“You therefore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. … Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth” (2 Tim 2:1,2,15 NASB).
Welcome to BEREANS Bible Institute. We believe the last generation that will see the end-time tribulation and the arrival of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ is alive right now. There is an urgent need for new Christian leaders who are not entangled with the cords of the religious establishment, who will pursue truth regardless of personal cost, who can successfully lead the remnant of end-time overcomers through the birth-pains into the coming Kingdom of Jesus Christ.
BEREANS Bible Institute was created to help train new wineskins. The new wine is the pristine teaching of the original Apostles of Jesus Christ, uncorrupted by two millennia of Greek philosophical influence on Christian theology. We seek to provide the tools necessary to properly handle the Scriptures, to expose the false presuppositions that drive false doctrines, and to train students in the consistent application of these tools to the foundational doctrines of Christianity. Rather than defending the theological traditions handed down by Roman Catholicism, Protestantism, or modern Evangelicalism and Fundamentalism, we instead seek to instill on our students the absolute necessity of handling the Scriptures objectively regardless of where that might lead theologically. In doing so, we aim to clear away the theological clutter that has accumulated over two millennia of Christian history, and get back to the pristine Christian Faith as taught by Jesus and His Apostles, handling the Old Testament Scriptures as they did. This approach is quite different from most modern theological approaches:
1. Catholicism & Protestantism: Interpret the New Testament from a Greek Philosophical paradigm (instead of a Jewish mindset), while ignoring, downplaying, allegorizing, or otherwise disposing of inconvenient Old Testament prophecies
2. Evangelicalism & Fundamentalism: Segregate the people of God into different “programs” and “destinies” for each group, with the “Jewish Dispensation” (God’s “earthly people”) having their own “Scriptures” (Old Testament, parts of the Gospels, Acts, Revelation), and the “Church Dispensation” (God’s “heavenly people”) having its own Scriptures (the Epistles)
3. Sabbatarianism & Hebrew Roots: Interpret the New Testament as reinforcing and renewing the Law of Moses, being binding on all Christians today including Sabbath-Keeping, Kosher eating, and observing the Festivals
We believe that all of the above theological paradigms are flawed at their very foundations. In keeping with our primary goal, we seek to develop objective exegetical skills in each student through emphasizing the following 8 principles of interpretation, and by constantly demonstrating their use. The first 5 deal with interpreting the text, the last 3 are safeguards for checking our interpretations.
The 8 Principles of Interpretation:
BBI Classes are taught locally at 4:00pm each Saturday in the church auditorium. All who live in the Tampa Bay area are welcome to begin attending at any time. We also have many online extension students who live too far away to attend in person. Local and extension students who register, complete, and pass the courses will be given a BEREANS Bible Institute Diploma. There is no charge for either local or extension students.
To begin, fill out and submit the Registration Form on the right. Then go to the current module, begin watching the videos, and take the appropriate tests. Modules do not have to be completed in order. (Please begin with module 3, since tests have not yet been prepared for modules 1 & 2). A Discussion Forum is available for BBI students and members of the Satellite Fellowships.
TEST INSTRUCTIONS
You may use your notes and refer to the videos during tests. Please follow the instructions below exactly.
Tests will be graded as “Pass” (80%+) or “Fail” (79%-).