Preterists commonly accuse (mock) futurist commentaries on the book of Revelation for sensational interpretations. Admittedly, there are more than a few popular pretrib commentaries on Revelation that rightly are “way out there.” However, David Chilton’s postmillennial and preterist commentary on Revelation rivals the most kooky and far-fetched interpretations on the book of Revelation: The Days […]
Hermeneutics
Metaphorical ‘Safe-Space’ for Those Who Deny Jesus’ Literal Return
There is a trend out there for certain “progressive” evangelicals who are triggered by literal interpretations of biblical prophecy. In knee-jerk fashion, they will read practically all prophetic portrayals of the future as “metaphor” or “symbolism.” Shouting “metaphor” in theology is like shouting “racism” in politics. It is intended to shut down discussion and not […]
The Earliest Christian Document Outside of the New Testament (the Didache) Explicitly Teaches that the Church Will Face the Antichrist – Ep. 70
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/thebiblicalprophecyprogram/The_Earliest_Christian_Document_Outside_of_the_New_Testament_the_Didache_Explicitly_Teaches_that_the_Church_Will_Face_the_Antichrist.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedWe discussed how the very Early Church affirmed Jesus’ teaching that the Church would face the persecution of the Antichrist before the return of Jesus and the resurrection. The earliest Church document outside of the New Testament—the Didache—establishes this point. The core teaching of prewrath goes back […]
The Book of Revelation Is Not Written in Some ‘Code’ Meant to Be ‘De-Coded’
Readers sometimes treat Revelation’s word pictures as a code designed to hide the author’s meaning from all but selected insiders. But the primary function of the imagery is to reveal, not to conceal. Word pictures offer a way of seeing the character of God, the world, and the community of faith. The writer portrays Jesus […]
A Reply to Pretrib Pastor Andy Woods Claiming Prewrath Contradicts Itself If “the great tribulation is the greatest time of trouble that the world has ever known” – Ep. 69
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/thebiblicalprophecyprogram/A_Reply_to_Andy_Woods_on_a_contradiction.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedI replied to Andy Woods who thinks the prewrath position contradicts itself. He thinks prewrath believes the great tribulation will be the worse time ever for the world. And yet the Day of the Lord’s wrath with its trumpet and bowl judgments should be worse. He cited […]
A Reply to Pretrib Thomas Ross and His Faulty Understanding of the Aorist Greek Tense-Form in Revelation 6:17
Thomas Ross of Mukwonago Baptist Church in Mukwonago, Wisconsin has written a critique of the prewrath position. One particular point that Ross asserts is the following: Furthermore, the fact that God’s wrath “is come” in Revelation 6:17 is an aorist indicative indicates that past time is the strong basic predisposition, so that the fundamental tendency for interpretation […]
How to Prepare for Jesus’ Second Coming: 4 Views that Militate Against Biblical Readiness – Ep. 65
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/thebiblicalprophecyprogram/How_to_Prepare_for_Jesus__Second_Coming_4_Views_that_Militate_Against_Biblical_Readiness.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedI started a series talking about how to prepare for Jesus’ second coming in a biblical fashion. Today I described four views that militate against this readiness. 1. Pretribulationism: The warnings are relegated to “tribulation saints.” We will be raptured out of here so we do not […]
Accommodation Principle of Interpreting Apocalyptic Prophecy | Book of Revelation
“[S]ome aspects of the original prophecy may be described in terms appropriate for the understanding of the hearers of its time—e.g., wars involving horses and swords, rather than future weapons totally unknown at the time of writing. Such adaptations to the understanding of the original hearers, however, do not change the essential meaning of the […]
An Invitation for Pretrib Pastor Jesse Johnson to Publicly Debate on Whether Revelation 6 and Its Six Seals Will Occur Before the Day of the Lord
Jesse Johnson is the Teaching Pastor at Immanuel Bible Church in Springfield, VA. He represents the John MacArthur/The Master’s Seminary wing of the pretribulational camp. He has made recent pretrib claims about the book of Revelation that cannot be supported by Scripture. They are your typical assumptions that pretribs make about elements in Revelation. One […]
Covenant Theology Possesses an Incomplete Gospel Story
Covenant Theology flattens out the beautiful story of the Gospel and ends up robbing Christ of his glory. I am namely speaking of their supersessionist theology that says the church (or Christ) has superseded any promises that God made with national Israel before Christ. The church has become the “new Israel.” God is done with […]
An Easy Refutation to John MacArthur’s Pretrib Rapture Interpretation on the ‘Church’ in the Book of Revelation
Watch the first few minutes of John MacArthur’s sermon on the rapture, then read my article below: READ THIS: The Word “Church” in the Book of Revelation There are a multiple of other wrong-headed statements that MacArthur makes, but I wanted to highlight this common pretrib mantra about the church in the book of […]