourselves to prayer, God may open a door for our message. There is a spiritual openness in our society, and people are hungry for hope.

In this first session, our guest speaker Phil Knox reminds us that to have open doors, we must also have open hearts. Phil encouraged us to work as a team by sharing a prophetic image of a rusty lock on a rusty gate. Our relationships with each other and the world around us are critical to stepping into the open doors in front of us. God invites us to play our part in rebuilding the world around us. As we invest in the relationships of those around us, our open lives will become places of transformation.

Where has our view of Jesus diminished? Through the Book of Revelation, what new aspects do we discover about who Jesus is? As we pull back the curtain on this pastoral letter written by Apostle John, we unveil a dramatic vision given by God. John exhorts the Church to see and hear the ‘Voice’ at the centre of everything, and that Voice is a person - Jesus Christ. To listen to this Voice above all the world’s many voices is to hear and see Jesus and to become oriented to the great unseen reality of His rule and reign. In looking to Christ, we experience a true apocalypse - the revelation that we do not need to fear the future or the turmoil of our present circumstances.  

It’s the end of the world! As a modern audience, we understand this as the meaning of the word ‘apocalypse’. Instead, we must understand this word as ‘uncover’ or ‘reveal’. The Bible Project define the apocalypse as “where you see the true nature of something you couldn’t see before”. An apocalypse is a revelation. But what is this revelation? In this session, we set out a roadmap for the series ahead. As New Testament scholar Dean Flemming writes, “Revelation’s poetic visions are less about describing end-times events than calling Christian communities to reimagine their world.”