It’s exciting to begin another Bible study with the
intensity that Chuck Missler brings to the teaching. I love that he constantly reminds his
audience to pour over the Scriptures, themselves, rather than believing what he
tells them. In fact, I do the same in my
own teaching ministry. He did provide
some instruction on how to research the Scriptures. He mentioned different resources like
commentaries and concordances, and if you don’t know how to use them, you can
check with a pastor or Bible teacher.
So, the book of Revelation (singular, not plural) is a
treasure hunt. It is in a code that
touches virtually every other book of the Bible. It’s the only book that promises a blessing
to those who read it and those who hear the words of this prophecy.
Dr. Missler gives an overview of the author and a
mini-lesson on eschatology (they study of last things) to set the stage for
what is to come. He begins what promises
to be an exhausting list of “sevens” found in the book. He also shares several study helps that will
prove to be incredibly valuable if you use them. The Secret Journal is one of my favorites.
In the Secret Journal,
you purchase a journal – a bound book with blank pages, lined or unlined. It’s called Secret because it’s just for
you. Don’t ever show it to anyone so you
can be candid in your writing. When you
come across a verse of Scripture that is unclear, record the date, the
verse/address and WHY the verse is confusing. Then close the journal and pray to God. He has promised that the Holy Spirit will
reveal all things to you, so ask Him to fulfill that promise by clarifying your
understanding. This may not happen right
away. But when (not if) it DOES happen,
go back to that page of the journal and write the date and HOW God brought you
understanding of the verse. This will be
an invaluable map of God’s footprints in your life that you can look back on.
One thing I learned during this video teaching is if you’re
confused about the meaning of a passage, place Christ at the center of it and
it will become clear. I can actually
think back to times when this technique was proven absolutely true. So I will definitely use this in the future.
Homework for next time:
Read the entire book. Carefully
examine Chapter 1. List the identities
in chapter 1. What do the seven
lampstands represent? List some of the
churches that weren’t included in the seven.
Why these seven churches?
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