Irenaeus, a co-founding member of the Remnant of the Way, is a scientist who was called by God as a child. He was given a series of apocalyptic dreams, which his parents recognized as future biblical events. They encouraged Irenaeus to pursue God with all his heart (Deuteronomy 6:4-7), but cautioned him to keep his experiences of God to himself given the closed-minded nature of the modern world – both the scientific academy and the church as well.
Irenaeus fervently pursued both his scientific and religious callings. His supernatural dreams provided some initial guidance to his path, but then they ceased for many years. Upon their more recent return, only during the past decade, Irenaeus sought out guidance from other spiritual leaders within the established church, both to provide guidance and support as he grew in relation to God and the work that He had initiated in him. Many of his dreams were like pieces of a puzzle, seeming random words, which when explored and investigated, turned out to be names of historical figures from the past and present, mythological characters, ancient and modern cities, historical movements, buildings/architecture, and symbols/sigils. What at times appeared to be incoherent puzzle pieces have begun to form the outline of a massive picture, which Irenaeus has come to believe represents the rise of darkness in our modern world and an indication that the 70th week of Daniel is at hand. While the piecemeal unfolding of these dreams initially seemed perplexing, their uncovering in this manner allowed the collective group to share in their discovery, and to recognize their validity as they came to pass in a real-time, observable manner (allowing for the beloved hypothesis testing of science and the confirmation of the prophetic of the faithful church). Observing God’s revelation unfolding in real-time increased our collective trust in the reality of the supernatural worldview of our Savior. It has led our group to overcome the shackles of the academy (i.e., naturalism/materialism, reductionism)1-3 and the post-modern church alike (i.e., lack of belief in spiritual beings and the spiritual realm, the 20th century push to interpret the Bible as allegory and metaphor).4-7 We can now rightfully “soar with eagle’s wings” (Isaiah 40:31), as we have a revitalized view of the apostolic traditions of our collective faith. We have renewed and reinvigorated passion for God’s divine presence and action in our lives, knowing that He can and does miraculously intervene in the physical world as He so choses, all in the process of reconciling all things to Himself (Colossians 1:20). We have a healthy fear of the One true God, who wants to cleanse our souls and redeem us from our fallen, frail physical forms. We have a revitalized call and commitment to proclaim Christ risen to a lost and dying world, in what we believe is nearing the end of this age.
References
1 Colloquium of the Swiss Society of Logic and Philosophy of Science. (1990). E. Agazzi (Ed.). The problem of
reductionism in science, Episteme.
2 Moreland, J. P. (2009). The recalcitrant imago dei: Human persons and the failure of naturalism. London: SCM
Press.
3 Rose S. (1998). What is wrong with reductionist explanations of behaviour?. Novartis Foundation
symposium, 213, 176–221.
4 Barna, G. (2009). Most American Christians do not believe Satan or the Holy Spirit exist. Faith and Christianity.
5 Bultmann, R. (1961). New testament and mythology. In H. W. Bartsch (Ed.), R. H. Fuller (trans). Kerygma and myth: A theological debate. New York: Harper & Row.
6 Frei, H. (1974). The eclipse of the biblical narrative: A study in eighteenth and nineteenth century hermeneutics.New Haven: Yale University Press.
7 Mohler, Jr., R. A. (2018). Getting ‘unhitched’ from the old testament? Andy Stanley aims at heresy. https://albertmohler.com/2018/08/10/getting-unhitched-old-testament-andy-stanley-aims-heresy