Yesterday I taught Numbers 14 in which the Israelites rebel against the Lord and lose the kingdom. I want to go beyond Moses’s day now and identify an important parallel that may provide some clarity in thinking about Jesus’s ministry. To refresh on Numbers 14, the Israelites listened to their leadership (ten spies) in refusing… Read More »
Lately I’ve been reading through the articles at the back of the new NIV Zondervan Study Bible. I like “big picture” articles, and I expect a lot from contributors with names like D. A. Carson, Douglas Moo, T. D. Alexander, and Moisés Silva. Since some of these writers were also the editors of the Bible,… Read More »
Sometimes I think that dispensationalism is represented out of ignorance, but other times I am not so sure. In any case, it is one thing for students of the Scripture to reject dispensationalism when they understand it correctly and something else when they are rejecting a caricature. Here are four more misconceptions: 5. The escape… Read More »
Perhaps without exception, dispensationalism is not accurately understood or described by those who do not accept it. One common failure is to emphasize features that were articulated by one person 100 years ago but which are not widely held today. Opponents often stress aspects that dispensationalists do not believe. This includes: 1. The significance of… Read More »
One’s view of the millennium affects more than the way one would draw an end-time chart. As is clear from the previous posts, some see “end times” events as occurring right now whereas others believe they are yet future. This has a significant impact on what one believes about God’s work in the world today… Read More »
I am convinced that premillennialism is the best interpretation of the biblical texts of God’s plan for the future, but I am much more comfortable with what is known today as the dispensational variety of premillennialism. What’s the difference between what I believe and what someone like John Piper would affirm? Historic premillennialism sits on… Read More »
A historical perspective can help to understand the various millennial views. Premillennialism was the predominant view of the early church. Amillennialism became the majority view following the merging of the church and state at the time of Constantine. The Reformers (Luther, Calvin, and others) rejected much of the doctrine of the Roman Catholic Church but… Read More »
Perhaps another way to understand the various millennial views is by looking at how they agree on certain points and disagree on others. I ‘ll just use the prefixes to designate the views. Post- and a- agree that the thousand years is not to be taken as signifying 1,000 years of 365 days. Like most… Read More »
The TMC Bible department has been asked to speak in chapel this week on premillennialism. I began the series on Monday with a message on the case for premillennialism from the Old Testament. Dr. Varner spoke on the New Testament today, and a panel will answer questions on Friday. My message is now online, but… Read More »
I quote John Piper for this only because I heard it this morning in listening to the audio book of Finally Alive. He gives classic expression to what most Christians think about the “kingdom of God” or the “kingdom of heaven.” Jesus said to Nicodemus in John 3:3, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, unless… Read More »