Timothy Paul Jones - Four Views of the End Times Participant Guide

The printed version of this eBook is the Four Views of the End Times Participant Guide book, ISBN-13: 9781596364264

It is illegal to photocopy, transmit electronically, post on the internet, or reproduce this book in whole or in part in any form.

2010 Bristol Works, Inc.
Rose Publishing, LLC
an imprint of Hendrickson Publishing Group
P.O. Box 3473
Peabody, Massachusetts 019613473 USA
www.HendricksonPublishingGroup.com
All rights reserved.

Four Views of the End Times Participant Guide

Timothy Paul Jones, PhD

• Have the Participant Guide for Four Views of the End Times 6-session DVD-based study from Rose Publishing.
• Compare Historical Premillennialism, Amillennialism, Dispensational Premillennialism, and Postmillennialism.
• Expand your understanding of the end times by accessing an outline for each session, key terms, study notes, maps, diagrams, key bible verses, personal reflection questions, and application tips for each session. (These resources are not included in the DVD study itself!)

This Participant Guide accompanies the

Four Views of the End Times 6-Session DVD-Based Study
(ISBN 9781596364127 or ISBN 9781596364240)

with

Four Views of the End Times Leader Guide
(ISBN 9781596364257)

2010 Bristol Works, Inc.
Rose Publishing, LLC
an imprint of Hendrickson Publishing Group
P.O. Box 3473
Peabody, Massachusetts 019613473 USA
www.HendricksonPublishingGroup.com
All rights reserved.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, posted on the Internet, or transmitted in any form or by any means without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.

Angel photo Peter Zelei

Scripture taken from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version . Copyright 2000; 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Build: 2022-04-21 10:38:01 EPUB 2.0

Thanks for picking up your copy of Four Views of the End Times! My name is Timothy Paul Jones, and I live in Louisville, Kentucky, with my wife Rayann and our daughter Hannahas well as one over-energetic Siberian Husky. Im a professor, but over the past two decades, Ive had the privilege of serving as a pastor in several wonderful congregations of believers, most recently at First Baptist Church of Rolling Hills in Tulsa, Oklahoma. In these contexts, I saw over and over how theology and church history could help people to flesh out their faith in powerful ways.

Now, I serve as professor of church ministry at one of the largest seminaries in the world, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Here, I invest my time in mentoring a rising generation of God-called ministers of the gospel. I also edit the Journal of Family Ministry and write books in the fields of history, apologetics, and family ministry. I enjoy spending time with my family, walking along tree-lined streets, reading neglected books, drinking French-pressed coffee, and cooking for students and friends. Our family is involved in childrens ministry at the east Louisville campus of Sojourn Community Church.

Thanks for your willingness to walk alongside me in this study! If you enjoy Four Views of the End Times, I encourage you to continue the conversation with me by aiming a tweet in my direction at http://twitter.com/4ViewsoftheEnd or by digging into my book Christian History Made Easy .

Tell us, the disciples asked Jesus after their master had predicted a future calamity in Jerusalem, when will these things happen? What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age? (Matthew 24:3). The dodgy dozen werent the first or the last folk to ask such questions. In every generation since sin entered into the world, Gods people seem to have wondered, When and how will God make things right in the world?

Sometimes these discussions degenerate into fruitless debates about specific detailsbut thats not where Dr. Timothy Paul Jones will take you in this particular study. Although you will gain much knowledge about the end times, the primary purpose of this study is not to raise your eschatological I.Q. This study focuses first and foremost on Jesus the Messiah, the One through whom God the Father will make all things new. Woven through this study of Jesus in Revelation, you will find straightforward, Scripture-centered examinations of four viewpoints that Christians throughout history have embraced as they looked toward the end of time.

Amillennialism

There will be no (a-) physical millennium. The millennium is the present, spiritual reign of Jesus with his people. Jesus may return to earth at anytime. The tribulation occurs whenever Christians are persecuted or wars and disasters happen.

Postmillennialism

Jesus will return to earth after (post-) a millennium when the overwhelming majority of people throughout the world embrace the gospel. The great tribulation occurred either in the first-century AD, or will be a brief time of persecution immediately preceding the millennium.

Dispensational Premillennialism

God will rapture Christians from the world before (or midway into) the seven-year great tribulation. Jesus will return to earth after the great tribulation, but before (pre-) the thousand-year millennium described in Revelation 20.

Historical Premillennialism

Jesus will return to earth after a time of tribulation, but before (pre-) the millennium described in Revelation 20. Christians will remain on earth through the tribulation. This tribulation may be a short, intense time of persecution that will occur near the end of time, or a long time-period which has occurred throughout church history.

1. If we focus on the wrong end, the end times can be:
   1. Confusing
   2. Dangerous
   3. Even violent
2. Focus on the right endJesus
   1. Revelation 22:13
      • Jesus is the beginning and the end
      • Arius denied that Jesus is the beginning and end
   2. Acts 1:68
   3. • Jesus followers got focused on the wrong end
   4. Matthew 28:1920
   5. • Jesus provided his people with a mission
      • Jesus is the end point and goal of Gods work in history

This is a dangerous study. Its a study about the end of time, after all. Its a journey to the end of the world. This is the stuff of prophetic placards, apocalyptic films, and frightening visions.

Whats more, a quick glance at history shows that studying the end times has the capacity to bring out a bit of craziness from time to time.

• Not too many years after Jesus rose from the dead, a few false prophets in Thessalonica caused all sorts of consternation when they proclaimed that Jesus had already returned (2 Thessalonians 2:2).
• A century later, in the mid-100s, a man named Montanus became a believer in Jesus and developed a strong interest in prophetic themes. Before long, Montanus had predicted that the New Jerusalem would soon show up in Pepuza, a backwoods parish in the province of Phrygia. Before being disfellowshipped, Montanus even claimed that he spoke for the Holy Spirit, declaring, I am Father, Word, and Comforter and I am the Lord God All-Powerful. (Didymus, De Trinatate , 3:41; Epiphanius, Hreses , 48:11)