Blessings of Revelation

Many of the Millennial Dreams posts have been left brain theology and I for one struggle to keep up. But left brain is not all there is to Revelation. In a nutshell Revelation is participating in His rightful eternal glory. Picture the cheering crowds with Christ on the throne.

And so we are blessed by reading Revelation. This book gives us our wonderful future in images and symbols. We in the church are the bride getting ready for our bridegroom. A wedding is the ultimate symbol in a book full of symbols.

We are the bride being prepared for our future
of worshipping Christ,
the Lamb of God,
on His throne
forever
and ever
in Heaven
where there is no
more death nor tears
and all of our existence and theology finally makes sense.

Our bridegroom may come at any moment.
Too wonderful and exciting!

Revelation promises a blessing. Apart from theology, authors and commentators, how are you being blessed by reading Revelation?

Wishes for the Millennium...

On this early Sunday morning I am at work fixing a critical on-line computer problem. I've just fixed it and am investigating the cause. I am looking forward for the curse of the Fall to be eliminated. It would be nice if it happened now and it effected computer systems.

Earl's Personal Purpose Statement

Some years ago I wrote my personal purpose statement in my blog, MetaSchema. The typical one for most Presbyterian/Reformed people usually follow is the Westminster Shorter Catechism: Q: What is the chief end of man? A. Man’s chief end is to glorify God, and to enjoy him forever. I agree with the statement, but I decided to take a different tack. It fleshes out my understanding of glorifying God and enjoying Him forever. I also tried to write this so someone without a Christian background could have some hope of understanding what I was saying. My purpose statement is:

Christ-Centered, Cross-Focused

It’s not original, it’s not catchy, it’s not grammatically correct for a purpose statement. Where are the verbs?

There are several reasons I selected this:

• Jesus Christ is the goal of creation, and the goal of my life.
• Jesus’ death on the cross is the pivotal work that Jesus did.
• There are no verbs in this statement because God in Christ did all the work.

Christ is the eternal Son of God, the second person of the Trinity (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). The Father created the universe through Christ, for Christ.

God, in addition to everything that he is, is holy and perfect. God demands perfection from me. I am anything but perfection. I fall far short of perfection in everything that I do. It’s not because of my finiteness, my weakness. It is because I have a deep streak of rebellion against God and all that he is (the term for this rebellion is sin). God is perfectly just in condemning me. There is no hope for me against the perfect God.

But God, in full cooperation with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, sent the eternal Son, Christ, who became the man Jesus. Jesus lived a perfect life and took on all the sin in my life and others who would place their faith in him, and took the punishment for my sin on the cross. God also gives Jesus’ perfect life, his righteousness, and gives it to me. All of this is done on God’s part, even the part where I awaken, to realize my sin, to have a desire for God, repenting about my rebellion, and relying on what Jesus has done for me in paying for my sin on the cross and having Jesus's good life credited to me -- all of this is done by God. This is the reason of the lack of verbs in my purpose statement. God has done it all for me in Jesus' perfect life and in Jesus' death on the cross.

Even as I continue walking in faith throughout my life, the growth is brought about by God. Hence there is still the lack of verbs in my purpose. It is all centered on Christ. Christ is there for me, and where I do any action is this: relying on Christ, seeking him where he can be found. The places where Christ can be found is what the Reformers in the Reformation referred to as the means of grace. These include reading the Bible, prayer, hearing the word of God preached, baptism, and communion. None of these things are things I do to make myself better, rather these are where God is, where I know that God interacts with me. Everything flows from this, including all the works that God has prepared in advance for me. This colors how I view the rest of the world.

"The Greatness of the Great Commission" by Dr. Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

The Greatness of the Great Commission: The Christian Enterprise in a Fallen World

Download PDF File

"Save Souls, Not Cultures!"This has been the motto of twentieth-century evangelism. Having encountered heavy resistance to the prophet's message of comprehensive revival and restoration in history, modern evangelical Christianity has abandoned the prophets. Unlike Jonah, who grew weary of life in the belly of a whale, modern evangelicalism has not only grown accustomed to the Church's cultural irrelevance today, it has actually proclaimed this pathetic condition as God's plan for the "Church Age." But is it? Not according to Jesus' instructions to His Church: the discipline (putting under God's discipline) of all nations. "Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen" (Matthew 28:19-20).

Paul makes it clear that the progressive expansion of Jesus' kingdom in history will continue until all things are under His dominion, on earth, before He returns physically to judge the world. "For he must reign, till he hath put all enemies under his feet. The last enemy that shall be destroyed is death" (I Corinthians 15-25-26).

*

This was David's message, too: The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou at my right hand, until I make thine enemies thy footstool. The Lord shall send the rod of thy strength out of Zion: rule thou in the midst of thine enemies (Psalm 110:1-2).

*
In The Greatness of the Great Commission, Rev. Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr. presents a comprehensive biblical case for God's comprehensive salvation and restoration in history. Sin is comprehensive; God's healing grace is no less comprehensive. Whenever sin reigns today, there God speaks to sinful man and offers a way of escape. "There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it" (I Corinthians 10:13). To argue that the Great Commission does not include every aspect of today's cultures - all of Satan's kingdom - is to argue that there is no way of escape in many areas of life.

The war between God's kingdom (civilization) on earth and Satan's kingdom (civilization) on earth is total, encompassing every aspect of life. The Great Commission calls the Church (in this "Church Age") to make a full-scale attack on modern humanist civilization, but always in terms of a positive message and practical program: a better way of life in every area of life. This is the greatness of the Great Commission. It must not be narrowed to exclude culture from God's special grace.

"Go therefore and disciple all nations." the Great Commission states that all nations are to be discipled. Sadly, today's evangelicals have reduced Jesus' last command to mean only that individuals and families are to be discipled. Dr. Gentry takes a careful look at the biblical context and background of the Great Commission. His conclusion? That when God tells us to take over the world, He means it! Gentry shows the biblical methods of world conquest, which do not involve political takeovers but rather service and evangelism.

"Why I Am A Postmillennialist" by Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen -- Part 2

Question 2: What does the Bible teach about the nature of Christ's kingdom in earthly history before Christ's return? (little physical success? or lots of physical success?)

Matt. 28:18-20 Jesus has all power in heaven and earth. He is with the church and tells the church to disciple the nations.
Heb. 10:9-13 Christ is now sitting at the right hand of God reigning over all creation expecting that His kingdom is going to subdue all enemies.
Rev. 11:15 The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms of our Lord, and of His Christ; and He shall reign forever and ever. Jesus has already established His kingdom and is reigning.
Math. 12:28 Christ has already established His kingdom.
Psalm 2:8 The Son merely needs to ask the Father, and the Father will give Him the heathen for His inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for His possession.
Matt. 12:29 Jesus tells us that the establishment of His kingdom will have the effect of spoiling Satan's house. He has bound the strong man so that now He can take whatever the strong man once controlled (what was once under Satan's domination).
Rev. 20:1-3 When Jesus came into this world, He bound Satan. Christ did this, so that Satan would deceive the nations no more. Satan is still active but Christ specifically curtails Satan's ability to ruin the religious mentality of the nations, to lead the nations into superstition, idolatry, and unbelief.
Matt. 16:18 Christ is building His kingdom in the world through the church by the power of His Spirit. The gates of Hell shall not hold up against the onslaught of the church.
Heb. 2:9 Jesus is crowned with glory and honor.

Premillennialism teaches that Christ's enemies will be subdued, but physically by violence and threats AFTER Jesus returns.

But Scriptures teach that Christ is working through His Spirit to persuade the hearts of men to follow Him willingly.
Ps 110:3 People will give themselves willingly in the day of Christ's power.
Amillennialism teaches that Christ's enemies will be subdued, but AFTER Jesus returns, because in the New Heavens and New Earth all enemies will be banished. (Typically, the amillennialist thinks of the subduing of the nations [understood as the gentiles] in history as the kingdom of God being established in the gentile regions, but it does not mean that the gentiles in mass will be subdued. It is a representative conversion, rather than a wide spread conversion that is anticipated by the Great Commission.)
Thus, both premils and amils believe that the subduing of Christ's enemies occurs AFTER He returns.
It is distinctive to postmillennialists to believe that the Holy Spirit will bring a day of revival and that this world will belong to the Lord Jesus Christ someday if the church is faithful to its commission.
The postmillennialist asks the amillennialist to follow out his basically correct premises. If Satan is bound, then what do you expect to take place? The Bible gives reasons for confidence. Pick it up. Run with it. Let's go.
According to Paul, what is the timing of the subduing of the enemies of Christ? Consider 1 Cor. 15:20-28 >> Christ has risen from the dead. His rising is only the first fruits of a great harvest that is coming. Because Jesus rose from the dead, all of His people will rise from the dead. Christ's people will rise from the dead at His coming, then the end will ensue. When Christ comes and delivers the kingdom to His Father, He will have subdued all other opposition. The last enemy to be abolished is death. Death is defeated by the resurrection of the dead. The enemies of Christ must be subdued before the last enemy is subdued. Christ comes back, then we rise from the dead.
Thus the postmillennialist expects this glorious success for the kingdom to take place before Christ returns.
The confidence of the postmillennialist comes only from believing the promises and power of God.
Isaiah 9:6-7 Jesus will come and be made the Prince of Peace (God's king). And of the increase of His government and righteousness and justice and peace, there shall be no end. And this shall be accomplished not by human agency but by the zeal of Jehovah.

God is going to see to it that this kingdom grows in a mighty way. At Christ's return there will be a history of success with the church, not set backs.
The kingdom is like a mustard seed: from a very small start it grows to hugh proportions.
The kingdom works very subtlely but very thoroughly to permeate all areas, like leaven in bread dough that permeates throughout the loaf and causes it to rise.
According to the New Testament, Jesus is spoiling Satan's house right now. Christ is going to have every enemy subdued before the end. Jehovah's zeal is going to see to it.
Daniel 2:35,44,45 The day will come when mighty kingdoms will no longer exist. God is going to set up a kingdom that will supplant the kingdom of men. God's kingdom will grow into a mountain that will fill the earth: this is certain and sure.
Isaiah 2:2-4 In the latter days God will establish His house in His hill above all the others. God is going to exalt the church above all other kingdoms. As all nations come into the church they will learn God's law. As a result, the nations will no longer be consumed with matters of warfare.
Psalm 72:7-11 All nations shall serve Christ while moons (months) endure (while history is in operation). Those who dare to oppose Him are going to lick the dust.
Psalm 22:27 All the nations on earth are going to be converted (turned to Jehovah). This will occur before Jesus returns, because at His return there will be no more opportunity for conversion, because it will then be the end of history.
Isaiah 11:9 In that day (when all the above things promised are accomplished) the earth shall be full of the knowledge of Jehovah, as the water covers the sea (not just little representative puddles or drops here or there as in the amillennial view). This refers not to representative conversions from the nations, but of wide spread conversions.

Typically, the amillennialist professes no confidence of widespread growth of Christ's kingdom in history. Rather, some see the optimistic biblical promises as referring to the New Heavens and New Earth AFTER Christ's return. Others see these promises as referring to spiritual blessings within the church. However, some amillennialists expect almost a total lack of success of the church in history.

But the postmillennialist believes the expectations of Christ: that all His enemies will be subdued prior to His return. Yes, there will be suffering and struggles in many battles along the way. But in the end, Christ and His church will win and will triumph over all opposition in history. Then Christ will return and defeat the last enemy, death.

1 Corinthians 15:57 In spite of corruption, death, etc., God gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. But be steadfast, for our labor is not in vain in the Lord. Suffer? Yes, but unto victory.

Earl's Sanity Check 1: Non Contradiction

How I determine what escatological or end times viewpoint to adopt? I use an approach that I use for all Biblical studies. I approach it with several rules of thumb that interpretations must follow for me to consider it. This is the first part of a series of posts that I will publish from time to time specifying the rules I use to evaluate a viewpoint.

The first rule of thumb is that the view must be logically consistent. Why do I make this rule the very first rule rather than a central point of doctrine, such as the reliability of Scripture? The reason is that if logical consistency is not insisted from the very beginning, all attempts at reason and discussion are futile.

The basic law is:

Nothing can be true and false in the same sense (or same relation) at the same time.

For instance, we cannot say that at March 3, 2007 George Bush was the President of the United States and on March 3, 2007 George Bush was not the President of the United States. Someone who is sharp might say that on January 20, 2009 George Bush was the President of the United States and was not the President of the United States, since on that day the presidency was passed from George Bush to Barack Obama. However, a careful examination of the statement concerning George Bush shows this is true for certain times of the day but not for other times of the day.

Not only do we need to pay very close attention to the time issues, but we need to exercise care in the sense of the logical statements being made. For instance, some claim that the description of God as the Trinity is a logical contradiction. This is because God is one and at the same time God is three. Looking carefully at the creedal formulations of God as the Trinity uses different language to describe God's oneness (essence) from God's threeness (person). Because the one and three are stated in different senses or relations, the law of non-contradiction is not violated and so the creedal statement of the Trinity is logically consistent.

The rule not only applies to direct statements made about an interpretation, but it also applies to logical consequences that necessarily follow from an interpretation. Let me give an example. Suppose it is agreed that in principle Christ could return at any moment. Thus Christ could return this very day that you are reading this blog entry. Let us further suppose that an eschatological system was proposed where either a catastrophic period with a minimum duration spanning years must occur or a period of great visible advancement of the church must occur which will take at least a decade or more for it to happen. As we analyze either of these systems, we will discover as a necessary inference that Christ could not in principle return this day but that it would have to be delayed at least several years to several decades from now. While the advocates of either view would not state the obvious contradiction that Christ is going to return today and He will not return today, there is in the analysis that while they hold in principle Christ could return today, they also hold that Christ could not return today. This is a contradiction, and according to the law of non-contradiction, neither of these views can be true.

Why must this rule be assumed in the first place? Because imagine trying to argue a point without assuming this. It would mean anything goes. Discussion becomes meaningless. God exists and does not exist,. In fact, try to argue against the law of non-contradiction. It can't be done.

This rules out many systems of beliefs. For instance, the view that there is no absolute truth falls on its face because to assert that there is no absolute truth is the assert there is an absolute truth that there is no absolute truth.

In the area of eschatology, Jesus made several statements. The first is that you cannot pinpoint the time of Christ's second coming. There is an eschatological system that says the Christ will "rapture" the church (which is distinct from Christ's second coming) and that will start a precise countdown clock where the second coming will occur seven years later. This contradicts that you cannot pinpoint the time of Christ's second coming and that view must be rejected. The second is that Christ's second coming can occur any day. Any view which must delay Christ's return for the conditions to be met for Christ's return must also be rejected.

I'll Continue the series with another sanity check in a later post.

"Why I Am A Postmillennialist" by Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen

"Why I Am A Postmillennialist" by Dr. Greg L. Bahnsen

In a casual, not lecturing style Dr. Bahnsen presents in three downloadable audio files a simplified explanation from the Bible of why he believes the postmillennial system is the teaching of the Bible.

To download the three MP3 files ($1.99 each), click here.

Concerning millennial views, there are two questions to be asked and two attitudes for each question.

1. What does the Bible teach about the chronology of the history of Christ's kingdom, the flow of events? and 2. What does the Bible teach about the nature of Christ's kingdom in earthly history before Christ's return?

Question 1: What does the Bible teach about the chronology of the history of Christ's kingdom, the flow of events?

The first question we have to ask is:

In the future, does the Scripture allow for any great period of time between the return of Christ and the eternal state (i.e., premillennialism)? That is, does the Biblical chronology allow for a gap of 1,000 years to be inserted between the return of Christ and the bringing in of the New Heavens and the New Earth (i.e., the eternal state)?

If no such gap is allowed in Biblical chronology, then we must reject that particular view and all of the variants that go with it (rapture, timing of the tribulation [pre-, mid-, post-], identification of the Beast, the question of reinstituted animal sacrifices, etc.). We would then be left to answer the second question concerning the nature of Christ's kingdom.

In a simplified manner, what does the Bible teach on the question, then, of the chronology of the history of Christ's kingdom?

Acts 24:15

The Bible teaches us that a day is coming when there will be a general resurrection of men, both the just and the unjust.

John 5:28, 29

The Bible teaches that on a particular day and hour, Jesus will call everyone in the graves. It is at that point that men will be divided according to the resurrections: one to life, one to condemnation.

Thus, there is no room to insert 1,000 years between the resurrection to life which the just enjoy, and the resurrection to condemnation which the evil are going to experience.

Matthew 25:31,32,46

The Bible teaches, that a day is coming where Jesus will sit on His throne of glory and all the nations (no exceptions) will stand before Him. He will then make some go into the fold of the sheep (the righteous going into eternal life) and some into the fold of the goats (the evil going into eternal punishment).

Thus we see, with a general resurrection (all men being resurrected) and a general judgment (all men being judged) at one particular time, the Bible does not permit the insertion of a 1,000 year period between the return of Christ and the final judgment.

2 Thessalonians 1:7-10

There's a day coming where the following things will happen:
God's people, who are being afflicted, will no longer be afflicted but vengeance will come upon their afflictors, and they (God's people) will be glorified. The day is coming when those who do not believe will be judged with everlasting destruction, and those who do will be (1) relieved of their tribulation, and (2) glorified in their Savior. This is called the time of Christ's coming. It will be relief and judgment.

1 Thessalonians 4:13-17

Paul teaches here, that the coming of Jesus Christ (a public event, not a secret rapture), is with the resurrection of His saints.

So, 2 Thessalonians 1 teaches us that at His coming there will be relief for those who are afflicted (and they will be glorified in their Savior) and judgment upon those who disbelieve. In 1 Thessalonians 4 we learn that this will be the time that the saints are resurrected.

John 6:39,40,44

So, Jesus is coming to bring relief to His saints. And when He comes there will be a resurrection of all who have believed in Him. John tells us that according to Jesus, He will do this AT THE LAST DAY.

Is there any room for a 1,000 year period to be inserted? No, because when Jesus comes back, eternal destruction will come upon those who disbelieve. That will be the crack of doom for them.

1 Corinthians 15:22-28,52

Here we learn that the day of resurrection for the saints, which we have seen will be the last day of history according to Jesus, is going to take place and then the end will ensue. Paul says the day of resurrection will bring about the end, not 1,000 more years of drama. When Christ returns, His saints will be raised and He will deliver the kingdom to the Father, and that will be it.

Thus, the Bible does not teach the premillennial view, rather, the Bible teaches the postmillennial view as to the timing of events in history.

"Thy Kingdom Come" (Rev. Joe Morecraft Sermons)

Rev. Joe Morecraft addresses the meaning of "Thy Kingdom Come" in his 21 part series on the Lord's Prayer. Sermons 5-8 address the second petition, "Thy Kingdom Come".

Play or download these sermons, click here

"Thy Kingdom Come" (Westminster Larger Catechism)

The Westminster Larger Catechism answer to New Kid's question about the meaning of "Thy Kingdom Come" is found in question 191:

Question 191: What do we pray for in the second petition?

Answer: In the second petition (which is, Thy kingdom come), acknowledging ourselves and all mankind to be by nature under the dominion of sin and Satan, we pray, that the kingdom of sin and Satan may be destroyed, the gospel propagated throughout the world, the Jews called, the fulness of the Gentiles brought in; the church furnished with all gospel officers and ordinances, purged from corruption, countenanced and maintained by the civil magistrate: that the ordinances of Christ may be purely dispensed, and made effectual to the converting of those that are yet in their sins, and the confirming, comforting, and building up of those that are already converted: that Christ would rule in our hearts here, and hasten the time of his second coming, and our reigning with him forever: and that he would be pleased so to exercise the kingdom of his power in all the world, as may best conduce to these ends.

Comparing the Millennium and the Kingdom

In my earlier post to Earl I place the millenium in the future and was a Partial Preterist/Postmillenialist only so far. Okay, guys, after grappling and reading The Book of Revelation Made Easy I will give up my last sliver of pre-mil (didn't know it still was infecting me) and admit we are in the millennium now.

So I have another question.

When we pray thy kingdom come are we praying for the millennium? Or, are the Millennium and the Kingdom the same?

Earl's Cut to the Chase

I am guilty of diarrhea theology -- writing many words that muddies ideas and adds little clarification. New Kid rightly asks me to write plainly -- to cut to the chase. Here is what I believe concerning Revelation and eschatology:

1. When Christ came 2000 years ago, He opened the new age in which we live. This is when the millennium began because salvation was now being offered to all the nations.
2. How do we know we are in the millennium? The gospel is advancing throughout the world. Satan is bound, he cannot stop the spread of the gospel.
3. We also live in the tribulation. That began with Christ's first advent and will continue until his second coming.
4. I believe that Christ prophesied about the fall of Jerusalem in the Olivet discourse. But much of Christ coming in the clouds in glory speaks of the yet to happen second coming of Christ. I am open to a visitation of Christ in judgement in 70 AD, but that was not the close of the age then. The new age began with Christ's first advent and we are living in the millennial age that he ushered in.
5. Revelation is first and foremost about: “Jesus is gonna win!” (Poythress' quote of a janitor who read Revelation). It is the gospel of God's redemption of his people throughout history. It is about God's grace granting perseverance, sealing the Christians, and keeping them through all difficulties and trials. Its the story of difficult times with a glorious ending. Its the story of God actively involved right now, Christ ruling with his iron rod right now and summing all things up.
6. Revelation paints history in a series of overlays, repeated looks at history, painting different aspects of history. This view is called recapitulation.
7. Some of what Revelation speaks of have historical identification. Nero is possibly one of these, but Nero is not the final word of that kind of history, but a pattern.
8. There is nothing in principle that must happen before Jesus' second coming.
9. There may or may not be a final great tribulation yet to come. If there is, we should be able to see signs of its coming -- but it may come very quickly. This may be accompanied by the great apostasy. Further, given what has happened globally in the past century to other Christians around the world, we may indeed be in the great tribulation.
10. God's kingdom is advancing.
11. Christians achieve victory throughout Revelation in an ironic way. In the eyes of the world, Christians look or will look defeated in persecution, trial, and death. But these are the very things through which Christians are vindicated and victorious.

In summary, Christ is ruling. Christ is active in all Christians' lives even when they are in the midst of intense persecution and suffering. Christians will persevere because they are sealed and protected by God. Thus Christians do not need to fear the future or worry whether they can "hang on" in difficulty -- God will make sure they hang on.

The view I hold to is sometimes called "idealism" (poor name), amillennialism (also a poor name because that is just one part of many things about the view and it is postmillennial), and eclectic (in that it seems to pull concepts from various other views).

Some Groundwork

I'm going to quote from and briefly comment on a section of James Jordan's book "Through New Eyes" where he offers some helpful rules for interpreting biblical symbolism.

1."Biblical symbolism and imagery is not a code. The Bible does not use a symbol where a literal statement will do."

Jordan uses (coincidentally to the theme of this blog) the example of Revelation 13 and identifying the beast. By using the symbol of "beast" and the number "666" John is drawing together a host of prophetic associations. Jordan notes that John is alluding to "the beast in the Garden, Adam clothed in skins of beasts, Nebuchadnezzar turned into a beast (Daniel 4), the beasts in Daniel’s visions, the human beasts who rioted against Paul at Ephesus (1 Corinthians 15:32; Acts 19), etc." So while Nero is likely the most immediate "beast" John has in mind, he is not speaking only about Nero without reference to previous beasts or possibly future beasts.

2. "Biblical symbols do not exist in isolation. In the Bible, the entire symbolic world is one organized and unified worldview, a worldview that actually takes its rise in the first chapters of Genesis... The rest of the Bible simply unpacks their meanings."

This means that to understand Revelation (and, really, the whole of Scripture) we need to understand what is going on in the opening chapters of Genesis. We must keep in mind that while Genesis is the start of our Bibles, it is a product of the cultural and socio-linguistic context in which it was written.

3. "We must always have clear-cut Biblical indication for any symbol or image we think we have found. We don’t want to read the modern secular worldview into the Bible, but we don’t want to read the corrupt worldview of ancient Near-Eastern paganism into it either." (Bold in original text)

I should think this is common sense, but it is surprising how often commentators and lay-people of all stripes are guilty of doing this one way or another. While period ancient literature can be helpful we must take great care that we aren't reading another worldview into Scripture rather than letting Scripture dictate and shape our worldview.

4. "The heritage of the Church in systematic theology and in the history of exegesis is always a check on wild speculation."

Citing Ephesians 4:8, 10-11 Jordan admonishes, "The godly wisdom of these gifts, these men, is part of the treasure of the Church, and to ignore it is to despise the gifts of the Spirit." Our theology and exegesis, Jordan is saying, does not happen in a vacuum. We stand on the shoulders of those who came before us and we benefit from their godly exercising of their spiritual gifts. This is not to say that we are bounded by it, rather we should use our rich heritage as a tool to keep us from straying too far beyond our established orthodoxy.

5. "Biblical symbolism must be interpreted in terms of Biblical presuppositions and philosophy... The Bible has its own presuppositions and its own philosophy of type and allegory; we do not need to borrow anything from Plato."

Jordan is referring to the early Church and specifically to the school at Alexandria which was "notorious for allegorical and symbolic exegesis" by which they forced biblical teaching into Platonic categories and philosophy. Once again we want to make sure that Scripture is shaping our view and not the other way around. I think these interpretive rules, or guidelines, would be a big help in endeavoring to let Scripture do so, especially when talking about Revelation.

Cut to the Chase, Please

How are Postmillennialism and Partial Preterism different? How does Optimistic Amillennism that Earl subscribes to relate to this study? Or is Earl Eclectic or Ambivalent Eclectic? Maybe the answer is in an earlier posting, but at this point can we cut to the chase, simplify, give our “aha” moments in the pursuit of this topic? What is learned from each of the men that you, Bill and Earl, quote? Kindly give me the “aha”. Thanks.

Interpreting Matthew 24

Jesus left the temple and was going away, when his disciples came to point out to him the buildings of the temple. But he answered them, “You see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.” (Matthew 24:1, ESV)

Matthew chapter 24 is an interesting chapter. Jesus says some remarkable things that different groups interpret in various ways -- I'll discuss four:

Futurist

All Jesus describes in Matthew 24 has not happened yet and happen sometime in the future.

Preterist

All Jesus describes in Matthew 24 happened in the past around 70 AD.

Failed Preterist

Jesus and the Gospel authors meant the words to fit within the disciples' generation, but one or more of the prophecy failed. This is popular in a growing segment of skeptical biblical scholars.

Eclectic

Some of what Jesus said in Matthew 24 happened in 70 AD. Some of it continues to happen. Some if it has not happened yet. Jesus returning in glory with loud trumpets has not happened yet.

Each of these views have problems. I am assuming that Matthew was written prior to 70 AD, although it does not make that much difference if passage was written later. I will concentrate on what the original audience probably thought about the passage. Looking at the disciples reaction to Jesus' words provides clues how those hearing this in the first century would think about the passage. I they would understand it in the following way:

1. The events are going to start within the normal life span of the disciples (v. 34).
2. The gospel will be preached to the whole world before the end happens (v. 14).
3. Events listed as birth pangs that will signal that the end is coming, but the end is not here yet (v. 6-7). These birth pangs include:
   
   • False Christs.
   • Wars.
   • Famine.
   • Earthquakes.
   
   
4. Events which will defile the temple and Jerusalem, called the abomination of desolation, will signal a great tribulation is imminent. People with Jewish heritage then would remember Antiochus Epiphanes and his desecration of the Second Temple. Those who are alert will be able to see the signs and flee (v. 15-20).
5. The comming of Christ will be sudden and visible to all (v. 27). It will have the following properties:
   
   • All nations and tribes will see (v. 30).
   • It will be unmistakable, accompanied by loud trumpet, great glory (v. 31).
   • All the elect is seperated from the non-elect and gathered at this time (v. 31).
   • Accompanied by abrupt changes in the heavens (v. 29).
   
   
6. No one knows the time of Christ's return (v. 36), and it seems this will be the case until just before Christ's return.
7. The events seem to all take place in quick succession (v. 29).
8. All that is described will absolutely occur (v. 35).

None of the various views (Futurist, Preterist, Failed Preterist, Eclectic) appear to fit the list of observations perfectly. People in each perspective will claim with correct analysis, their view will fit perfectly. So far, I have not seen any analysis that perfectly explains Matthew 24. I am not saying that there is no correct analysis or the correct way that Matthew 24 should be understood which would eliminate all the issues -- I'm sure there is. Perhaps its been in front of my nose all the time but in my stupidty and stubborness I do not see it. 

I'll walk through each of these and discuss these observations. I'll look at the strengths and weaknesses of each view.  I will start with the Futurist veiw, followed by the Preterist view, the Failed Preterist view, and finally the Eclictic view. The view that I refer to as Failed Preterist is not a term to be derogatory about the Preterist view. It simply refers to a people who view that Jesus predicted the end of the world within the disciples' lifetime and think that Jesus was wrong. I examine the Eclectic view last because it picks things from the Futurist view and Preterist view.

Futurist

There are two types of Futurists: Historical Premillennialists and Dispensational Premillennialists. Dispensational by far is the most popular view today, although it is a a relatively young view. Historical Premillennialism had supporters for it dating almost all the way back to the "apostolic fathers". Historical does not have the concept of the rapture of the church.

Strengths -- Futurist's strengths are their concern for upholding the literal reading of the Bible. However, the futurist's blind spot is not recognizing how much they alagorize and symbolize the Bible. The strengths include:

1. Recognizes the gospel goes to the entire world (2).
2. Recognizes the birth pang aspects of many of the signs (3).
3. Recognizes the terrible tribulation accompanying the abomination of desolation (4).
4. Recognizes the coming of Christ will be visible to all (part of 5).
5. Recognizes the events take place in quick succession, in the span of less than a decade.
6. Commitment to these prophecies being true and will come to pass.

Weaknesses -- While futurists claim to read the Bible literally, there are many ways where the read passages outside of their plain, ordinary sense. With respect to Matthew 24, there problems are:

1. The events happen in the distant future for the disciples, violating (1). None of that generation will be alive for these events. There has to be some creative exegesis to get around this issue.
2. For Dispensational Premillennialists, there will be a seven year warning when Christ's second coming will occur, violating (6). When the secret rapture of Christ happens, there will be a seven year count down to when Christ will come again in visible glory. Historical Premillennialists do not have this problem, because there is no secret Rapture for them.

Preterist

Preterists' greatest strengths are their serious commitment to the prophecy being fulfilled within the same generation of the disciples. Preterist try to follow the literal sense of the Bible. Of anyone, Preterists are the one who understand the nearness of escatological language in the Bible.

Strengths -- The Preterists have a number of strengths:

1. The events were going to complete by 70 AD, well within the normal life span of the disciples (1).
2. The recognition of birth pangs (3). Preterists recognize that there would be wars and rumors of wars, earthquakes and famine that would point to the future return of Christ, but would not mean it would happen immediately. That said, the birth pangs and relatively short, historically speaking, only lasting a few decades from when Christ made his prophetic statements.
3. Recognizing the terrible tribulation accompanying the abomination of desolation (4).
4. The coming of Christ is sudden -- but not visible to all (5).
5. No one could predict when Christ return until the Roman army blockaded Jerusalem (6).
6. The events take place in quick succession (7).
7. The Preterist view asserts that all the Christ predicted did come true (8).

Weaknesses -- Preterism has a couple of major weaknesses:

1. The gospel was not close to being preached to the whole world in 70 AD (2). The gospel did not reach the northen european tribes, extend throught Africa, throughout Asia, the Americas, and Australia. Preterists claim that peoples from all the known world were present at Pentecost and so that was the intent of the preaching prophecy.
2. The coming of Christ was not visible to all in the world in 70 AD (5). R.C. Sproul and Gary DeMar claim that Christ made the appearence that was talked about in Matthew 24. However, the appearance was not accompanied by great glory for all the world to see. It was not loud (with trumpet call). Sproul talks about how Josephus writes that there were signs in the clouds around Jerusalem at the destruction of the temple. Even if Josephus' signs in the sky are to be taken as the manifestation of Christ coming in the clouds, it was not visible outside the environs of Jerusalem. The rest of the world did not take note of it that day.

Failed Preterist

The major weakness of the Failed Preterist view is their low view of scripture. Usually this view is the position of radical skeptics to the Christian faith.

Strengths -- The primary strengths of this view is that it holds that Christ and the very early Christians believed in all that Christ is said to have predicted in Matthew 24.

Weaknesses -- The major weakness of this view is that while Jesus might have gotten the destruction of the temple right, he did not get his second coming correct. Thus people holding this view believe that Jesus failed in his prophecy.

Eclectic

Eclecticism is almost a middle ground between Futurism and Preterism. It picks the strengths of Futurism and Preterism while trying to avoid the major weaknesses of either.

Strengths -- The strengths of this view include:

1. This recognizes Matthew 24 predicts the destruction of the temple that happened in 70 AD. The destruction occurred well within the normal lifespan of the disciples (1).
2. This recognizes that the gospel will be preached to the whole world before Christ returns (2).
3. Recognizes there will be birth pangs that will signal that the end is coming (3). For the Eclectic view, the birth pangs are recognized as a long process, spanning millennia. They argue that these pangs remind us that we are to be ready at all times.
4. Recognizes there will be a terrible tribulation accompanying the abomination of desolation (4). With the Preterist, the Eclectic view recognizes that Jesus was referring to destruction of the temple in Matthew 24.
5. Recognizes that the coming of Christ will be sudden and visible to all (5).
6. Recognizes that no one will know the time of Christ's return (6).
7. Affirms that all that is described will absolutely occur (8).

Weaknesses -- The weaknesses of this view are:

1. The biggest weakness of this view is that there is a very long interval from the start of the great tribulation to the time that Christ returns (violating 7).

As I evaluate the various perspectives, I immediately rule out Failed Preterism because I believe that all of Christ's words will happen. Secondly, I rule out Futurism because it is very obvious to me that Jesus was referring to the destruction of the temple in 70 AD in Matthew.

I am left with Preterism and Eclectism. I greatly respect both views. Between these two, I think Eclectism is the stronger position because Preterism fails to see how that the appearance of Christ in Matthew 24 is the second coming of Christ that everyone will see. Christ's appearance is described in such strong terms, in Matthew 24, and elsewhere, that I cannot see any real corresponence to the events of 70 AD to Christ's appearance as described in the passage. Further, I do not see the advance of the gospel to all the world in Preterism that is told in Matthew 24.

So I am left with Eclictisim. But what about its major weakness, the huge discontinuity between the tribulation of the destruction of the temple and the second coming of Christ? I admit this is not easily dismissed, but compared to the problems of Preterism with Matthew 24, this is not nearly as huge of a problem in my mind. Breifly, I see this as an aspect of "telescoping" in biblical prophecy, where one aspect of prophecy is fulfilled but the other is fulfilled later. Many of the Old Testament prophecies of the Messiah show this. The Messiah was described in some ways as a suffering messiah, but also in other ways  a victorious ruler. Christ's first coming showed more strongly the suffering nature of the prophecies. Christ's second coming will show the victorious aspects of the prophecies. Think of it as looking across a valley to a moutain range. As you survey the vista all the mountains look like one chain. However, if you drive to the range you discover what looked like one range is actually a series of mountain ranges, one after another, seperated by many miles. A similar thing is going on with the prophecy of Matthew 24. From the initial perspective of the disciples, the destruction of the temple and the end of the world looked one and the same to them. A careful examination of Jesus' words actually show these are seperate concepts. Our experience of two thousand intervening years show the expansion of this prophecy.

I analogize the positions of Futurism, Preterism, and Ecleticism with the great theological story of Goldilocks and the Three Bears.

Once upon a time, Goldilocks on one fine morning was walking in the woods and came the House of the Three Escatological Bears. The bears were out on their morning walk and in a deep passionate discussion of the fine points of end times. They were so absorbed in their discussion that the bears forgot to shut the door and left their breakfast of porridge on the table.

Goldilocks entered the front door and smelled the porridge. She got up on the Futurist Bear's chair and sampled the bowl, "Oh my, too hot with the cares of the future and escaping from them in a Rapture."

Goldilocks then moved over to the Preterist Bear's chair and tasted the porridge. "Oh my, too cold. The porridge was put in the bowl too long in the past. No warmth."

Goldilocks then moved over to the Eclictic Bear's chair and tasted the porridge. "Oh my goodness! this is neither too hot or too cold, it tastes just right."

Now, I know many of you right now are thinking of another line were it was said you are neither hot nor cold. Just goes to show you how analogies break down.

This is my initial look at Matthew 24. It makes the most sense to me. As I have discussed this topic with others I've seen people are place different weights on the strengths and weaknesses I've listed above. There is much more analysis that needs to be done than what I spent in this brief blog entry.

Taking a Stab at Some of Earl's Questions

Earl asked me some questions in an earlier comment on my earlier post and I said I would get back to him. So my answers don't get buried, I have put them in a new post with his earlier questions in italics.

In your view, asks Earl, does 70 AD cover all of Matthew 24?

Yep. The events around 70 AD, that is the destruction of the temple that was never rebuilt, were predicted to shortly take place in Matthew 24 and in Revelation.

A hypothetical question from Earl. If Dr. Gentry were to discover substantial evidence that Revelation was written in 95 AD that overturned his previous research, how would that change your interpretation of Revelation?

Dr. Gentry and others have given me insight into eschatology. If Gentry changes his opinion and opts for the scholars that lived around 300 AD, say, my opinion doesn't change, Earl. I take literally that these events would happen shortly. Dispensationalists don't take shortly literally, but they maintain so much else is literal and look for the signs, which keep changing ever so often when predictions don't pan out. When Scripture is symbolic, I take it biblically, matching Scripture for Scripture, but I don't take it literally. So much is symbolic in Revelation.

Earl. I am agnostic [sic] on the date of Revelation myself. Depending on the day of the week, I think it is written before 70 AD. Other days I think it is written around 95 AD.

Do you mean you are a non-believer by "agnostic"! That's an interesting term for indecision. It's good to be flexible, but I like the Scripture that says that these events will happen shortly. That is my belief and that is why I go with the earlier date.

I remember wondering years ago before I bought into any eschatology why Revelation was written so late when the other books of the New Testament were written earlier. I was taught that Revelation is prophecy just like Old Testament books are prophecy. Now I believe that 19 chapters out of 22 of Revelation are history, albeit what became symbolic history written by John in prison to his seven churches. It became history because the symbolism happened after the seven churches got this symbolically-rich letter and saw the events unfold.

Am I correct in assuming that you believe that the events surrounding 70 AD is the history that was fulfilled through Revelation 19 asks Earl of me?

Yep!

In your view, he says, the apostasy has not happened--correct? So I would assume you can't say whether the millennium has started or not--correct?

Yep. I don't know if the apostasy or the millennium have happened. If I did, I might make megabucks writing about it as Lindsey and LaHaye and Jenkins.

All I know is we are in the church age. The Messiah has come and has ascended into heaven. He will return. The term "millennium" is only written once I believe in Scripture. We have made most of our systems of eschatology over this term. I would not guess when the millennium is and if it is exactly 1000 years as dispensationalists do because in this case they take it literally; it could be symbolic for "a long time". Pretty much I shut down at Revelation 20 and wait to see the coming of the Lord and how, as some say, it will all pan out. I'm waiting to see the events unfold just as the seven churches were waiting to see the events unfold that already unfolded. While I'm waiting, I am hoping to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Savior who sits on the throne.

The Seven Churches

John to the seven churches that are in Asia:

Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and who is to come, and from the seven spirits who are before his throne, and from Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.

To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood and made us a kingdom, priests to his God and Father, to him be glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen. (Revelation 1:4-6, ESV)

John is writing to seven churches in Asia Minor. Click on the satellite photo on the left to get a larger picture of the region and location of the seven churches. But John is not just writing to these particular seven churches in history, John is also writing to all the churches throughout history after Christ's first coming until Christ's second coming in glory and power. Not only is John writing to churches collectively, but John is writing to Christians individually that make up the church.

From the first we see symbolism in play in Revelation. The number seven is used both literally because there are seven real churches Revelation is addressed to. But seven is also figuratively -- seven represents the full or complete number and hence indicates Revelation is written to the full church. Seven is also used to refer to the Holy Spirit ("seven spirits who are before his throne"). In this sense, seven only has figurative significance. The language of Revelation is symbolic imagery. We need to keep that in mind as we read and listen to the book.

John tells the seven churches, and also to us that we have grace and peace from God. We often forget the magnitude of this news. We deserve God's wrath for our sin, but instead we have grace and are at peace with God. We are freed from our sins through Christ's death which is the basis of our being at peace with God. This is great news!

There is more great news. God the Father reigns from his throne, Jesus has conquered death and being the first born implies we will follow in his steps. Further, Jesus rules the kings of the earth. No matter what we see in the world, Christ is ruling over the kings of the world. Not only that -- we rule also. All who belong to Christ are a kingdom of priests, we are intermediaries between God and the human race. This is a high calling.

God is ruling now. Christ has conquered death. We live in God kingdom as priests. We have been given great grace. As we go on in Revelation we will see how God reigns and how we conquer.

February 23, 303

An edict made on February 3, 303 would have far reaching consequences. Not only would many Christians die as a result of that edict, but the better part of two millennia later we would benefit from a rich treasure.

Diocletian, emperor of Rome, issued an edict ordering the destruction of all Christian churches and burning all Christian books. All Christian communities felt the effects of this edict, but hardest hit were the Christians living in Palestine, North Africa, and Egypt. Over the previous years, Christians in those communities, with permission from the governing authorities, bought property and built churches. These churches were destroyed. Authorities searched, found and burned Christian documents, including Old Testament and New Testament manuscripts. In Africa, Alexandria was hardest hit.

Many Christians complied with this order and turned over Bibles and other Christian literature. But others fled to rural areas. Bishop Peter fled to Oxyrhynchus. Others fled to this rural town and to the areas surrounding it. The persecution follow them. While many handed over Scriptures, there were others, like Emeritus, a reader at his local church, who refused to comply and were jailed because of that. Christians like Emeritus hid manuscripts inside the walls of their homes, in caves, and other places.

It was these people, in rural Egypt, that we owe a debt of gratitude to. These people were responsible for preserving the New Testament Scriptures. Later, when the persecution was lifted, the manuscripts saved by these people would be used to create copies of Scriptures to be distributed throughout the Roman empire. Further, many of the Scriptures hidden in walls, caves, and elsewhere, would be discovered in the 1800s and 1900s. These manuscripts, many of which date from before 300 AD, would revolutionize New Testament studies and provide ways to verify the words and the text of the originally published copies of documents that comprise the New Testament.

A First Look at Revelation

The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show to His bond-servants, the things which must shortly take place; and He sent and communicated it by His angel to His bond-servant John... (Revelation 1:1 NASB)

The word Revelation comes from the Greek word, "apokalupsis", which means disclosure or revelation. We get our word apocalypse from it. There was a genre of apocalyptic literature at the time of Revelation, but the book of Revelation does not quite fit in the genre. While it does have remarkable symbols of history, it does not fit the genre in other ways. For instance, John, the author of Revelation, does not use a pseudonym. He uses his real name. Neither is Revelation history rewritten as prophecy. So the word "revelation" itself does not appear to be a term to indicate its following the tradition of other apocalyptic works.

Revelation makes allusions to many other biblical passages, particularly Old Testament passages. Over and over allusions are made to Daniel. In Revelation 1,there are allusions to Daniel chapter 2, chapter 7, 10, and other chapters. This can give us a clue to the framework in understanding Revelation.

The first verse of Revelation introducing the book follows a pattern found in Daniel, chapter 2 where Daniel is introducing an interpretation of a dream of King Nebuchadnezzar. King Nebuchadnezzar had a dream that troubled him. He demanded his wise men to tell him his dream and give the interpretation of the dream. God revealed to Daniel the dream and the interpretation. Nebuchadnezzar's dream was a symbolic dream of the future. Daniel tells King Nebuchadnezzar that God "has made known" the dream and that it "will take place in the latter days." Revelation has the corresponding elements in the opening, saying the God is going "to show" his bond-servants and that it "must take place shortly."

The word "show" in Revelation 1:1 comes from the Greek word, "semaino," which means to signify -- with the implication that communication will be shown in symbolic signs. The vision in Daniel 2 is highly symbolic; it pictures a statue that represents the Babylonian empire and future empires. We can expect that Revelation will be symbolic in its imagery.

What Daniel says will take place in the latter days, Revelation says must take place shortly. The Greek that is translated indicates that time that "is shortly taking place" also has the meaning the time has begun; that this is the beginning of time while will continue into its fullness to its consummation. The distant time of Daniel's era is referring to John's era. This age began with Jesus' advent, especially his death, resurrection, and ascension. We will see the pattern of the "already-and-not-yet" end-times of the period we live in. We are already in the era of "peace and grace" (v. 4 and 5) accomplished through the death and resurrection of Christ. Jesus is already the ruler of the kings of the earth (v. 5). All believers make up a kingdom of priests (v. 6), implying we have direct access with God and that we even rule with God. But is not-yet because even though we are in the kingdom where Christ rules, there is tribulation and we're called to endurance, the perseverance that will take us through to the consummation when Christ returns (v. 9).

In summary, some initial principles in understanding Revelation include:

(1) Read and learn the Old Testament passages that Revelation refers too.

(2) Understand that Revelation is communicating through symbolism, symbolic images, numbers, and other language which refer to the reality behind the symbols.

(3) We live in the "Already-and-Not-Yet" period Revelation is talking about. We are living in the latter days. What Revelation talks about has begun, but it is not complete, it has not reached its consummation. That is yet to come.

Gentry and DeMar: A few video and audio resources

There are numerous video clips on You Tube of Dr. Kenneth Gentry explaining his partial preterist views. Here is the link to one on the second coming:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wupb3kVp8I&feature=channel

There are also a number of video clips with Dr. Gary DeMar. Here is the link for a DeMar video clip on "Should we interpret Revelation 'Literally'?"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i_OW44aJuMU

Dr. DeMar also has an internet podcast. A number of these address various eschatalogical topics.
http://www.garydemar.com/

Both Dr. Gentry and Dr. DeMar were interviewed recently by Jerry Johnson on the NiceneCouncil.com podcast. http://nicenecouncil.com/podcast.shtml

An Answer to Earl's Question #2

Concerning Earl's Second Question:

2. In Partial Preterism did Jesus return? The angels at Jesus' ascension seemed to indicate that there would be only one return of Christ? Was this it? Are there multiple returns?

Answer: This answer borrows statements from Dr. Kenneth Gentry's "He Shall Have Dominion", pages 271-275.

(Download "He Shall Have Dominion" at this link: http://www.box.net/shared/x4z4nlo8vj )

There is one history concluding, personal, visible, glorious return of Christ known as the Second Advent. Not all references to His coming are to the second advent at the close of history. There are various comings of Christ taught in the Scriptures. Christ comes spiritually to the believer in the ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14:16, 18, cf. vv. 23, 28). Since Pentecost, this coming is His coming in soteric regeneration. ... Christ comes spiritually to believers in fellowship. ... He comes among His people spiritually when they worship together before Him. He comes spiritually to believers at death. He comes into the presence of the Father at His ascension, in order to receive His kingdom. Beyond these spiritual comings and in addition to the bodily second advent, there is a providential coming of Christ in historical judgments upon men.

An Answer to Earl's Question #1

Earl asks this question:

1. In Partial Preterism was this the Great Tribulation? Would there be no other tribulations in history that could match or surpass this tribulation? Do passages that describe trouble and persecution in Revelation only refer to the period around 70 AD?

Answer: In his book, "Last Days Madness", Gary DeMar concludes a section on The Great Tribulation with this quote: "The Great Tribulation is a description of what happened to Jews living in Israel in the first century. Over one million Jews died at the hands of the Romans. Nothing will ever compare to it." (Page 110 of the 1994 edition.) Concerning tribulation in general, DeMar writes "Last days madness can be halted once the church recognizes that the Great Tribulation is a past event. This is not to minimize the realities of persecution. We will always have tribulation, tribulation that is overcome in Jesus (John 16:33). Entry into the kingdom comes through 'much tribulation' (Acts 14:22). What we will not have is a Rapture that will remove us from a world in which tribulation is a reality." (Pages 119-120)

Dating the Book of Revelation

Dr. Kenneth Gentry's

"Before Jerusalem Fell"

(Dating the Book of Revelation)


Download this book here:
http://www.box.net/shared/f5zm511xtz


"Gentry convincingly demonstrates the fact the Book Revelation was written, as it in so many was declares, prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. It should receive a wide reading and ought to rattle many windows."-Jay E. Adams, Ph.D.
" A thorough and outstanding statement of the case for the early date of Revelation. No stone is left unturned to resolve the question."-George W. Knight III, Th.D.
"Gentry's thorough treatment is not only valuable, but it leads the reader through substantive passages of Revelation with illuminating insights."-Carl W. Bogue, Th.D.
At once arrest and bewildering the reader, the vivid imagery and dramatic message of Revelation have long captivated the attention of devout Christians. As indicated in contemporary literature, there is a widespread popular interest in Revelation today. Church historian Timothy P. Webber has noted that the "resurgence of the interest in prophetic themes is one of the most significant developments in American religion since the Second World War."

Unfortunately, most of the interest in Revelation is based on a radical misunderstanding of the very nature and purpose of the book. And much of this misapprehension is traceable to confusion regarding its original date of writing.In this work - the full text of Gentry's doctoral dissertation from Whitefield Theological Seminary - the important question of Revelation's date of composition is engaged. Characteristic of the work is a careful exegesis of critical passages, a diligent survey of the scholarly literature on Revelation, and a meticulous search through the writing of early church fathers and Jewish and Roman historians.The evidence may be garnered from Revelation's self-witness and from church tradition that John wrote Revelation prior to the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in August, A.D. 70, rather than in A.D. 95-96, as many scholars believe. Gentry convincingly argues for a date around A.D. 65 or 66, after the outbreak of the Neronic persecution and before the death of Nero Caesar.The demonstration of Revelation's date in this work sets before the reader, not only a resolution to this technical question, but also provides much exposition of Revelation's text itself. These provide the reader with a clearer understanding of the meaning of Revelation.

More of Earl's Revelation Resources

On the right sidebar I have added more of my favorite authors.

1. Vern Poythress. Vern Poythress is one of my favorite theologians. Perhaps I like him because of his mathematical background. He got an undergraduate degree in mathematics from Cal Tech, and a Ph.D in mathematics from Harvard. He also have several masters (Divinity, Literature, Apologetics, New Testament), and a Th.D.
   
   Dr. Poythress wrote a short commentary on Revelation. Don't be put off by the brevity, it is one of the best commentaries on Revelation. Poythress has a mastery of logical theological analysis. I have included a link to his on-line Revelation commentary as well as a number of audio lectures and sermons.



2. G.K. Beale. Beale's commentary on Revelation is the best available today. It examines all perspectives. Even those who don't agree with his approach refer to his commentary. I have included several lectures which give a taste of his style of analysis.



3. Kim Riddlebarger. "Dr. Kim Riddlebarger (Ph.D., Fuller Theological Seminary) is senior pastor of Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, California, and visiting professor of systematic theology at Westminster Seminary California. He is also a co-host of the White Horse Inn radio program, which is broadcast weekly on more than fifty radio stations." (Monergism.com). Dr. Riddlebarger is a stalwart advocate of the Reformed faith. One of his most popular books is A Case for Amillennialism.

Each of these gentlemen are very gifted. I like listening to them as I exercise. I download them to my little mp3 player (or you can download to an iPod). It makes the time go so quickly that I extend my exercise. It's great spiritually as well as physically.

While Visiting Dublin You've Got to See...

When our family lived outside of Paris a few years ago, we would visit various cities in Europe. One time we flew to Dublin, Ireland. We followed our usual habit, not doing a lot of research before traveling, but discovering the city and its environs while we were there. There is much to see in and around Dublin.

Anyone who is interested in old manuscripts cannot miss the references around the city to the Book of Kells, a beautifully illustrated parchment manuscript of the four Gospels in Latin, located in the Trinity College Library in Dublin. It was produced around 800 AD by Celtic monks. It is open to display to the general public. It is stunningly beautiful.

As we walked about Dublin, we visited the Dublin Castle, and to the side I was surprised to see a sign pointing to the Chester Beatty Library. For some reason, I was not expecting to see this. I told my wife and kids that we HAVE to see this. They were puzzled, they had never heard of the place before. The Chester Beatty Library has one of the best collections of ancient New Testament manuscripts in the world. For instance, it has a Greek papyrus manuscript (copied sometime around 180 - 200 AD) of Paul's letter to the Romans. It has one of the earilest complete Greek manuscripts of Relevation, copied around 250 AD.

The Chester Beatty Library is open to the public, the displays are beautiful and well organized. To me, that was the highlight of my entire visit to Dublin. I must admit, however, Chester Beatty is not the typical or most popular visitor site in Dublin, but it is one of the most significant places you can see.

Premillennial Dispensational Interpretation of Revelation Fails Repeatedly

Armageddon Now!

by Dr. Dwight Wilson

Download this book free from the following link: http://www.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/dwan.pdf

Inside Flap Catalog Description

For years premillennial dispensational authors have been predicting that Armageddon is just around the corner - and for years their false prophecies have failed to come true. In this update of his 1977 book, Armageddon Now!, Dwight Wilson examines these predictions concerning Armageddon, particularly as they apply to Russia from the time of the Russian revolution unto today. With the dismantling of the Soviet empire, this book is more timely than ever.

Long Description

Armageddon Delayed! (Again) Friday the 13, May 1988. On May 14, 1948, the state of Israel became a legal reality. Friday the 13th, 1988, marked the 40th anniversary of the final day of non-Jewish rule in Palestine. That should have led either to Armageddon or the Rapture, according to numerous proponents of dispensational premillennialism. Nothing happened.Forty years is an intriguing number of year, biblically speaking. It marks one biblical generation. It was this figure of 40 years that had led some dispensational leaders in the late 1970's to forecast the Rapture in 1981: 40 years minus the seven years of Israel's Great Tribulation, when the Church will be in heaven, according to pre-tribulational dispensationalism. But the Rapture did not take place in 1981, either.In early 1988, Mr. Edgar C. Whisenant published a back-to-back, two-part book. He used more than one title for one of these books, but one version was called The Rapture Rosh Hash Ana 1988 and 88 Reasons Why. It predicted that the Rapture would take place in September, 1988. It sold millions of copies. But the Rapture was delayed. Again. Then he announced that he had forgotten that in between 1 B.C. and 1 A.D., there was a full year, so really the Rapture would come in September, 1989. It didn't. We then heard no more from Mr. Whisenant.In August, 1990, Saddam Hussein's forces invaded Kuwait. Immediately, there was a flurry of American fundamentalist interest in another wave of books on the revival of "Babylon." Prophecy book sales soared far higher than Scud missiles. Iraq was expected to invade the nation of Israel. But nothing happened. Iraq lobbed a few Scud missiles into Tel Aviv. Most of them were shot down by U.S. Patriot surface-to-air missiles. Armageddon was delayed. Again.Had the forecasters paid more attention to Dr. Dwight Wilson's 1977 book, Armageddon Now!, they might have avoided their subsequent series of embarrassments. He had warned his premillennial peers against making forecasts about the dating of Armageddon, and by implication, the dating of the Rapture. His book surveys the history of such ill-fated prophecies. From 1917 on, premillennial authors repeatedly identified the Antichrist, the Beast, 666, and numerous other "literal fulfillments" of biblical prophecy. None of these identifications proved accurate. Dr. Wilson warned against the use of such "loose literalism."Now Dr. Wilson offers a new Introduction that updates his original book. He gives the same warning: Christians should avoid making precise predictions about the contemporary fulfillment of Bible prophecies. We will see if his peers take him seriously.

Revelation Outline

There are many ways to outline Revelation. I will give one outline below. This outline is structured on the four visions of Revelation. Many commentators see sevenfold structures throughout Revelation, such as seven judgments. One (Beale) sees seven interlocking judgments, where the ending of one series of judgments introduces the beginning of the next series.

There are four major visions. These are introduced with the words that John is in the Spirit:

Vision 1: (Revelation 1:10 NASB) “I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like the sound of a trumpet, …” The Son of Man is the object of this vision, Jesus appearing in glory.

Vision 2: (Revelation 4:2 NASB) “Immediately I was in the Spirit; and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.” The Lamb is taking his reign in heaven.

Vision 3: (Revelation 17:3 NASB) “And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness; and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast, full of blasphemous names, having seven heads and ten horns.” Judgment of the prostitute Babylon.

Vision 4: (Revelation 21:10 NASB) “And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the holy city, Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, …” The glory of the Bride of Christ.

In the first three visions there is an aftermath of the vision. In the fourth and final vision there is no aftermath.

There are four elements in each vision:

(1) A voice introduces the vision. The first two voices are from Christ, the second two are from angels.

(2) John refers to himself as being in the Spirit in each of these visions.

(3) There is some indication of what John is going to see. In vision 1 John is told to write what he sees and what will take place hereafter in a book. Vision 2 John is told Christ will show what must take place after this. Vision 3 John is told he will be shown the judgment of the great prostitute. Vision 4 John is told, “"Come here, I shall show you the bride, the wife of the Lamb.”

(4) John falls in worship in each of the visions (except in vision 2, where John does not mention himself, but mention the 24 elders fall and worship).

Outline:

Prologue	1:1-8
Vision 1	The Heavenly Vision (1:9-20).
	The Messages to the Seven Churches (2-3).
Vision 2	God's Throne Room (4-5).
	Opening of the seven seals (6:1-8:1).
		Seal 1: White Horse of Conquest.
		Seal 2: Red Horse of Slaughter.
		Seal 3: Black Horse of Famine.
		Seal 4: Pale Horse of Death.
		Seal 5: The Cry of the Martyrs.
		Seal 6: Cosmic Disturbances.
		Interlude: Protection for the Saints.
		The 144,000.
		The Great Multitude.
		Seal 7: Silence in Heaven.
	The Seven Trumpets (8:2-11:19)
		Trumpet 1: Hail and Fire.
		Trumpet 2: Blood.
		Trumpet 3: Bitter Water.
		Trumpet 4: Darkness.
		Trumpet 5: Locusts.
		Trumpet 6: Conquering Army.
		Interlude: The Witness of the Saints.
		The Little Scroll Given to John.
		Two Witnesses.
		Trumpet 7: God's Temple Opened.
	Seven Symbolic Histories (12:1-14:20)
		Introduction of the Characters.
		History 1: The Dragon.
		History 2: The Woman.
		History 3: The Sea Beast.
		History 4: The False Prophet (Earth Beast).
		History 5: The 144,000
		History 6: Three Angelic Proclaimers
		Interlude: Relief for the Saints.
		History 7: The Appearing of the Son of Man.
	The Seven Bowls (15:1-16:21)
		Bowl 1: Dry Land
		Bowl 2: Sea
		Bowl 3: Fresh Water
		Bowl 4: Sky
		Bowl 5: Darkness
		Bowl 6: Great River
		Interlude: Promise for the Church
		Bowl 7: Earth Utterly Shaken.
Vision 3	The Judgment of Babylon (17:1-19:10)
		Introduction of Characters
		Message 1: Destruction of Babylon.
		Message 2: Announcing Babylon's Fall.
		Message 3: Warning Saints to Come Out.
		Message 4: The Kings of the Earth.
		Message 5: The Merchants.
		Message 6: The Seafaring Men.
		Interlude: Promise for the Saints
		Message 7: Final Message of Destruction.
		Sevenfold Joy in Heaven.
	Christ Appearing in the Final Battle (19:11-21)
		Description of the White Horse.
		Angelic Message of Destruction.
		Promise for the Saints.
		Final Judgment of Beast and False Prophet.
	The Judgments (20:1-21:8)
		Angel with the Key to the Abyss.
		Preliminary Judgment.
		Promise for the Saints.
		Final Judgment of Opponents and Satan.
		Great White Throne.
		Divine Judgment.
		Promise for the Saints.
		Exhaustive Judgment.
Vision 4	The New Jerusalem (21:9-22:5)
Epilogue	22:6-21

In addition to this outline, there are thematic "reflective" structures, known as chiasms, where topics are introduced and then resolved in the opposite order of introduction. This is discussed in Poythress, The Returning King (pp. 64-65), and in detail in Beale, The Book of Revelation (pp. 130-132).

Principles for Interpreting the Book of Revelation, Part 4

This post completes the summary of Rev. Joe Morecraft's introductory sermon to the book of Revelation. In this post, I will summarize the last 10 minutes of the sermon that deal with the content, theme, and purpose of the book of Revelation. Again, I will repost the previously summarized material in red.

Joe Morecraft III -- Interpreting Revelation -- July 2, 1978

Principles of Interpretation:

1. Nature of the Book of Revelation

a. Revelation: Rev. 1:1, 11 (God given through Holy Spirit)

--Thus every thing in this book is relevant through all time.
--To understand, all we need is Scripture (Scripture interprets Scripture) and Holy Spirit
--To neglect study of Revelation, is to be inadequately equipped.
--Revelation means "unveiling"; not an "obscuring".

b. Prophecy: Rev. 1:3; 22:7, 10, 18 (God's word to His people)

--Apocalyptic literature of the time outside of New Testament was characterized by a catastrophic breaking in of eternity at the end of history when evil reigns and the only hope is rapturous escape.

First, over-against that view comes divinely revealed prophecy characterized by an inseparable connection between the flow of history and the consumation of history: i.e., Christ came to rescue human history (not to discard it), to perfect it, and make it more glorious. Thus, what we do now counts and matters: it has consequences (a theme of the Old Testament is God's calling His people to faithfulness and promising them resulting blessing).

Secondly, biblical prophecy is characterized by a presentation of an accomplished, continual, progressive triumph of God over evil, until that triumph is complete and total (Is. 2, 9, 11, 40, 66, etc.).

Thirdly, biblical prophecy is not irrelevant theologizing about what will take place at the end of the world, but it has instead, great ethical value (Rev. 1:5, 16, etc.).

c. Symbolic in Form: The revelation to John was "sign"-ified (written in signs and symbols and figures), Rev. 1:1. It should be taken "truly", but "not literally". Read Revelation with two questions in mind: (1) What is the picture? and (2) What does this picture mean? For the meaning, check the context of other Bible passages where the same picture (symbols, figures, etc.) is used. Other times, John actually stops and explains the meaning of the picture, Rev. 1:20, 12:1-9.2. Time FrameWhen are the things written in the book of Revelation going to come to pass? This question is answered in the text of the book of Revelation itself: Things which must shortly take place (Rev. 1:1); the time is near (Rev. 1:3); must shortly take place (Rev. 22:6); the time is near (Rev. 22:10). Thus, the text tells John and us that "these things" will take place in the immediate future. John lived in the first century. The letter is addressed to the seven asian churches then in existence -- thus "these things" will take place during the life time of these seven first century churches. To be honest with the text, "shortly" actually means "shortly", and "near" means "near", i.e., on the immediate horizon, the latter half of the first century. So, what did the symbols in the book of Revelation mean to the first century readership? Knowing what the text was communicating to the original readers and hearers is vital to a right understanding of the text. Having done this, we can then consider how the message of Revelation applies to us today. Therefore, interpretations pointing to far off distant future events must be rejected. Further, interpretations consisting of only great principles and ideals (ambiguous spiritual ideals and principles), but not specific real historical events must be rejected. We must therefore consider the setting of the seven asian churches that are addressed. They lived in an area of the world where people (non-Christians) were zealous about giving lip service to the doctrine that Caesar is god. The Christian church had grown in this part of the world and was having influence, but these seven churches are having problems. The ideas of the world are creeping into these churches and the Christians are facing pressures to compromise in the midst of tribulation and persecution. Christians in this region are being accused of being atheists because they refuse to worship Caesar. Some are dying the death of martyrs for this reason. Christians in this area of the world also faced mockery, ridicule, and persecution from a blind, hard, stubborn, apostate Judaism, which strongly opposed and attacked the followers of Christ. An understanding of this context is essential prior to any considerations about what all this means for us today.

3. Content, Theme, Purpose

a. Content: Rev. Morecraft covered this with an outline handout that he asked the listeners to memorize. Click on this link to view or download the outline: http://www.box.net/shared/21cbazfsd8

b. Theme: The dominion and triumph of the sovereign enthroned Christ and His church over all opposition.

This note of victory and triumph is found throughout the book of Revelation. This note of victory extends throughout all history as well as at the end of history (for example, Rev. 1:5, 6). Also note Rev. 1:7, He's coming (that is, He keeps coming) in judgment over His enemies and in deliverance for His saints.

In Rev. 1:9-20 notice the figure of Christ as a great King Who holds the church safely in His hands, etc.

In Rev. 2 and 3 He promises blessings and victory to those who overcome in His name.

In Rev. 4 and 5 He presents the vision of a throne at the center of the universe and sitting upon that throne is a lamb, and before that throne is a sea symbolizing all the nations of the world which are under God's control.

In Rev. 5-18, we see a series of visions that tell us that Christ shall destroy all of His enemies, and overturn all "isms" through His faithful people (in time as well as at the end of time).

In Rev. 19 we are presented with Christ as the mighty Conqueror Who marches victoriously over His enemies.

In Rev. 20 we have a picture God restraining Satan and God's people reigning with Him; and God will ultimately vindicate Himself upon all His enemies.

In Rev. 21 and 22 the kingdom shall be consumated throughout the heavens and the earth.

There is no gloom or pessimism anywhere in the book of Revelation. It is all about the victory of Christ and His church over all opposition.

c. Purpose: To comfort, encourage, uplift, and motivate the people of God who are being oppressed, abused, mistreated, and persecuted at the hands of a hostile world (Rev. 1:9) to perseverance and hope. This book is for us now. Blessing is promised to those who read, believe, and obey this book of Revelation.