1. Evaluating the Church Growth Movement: Five Views, edited by Paul E. Engle and Gary L. McIntosh.
2. Hitler’s Cross: How the Cross was Used to Promote the Nazi Agenda by Erwin Lutzer.
3. World Christianity in the 20th Century by Noel Davies and Martin Conway.
4. Global Awakening: How 20th-Century Revivals Triggered a Christian Revolution by Mark Shaw.
5. The Ten Most Influential Churches of the Past Century and How They Impact You Today by Elmer L. Towns.

• Robert C. Walton. Chronological & Background Charts of Church History. (2005).
• John D. Hannah. Charts of Reformation & Enlightenment Church History. (2002).
• John D. Hannah. Charts of Modern and Post-Modern Church History. (2004).
• Everett Ferguson. Church History, vol. 1: Christ to Pre-Reformation. (2004).
• Available for reading online: Philip Schaff. History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. (c. 1910; reprint: 1985).

1. Church History from the Reformation to Today by Johann Heinrich Kurtz (1890, hereafter abbreviated as KCH)
   1. “Relations between the Different Churches” (3:1ff in KCH)
   2. “The Roman Catholic Church” (3:19ff in KCH)
   3. “The Lutheran Church” (3:39ff in KCH)
   4. “The Reformed Church” (3:50ff in KCH)
   5. “Anti- and Extra-Ecclesiastical Parties” (3:66ff in KCH)
2. “From Peace of Westphalia to the Present Time (1648-1887)” (484ff in FHCC)
   1. “Ecclesiastical Events in the Last Half of the Seventeenth Century” (484ff in FHCC)
   2. “Events in Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Prior to the French Revolution)” (497ff in FHCC)
   3. “Church History in the Eighteenth Century” (3:84-156 in KCH) [TOP]
   4. “Religion in England & Revivals in America in the Eighteenth Century” (509ff in FHCC)
   5. “Events in Europe in the Eighteenth Century (Prior to the French Revolution)” (497ff in FHCC)
   6. “The Papacy Since the Fall of Napoleon I: Christianity in the European Countries” (532ff in FHCC)
   7. “Historical Sketch of Religious Denominations in the United States” (559ff in FHCC)
   8. “Christian Missions” (582ff in FHCC)
   9. “History of Doctrines” (598ff in FHCC)
   10. “Christian Piety & Christian Philanthropy” (641ff in FHCC)
   11. “Appendices” (665ff in FHCC)
3. The English Church from the Accession of George I to the End of the Eighteenth Century (1714–1800) by J. H. Overton and Frederic Relton (1906)
4. The Revival of Religion in New England by Jonathan Edwards (1742, reprint: 1829) [TOP]

1. Middle Ages 1294-1517 (SHCC, vol. 6)
2. “From Boniface VIII to the Posting of Luther’s Theses (1294-1517)” (240ff in FHCC) [TOP]

The following are useful resources to purchase when pursuing your study of church history:

• Robert C. Walton. Chronological & Background Charts of Church History. (2005).
• John D. Hannah. Charts of Reformation & Enlightenment Church History. (2002).
• John D. Hannah. Charts of Modern and Post-Modern Church History. (2004).
• Everett Ferguson. Church History, vol. 1: Christ to Pre-Reformation. (2004).
• For online reading: Philip Schaff. History of the Christian Church, 8 vols. (c. 1910; reprint: 1985).

Are you afraid to read the Book of Revelation? Do you assume you won’t understand it?

Overcoming will dispel your fears and give you insight into its meaning, freeing you to discover and experience its power to encourage and motivate you on your spiritual journey.

I used to think like you do: “I don’t understand the Apocalypse. I never have, and I probably never will. So until I do, I’m not going to read it.” That was before I learned a few common-sense principles that opened up this book for me. In Overcoming, you will discover…

• The crucial background fundamental to realizing the meaning of the Apocalypse.
• The identity of the three women in Revelation—two of them evil and one good.
• The history and archaeology of the Seven Cities of Asia, including the city with the fourth largest metropolitan area of the empire.
• The story of the “City of Gold” and why it lost its former glory.
• The solution and practical value to the 666 puzzle—it’s not what most people think!
• The six categories of fulfillment for predictive prophecies, and how to sort them.
• How to tell what to take literally and what to take figuratively.

After studying Revelation for many years, reading dozens of commentaries, and teaching it to hundreds of people, all of whom wanted satisfying answers to their questions, I’m convinced that anyone can understand and benefit from the Apocalypse—even people new to the Bible, even children, even you!

The Audible edition features a three-and-a-half hour condensation of the “big book,” narrated by Sonny Swinhart, whose deep and warm, standard American voice is outstanding and clear. Here’s a sample (4 min. 30 secs.).

If you want to say, “Aha!” instead of “Huh?” when you read Revelation,
if you want to tap into this valuable resource for personal transformation,
if you want to help me stop the disinformation, distortion, and misuse of the Last Book of the Bible,
then order Overcoming: How to Understand the Book of Revelation – Audible Edition right now!

Two summers ago I had that opportunity. Because my wife Cindy and I were in that area, we made the time to drive from Huntsville out toward Bryan. One right turn and four miles later, I pointed and shouted, “There it is!” We pulled off the two-lane road and parked the care beside the green and white sign that said, “Singleton.”

We looked up the road and to both sides, but there was no downtown, no post office, not even a country store with gas station. In fact, we had to look hard to find the one house nearby. “I don’t know where the name came from,” the young man there said, “It’s just always been called Singleton.” The old graveyard lacked even one Singleton among the markers. Across a dirt road from it stood the rotting ruins of a clapboard house. Nothing else. The sign was all that was left of Singleton, Texas. It was a bitter disappointment.

Jesus told the church in Sardis, “I know your deeds: you have a name that you are alive, but you are dead” (Rev. 3:1). The Christians in Sardis were a bitter disappointment to the Lord. Why? Because they had not fulfilled the work Jesus had given them to do (3:2). He warned that if they did not wake up and finish the job, he would come to them unexpectedly and punish them (3:3).

We make a big deal of the name “church of Christ,” and rightly so. Christ deserves all of the credit we can give him. But bearing that name commits us to a Christ-like lifestyle and a Christ-honoring mission, worship, and body-life in our congregation.

Let’s examine the work God has given to us and find the joy in fulfilling the challenges He presents to us. Otherwise, we are just another Sardis. Just another Singleton, Texas.—Steve Singleton
DeeperStudy.com

Inside the Introduction – In the introduction, this study guide lays out the principles of interpretation that it consistently follows throughout the paragraph-by-paragraph exposition. The historical and cultural background of the first-century Roman province of Asia provides tremendous assistance in interpreting the text, as well as the Old Testament background for the imagery, numerology, and theological motifs of Revelation.

Interpretation Principles – The most basic of Bible interpretation principle employed is this: the Book of Revelation first has to be meaningful from the viewpoint of the original readers and only then can we relate it to today. As simple and common-sense as this rule is, it is amazing that it is so seldom followed in the interpretation of the Apocalypse. Another important principle is to learn how the Book of Revelation itself indicates what to take literally and what figuratively.

But How Do We Know? Also, the introduction lays out principles for sorting between what we can know for certain, what we can assume is likely or probable, and we must admit is possible, though uncertain. In other words, we interpreters of the Apocalypse need more humility! We need to learn how to say, “This is what I think it means, and here’s why,” rather than “It obviously means such and so, as any nincompoop can see.” And if its meaning remains uncertain, we need to admit it.

The farther removed we are from the text itself, from its Old Testament, historical, and cultural backgrounds, the less certain we can be of our conclusions. On the other hand, the more closely we follow the text, the more we pay attention to the Old Testament parallels, and the more we dig into the archaeology, history, and first-century culture of Roman Asia, the more confident we can be about our conclusions regarding what it meant for the original readers. Then, when we determine that, we can find credible answers to the burning question, “What does Revelation mean for us in the 21st century? What difference does it make in how we live? Can it also help us to overcome?”

Special Features of the Exposition – Each section of the text begins with a one to three-page overview, explaining what happens in the section, identifying the meaning for the original readers, and suggesting modern applications. A chart summarizing the Old Testament background of the section is next. Then comes a paragraph-by-paragraph explanation, drawing from the Old Testament background, historical and cultural background, and the connections Revelation has with the rest of the New Testament. Interspersed are bonus essays, diagrams, site plans, original poems, and photos.

Get the text that has been used successfully at Sunset International Bible Institute, Harding University, and in many adult Bible classes and church seminars.

Digital edition – $9.95
Overcoming: Guide for Understanding the Book of Revelation This digital version (pdf) has all of the same pages that the print version had, at one-fourth of the retail price of the print edition. PLUS many of the illustrations in this edition are in full color! 399 pages. 31 Mb

How do I deliver your PDF-format e-books? All of our e-books are instant downloads in Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Click on any link below to explore the details. Be sure to click on any thumbnail labeled “Look inside” to view the available previews, also in PDF format. Previews are only available for the longer e-books. (PDFs are viewable on any computer using Acrobat Reader, which is available for a free download from Adobe.) [TOP]

(2014-09) $3.00

What person, if any, lies behind the mysterious number 666 prophesied in Revelation 13:18? How certain can we be that our solution is right instead of the dozens of alternative solutions people have suggested over the centuries? Can We Solve the 666 Puzzle? addresses these significant questions and much more.

Does 666 prophesy the pope, or Martin Luther, or maybe Bill Gates, or the UPC bar code? What principles of Bible interpretation help us to sort through the bewildering array of alternatives? What difference does it make which solution is the right one?

Get solid answers to one of the most perplexing puzzles in the entire Bible. NOTE: This is a work of serious biblical scholarship, referring to both Hebrew, Greek, and Latin, and featuring 92 detailed footnotes. It does not, however, assume a knowledge of these languages and does explain everything for the non-expert. Excerpted from Overcoming. 45 pages. 1.05Mb

Detail from “The Saviour” by Andrei Rublev (ca. 1428). Tretyakov Gallery.

Q. Doesn’t John 17:3 demonstrate that only the Father is the true God? Isn’t it the church that deified Jesus and the Spirit?

A. The passage says, “This is eternal life, that they might know you, the only true God, and him whom you have sent, Jesus Christ.” This is near the beginning of what many call Jesus’ high-priestly prayer (John 17:1-26).

Note the entire context. Jesus claims to have shared glory with the Father since before the world was created (v. 5). He acknowledges possessing all that the Father has (v. 10) and notes his oneness with the Father (“I in you and you in me”), (vv. 21, 23). This is consistent with other statements in the Gospel of John that can only mean Jesus is deity (e.g., the “I am” statements: John 6:35; 8:12, 58; 10:7-9, 11, 14; 11:25; 14:6; 15:1, 5).

The conclusion that the Godhead has three persons is based on many passages, which affirm the deity of the Son and the Spirit just as clearly as the deity of the Father is affirmed elsewhere in Scripture. This idea that the church deified the Son and the Spirit, which is a misunderstanding of the Bible at best and a bald-faced perversion of it at worst.

The Gospel of John begins with “And the Word was God” and ends with Thomas’s confession addressed to Jesus, “My Lord and my God” (John 1:1; 20:28). Notice that Jesus does NOT say to Thomas, “Now wait a minute! You’ve got it all wrong. I am your Lord, but I am certainly not your God!” No, instead, he accepts his worship and then sends a blessing down through the centuries all the way to us, who believe even though we have not seen (John 20:29).

What we have to do rather than pitting one passage against many others is to work on how they fit together, how they reveal to us the mystery of the Godhead. Father, Son, and Spirit are all eternal, omniscient, omnipotent, love-filled, and infinitely holy. Yet the Bible affirms them as the One God with whom we have to deal. The Church did not make up the deity of Christ and the Spirit. We Christians believe it because Scripture tells us so.

How all of this fits in with John 17:3 appears to be this: Jesus is affirming that God is the only God there is. He can do this without disavowing his own deity, because the deity of Father, Son, and Spirit does NOT mean we have three Gods, but one.

The Son is so one with the Father that affirming the Father is the only true God does not negate the deity of the Son, or of the Spirit. The Godhead is three persons in one God. Yes, it is a profound mystery. Yes, it seems to be a logical and mathematical puzzle (how does 3=1?). But God is infinitely unfathomable, given the limits of our capacity to understand Him (see Isa. 55:8-9; Isa. 40:13-14).

Should we be surprised that God’s nature is hard to understand? Should we balk at the Bible’s claims that the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Spirit is God, yet the three are so unified that only one true God exists? Our humble place before the Creator should give us the capacity to grant that beyond the limits of our our logical rationality lies the mysterious. Scripture reveals to us that this realm of the mysterious is out there. Can we set aside human pride in our own intellect long enough to accept it?

A similar phenomenon occurs in verse 4, where we have the understood subject of the verb “they were filled” (eplēsthēsan), supplemented once again by the addition of the pronoun “all” (pantes). When we ask ourselves how Luke would have worded these verses if he wanted to mean “the twelve apostles” only, the answer seems to be that he would have omitted both occurrences of “all.”

Nevertheless, the narrative that follows sets apart the apostles as a special group of leaders with unique authority. In v. 11, Peter stands up “with the Eleven,” not with the 120. At the conclusion of Peter’s sermon, the crowds asks what they should do of “Peter and the rest of the apostles” (v. 37), not the 120. The newly converted continue to learn the teaching “of the apostles,” not of the 120, and wonders and signs are performed “through the apostles” (vv. 42-43). As a group, the 120 are never heard from again.

In addition to these points, those in the crowd hearing the speakers in different languages, ask, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans?” (v. 7). It is doubtful that the demographics of the 120 would be exclusively Galileans without any from Judea.

If you know someone who is suffering from this, it get viagra australia can be painful, sad, distressful and frustrating for men. Medication Precautions In case you have taken any home test, then first ask the expert and go for the test again with the help of a trusted medicine shop and place an order, to get this ED pill at their doorstep.Today, generic levitra india has emerged as the best platform to buy a medicine for sexual disorder treatment. One of the most common consequences buy viagra italy devensec.com of an automobile accident is whiplash. Therefore, 4T Plus capsules are the best herbal pills to fight impotence cialis india online problem, daily twice with milk or plain water for three to four months. My conclusion is that we should understand what happened on Pentecost as only the beginning of the outpouring of the Spirit–a launch event for the new age. After explaining that the Spirit as a gift comes to all penitents baptized in the name of Jesus Christ, along with forgiveness of sins, Peter announces, “For the promise is to you and to your children and to all those who are far away, as many as the Lord our God might call.” What promise?

Perhaps Peter is referring to the promise God makes in Joel 2:28 that He will pour out the Spirit on all flesh. Perhaps he refers to the promise of v. 38: the Spirit as God’s gift, along with forgiveness of sins. Either way, Peter extends the outpouring of the Spirit beyond the apostles to every person responding to the gospel. The usual way this happens is through the initiatory event of water baptism on the basis of Jesus as Messiah, which Jesus calls “being born of water and the Spirit,” and Paul calls “the washing of rebirth and renewal of the Spirit” (John 3:5 and Titus 3:5, respectively).

Paul says this is something all Christians have experienced, for we are all baptized in one Spirit and all given the one Spirit to drink (1 Cor. 12:13). What happened at Pentecost showed visibly and audibly at the “launch” what God does invisibly and inaudibly every time someone becomes a Christian. Men, women, boys, girls, and the elderly are all included. We all become God’s children by the reception of His Spirit.

Possessing Him, or rather belonging to Him, is one thing we all have in common. United by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit, and yield to His work in us to bear fruit that makes us more and more like Jesus in our actions, our thoughts, and our character (Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 8:29; 1 John 3:1-3).

After closing the Gospel of Mark with 16:8, Codex Vaticanus leaves almost enough space to include 16:9-20.

Our local preacher is working his way through the Gospel According to Mark for our Wednesday evening Bible study period and is currently in chapter 14, progressing a few verses per week in a lively discussion format. I volunteered to teach one session on the endings of Mark. I have been studying several weeks to prepare for teaching that class. Here is a summary of what I’ve found.

The alternatives are these:

1) THE ABRUPT ENDING – The Gospel of Mark originally ended after 16:8, the last sentence of which is: “They told no one anything, for they were afraid.” This ending is found in the two oldest manuscripts, B and א (fifth-century Codex Vaticanus and Codex Sinaiticus, respectively), though B provides after 16:8 a space almost large enough to write in 16:9-20 in the same size of script. Armenian and Georgian manuscripts also end at 16:8, and quotations of 16:9-20 are absent in the extant writings of both Origen and Clement of Alexandria. Also, the reference numbers for the Canons of Eusebius do not go past v. 8.

2) THE SHORT, GENERIC ENDING – A one-verse summary is tacked on to 16:8 in other manuscripts, some of which add 16:9-20 as well. It reads: “But they reported briefly to Peter and those with him all that they had been told. And after this Jesus himself sent out by means of them, from east to west, the sacred and imperishable proclamation of eternal salvation.”

3) THE LONG ENDING – The vast majority of manuscripts, a few of them early (including A, C, D, the Old Latin, and the Syriac versions), have 16:9-20 immediately following v. 8, though some mark it with either asterisks or obeli, the usual way of identifying a section regarded as an addition to the original text. Several of the early church fathers quoted from 16:9-20, including Irenaeus, Tatian’s Diatessaron, and probably Justin Martyr. Some scholars have found internal grounds for believing Mark did not write this section, including unusual grammar and vocabulary. Others have claimed these arguments are either faulty or weak.
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4) THE REALLY LONG ENDING: After v. 14, Codex Washingtonianus adds this paragraph, which definitely seems to be apocryphal: “And they excused themselves, saying, ‘This age of lawlessness and unbelief is under Satan, who does not allow the truth and power of God to prevail over the unclean things of the spirits. Therefore reveal your righteousness now’—thus they spoke to Christ. And Christ replied to them, ‘The term of years of Satan’s power has been fulfilled, but other terrible things draw near. And for those who have sinned I was delivered over to death, that they may return to the truth and sin no more, in order that they may inherit the spiritual and incorruptible glory of righteousness which is in heaven.'”

The real choice boils down to one between alternatives 1) and 3), but many scholars are dissatisfied with either option. They believe that the last page of the Gospel of Mark accidentally got torn off and that “the longer ending” was added later by someone other than Mark.

As I thought about the original audience of Mark, another explanation occurred to me. Mark probably wrote his account shortly after the martyrdoms of Peter and Paul during Nero’s persecution subsequent to the 64 c.e. fire of Rome. His purpose was to put down in writing the gist of Peter’s preaching about the life, miracles, teaching, and death of Jesus the Messiah and to encourage believers to continue to spread the good news fearlessly.

Perhaps #1), “the abrupt ending,” would effectively serve this purpose. If Mark finished off his account of the gospel with the silence of the women, he would be saying, “What if the women’s initial response to the news of the resurrection of Jesus had been their continuing attitude? You may be cowed by the Romans into a temporary silence, but will you continue to ‘say nothing to anyone because of fear’?” The abruptness of the ending would only serve to intensify the evangelist’s point.

What about us? Are we going to be intimidated by the unbelieving world around us, or will we pluck up courage and tell our FRAN (friends, relatives, acquaintances, and neighbors) the greatest news of all time?