The practice of allegorizing biblical prophecy not only diminishes the integrity of Scripture (see my previous post), but it also turns the millennium and eternity into something far less glorious than the picture we find in God’s Word.
Defending the Integrity of Scripture
However, many pastors today insist that prophetic texts that refer to the restoration of a kingdom for Israel, the tribulation, and Jesus’ future reign are allegory, symbolical of another reality. This discrediting of the words of the Bible, however, is like a loose thread on a knit sweater. If one pulls at it long enough, it unravels the entire sweater.
Reversing the Reformation
In my previous post, I showed how the allegorical approach to biblical prophecy opens the doors for dismissing the true intent of other scriptural texts. Just as in the past, the disregard for the words of Scripture not only robs the saints of the joyful anticipation of their “blessed hope,” but also blurs the separation between biblical justification and that of the Roman Catholic Church.
No One Can Cancel Our “Blessed Hope”
Today, allegorical interpretations of biblical prophecy are again driving the church away from the purity of the Gospel and in effect cancelling the “blessed hope” of Titus 2:13.
But one thing is certain: no one can cancel our blessed hope! Jesus will appear someday to take us home before God judges the Christ-rejecting world.
Equality or Tyranny?
The War Against Life
Renewable Energy Fails the Test
The polar vortex along with the ice and snowstorms that swept through most of the United States during the past couple weeks tested the electrical grid in our country almost to the breaking point. Even so, millions lost power while a great many others experienced periodic outages.
The severe weather also tested the reliability of renewable energy, which failed when needed the most.
Questions that Confirm the Pretribulation Rapture, Part 1
You may wonder why I am again writing in defense of the pretribulation Rapture, the belief that Jesus will come for His church before the start of the seven-year tribulation. I am doing so because we live in a time when many inside and outside the church ridicule our hope in Jesus’ imminent appearing.
How do we answer those who mock the hope we hold so dear?
In this two-part series, I will answer twelve questions that confirm our belief that the New Testament indeed teaches a pretribulation Rapture.
Questions that Confirm the Pretribulation Rapture, Part 2
The purpose of this two-part series on the pretribulation Rapture is to reassure fellow believers that the New Testament indeed places the Lord’s appearing for us before the start of the seven-year tribulation.
We live in a day when deception reigns all around us and fear characterizes most people in our world. The media and Big Tech censor truth as never before in America making it very difficult to discover the reality behind the fake news that confronts us every day.
Clearing Away the Deception of Covenant Premillennialism
Covenant premillennialists believe Jesus fulfilled all of the Old Testament during His first coming; this includes all of God’s covenants with the nation of Israel including the promise of the Land, which the Lord says is an “everlasting covenant” (Psalm 105:8-11).
Their claim to be premillennial obscures their denial of a literal thousand-year reign of Jesus over the nations of the world.
Rightly Dividing God’s Word Keeps us Focused on Jesus’ Appearing
As a child, I loved AWANA and grew up with its motto verse hanging on the wall of my bedroom. It read, “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15, KJV).
The Greek word for “rightly dividing” literally means to “cut straight” with the implication of interpreting Scripture accurately.
Our Glorious Future
Perhaps you wonder why I’m writing about glory amid the turmoil swirling around us today that points to uncertain days ahead for followers of Jesus, to say the very least. The spewing of demonic hatred at the highest levels of our government and media toward President Trump and his supporters is something that should greatly alarm even those who do not like him.
In Times Like These
When the disciples asked Jesus about the signs of the end of the age, Jesus began His answer with these words, “See that no one leads you astray” (Matt. 24:4). Jesus’ first warning about the last days concerned those who would seek to deceive His followers by leading them away from the truth. Does this not describe the world in which we all live?
None Are So Blind
There’s an ancient saying that dates back to 1546 when John Heywood said, "There are none so blind as those who will not see.”
Unfortunately, this quote aptly describes the majority of pastors today in the United States, even many of those who preach in churches whose statements of faith affirm beliefs in the inerrancy of Scripture.
Christmas Reminds us of the Integrity of Scripture
Christmas reminds me that God keeps His promises. Just as the Lord fulfilled many prophecies beginning with Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem, so also, He certainly will fulfill all His promises and prophecies that have to do with the end times includes His return to take us back to His Father’s home and the Second Coming.
Indeed, we now see so the beginning of so many yet unfulfilled prophecies, which tells us they will certainly become a reality in the near future.
The Prophetic Implication of the Mark of the Beast
One of the more familiar terms in the book of Revelation is also one of the most misunderstood phrases in the apocalypse. Many people have heard about the “mark of the beast” and its corresponding 666, but few believe it will ever become a reality.
Among those who believe it signifies a future prophecy, it has become a source of confusion amid all the talk of COVID-19 vaccines.
The Departure of 2 Thessalonians 2:3
So what’s the big deal in regarding apostasia in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 as a physical departure rather than spiritual apostasy? It adds considerable support for belief in a pretribulation rapture, one that occurs before this period of God’s wrath upon the earth.
It confirms that Jesus must come for His church before the world knows the identity of the antichrist, which we know occurs at the beginning of tribulation, if not before.
Patriotism Versus Eternal Expectations
It’s All About the Moment
Our World Hangs on the Edge of Eternity
I believe we live in a period of relative calm before a great storm sweeps across the planet. God’s judgment on the Christ-rejecting world is ever so close at hand. The rapidly approaching tribulation will bring people face to face with the wrath of the Lord and give them one more opportunity to turn to the Savior before they face an eternity apart from Him.