Bifurcating the Parousia? Is that what pretribulationists do?During a fairly recent protracted exchange on Facebook someone commented that pretribbers "bifurcate the singular future Parousia of Christ into two events," among other grievances. It came from a proponent of the prewrath rapture view. Years ago I met a … [Read more...]
Fake Modern Israel
Fake Modern Israel: This is one of many terms I keep hearing from some Christians. Oddly enough, sometimes these are people who have a futuristic premillenial view. In another article I looked at whether the future allegedly "fake tribulation temple" was unholy or not. At the time I briefly noted the above "Fake … [Read more...]
Revelation and God’s Justice
Revelation and God's justice...the opening of Revelation's seals are all about God's justice. This justice includes God's wrath. As I've done in the past I'm going to focus on the 4th seal, beginning with some interesting comments from our non-premil Covenant Theology friends. In his book, Theophany - A Biblical … [Read more...]
Cursing and Robbing Israel
It seems this world is forever cursing and robbing Israel in some way or other. And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. Gen 12:3 Perhaps it's just me, but the King James language's authoritative tone captures this warning better … [Read more...]
Eschatology of Covenant Theology
It could be rightly said that the eschatology of Covenant Theology is largely formed by its Covenant views: the "Covenant of Redemption," the "Covenant of Works" and the "Covenant of Grace." These covenant views impact how Covenant Theologians understand ideas like eschatology and the relationship between the church … [Read more...]
Is Episunago a Rapture Term?
Is episunago a rapture term? Get into any discussion about Matt 24:31 with a non-pretribulationist and you're bound to see the Greek term episunago (gather) used. It (and other Greek terms) occurs in almost every statement of beliefs. You'll be directed to 2 Thess 2:1 and referred to Paul's rapture language … [Read more...]
The Rapture of Enoch
The Rapture of Enoch - was Enoch raptured by God? And who cares anyway? The other day I was reading through a commentary on Hebrews by R. Kent Hughes. Enoch is one of the examples of faith modeled in that book and one of the antediluvian patriarchs. While I'm familiar with some of the conjectures surrounding Enoch, … [Read more...]
Heaven and the New Jerusalem
Many people struggle to imagine what Heaven and the New Jerusalem will be like. We are only granted glimpses in Revelation chapter 21. There are varying interpretations of what the Heavenly City will look like. Is it a cube or more like a pyramid? What will the New Jerusalem be like? We'll never know for sure this side … [Read more...]
Reign of the LORD’s Anointed
The Reign of the LORD's Anointed is the sub-title under Psalm 2 in my NASB Bible. It could as easily be titled, "Why do the nations rage?" As we look all around us it's obvious that the nations of the earth are indeed raging against God. We see rebellion in the secular community, and even a rebellious spirit … [Read more...]
Pseudo Ephraem and the Pretrib Rapture
Pseudo Ephraem and the Pretrib Rapture. To P.E. or not to P.E., that is the question! Years ago Grant Jeffrey excitedly announced that he'd found a pre-Darby pretribulational statement in Pseudo Ephraem (P.E.). My eschatological life began as a posttribber. In some ways I'm still wired to be skeptical about … [Read more...]