Where is God Amidst All This Chaos?
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How Does the BIBLE Say We Discover Truth?

Mark Virkler's picture

The Pharisees thought they would establish the truth by studying the Scriptures. Jesus rebuked them and said they needed to actually come to Him to receive the truth (Jn. 5:39-40). Truth is not a book. Truth is a Person (Jn. 14:6).

“Revelation encounters” change our theology (i.e., our understanding of the words of Scripture)

  • Truth came to Paul when he had a direct encounter with the living God, hearing His voice and seeing His vision (Acts 9), after which he went away to the Arabian wilderness for three years. Paul makes a point to say he was not taught by man but rather taught by the Spirit (Gal. 1:11-18).
  • The disciples on the Emmaus Road were in a similar situation. They knew the Old Testament prophecies but did not have revelation concerning them until Jesus opened the Scriptures to them, and their hearts were set on fire (Lk. 24:13-35).

Truth comes by the Spirit

  • But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come (Jn. 16:13-14).
  • The anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things (1 Jn. 2:27).
  • So we have the prophetic word made more sure, to which you do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts (2 Pet. 1:19-20).
  • Twelve verses from the Apostle John on how we come to truth.

Truth is a Person and when reading HIS book (the Bible), we need HIM to reveal its message

  • In the Garden of Eden, they were not handed a book. They were offered a walk with God in the cool of the day.
  • Jesus had this to say to those who thought they were going to receive life through a book: "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; it is these that testify about Me; and you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life” (Jn. 5:39-40). Jesus is saying: Come back to the Garden of Eden and have a living encounter with Me! Note Jesus didn’t say come to a linguist; He said come to ME!
  • The Bible teaches that the path to truth is when the Holy Spirit opens the Scriptures to our understanding causing our hearts to burn with revelation (Lk. 24:13-35).
  • A foundational requirement is: We MUST receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2 Thess. 2:10). I must pray for and seek out the constant enlightening of the Spirit (Eph. 1:17-18), more than I love my pet doctrines, which are yesterday’s revelations codified. I either love the security of my theological box or I love the prophetic word constantly emerging in my heart, granting me ever-increasing light, continually transforming me into His likeness.
    • They did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved (2 Thess. 2:10)
    • I pray that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him. I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened, so that you will know … (Eph. 1:17-18)

Satan has used every trick in the book to keep us from knowing the truth. His lies include

  1. Skip walks in the garden: You don’t need to hear God’s voice; you can know. (“You” became the false god of “humanism” – it’s about my efforts. “Know” became the false god of “rationalism” - it’s about what I think).
  2. Dispensationalism: Much of the Bible is for another period, and you can’t apply or live it in this age (dispensation).
  3. Demythologization: The supernatural stories in the Bible are fables, not real.
  4. Fear of rejection: If you embrace this truth, you will lose your job, position, salary, prestige, social position. (Think Nicodemus, for example.)
  5. Fear of inadequacy: I am too ignorant to properly discover truth.
  6. Pride: I have truth all boxed up, so don’t confuse me with any countering verses or insights.
  7. A false understanding of spiritual authority: I must submit to what my leader tells me to believe.

My confession is

can know the truth through the illumination of the Holy Spirit. I honor and seek God’s revelation through all six means by which the Bible teaches that God reveals Himself. These are illumined Scriptures, anointed reasoning, peace in my heart, direct revelation through dreams, visions, angels, prophecy, illumined understanding of the fruit of life, and the revelation-based counsel of spiritual advisors. I walk in meekness, knowing that I see through a glass dimly and that the Holy Spirit grants me ever-increasing insight (1 Cor. 13:12; 2 Pet. 1:19).

Here is a biblical epistemology (system of knowing) for discovering truth

  1. Honoring six ways God reveals Himself to us – The Leaders' Paradigm

Blogs on revelation-based learning  

  1. What Is Revelation-Based Learning?
  2. Revelation Knowledge vs. Reasoned Knowledge and the Implications for Bible Colleges
  3. What Does Revelation-Based Learning Feel Like?
  4. How To Meditate On Scripture And Receive Revelation

Training resources concerning revelation-based learning

  1. 4 Keys to Hearing God's Voice eBook
  2. How to Receive Revelation Knowledge MP3
  3. How Do You Know? eBook
  4. Hearing God Through Biblical Meditation ebook
  5. Through the Bible
  6. Hearing God Through Your Dreams eBook
  7. Everyday Angels eBook
  8. Experiencing God Together eBook
  9. Secrets of World-Class Teachers Package
  10. Sound Doctrine Through Revelation Knowledge
  11. Lamad Faculty Handbook eBook
  12. Lamad Biblical Education Association

Related Resources: 

How to Hear God's Voice!   
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Fulfill Your Financial Destiny

Fulfill Your Financial Destiny

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 66 Pages

Though the economic system (mammon) of this world is under a curse, we have received instructions for how to move out from that dominion and into the blessing of the Kingdom of God. God’s promises to His children have not changed with the whims of government or Wall Street, nor have His directions for how to walk in those promises. We can “choose not to participate” in the economic recession that is around us if we instead choose to obey the logos and rhema of the Lord and enjoy the blessings that result.

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Gifted to Succeed

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"Do you see a man skilled in his work? He will stand before kings; He will not stand before obscure men." (Prov. 22:29)

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The Great Mystery

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by Mark and Patti Virkler | 54 Pages

This is a workbook which guides you in meditating on hundreds of New Testament verses which speak of Who Christ is within us and how to touch and release Him and His wisdom, power and might continuously and effortlessly out through our lives. You will look up every New Testament verse on being "in Christ," "in Him" and "in Whom." In addition, you will meditate on the various names given to the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, and realize that all that He is is available within you and even joined to you (1 Cor. 6:17)! Absolutely amazing!

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Health Mastery Through MRT

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Wouldn't it be great if there were a way for my body to tell me exactly what it needs and desires, without having to take expensive or invasive tests? Wouldn't it be amazing if I could perform these tests as often as I wanted, right in my own home (or anywhere I wanted), with no costly instruments necessary? 

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Hearing God Through Biblical Meditation

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 179 Pages | $15.99 retail list price

For many years I studied the Bible incorrectly, and it produced death rather than life. Even though I had a knowledge of the Scriptures, I did not personally experience the life and the realities they revealed. The Bible calls this the ministry of death, rather than the ministry of righteousness (2 Cor. 3:6–9). Upon coming out of Bible college, I found myself just like the apostle Paul, attacking those who disagreed with my theology. 

Price: $15.95

How Do You Know?

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 180 Pages

How do you know? What is the process you use to discover truth? I did not ask that question during the first 25 years of my life. I used eleven different methods for discovering truth including: if my parents said so, then it was so. If my teacher said it was so, then it was so. If my pastor said it was so, then it was so. If my theology said it was so, then it was so. I have discarded them all and adopted a twelfth method, which is in harmony with what the Bible teaches. We teach you this method in this book.

Price: $17.95
How to Build a Winning Team

How to Build a Winning Team

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 105 Pages

Can I succeed like others have? What do I need to do? How do I go about it? What if I don't have the gifts necessary to do something great?  The wonderful truth revealed in Scripture is that God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary feats, especially when they say, "Yes, Lord" to the destiny He has prepared for them!

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How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

How to Receive the Baptism in the Holy Spirit

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 44 Pages | Published 2002

This brief booklet walks a person through the main obstacles to speaking in tongues, and shows how each one can be successfully overcome. It is down-to-earth, practical and biblical, and in it Mark Virkler shares the struggles he went through before he was able to speak in tongues. Some were theological issues and some simply practical issues, like the fact that if I am going to speak in tongues, I will need to speak. Otherwise, nothing happens.

Price: $2.95
How to Walk by the Spirit

How to Walk by the Spirit

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 136 Pages | Previous name "Sense Your Spirit"

Are you like many western Christians who have been taught little about how to sense their spirits? Do you have trouble even defining what spirit sensations feel like within you, much less recognizing them? This training was birthed from Mark’s passion to live out of his spirit, and thus release the anointing of God. The problem he faced was lack of clear biblical definition as to what his spirit felt like. So Mark looked up every verse in the Bible on heart and spirit.

Price: $13.95
Intimacy with the Holy Spirit

Intimacy with the Holy Spirit

by Mark and Patti Virkler | 223 Pages

This book leads you in meditating on and journaling about two hundred and fifty verses that discuss the Holy Spirit. You will grow in intimacy with the indwelling Holy Spirit, and the anointing within you will increase! You will exclaim as the disciples did on the Emmaus Road “Did not our heart burn within us…while He opened to us the scriptures?” (Luke 24:32)! In addition to being led to journal through these verses, you will read numerous two-way journal entries from Mark Virkler, as well as a five-page prayer at the conclusion of the book.

Price: $10.95

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