Four Views of the End Times Leader Guide

By Timothy Paul Jones, Lilly Park and W Ryan Steenburg

The Four Views of the End Times DVD Bible Study Leader Guide is a fantastic 6-session companion tool for the DVD Bible study that explains the 4 major ways Christians over the centuries have viewed Book of Revelation and the end times. This end-times group study is perfect for Bible studies, adult Sunday school curriculum, and Christian school Bible classes. You don’t have to be an expert to lead this study!

What does the Bible say about the end times that lead to the return of Jesus Christ? The differing ideas that divide believers into four major points-of-view are examined in the Four Views of the End Times DVD-based small group study. This six-session study looks at:

• Four different Revelation timelines
• Dispensational Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, Historic Premillennialism, and Amillennialism
• Definitions, supporting Scriptures, notable Christian leaders

Common questions and answers are handled as part of each session, so you don’t need to be an expert to lead a small group or teach a class.

What Does this End-Times Bible Study Cover?

People want to know: What does the Bible actually say about the end times that lead to the return of Jesus Christ? The differing ideas that divide believers into four major points-of-view are examined in this Four Views of the End Times DVD Bible Study Leader Kit. This video Bible study tackles the four most popular eschatological views. It describes each end-times view objectively.

6 Sessions in Four Views of the End Times DVD Bible Study

The video portion (sold separately) of each session is 15-to-20 minutes. The optional discussion questions listed in the Four Views DVD Leader Guide (included) give you enough information for 30-60 minutes of discussion.

1. Keeping Our Eyes on Jesus, the Focus of the Gospel
2. What do Christians Agree Upon When It Comes to the End of the World?
3. Amillennialism
4. Dispensational Premillennialism
5. Historical Premillennialism
6. Postmillennialism

Professor Timothy Paul Jones answers your questions about the Book of Revelation and End-Times Prophecy

This End-Times Bible Study is Easy to Lead

You don't have to be the expert. Common questions and answers are handled as part of each session, so you don’t need to know all the answers. An optional participant guide (sold separately) not only has all of the discussion questions and a summary of each session, it also gives additional information for people who want to dig deeper.

All Available Components in the Four Views of the End Times DVD Bible Study Complete Kit (ISBN 978-1596364127.) Additional Leader Guides and Participant Guides available separately. You may want a participant guide for each person attending. It has all of the discussion questions, a summary of each session, diagrams and charts, and for those who wish to go deeper, additional information.

Note:

• The companion DVD product is available separately (ISBN 9781596364240 or UPC 031809109946).
• Each participant will need a Participant Guide (ISBN 9781596364264), available separately. It has all the discussion questions, a summary of each session, diagrams and charts, and for those who wish to go deeper, additional information.
• An optional PowerPoint presentation is also available to provide more in-depth information (ISBN 9781596363014 or UPC 031809070734).
• The Complete Kit (ISBN 9781596364127 or UPC 031809035436) offers up each of these resources and more.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Release date: Jul 3, 2013
• ISBN: 9781596365889

Timothy Paul Jones

Timothy Paul Jones serves as professor of leadership at The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary and works in the SojournKids children's ministry at Sojourn Community Church. Before coming to Louisville, Timothy led churches in Missouri and Oklahoma as a pastor and an associate pastor. He has been widely recognized as a leading writer and researcher in the fields of apologetics, church history, and family ministry. He has authored or contributed to more than a dozen books, including Misquoting Truth (InterVarsity, 2007), Christian History Made Easy (Rose, 2010), and the CBA bestseller The Da Vinci Codebreaker (Bethany House, 2005).

Book preview

Session 1 Outline

The Goal Of God’s Plan

Note: Refer class members to the session outline in their Participant Guides for note taking.

If we focus on the wrong end, the end times can be:

Confusing

Dangerous

Even violent

Focus on the right end—Jesus

Revelation 22:13

Jesus is the beginning and the end

Arius denied that Jesus is the beginning and end

Acts 1:6–8

Jesus’ followers got focused on the wrong end?

Matthew 28:19–20

Jesus provided his people with a mission

Jesus is the end point and goal of God’s work in history

Before the Gathering

Obtain Four Views of the End Times Participant Guides (ISBN 9781596364264) and Four Views of the End Times pamphlets (ISBN 9781596360891) for every participant.

In the Participant Guide, complete the study entitled The Goal of God’s Plan.

Study Revelation 22:12–13 and Acts 1:6–8. (See Recommended Resources for some reliable commentaries to assist you in your study.)

From the Leader Guide, choose which questions and discussion-starters you will use during this session. The Leader Guide provides you with many options, but you will probably want to choose only two or three of these options.

If you plan to use the Four Views of the End Times DVD or PowerPoint® slideshow, be certain to set up and test all equipment beforehand. For this session, use the segments in the PowerPoint® slideshow entitled End Times Intrigue and Key Bible Passages.

Prayerfully seek God’s guidance for this gathering.

Gathering Together

Get Them Talking (10 minutes)

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Text ornament As a discussion-starter, tell one or more of the following stories:

Around AD 150, a man named Montanus [MONN-tonn-uss] became a believer in Jesus and developed a strong interest in prophetic themes. Before long, Montanus had predicted that the New Jerusalem would arrive in Pepuza, a backwoods parish in the province of Phrygia. Before being disfellowshipped, Montanus even claimed that he spoke for the Holy Spirit, declaring, I am Father, Word, and Comforter and I am the Lord God All-Powerful. (Didymus, De Trinatate, 3:41; Epiphanius, Haereses, 48:11)

In 1534, a Dutch baker named Jan Matthys [MATH-iss] claimed that the New Jerusalem would soon be located in Münster, Germany. After a supposed series of apocalyptic visions, Jan and his followers subjugated the city of Münster. One of Jan’s cohorts married sixteen wives and declared himself a successor of the biblical King David. In the end, the New Jerusalem did not arrive in Münster, but a rival army did. The corpses of the apocalyptic revolutionaries were suspended above the city in iron cages. To this day, the cages still hang from the steeple of St. Lambert’s Church. (Anthony Arthur, The Tailor King: The Rise and Fall of the Anabaptist Kingdom of Munster; St. Martin’s, 1999; pages 67,