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The Coming of Jesus: Revelation Fulfilled?

Don’t let the title put you off, we’re about to go on a mad journey through the annuls of history and the Roman Empire, contrasting what John saw in his vision with what has already played out on the “world’s stage” and what we possibly have to look forward to! First though, let’s look at a little history concerning the book itself before delving into its contents. Why do this? For a couple of reasons really: one, Revelation has some dispute over the year in which it was written, which can impact on the interpretation. Two, at various points in early church history, the book was held in suspicion of being spurious and almost...

An Examination of Conditional Immortality (Part Two)

Welcome to Part Two of my study and examination of Conditional Immortality (aka Annihilationism). If you missed part one, you can read that one here. As with part one, this will be a long post as there is still much ground to cover before we can really grasp the bigger picture about what Scripture teaches. So with that said, I’ll pick right up where we left off. In part one, I covered a lot of New Testament texts, a few Old Testament passages, plus a look at what some of the earliest church leaders also wrote on the topic to the early church. In this one, we will be looking at a few more Old Testament examples and how they relate to the imagery used in Revela...

BOOK REVIEW: Four Views on Hell 2nd edition

...note that Revelation teaches only that they do.”25 This CI exegesis of Rev 14 & 20 is more thoroughly outlined by Joey Dear here26 and here27 as well as by Chris Date:28 but also advocated by Ian Paul in his recent Tyndale NY Commentary29. Burk winds up his essay with a not-so-subtle threat: “Anyone who argues against what Scripture teaches is arguing against God. And that is not a position any disciple wants to be in.” (42) Surely, since the Reformation, it has been incumbent on Evangelicals to check first exactly ‘what Scripture teaches’, in a good Berean spirit (Acts 17:11), to make sure that God is not being misrepresented by any discipl...

Where Hal Lindsey and Dispensationalism Went Wrong

...this from Revelation 11 which speaks of the “holy city” being trampled for 42 months — and “two witnesses prophesying” for 1,260 days. He simply adds both of these 3 ½-year periods together to get 7 years (of tribulation). There is NO indication in the text that this is a valid interpretation. He was reading something speculative into the text that is not there. Indeed, there is no passage in the Bible that clearly teaches a 7-year tribulation. Further, Jesus limited the time of the trampling of Jerusalem to his own generation (Luke 21:20–22, 32). Interestingly, the final assault on Jerusalem by the Roman army under Titus lasted 42 months from F...

Who is the New Jerusalem?

...This is a sort of ‘addendum’ to the Revelation Fulfilled? article    Yes you read the title correct: WHO (not what) is the New Jerusalem?   To answer this, you must ask yourself: who is the Bride of Christ?   If you answered “the Church” (as in, the body of believers, not buildings) then you’d be correct as they are both one and the same!   Roughly 1500 miles square.   Maybe you’ve always wondered why the Church is called the “bride”? Well, let’s examine some Scriptures and see! 2 Corinthians 11:2I feel a divine jealousy for you, for I promised you in marriage to one husband, to present you as a chaste virgin to Chris...

The Coming of Jesus: The Olivet Discourse – Part 2

...this with Revelation 11:1-2). As we see from history, the Gentiles which trampled Jerusalem were the Romans. It was the Roman armies which surrounded the city, who burned it and eventually destroyed the temple, fulfilling all that Jesus had warned his disciples about. His elect were gathered by an angel and removed to safety before the great tribulation came upon the holy city! Tweet This! In all three accounts of the “desolation”, Jesus warns his listeners to “flee to the mountains” and if you were in the city, to leave it; if you were outside, to stay out! The early Christians took this seriously and, as is well documented in the historical record,...