The Gospel Proclamation

We discuss four passages which are commonly cited but don't mean what many assume they do. We consider Matthew 18:20, Proverbs 30:19, Mark 16:15, and 1 Corinthians 2:9.

The last part of this series (which was not originally intended to be a series) focuses on the intentional structure of Revelation 20 and goes verse by verse. It addresses questions like- Why the chapter is structured as it is- Why Gog and Magog are mentioned- Why the dragon is cast into the lake of fire after the beast & false prophet- Many other things!

The only shortcoming is that each part of this series was given with multiple weeks in between each, and with a deep subject like this, review is critical. The first 25 minutes or so involve some review while also pointing out a few new details, but the real "crux" of the talk had to be crammed in quickly because of the time crunch.

For the last 30 minutes of the talk, please feel free to pause the video so points can be absorbed. A number of things had to be left out, but the overall message should be discernible. Had review not been necessary, we would've been able to cover these new questions more effectively. We intend to give a more comprehensive and cohesive study of this in the future, Lord willing.

Part 1 of this short series considered how Scripture indicates that the dragon of Revelation 20 is cast into the lake of fire toward the beginning of Christ's reign (specifically marking the end of Christ's Davidic phase and beginning the Solomonic phase), but I did not have time to delve into what Revelation 20 is about.Part 2 carries the conclusion of Part 1 further and offers an understanding of the binding period of Rev. 20:1-3 and the loosing in Rev. 20:7-8. I've been studying this subject for the last two years (on an off), and this exhortation is carried out in a "study" fashion so all can see how I came to this conclusion. The process has been to let Scripture guide our study and historical sources tell the tale (rather than use our own words). There is a period of exactly 1000 years in which "the great dragon... that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan" of Revelation 12:9 (Roman paganism) was bound, and it was done so by a man who types our Lord Jesus Christ. Historical sources are cited in the presentation, but many more are available upon request.There are many charts and visuals, so I highly recommend downloading the slides (scan the QR code in the video or download them below). There are still questions needing to be addressed and connections to be made, so there will be a Part 3.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XAAazI7O3lD8S5-0wDQa-sN3YbXPP0UN/view?usp=sharing

At what point in Christ's reign is the dragon of Revelation cast into the lake of fire? The book of Joshua has a shadow-fulfillment and gives us a clear answer (along with a few other OT passages). This talk (Part 1) covers the timing of the dragon's demise, and Part 2 will carry those thoughts forward and cover what Revelation 20 means.Download the slides: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1IfCxz0xgwVTcJZJYm9ip81lSgFo37nma/view?usp=sharing

What happens when we die? What the Scriptures say may surprise many!

In this exhortation, we let the Scriptures explain it and take some time to apply the lesson to our own lives. Please forgive us for losing composure with this weighty subject! As the Spirit exhorts us through Solomon, "It is better to go to the house of mourning, than to go to the house of feasting: for that is the end of all men; and the living will lay it to his heart" (Ecclesiastes 7:2).

Having freely received the gift of God's hope, it is our responsibility to share it with others. Yet this can be difficult and presents many challenges relating to things like methods and social pressures. Bro. David Stanely gives an overview of what he has found to be the best way to share God's message with our fellow man.

By request, we give a Part 2 of our "Fellowship" talk to carry the concepts from the first exhortation into practical application, addressing questions like

- What does it mean and communicate to others if we withhold the emblems from them?"

- What does disfellowship mean and communicate?

- What questions should we ask when considering whether to break bread with a large group of people who we don't intimately know (like a Bible School)?

And more.

Adding visuals through tools like PowerPoint helps the audience absorb and conceptualize information better, but there are certain best practices that are important to follow regarding style, font size, how large the room is, and so on. Bro. Andrew Johnson breaks these concepts down, and he also discusses how AI can be used as a helpful tool in study (and how not to use AI).

Written articles allow students to study and absorb information at their own pace, but these should be presented and written differently than we would for a class or an exhortation. Bro. Mike MacDonald shares his experience and best practices for how to organize our thoughts on paper to help teach God's Word through articles.

Aside from personal study, classes are where the greatest amount of learning takes place. But how do we put a class together and lead one that engages the students? Bro. Zak Vest delves into this subject for us.