Across the theological spectrum it is agreed that easy texts are to interpret the difficult texts. The challenge for the interpreter is to discern which passages are easy and which are difficult. Since the only other occurrence of “kingdom” in the book of Colossians occurs in the final greetings in chapter 4,1 the meaning of “kingdom” likely occurs in an easier text somewhere else. The Bible develops the idea of a literal kingdom, the “kingdom of God,” established on land from Genesis all the way through the New Testament, so one would anticipate that this is the same kingdom in Col 1:13. There is an alternative theory, however, that Paul here is speaking of a spiritual facet of the kingdom, rather than the Millennial Kingdom. This theory that there is a spiritual facet of the kingdom is not necessarily in conflict with postponement theology. Much of this dissertation has responded to external threats to dispensational theology, but since a Spiritual Facet of the kingdom can coincide with postponement theology, Col 1:13 will be treated with the spirit of unity as an in-house dispute. Some fine dispensational scholars, propose that this Spiritual Kingdom is God’s rule in the heart of the believer and that it is composed of all believers, and only believers, of all time.[Read More]
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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]
Spiritualizers, Revisionists, and Ezekiel’s Temple
The most popular approach Ezekiel’s temple throughout Church history has been to spiritualize the text and make the temple represent the Church. The cause of this approach is an early influence of Origen from the Alexandrian school of thought. While the Second Council of Constantinople properly declared Origen a heretic, the Church failed to address his approach to Scriptures, such that elements of his hermeneutics would remain for centuries to come. Pavel Ivanovich Savvaitov, a 19th century professor at Vologda Spiritual Seminary, critiques Origen’s hermeneutic circle:[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)
Peace when you’ve been hurt
If someone says that you have hurt him, then do not deny it. If you do, then Jesus thinks you’re a pig.
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