You will recall that when the Roman Empire (West) fell, Western Europe was overrun by tribes of barbarians. The old civilization of Greek and Roman learning and art was destroyed, but it survived in the East where the Empire lived on for a thousand years with its capitol at Constantinople. This article discusses what happened in the world before the Reformation

Martin Luther was born in 1483, the son of a miner who, through hard work, became part owner of six copper mines and, in time, became fairly wealthy. His parents sought a good education for their bright son; he earned the equivalent of Bachelor's and Master's degrees from the university at Erfurt (the latter in 1505 at age 22; he was second in a class of seventeen). His father persuaded him to enter law school, which he did with misgivings.

What John sees in Revelation 6:9-11 is not heaven itself but a symbolic vision of heaven. We must not forget this — it is symbolism. However, this symbolism would be meaningless or impossible to understand if it did not reflect reality. In this vision, John sees the altar of burnt offering at the base of which the blood of slaughtered animals had to be poured out (Lev. 4:7). Under this altar John sees the souls of the slaughtered saints. "The life (or 'soul') is in the blood" (Lev. 17:11). Now, the souls of these martyrs cry out for vengeance upon their killers.

Although there are various passages in Scripture which speak of the resurrection, there is one which puts this entire truth in a concise "theological" light — i.e. it gives us understanding about the resurrection which goes beyond the obvious facts. The passage is John 5:19-30.

By "intermediate state" we mean the condition of the soul after death and before the general resurrection, whether that be the soul of the elect or of the damned, of the saved or of the unsaved.

We have dealt with the "Rapture" and, although there are a number of things about this that we could still discuss, we must leave them for now. Most of them relate to vari­ations on doctrines thought out by premillenialists and it would be tedious to spend all our time refuting error. As we now move into this broad topic, we will try to deal with it in various smaller segments. In all, we can make ten distinctions in considering the "Final Judgement."

it is time to consider the state of those who have died in the Lord. What is it like for them now? Can we know this? Bear in mind that the condition of these blessed is still of a provisional character and that for these three reasons:

What is this blessed hope? "Hope" refers to the fact that there is earnest waiting and confident expectation for something that will surely come. It is "blessed" because this hope, this thing or event that will be, imparts happiness, bliss, delight and glory. Even the exer­cise of this hope is blessed for it focuses on its glorious Author (Rom. 15:13) and all the wonderful truths that it includes — everlasting life, purification of life, boldness of speech, and more (Titus 1:2; 2 Cor. 3:12; 1 John 3:3).

From earliest times in the New Testament church there were some who held to the view that after death there is no conscious existence of the soul, although it does continue to exist as an individual spiritual being, but quite unconsciously. The early church father, Eusebius, wrote about such wrongs views; in the Middle Ages there were many who held to this error and at the time of the Reformation some of the Anabaptists also held to this. Calvin wrote a pamphlet against this view.

The question before us now needs to be exam­ined rather carefully. The problem is that people sometimes ask the question in such a way that they seem to avoid alto­gether the idea of a "second chance." People in various sects will try to confuse their 'victims' by saying that it is not true they believe in a 'second probation,' arguing something like this: "The heathen and many other people never had even a first chance, for they never heard the gospel as we present it.

"The continued existence of the soul after death is a matter of divine revelation" (Charles Hodge). This quote is a good reminder that all the information we have on this subject can be only by revelation. We may be able to draw certain conclusions and inferences from revelation, but if it cannot be backed up by the Bible it must be considered speculation. Speculation is not necessarily sinful nor is it always factually incorrect; however, the product of speculation may never be used to function as a doctrinal or dogmatic statement.

When we study "the last things" (the technical term is "Eschatology" which means, literally "study or knowledge of the end things"), we have to make some distinctions in order to make this vast field of study manageable. We all will experience "the last things" within a matter of some years, at most. When our life here comes to an end, we will face the Judge and enter heaven or hell, depending on whether this Judge has, earlier, become our Saviour and Redeemer.

The doctrine about the last things can be divided into two sections. We have dealt with the first: Individual Eschatology. Now we go into the second: General Eschatology. Basically, we will deal with such topics as: The Signs of the End, The Second Coming and the events associated with it, the Millennium and the position of the State of Israel. In dealing with all these issues, we should look back to the first chapter issued, in which various principles of Scriptural interpretation were laid out.

During the movement of tribes described earlier, one of the Germanic tribes, the Lombards ("Longbeards"), invaded northern Italy in 568 and settled in the Po valley, at the top of the Adriatic Sea, near the former Yugoslav border. They were mainly Arian Christians who soon became orthodox. Pope Gregory I ("the Great") gave the "Iron Crown" (supposedly containing one of the nails of the Lord's cross!) to their leader.

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is made visible by showing us how the church must constantly fight against sin within. This article looks at the influence of Boniface VIII, schism, persecution of the Albigenses and Waldenses by the church, the rise of mysticism and the seed of the reformation.

How did the reformation grow? This article looks at the influence of Ulrich Zwingli and John Calvin on the growth of the reformation. 

The spread of the reformation was throughout European. This article explains the spread of the reformation in Netherlands. 

The reformation did not only impact European mainland, it also spread in England. This article explains the spread of the reformation in England.

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is in showing us that constant call to stand for and defend the biblical truth bearing the costs that comes with it. This article explains this by looking at John Wycliffe and John Huss.

The spread of the Dutch Reformed churches can be explained by two events: the Secession of 1834 and the Doleantie. 

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? This article looks at the signs of the end times. Here focus is on the great tribulation based on Revelation 20. 

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? This article looks at the signs of the end times. Here focus is on the final state of the wicked. The article answers questions: will God send people to hell for eternity? What is Hell?

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? This article looks at the signs of the end times. Here focus is on the antichrist based on 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 20.

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? Are all those who die outside of Christ going to hell? What about those who died without hearing the gospel and the death of infants? This article engages with these questions. 

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? This article looks at the signs of the end times. Here focus is on the great apostasy based on Revelation 20.

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? This article looks at the signs of the end times. Here focus is on the meaning of Armageddon and the rapture with an evaluation of dispentionalism.

How should we view the biblical teaching about the last things? This article looks at the signs of the end times. Here focus is on the meaning of all Israel. Will all Israel be saved? 

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is seen in that through it we learn to understand the struggles facing the church. That it is within and outside. This article looks at corruption in the church, conflict, and the Crusades. 

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is made visible by showing us how power and learning can impact church life. This article looks at the papal power, the founding of monasteries and the development of theology. 

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is seen in that it helps us to understand the legal freedom of the church. This article explains this by looking at the influence of the Constantine the Great in the church and the Edict of Milan.

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is seen in that it helps us to the development of church government. This article explains the rise of bishops in the church. 

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is seen in that it helps us understand how God works through general history to build his church and preserve her. This article explains this through the fall of Rome. 

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is seen in that it helps us to understand how the church was shaped, this article explains heresies faced by the early church and how this helped the shaping of church in its doctrine.

Why church history is important? The importance of church history is seen in that through it we come to understand how the West was Christianized. This article explains the Christianization of the West during the early middle ages. 

Preaching is the authoritative proclamation of the gospel by the church in the service of the word of God through Christ. This article looks at scriptural terms used to describe preaching which support this definition. It looks at the meaning of preaching with authority.

This article shows the significance of Christ's appearance after his resurrection to James, recorded in 1 Corinthians 15:7.