This is a study that I have desired to do for quite a long time, but circumstances (no more accurately, God) did not allow it to happen But, in God’s gracious timing, the time has come! I am grateful.
I am anxious to disclaim any originality in these studies which will be seen quickly as we move into the meat of the study. I draw heavily upon the study and superior minds of many wonderful Bible scholars and teachers for their help and insights into God’s Word. One such teacher is Dr. David Miller who God used to instill within me a passion for an accurate, thorough study of God’s Word. He instilled in me the importance of being a student of God’s Word who “rightly divides” it and who is “not ashamed of it”. Of course there have been others, but he stands tall in my mind as a champion for the integrity of God’s Word.
This is not an exegetical study of any prophetic book of the Bible, but it is an attempt to glean from both Old and New Testament writings to compile a comprehensive look at prophetic events that are still on
the horizon to be fulfilled. In relationship to the book of Revelation I hold to the futuristic interpretation, meaning that all the events predicted from chapter 4 through 22 are still future. The Millennial position
that will be taught in this study is Premillennialism, meaning that Jesus Christ will physically return before (pre-) the Millennium to rule and reign in righteousness over His promised kingdom. Therefore, it goes without question, that the interpretive method used for this study will be what is called the literal, historical, grammatical, and contextual interpretation.
This study is also an attempt to look at current events and place them into God’s prophetic picture. We live in a rapidly changing world! Who would have ever thought twenty-five years ago that ISIS, or BOKO HARAM, or HAMAS, or the TALIBAN would be Muslim groups vying for world domination? Groups that we seldom heard of, let alone exist, have now become key players in God’s prophetic picture as we will see.
I trust our time together over the course of several weeks will be insightful, biblical, helpful and challenging. Welcome aboard!
Pastor Ron Finch