The End: A Bible Prophecy Study for Teens- A Review – The Delight Directed Homeschooler

Disclosure: I received this product free through the Homeschool Review Crew

Recently, our youth Sunday School class voted to go through the book of Revelation. Of course they did… right?!?! We couldn’t choose something like the book of Mark or maybe 1st Peter…. Nope! We had to go for Revelation. But hey… you know what… eschatology (the study of the end times) is important and I’m excited to learn alongside my kids and their friends. Immediately my co worker and I started listening to podcasts and finding resources to help navigate such a unique book found at the end of Scripture. Well… just about the time we decided to start Revelation, I was presented with the chance to review The End: A Bible Prophecy Study for Teens by Cheri Fields. It’s almost as if maybe… just maybe God is sovereign and knows what he’s doing. Can I get an Amen?!?

Deuteronomy 29:29 is becoming one of my favorite verses:

²⁹The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.

The secret things belong to the Lord… but the things revealed belong to us. He gave us his Word. We have the Bible in front of us, filled with the Word of God. Revelation is just as much ours as the rest of Scripture. It is for us to read and ponder and learn and apply. We often look at the book as separate from the rest of Scripture. It is not separate. In fact, the book of Revelation is like a secret, coded message and the rest of Scripture is the decoder ring you need to figure it out! (Thank you Bible Project for that image).

Cheri Fields tackles Bible prophecy with grace and understanding. She reminds her readers that “many of these are things seminary professors, pastors, and authors have trouble with. But the Bible is as muc for you as it is for them- grab its truth!”

The Bible Project uses the image of a secret message and a decoder ring, Cheri Fields uses the image of a jigsaw puzzle. It is like a big puzzle and the pieces are found within Scripture itself.

The End: A Bible Prophecy Study for Teens is not just about Revelation. It also covers prophecy found in the Old Testament… specifically in Daniel and prophecy found in 1 Thessalonians.

Studying Biblical prophecy is a privilege we have. We do, however, need to take care to read responsibly. “The wrong view of prophecy has destroyed many people.” It doesn’t take long to realize that vastly different views of the end times abound. People get very opinionated when it comes to ideas about the end times.

I love how Cheri Fields encourages teens to mark up their Bibles (in pencil)! Make notes, keep track of clues, revisit passages. The Word is ours! God wants us to dive in and I’m pretty sure he’s ok with us underlining and taking notes!

I appreciate the chapter by chapter, verse by verse look at the end time prophecies found in the book. Taking time to consider what the author is conveying and the audience to whom the author is speaking. These are great foundational tools for studying any piece of Scripture.

The book is written in a conversational tone and engaging for teens. Cheri Fields teaches a prewrath Rapture. This is not a Pre-Tribulation view, a Mid-Tribulation view, nor a Post-Tribulation view. So… you know… she is interpreting what she understands to be true based on her studies and reading of Scripture. I, honestly, have no idea how the timeline will go down. I do know, however, that God wins! Jesus is the Lamb who opens the scroll. He is the one who redeems us and takes the title deed back from Satan to redeem the world and he is the one who conquers.

I do think studying eschatology is important and can help us understand how to live in the now while looking forward to the time to come.