Finis J. Dake

Born in 1902, Finis Dake rejected Christianity until age 17. In May of 1920, Dake received the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Dake was called to the ministry and became aware of a newfound ability-he could quote hundreds of scriptures although he had only read a little of the Bible. Later, as Dake began to study the Bible, this spiritual total recall would make it possible for him to memorize volumes of scripture, learn Greek and Latin, and author a reference Bible titled, DAKE'S ANNOTATED REFERENCE BIBLE. Dake's "gift of memory" did not extend to other areas and according to his wife Dorothy, Dake had a poor memory when it came to domestic things. At 24 years of age, Dake completed Bible school and was ordained an Assemblies of God minister. After serving as an evangelist for three years, Dake became a pastor and eventually the founder and president of the Great Lakes Bible Institute in Zion, Illinois. When challenged to quote the entire New Testament, Dake quoted from Matthew through Revelation giving chapters and verses while seated in a department store window and broadcasting over a local radio station. Dake felt that he was called and prepared by God to undertake the monumental task single-handedly annotating the Bible. Dake spent 43 years and more than 100,000 hours searching the scriptures, Bible texts, and secular history to compile a study Bible which outlines all the books in the Bible, contains a half million cross references throughout 35,000 notes and comments, and is compatible with evangelical, Pentecostal, and charismatic beliefs. During this arduous undertaking, Dake’s guiding principle was to "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 tends to convey". Having taught himself the Greek and Latin meanings of every word in the Scriptures, along with the opinions of various scholars, Dake accomplished most of his work while pastoring a church and teaching at his Bible college. After dinner, Dake would begin work, often continuing throughout the night. Near the completion of this great work, Dake made a naive error that cost him six months in jail and his ministerial affiliation. While traveling home from a meeting, Dake picked up a hitchhiker and in his zeal to lead her to salvation, transported the 16-year old runaway girl across state lines. Her parents pressed charges and Dake pleaded guilty to violating the Mann Act. Dake’s wife and church remained loyal during what his lawyer called an "unfortunate mistake," and Dake became licensed with another denomination. What the devil had meant for harm, however, provided Dake the opportunity to finish, uninterrupted, the DAKE'S ANNOTATED REFERENCE BIBLE-a legacy that has blessed many since his death in 1987