Many interpreters claim that the references in the book of Revelation in Chapter 20 to the one thousand year millennium is figurative because (1) other references to numbers in the book of Revelation are figurative, and (2) the book of Revelation is full of figurative language. I would disagree with (1) because there are good […]
Olivet Discourse
Pretribulational teachers add ANOTHER dispensation to human history in order to protect imminence theology against prewrath eschatology
All theologians believe the Bible teaches that human history is made up of a variety of dispensations where God works in a special redemptive mode and epoch. What is debated, however, is the number of dispensations and the nature of them. I believe Paul outlines at least four fundamental dispensations (oikonomia) in human history in […]
Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics
The Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics is a group of traditional dispensationalists made up of mostly pretribulationists, some I have interacted with on the blog. Even though I think they are wrong-headed on pretribulational theology, there are other points that I believe we can learn from them on, for example, the question of Israel’s future, premillennialism, […]
A public debate challenge for Andy Woods to defend his new book: The Falling Away: Spiritual Departure or Physical Rapture?: A Second Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3
Andy Woods has recently written a booklet (54 pages): The Falling Away: Spiritual Departure or Physical Rapture?: A Second Look at 2 Thessalonians 2:3. He interprets the Greek word apostasia (the apostasy/falling away) as referring to the rapture. “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes […]
Why We Should Expect the Antichrist to Arrive THIS Generation
Premise 1: The Bible teaches that Jesus can return during any generation (e.g. Matt 24:36–25:30). Premise 2: The Bible teaches that the Antichrist will arrive before Jesus’s return (e.g. 2 Thess 2:8). Conclusion: Therefore, the church should have a real expectation to face the Antichrist’s arrival this generation. Conversely, if we think that the Antichrist […]
How Do We Know that the Events of the Great Tribulation Begin at Matt 24:9 and Not 24:15?
I am asked if the events in Matt 24:9–14 portray events throughout church history or during the future seven-year period. “Then they will hand you over to be persecuted and will kill you. You will be hated by all the nations because of my name. Then many will be led into sin, and they will […]
Helpful Commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew (e.g. the Olivet Discourse)
Yesterday, I wrote up an article explaining why I cannot recommend any commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew on the Olivet Discourse in Matt 24–25. That being said, I mentioned that I have benefited from commentaries, in this case with respect to Matthew 24–25. (Commentaries are not my first resource I consult. I first interpret […]
Issues of Interpretation and Commentary on Matthew 24–25 – Jesus’s Olivet Discourse
I am asked frequently if I can recommend a commentary on Matthew’s Olivet Discourse. The problem is that (1) many commentaries on Matthew, in particular chapters 24–25, come from a historicist view, an interpretation that skews Matthew’s message and consequently distorts the application for the church today; (2) some commentaries come from a preterist view and/or […]
What is the difference between a Christian being martyred today and a Christian being martyred by the future Antichrist?
There are two levels where this question is answered, the corporate and individual level. Corporately The church has been persecuted for about 2,000 years by many antichrists (plural). This is a historical fact that is undeniable with the myriads of accounts of believers dying for their faith all around the world up to this very […]
Who Are Left Behind in Matt 24:40–41? The Wicked or the Righteous? – Ep. 120
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http://traffic.libsyn.com/thebiblicalprophecyprogram/Who_Are_Left_Behind_in_Matt_244041_The_Wicked_or_the_Righteous.mp3Podcast: Play in new window | Download | EmbedRecently, I was interviewed on Joel Richardson’s The Underground program where I described the biblical arguments for the ones who are taken in Matthew 24:40–41 represent the righteous and those who are left are the wicked. One of the main points I communicated was interpreters who view […]
3 Problems with the Historicist Interpretation of the ‘Great Tribulation’ in Matt 24
The preterist interpretation of the referent to the “great tribulation” in Matt 24 identifies it with the destruction and persecution associated with the events in Jerusalem in AD 70. Many of these preterists are postmillennial and some amillennial. The futurist interpretation of the referent to the “great tribulation” in Matt 24 identifies it with the […]