FBFC Thursday Night Men’s Bible Study

Ron Miller

09 July 1998

As we begin our study, we are going to establish the fundamentals that will help us understand the "whys" and "hows" before we attempt to understand the "whens" of the "End Times". We will look to Scripture to help us reasonably define God’s Creation, man’s nature and Satan’s part in the conclusion of the Age of Man. We begin with a study of the beginning of God’s Creation.

Questions to consider before beginning:

• If God made Creation, then why would he want to destroy it?
• Who will be responsible for the "End of the World"?
• Why did Christ tell of natural events as predictors of the "End Times"?
• What relationship does God have with the Earth?
• What relationship does Man have with the Earth?

Read: Genesis 1-3

God is the Author of life. He is the Creator. Evidence is everywhere of His miraculous works.

Scriptural accounts of God’s Authorship:

Heb. 11:3

Col. 1:16-17

Ps. 104:30

Satan’s desire is to be "like God". He attempts to create, but his curse is destruction. Often the mistake is made of assigning Satan power that he doesn’t have. We, in essence, attribute to him the ability to create something out of nothing. ("The Devil made me do it!") This is false thinking. Satan is not a creator, he cannot create sin within you because he did not create sin. Satan uses sin and even uncovers sin in us, and then he takes hold and brings us down once we are weakened by our own inherent sin, but he cannot create sin in us.

To the wise, this is hope of overcoming and ultimately getting rid of sin in our lives. We cannot destroy our own sin, only the Creator can do that. We cannot forge our own destinies, only God can do that.

Christ knew that: Mark 14:36

Paul knew that: II Cor. 12:7, Rom. 11:27, (Heb. 10:11)

Next week: Creation vs. Evolution