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Two copies ordered as gifts for pastor friends based on your referral. Thanks brother Ken.

Theological Summary of Dake's Writings

Leon Bible

Dake's Way Of Doing Theology

Finis Jennings Dake was a Twentieth century Pentecostal/Charismatic theologian, who was born in 1902 and died in 1987. All of his work took place in the United States.

At 24 years of age Dake was ordained in the Assemblies of God, in 1927 while living in Amarillo Texas. In the mid 1920's he attended Central Bible Institute while at the same time, pastoring several churches. From 1928 - 1931 he lived in Oklahoma and spent time evangelizing. Dake accepted the pastorate of Christian Assembly in Zion Illinois in 1932. While in Zion his church purchased the home place of John Alexander Dowie, and established Shilo Bible Institute which eventually merged with Central Bible Institute. Dake ended his relationship with the Assembly of God in 1937, and joined the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee). He stayed with the Church of God over 20 years and then became independent, remaining so until his death in 1987. [I�ve been told, by a Brother who had known Dake, that during the last years of Dake's life, a wealthy Christian businessman or industrialist paid him a generous annual salary to devote all his time and effort to Bible-study and exegesis. [KEH]

Dake's main accomplishments are two fold, written and visual. He authored the following books: God's Plan For Man, Revelation Expounded, Bible Truths Unmasked, The Rapture And The Second Coming Of Christ, Help For Today, Heavenly Host, and the study notes to the Dake Annotated Reference Bible. Secondly he designed and published The Plan Of The Ages Bible chart: which is a dispensational visual unfolding of the Bible from Genesis to Revelation.

Dake was a theologian who had thousands of verses of Scripture in memory. Dake says he received these Scriptures supernaturally at the age of 18, in the month of May, in the year 1920, at two o'clock in the morning while in prayer. In Dake's own words he said: �Suddenly, and without warning there came over my being a cool and rushing wind. It seemed I could hear the fluttering of the wings of a dove settling down upon my body. Then instantly, there came from the very depths of my innermost being the rivers of living water that Jesus promised in John 7:37-39. Torrents of praise and glory began to flow from my lips as I tried to give vent to the unutterable gushings of my soul. I thus received in a measure what the disciples received on the day of Pentecost. Immediately I was aware of an ability I did not previously possess. I could now quote Scriptures, hundreds of them and that without any effort to memorize them. I just quoted as the Spirit gave utterance, and also I noticed a quickening of the Spirit in my mind to know and tell what chapters and books, various verses were found in.�

Thus Dake's ability was a gift from God. The notes in his Bible show that he had a great command of the Scriptures. There are over 500,000 cross references contained therein: more than any other reference Bible in the world. It is an evidenced fact that during his later pulpit ministry he never carried a Bible.

Dake's way of doing theology was stated as follows: �Take the Bible literally wherein it is at all possible; if symbolic, figurative or typical language is used, then look for the literal truth it intends to convey. Statements of fact and historical accounts are accepted as such.�

Structure Of Dake's Theology

Dake's structure of theology is definitely dispensational. He recognized nine distinct dispensations in Scripture.
1) Dispensation of God's rule in eternity past.
2) Dispensation of Innocence.
3) Dispensation of Conscience.
4) Dispensation of Human Government.
5) Dispensation of Promise.
6) Dispensation of Law.
7) Dispensation of Grace.
8) Dispensation of Divine Government.
9) Dispensation of God's rule in eternity future.

Dake recognized a Pre-Adamite creation. He believed that there was a gap of time between Genesis 1:1 and verse 2. In this period of time there existed the world that then was. (2 Peter 3:5-6) Adam, he says was to replenish the earth which had been previously filled and destroyed before his day. (Genesis 1:28)

The doctrine of the providence of God is brought out as a Father who is responsible for his children. Dake included prosperity, health, healing, wants, needs and scores of other Gospel benefits as being God's gifts to men.

Dake sees man as God's crowning creation. Man was created to dominate and rule God's creation on the earth. Man in his un-fallen state acted exactly like God in the exercise of his faculties, only his attributes and powers were limited. The Fall, however caused man to loose his crown of glory. Christ was sent to redeem man and restore him to his place of authority. The full and complete restoration of man's place of dominion will not be complete however until the last enemy death is destroyed.

Christ according to Dake existed equally with the Father throughout all eternity, and as God , Christ had no beginning (John 1:1). As man however, He had a beginning, was begotten, was the first born of God, was born, and therefore became the Son of God.

The Atonement Dake understood was unlimited and complete. �Salvation is provided for all human beings alike, and on the same basis of faith (John 3:16).� Man is a free moral agent, and as such is responsible for acceptance of salvation through faith, which comes as a result of hearing the Word of God by the power of the Spirit. Healing is included in the atonement and is received by faith the same as salvation (1 Peter 2:24, Matthew 8:17, Psalms 103:2-3).

Salvation according to Dake, is conditional upon man remaining faithful until the end. In response to unconditional eternal security, Dake says; �Eternal life is not an eternal possession until the end of a life of holiness, for one can make a failure before then and be lost just as Adam did in the beginning.� 1 John 2:24 Let that therefore abide in you, which ye have heard from the beginning. If that which ye have heard from the beginning shall remain in you, ye also shall continue in the Son, and in the Father. 25 And this is the promise that he hath promised us, even eternal life.

The Christian life is to be a life without being dominated by sin; a life of holiness. �If men today get the salvation of the New Testament they will be holy and Righteous.� 2 Corinthians 5:21 For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.

Eschatology was a hallmark of the Dake studies. The rapture is a snatching up to heaven of all saved men of all past ages, whereas the second advent is a coming down from heaven to earth of the same people with Christ, at least seven years later, for the establishment of the Millennium, and eternal Kingdom.

The Distinctive Features Of Dake's Theology

There seems to be little that Dake does not address in his theological works. The doctrine of the Trinity is understood as the union of three persons, the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit in one (unified) Godhead or divinity, so that all three persons are one in unity and eternal substance, but three separate and distinct persons as to individuality. Each of these three persons has a soul, spirit, and spirit body. The Biblical descriptions of God with bodily presence and image are taken to be literally true.

God's attributes or described as being Omniscient, Omnipotent and Omnipresent. However, he does understand God to be limiting himself in his dealings with man where Omniscience is concerned. Jeremiah 19:5 They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind: Deuteronomy 8:2 And thou shalt remember all the way which the LORD thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness, to humble thee, and to prove thee, to know what was in thine heart, whether thou wouldest keep his commandments, or no.

Contributions Toward Christian Understanding & Practice

Anyone reading Dake will have many of their religious traditional concerning theology challenged. The helpful thing is that Dake always gives many scripture references for everything he writes. His rule has been to never preach or teach anything for doctrine that he could not support with at least three verses of Scripture. 2 Corinthians 13:1 This is the third time I am coming to you. In the mouth of two or three witnesses shall every word be established.

In Dake's brand of theology everything is clear as is revealed in scriptures. There are no gray areas. Scripture either says it or it doesn't. What God says He will do, He will do. God has not changed. Every Christian has the right today to receive all the blessings and benefits promised in God's Word. For Dake, no gifts have passed away. Jesus Christ is the same today as he was while here on this earth (Hebrews 13:8). Where men will exercise faith in the promises of God, men may receive those promises. The Holy Spirit and all of His gifts are as active today as they were in the pages of the New Testament. In essence God is not dead, and if He is alive, He stills manifest himself in the same ways, as He always has (Malachi 3:6). Not one Word of God is void of power. The believer has every right to have a living relationship with a living God.

Contemporary theologians will find a lifetime of research in the many thousands of scriptures Dake gives in support of his theology. In this search you will again and again be driven to the scriptures for understanding and wisdom. But after all is said and done, your conclusions will be based on God's Word, not Dake's word. And after all, I have a feeling that is what Dake wanted all along. And for that, we owe Finis Jennings Dake a debt of thanks.

Henry H. Halley�A Memoir

PATRICIA WICKER

Henry Hampton Halley lived from 1874 to 1965. I remember him as a tall, quiet man who always had a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye. Our family called him Papa Daddy. He was my great-grandfather, and while I knew him for only a short time, the many stories shared by my parents and grandparents about his life and ministry have created a long-lasting memory. He was a loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather, and great-grandfather � but more importantly, he was a great man of God. His calling was simple � God put it on his heart to help people read, understand, and love God's Word.

Henry Halley was born on a Kentucky bluegrass farm and grew up in the environment of a Christian home. His father had been a Confederate soldier who was one of "Morgan's Men." The public school system in White Sulpher, Kentucky, was poor, so Henry's parents joined with other farmers in conducting a private school for their children. At age 16, the young Henry enrolled at Kentucky University in Lexington (now Transylvania College), getting his A.D. and B.D. degrees in five years. He taught at his alma mater for a year, followed by another year on the faculty of the Women's Missionary College in Hazel Green, Kentucky.

His first pastorate in the Disciples of Christ Church began in 1897 in Kalkaska, Michigan, a lumber camp region. He duly called on all the people, including the Canadian-born, lady principal of the high school. Papa Daddy would often tell the story with a smile: "It was my pastoral duty to call on the principal, Madge Gillis � but could I help it when my heart started thumping as we talked about schools and souls?" It wasn't long before duty calls became pleasure calls � and then, to the delight of the Kalkaskans, courtship, love, and a marriage that lasted 65 years!

The young clergyman now had what it took � a fine faith and a fine wife. The Kalamazoo (Mich.) Christian Church heard of the up-and-coming minister and called him. Upon arrival, the Halleys found a congregation worshiping in a hall. They led the people in building first a chapel, then an impressive sanctuary. For eight years Henry and Madge worked like beavers in their new parish. Their 1900-1908 pastorate ended when the doctor gave Henry an ultimatum.

"You'll have to get outdoors and do physical labor � or else," he said. Henry obeyed. He resigned his pulpit, but remained an active member of the congregation. This seemed to Henry to be the end of his pastoral career � but God had other plans for his life.

Henry started building houses � doing the rough labor while craftsmen he hired took on the skilled work � and selling them when finished. One year sped past and then another as Henry, an ambitious young contractor and Realtor, found it impossible to break away from his business. In 1912, a friend interested him in real estate speculation in the orange groves of California. Moving there for one year, he got the groves under way, then returned to Kalamazoo.

He made seven round trips to the Pacific Coast the next year to look after the orange trees. Each journey was a monotonous four-day ride. Henry, being rather shy, was not inclined to make acquaintances on the train, and time hung heavy. One day as he gazed out of the car window at the endless prairies, the idea struck him to improve the hours by memorizing Bible passages. He first tackled the Sermon on the Mount, next the Epistle of James. Although he was then 39, he found that by intensive application he could retain in his mind whole passages even though, as he said, "I had not only an untrained but also a very ordinary memory." He was soon to prove he could make it extraordinary by constant drills.

Although his work as a building contractor boomed, Henry was so fascinated by his Scripture memorizing experiment that he started devoting several hours a day to it � mostly in the evenings. One day his telephone rang.

"Come over and preach for us Sunday," a deacon from a church outside Kalamazoo asked him. He agreed to go. When it came time for the sermon, he stepped into the pulpit only to discover he had no notes and had forgotten his outline. The Lord directed him to deliver his message to the people literally in Bible language � reciting to them in a quiet but deeply moving manner, verbatim, the Sermon on the Mount and other Scripture selections. So great was the response that the church service eventually was to prove a turning point in Henry's career. Many calls came from other churches, and in each he recited whole passages from memory.

Henry moved his growing family to Chicago in 1914. By then, he and Madge were the parents of four children: two sons and two daughters. He entered the real estate business there, but it was at this time that the idea came to memorize the entire Bible in abridged form, covering the heart of every book in it. Up to this point he had been memorizing various selections, but the "big idea," which at first almost overwhelmed him, would not fade from his thoughts.

He tackled the job � between sales and after hours � in a double-barreled manner. One task was to select the passages to be committed to memory and arrange them in connected form; the other was to intensify the memorization process. At night he would pore over an American Standard (Revised) Version of the Bible, thumbing the pages, marking sections, and underscoring verses in his effort to condense it into the one-third he finally learned by heart. This volume, which was worn to tatters, is now a sacred family keepsake.

Henry found, in going to and returning from his office, in riding streetcars and in walking to make business calls, in odd moments between office duties and even at meals, that he had much time available for memory work. Sometimes in the middle of the night he would awaken to find his subconscious mind actively imprinting passages on his brain.

Thus, over a period of 10 years, the preacher-builder spent at least 10,000 hours in achieving probably one of the greatest feats of memorization of Scripture known to man. He could recite a total of 25 hours of nothing but Scripture, including narratives of every book from the longest to the shortest. Job, for example, took only 15 minutes for giving the whole theme of the story, while Genesis took a whole evening's lecture of some 45 minutes.

The Gospels he treated differently, dividing them up into eight readings � four on the life of Christ, compiled from a harmony of the Gospels, and four on the sayings of Jesus. In his reading of the life of Christ he gave predominate emphasis to the Resurrection, for, he said, "that is the most important part of the New Testament."

As Henry's fame spread, calls came not only for individual Scripture "sermons," but for a series running a week or more, from individual congregations to groups of interfaith churches assembled from different towns and cities. He found himself gradually getting away from the business world and into "business for the King."

From coast to coast, in 35 states, Henry delivered his Bible lectures. He always opened his recitals with a brief background sketch of the Bible or passages he was to present. Although there were many instances of conversions to Christ through his ministry, his main purpose was always to teach the Bible and encourage the reading of it.

Because of the religious interest of the day, the lectures were more popular in the earlier years than in the hectic days of the late 1920s and early '30s. People liked best the Crucifixion and Resurrection accounts, the Creation story from Genesis, the book of Job, Paul's missionary journeys, the story of Ruth, and the book of Revelation.

Henry was often asked if his memory ever failed him. He would tell the story of one embarrassing incident that occurred while he was reciting the list of the 20 kings of Israel. He got down to the second Jeroboam, but couldn't remember which king followed. So he automatically started with the names following the first Jeroboam, the son of Nebat. When he got down to the second Jeroboam, he was again stumped. So he apologized for his lapse of memory and took up the story � omitting the kings.

The other question people often asked was, "Did you always have such an amazing memory?" Henry responded, "As a boy I could stuff my mind easily with my school lessons, and hold the facts long enough to get through tests." He would grin as he continued, "Then it would all evaporate. As for memorizing permanently, that seemed an impossibility. Through college I had much the same experience. Intensive application is the key to victory. If an ordinary person like me can commit to memory one-third of the Bible after he's well along into middle age, why can't millions of others learn the golden passages of God's Word by heart? Of course they can � and they'll get the thrill of a lifetime in doing it!

"What you memorize of the Bible is a constant spur to memorize more," he added. "As you learn a passage word for word, new meanings constantly pour into your mind. You may have read a passage a hundred times, yet hidden truths come out crystal clear as memorization spotlights every sentence into importance."

In 1922, while lecturing in New Albany, Indiana, an incident occurred which was to open up a new phase of his life and later to carve for him a niche in literature's hall of fame.

Every night that week as he was lecturing, an ambitious woman stenographer in the front row noisily shuffled her paper, recording the brief resum� of the background of the book with which he opened his lecture. This irritating distraction upset him for the entire lecture. She meant well, not knowing that her turning of the pages annoyed the speaker. Henry made no criticism, but the incident caused a momentous decision � as revealed by succeeding years.

"I'll get out a leaflet containing this information," he told his wife afterward. He printed 20,000 copies of a 16-page leaflet titled "Suggestions Concerning Bible Study." Free for the asking, they went quickly. Then Henry doubled the size, added a heavier paper cover, and gave away another edition of 10,000. This booklet listed the dates of all the books of the Bible and gave the main idea and a brief summary of each.

Each year saw an elaboration of the booklet, but it was not until the seventh edition of 144 pages that the name Halley's Pocket Bible Handbook arrived and stuck. The Handbook soon had a summary of church history, brief outlines, and interesting sidelight facts on the Bible books.

Late in the 1930s another significant addition was made. Henry became passionately interested in archaeology and voraciously read everything he could find on the topic. He wrote to places such as the British Museum, the Louvre, and the Oriental Institute of Chicago for information and pictures. Roughly 90 selected pictures of archaeological discoveries that illuminated Bible characters and times and a mine of facts that formed a convincing apologetic for the scriptural stories were added to the Handbook.

Soon after the second edition came out, Henry could no longer afford to give away the books, so great was the demand for and increasingly expensive the cost of the books. Not wishing to even appear commercial in his ministry, he hit upon the idea of lending books to interested persons. Then if they wished to keep them, they could remit the price. This system was followed for many years, his only distribution outlet being his lectures.

For 20 years, from 1921 to 1941, Henry continued his Bible Recital ministry, supported by freewill offerings. He spoke before an estimated 2 million people. In the meantime, the Pocket Bible Handbook had now become a volume of several hundred pages and the circulation between the 13th edition in 1939 and the 14th edition in 1941 doubled. [My battered old 24th edition is 860 pages. I have no idea how many more printed pages this current down-load edition would occupy. [KEH]

The coming of World War II brought another major change to Henry's career. Travel conditions became almost impossible, significantly impacting his recital ministry. He accepted it as the will of God and felt led to turn his energies full-time to the Handbook.

In 1941, Madge Halley, who in 1923 had resumed her career as a teacher in the Chicago public schools, retired and united efforts with her husband in further developing the Handbook and in compiling a new book called Best Bible Verses. Together they spent 10 to 15 hours daily handling worldwide correspondence, revising and enlarging the publications, and answering Bible queries.

Mr. and Mrs. Halley loved the busy, bustling city. They had their office in the heart of Chicago's famous "Loop," and their home in a lofty apartment just a few blocks away, adjoining State Street. By this time their children had been scattered � their sons both became doctors, one daughter a home-maker, and the other a recognized artist and businesswoman. The number of grandchildren was increasing, as evidenced by home and office walls adorned with their pictures.

Apart from the Handbook, Henry had no real hobbies. That is, no hobbies unless you consider his pet theme of Sunday morning churchgoing a hobby. Perhaps an interest picked up from his many years on the road, he would visit a different congregation each Sunday morning to observe its worship service. From this study, he formulated definite ideas of what the Sunday morning service should include.

Henry became increasingly concerned with what he considered "a lack of leadership in the pulpit" in guiding and leading church members in reading the Bible. He felt that churches were growing cold and people were losing their love of the faith. The recipe for revival, in his opinion, was following the admonition: "The most important thing in this book is this simple suggestion: that each church have a congregational plan of Bible reading and that the pastor's sermon be from the part of the Bible read the past week." Henry believed that this suggestion, if followed, would produce a revitalized church and bring about a grand revival, provided the minister himself thoroughly believes that the Bible is God's Word.

Henry's second pet peeve about the average church service was the preaching. He was heard to say, "There is almost no Bible preaching in the average church � too much allegorizing and metaphorizing. People can sit for a lifetime even in the modern fundamental church and not know anything about the Bible. Preaching should be plain simple Bible teaching."

In the 1950s, the Halleys began work with foreign missionaries who translated the Handbook into other languages. The initial translations were in Japanese and Korean. In 1956, as many as 20,000 copies of the Japanese edition of the Handbook had been sold. That year word came from a prominent missionary: "Halleys Bible Handbook is the undisputed Christian best-seller in Japan; only the Bible stands before it. In fact, in the history of Christian literature in Japan, nothing comparable can be cited." The list of foreign-language editions printed over time includes Spanish, Chinese, French, Greek, Italian, Portuguese, Thai, Russian, Swahili, and many more.

The early editions of the Pocket Bible Handbook were printed by Rand McNally & Company in Indiana. In May I960, Andrew McNally III, president of Rand McNally, presented Henry and Madge Halley with a specially bound millionth copy. At this point, it was in its 22nd edition, ran to 968 pages, and sold for $3.75. It had been selling more than 60,000 copies a year.

On June 17, 1960, Henry granted Zondervan Publishing House the rights to Halley's Bible Handbook. It became one of the most important books that Zondervan has ever published and for many years was one of the top-selling volumes on Zondervan's list. Today there are more than 5 million copies in print. The Handbook was last revised � its 24th edition � in 1964 just before Henry Halley's death in 1965 at the age of 91. Mr. and Mrs. Halley are laid to rest near their family roots in Lexington, Kentucky.

Henry Halley's daughter, Julia Halley Berry, and her husband, Henry S. Berry, became active in the development of the 24th edition of the Handbook. They also assumed management responsibilities for Halley's Bible Handbook, Inc., after Henry Halley's death. Mrs. Berry designed all of the maps included in the 24th edition. The maps on the endpapers of this new edition were among those she designed; they have been included as a tribute to her tireless efforts over many years to preserve the spirit and continuing impact of her father's life work.

In 1997, Mrs. Henry Berry, my grandmother, entrusted the ongoing management of the Handbook to my husband and me. We are greatly blessed to have the opportunity to lead the ongoing ministry of Halley's Bible Handbook into the new millennium. We pray that this 25th edition of Halley's Bible Handbook will continue the God-directed, global ministry that Henry H. Halley began with the heartfelt desire that every person who reads this Handbook will gain a greater understanding and love for God's Word.