Amillenialism: the Reformed View on the End Times

What does the Bible really say about the end times? Many American evangelicals hold to a dispensational premillenialist viewpoint concerning this topic? But is there really any Biblical evidence to support the idea of a pre-tribulation rapture of the church? In my opinion, no there is not. Of course, many people who do believe in the pre-tribulation rapture (where God takes the church before the Great Tribulation begins) use 1 Thessalonians 5:9, which states, "For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ." However, I would argue that persecution and God's wrath are two different things. Why else would Jesus make the statement in His beatitudes, "Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Just because we are not destined for God's wrath, which I firmly believe that no true believer will undergo God's wrath, does not mean that we will not go through the Great Tribulation. The two are not the same thing. God's wrath is the ultimate punishment for those who do not believe on the name of God's only Son Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ became the propitiation for the sins of all who believe on Him, which means that He took upon Himself the wrath of God that belonged to me because of my sin. He satisfied God's wrath. Because He has taken that upon Himself, I no longer have to face God's wrath. However, for those who do not believe are condemned already because of their unbelief. They are under God's wrath and will face it in eternity if they do not place their faith in Jesus Christ. Therefore, what Paul is saying to the Thessalonians is that they do not need to worry about their brothers and sisters in Christ who have passed away, because they are covered by the blood of Christ. They are not destined for God's wrath and neither are we when we die. We are not to worry about their eternal security because Christ paid their debt. What Paul says here has nothing to do with having to endure through the Great Tribulation, at least in my humble opinion. I mean, all we have to do is look to the Christians in the Middle East and Asia and look at the persecution they are having to endure over there. If what Paul says about us not being destined for wrath has anything to do with enduring persecution, then he was wrong about those Christians over there.

So what is the answer to the question about the end times? There are many differing views concerning this difficult topic. Of course within the premillenialist (meaning Christ will return to earth before the 1,000 year millennial kingdom spoken of in Revelation 20) viewpoint, you have pretribulation, mid-tribulation, and post-tribulation viewpoints, which refers to the point in time God will rapture His church from the earth. Either He will rapture the church before the tribulation, sometime in the middle of the tribulation, or at the end of the tribulation, but all of them occuring sometime before the actual millennial kingdom age begins.

Then you have a post-millennial viewpoint, which means that Christ's return will occur after the 1000 year reign on earth. These people view that the 1,000 year reign of Christ is more of a utopia that is created through the spread of the gospel throughout the earth. Christianity will one day see a remarkable change in attitude and all nations will one day be Christian, and at the end of this time period is when Christ will come back.

Amillennialists on the other hand view the millennial kingdom of Christ to be symbolic of the time period between His resurrection and His second coming at the end of the tribulation when He comes to defeat the Antichrist and his false prophet. People who adhere to this believe that we are currently living in the millennial kingdom because of the role of the church in spreading the gospel to the lost. When the Great Tribulation begins is when Satan will be unleashed to do what he desires until Christ comes to finally defeat him and throw him into the lake of fire for all eternity.

Up until now, I have always considered myself a post-tribulation, premillennialist believer. I look at Revelation chapter 20 to describe a literal 1,000 year reign of Christ upon this earth following the Great Tribulation. However, I am now beginning to question my belief in that as I am reading through Dr. Kim Riddlebarger's book, "A Case of Amillennialism." He is showing the evidence that supports the idea that the 1,000 year reign mentioned in Rev. 20 is actually symbolic of the time period we are currently living in. I'm not sure which way I will decide when I finish reading it, but he is making some very strong points in favor of this particular view point. I would recommend this book to anyone who is interested in learning about the end times and desires to get a different viewpoint from that of Tim LaHaye and Hal Lindsey. In fact, Dr. Riddlebarger has already given me more Biblical proof for his belief than I have gathered from the other men mentioned above.

Click here to visit Dr. Riddlebarger's blog site. He has other resources that help explain his beliefs. I'm not saying he has the correct view, but I personally think he's closer to it than anyone I've read before on this topic.

Job, the New Book by John Piper

Here is an advertisement for the new book by John Piper, "Job." Definitely makes me want to read it. Of course, I want to read anything that John Piper puts out.




http://www.jobthebook.com/

You can also click on these links to hear John Piper read from the book.

Part 1: O God, Have Mercy on My Seed
Part 2: That I Should Bear This Pain, Not You
Part 3: O Spare Me Now, My Friends, Your Packages of God
Part 4: Unkindly Has He Kindly Shown Me ... God

Holy Men of God

R.C. Sproul and Al Mohler discuss, "Is it Possible that you are wrong on your doctrinal positions?"

If Calvinism is True, then Why Evangelize?

Evangelism and the Soveriegnty of God

There is much debate as to the role of human responsibility and the sovereignty of God when discussing the topic of evangelism. Some people would argue that because we are commanded by God to take the gospel of Jesus Christ into the world, that our human responsibility somehow outweighs God's sovereignty and that in essence, God really is not completely and totally sovereign in the universe. However, on the flip side of this, some people believe with all pure intentions that God's sovereignty is total and complete and because it is so, evangelism is somehow not needed, because God already knows who He is going to save and that we cannot change the outcome, no matter what we do. So some believe that we as Christians can sit back and not bother to evangelize. In fact, this is a problem for those who reject Calvinism and the doctrine of election. If God has already chosen His elect, then Christ's command to evangelize is obsolete. Therefore, some people reject the doctrine of election based on this reasoning.

Now, I don't pretend to know the answer to this apparent contradiction, but we know that the Bible teaches both human responsibility and the doctrine of election. There is no doubt in my mind that God is totally sovereign in the salvation of His elect. And at the same time, the Bible teaches that we as Christians have a responsibility to share the gospel with those who do not know Christ. God has chosen to work through His people to bring the lost to Himself. Because of this chosen method, it is our responsibility to be about the business of evangelism, even though God is completely sovereign in His election of His people. To ignore one doctrine over another would be a mistake.

One might ask, then, how do we deal with this seeming contradiction? First of all, we have to realize that it just appears to be a contradiction, not that it really is a contradiction. Just because our finite minds cannot comprehend how both of these doctrines work together does not mean they they are at war with one another. In fact, Spurgeon was once asked if he could reconcile these two truths (human responsibility and the sovereignty of God) together. His reply was, "I wouldn't try. I never reconcile friends." In his mind, whether or not he comprehended how these two truths work together, he viewed them as friends. He saw that these two ideas were not opposed to one another, rather they were working together.

Ultimately, this mystery is a beautiful thing, because it shows us that God's ways are higher, much higher, than our ways. If we could somehow comprehend everything about God, He would not be the one, true God. He would be a god fashioned in our own image, and that would be a terrible thing indeed. What we must do is celebrate the mystery between the two truths and joyfully accept that there are things about God that we do not understand.

Finally, we take these truths with us as we take the gospel into the world through obedience to Christ's command in Matthew 28. We can be bold as we share the gospel because we know that success or failure is not based on the results that come about as the outcome of our sharing, because we are not responsible for the results. God is responsible for the saving of lost souls. We are responsible for being obedient to what God has called us to do by sharing the gospel with the lost. And even if we never see a person saved in our lifetime, we can rest assured that we are not failures. Our purpose is namely to share the glory of God to the world. God's purpose is to open the eyes of the world to His glory. This is a truth that frees us to be bold in our responsibility to evangelize the world.

Two wonderful books to read on this topic of the relationship between human responsibility and God's sovereignty in evangelism are J. I. Packer's "Evangelism & the Sovereignty of God" and John Piper's "Let the Nations Be Glad: the Supremacy of God in Missions." I would highly encourage everyone to pick up these two books.

The Hard Road of the Cross

I found this article while reading a blog entry on Between Two Worlds. This was a story that broke my heart and gave me joy as I read it. It made me think of my own selfishness and the pain of having to make such a hard decision.

This story is about a family who chose to adopt this baby boy, Matthew Patrick, who was born in January. Unfortunately, they found out that he had a fatal brain disease and that he would die within 4-12 months. However, they chose to adopt him anyway, knowing that it was what Christ wanted them to do and knowing they would face the pain and hardship of watching this young child die. They chose the hard road of the cross.

Little Matthew died on Sunday. His adopted parents are both sorrowful and joyful knowing that he is with Christ. Please take a moment to read this story. It'll change your view about the decisions you make concerning the easy way of the world, or the hard road of the cross. Go here to read the full story.

O Lord God of Hosts Who is Mighty as You Are, O Lord?

Let the heavens praise your
wonders, O Lord,
Your faithfulness in the assembly
of the holy ones!
For who in the skies can be
compared to the Lord?
Who among the heavenly beings
is like the Lord,
a God greatly to be feared in the
council of the holy ones,
and awesome above all who are
around him?
O Lord God of hosts,
who is mighty as you are, O Lord,
with your faithfulness all around
you?
You rule the raging of the sea
when its waves rise, you still them.
You crushed Rahab like a carcass;
you scattered your enemies with
your mighty arm.
The heavens are yours; the earth also
is yours;
the world and all that is in it, you
have founded them.
The north and the south, you have
created them;
Tabor and Hermon joyously
praise your name.
You have a mighty arm;
strong is your hand, high your
right hand.
Righteousness and justice are the
foundation of your throne;
steadfast love and faithfulness go
before you.
Blessed are the people who know
the festal shout,
who walk, O Lord, in the light of
your face,
who exult in your name all the day
and in your righteousness are
exalted.
For you are the glory of their strength
by your favor our horn is exalted.
For our shield belongs to the Lord,
our king to the Holy One of Israel.
(Psalm 89:5-18, ESV)

This is just a great psalm describing the best it can our indescribable God and his indescribable power and strength and glory! Who is mighty as you are, O Lord? The answer is: no one! Praise God!

Profitable

2 Timothy 3:16 states "For all Scripture is breathed out by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, and for training in righteousness."

We had a representative from the Gideons International come and speak with us today. And our pastor followed him with a message entitled "Profitable," taken from the verse in 2 Timothy that is quoted above. This is a great reminder for all of us that the Word of God is more than a collection of writings that have been carried down for over 2,000 years. It is God's method of revealing Himself in written form. Of course, He revealed Himself completely in Jesus Christ, but it is through the Bible that we can come to know Him 2,000 years later. The Word of God is profitable.

Along with what the Gideon speaker talked about and what the pastor spoke about, our Sunday school class also talked about the importance of being in the Word. We are going through the study "When I Don't Desire God," by John Piper. It is a study on fighting for joy in God. We are to the point to where we are studying strategies to use as we fight for joy. A couple of those strategies are to meditate on Scripture, to memorize Scripture, and to use Scripture to preach to yourself when you are not desiring God the way you know you should. Scripture is vitally important in our walk with Christ. Of course, I am guilty of taking it for granted. There are days in which go by when I don't open up my Bible because of some lame excuse of being too busy or not feeling like it. But we've all got to come to the Bible realizing that it is a wonderful treasure given to us by God for us to experience the treasure of God Himself. I pray that this is what would happen for all of us. Don't take the Word of God for granted. There are people who do not have a copy of the Word to turn to. Take the precious gift God has given to you and treasure it by spending time in it. It is through our time in the Word that our hearts can "taste and see that the Lord is good."

Corrective Tract for the Prosperity Gospel

If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake and the gospel’s will save it. For what does it profit a man to gain the whole world and forfeit his soul? (Mark 8:34-36).



This text and image was provided by the Desiring God blog.

Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller

Never Let the Gospel Get Smaller

John Piper had a wonderful blog about this topic about letting the gospel have a smaller place and view in your life.

The Gospel gets bigger when, in your heart,

• grace gets bigger;
• Christ gets greater;
• his death gets more wonderful;
• his resurrection gets more astonishing;
• the work of the Spirit gets mightier;
• the power of the gospel gets more pervasive;
• its global extent gets wider;
• your own sin gets uglier;
• the devil gets more evil;
• the gospel's roots in eternity go deeper;
• its connections with everything in the Bible and in the world get stronger;
• and the magnitude of its celebration in eternity gets louder.

To read the full blog, go to the Desiring God blog here. It's definitely worth the time to read.

"Here I Stand"

On April 17-18, 488 years ago, Martin Luther was called before the Diet of Worms to claim his works as heresy. After making it clear that he would not recant of his stance and beliefs because of his conscience and the Word of God, he boldly declared, "Here I stand, I can do no other." Martin Luther helped bring about a reformation of the church declaring that authority rests in Scripture alone, not in the church or of any one leader of the church. May all of us as God's people stand as boldly before others as we stand firm upon the Word of God.

The Decline and Fall of Christian America

"The Decline and Fall of Christian America." That was the cover story for the April 13th edition of Newsweek. The words were colored red and were shaped in such a way as to form a cross. It was a pretty ominous site, to be sure. It is never a pleasant thing to think about when the country you love so much is turning away from the Judeo-Christian foundation that it was built upon. In fact, it seems as if the past several decades since prayer was taken out of school and then Roe v. Wade has been one defeat after another for evangelical Christians.

One of the quotes from the Newsweek article did concede that Christianity is not dead in America. They wrote, "The Christian God isn't dead. But He's less of a force in U.S. politics and culture than at any other time in recent memory." I have to agree with that statement. The importance people place upon God has definitely decreased, even among those who profess to be Christian. It's one thing to go to church with the family on Sunday, but then another to be living out your faith during the week. We have somehow separated our spiritual lives from our social lives and therefore we are not allowing God to make an impact in our lives in politics or culture.

However, as gloomy as this may seem, I see a ray of hope in this. This is the challenge for the church today! God is giving us new opportunities to allow our lights to shine like never before. We are no longer living in a culture where people believe they are Christian simply because they are an American. Sure, there may still be some people who think that way. But now there are people who actually recognize that they are not Christian believers. It is much easier to share the gospel with someone who knows they are lost than it is with someone who is lost but thinks they are saved. When you shine a flashlight in the middle of the day, you cannot see the effect of its light because of the light of the sun is outshining it. However, when you shine that flashlight in the middle of the darkness, it shines bright for all to see. That's the great opportunity I see for us as Christians today. More and more people are realizing that they are not saved. As a result, there's a great darkness that allows us to shine bright for all people in our nation to see.

The call for us as believers is to return to a proper view of who God is. We can either let the bleak situation get us down (which I have unfortunately been guilty of), or we can trust in the power and the authority of Jesus Christ to carry us through as we boldly proclaim the glory of God to the nations! Let us be obedient to the Great Commission Jesus laid out for us in Matthew 28 and allow God to declare His glory among His people for all to see! What a great day in age to be living as a true follower of Christ Jesus our Lord!

Systematic Theology

Wayne Grudem is a writer and theologian, mostly known for his work "Systematic Theology." He teaches a Sunday School class in which he keeps the outlines from all of his lessons online. I would recommend going to that site and taking a look at all of his lessons. You can visit the Christian Essentials website here where his mp3 lectures and outlines are held.

The Importance of Studying and Loving Little Children

As a children's pastor, I have a special place in my heart for children. Justin Taylor on his blog site, "Between Two Worlds," has an excellent post on the importance of loving little children. It's a good reminder for all of us!

Between Two Worlds: The Importance of Studying and Loving Little Children

Christopher Hitchens to debate Dinesh D'Souza in Ellisville, MS

There is going to be a debate at the Jones County Jr. College in Ellisville, MS next Monday. I am too far away to be there for it, but these two men have debated before and there is video of their debates. Christopher Hitchens is the author of God is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Dinesh D'Souza on the other hand is a professing Christian and strong supporter of the Religious Right.

I have watched the video below that I have embedded. It's a very interesting video which shows the different issues that Christians and Atheists deal with constantly. I am including this video on this site because it is always important for us as believers to know what we believe and why we believe it. One of the problems I saw in D'Souza's arguments for Christianity was that he does not hold to a literal view of Scripture. Because of this, there were many times in which it appeared that Hitchens had a more convincing argument. Our view of the inerrant and infallability of the Word of God is of extreme importance as we seek to declare the glory of God to the world, because it is through Jesus Christ that God has revealed His glory and it is through the written record of the Word of God that we are led to Jesus Christ and the revelation of God through Him. Therefore, D'Souza's arguments are not as compelling as they could be had he had a stronger affirmation of the literal inerrancy of the Word.

Still, overall, he had many great points to make against atheism.
Just, remember, I do not endorse the theological views of either person, especially that of Christopher Hitchens.


Christopher Hitchens and Dinesh D'Souza at CU Boulder from Justin Leddick on Vimeo.

The Prosperity Gospel

The prosperity gospel has many dangers that accompany it. That's because it focuses on the gifts of God rather than God Himself. God Himself is what brings us joy, not the things He can give us. If we lost all of our possessions and only Jesus remained, we should still be totally satisfied and joyful. "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." I have all my soul needs in Him alone.

That's My King

That's My King! He is the one in which all of my joy and satisfaction is placed.

Sunday's Comin'

I know it's a day after Easter, but it is always good to remember what Christ did for us on the cross every day of the year!