Date
1-2020
Department
Rawlings School of Divinity
Degree
Doctor of Ministry (DMin)
Chair
P. Adam McClendon
Keywords
Eschatology, Persecution, End-times, Islam, Perseverance, Knowledge
Disciplines
Christianity | Religion | Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion
Recommended Citation
Reddy, John C., "The Knowledge of End-time Prophetic Scriptures Prepares Believers at Northcliffe Baptist Church to Expect Religious Persecution" (2020). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 2314.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/2314
Abstract
The lack of knowledge about the end-time prophetic Scriptures and its inferences to Islamic eschatology appears to be a problem at Northcliffe Baptist Church. The purpose of this study is to raise awareness about the end-time Scriptures and prepare the congregants to expect persecution as normative in the Christian life. Islam is projected to overtake Christianity in a few decades and is proliferating at a rapid pace. The anti-parallel structure between Christian eschatology and Islamic eschatology is disconcerting. Islam denies Jesus’s divinity and advocates persecuting Christians if they do not convert to Islam. Suffering and persecution for the Lord are expected and desired according to Christian doctrine. Understanding the scriptures also helps believers at the Northcliffe Baptist Church to overcome the coming deception. A Christian Life Development (CLD) class was offered for the congregants as an intervention. Twenty-eight participants were surveyed before and after the three-week class. The results were analyzed and observed for any change in the knowledge of end-time Scriptures and the level of expectancy about religious persecution. This intervention increased the knowledge about the Christian and Islamic eschatology and their inferences by nearly 35 percent and knowledge about persecution by 22 percent. The researcher demonstrates that the intervention increased the awareness that persecution and suffering as part of the Christian life.
