God's Big Picture

‘The beast’ (who represents worldly anti-Christian powers), ‘the false prophet’ (worldly anti-Christian ideology) and Satan are also judged alongside Babylon.

Bible study Revelation 21:1–8; 21:22 – 22:5 21:1–8 What images are used to describe the perfected kingdom? How do they build on previous passages in the Bible? What are the features of life in the new creation? Who will enjoy its benefits? What does it mean to be ‘thirsty’? What does it mean to ‘overcome’? 21:22 – 22:5 How is the perfected kingdom

The Bible calls the time between the first and second comings of Christ ‘the last days’ (e.g. 2 Timothy 3:1; James 5:3). This is the period in which the New Testament letters were written and in which we still live today. It lies in the intersection of two ages: ‘this present age’ and ‘the age to come’ (e.g. Matthew 12:32; see Figure 34). The kingd

We must not expect life to be easy. We are called to proclaim the gospel to a world that does not want to hear it and to live a Christian life among people who live in a very different way. We are citizens of heaven, who must, for the time being, live as ‘strangers’ in the world (Philippians 3:20; 1 Peter 1:1). But we shall not have to live away fr

Bible study Luke 1:39–80; 2:25–32 What do the words of Mary, Zechariah and Simeon teach us about the salvation Jesus brings? How do they point to the fulfilment of the following Old Testament passages? Genesis 12:1–3 2 Samuel 7:11–16 Isaiah 9:2–7 Isaiah 42:5–7 Isaiah 49:5–7 Jeremiah 31:31–34 Malachi 3:1 How should we respond?

The kingdom of God God’s people God’s place God’s rule and blessing The pattern of the kingdom Adam and Eve The garden God’s word; perfect relationships The perished kingdom No-one Banished Disobedience and curse The promised kingdom Abraham’s descendants Canaan Blessing to Israel and the nations The partial kingdom The Israelites Canaan (and Jerus

We tend to have a negative attitude to authority and assume that it must always be oppressive. But there is nothing negative about being under God’s authority. In the Bible, to be under God’s rule is to enjoy God’s blessing. When Adam and Eve obeyed God’s command not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, they knew life at its best

Bible study Exodus 19:1–13; 20:1–17 19:1–13 What does this passage teach us about God? How does it challenge the way we often think about him? How should we relate to such a God? What has God already done for the Israelites (see also 20:2)? What does he promise to do in the future? How do these promises relate to the promises he made to Abraham (Ge

Before he states any of his laws, he begins by saying, ‘I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery’ (Exodus 20:2). He redeems them before they receive the law. Their obedience is not to be a desperate attempt to earn his salvation; it is a response to the salvation he has already achieved for them. But if obedi