Visit
Experience the classroom at VBTS.
Mark A. Hassler
February 14–18, 2022
This course prepares students to preach the prophetic literature of the Old and New Testaments. We will perform biblical exegesis using a methodology designed to arrive at the authorial intent by observing the grammatical forms, syntactical structures, literary techniques, semantic ranges, and background data (e.g., history, geography, and culture). Students will consider how one’s hermeneutical commitments and approaches to genre, authorship, and dating coincide with various theological models. We will assess proposed hermeneutical principles and introduce heuristics for discovering the meaning of difficult passages. Students will observe how the prophets and apostles handled Scripture and discuss whether Christians should emulate their interpretive practices. They will learn how to package their exegetical findings in a cohesive, coherent, and engaging expository sermon.
As a result of reading, research, writing, presentation, peer review, and class discussion, students will be able to 1) exegete prophetic excerpts from both Testaments with increased skill; 2) articulate trends, tensions, and methods in prophetic studies; 3) evaluate hermeneutical principles that pertain to the interpretation of biblical prophecy; 4) correlate interpretive conclusions with biblical and systematic theology; and 5) convince fellow Christians that predictive prophecy plays an important role in the church create engaging sermons derived from the exegetical study of prophetic texts.
4 credit hours.
Dr. Mark Hassler is Associate Professor of Old Testament at Virginia Beach Theological Seminary. Dr. Hassler also serves as director of publications and field archaeologist for the Shiloh excavations in Israel. Before joining the VBTS faculty, Dr. Hassler served as faculty associate in Old Testament studies at The Master’s Seminary. He was the editor of the Near East Archaeological Society Bulletin (2016–19), a peer-reviewed journal established in 1958. Dr. Hassler earned his academic degrees at Montana Bible College (BA) and The Master's Seminary (PhD, ThM, and MDiv). Read more....
Dr. Hassler can be contacted at .
Textbook reading: 25%
Article critiques: 15%
Expository exercises: 20%
Sermon delivery: 35%
Classroom participation: 5%
