Page 3 - Eschatology - Student Ebook
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Eschatology – God’s Future Plans

                                                    By Kris Bjorgen, Ed.D.
                                                 and Lonnie Hoffer, M. Div.


                                                    Study Section 1:  Introduction




                1.1 Connect


                        Over 30% of the Bible is written about future things.  Great prophets of the Old and New
                        Testament predicted future events with exacting fulfillments, however many of the
                        prophecies in the Bible have not been fulfilled.  In the Old Testament, the test given to prove
                        the validity of a prophet was that he was 100% correct 100% of the time.

               Deuteronomy 18:22 “When a prophet speaks in the name of the LORD, if the word does not come to
               pass or come true, that is a word which the LORD has not spoken’

               If these prophecies which have not been fulfilled do not come to pass, then the Bible is a hoax and it is
               not the Word of God.  As believers, we fully believe that the Bible is God’s holy written Word, and that
               the proof that many prophecies have come true is evidence that the future ones will happen also.

               In this short course we will study a few prophecies that have come true as well as look at many
               prophecies that are yet to happen.  Our confidence in future events will be derived from past evidence
               and fulfillment.


                1.2 Objectives

                    1.  The student should be able to give a detailed definition of Eschatology.


                    2.  The student should be able to explain the ground rules in studying prophecy in the Bible.

                1.3 What is Eschatology?


                       Eschatology is the study of what the Bible says is going to happen in the end times. Many treat
                       Eschatology as an area of theology to be avoided. Of course, Eschatology is not as crucial as
                       Christology (Who Jesus Is) or Soteriology (Doctrine of Salvation). No matter what your
                       eschatological views are, the future will unfold according to God’s plan, whether you got it right
                       or not!  That does not mean, though, that it is unimportant to a Biblical worldview. How we
                       understand Eschatology has an impact on how we should live our lives and what we are to
               expect to occur in God’s plan.

               Many Christian have given up on studying prophecy because they become confused by the various
               interpretations of eschatology. They say, “If God fulfills his promises in detail why are there so many
               different and confusing views about what will happen yet in the future. Could God not have revealed
               prophecy clearly enough so we wouldn’t have to sort through this confusion? They wonder if God does

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