Word Studies: Eschatology

Class: Eschatology

Week #12: April 30 - May 4
Professor: Mr Mark Strout


Assignments: Textbook reading: Students will be required to read the section on eschatology in Basic Theology by Charles Ryrie. Essay reading: Students will be required to read two short essays before the final exam. While working through these, they will be required to look up and read all of the biblical passages mentioned in the essays except for those which are underlined.



Mr. Strout attended our New York campus of Word of Life Bible Institute in 1982, after which he was a youth pastor for 8 years at Huntingville Community Church in Sherbrooke, Quebec. He went on to pastor 3 years at Grace Chapel in Sherbrooke. Mr. Strout joined the new French ministry of WOL at Parole de Vie and served as the director of the Bible Institute at PdV from 1994 until 2002. During that time he obtained his Master of Ministry degree from Baptist Bible Seminary. In July of 2002 he assumed the role of Director of Francophone Ministries for Word of Life Canada. In August 2009 Mark and his wife Laurie relocated to Schroon Lake (NY) where he is the Executive Dean of the Bible Institute.


Another class about End Times? Not exactly. Eschatology is a study of future events however, Mr. Strout enables the student not only to process what the Bible says about the future but also to understand God's plan for human history from beginning to end. Scripture is the foundation of what Mr. Strout teaches and he places major emphasis on considering all of scripture when it comes to interpreting prophecy.

  "It was sweet. The teacher taught in a way that was easy to understand. I was able to grasp the concepts. Mr. Strout cleared up a lot of things for me."
- Nathan, Goulais River

Mr. Strout also had the opportunity to present two seminars: "Walk through the Land" and Walk through Jerusalem." With these presentations, the students were able to experience the land of Israel and its capitol, Jerusalem, through the eyes of someone who had been there many times.

"I enjoyed Mr. Strout's presentations on Israel and Jerusalem. His travels have given him useful experience that enabled him to expound upon the land and the people."

- Rob, Beamsville

Word Studies: Church History Part 1

Class: Church History Part 1

Week #10-11: April 16-27
Professor: Dr. Tom Taylor

Assignments: Students should read the book, One Hundred Dates in Church History before the time of the second major test. It must be a reading… not a quick scan of the table of contents. By reading this book you can elevate your grade by one letter, i.e., a “C” to a “B”.

Dr. Tom Taylor will be teaching Church History for the next two weeks. Dr. Taylor received his BA from Bryan College, MDiv and STM from Faith Seminary and a Doctorate from Philadelphia Biblical University. To quote his own words, he is “retired emeritus from Biblical Seminary having held the post of Associate Professor of Church History and Old Testament for 24 years... I have written few books (but lots of articles that were not all wanted!) and have concentrated lately on conference ministry… Married to Ruth with five children and a small army of grandchildren and great grandchildren. Better known for humour and playing the harmonica than for scholarship, but that is just another of the inequities in the world.”



Church History allows each student to understand the role the church has played in history and the process the church has undergone in the past 2000 years. Dr. Taylor takes the class through the formation of the church in the first century to Constantine's  legalization of the church to Luther's 95 Theses. The importance of learning about church history lies not in the knowledge of what happened but the understanding of how the church got to where it is today and the implications of that on the lives of believers today.


Dr. Taylor loves to interact with the students in and out of class. His many experiences give him much to talk to the students about and he regales them with many stories. The students shared their thoughts on their teacher and the class:


"It was an incredible privilege ad honor to sit underneath Dr. Taylor's teaching. His in depth knowledge of the subject matter enabled me to understand the important role the church has had throughout the course of history. His joy and passion for learning inspires me still today."
- Benjamin, Muskoka (Alumnus)

"Amazing to really realize how the church has played such a huge part in history in the past. It was a class like no other."

- Jordan, Goulais River

"This class taught me much about the history of the early church. Dr. Taylor presented his material with excitement and enthusiasm. He knows his stuff."

- Ryan, Wyoming