Remarkably imperial law so checks the Jews that they do not kill James the Just in Jerusalem until about A.D. 62. This is after the death of the Roman procurator Festus and before the arrival of Albinus (Josephus, Ant. 20:9:1). About this time, Paul writes Philippians from prison with confidence he will be released (Phil. [...]
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In this blog I continue our study of Paul’s perplexing “Man of Lawlessness.” We are now ready to actually identify him. But don’t worry: You don’t know him. And he is not running for President. In fact, you have entirely missed seeing him. Let me explain. According to many Church Fathers, the Man of Lawlessness [...]
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Paul’s much-debated “Man of Lawlessness” prophecy is a favorite text of dispensationalists. And it is an important text to defending postmillennial optimism. This is because it looks like a prophecy that paints a bleak picture for the outworking of history. But I believe this passage is widely misinterpreted because it is applied to the wrong [...]
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When studying biblical eschatology it is important to realize that there are other systems out there. And to compare those systems to your own. In this blog I will briefly summarize the key features of premillennialism. 1. The New Testament era church is the initial phase of Christ’s kingdom, which the Old Testament anticipates especially [...]
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Generally it is helpful to understand your opponent’s eschatological postion in order to better know your own. In this succinct study I will summarize the essential distinctive features of amillennialism. Until the early twentieth century the term “amillennial” did not exist. Amillennialism was subsumed under the term “postmillennialism.” But after World War I and the onset [...]
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Perhaps more than any other evil figure in Scripture, Christians most fear the Antichrist. After all, “in premillennial eschatology the final world ruler who opposes God and his Christ (particularly in relation to his deity), oppresses God’s elect (especially the Jewish people), and seeks to usurp the place of divine worship through desecration of the [...]
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Robert Strimple is a Reformed scholar and former professor at Westminster Theological Seminary in Escondido, California. He is a strong advocate of amillennialism who deems postmillennialism to be a skewed eschatological system. Strimple commits an error in theological argumentation that is commonly witnessed in amillennial circles. I believe that he either overstates his case, or [...]
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Below is a review of a book that argues for an optimistic outlook on history from within an amillennial eschatology. One wonders why an amillennialist would be optimistic (against the virtually dominant pessimism in amillennialism) and why the optimistic amillennialist does not simply become postmillennial. What are your thoughts? The Promise of the Future, by [...]
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Below is an article by an amillennialist rebutting postmillennialism. What are your thoughts? (Ken Gentry) The importance for the Church of the return of Jesus Christ can hardly be overemphasized. It is the one aspect of the promise that awaits fulfillment. It is the last and crowning work on the whole process of redemption. It [...]
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Dispensationalism is a relatively new version of premillennialism, having been created around 1830 by the Plymouth Brethren pastor and scholar, J. Nelson Darby.(1) The term “dispensation” reflects this system’s dividing history into seven distinct dispensations (i.e., eras), wherein the world operates under distinguishably different God-revealed principles, subject to specific divine testings, and with each ending [...]
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KINGDOM LEAVENThe Parable of the Leaven reads: "The kingdom of heaven is like leaven, which a woman took and hid i...
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