Lately, I have been doing some work with the Book of Ezra, which begins with Cyrus’ decree that was issued, “that the word of Jehovah by the mouth of Jeremiah might be accomplished” (Ezra 1:1). Ezra does not actually quote Jeremiah, but assumes that the reader is biblically literate. The work that I am doing will explore the biblical issues further, but as I studied for that project, I came across some archaeological items that are worth discussing here.[Read More]
dispensationalism
The Danger Triangle of Doctrinal Drift
Our theology develops as we grow in our understanding of Scriptures, so doctrinal shifts are healthy. Perhaps to be more precise, we could say that a lack of doctrinal shift is unhealthy. Every Christian should dedicate his life to the study of Scriptures, so if his theology is not changing, then something is wrong. This is particularly relevant to the clergyman, whether it be a pastor, a missionary, or a volunteer Sunday School teacher.[Read More]
Thoughts on Russia, Ukraine, and the Bible
Russophobia is emerging around the world. There are individuals in the Russian government who are making evil decisions that affect Russia and other countries—Putin comes to mind, as do others who may not be as familiar to Western readers—but these are not grounds to resent Russian people. Within the Russian population are plenty of believers who are doing excellent work in a dark place. They are to be commended (if not now, then they will certainly be rewarded later).[Read More]
Trends in Ecotheology (Excerpt)
The following is an excerpt from a paper entitled, “Kingdom Postponement: A Watershed Doctrine for the Dispensational Worldview,” presented at the 2021 Council on Dispensational Hermeneutics.[Read More]
The Magic Elf Analogy
Roman Catholicism is a false religion. The gospel according to Roman Catholicism is not salvific. This is a point where most Christian Pluralists will disagree with Faith Alone in Christ Alone.
When we say “Faith Alone in Christ Alone,” we refer to the school of thought that a man is saved when he believes in Christ Alone for salvation, rather than believing in his own work, or, by extension, in some combination of Christ’s work and his own works. When we say, “Christian Pluralism,” we refer to the school of thought that a man does not need to believe in Christ for salvation, but can rely on his own works instead, so long as he has some belief about Jesus. There are various camps within both of these schools of thought, but that’s the issue in a nutshell (read a more thorough and boring article here or download a full book here).[Read More]
Postponement Theology and Rabbinic Literature
Last weekend, we had an ISBH webinar on Dispensationalism and Rabbinic Literature. It was a good time; we had some great speakers in English and German. We are currently working on translating everything and getting it posted online.
I did a session on Postponement Theology and Rabbinic Literature, which I am posting here.