God tells Israel that He will not bring another calamity on Jerusalem like the one He brought in Ezekiel’s day: “And because of all your abominations, I will do among you what I have not done, and the like of which I will never do again” (Ezek. 5:9). One commentator who believes that there is yet to be a future Great Tribulation to surpass all the tribulations brought upon Israel writes the following:
One of the stumbling blocks to a preterist interpretation of the Olivet Discourse is Jesus’ statement about the Great Tribulation “such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever shall” (Matt. 24:21). Critics of a preterist interpretation of the Olivet Discourse maintain that such a tribulation has never occurred even though Jesus made it clear that all the events He said would take place were to take place before their generation passed away (24:34).
One of the arguments used against preterism is that it was developed by Spanish Jesuit Luis De Alcazar (1554–1613) who wrote a commentary titled Vestigio Arcani Sensus in Apocaplysi or Investigation of the Hidden Sense of the Apocalypse in which “he proposed that all of Revelation applied to the era of pagan Rome and the first six centuries of Christianity.” Here’s a typical example: “The Praeterist School, founded by the Jesuit Alcasar in 1614, explains the Revelation by the Fall of Jerusalem, or by the fall of Pagan Rome in 410 A.
It all started with comments that Grace Community Church Pastor John MacArthur made where he “warned that today’s world is ‘perfectly suited for the Antichrist to come’ amid the chaos and ‘lawlessness’ stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic.” MacArthur went on to say: Now we are a global world. And that is a setup that we’ve been waiting for through redemptive history since the Lord promised that there would come, in the future, an Antichrist who would have a global government.
Frequently, around Christmas time, we are treated to yet another (often just a repeat of previous “findings”) naturalistic explanation of the biblical “Star of Bethlehem.” Natural explanations of biblical phenomena can sometimes have their place, but they can also be diversions—for unbelievers and believers alike. A far better approach for believers is to know and receive the deep, rich biblical meaning to the star. Let’s look at it. It seems to be a foregone conclusion of some of the more naturalistic approaches that if an astronomical explanation for the star was to be found, the entire birth narrative—and ultimately the Gospel itself—could be finally dismissed as a myth.
Click here to listen to the podcast based on this article. In Luke 2:22-40, we are introduced to two individuals named Simeon and Anna. They were in the temple when Mary and Joseph brought the baby Jesus to “present him to the Lord.” We learn that Simeon and Anna were faithful believers expectantly awaiting the Messiah’s promised appearance. We are also told that Simeon was waiting for “the consolation of Israel” and Anna for “the redemption of Jerusalem.
The following is the introduction to two talks I produced for the “A Purchased Victory” online conference that will be available to view December 18–19 at CruciformMinistries.org. There’s a scene in the 1993 film Searching for Bobby Fischer where Josh Waitzkin, played by Max Pomeranc, is being taught that the complexities of chess require knowing more than where the pieces on the board are at any given moment and what the next move should be.
FrontPage Magazine is one of my favorite go-to sites. It was started by former Communist David Horowitz. Horowitz is Jewish, as are many of the site’s writers. In addition to his memoir Radical Son, he has written Dark Agenda: The War to Destroy Christian America as a warning to once Christian America. He understands that the United States was founded on fundamental biblical principles even if those advocating for them were not believers.
Like clockwork, when something bad happens in the world, Bible prophecy prognosticators start with their end-time claims. They are part of a “thought collective” where adherents share their beliefs in a closed system using the same language and shortcut responses to those who criticize their conclusions. When challenged with this question, “Where in the Bible does it say that?,” they avoid answering directly by offering a formula response that comes from the safety of the “thought collective” bubble.
Almost daily I get questions about prophetic topics. In most cases, I’ve already dealt with them in my books Last Days Madness, The Early Church and the End of the World, Why the End of the World is Not in Your Future, Wars and Rumors of Wars, 10 Popular Prophecy Myths Exposed and Answered, The Rapture and the Fig Tree Generation, Prophecy Wars, Identifying the Real Last Days Scoffers, and Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction.
Eschatology is the study of the “last things.” The more popular terminology is “Bible prophecy.” There are numerous schools of thought on the subject. The most popular version—dispensational premillennialism—teaches that particular prophetic events are on the horizon, that a “rapture” of the Church precedes a seven-year period that includes the rise of an antichrist, a rebuilt temple, and a Great Tribulation. One of the distinct features of this view is the belief that there is an Israel-Church distinction, and because of this distinction God has two redemptive programs.
Vern Poythress wrote “2 Thessalonians 1 Supports Amillennialism.” It was originally published in THE JOURNAL OF THE EVANGELICAL THEOLOGICAL SOCIETY in 1995. The following is from the Abstract of the article: 2 Thessalonians 1 supports amillennialism because it is in tension with all the other major millennial views…. 2 Thessalonians 1 is in tension with postmillennialism. The text of verses 5–7 indicates that Christians may continue to expect trouble for awhile.
It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery. Behold I, Paul, say to you that if you receive circumcision, Christ will be on no benefit to you. And I testify again to every man who receives circumcision, that he is under obligation to keep the whole Law. . . . For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything, but faith working through love (Gal.
I knew it was going to happen. On September 16 I did an hour and forty-minute interview with Hank Hanegraaff for his “Hank Unplugged” podcast that is scheduled to air Tuesday, September 22nd. I mentioned that the various peace talks with Israel and Arab nations will be seen by some as an end-time event that will usher in the antichrist. According to some prominent prophecy writers, the antichrist must be alive somewhere in the world today setting the stage for the rapture of the church and another Jewish holocaust.
While there has been a dramatic shift in Bible prophecy teaching since I started writing, speaking, and debating the topic when I was in seminary in the mid-1970s, there are still a lot of people who continue to push the belief that we are living in the last days. The following meme caught my attention, especially when there were a lot of “Amens” in the responses: What “end” was Peter referencing?
Mientras que el escritor de la carta a los Hebreos dice que deberíamos “tener entrenados los sentidos” (5:14), los Bereanos buscaron en las Escrituras diariamente para asegurarse de que Pablo estaba diciendo la verdad (Hech 17:11), y Juan dice “sino probad los espíritus si son de Dios; porque muchos falsos profetas han salido por el mundo” (1 Jn 4:1), parece que hoy los cristianos están siendo fácilmente llevados por cualquier viento de doctrina (Ef 4:14), especialmente cuando se trata de profecía Bíblica.
I’ve witnessed a seismic shift in prophetic thinking over the past 40 years. It’s happening every day in every part of the world. On April 10, 2020, I did a two-hour interview with Georges Ruapene co-founder of Faith & Grace ministries based in Australia. That interview has led to other interviews. I’ve traveled to Guatemala and spoke to a hundred pastors on the topic. This never could have happened just ten years ago.
On January 21, 2020, I traveled to Dinosaur Adventure Land in Conecuh County, Alabama, where I debated the topic of the Rapture with Kent Hovind. Kent took the Post Trib/Pre-Wrath position while I took the position that there was no rapture since there is no future seven-year period in which the Antichrist makes and breaks a covenant with Israel. I based my arguments on Daniel 9:24–27, a sequence of verses that does not mention a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks of the 70-weeks-years (490) years, an antichrist, or a covenant made and broken by an antichrist.
The following interview was held at the Atlanta G3 Conference with my good friends David Shannon, Toby Sumpter, and Gabe Rench from Cross Politic Studios. It’s always great to get together with them. The 30-minute interview was about my new book The Rapture and the Fig Tree Generation. A small crowd assembled around the booth as we discussed the book and related topics. The Rapture and the Fig Tree Generation and Daniel’s 70 Weeks
Last Days Madness is back in print with some material added. I only added new content where it didn’t mess with the index. I also tightened up some arguments and fixed a few typos, otherwise, it’s the same book. There is, however, a new dramatic cover. Eschatology has had a devastating effect on society. Predictions about the end have a long history, but it was in the 1970s that there was a prophetic frenzy as Hal Lindsey and Chuck Smith claimed the “rapture” would take place before 1988.
