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Responding to Islam’s Objections to the Deity of Jesus

Premillennial Nuggets - Hebrews 11:10, 16

These two verses are common proof-texts used by Amillennialists who make the false assumption that the "heavenly" new Jerusalem must be understood as nonearthly. Amillennialism frequently makes this false dichotomy, and you need to be aware of this in order to respond properly and Biblically.

The following is an excerpt from Robert L. Saucy's book, The Case For Progressive Dispensationalism. pp. 53-57. (By the way, Part 4 of his book is priceless for those who are interested in solid, scholarly arguments for the Premillennial position.)

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Finally, in relation to the land promise, there is the teaching of the writer to the Hebrews concerning the hoped for destination of Abraham and the patriarchs. Of Abraham, it is said, ". . . he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb 11:10). Likewise, the patriarchs, as "aliens and strangers on earth, . . . were longing for a better country--a heavenly one" (11:13, 16). The divine construction of the city and the heavenly nature of the country lead many scholars to understand the goal of Abraham and the other patriarchs as heaven rather than any earthly land of the Old Testament promises. For example, F. F. Bruce states,

The truth is, their true homeland was not on earth at all. The better country on which they had set their hearts was the heavenly country. The earthly Canaan and the earthly Jerusalem were but temporary object-lessons pointing to the saint's everlasting rest, the well-founded city of God [The Epistle to the Hebrews, 305].

In the first place, we should note that the immediate context refers to the literal land of Canaan, where Abraham lived "like a stranger," as "the promised land" (Heb 11:9). Isaac and Jacob are described as "heirs with him of the same promise," which can only be a reference to the same "promise land." These statements surely bear some relation to the many Old Testament promises of the land given to the patriarchs. In addition, the hoped-for destination of "a country of their own" is not contrasted to earthly Canaan, but to "the country they had left," namely, Mesopotamia. Thus it seems that we should not understand the promised destination as altogether separate from the earthly land promised in the Old Testament.

However, the language clearly portrays a situation beyond the temporal and beyond the transitory nature of the land in which Abraham and his descendants lived. The question is, was this eternal dimension somehow an aspect of the promise? Did the patriarch's hope included a final, incorruptible heavenly city and country? The answers to these questions are already suggested in the Old Testament pictures of the new Jerusalem and a new earth.

As the "city of God" where he revealed his presence, the historical Jerusalem was already seen as founded by God. Thus the psalmist declared that God "built his sanctuary . . . like the earth that he established forever" (Ps 78:69). God himself "set his foundation [of Zion] on the holy mountain" (Ps 87:1; cf. Isa 14:32). But the prophets looked also to a renewed Jerusalem in the future. After the divine judgment that was to come on Jerusalem because of apostasy, God would return to bring salvation to the city (Isa 49:14f.; 41:27; 46:13; Zep 3:16-17). Into a darkness reminiscent of the first day of creation, God's light would arise to shine on Zion (Isa 60:1-2).

In the Old Testament the new, eschatological Jerusalem to be created by God's saving and redeeming action is pictured as an earthly city. But, as Georg Fohrer puts it, these predictions become "the starting point for the later idea of an upper or heavenly Jerusalem." Of the "many and varied" explanations of the Jerusalem of the last days found in the apocalyptic writings, Eduard Lohse says,

On the one hand Jerusalem at the end of the days is the city of David built again with glory and magnificence. On the other the new Jerusalem is thought of as a pre-existent city which is built by God in heaven and which comes down to earth with the dawn of a new world.

To describe Jerusalem and the country as heavenly is simply to speak of them in their final eternal state, which is the result of God's salvation. The hope of the patriarchs and the prophets for a restored earthly Jerusalem ultimately merged into a Jerusalem of eternal, heavenly quality created anew by the final salvation of God. The final goal of such as "heavenly" land, however, does not negate the prophecies of a historical restoration of the nation of Israel to the land before that final regenerative action. Admittedly, the specific nature of the final "heavenly" fulfillment and its relation to the historical promised land is not clear. Perhaps the extension of the land promise of the Old Testament in to an inheritance of the earth may be paradigmatic of a general universalization of God's blessing in the final state.

The blending by the prophets of a future restored Jerusalem and the final eternal city corresponds with their picture of the future of the entire earth and heavens. The hope of the Old Testament was ultimately for an eternal state of things, for the prophets knew that the present "heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment" (Isa 51:6). Consequently, along with their portrayal of the rule of the Messiah over a yet imperfect world (cf. Isa 2:1-4; Zec 14:16ff.), they looked forward to the creation of "new heavens and a new earth" (Isa 65:17; 66:22).

[Footnotes: (44) The belief in a temporary kingdom of the Messiah before the final perfect Age to Come was prevalent in the Jewish apocalyptic writings, cf. D. S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964), 291-97. (45) It is noteworthy that contexts even of the statements concerning the new heavens and earth contain references that can only refer to the yet imperfect state before eternity (cf. Isa 65:20-23). Thus th Old Testament prophetic picture does not draw as clear a line of chronological demarcation between the present history and the final perfect state as appears in Revelation 20-22.]

Even as these references to the final perfected "new heavens" and "new earth" did not cancel out the historical prophecies that were to come before the end, so the references to the final country and Jerusalem in the book of Hebrews do not negate the reality of the historical before their ultimate arrival. The writer to the Hebrews speaks of believers as already having come to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22), but this does not negate the reality of the present earthly history of the church that is not existentially lived in the new Jerusalem. Similarly, it need not negate the reality of a future period in which the historical earthly promises about Jerusalem and the land are fulfilled in further preparation for the eternal realities.

[Footnote: (46) . . . . As illustration of the Jewish understanding of the relationship between the earthly and the heavenly is seen in the statement by Rabbi Yohanan in the third century. In contrast to Origen, he refused to separate the earthly and heavenly cities: "The Holy One . . . said: I will not enter the Jerusalem which is above until I enter the Jerusalem which is below". . .]

In this connection it is important to recognize that the purpose of the writer to the Hebrews is not to give us an interpretation of Old Testament prophecy. The book is rather a "word of exhortation" (13:22), which Bruce describes as a "form of sermon or homily." Using material not from the prophets but primarily from the Psalms, with other materials added to elaborate the argument, the writer's goal was to establish the superiority of the gospel in contrast to all that went before, particularly the levitical system. The primary evidence of the supremacy of Christianity is presented in its finality. Coming to Christ means final access to God without any barrier.

The writer's references to heavenly realities must be understood in the context of this teaching of finality. Even as Paul's teaching of present access to God does not do away with the actual historical situation of the church (cf. Eph 2:18). so our present coming to the heavenly Jerusalem must not be seen to deny the historical reality of prophecy. Abraham's hope for eternal realities, likewise, does not negate the reality of the history that, according to God's prophecy, must intervene before the actual attaining of the perfect state.

Thus the land aspect of the Abrahamic promise retains validity in the New Testament. Its link to the nation of Israel and to the coming kingdom indicates that the fulfillment of the land promise awaits the future both in this earth and in the new "heavenly" earth to come. There is no evidence that the promise of the land has been either completely fulfilled historically or reinterpreted to mean a symbol of heaven or the blessing of spiritual life in general.

Many Dutch Prepare for 2012 Apocalypse

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 23 (UPI) -- Thousands of people in the Netherlands say they expect the world to end in 2012, and many say they are taking precautions to prepare for the apocalypse.... Continue Reading

(I thought these two comments made sense: "If the world's gonna end, WHAT are you preparing for?" and "What is the point of stocking up on supplies if the world is going to end in 2012? I would think from a secular point of view, it would make much more sense to do just the opposite: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die! )

Firefox 3 just Realesed

If you use Internet Explorer as a web browser and have wondered what all the hype was about the Firefox web browser, here is your chance to find out with their new release, here. Try it out and see how you like it -- you just might be surprised.

Firefox works better than Internet Explorer on many websites -- even a little better on Prewrath Rapture Dot Com.

Two Excellent Online Resources

The following link takes you to a site that is really on top of the latest in Biblical-Technological tools. I have this site in my RSS Reader:
Biblical Studies and Technological Tools

This second site contains a supurb, one-stop, annotated bibliography of original language tools. I would agree with just about all the most important sources he recommends:
Best Resources for Original Language Bible Study

Christianity Criminalized in Canada

My heart goes out to believers in Canada after a recent unprecedented ruling criminalizing Christian expression on the sin of homosexuality and its devious effects on society -- and folks here in America...the same criminalizing is coming very soon to this country.

This is chilling and sober.
Here is the news article.
Here is a commentary on it.

The fact that a single Canadian human rights commission tribunal ruling has shut down free speech is outrageous. I would hope that every Canadian evangelical pastor comes out in a unified support for Pastor Stephen Boissoin this coming Sunday. We need to pray for these pastors who are up against this godless, totalitarian evil.

How does the Canadian government allow this to happen? But I need to ask, how will Americans allow this to happen in the near future? The answer is simple: When a repulsive untold number of baby-skull crushing abortions occur on a daily basis; when Joel Osteen's heretical books make the number one slot for bestselling Christian books; and when fundamentalist secularism dominates our government and education system; and when science and sports is elevated to God-like status; and when our media complex produces smut and godless news; and when narcissistic Americans raise their rebellious fists against God every day -- those are the conditions in which Christians will lose their freedom of speech and religion.

We should not be presumptuous by saying "God bless America," but rather "God have mercy on America." We do not deserve our next breathe as a nation (and as individuals).

Very difficult times are ahead for the church. There will be those who will want to stick their heads in the sand and pretend this is not happening. And there will be those who are discerning and are realists and will go about rearranging their priorities.

The Alberta government, which created the human rights commission, has ultimate authority over the Commission and its mandate, rules and who is appointed to the commission.

To Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach:

Office of the Premier
Room 307, Legislature Building
10800 - 97th Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427 2251
Fax: (780) 427 1349

My Top Ten Convictions And Commitments as a Student of End-Times Prophecy

By Allen Hadidian

MY COMMUNICATION GOALS

10. Regarding my teaching skills: I will seek to sharpen my skills in teaching end-times prophecy.

9. Regarding the content I teach: I will not simply teach others what I have been taught. I will make sure I have done my own homework to determine whether Scripture does indeed confirm the truths I'm considering.

MY ONGOING ATTITUDE

8. Regarding my ego: I don't have the personal need to prove to others that I am right.

7. Regarding my knowledge: I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle or see all the evidence that is out there; therefore, there is always something for me to learn from someone else.

6. Regarding other positions: I will seek to understand opposing viewpoints and the rationale behind those positions.

5. Regarding critiques and hard questions asked of the position I hold:

a. I will read, and not avoid, books and articles critiquing the position I hold. I will be open to hearing and examining difficult questions regarding the position I hold.

b. When a hard question is asked and I have no clue how to answer it, I will say, "You have a good point. I really don't know how to answer that question. Give me time to think it through."

4. Regarding problems and errors in the position I hold:

a. When I discover problems in the position I hold, I will be honest with others regarding them and not feel the need to hide them.

b. When I see an error in my "system," I will say, "I was wrong."

3. Regarding the cost: I am willing to pay the price if I change my position.

MY LORD'S COMMANDMENT

2. Regarding Christ's heart: I will always keep in mind the commandment of the Lord Jesus; the one always on His heart, emphasized over and over again to His disciples. It was not, "Locate the timing of the Rapture and convince others of it," but rather, "Love one another."

MY GREATEST PURSUIT

1. Regarding God's goal: I will pursue as my greatest pleasure in life that which I will experience at the coming of Christ in the clouds -- the inexpressible joy and delight of marveling at His glory.

UC Irvine Still Enforcing Sharia Law

"The University of California-Irvine is a sprawling campus in Orange County. The institution, located between the Santa Ana Mountains and the shore of the Pacific Ocean, is not only home to some of the best minds in science and engineering, but also to some of the most virulent supporters of radical Islam in America -- and a school administration bent on capitulating to them...."

Read the article here.

Biltz Responds to Prewrath Rapture Dot Com

Mark Biltz and myself have had some email exchanges this past week. He has also posted a response of qualifications and clarifications of what he believes, so in all fairness here is his article. I want to say a couple of things and I will leave it at that. I do think there are some inconsistencies between his clarification article and the interview he did for "Prophecy in the News." But I will let the readers be the judge of that.

I just find it difficult that now Biltz is saying that he is not concerned with the timing of the Second Coming of Christ or the rapture, but in the interview, there was this exchange:

J. R. Church: This we are going to see in 2015 on the first day of the first month and again on the first day of the seventh month
Mark Biltz: Exactly
Church: which is the Jewish New Year; and that concludes, it is Tishri 1 that concludes the Sabbatical year
Biltz: yes
Church: wow
Biltz: yes
Church: it's time for the Messiah to show up, right?
Biltz: yes! [an emphatic "yes" at that]

If anyone thinks I am taking that out of context then they can view the video for themselves.

Biltz says now in his article, "IF these eclipses in 2015 are what the Lord was referring to, then 2015 would look like a possible year for His feet to land on the Mt of Olives." One would have only desired to see such a stress of qualification in the interview with the pretrib interviewers.

It is difficult as well to watch the interview and think that Biltz is "neutral" and only providing "data."

Watching the interview one does not get the sense that Biltz is just the messenger providing the data, and they can take the data and do with it however they want with it. In the interview one observes an excited Biltz agreeing with the interviewers Gary Stearman, and J. R. Church -- there is no disagreement or meaningful disclaimers in that interview. The last folks that you would want to share such information with is pretrib sensationalists.

Arnold Fructenbaum, A Refutation of His Review

Ron Wallace has written an extensive and thorough refutation to Fructenbaum's review of Prewrath. Wallace writes,

"In 1991, Arnold G. Fructenbaum of Arial Ministries wrote a review and refutation of Marvin Rosenthal's book, "The Pre-Wrath Rapture of The Church." The purpose of this article is to defend the PreWrath rapture of the church as it is challenged by Fruchtenbaum in his review...."

Big Brother Now Wants Your Entire Database of Cellphone Calls and E-Mail…

UK plans acquiring database of ALL cellphone calls and e-mails... I am sure you can guess why. The "innocuous" reason government always gives when they want to control and have access to your private life: "to protect you."

From TimesOnline

A massive government database holding details of every phone call, e-mail and time spent on the internet by the public is being planned as part of the fight against crime and terrorism. Internet service providers (ISPs) and telecoms companies would hand over the records to the Home Office under plans put forward by officials.

The information would be held for at least 12 months and the police and security services would be able to access it if given permission from the courts.

The proposal will raise further alarm about a "Big Brother" society, as it follows plans for vast databases for the ID cards scheme and NHS patients. There will also be concern about the ability of the Government to manage a system holding billions of records. About 57 billion text messages were sent in Britain last year, while an estimated 3 billion e-mails are sent every day.

Read the rest here.

A Response to Mark Biltz — Second Coming, Blood Moon Eclipses, Solar Eclipses, Feasts, 5775 Sabbatical Year (2014, 2015)

Many of you are aware of Mark Biltz's recent discovery (Feb 21); and if you are not, then you will soon hear about it. From what I can tell, Biltz is pretribulational. I do not know if he has considered the Prewrath position. I have already had folks ask me what I think about his discovery. Right at the outset I want to make it clear that this article is not about parsing out the significance of his discovery vis-à-vis Biblical prophecy.

My purpose in this article it to make some comments and observations of how Pretribulational teachers including Biltz are understanding this discovery and to point out their inconsistencies.

It is true that the four spring feasts of the Lord were fulfilled prophetically during the First Coming of Christ. And Prewrath teaches that the three remaining fall feasts will be fulfilled during Christ's Second Coming (Rosenthal articulates this well in his book The Feasts of the Lord; Van Kampen's The Sign has a detailed discussion as well). And the Bible clearly teaches that a particular cluster of cosmic disturbances including the sun and moon will be a sign of the Second Coming. That we can be sure of.

Pastor Mark Biltz went on NASA's U.S. Government website to see if he could discover any solar eclipse or lunar eclipse that might be significant in the future. He was surprised to discover a rare and uncanny cluster of four lunar eclipses and two solar eclipses around the Jewish Sabbatical Year of 2014/2015. Further, he found that they all landed on important Jewish Feast days.

I am not going to delineate the specifics here. But you can read it here and here (It should be a foregone conclusion that we do not endorse the content of these pretrib sites that I am linking to.)

Also, Biltz did a popular interview. This is part one of the interview which is where he discusses the main issues; part two is not as significant. Here is the interview: DSL Video 56K Video Audio DLS Mac

My observations:

First, in the interview, Mark Biltz, Gary Stearman, and J. R. Church indicate that the cosmic disturbances of Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 are describing the same event (Prewrathers do the same). And they indicate that the Second Coming happens in conjunction during these cosmic disturbances (again, so far so good).

But then they will assume that this sixth seal cosmic event found in Revelation 6 happens at the close of the 70th week of Daniel. Here is the problem: what do they do with the trumpet and bowl judgments that follow after the seals? The fifth trumpet judgment itself is five months in duration! (Post-tribbers have this problem as well). Further, in their pretrib scheme they cannot place the cosmic disturbances before the 70th week concludes since they would also have to do that with the Second Coming, which would nullify what is definitional of pretribulationism.

(Many pretribbers try to get around this obvious problem by simply asserting that the sixth seal cosmic disturbance is not describing the same event in Matthew 24. This is untenable since the parallels and context between these two passages are undoubtedly depicting the same event.)

Here is where the Prewrath position solves this difficulty naturally and Biblically. We cannot assume that the Second Coming/Cosmic Disturbances happen at the completion of the 70th week of Daniel since Jesus himself places this dual event sometime after the midpoint of the 70th week of Daniel at the time when the Antichrist's Great Tribulation (not the 70th week of Daniel itself) is "cut short" (Matthew 24:22). And thus, after the Great Tribulation is cut short with the Second Coming, the Day of the Lord's wrath (trumpet and bowl judgments) will follow and unfold for the remaining part of the 70th week.

In short, the godly will be raptured when the Antichrist's Great Tribulation is cut short, then God will pour out his subsequent Day of the Lord's wrath upon the ungodly.

Second observation, notice that the theory places the Second Coming in the year 2015 (which is what the whole theory is predicated on); this then would necessitate, as they indicate from their pretrib view, a subtraction of seven years taking us to this fall of 2008 for the rapture, covenant with Israel, and the subsequent seven year "Tribulation Period" to begin.

In other words, this (pretrib) theory in essence is saying that the rapture will take place in the fall of 2008 -- i.e., the church has about four months left on earth.

In the interview, Biltz tries not to be dogmatic (he is trying to avoid being a date-setter), but that is the whole point of the interview and what his theory is predicated on. Of course, as in most cases of date-setting, even if they are implied, once they elapse, the individual will "reinterpret" it in some new significance. To be sure, when pretribbers mishandle Scripture such as in this case, it does not invalidate the relationship of these astronomical facts with the Biblical calendar if there is any import in that relationship.

As an aside, Hal Lindsey was asked about Biltz's discovery and he said that he has not heard of Biltz's theory, and called it "pure speculation." How does one call a theory "pure speculation" when he has not heard of it? We are not told (Not that I am defending Biltz's schema). Second, who would want to lend credibility to Lindsey's opinion on this since he has no credibility left after his failed prediction of Christ's Second Coming in 1988. For those who are not old enough to remember: Hal Lindsey wrote a popular book in the 70's titled The Late Great Planet Earth. In it he claimed that the Biblical "fig tree" was Israel and a Biblical generation equaled forty years; then he added forty years from the time when Israel became a state in 1948, which would take it to 1988, the supposed year of Christ's Second Coming. And in the pretrib scheme he disconnected the rapture from the Second Coming by seven years, accordingly, the rapture in 1981.

In short, Hal Lindsey is an unrepentant false prophet who has been showered with royalties since then (false prophets in the Bible were showered with stones).

Reader, understand this: regardless of any significance of these astronomical events and their supposed correspondence to the Biblical calendar, the fact that Jesus is coming soon should spur us to sober holy living. Christ's Return will materialize -- and we must take heed to be found "blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ."

As we look around us at the world and observe the moral madness of humanity, the nations, and their unbridled hatred toward God, it is indeed difficult to think that the Lord will tarry much longer.

The Prewrath Rapture Chart

Hey, what would be a prophecy study without a chart, right?

Allen Hadidian has created such a chart. The Prewrath Chart, developed over a two-year period, is a 2 ft x 3 ft color-coded detailed timeline of end-times events and issues surrounding the future seven-year period known as "Daniel's 70th week." The Prewrath Chart showcases the PREWRATH RAPTURE position.

For information on the chart's features and for purchasing click here.

"The chart...is outstanding. You have digested and put together a wealth of material on eschatology. I am certain that it is the fruit of years of study. I know of nothing from any source that is even close to being comparable or more exhaustive. It will be a great help to pastors, teachers, and students of the Word of God." - Marv Rosenthal, author of The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church

Prewrath Story and SermonBy a Fundamentalist Pastor

Fundamentalist Pastor Vincent Sawyer gives an excellent expositional and pastoral sermon on the Prewrath view, as well as giving his Berean story of testing and thus leaving his Pretribulational Tradition. You can listen to his sermon here (He does an amazing job unpacking the Prewrath position in sixty minutes).

For Pastor Sawyer, studying the nature of the Day of the Lord beginning with the key text Joel 2:31 was the start of his epiphany to God's truth on this matter.

(For those interested, there are four articles that I have written that are relevant to the topics of his sermon here, here, here, here.)

The Prewrath Rapture Guys Responding to Mal Couch, Part 1

Mal Couch has started a series responding to Prewrath. So far he has posted terse articles lacking anything meaningful. Nevertheless, my purpose is not only to give you the reader substantive replies, but for Couch's pretrib readers to find these articles through search engines and other means.

He writes,

It is a convoluted view that says the church will go through part of the tribulation and be raptured before the wrath of Revelation 16:1-12.

Even though the term "tribulation" is ingrained in the dispensational psyche it is a very misleading and unbiblical term since it assumes that the entire 70th week of Daniel is God's wrath. There are three properly Biblical terms: "70th week of Daniel" which denotes the seven year period; the "Great Tribulation" which Jesus denotes as Antichrist's persecution against the godly; and "Day of the Lord" which denotes God's wrath against the ungodly.

His statement about Revelation 16:1-12 if very odd indeed. Couch is suggesting that Prewrath affirms that the church will go through the trumpet judgments of God's wrath, but be raptured just before the bowl judgments. I'm sorry, but even pretrib internet apologists don't make this error. Anyone with any iota of the Prewath position understands that Prewrath affirms that the church is raptured before the trumpet and bowl judgments of God's wrath, not just the bowl judgments. He further confirms this error when he writes, "They argue that the church does go to heaven before that wrath of Revelation 16 and on."

Notice that he does not cite any documentation for his erroneous assertion. By the way, this common phenomenon is not exclusive to Couch; Pretrib writers are notorious for their lack of documentation of primary sources (e.g. books, authors, page numbers, etc.). It's called responsible scholarship.

Notice also that I have linked to his pretrib website for the reader to examine my argumentation, accurate documentation, and context. You rarely find the other side doing that for Prewrath.

Moving on,

[1Thess 5] is about the entire tribulation, the Day of the Lord, that will come upon the world like a thief in the night (v. 2). Paul never says this entire period (seven years), or even part of this period, will fall upon church saints.

Couch here simply assumes that "Day of the Lord" = "seven years." Further, Couch is assuming here that Prewrath affirms that believers will go through God's wrath. There is a reason why it is called "Pre-wrath."

Do you see what Couch is trying to do? The debate is not over whether believers will experience The Day of the Lord's wrath. Any Premill position would deny that. The watershed question is when does the Day of the Lord begin. And this is the question that Couch is precisely ignoring.

I would like the opportunity to debate Mal Couch publicly and ask him specific questions in my cross-examination period about his assertions since he would not be able to get away with his evasive reasoning. Notice again above, no documentation on his assertions.

We continue,

Those birth pangs Paul speaks about here in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 are seen as a whole, the complete seven years of earth horror. Thus the church shall escape the whole period of the birth pangs (the entire period of wrath) not just the last half.

Once again, Couch simply assumes that God's wrath begins at the start of the 70th week of Daniel. He can repeatedly say this, but it does not make it so -- he needs that little thing called...Biblical support. Assumptions may work for some, but most believers who I know want reasons for what they believe.

The very last part in that paragraph he says, "not just the last half." Now Couch is indicating that prewrath affirms that God's wrath is the second half of the 70th week of Daniel! I'm sorry, but this is just plain sloppiness on his part. It is definitional of the Prewrath position that God's wrath begins sometime during the second half of the 70th week of Daniel -- and not starting at the middle of the 7 year period.

But the spiritually challenged PreWrath guys ignore or certainly dance around Revelation 6:12-17 where it is clearly stated that the wrath of God begins at the front end of the tribulation, even though the final outpouring of wrath is described by the Bowls of Wrath in Revelation 16.

This statement simply proves without a shadow of doubt that Couch is comfortable with only talking to his own readers who he thinks will not check his statements or sources, since he is not interested in reading and interacting with what Prewrath says about particular passages.

He says that we "ignore" Revelation 6:12-17. Really? Apparently, Couch has never read any of the following Prewrath sources:

The Sign (Updated Edition) by Van Kampen, pp. 294-95.

The Rapture Question Answered: Plain and Simple by Van Kampen, pp. 152-55.

The Prewrath Rapture of the Church by Rosenthal, pp. 167, 170, 172, 179, 193.

Parousia Newsletter (Winter, 2000) "The Rapture Initiates the Day of the Lord." Charles Cooper exegetes this text extensively.

Prewrath Debate. Cooper during the debate, responded substantively to Couch on Rev. 6:17.

Mr. Couch, it is you sir who is ignoring what Prewrath has written on this text. He also said that we can "dance around" this text. Where are his citations? his documentation? I have provided him these prewrath sources where this text is dealt with. So I challenge him to demonstrate from these primary Prewrath sources where we have "danced" around the text.

At the first of the tribulation, in Revelation 6:16-17, the world cries out (not the church or the Christians crying out), "Hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the WRATH of the Lamb; for THE GREAT DAY OF THEIR WRATH "HAS ARRIVED" (Aorist Tense, it is already here at the beginning of the tribulation) and who is able to stand [up under it].

Couch invokes the Greek tense called the "Aorist" suggesting that God's wrath has already been happening and hoping that his readers will accept his word for it.

Unlike Couch who does not explain what the "Aorist" tense is, I will. In Greek there is a common tense called the "aorist" which we do not have in English. Contrary to popular thought out there the aorist tense is the least significant tense in Greek. Strangely one will hear pastors often preaching and making a big deal about this or that word in the "aorist." I personally think this misunderstanding is due to the fact that it is not found in the English grammatical system so it seems mysterious to those who do not know Greek. So Couch can throw it out there even though he does not have a proper understanding to its meaning -- but people accept his word because of that "Dr." in front of his name, so he must be right!

Let me demythologize the aorist tense. The aorist does not denote "past time" as some commonly understand it; and it does not denote a "once-for-all action." Some wrongly believe that it is a past tense because it can often be in a past action context. Though it is commonly in past action, it can also be an action in the present, future, or just timeless. Only context -- not the fact it is aorist -- tells us what time the action occurs.

The aorist is what is called the "indefinite" or "undefined" tense. It does not tell you the type of action such as specifying its duration, nor again does it tell the time that the action takes place.

The aorist is often known as the "background" or "snapshot" or "summary" tense (there are some nuances to those notions). Sometimes it is thought of as the "default" tense in Greek, but that may be too much of an understatement of its function. An author would choose the aorist tense to represent the action of the verb as a complete whole -- i.e. stating an undefined action without giving specific information of the type of action such as focusing on the beginning or ending of the action, its duration, or whether it is repeated or not. That information about the action of the verb can only come through lexical, grammatical, or other contextual indicators, and not its tense.

So going back to Couch's claim that the wrath of God has been unfolding because "has come" (ἦλθεν, elthen) is simply in the aorist tense is fallacious and does not account for context that indicates that the ungodly are fleeing to the caves because of the impeding wrath of God.

For a good example, the same exact verb in the aorist tense is used in Mark 14:41 when Jesus says, "the hour has come [impending]; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." The context clarifies that Christ is speaking of impending or ingressive action.

(As noted above there are prewrath sources for reference for further reading on that text.)

Since the church does not go under any part of the tribulation it will be gone in the PRETRIBULATIONAL RAPTURE before Revelation 6!

Here Couch assumes that the first six seals are God's wrath. I have written an article on that very assertion that you can read here rather than repeating myself.

Remember people who come up with such silly views have an agenda at stake. They want the church to be "purged" by the pain of the tribulation or just flat out cannot stand the clear teaching of Pretribulational Rapturists! They want to argue just to argue! They work disparately [sic] hard to create another view in order to deny the obvious. They need to go to counseling!

Wow, three exclamation points. We want to "argue just to argue!" Yep, that's right, I have nothing better to do with my time. We work "hard to create another view in order to deny the obvious." Huh? I won't attempt to understand that one. We "need to go to counseling!" It is truly hard to believe that Couch has any advanced degree with these sort of immature statements that would undermine anyone's credibility seeking to be heard.

It is no wonder that many pretribs have seen right through these emotional appeals and have been convinced of prewrath.

We did not have any meaningful argumentation provided by Couch, nor did he cite sources or even attempt to interact with accurate prewrath representation. What we got was a slipshod, flippant response. I would not hold my breath that this will change in his subsequent entries.

The Prewrath Rapture Guys Responding to Mal Couch, Part 1

Mal Couch has started a series responding to Prewrath. So far he has posted terse articles lacking anything meaningful. Nevertheless, my purpose is not only to give you the reader substantive replies, but for Couch's pretrib readers to find these articles through search engines and other means.

He writes,

It is a convoluted view that says the church will go through part of the tribulation and be raptured before the wrath of Revelation 16:1-12.

Even though the term "tribulation" is ingrained in the dispensational psyche it is a very misleading and unbiblical term since it assumes that the entire 70th week of Daniel is God's wrath. There are three properly Biblical terms: "70th week of Daniel" which denotes the seven year period; the "Great Tribulation" which Jesus denotes as Antichrist's persecution against the godly; and "Day of the Lord" which denotes God's wrath against the ungodly.

His statement about Revelation 16:1-12 if very odd indeed. Couch is suggesting that Prewrath affirms that the church will go through the trumpet judgments of God's wrath, but be raptured just before the bowl judgments. I'm sorry, but even pretrib internet apologists don't make this error. Anyone with any iota of the Prewath position understands that Prewrath affirms that the church is raptured before the trumpet and bowl judgments of God's wrath, not just the bowl judgments. He further confirms this error when he writes, "They argue that the church does go to heaven before that wrath of Revelation 16 and on."

Notice that he does not cite any documentation for his erroneous assertion. By the way, this common phenomenon is not exclusive to Couch; Pretrib writers are notorious for their lack of documentation of primary sources (e.g. Books, authors, page numbers, etc.). It's called responsible scholarship.

Notice also that I have linked to his pretrib website for the reader to examine my argumentation, accurate documentation, and context. You rarely find the other side doing that for Prewrath.

Moving on,

[1Thess 5] is about the entire tribulation, the Day of the Lord, that will come upon the world like a thief in the night (v. 2). Paul never says this entire period (seven years), or even part of this period, will fall upon church saints.

Couch here simply assumes that "Day of the Lord" = "seven years." Further, Couch is assuming here that Prewrath affirms that believers will go through God's wrath. There is a reason why it is called "Prewrath."

Do you see what Couch is trying to do? The debate is not over whether believers will experience The Day of the Lord's wrath. Any Premill position would deny that. The watershed question is when does the Day of the Lord begin. And this is precisely what Couch is ignoring.

I would like the opportunity to debate Mal Couch publicly and ask him specific questions in my cross-examination period about his assertions since he would not be able to get away with his evasive reasoning. Notice again above, no documentation on his assertions.

We continue,

Those birth pangs Paul speaks about here in 1 Thessalonians 5:3 are seen as a whole, the complete seven years of earth horror. Thus the church shall escape the whole period of the birth pangs (the entire period of wrath) not just the last half.

Once again, Couch simply assumes that God's wrath begins at the start of the 70th week of Daniel. He can repeatedly say this, but it does not make it so -- he needs that little thing called...support. Assumptions may work for some, but most believers who I know want reasons for what they believe.

The very last part in that paragraph he says, "not just the last half." Now Couch is indicating that prewrath affirms that God's wrath is the second half of the 70th week of Daniel! I'm sorry, but this is just plain sloppiness on his part. It is definitional of the Prewrath position that God's wrath begins sometime during the second half of the 70th week of Daniel -- and not in the middle of the 7 year period.

But the spiritually challenged PreWrath guys ignore or certainly dance around Revelation 6:12-17 where it is clearly stated that the wrath of God begins at the front end of the tribulation, even though the final outpouring of wrath is described by the Bowls of Wrath in Revelation 16.

This statement simply proves without a shadow of doubt that Couch is comfortable with only talking to his own readers who he thinks will not check his statements or sources.

He says that we "ignore" Revelation 6:12-17. Really? Apparently, Couch has never read any of the following sources:

The Sign (Updated Edition) by Van Kampen, pp. 294-95.

The Prewrath Rapture of the Church by Rosenthal

Parousia Newsletter (Winter, 2000) "The Rapture Initiates the Day of the Lord." Charles Cooper exegetes this text extensively.

Prewrath Debate. Cooper during the debate, responded substantively to Couch on Rev. 6:17.

Mr. Couch, it is you sir who is ignoring what Prewrath has written on this text. He also said that we can "dance around" this text. Where are his citations? his documentation? I have provided him these prewrath sources where this text is dealt with. So I challenge him to demonstrate from these primary Prewrath sources where we have "danced" around the text.

At the first of the tribulation, in Revelation 6:16-17, the world cries out (not the church or the Christians crying out), "Hide us from the presence of Him who sits on the throne, and from the WRATH of the Lamb; for THE GREAT DAY OF THEIR WRATH "HAS ARRIVED" (Aorist Tense, it is already here at the beginning of the tribulation) and who is able to stand [up under it].

Couch invokes the Greek tense called the "Aorist" suggesting that God's wrath has already been happening and hoping that his readers will accept his word for it.

Unlike Couch who does not explain what the "Aorist" tense is, I will. In Greek there is a common tense called the "aorist" which we do not have in English. Contrary to popular thought out there the aorist tense is the least significant tense in Greek. Strangely one will hear pastors often preaching and making a big deal about this or that word in the "aorist." I personally think it has this mythic connotation because it is not found in English so it seems mysterious to those who do not know Greek. So Couch can throw it out there even though he does not have a proper understanding to its meaning -- but people accept his word because of that "Dr." in front of his name so he must be right!

Let me demythologize the aorist tense. The aorist does not denote "past time" as some commonly understand it; and it does not denote a "once-for-all action." Some wrongly believe that it is a past tense because it can often be a past action. Though it is commonly in a past action, it can also be an action in the present, future, or just timeless. Only context -- not the fact it is aorist -- tells us what time the action occurs.

The aorist is what is called the "indefinite" or "undefined" tense. It does not tell you the type of action such as specifying its duration, nor again does it tell the time that the action takes place.

The aorist is often known as the "background" or "snapshot" or "summary" tense (there are some nuances to those notions). An author would choose the aorist tense to represent the action of the verb as a complete whole -- i.e. stating an undefined action without giving specific information of the type of action such as focusing on the beginning or ending of the action, its duration, or whether it is repeated or not. That information about the action of the verb can only come through lexical, grammatical, or other contextual indicators.

So going back to Couch's claim that the wrath of God has been unfolding because "has come" (ἦλθεν, elthen) is simply in the aorist tense is fallacious and does not account for context that indicates that the ungodly are fleeing to the caves because of the impeding wrath of God.

For a good example, the same exact verb in the aorist tense is used in Mark 14:41 when Jesus says, "the hour is come [impending]; behold, the Son of man is betrayed into the hands of sinners." The context clarifies that Christ is speaking of impending or ingressive action.

(As noted above there are prewrath sources for reference for further reading on this text.)

Since the church does not go under any part of the tribulation it will be gone in the PRETRIBULATIONAL RAPTURE before Revelation 6!

Here Couch assumes that the first six seals are God's wrath. I have written an article on that very assertion that you can read here rather than repeating myself.

Remember people who come up with such silly views have an agenda at stake. They want the church to be "purged" by the pain of the tribulation or just flat out cannot stand the clear teaching of Pretribulational Rapturists! They want to argue just to argue! They work disparately [sic] hard to create another view in order to deny the obvious. They need to go to counseling!

Wow, three exclamation points. We want to "argue just to argue!" Yep, that's right, I have nothing better to do with my time. We work "hard to create another view in order to deny the obvious." Huh? I won't attempt to understand that one. We "need to go to counseling!" It is truly hard to believe that Couch has any advanced degree with these sort of immature statements that would undermine anyone's credibility seeking to be heard.

It is no wonder that many pretribs have seen right through these emotional appeals and have been convinced of prewrath.

We did not have any meaningful argumentation provided by Couch, nor did he cite sources or even attempt to interact with accurate prewrath representation. What we got was a slipshod, flippant response. I would not hold my breath that this will change in his subsequent entries.

Joel Rosenberg on Muslims Converting to Christianity

Here is an encouraging story by Joel C. Rosenberg.

The Prewrath Guys Responding to Dr. Mal Couch

Mal Couch has started a series responding to "the Prewrath Rapture Guys" here. I thought it would be appropriate to respond back!

He writes,

"I thought the PreWrath Rapture guys had been put out to pasture a long time ago! But I guess error has a way of continually re-surfacing again and again."

I read his part one article hoping that there would be some new argumentation from pretrib teachers but sadly found strawmen and sophomoric statements such as,

"They need to go to counseling!"

"But the spiritually challenged PreWrath guys ignore or certainly dance around..."

Not to mention his use of using CAPITAL LETTERS to get his point across as if that lends credibility to his argumentation.

Yes, believe it or not, he is one of the more noted pretrib teachers.

Next week I will address his article point by point demonstrating that Mal Couch is ignorant in his use of Greek (he commits the "aorist is the past tense" fallacy!). Further, he shows no evidence of understanding the prewrath view (or wanting to) and he makes hackneyed assumptions when he argues against the prewrath view which only begs questions.

We can understand why Mal Couch and other pretrib teachers won't debate us in public moderated debates anymore after Cooper and Best dismantled Couch in a debate in Texas back back in 1999.

The Growing Prewrath Family

I recently had an appointment with a Doctor in Murfreesboro Tennessee, who is a specialist, for a problem I was having. As he was going over my information he noted that I was retired. He asked what line of work I had been in and I replied, the ministry. He then asked what denomination? To which I answered Baptist. He sat back in his chair and said, Oh you must be pre-millenial and pretrib? Not knowing what was coming I rather slowly responded, I am pre-millenial but not pretrib. Uh huh so what are you, he asked and of course I quickly answered prewrath. He jumped out of chair and said I must shake your hand, so am I! He had read The Sign and The Rapture Question Answered some years ago and said finally the timing of the rapture makes sense. What a good time we had discussing eschatology, and oh yes he cared for my problem as well.

I have just concluded a prophecy conference at Barfield Baptist Church in Murfreesboro Tennessee. The Sunday through Wednesday conference was well attended and well received as I had opportunity to present the biblical basis for the prewrath rapture. One man, not from the church, attended every session, his interest came because his neighbor had given him a copy of The Rapture Question Answered by Robert VanKampen. Once you discover the truth you want to share it with others. What a joy it is to see people taking notes and digging into the Word of God with eagerness like the Bereans of old (Acts 17:11). Once again I found so many Christians accepting the faulty pretrib position simply because that is what they had been taught. It was a delight as well to work with a pastor who is open to discovering the truth of God's Word and not tied into simply what he had been taught. Barfield Baptist is a wonderful growing church and it was my privilege to share the Word of God with them.

Roger Best

Prewrath StoryComing to the Prewrath Position Naturally

Michael Rogers explains,

I accepted Jesus Christ in 1979 and entered the Baptist Denomination where I served the Lord for eighteen years. I was trained very well in the study of God's Word and I have always hungered for truth no matter what the topic. I found myself some years later in the Pentecostal church where I served as an elder for many years. I answered God's call on my life and after finishing bible college I started a church in Bellefontaine Ohio. While I was under my former pastor we would often sit in his office and discuss the may topics of Scripture that the church struggled with, such as eternal security, tithing, etc. One day he asked me what I believed concerning the Rapture. My response was simple, I believed in the Rapture and believed it could occur at any moment. I had never heard of the prewrath rapture position nor of the authors who have written on the subject. My pastor, instead of enlightening me on the subject challenged me to study the topic out starting with Matthew 24. At the time I did not know he was a prewrath advocate. I took the challenge and spent a year searching the subject out using Matthew 24 as my spring board. It wasn't long before I connected all the dots and what I found both excited me and scared me. I was afraid to share my findings with my pastor for fear I would be rejected. But, I entered his office one day and told him I had concluded my study and shared with him my new found belief. I explained to him that I saw the Rapture as "Prewrath" and that the church would enter Daniel's 70th week and suffer persecution by Antichrist after which the church would be raptured. Without saying a word he just smiled at me, got up from his chair, pulled a book from his book case and handed it to me. It was the Prewrath Rapture of the Church by Marvin Rosenthal. I was shocked that not only did the doctrine exist but books existed on the subject. I took the book and read it through two times. Though my findings was vague in comparison to Marvin Rosenthal's book my study matched his exactly. This confirmed that I had discovered truth. That was eight years ago, and I have been studying the prewrath rapture ever since and teaching it where ever I can. At this time I am not pastoring a church and I am finding it difficult to get the message out. I fear that the churches lethargic attitude concerning the Second Coming of Jesus is only setting the church up for the Apostasy. Pray with me and for me as I want to do my part to get the truth of God's Word out. If there is anything I can do to be apart of this movement please let me know.

Amazing on Amazing Grace…

The Colossal Statue and The Four Beasts in Daniel

Daniel 2: The Colossal Statue

Theme            Liberal Critics              Amillennial                 Premillennial
                        (e.g. Driver)                (e.g. Young)              (e.g. Gaebelein)

Gold Head           Babylon                    Babylon                       Babylon

Silver Torso          Media                       Medo-Persia               Medo-Persia

Bronze Thighs      Persia                       Greece                        Greece

Iron Legs,             Greece                      Rome              Rome/Revived Rome
Iron Clay Feet                                     

Daniel 7: The Four Beasts

Theme             Liberal Critics               Amillennial                  Premillennial

Lion                    Babylon                       Babylon                       Babylon

Bear                    Media                         Medo-Persia                Medo-Persia

Leopard              Persia                          Greece                         Greece

Beast w/              Greece                        Rome               Rome/Revived Rome
Iron Teeth                                                 
& 10 Horns                                                
Little Horn         Antiochus IV                Antichrist                    Antichrist
                            Epiphanes

(Source for the Chart: Lecture notes from Dr. J.J. Niehaus, Old Testament Prophetical Books)

The ESV Study Bible — Mostly Good News…and Some Bad News

As many of you may know, the much touted ESV Study Bible will be launched this year (October 15). It will be a superb study bible indeed looking over the list of the contributors.

I am very pleased to see that they chose Colin Nicholl to write the 1 and 2 Thessalonians' study notes. I look forward to reading them. Dr. Nicholl has a new approach to the traditional outline of Thessalonians. Having studied under him, I was persuaded that he is correct. As far as I know, his view of the outline will be reflected in the notes.

I was disappointed though that they chose a non-futurist to write the Revelation notes, amillennialist Dennis Johnson. I think it it safe to say that most of the ESV's readership have a futurist approach to Revelation and not amillennialist, so choosing an amillennialist is an enigma to me. Indeed, other contributors have some input in all the books, but don't expect to find distinctive futurist interpretations since they will be overshadowed mostly by a spiritualizing hermeneutic leaving God's plan for a future Israel in the dust, and a time frame of events only "symbolic" of this and that. I could be wrong, but we will find out with its release.

If you use the ESV I would recommend purchasing the study bible, but understand that study notes should not be a replacement for doing in-depth studies yourself as well as reading and referencing actual commentaries on individual books of the Bible.

The “Coming” (Parousia) and the “Day of the Lord” are Interchangeable (Co-Referential) Terms

The New Testament writers including Jesus understood that the "Day of the Lord" and the "Coming" (Parousia) denoted the same events at Christ's Return (deliverance of the godly and judgment on the ungodly.) The two terms often emphasized different aspects of Christ's Return -- "Coming" with deliverance, and "Day of the Lord" with the judgment aspect.

Peter gives us an excellent example in which he freely interchanges these two terms denoting the same event of the conflagration of creation:

(10) But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up. (11) Since all these things are to be destroyed in this way, what sort of people ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness, (12) looking for and hastening the coming (parousia) of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be destroyed by burning, and the elements will melt with intense heat. - 2Pet 3:10-12

Variant Terms are Employed in the Use of the “Day of the Lord”

Ben asks,

"If you are saying that the Day of the Lord and the Day of Christ are the same event, does that mean that the Day of the Lord is the rapture?"

The "Day of the Lord (or Christ)" commences with the deliverance of the righteous by the rapture followed by God's wrath against the ungodly who remain on the earth.

But a few comments should be made about variant descriptions of our Lord's Return described most commonly as "The Day of the Lord."

First, Paul and other New Testament writers commonly used "Lord" and "Christ" interchangeably in many Christological contexts. Not to mention that they frequently combine the terms throughout the New Testament (e.g. 14 times in the Thessalonians),

"Paul and Silvanus and Timothy, To the church of the Thessalonians in God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ." - 2Th 1:1-2

Second, Paul has the freedom to extend the traditional term "Day of the Lord" to "Day of our Lord Jesus Christ" because his Christology teaches him that the Lord is Jesus Christ. In the Old Testament era, Christ was not revealed. In the New Testament apostolic era the apostles have learned that the "Day of the Lord" is a time when Christ will be magnified and vindicated; hence the "Day of Christ" or "Day of our Lord Jesus Christ."

Third, When Paul places an emphasis on our sanctification or the deliverance of the righteous at Christ's Return he has used the term "The Day of Christ" or a variant of it; and when he wants to place emphasis on the judgment aspect of Christ's Return he often employs "The Day of the Lord." But it would be a mistake to confuse these emphases on different aspects of the Coming of our Lord by disconnecting the rapture from its immediate subsequent wrath of God (They are back-to-back events).

Fourth, to begin to appreciate the freedom that the New Testament writers had with the traditional term "Day of the Lord" here is a good sampling of variants:

Pauline: "the day of Christ"; "the day of Jesus Christ"; "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ"; "the day of the Lord"; "the day"; "that day"; "the day of wrath." Non-Pauline: "the days of the Son of Man (Luke 17:22, Noah); "the great day" (Rev. 6.17); "the day of visitation" (1 Peter 2:12); "the last day" (John 6); "the day of judgment" (1 John 4:17)

Variant Terms are Employed in the Use of the “Day of the Lord”

Ben writes,

"If you are saying that the Day of the Lord and the Day of Christ are the same event, does that mean that the Day of the Lord is the rapture?"

The "Day of the Lord (or Christ)" commences with the deliverance of the righteous by the rapture followed by God's wrath against the ungodly that remain on the earth.

But a few comments should be made about variant descriptions of our Lord's Return described most commonly as "The Day of the Lord."

First, Paul and other New Testament writers commonly use "Lord" and "Christ" interchangeably in many Christological contexts. And so to make this eschatological context the sole exception is not warranted.

Second, Paul has the freedom to extend the traditional term "Day of the Lord" to "Day of our Lord Jesus Christ" because his Christology teaches him that the Lord is Jesus Christ! In the Old Testament era, Christ was not revealed. In the New Testament apostolic era the apostles have learned that the "Day of the Lord" is the time when Christ will be magnified; hence the "Day of Christ."

Third, When Paul and other writers place an emphasis on the deliverance of the righteous at Christ's Return they often use the term "The Day of the Christ"; and when they want to place emphasis on the judgment aspect of Christ's Return they employ "The Day of the Lord". But it would be a mistake though to confuse these emphases on different aspects of the Coming of our Lord by disconnecting the rapture from its immediate subsequent wrath of God.

Fourth, to begin to appreciate the freedom that the New Testament writers had with the traditional term "Day of the Lord" is a good sampling of variants:

Pauline: "the day of Christ"; "the day of Jesus Christ"; "the day of our Lord Jesus Christ"; "the day of the Lord"; "the day"; "that day"; "the day of wrath." Non-Pauline: "the days of the Son of Man (Luke 17:22, Noah); "the great day" (Rev. 6.17); "the day of visitation" (1Peter 2:12); "the last day" (John 6); "the day of judgment" (1John 4:17)

The Law: All 613 Commandments!

Here are all 613 Commandments.

"For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." - James 2:10

"For as many as are of the works of the Law are under a curse; for it is written, "CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO DOES NOT ABIDE BY ALL THINGS WRITTEN IN THE BOOK OF THE LAW, TO PERFORM THEM."" - Gal 3:10

"After glancing through that list of all 613 commandments, I suddenly have a renewed appreciation for Christ's active and passive obedience. No hope of heaven without it. And what a blessing (and a relief) it is to know that because of Christ, God sees me as though I had kept all 613!" - Kim Riddlebarger

Old Testament Chronology and the Ancient Near East

Here is a handy chart that lists the Ancient Near Eastern Kings along with the Biblical Kings. HT: Justin Taylor

PowerPoint Notes Available on Responding to the Post-Tribulation Position on 1Thessalonians 4:17

One of the sessions of my Thessalonian lectures at this past year's conference was on a response to Post-Tribulationism and their interpretation of 1 Thessalonians 4:17. My PowerPoint is available for download below. Please understand something though. This is a lecture from PowerPoint slides. So smooth transitions from slide to slide are obviously missing as well as explanatory notes on each slide, given the nature of a lecture. However, there are facts and information on each slide that one can learn from on this passage. I also intend to render this information into a blog article in due time.

Ok, here you are: Post-Trib on 1Thess.4.17.ppt Feel free to modify it to your teaching purposes.

The Best Archaeological Guide to Israel

Todd Bolen says,

The best archaeological guide to Israel is now out in its fifth edition. The Holy Land: An Oxford Archaeological Guide, by Jerome Murphy-O'Connor is the best companion for a trip to ancient sites anywhere in Israel. The section on Jerusalem is especially lengthy (150 pages in the 4th edition), and the whole is accurate and readable. Don't expect to find out about hotels or restaurants - this is a guide to archaeological sites only! The 4th edition came out in 1998, so while I haven't yet seen the new edition, I expect it will have significant updates. The author has lived in Jerusalem longer than I have been alive.

Some Basics Facts on the Qur’an that We Should Know

Addendum: Here is a table of Surahs of the Qur'an in Chronological Order

I would like to note that some of you may have noticed that I often blog James R. White's apologetic materials here once in a while. The reason I do so is for two reasons: First, he is considered one of the foremost Evangelical Christian apologists in our today. And second, there is no one overall doing better work in these three apologetic areas: Islam, Roman Catholicism, and Mormonism. So you are being exposed to getting the best of the best responses to objections of Christian claims.

ParousiaWhat’s in a Name?

The term "parousia" is the Greek term behind many of the references to the Coming of Christ in our English Bibles. It is one of the most important terms in eschatology. It is a rich term and has nuance depending how an author used it. Charles Cooper devoted a chapter to its usage in his most recent book, God's Elect and the Great Tribulation.

And I would like to refer you to the inaugural issue of the Parousia Newsletter titled "What's in a Name?" which discusses this all-important term. You can download the backissue here. To be able to read the newsletter you need the Adobe Reader which you can download here if you do not already have it.

A Primer on How to Study the Bible

Michael Weis has written an essay on principles to use when interpreting the Bible. You can download the Word document here: How to Study the Bible.doc

PowerPoint Notes Available on the Classic Rapture Passage of 1Thessalonians 4:13-18

One of the sessions of my Thessalonian lectures at this past year's conference was on the classic rapture passage. My PowerPoint is available for download below. Please understand something though. This is a lecture from PowerPoint slides. So smooth transitions from slide to slide are obviously missing as well as explanatory notes on each slide, given the nature of a lecture. However, there are facts and information on each slide that one can learn from on this passage. And if you want to hear a coherent presentation on this text, then come to the next conference that I teach on it again! However, when time allows I hope to render some of these points made in the PowerPoint into blog articles.

Ok, here you are: 1Thess4.13-18.ppt Feel free to modify it to your teaching purposes.

p.s. I will be posting my PowerPoint lecture notes responding to the post-tribulational interpretation of this passage next week.

Passion Week Geography

This google map and google earth feature of the events leading up to the crucifixion will give you a fuller view of the locations along with descriptions of each event. HT: JT

God Has Spoken With Clarity On His Son’s Coming

There are many today who believe they are pious for doubting that God has spoken with clarity on the Return of his Son. They are called Panmillennialists (i.e. "we cannot know...it will all pan out in the end.")

But Jesus teaches in Matthew 24 that this attitude of panmillennialism is sinful, and exhorts us not to have doubt but know, "even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door."

Charles Spurgeon's words here on doubters applies to those post-moderns who call themselves evangelicals and sadly extol doubt as a virtue and certainty as a vice. May God turn their hearts back to the plain and clear words of our Lord.

Next-Generation Web Technology

"Tim Berners-Lee said, [...] that ability paled in comparison to what could be achieved on the "web of the future", which he said would allow any piece of information -- such as a photo or a bank statement -- to be linked to any other....It's about creating a seamless web of all the data in your life."

Read the entire article here.

Jesus is God Because the Bible Tells Me So

New End-Time Novel With A Prewrath Flavor

Kristen Wisen has written a recent end-time novel. Click here for information about the book and author.

The Rapture Index is Spiking!

The dollar and stocks may be very low but the rapture index is very high at 168, the record is 182 (This is not a joke according to the Rapture Ready site).

(H.T. Kim)