Weekly Bible Study Review
November 6, 2011

 


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In This Issue
Cafe Class
Read-to-Believe Class
Class Schedule
Go to www.theocentrix.org click on the "Events" tab
for maps and more information.


Cafe Class
Culture Cafe
1359 N Altadena Drive
Pasadena CA 91104
Wednesdays 10:00 am

classroom
Read-to-Believe Class
Lake Avenue Church
Family Life Room 201
309 N Lake Avenue
Pasadena CA 91101
Thursdays 7:00 pm

peacock 1
Arbo Class
LA County Arboretum
301 N Baldwin Ave
Arcadia CA 91007
Saturday 12:00 noon
Once per month

 

November 12, 2011 

December 10, 2011 

 

January 7, 2012 

February 4, 2012 

March 3, 2012

March 31, 2012 

 April 28, 2012 

May no class

June 2, 2012 

July 14, 2012 

August 11, 2012 

September 8, 2012 

October 6, 2012
November 3, 2012
December 1, 2012
 
melon sunglasses
Anaheim Class 
Saturday 11:00 am
Once a month Bible study.
Next class Dec 17th

Contact Sandy for address
[email protected]
626-531-6641

topofpageGreetings! 

This newsletter is sent to everyone who attends Sandy's weekly Bible studies. The left column has a table of contents and the current class schedule. Be sure to watch for the links in each article. Clicking on them will lead you to charts, diagrams and additional articles related to your class.  
Anyone can subscribe to this free newsletter by using the link in the upper left corner. If you would like to forward this issue to a friend all you have to do is click on the link below.




Do You SKYPE?
Attend a live Bible study from the comfort of your own home. We still have room for two more participants via Skype in the Thursday evening and Saturday afternoon Arboretum classes.

Contact Sandy for more information.
[email protected] or call (626)531-6641. 

cafeclassWednesday Cafe Class 
Revelation
NO Class Nov 23 and 30
Revelation 15:1-19:10

15:1-8 John sees in heaven 7 angels with the 7 last plagues which will complete the wrath of God. Standing beside the sea of glass are the people who've been victorious over the beast, his image, and his number. God gave them harps and they sang the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb. In Exodus 15 Moses sang a song of victory and praise for the Lord when the Egyptian army was drowned in the Red Sea. The song sung by these people also praises the Lord. The 7 angels came out of the temple and were given 7 bowls filled with the wrath of God. Smoke filled the temple and no one could enter the temple until the 7 plagues were done.

 

16:1- 21 The 7 last plagues:

  • Angel 1-- poured out on the land. Ugly painful sores on people who had the mark of the beast.
  • Angel 2-- poured out on the sea. Water turned to blood and all sea creatures died.
  • Angel 3-- poured out on fresh water. Water became blood. The angel in charge of waters and the altar of God agree that God is right to give people blood to drink because they shed the blood of the martyrs.
  • Angel 4-- poured out on the sun. Sun scorched people with fire. People cursed God and refused to repent.
  • Angel 5-- poured out on the throne of the beast. His kingdom was thrown into darkness. Men cursed God because of their pain and refused to repent.
  • Angel 6-- poured out on the Euphrates River. Dried it up to prepare way for the kings from the East to bring their armies. From the mouth of the dragon, beast 1, and beast 2 came evil spirits that performed miracles. They deceived the kings of the world and gathered them for the battle of Armageddon.
  • Angel 7-- poured out into the air. "It is done!" Thunder, lightening and a huge earthquake split the city into 3 parts. The earthquake changed the landscape so much that islands and mountains could no longer be found. 100-pound hailstones fell to earth. Men cursed God for this.

Click to read more... 


rtbclassThursday Read-to-Believe Class 
1 John
   NO Class Nov 24, and Dec 1

1 John 1:1-2:29  

This letter seems to have been written primarily to refute false teaching. One of the major heresies of that time was docetism which claimed that Christ was not really human but only appeared to be human. Many people held the philosophy that the physical and the spiritual are so separate that it's impossible for a man to be both divine and human the way Christ claimed to be. A heretic named Cerinthus opposed John quite openly and taught that the divine Christ came upon Jesus at His baptism and left Jesus just before He went to the cross. Therefore, God was not born and did not die. There were many heresies that denied either the humanity of Christ or His divinity. John couldn't possibly address every false teacher that would come along but he could arm his readers with his own testimony of what Jesus actually said during His earthly ministry.

 

1 John 1:1-4 John and the other apostles were eye-witnesses of the life, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. "From the beginning" of His ministry John and the others literally "heard," "saw" with their eyes, "looked at," and "touched" with their hands "the Word of life" (Jesus). "The life" (Jesus) appeared. John has seen this life, testifies to it, and proclaims it to "you" (his readers); the eternal life which was with the Father and appeared to "us" (John and the apostles) Why does John proclaim this life to his readers? "So that" the readers may have fellowship with John and the apostles. John and the apostles have fellowship with the Father and Christ. The readers have not heard, seen and touched Jesus the same way the apostles have but they could still have fellowship with the Father and Christ along with the original apostles. This is a joyful fellowship.

 

v. 5-7 John continues to speak as an eye-witness. The message he and the apostles heard from Christ is simply, "God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all." John speaks again of fellowship. If someone claims to have fellowship with God and yet walks in the darkness they are lying and do not live by the truth. But those who walk in the light as God is in the light have fellowship with all the other people who walk in the light. And Jesus' blood purifies them from every sin.

Click to read more... 

 
Since ancient times the Bible has been read aloud to groups of people who were eager to hear the words of Life. We're really no different today. Believers still look to the Bible for wisdom and instruction. We belong in the Word together. Thank you for your participation in these classes. I hope you will pass this email on to others and invite them to attend a Bible study.

Grace and peace,
Sandy Blank


cafeWednesday Cafe Class (continued)
Revelation 15:1-19:10

 17:1-8 One of the 7 angels showed John a prostitute sitting on many waters. She committed adultery with kings and was seated on a red beast with 7 heads and 10 horns. The woman appeared to be very wealthy and held a cup filled with abominable things. Her name was "Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Prostitutes and of the Abominations of the Earth." She was drunk with the blood of those who bore testimony to Jesus. John was astonished but the angel explained the mystery of the woman and the beast she rides.

 

v. 8 The beast once was, now is not, and will come up from the Abyss to be destroyed. Notice how this is a counterfeit of Christ who was, and is, and is to come.

 

v. 9 The seven heads = 7 hills = 7 kings

                                  5 of them have fallen, 1 is, and 1 has not yet come

The beast = an 8th king who belongs to the other 7 kings and will be destroyed

10 horns = 10 kings who have not yet received a kingdom. They will give their power to the beast and make war against the Lamb but the Lamb will overcome them because He is King of kings and Lord of lords. The Lamb's called, faithful and chosen followers will be with Him.

 

v. 15- the waters on which the prostitute sits = peoples, multitudes, nations and languages

The beast (7 kings, 8th king, and 10 who will be kings) will hate the prostitute and bring her to ruin, eating her flesh and burning her with fire. They will do this to her because God is using them to accomplish His purpose of destroying her. Who is this woman? She is a city.

v. 18 the prostitute = the great city that rules over the kings of the earth.

 

18:1-10 Another angel came down from heaven and the earth was lit up by his splendor. He shouted that Babylon is fallen. She has made the world's merchants rich and they have "drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries." Another voice called out to the people of God in that city telling them to come out of her before the plagues come. She will be paid back for her sins, her crimes, and her arrogance.

 

v. 11-19 The merchants who became rich from her will mourn when they see the smoke of her destruction. They will weep because no one buys their cargoes anymore. The merchants will be terrified at her torment and shocked that she was brought down to ruin so quickly.

 

v. 20 The merchants also seem to recognize that although this is bad news for Babylon it is good news for the saints and apostles because God has finally judged this city for what she had done to the followers of Jesus.

 

v. 21-24 Another angel threw a boulder into the sea to demonstrate the violent way Babylon would be destroyed. There would be no more light, laughter or music in this city because she led the nations astray and was guilty of shedding the blood of the saints and prophets.

 

19:1-8 Finally, a loud "Hallelujah!" was heard in heaven. A great multitude praised God for condemning the great prostitute and avenging on her the blood of His servants. The 24 elders and 4 living creatures also worshiped God saying, "Amen. Hallelujah!" A voice from the throne called for all the servants of God to praise Him and John heard a great multitude shouting praises to the Lamb. The wedding of the Lamb has come. His bride has made herself ready and she was given fine linen to wear. Fine linen = the righteous acts of the saints.

 

v. 9-10 The angel told John to write, "Blessed are those who are invited to the wedding supper of the Lamb. These are the true words of God." John began to worship the angel but the angel wouldn't let him because he is a fellow servant. Only God should be worshiped.

 

Next time we will read John's vision of the Lord riding into battle against the beast and the kings of the earth.

 --Sandy Blank  
 Back...  

readtobelieveThursday Read-to-Believe Class (continued)

1 John 1:1-2:29  

1:8-10 It's possible for a person to deceive himself and claim to be without sin. But there's no need to deceive oneself this way because if people confess their sins God is faithful and will forgive those sins. His forgiveness purifies the sinner from unrighteousness. But anyone who claims they have not sinned is calling God a liar.

 

2:1-2 John does not want his readers to sin but if anyone does sin they need to know that Jesus speaks to the Father on their behalf. Jesus is "the atoning sacrifice" for all sin. Notice the word "the." Jesus is not one of several sacrifices that can atone for sin. He is the only atoning sacrifice.

 

v. 3-6 Those who know Jesus keep His commands. John is saying that it's possible to know Jesus and not just know about Him.

 

Are the commands mentioned in this verse the same as the 10 Commandments? Keep in mind that the Jews kept the 10 Commandments for centuries and never came to "know" Jesus through the 10. Try to keep an open mind about Jesus' commands. It will become clearer what they are in the next chapter.

 

The point John is making here is that anyone who claims to know Jesus must obey His commands. Anyone who claims to know Jesus and doesn't obey His commands is a liar. John introduces the idea of being "in Christ." Those who are in Christ will walk as Jesus did.

 

v. 7-8 John is not giving his readers a new command. This is not some novel idea. Remember, heretics usually claim to have some kind of new truth. This is not new. They've had this command since "the beginning" of their lives as Christ-followers. "This old command is the message you have heard." Yet John describes it as a new command whose truth is seen in Christ and in His followers. The darkness is passing away and the new light that came with the coming of Christ is already shining. So in that sense this is new because it originated with Christ.

 

v. 9-11 John makes a sharp contrast between darkness and light. There are people who live in darkness and people who live in light. Claiming to be in the light does not mean you are in the light. False teachers may claim to be in the light but they are actually blinded by darkness. The way the readers will know is whether a person loves his brother or hates his brother. Those who live in light love their brothers, those who live in darkness hate their brothers.

 

v. 12-14 The readers are divided in to three categories.

Children                    

Fathers                                     

Young Men

Your sins have

been forgiven

on account of

Christ's name

You have known him who is

from the beginning

You have overcome the evil one

You have known

the Father

You have known him who is

from the beginning

You are strong

The Word of God lives in you

You have overcome the evil one

v. 15-17 They are not to love the world or anything in the world. Why not? Because it's temporary and will pass away. Also because the cravings and lusts associated with worldly things do not come from the Father but from the world. Even boasting about what they have and what they do is forbidden. "But the man who does the will of the God lives forever."

 

v. 18-22 John warns them that time is short. They knew the antichrist would come and now there are many antichrists. This is how they can be sure it's the last hour. These antichrists are false teachers who are against Christ. They went out from "us" (the apostles) but never really belonged to the fellowship of the apostles. Some of the false teachers may have claimed they had apostolic authority even though they taught a different gospel.

 

v. 20-23 John assures his readers that they have a true anointing from God and all of them know the truth. He's not writing to them because they don't know the truth, he's writing because they do know it and he wants them to be aware that there are liars who deny that Jesus is the Christ (or the Messiah). These liars are antichrists and they deny both the Father and Son. No one who denies the Son has the Father. They're a package deal. Some people may claim they love God but reject "all this Jesus stuff." Or they may claim to serve God but reject the idea that they are sinners in need of forgiveness. Whatever the false teaching may be, if anyone denies that Jesus is the Christ then they deny God as well.

 

v. 24-25 John does not want his readers to let go of what they have heard from the beginning when they first came to faith in Christ. If this truth remains in them then they will remain in the Son and in the Father. Then they will receive the eternal life they were promised.

 

v. 26-29 He's writing these things to them about false teachers who are trying to lead them astray. But John is confident that the anointing (the Spirit) they've been given is still in them and they don't need teachers. They already have the truth and they have this anointing that is real, not counterfeit, to teach them to remain in Christ. They must remain in Him so that when He returns they will be "confident and unashamed." Christ is righteous therefore "everyone who does what is right has been born of Him."

 

Next time we'll find out more about Jesus' commands.

 

--Sandy Blank 

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This newsletter is maintained by Sandy Blank (Ph.D. Educational Studies, Biola; MA Biblical Studies, Grace University). If you would like further information about any of her classes or would like to know how to start a Bible study in your area please contact her at [email protected]. This newsletter is sponsored by Theocentrix, Inc., a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting God-centered Bible literacy. Visit www.theocentrix.org for more information.