Revelation 20: 1-6

The book of Revelation was written by the apostle John, in an apocalyptic literature style. It consists of a series of prophecies about the end times, when Jesus will return and triumph over all the evil residing in the world. Its purpose is to bring hope and encouragement to Christians so that they will continue watching for the return and victory of Jesus Christ, but it is also a warning of the Final Judgment that nonbelievers will endure. The depiction of the cosmic battle that takes place both in heaven and on earth, symbolic language, and introduction of surreal

Oftentimes, the devil is depicted as an evil deity sitting in the depths of a burning pit, plotting the demise of mankind and creating all the evils that are in the world. However, in The Screwtape Letters, C. S. Lewis, using a series of letters from an experienced tempter to his protégé, makes the case that this is false. He portrays the devils as a perverted spirit, the opposite of a guardian angel. Unlike God who truly loves man and embraces his individuality, the devil’s main objective is to cultivate humans for food, consuming their uniqueness. “We want cattle who can finally become food… we want to suck in… we are empty and would be filled”[i] Screwtape, the demonic mentor of Wormwood, writes bluntly in his letter in Chapter 8. In their

We talk about “doing” the will of God, but the will of God has much more to do with “being” than “doing”. It’s not about being in the right place at the right time; it’s about being the right person, even if you find yourself in the wrong circumstances (pg 30)”.

Come, devil, for thee is this world given." He has given up and welcomes the devil.

Almost one thousand years later, after eons of peace in Greece, a new prophecy arose. The Oracle uttered the Great Prophecy, an omen of the future, for no other could see the future like it.

The book of Hebrews was written by a Christian scholar and not by one of the Gospels. I knew that many authors made up the New Testament but I did not know scholars wrote some books a well. Hebrews writer was someone who linked the Hebrew Bible along with Greek philosophy. The writer never identifies himself but his views on the end times were very strong. He assumes that there is an existence of two parallel worlds: the eternal and the perfect realm of spirits. This is something that I have never heard before. This writer is the only person to speak of Jesus as the mediator between God and humanity. He has so much insight on what was happening or what was to happen but we do not know who this person was. Hebrew is written very differently and some of the

1. “that the hand of Providence had done all this, for the purpose- of restoring the young

To articulate my theological view of scripture, I will address Scripture as broken yet beautiful, then express how I read and interpret sacred texts, given the need to understand the author’s intent, the historical context, and a Christocentric hermeneutic. This will be followed by the aim of reading scripture, which is not simply for orthodox doctrine, but for right living. Although Scripture is primary, it is not the only way God speaks to humanity, thus I will address the Spirit, tradition, creation, and experience as other sources of insight. Despite this integrated approach to scripture and theology, it is not foolproof or necessarily correct. Therefore, I will end this section with a discussion of knowledge and how we understand truth, grounded in the epistemological paradigm of practical

The length of time a person has attended church has nothing to do with their level of

The final project is the submission an annotated bibliography based upon the above conceptual perspective outlined in the project description for your selected project or paper. An annotated bibliography is a list of the references you will be using to support your perspective. Each reference annotation will have below it an annotation which identifies the topic of the study, what the strengths and weaknesses of the study are, and how does it contribute to your interest in the topic.

Christians’ relationship to the Old Testament has been an issue that has attracted huge concern across the globe. This issue has generated much controversy because of the various misunderstandings across both sides of the spectrum. In essence, there are Christians who believe that the Old Testament law is biding to all believers while others think that they are not bound by this law. There are some Christians who argue that the Old Testament law is not binding to believers except the Ten Commandments whereas others state that the ceremonial law has been eradicated. The confusion regarding Christians’ relationship to the Old Testament is also fueled by the fact that there are many laws that seem to be part of this religion. Moreover, the Old Testament is associated with complexities, which makes them to find it confusing, wordy, and cumbersome .

Revelation chapter 12 and verse 9 is enormously useful when dealing with Satan for it tells us in one verse the extent of his demonic character as identified by his names or titles i.e. old serpent, Devil, Satan as well as his fallen status “cast out”, his ruthless work to “deceive the nations”, his domain of operation “the earth” and his co-conspirators “his angels”. Here is the scripture, “And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him.” When we speak of Satan, the enemy of God and by definition the enemy of all mankind, we are speaking of a powerful adversary who has the ability to wreck havoc on earth

The book The Meaning of the Millennium: Four Views was edited by Robert G. Clouse. It was originally published in Downers Grove, Illinois in 1977 by InterVarsity Press. Clouse combined writings from George Eldon Ladd, Herman A. Hoyt, Loraine Boettner, and Anthony A. Hoekema to produce this book. "George Eldon Ladd (Fuller Theological Seminary) present[ed] historic premillennialism. Herman A. Hoyt (Grace Theological Seminary) [wrote] on dispensational premillennialism. Loraine Boettner (theologian and author of The Millennium) discuss[ed] the postmillennial view. And finally Anthony A. Hoekema (Calvin Theological Seminary) describes the amillennial position."

While you remain in listless indifference, how can you tell what is the will of God concerning you? and how do you expect to be saved, unless as faithful servants you do your Lord's will....pg. 206

In a way, Satan's rebellion is reminiscent of Plato's "The Allegory of the Cave." It can be argued that Satan has come to realize that he has other options and has the option of breaking free from ignorance. "The allure of free will is where the attractiveness and power of Satan's character lies" (Zeng). Satan is an individual who wants to break others from their ignorance and will do so by appealing to their reason and encouraging them to make their own decisions (Plato). Moreover, Satan did not force Eve to eat the Forbidden Fruit as Eve contends before eating it, "Our reason is our Law" (Milton Book IX line 654). Additionally, Satan is not described by Milton as someone that forceful, but rather is repeatedly referred to as "The Tempter" (Book IX, line 665).