The first in a new Bible study series from Verse By Verse Ministry International (vbvmi.org). This 12-week VBVMI Group Study on End Times features thought-provoking teaching of core biblical concepts in prophecy. The workbook prepares both individual students and small groups for a deeper study of eschatology by examining key ideas and highlights from the book of Revelation, Daniel and other scripture. Students will gain a foundational understanding of God's plan for Israel, the Church and the end of the age. The VBVMI Group Study series is designed to suit the needs of students new to a study of end times while still offering a challenge to experienced Bible students. Each lesson in this study includes a video available to stream for free over the internet. The videos feature the teaching of Stephen Armstrong, acclaimed for his unique and gifted approach to explaining the Bible. The 12 videos are available for viewing or download for free at: http://www.vbvmiendtimesstudy.org. A printable PDF copy of the workbook may also be downloaded for free.

This is a rewrite of a book I wrote in 1988 in which I presented my conviction that Revelation was first of all a warning to the Judean people that if they did not accept the prophesized Jewish Messiah when he arrived in A.D. 27, God would reject them. A secondary message is that, at the end times, if the gentile world also does not accept the Messiah, God will then bring this present world to an end and commence his eternal heavenly kingdom where God will judge every person he created according to their works.My first book picked up on an argument proposed by J. Massyngberde Ford (in her introduction to revelation in the Anchor Bible Series) that most of Revelation came from the preaching of John the Baptist, who preached directly to the Judeans. The disciples of the Baptist (John the Evangelist was one of them) continued preaching the Baptist's warnings right up into the ministry of Jesus Christ. Finally, near the end of his life, the Evangelist put what he preached into writing. It included what he learned from John the Baptist and became the concluding book of the New Testament.After the crucifixion, the unbelieving Judeans and their descendants tried to defeat the Church and could have wiped out the Church if the revolt under Bar Kochba was successful in liberating Judea from Roman control. But Bar Kochba was totally defeated by Severus in A.D. 135 causing an immense slaughter of Jews. The surviving Judeans were deported elsewhere in the Roman Empire and foreign people were introduced into Palestine. Not many people are aware that for hundreds of years thereafter, only a very small population of Jewish people living in the ancestral homeland of the Jews.No other interpretation that I have reads has pinpointed the historical event that coincided with the fall of Judea like I did. I identify the historical fulfillment of Rev: 15:17 when the seventh angel pours out his vial saying "It is done." as the final defeat of Judea by General Severus in A.D. 135. Most interpretations never discuss the fall of Judea in A.D. 135. Instead, they try to predict a future event (future even to us) that will cause the final conflict when all gentile nations will fall.I also discuss how I think the scenes in Revelation apply to the end of times. I think God has been warning the modern world all along through apparitions by the mother of Christ. I try to show the relevance of the Devil, Lucifer, as the cause of the wickedness of humans. Lucifer is identified in Scripture as the instigator of evil. I think God cannot correct the evils of man until he finally punishes Lucifer in eternal damnation.In my new book, I also point out that the rebellion of the angel Lucifer, the Devil, is the cause of the rejection of the Messiah by the human race. I trace the influence of Lucifer misguiding the human race from the very beginning in the Garden of Eden. I point out how his influence misguided the human race all through history with false ideologies and human conquest by human utopias to try to conduct ourselves outside of Gods embrace.I was unsure how readers would view my book when I first launched publication of my book, but now I have seen many favorable reviews by readers of many different religious convictions that do not take exception to what I have written. This encouraged me to continue.I hope you read my book and find it interesting. At the very least, it should at least give you food for thought.

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