Opened Scriptures Bible Studies

Here is where to find indexes to all Bible lessons posted on this blog since its inception in 2019. Click on the drop down menu and look for the archives tab. Then find the date listed below to find the appropriate index. I hope this will help you find lessons on a particular book of topic that we have studied through. An index for all lessons posted from 2019 through 2021 , was published on September 7, 2022. An index for all lessons posted in 2022 , was published J anuary 24, 2023. An index for all lessons posted in 202 3 was published on February 28, 2024.  An index for all lessons posted in 2024 was published on January 21, 2025. An index for all lessons posted in 2025 was published on January 24, 2026. Below you will find links to the YouTube channel of the church we attend, Heritage Baptist Church, in Smithville Ohio. I have been a born again believer in Christ for more than 40 years and Pastor Alvis is a careful, accurate and faithful minister of the gospel to his commu...

Now we come to one final aspect of the end times that are the source of some confusion. We must remember that Jesus is speaking of the end times and final judgment and that Israel is primarily in view, not the Church. Prior to His sufferings, death, resurrection and ascension, Jesus mentioned the church once. Matthew 16:16-18  And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.  17  And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but my Father which is in heaven.  18  And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build my church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.  Jesus only mentioned the Church once when He told Peter that He would build His Church and Satan's attacks will not prevail against it. Jesus began building His church on the day of Pentecost in Acts chapter two. Right before Jesus ascended to heave...

We looked at eternity past to understand that God established His entire plan of salvation through faith, before He created anything.  God's redemptive plan was set in motion after creation was finished and before sin entered the world, through the serpent's deception and Adam and Eve's failure to obey God. This truth means that the end times were actually established in eternity past. When God's prophets speak of the day of the LORD judgment, or end times or last days, or Armageddon, their prophecies were set in stone before the world was created. They were only speaking what God had already decreed would happen in eternity past. This reminds us of the amazing and awesome glory of God, who with perfect wisdom, ordained the beginning and end of all things, according to His good purposes. Where are we today? Technically, we are living in the end times because they were set in motion when creation was complete. Thus, we live in between the creation of all things and the f...

As I study to prepare lessons on Matthew chapter twenty four, I was quickly reminded that eschatology (The theology of last things) is complex. I hope that this lesson will be a complementary addition to our studies in Matthew 24. I want to give you a simple, but accurate overview of the end times so that we can keep this in our minds as we study Jesus' teaching. When did the end times start? They began in eternity past. The phrase "eternity past" refers to the Godhead in eternity, before creation. The opening words of scripture are "In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth." Before this beginning was eternity and the God who dwells in eternity (See Isaiah 57:15). This beginning marked the creation of a space, time and matter continuum that we live in and are very familiar with. God still dwells in eternity, not bound by space, time or matter. Yet, throughout Bible history, God appeared to men starting with Adam and Eve, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isa...