Compilation of snippets from Charles Clough's 224-lesson Bible Framework series providing an overview of the course.
Historical, unbelieving, responses to the resurrection event. What is particularly offensive to unbelief about the resurrection? The resurrection confronts each of us with our future, permanent state; threatening “the enemies of Christianity with the consequences of unrepentant death!” Questions and answers.
Why we need the Bible Framework. The truths of Scripture must support each other, integrate with human history, and affect every area of knowledge. The biblical definition of “faith.” If you don’t believe in God, you have no basis to make a moral judgment. Examples of applying the Bible Framework. Final questions and answers on the Bible Framework.
Review of pre-tribulationism. The four historical objections to pre-tribulationism. The suffering in the Tribulation is not discipline; it is judgment. The purpose of the Bible Framework. We must associate God, man, and nature with the cosmic act (historical event) of Creation. Questions and answers.
Features of pre-tribulationism that make it the best solution. Critics of pre-tribulationism. Many cults today are modern versions of ancient heresies. The church is not found in Matthew chapter 24. God has very real contingencies in history that do not compromise His sovereignty. Questions and answers.
A biblical example of how eschatology is used to control one’s soul during historical or personal disaster. Eschatology provides the big picture and gives stability. We don’t feel our way to God; we think our way. The biggest battles in the Christian life are in our soul. Pre-tribulationism and the immanency of the Rapture. The features of pre-tribulationalism. The arguments against pre-tribulationalism. Pre-tribulationism throughout church history. Questions and answers.
The mid-tribulation Rapture view. The uniqueness of the Tribulation period. Evaluating the three key assertions of the mid-tribulation view. The pre-tribulation Rapture view. Accomplishments of the pre-tribulation position.
How each Tribulation position attempts to immunize the church from “the wrath of God.” All the judgments in the Tribulation represent “the wrath of God.” Problems with the ¾ Tribulation view. The mid-tribulation Rapture view.
Relating the story of Israel and the story of the church to the end of history. Problems with the ¾ Tribulation position. Questions and answers.
The Rapture of the church. The purpose of the Tribulation. Israel’s worldwide blessing, past and future. Problems with post-tribulationism. The ¾ tribulation position. Defining “the wrath of God.” Questions and answers.
The “Tribulation” and the “Great Tribulation.” The Rapture of the church. The Bema Seat and the Marriage Supper of the Lamb. Comparing and contrasting the Rapture of the church and the Second Coming of Christ. Problems with the post-tribulation view and preterism. Questions and answers.
The preterist, futurist, and historicist views concerning the church and prophecy. The post-tribulation, mid-tribulation, and pre-tribulation positions concerning the Rapture of the church. Resurrection passages in Scripture. Questions and answers.
Church history can be seen as the maturing of the “body of Christ,” with respect to understanding God’s Word. The “these things” and “this generation” of Matthew 24:33–34. Preterism has difficulty with the math of Daniel chapter 9 and is, therefore, forced into a non-literal hermeneutic. Preterism must early date the writing of the Book of Revelation. Questions and answers.
The plan for the church and its termination. Tying in New Testament truths with the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecy. The amillennial, postmillennial, and premillennial eschatologies. The only way to avoid opposition to what God is doing in history is to understand what He is doing in history. How preterism redefines scriptural terms. Problem passages for preterism. Questions and answers.
Man chose to fall while in a sinless environment, revealing that sin’s causes are not environmental. The New Covenant with Israel. Church history. Clarifying what the church is and is not. The future of the church. Preterism. Questions and answers.
You will not understand the prophecies of the Bible if you do not understand the distinction between Israel and the church. Metaphors for childbirth used in prophecy related to the Kingdom. The terms “Day of the Lord,” “Jacob’s Trouble,” and “Daniel’s 70th Week.” The “Tribulation.” Questions and answers.
History is a sequence of things that refute man’s excuses and displays man’s depravity. The final milestones of Israel. Resurrection is either to damnation or blessing and is fixed forever, without conversion. Themes common to the church. The Rapture of the church.