Systematic Theology VI: Ecclesiology & Eschatology

C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyke of The Theology Program close their curriculum with the doctrines of the church and the last things: what the church is and why it is here, how it relates to Israel, what a local church must do to be a church, how the gifts and the government work, and what Scripture actually says about the millennium, the rapture, hell, and heaven.

This is the sixth and final course of The Theology Program, a full curriculum in Christian theology taught at the classroom level for ordinary church members. C. Michael Patton and Rhome Dyke spend ten sessions on the church and the end times, and show why the two doctrines cannot be separated: the nature of the church and its relationship to Israel, with replacement theology and dispensationalism each given a fair hearing; the purpose of the church and the essential ministries without which a gathering is not a church; baptism and the Lord’s supper across the traditions; the gifts of the Spirit weighed between cessationism and continuationism; the marks of a false church and the three systems of church government; and then the last things themselves, the views of the millennium, the rapture debate, and what Scripture says about hell and about heaven as the restoration of all things.

Each lecture below is a full class session, and each has its own page with the video, a study sheet that walks the lecture section by section, links to every Scripture passage discussed, key terms, a comprehension check, discussion questions, and a printable PDF.

Lectures by C. Michael Patton, Th.M., and Rhome Dyke, Th.M., embedded from The Theology Program's public channel.

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  1. 01The Nature of the Church72 min
  2. 02The Church and Israel: Replacement Theology74 min
  3. 03The Church and Israel: Dispensationalism66 min
  4. 04The Purpose of the Church60 min
  5. 05The Essential Ministries of the Church62 min
  6. 06Baptism and the Lord’s Supper68 min
  7. 07The Gifts of the Church74 min
  8. 08Marks of a False Church and Church Government73 min
  9. 09Views of the Millennium76 min
  10. 10The Rapture and the Afterlife69 min

Start with Lecture 1

The course begins where the whole discussion must: with the nature of the church itself, because what you decide the church is will shape everything you conclude about the end. Each lecture builds on the last, so start at the beginning and work through in order.