The Mileses

Paul and Olena Miles with Grace Abroad Ministries

Greek

Satan: The Worst Dispensationalist Ever

If you handle God’s Words like the Devil does, then you are probably doing something very wrong.

The Bible has much to say about Satan; in fact, theologians have derived an entire doctrine of Satanology, which is a subcategory of the doctrine of demonology, which itself is a subcategory of the doctrine of angelology. Of all that the information that the Bible gives us regarding Satan, there are only a few instances where the Bible gives us the actual words of Satan himself. Interestingly, The first book of the Bible that God gave to us in written form was Job, which begins with a couple of conversations between God and Satan. Job was entirely unaware of these conversations throughout his trouble, so it should be no surprise that today we are also ignorant of most of Satan’s words and deeds.[Read More]

Did Jesus teach hate?

In Luke 14:26, Jesus says, “If anyone comes to Me and does not hate his father and mother, wife and children, brothers and sisters, yes, and his own life also, he cannot be My disciple.” At first glance, that seems to be a contradiction to the Bible’s overwhelming message of love. In fact, that would be such a strong contradiction that even if someone rejects the inerrancy of the Bible, that quote alone should drive him to think that there is more to the context. So, let’s consider some context.[Read More]

Some quick thoughts on Limited Atonement

The Calvinist doctrine of Limited Atonement was born several years after John Calvin died… and it has been in need of a proof text ever since. It teaches that Christ only died for a relatively few elect individuals who, according to the fifth point of Calvinism, will persevere in living for Christ until the end of their physical lives. This means that we can look at the fruit in people’s lives and determine whether or not Christ even died for them. It also means that if we want to know whether or not Christ died for us, we need to look at our own works.[Read More]

Animal Sacrifice in the Bible

Let’s talk about animal sacrifice in the Bible and why we don’t do animal sacrifices today. When we mention animal sacrifice, the first thing people often think about is the Mosaic Law, but the Mosaic economy is not the only one that featured sacrifices. Sacrifices also occurred immediately after the fall (Gen 3:21), in the first generation after the fall in the dispensation of conscience (Gen 4:4), after the flood in the dispensation of human government (Gen 8:20), and in the dispensation of patriarchs (Job 1:5). So, before Christ, were people saved by offering animal sacrifices? The short answer is “No.” The long answer is “Noooooooooooooo!”

Here’s an excerpt from a paper I’m working on that has been modified for your viewing pleasure:[Read More]

Three Problems in the 1611 KJV

The King James Bible is my favorite English Bible translation. It isn’t everyone’s favorite, so on this site, I’ll often use the ESV or NKJV, or I might just translate a passage or two myself ery’ now and then.

While I do love the King Jimmy, there is a minority of Christians who go too far and teach that the King James translation itself is inspired by God and without error. Here are three reasons, backed by excerpts from the 1611 King James Version that, in my opinion, demonstrate that it is not perfect:[Read More]

What does, “But the one who endures to the end will be saved” mean?

In Matt 24:13, Jesus says the famous words:

But the one who endures to the end will be saved. (ESV)

Perhaps the most common understanding of this passage is that we must endure in good works to the end of our physical lives to be saved from hell. This understanding contradicts Paul’s words in Eph 2:8a:

For by grace you have been saved through faith. (ESV)

[Read More]