Albert H. "Chip" Freundt, III 1957-2009

Chip Freundt was the son of Rev. Albert H. Freundt, Jr. (1932-2001). Rev. Freundt was a professor at Reformed Theological Seminary when I was a student there. During my time at RTS, I got to know one of his sons, Chip. Chip was physically frail, but this did not stop him from going on with life in a determined way. Over the years I would get emails from him that would update me on some shared inte [...]

Indoctrination is an Inescapable Concept

A window of opportunity exists in our nation since families are being pressured by circumstances seemingly beyond their control to follow ominous historical patterns set before us in the atheistic regimes of Marx and Hitler. Education, for the most part, is centralized and controlled by civil government, at both the state and national levels with its Department of Education. Women are entering the [...]

Making Bad Prophecy Predictions Vanish

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20090804-chuck-smith-bible-prophecy-prophecy-books-unfulfilled-prophecy.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) Ehrich Weiss (1874–1926), best known as the master magician Harry Houdini, lived in Appleton, Wisconsin, as a young boy where his father served as rabbi of the Zion Reform Jewish Congregation. Over the years, Houdini ast [...]

Did Jesus Identify Obama as the Antichrist?

An article on WorldNetDaily’s website reports on an anonymous “Christian with a theological education and many years in the ministry . . . who claims Jesus might have revealed who the antichrist is.” Mr. Anonymous makes it clear in his five-minute YouTube video that he is not claiming that Barack Obama is the antichrist. He states that he is only pointing out how two Hebrew words have “striking” c [...]

Is a "Cashless Society" a Sign of the End?

![“ArtIm:](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/artim-20090720-money-power-cash-666-bible-prophecy-end-times-christian-authors.jpg" ““ArtIm:”) I’m beginning to see that prophetic speculation is taking place on the fringes of the Christian publishing industry. Of course, you will still find the occasional prophetic pot-boiler. Mark Hitchcock writes a couple of [...]

Living in Caves is for Losers

Bible studies thrive in every neighborhood across the United States. Washington, D.C., abounds with prayer breakfasts. A big deal is made of where presents attend church. The Bible remains the nation’s top seller. Although a number of prominent religious hucksters have left the airwaves, television and radio remain filled with religious programming. There are reports that thirty-five percent of Am [...]

Are You a Doughnut-Hole Gazer?

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-2009may06.jpg" ““Article”) American Vision receives a number of books for review purposes from numerous publishers each week. Some of the books are unsolicited with no note or letter telling us who the author is or why we might be interested in the topic. Some books are so poorly written and design [...]

“Swine Flu” and the End of the World

“People were surrounded by traumatic death. And they didn’t have any idea how far it would go. Was it going to kill everybody? . . . Could this be the end of the world-is this Armageddon that the street corner ministers are preaching about?” (Influenza, 1918) When the topic of the end times comes up in conversation, the usual first piece of evidence given that our generation is i [...]

Peddling Prophetic Snake Oil

Hal Lindsey claims that the Bible predicts that oil will be discovered in Israel. [1] The book Breaking the Treasure Code: The Hunt for Israel’s Oil [2] claims to prove it by an appeal to the Bible: A treasure map was hidden in the Bible more than three thousand years ago. The treasure, a gift from God to Israel, was buried in the sands of the Promised Land to ensure her prosperity and prote [...]

Premillennialism and Politics Don't Mix

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-022409.jpg" ““Article”) What is so troubling about Christian involvement in politics? Christians like John MacArthur, Cal Thomas, and Ed Dobson have written on the subject. MacArthur’s Why Government Can’t Save You includes the following subtitle: An Alternative to Political Activism. While MacArth [...]

Billy Graham Association Goes Apocalyptic

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-020909.jpg" ““Article”) In 2009, the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association website tells us that it “will focus on the return of Jesus Christ—and how you can live a faithful life in the meantime.” This focus isn’t anything new. Graham has been preaching an end-time message since the 1950s. The arti [...]

A Defense of Dispensationalism

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-011309.jpg" ““Article”) John MacArthur is preaching series on eschatology that is being broadcast on WLQV, a Detroit, Michigan, radio station this week. Some of this material was published in his 1999 book The Second Coming: Signs of Christ’s Return and the End of the Age. Using a debater’s trick, [...]

One-World Government Biblical?

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-121808-a.jpg" ““Article”) Some readers get upset any time I point out how modern-day prophecy writers misrepresent the Bible. My critics don’t seem to mind that Hal Lindsey has been wrong over the years in an area of study that has made his reputation and so much of Christendom has embraced as “gos [...]

Debating Another Dispensationalist

For 20 years I have been debating the topic of eschatology. It started with Dave Hunt (four debates) after the publication of my book The Reduction of Christianity (co-authored with Peter J. Leithart) and has included debates with Thomas Ice (nine debates), Paige Patterson, Robert L. Thomas, Ed Hindson, John Sweigart, Michael Wechsler, and countless radio shows where callers would rapid-fire quest [...]

John MacArthur's Defense of Dispensationalism

In 1988, John MacArthur wrote The Gospel According to Jesus, a controversial book in certain circles because he relied heavily on the views of Calvinistic writers to deal with the lordship salvation controversy. My respect for MacArthur grew because he was not afraid to take on those in his own dispensational camp who were teaching “defective theology” about discipleship. The book got [...]

How Eschatology Impacts Apologetics

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-120208.jpg" ““Article”) On January 21, 2009, James White of Alpha & Omega Ministries will be debating Bart Ehrman, the James A. Gray Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, on the following question: “Can the New Testa [...]

The Election & Claims The End is Near!

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-111308-b.jpg" ““Article”) With America’s self-conscious move toward unfettered socialism and fascism, some Christians will undoubtedly rev up the prophecy presses and inform the world that the end is near-again! History is a sober teacher of such foolishness. In 1927, Oswald J. Smith wrote Is [...]

Don't Pay Attention to Newspaper Headlines

![“Article](“http://assets.americanvision.org/mediafiles/article-image-110308.jpg" ““Article”) The newspaper and news sources in general can be depressing reading these days. No matter who wins tomorrow’s election, America and the world are in for uncertain times. Instead of ruminating over the negative possibilities, Christians should see what will come as opportunit [...]

The Danger of Prophetic Inevitability

In a 1979 message, Jerry Falwell presented his views on the end-times using Ezekiel 38 as a backdrop to his interpretation of the passage. Falwell asked why Russia would want to invade Israel. Quoting Ezekiel 38:12, he said the purpose is “to seize spoil and carry off plunder.” Here’s what he said next: “If one removes the first two letters from this word ‘spoil,’ he soon realizes what Russia will [...]

The Magog Invasion

I predicted it! When Russia invaded Georgia, a former satellite state of the former Soviet Union, I knew there would be prophecy writers who would claim that it’s all part of God’s end-time plan. Contemporary prophecy writers, following a long tradition of interpreting the Bible through the lens of current events, use Bible passages that can be easily shaped to fit any geo-political change. Why th [...]