Category: Book Overviews

Revelation Overview

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

What Is the Book of Revelation About? – David Jeremiah Blog

The Revelation of Jesus Christ.  Revelation means ‘Apocolypsis’-the veil is taken off.

The Revelation is the visions John writes for us of the last days before Christ’s return and the ushering in of the new heaven and new earth. The Revelation begins with letters to the seven churches of Asia Minor, then goes on to reveal the series of devastations poured out upon the earth: the mark of the beast, “666”; the battle of Armageddon; the binding of Satan; the reign of the Lord; the Great White Throne Judgment; the eternal city of God.

This is a book of prophecy.  There are 4 views of this book: the idealist, the preterist, the historicist, and the futurist views. 

  1. The first view of Revelation is the idealist view or the spiritual view. This view uses the allegorical method to interpret the Book of Revelation.
  2. The second view is called the preterist view. Preter, which means “past,” is derived from Latin.
  3. The third view is called the historicist approach. This view teaches that Revelation is a symbolic representation that presents history from the apostle’s life through the end of the age.
  4. The fourth view is the futurist view.
    • This view teaches that Revelation chapters 4-22 will occur in the future.
    • Futurists divide the book of Revelation into three sections as indicated in 1:19: “what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later.”
      • Chapter 1 describes the past (“what you have seen”),
      • chapters 2-3 describe the present (“what is now”),
      • and the rest of the book describes future events (“what will take place later”).
      • Futurists apply a literal approach to interpreting Revelation. Chapters 4-19 refer to a period known as the seven-year tribulation.
      • God’s judgments are actually poured out upon mankind during this time, as revealed in the seals, trumpets, and bowls.
      • Chapter 13 describes a literal future world empire headed by a political and religious leader represented by the two beasts.
      • Chapter 17 pictures a harlot who represents the church in apostasy.
      • Chapter 19 refers to Christ’s second coming and the battle of Armageddon followed by a literal thousand-year rule of Christ upon the earth in chapter 20.
      • Chapters 21-22 are events that follow the millennium: the creation of a new heaven and a new earth and the arrival of the heavenly city upon the earth.

Pin by Rachel Davis on Bible study tools | Revelation bible study, Revelation bible, End times timeline

I believe in the literal view of this book.  😁

The book is written by John.  John was captured in a persecution campaign by the Roman Emperor Domitian. John was sentenced to Patmos, a small, rocky, and barren island where many criminals of Rome were sent to serve out their prison terms in harsh conditions.  John was sent to the island because the early Christians were considered a strange cult group is known for causing trouble within the Empire.

Some historians and scholars claim that John died while on Patmos, and others say that he was freed from the island before his death. IDK?

I HONESTLY believe that you do not need me for Revelation.  Now that you have read the Bible: this book will make sense.  I promise.  Feel free to read ahead.  Click here for the first 5 Chapters.

Here is a taste of Chapter 1 (I am unglued!!) ❤️🤪😬😍

Prologue

1 The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.

 

1 John Overview

~ Patricia ~ 2 Comments

I know it is Christmas night, and you may have some catching up to do tomorrow…but this is a book that stands on its own!  You will love it even if you missed a few books this week. It’s OK!

John.  This is the same John that is the author of:

  • the Gospel John,
  • 1 John,
  • 2 John,
  • 3 John,
  • and Revelation. (I CAN’T WAIT TO READ THIS WITH YOU)

The book of 1 John was likely written between A.D. 85-95.

1 John is a summary that assumes the readers’ knowledge of the gospel. This epistle indicates that the readers were confronted with Gnosticism, which became a more serious problem in the second century.  This led to two false theories concerning the person of Christ:

  • Docetism—Docetism was an early Christian heresy that promoted a false view of Jesus’ humanity. Docetism comes from the Greek dokein, which meant “to seem”; according to Docetism, Jesus Christ only seemed to have a human body like ours. (Basically, he was like a ghost).  Docetism taught that Jesus had a “heavenly” body of some type but not a real, natural body of flesh. Docetism was closely related to Gnosticism, which viewed physical matter as inherently evil and spiritual substance as inherently good.
  • Cerinthianism—making Jesus a dual personality, at times human and at times divine.

Once again, another letter dealing with problems related to false teachers.

Takes take a look at today:

Top 10 religions in the world 2020 - The Lasting Education

This book is written with a loving tone.  Words like Father, Children, My Beloved are used often.  John speaks from the heart because he has seen and experienced a lot!  He listened to:

  • the Olivet Discourse,
  • the Sermon on the Mount,
  • seen miracles,
  • heard parables,
  • was at the Last Supper
  • witnessed the Transfiguration
  • and the Death and Resurrection of Christ.

So he takes it to heart that TRUTH is under attack more so than any other Epistle writer has seen.  The temple has been destroyed, and now teachers are trying to destroy Truth.

This book will teach that Christians should:

  1. Be in fellowship with one another (True relationships with each other)
  2. Be happy and joyful
  3. Be holy (set apart)
  4. Have discernment
  5. Have confidence that they are saved.

#5 is something we all think about from time to time.  Am I really Saved??

  • Did I have a cultural conversion?  (I live in the Bible Belt-doing churchy stuff can be a culture)
  • Did I have a ceremonial conversion? (I took the right “steps,” rituals)
  • Did I have an emotional conversion? (I was wrapped up in the emotion?  Someone gave me a reason to do it?
  • Or am I Different??

How do you know?  This book will give you the confidence to know!  Ask yourself…

  1. Are you obeying God’s Word?  (I know we are not perfect, that is the point of the Word: to show us what sin is) 2:3
  2. Do you believe in the Truth?  Do you believe what the Bible says? 4:2
  3. Are you expecting Jesus to return? 3:3
  4. Are you conforming over time to His standards and not the world’s? 3:24
  5. Do you love? 3:19

I hope you have a Peace and a Hope that you are one of His children after reading this book. ❤️

2 Peter Overview

~ Patricia ~ 1 Comment

On December 19th, I posted an overview on 1 Peter (if you want to go back to it).  His first letter was about what was happening around the church, outside.  This book is very different.  Actually, I think it is written as a ‘Sermon’ to be used at their church (it ends in a doxology, rather than the standard ending).  Peter, who died around 68AD at the hands of Nero (hung upsidedown on a cross), writes this letter/sermon because of teachings that were infiltrating the church.  It is called: Epicurean.  (Feel free to see how this is still taught today)

Epicurean belief teaches people to relax and enjoy life without worrying so much. They believed God or gods did exist, but they lived so far away from the affairs of man, in a permanent state of ataraxia, that they didn’t interfere with humans.  They just sat up there in their world or Heaven.

There are two advantages (for them) having this mindset:

  • First, there is no judgment after death; therefore, death shouldn’t be feared.
  • Second, there is no judgment during life. There is no way to appease a god who doesn’t know you personally exist.  Therefore, you are free to find fulfillment in life outside of religious rules and expectations.

They believe in the “golden mean.”  The ‘golden mean’ means to maximize your pleasure without leading to negative consequences.  Yup, that about sums up our world.

So, in true Epicureanism, the best life is characterized by sufficient food, a comfortable dwelling, peaceful relationships, and good friends. But, wait, it gets MORE relevant.  They back it up by taking scriptures and applying them to their lives.

  • “Therefore, I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?”
  • “Give us this day our daily bread.”
  • “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

Shall I go on?  You get my point.

You KNOW this is going to be a good book!

Jude Overview

~ Patricia ~ Leave a comment

Obviously, I googled the Beatles song to see if there was any correlation, and there isn’t.  BUT now the song is stuck in my head.  Click here if you want it stuck in your head too!  (and if you are too young to know this song, go away!)

This book opens with:

1 Jude, a servant of Jesus Christ and a brother of James,

So I went back and looked at the book of James, which opens with:

1James, a servant of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Let me show you how prideful I am.  If I was James or Jude, I would have said, “I am Jesus’ brother!”.  😳

We know practically nothing about Jude other than his love for Jesus (and proud of his brother James).  James was martyred around 62 AD.  According to other writings and traditions, James (not officially an apostle because he did not become a believer till after the Resurrection) was the church leader in Jerusalem. He was thrown from the southeast pinnacle of the temple (over a hundred feet down) when he refused to deny his faith in Christ. When they discovered that he survived the fall, his enemies beat James to death with a club. This is thought to be the same pinnacle where Satan had taken Jesus during the temptation.

So the fact that Jude is willing to write this letter proves that he too is willing to die for Jesus if the letter gets in the wrong hands. 

The Book of Jude is an important book for us today because it is written for the end times, for the end of the church age. The church age began on the Day of Pentecost. Jude is the only book given entirely to apostasy. (fancy word, I know 😂). But now that we are not on milk but mature enough in the Word, we can start using “meat” words.   From the Greek term apostasia, apostasy means “a defiance of an established system or authority; a rebellion; an abandonment or breach of faith.”   Ummm what? This will help:

  • there are two main types:
    •  a falling away from key and true doctrines (I ask you, without reading the Bible, how do people know True Doctrine?)
    • a complete renouncement of the Christian faith.

Jude is a small but important book worthy of study, written for today’s Christian.

2 Timothy Overview

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Last week we read 1 Timothy and the overview was quite long, so I will keep this short 😂 I promise!

Paul,  imprisoned in Rome, recognized that his earthly life was likely coming to an end soon. The Book of 2 Timothy is essentially Paul’s “last words.” Paul looked past his own circumstances to express concern for the churches and specifically for Timothy. Paul wanted to use his last words to encourage Timothy, and all other believers, to persevere in faith.  What would your last words be for the ones you love? ❤️

See, I told you.  Short. (I know what you are thinking…why can’t all her posts be that short!)😝

 

1 Peter Overview

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This book was written by Peter in 62 A.D.  The last few books we read focused on the internal problems of the church.  Now let’s look at what was going on outside the church.Christians were fed to lion and tigers as a result of their beliefs. | Persecuted christians, Christianity, Ancient rome

Nero was the emperor in Rome, and he was a horrible ruler that killed members of his own family and was an extreme persecutor of Christians. While Paul was writing this book, Nero tried to make Rome a “cultural” capital of the world.  Nero wanted to advance construction projects in Rome, but he was out of acres.

Solution: set fire to the ‘old part’ of town to make room for new construction.  The fire burned for a week, and the Christians were blamed for it.

Enduring Nero's fire – walklikejesus

Suffering (for Christ) will be a big part of this book.

“Simon” Peter, also known as Cephas, was one of the first followers of Jesus. He was a disciple, one of Jesus’ closest friends, an apostle, and a “pillar” of the church. Peter was enthusiastic, strong-willed, and impulsive.  Whenever the apostles are listed in any of the Gospels, he is consistently named first (Judas was always last)

Simon was originally from Bethsaida and lived in Capernaum.   He was married, and he and James and John were partners in a profitable fishing business. Peter met Jesus through his brother Andrew, who had followed Jesus after hearing John the Baptist proclaim that Jesus was the Lamb of God. Andrew immediately went to find his brother to bring him to Jesus. Upon meeting Simon, Jesus gave him a new name: Cephas (Aramaic) or Peter (Greek), which means “rock.”  Immediately, Peter left everything behind to follow Jesus.

Peter was part of the inner circle of Jesus’ disciples, with James and John. Only those three were present when Jesus raised the daughter of Jairus and when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain.  Peter and John were given the special task of preparing the final Passover meal.

It was Peter who boasted that he would never forsake the Lord, even if everyone else did—and later denied three times that he even knew the Lord. But, from that experience, he would never do it again.

On the day of Pentecost, Peter preached a sermon to the crowd in Jerusalem (Acts 2), about 3,000 people became followers. Then, as they returned to their hometowns, churches began growing.

Jesus said that Peter would die a martyr’s death (John 21:18-19)—a prophecy fulfilled during Nero’s reign. Tradition has it that Peter was crucified upside down in Rome. However, he refused to die in the same way Jesus did.

The Crucifixion of Saint Peter - MatthewBrooksArt.com - Paintings & Prints, Religion, Philosophy, & Astrology, Christianity, Crucifix & Cross - ArtPal

Titus Overview

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This is a letter written to a church leader named Titus, a Gentile convert of Paul. It appears Paul and Titus took a mission trip to Crete around AD 62—64. Paul later left, with Titus remaining on the island as a church leader.

Paul sends this letter with Zenas and Apollos. It encourages Titus to select church leaders for local house churches, deal with offenders in the church, and give directions regarding certain church practices.

This short but amazing letter includes the

  • proper behavior of Christians (I better sit down for this one)
  • submission to the government (you better sit down for this one 😁)
  • proper treatment for people,
  • and responses to false teachers

Most importantly, he encourages good works.

1 Timothy Overview

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Why are these called the Prison Epistles ?

1 Timothy was one of only four letters in the New Testament written by Paul to individuals. The others are 2 Timothy, Titus, and Philemon.

  • Timothy was the only person to receive two individual letters from Paul in the New Testament.
  • Timothy was from Lystra (modern-day Turkey).
  • He was the son of a Greek father and a Jewish mother. Timothy’s mother, Eunice, and grandmother, Lois, were also believers (it will be mentioned in his 2nd letter).
  • They had raised him to know the Old Testament.
  • He was converted to Christianity by Paul in Acts 16:1–5.
  • We learn that believers in Lystra and Iconium spoke well of Timothy.
  • Paul wanted to take him on his missionary journey, but Timothy was not circumcised. So Paul circumcised him, and they traveled together on Paul’s second missionary journey.

Timothy would be with Paul during his first Roman imprisonment. However, when 1 Timothy was written, Timothy was in Ephesus, serving as a leader among the various house churches that existed then.  Paul wrote to him to encourage his faithful service to Christ. Timothy will serve some time in jail for his faith but will be released (Hebrews 13:23).

This letter will read differently since it is written to an individual.

  1. Written to a co-worker instead of a Church
  2. The letter will be easier to read (less complicated) (YAY!!)
  3. He will use strong Greek terminology since it was his native language
  4. It will describe ‘overseers’ and ‘bishops’- the character needed to serve as a leader
  5. Reminders of basic truths about dealing with false teachings.
  6. Most of the scriptures will be an amplified or clarified version already spoken.

The name Timothy means “one who Honors God.”

Outline:

  • Law and Grace (Ch 1)
  • Prayer and Worship (Ch 2)
  • Leadership (Ch 3:1-13)
  • True and False Religeion (Ch 3:14-5:2)
  • Widows, Elders, and Slaves (Ch 5:3-6:2_
  • Money and Wealth (Ch 6)

Philippians Overview

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I know you know this already, but this is another letter written by Paul, from Prison.  Paul had visited Philippi during his second mission trip (if you printed the maps).  Lydia, the Philippian jailer, and his family were converted at Philippi. A few years later, the church was well established.

Paul is writing this letter to acknowledge a gift of money from the church at Philippi, brought to the apostle by Epaphroditus, one of its members.   This is a loving letter to a group of Christians special to Paul. ❤️

The book is about:

  • Christ is our life,
  • Christ in our mind,
  • Christ as our goal,
  • Christ as our strength,
  • and joy through suffering.

It was written during Paul’s imprisonment in Rome, about thirty years after Christ’s ascension and almost ten years after Paul first preached at Philippi.  Paul is a prisoner of Nero (remember him?)🤮 yet he talks about “joy”. .

GOSPEL GREATER THAN CIRCUMSTANCE - Lighthouse Christian Church

A sneak peek of some familiar scriptures:

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!”

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

“I can do everything through him who gives me strength.”

Ephesians Overview

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This is not a typical Paul letter; it will not have your customary greeting, nor does it deal with a particular problem inside or outside the church.  It reads more like a sermon than a letter, focussing on the character of the church.  Yesterday we read about Jesus as the Head of the Church (Colossians), well in Ephesians, we will read about the Body of the Church (Believers).

Paul will state oneness between all believers, even Jews and Gentiles.  By no means does Jesus intend there to be a separate church for Judaism or Christianity. On the contrary, we are fully designed to be one church.  The word Church in Greek is Ecclesia, meaning the assembly of the called-out ones.  In other words, the body of believers.

The city of Ephesus was a RICH port to the Mediterranean Sea.  This huge city contained an enormous theater (holding 25,000 at a time), a town square, a marketplace, public baths, libraries, and several enormous temples (mainly to the fertility goddess, Diana, also called Artemis).

Ephesus

This book is about “actions.”  You will hear cool verses like “learn what pleases the Lord,” and you will read action words that we are to do as Christians like “put off…and put on”.  Not things that we ask the Lord to change in us, but things we are to do ourselves FOR the Lord.   Anyway, this might just be your new favorite book!

Here are some pictures of Ephesus of the Temple in Ephesus.  It held 25,000 people.  Yes, that is a lot, and the sound is incredible (I hear).

If you want to recall Paul’s trip to Ephesus and how he planted the church, click here to return to Acts 19.