This was our initial session for class retreat #2 that was in Asheville, NC.

1. Welcome to “Retreat 2010”
Learning and Living the God-centered Life
www.learningandlivingtheword.com
February 5, 2009

2. “End times” Genesis to Revelation
Friday night - Session #1
What this retreat is NOT going to cover in detail
 Anti-Christ
 Rapture
 Millennium
 Beast
 666
 Current news from the Middle East
 Revelation
 Daniel - 70 weeks
 Ezekiel

4. “End times” Genesis to Revelation
What this retreat is PLANNING to cover
Be careful about names that men assign to end time theologies.
The Bible needs to drive our theology and not vice versa
A hermeneutical grid to interpret the Bible from Genesis to
Revelation in when forming an end times theology
 2 Timothy 2:15 and 2 Timothy 3:16
Hermeneutics is a way or a system of interpretation in order to
understand what the author meant by what he wrote
Three distinguishing features of this kind of interpretation
 Historical-Grammatical
 Scripture interprets Scripture
 The NT is the controlling hermeneutic in understanding OT

5. Purpose = “the glory of God”
Genesis Revelation
Plan = God’s unfolding and
progressive redemption of
mankind
The key to seeing and understanding the plan of redemption in
the Bible from Genesis to Revelation is “the kingdom of God.”

6. Roots in
Genesis New Testament
ed
at
m ed
u m rat
e ns gu
is Kingdom Pre-figured Co au
m In
ro n om m
P ter n gd do
om Pat Ki Ki
ng
ngd m
Ki gd
o
n
Ki
Creation - Fall - Redemption - Restoration
The Bible is written mostly in a narrative language that shows us
that God is headed to an end. It is God’s unfolding and
progressive plan of how He intends to redeem mankind.

7. God’s unfolding and progressive redemption of mankind
Gen 1-2 Gen 3 Gen 12 Exodus Malachi Matt Rev
Teaching sessions Kingdom
consummated
Friday night Kingdom
and Saturday morning inaugurated
400
Overview and definitions years
Kingdom Kingdom Kingdom Kingdom
Pattern Promise Pre-figured Fulfilled
Phase 1 Phase 2 Phase 3 Phase 4

8. The details can override the big picture approach to the Bible
The problem of starting with the details instead of the overall big
picture of the Bible can lead to “proof texting.”
What exactly does “proof texting” mean
Watch this short video from Dr. Jim White

9. Teaching video on dangers of “Proof Texting”

10. For example:
Turn to 1 Thessalonians 4:17
this has often been used as a proof text for the rapture
An important view in the pre-millenial and pre-tribulation position
is the idea that Jesus will come for His church prior to the seven
year period tribulation in order to “rapture” believers out of the
present world.

11. JESUS IN HEAVEN
JESUS COMES TO RAPTURE THE CHURCH
BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
THE DEAD
THE LIVING

12. 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with
them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall
always be with the Lord.
Observation for proper interpretation
This does not appear to be a secret rapture from the context
The key word to study here is “MEET” which is apantesis in the
Greek and occurs 4 times in the NT
Matthew 25:1, 25:6
Acts 28:15
The word means to leave from Point A and then continue to one’s
destination of Point B. It never means returning to original point of
departure but rather to continue on the destination Point B.

13. JESUS IN HEAVEN
THE SECOND COMING OFJESUS
CAUGHT UP
WITH CHRIST
BELIEVERS IN CHRIST
THE DEAD
THE LIVING
RETURN TO PLANET EARTH

15. Then we launch into the following information;
The different views of the Millennium
 Ammillenial - no rapture
 Post-millenial - no rapture
 Historic Pre-millenial
 Dispensational
 pre-tribulation
 mid-tribulation
 post-tribulation
Here we are looking at puzzle pieces

19. Dispensational

20. The amillennialists who do not believe in a Christ who will set up rule on
this earth. For them, Christ simply comes, judges, and establishes the new
heaven and earth. For them there is no rapture.
The post-millennialists who believe that the world, through the preaching
and teaching of the church, will become more godly, peaceful, and
prosperous and that the new age will be essentially like the present with the
church ruling for a period of time. At the end Christ returns and judges the
world. The post-millennialists also have no place for a rapture.

21. Dispensationalist believe that Jesus Christ will return to the earth prior to
His literal reign on the earth for 1000 years. It believes that this will
happen at the second coming, at the glorious visible return of Jesus Christ
at the end of this age. Hence it is called Premillennialism, believing in a
premillennial return of Jesus Christ.
Three groups include the following:
1. Post-tribulationists believe that the rapture will not occur until the end
of the seven year tribulation, just prior to the beginning of the millennial
kingdom.
2. Mid-tribulationists believe that the rapture will occur three and one half
years into the tribulation, at beginning of the three and one half year great
tribulation.
3. Pre-tribulationists believe that the rapture will occur prior to the seven
year tribulation, but not necessarily immediately before the tribulation.

22. Instead of looking at puzzle pieces, let’s understand the big picture
from Genesis to Revelation
Two excellent approaches to studying the Bible
Biblical Doctrine = circle
Biblical Theology = line
Illustration - the box top (Biblical theology) and the borders of
jigsaw puzzle (Bible doctrine)
Bible Doctrine is a complete look at all the Scripture in the area of
God, man, Christ, Spirit, salvation, church or the word
Whereas Biblical theology is a linear progression in the story of the
Bible from Genesis to Revelation (a tree laying sideways)

23. The Bible is difficult for us to read and understand because:
We have to learn how to stand in the language community of those
separated from us by thousands of years
The Old Testament makes up 2/3’s of our Bible and many aren’t sure
how it relates to the New Testament
The Bible is set up like a narrative that is progressing toward an end.
The Bible is not a myth, it is the inspired record in history in which
God Himself was at work through the authors in the history of
redemption.
A story has a beginning, middle and the end.
Therefore we need a good hermeneutical grid to help us interpret the
Scriptures properly.