I’ve been listening to an interview that Brannon Howse had with pastor and author Andy Woods about his book The Middle East Meltdown. He, like so many prophecy writers today, believes Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about modern-day Russia and nations surrounding Israel in a war that will lead to the deaths of billions of people. For Howse and Woods, war is prophetically inevitable. Peace is impossible. Thi [...]
Every year, Christmas gets a drubbing by some Christians. Here’s one example sent to American Vision: Deuteronomy 12:30 says that God hates these things, and we are not to inquire of them to do like-wise unto the Lord. King Ahaz did this very thing, and paid for it, trying to bring something from a pagan temple into God’s temple. It says that doing this is called, “evil in the sight of the Lord. [...]
Pastor John MacArthur sat down for an interview with Ben Shapiro. I was glad to see this happen. MacArthur did a good job in presenting the gospel clearly and without compromise. Unfortunately, Shapiro, who is Jewish and very smart, failed to pick up on a big mistake made by MacArthur. (There were other mistakes, too. See Joel McDurmon’s article from yesterday.) Regarding the Old Testament, MacArt [...]
I received an email from an AV supporter that was sent to him by his sister-in-law. Since her criticisms are very stereotypical, they provide a good opportunity to address the most common misunderstandings. I will quote her throughout, followed by my responses. She begins: I read that book you gave me this morning. . . . He bases the whole book on the verse in Matthew that says ‘this generation wi [...]
According to a recent popular video on the rapture, “Evangelist Greg Laurie has suggested that a massive Jesus revival in America could lead to Christians being snatched from Earth, removing the U.S. from the End Times conflict.” But why couldn’t a massive Jesus revival in America instead lead to Christians changing America? In his interview with PureFlix, Laurie “recalled that one of the earmarks [...]
Several posts on Facebook are asking this question: Should pastors address politics from the pulpit? I don’t understand why this question keeps getting asked. If the Bible addresses politics (or anything else), then pastors must address politics and anything else the Bible addresses. It’s that simple. Joel McDurmon, President of American Vision, writes: [I]f it is true that pastors may not weigh i [...]
The game of Monopoly debuted in 1935 during a time of financial recovery after a steep economic downturn called the Depression from which we’ve never really recovered since government intervention created the Depression and every economic downturn since. A similar game was developed by Elizabeth (Lizzie) J. Magie Phillips in 1903. The Landlord’s Game, as it was called, was self-published in 1906. [...]
Many Christians refuse to get involved in politics for any number of reasons. Here are some of them: Jesus didn’t get involved in politics. God’s kingdom is not of this world. We’re to render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s. We’re living in the last days. We’re just to preach the gospel. Politics is not mentioned in the Great Commission. The Christian’s citizenship is in heaven. There’s a s [...]
I once wrote about how earthquakes were not a sign of the last days and the soon coming of Christ. I received the usual pile of vitriolic email. Words like “stupid,” “lukewarm,” and “heretical” were thrown about. One response always stands out: “times keep waxing worse and worse!” The most interesting response came from a 62-year-old woman who believes in something called the “Good Old Days.” Here [...]
If there is no God, can there be morality? I’m not asking whether atheists are moral people and do moral things. They do, but by what unimpeachable and ultimate standard? An atheist might say that certain laws are good for the advancement of the species. But let’s not forget that as an evolved species (according to atheism), we got here “red in tooth and claw.” We evolved upward through violent me [...]
There is a long history of prophetic speculation. When I say a long history, I mean a l-o-n-g history. In addition to centuries of prophetic claims about the end, there is also a great deal of confusion about end-time themes. One of the most abused prophetic topics is the antichrist. There have been as many antichrist candidates as there are stars in the heavens. Well, not quite, but it seems that [...]
We’re being told by some that the people of the United States want socialism. The thing of it is, we already have a mild form of socialism. In it’s now famous “We Are All Socialists Now” cover, Newsweek wrote: The U.S. government has already—under a conservative Republican administration—effectively nationalized the banking and mortgage industries. That seems a stronger sign of socialism than $50 [...]
There has been a lot of discussion since we released Joel’s book The Problem of Slavery in Christian America. He has spoken extensively on the issue of race, and not always in a way that makes some of our followers comfortable. Some have even said, “This is not the same American Vision.” Without analyzing every detail, the truth is that the views expressed in that book repeat the same sentiments a [...]
Someone posted a 30-second video clip by Dr. Arturo Azurdia III from the 2018 Shepherds’ Conference with the title “You Are Not Here to Change the Culture.” (I’m not sure if it’s Todd Friel’s title or Dr. Azurdia’s.) The clip is posted on the “Wretched” Youtube channel. Dr. Azurdia says, Advance the cause of Right Wing politics. Advance the homeschool agenda. Shut down all the Planned Parenthood c [...]
Andy Stanley is the senior pastor of North Point Community Church and North Point Ministries (NPM). There are six locations throughout the greater Atlanta area. Each week, more than 30,000 people attend services at NPM. He is the son of Charles Stanley, senior pastor of First Baptist Church in Atlanta, Georgia. The elder Stanley is the founder and president of In Touch Ministries and served two on [...]
Seventy years ago, on May 14, 1948, the political state of Israel was established. For millions of Christians, the political establishment of Israel in 1948 has held prophetic significance. The claim has been made repeatedly that 1948 began what has been called the “fig tree” generation based on Matthew 24:32-34 where Jesus said: Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already [...]
If there is a single doctrine that both excites and divides Christians, it’s the ‘rapture.’ The doctrine of the ‘rapture’ deals with a future event where the church is said to be taken off the earth in one of five different times related to a seven-year period described as the Great Tribulation: before (pre-trib), at the mid-point (mid-trib), partial, just prior to God pours out His wrath (pre-wra [...]
According to David Meade, a self-professed ‘Christian numerologist,’ on April 23, 2018, the “rapture” of the church will take place. He bases his claim on an astrological sign that he says is found in the Bible. The sun and moon will be in Virgo, as will Jupiter, which he says represents the Messiah. He assures us that it’s all found in Revelation 12:1-2: A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman c [...]
The more I read about Frederick Douglass, the more I like him. His white master’s wife taught him to read. A literate slave was a danger to the institution of slavery, especially when a literate slave read the Bible and understood its message that the spirit and the body are free in Jesus Christ. Douglass had begun to realize what his “master” understood: “There was power, indeed subversive, revol [...]
The following is an excerpt from Gary DeMar’s, The Truth About the Rapture: A Biblical Study__. ********** Dr. Mark Hitchcock has written a free eBook for Dallas Theological Seminary with the title The Truth and Timing of the Rapture that has been promoted on Facebook. When Hitchcock writes about the “rapture,” he is referring to a pre-tribulation “rapture of the Church” prior to the start o [...]
