The Nagging Persistence of Failed Eschatologies

The Nagging Persistence of Failed Eschatologies

As happens at least once a week, I get involved in a discussion concerning eschatology. What’s happening in Afghanistan and the push for a global reset is bringing out the prophecy pundits. The following comment caught my attention: Do you also blame the Roman empire on the present-day rush towards globalism, a global digital currency, and a global government? how does Nero factor into what [...]

Mark of the Beast, 666, and Signs of the Times

Mark of the Beast, 666, and Signs of the Times

With COVID-19, mask mandates, compulsory vaccinations, some are speculating that we could be entering the era of the Mark of the Beast and the (always) “rapture of the church.” Revelation 13 is not about vaccinations. For those who claim to interpret the Bible literally, we would be seeing the number 666 everywhere. I’d be willing to wager that there are some prophecy pundits right now who are try [...]

"Nothing You Say Will Convince Me"

"Nothing You Say Will Convince Me"

In my previous article (“A Seismic Shift in Eschatology Has Begun”), the letter writer begs the question by assuming dispensationalism is true, biblically foundational, and has a long and respected historical pedigree. He doesn’t argue for these positions; he simply states them as fundamental, self-evident truths. His arguments, such as they are, are similar to those used by evolutionists, global [...]

A Seismic Shift in Eschatology Has Begun

A Seismic Shift in Eschatology Has Begun

Similar to the way there is a fundamental shift taking place in the realm of theology by a reconsideration of Calvinism,[1] a seismic shift is taking place in eschatology. 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 certain [...]

The Stillbirth of Eschatology and Its Dangers

The Stillbirth of Eschatology and Its Dangers

Why is it that so much technological advancement developed in the Christian West? Consider a few examples: The first working telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell. The cumbersome device had no delivery system, wires, phones, or switching system. Who would you call? And yet today, we carry phones in our pockets and purses that are smaller than a deck of cards, need no wires or ope [...]

Creeds, Confessions, and Eschatology

Creeds, Confessions, and Eschatology

A few years ago, a group of out-of-town American Vision supporters wanted to visit the church my wife and I attend and then have us over for dinner at a friend’s house. We often repeat the Apostles’ Creed or the Nicene Creed during the service as our Credo — “I believe.” We don’t know who composed the Apostles’ Creed or when it was written. Some historians place the writing around the 4th or 5th c [...]

The Reversal of Creation and a Covenantal Refining

The Reversal of Creation and a Covenantal Refining

The only way to grasp the significance of Peter’s de-creation language in 2 Peter 3 is to study similar language found in the Old Testament since that’s Peter’s reference point. In Micah 1:1, a prophetic word was revealed: “to Micah of Moresheth in the days of Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah, kings of Judah, which he saw concerning Samaria and Jerusalem.” Micah’s prophecy isn’t about a time in the dista [...]

Answering the Objections of the Scoffers

Answering the Objections of the Scoffers

(Note: This is a continuation of a previous article. For Part One, click here to read “The Magical Bible Verse That’s Used to Nullify 100 Others”) We need to understand the immediate context of 2 Peter 3. The entire argument over when the events Peter describes take place comes down to defining the last days, the identity of the scoffers, the expectation of Peter’s audience, the consistent definit [...]

The Magical Bible Verse that’s Used to Nullify 100 Others

The Magical Bible Verse that’s Used to Nullify 100 Others

The following is from Jerry Jenkins, the co-author of the Left Behind prophecy series: God has a different economy of time than we do. He wrote in the Bible 2,000 years ago that the end was soon or imminent, and that we should watch and wait. We’ve been doing that all these years. The Bible also says that to God, 1,000 years is as a day and a day is as 1,000 years [2 Peter 3:8]. [...]

When Did All the Other Stuff Happen?

When Did All the Other Stuff Happen?

In three previous articles, I dealt with “Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism, “Should the Bible Always be Interpreted Literally?,” and “The Bible Method: Scripture Interprets Scripture.” In this article, I will briefly deal with what many believe is end-of-the-world language even though the Old Testament uses such language with local events. Paul writes to the Corinthians: “Now these things hap [...]

The Bible Method: Scripture Interprets Scripture

The Bible Method: Scripture Interprets Scripture

In two previous articles, I dealt with “Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism” and “Should the Bible Always be Interpreted Literally?” In this article, I want to discuss the biblical method of interpretation that applies to everything not only prophecy. Sound biblical interpretation begins with a comparative study of texts based on what Milton Terry describes in his highly regarded Biblical Hermen [...]

Should Bible Prophecy Always be Interpreted Literally?

Should Bible Prophecy Always be Interpreted Literally?

In a previous article, I dealt with “Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism” when very specific time words in Scripture are redefined but only when it comes to the topic of Bible prophecy. For example, when the Bible says that Jesus was “near Jerusalem,” dispensationalists have no problem understanding “near” to be close in proximity: “Now while [the people] were listening to these things, Jesus we [...]

Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism

Confronting Eschatological Gnosticism

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to have a great discussion with my sister-in-law on the topic of Bible prophecy. It was very encouraging. Because of it, I thought I would resurrect something I wrote some years ago on the topic since there are a lot of Christians in churches where they are getting less than accurate teaching on eschatology. Some pastors don’t realize that other views approa [...]

Who are the Real Last Days Scoffers?

Who are the Real Last Days Scoffers?

Who were the mockers Peter was describing in 2 Peter 3:3–4? Know this first of all, that in the last days mockers will come with their mocking, following after their own lusts, and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all continues as it was from the beginning of creation.” Many prophecy writers conclude that these verses describe a distant eschatolo [...]

Answering the Eschatological Fool

Answering the Eschatological Fool

Some of the responses to my article “Atheists are Duped by Bad Eschatology” are interesting. Not a single atheist offered a rebuttal. I suppose an atheist would say that it’s all poppycock since there is no God. It doesn’t matter what Jesus said or didn’t say. The prophetic Jesus—right or wrong—is a myth. At that point, the debate becomes epistemological: How do you know what you claim to know whi [...]

Atheists are Duped by Bad Eschatology

Atheists are Duped by Bad Eschatology

A fellow who calls himself Morgue and looks like Jeremy Irons in the 2002 remake of The Time Machine starring Guy Pearce has declared that Jesus was a liar because His prediction about His return did not happen as He predicted. Here’s the link to the video. Morgue, as in the place of the dead, and not Mork as in Mork and Mindy, claims that if Jesus lied about this one thing, then how can Jesus be [...]

Prophecy Speculation for the Umpteenth Time

Prophecy Speculation for the Umpteenth Time

If someone burps in the Middle East, the end-time speculators come out of the woodwork and claim that this time it’s the end. People said the end was near more than 100 years ago when Europe went to war, and 51 years ago when Hal Lindsey wrote The Late Great Planet Earth, and 20 years ago when the Sabbath Millennium was said to start. The rapture and the antichrist have once again taken center sta [...]

Timing is Everything

Timing is Everything

“1. Preterists. The prophecies contained in the Apocalypse were fulfilled with the destruction of Jerusalem and the fall of heathen Rome.”[1] If today’s prophetic theorists are to be believed, Jesus will be returning “soon.” Dave Hunt’s book How Close Are We?, written nearly thirty years ago, claimed to answer the question in the subtitle: Compelling Evidence for the Soon Return of Christ.[2] On t [...]

Some Thoughts on Interpretive Maximalism

Some Thoughts on Interpretive Maximalism

There have been some comments recently about the Interpretive Maximalism of James B. Jordan. This has been an ongoing discussion for nearly 30 years. An article by Pastor Uri Brito from 2015 posted on Facebook brought the topic to my attention again: “James B. Jordan and Interpretive Maximalism.” Since I’ve known Jim since the mid-1970s and have benefitted from his works over the years, I thought [...]

It's Kind of a Funny Story...

It's Kind of a Funny Story...

Some years ago, Dr. Gary North and Ken Gentry wrote articles for a monthly newsletter titled Dispensationalism in Transition. So much about dispensationalism has changed over the years that C.I. Scofield most likely would not recognize it. The Scofield Reference Bible that first appeared in 1909 and was revised by the author in 1917, has gone through several revisions since then. “In 1967, Oxford [...]