Saturday, May 30, 2020

What is Zionism?

Perry Trotter has produced a great little video titled "What is Zionism?" There's a useful transcript below it. Watch and read HERE 

See also Perry's "Learning About Evangelical Zionism."

Thursday, May 28, 2020

The Pastor of Kilsyth

John MacArthur recommends The Pastor of Kilsyth; a little biography by Islay Burns on the life and times of his father, Pastor W. H. Burns. Watch it HERE

Excerpt from the Book Description:
What we have here then is the life of an ‘ordinary’ faithful pastor. He held no prestigious pulpit, he held no important professorship in theology. He founded no institution. He simply laboured in relative obscurity, but did so faithfully and with perseverance. Yes, he ultimately saw great revival. But along the way there were spiritually discouraging days in the nation, there was personal hardship (for example, the early death of children) and sacrifice (for example, in supporting the founding of the Free Church of Scotland he gave up his manse and church building) and years of no great visible fruit...keep reading
A very encouraging little book!

Tuesday, May 26, 2020

Michael Vlach: Dispensational Theology

You can read a recent article on dispensationalism by Dr. Vlach HERE

I'm sure some will say there's more to the system than this essay (I agree). But I think it's a helpful summary.

Friday, May 22, 2020

Why Clint Archer is a Premillennialist





















Tony Garland: Timing of Events in Revelation

Tony has also written an in-depth commentary on the Book of Revelation.



Thursday, May 21, 2020

The Wanderer: When did you last weep?

I've appreciated Jeremy Walker's sermon snippets and thoughts. The following is an excerpt from an article by his father commenting on matters relating to death, COVID etc. Regardless of my personal opinion on COVID-19, he makes some very good observations:
Surely, then, we who profess to be the true church of Jesus Christ should be imitating our Saviour by weeping over the present predicament of our nation in its unbelief and apparent determination to continue flouting the law of God? We live in the same fallen world that Christ entered. It is all too easy for us to react to what we continually see before our eyes by saying it is what our nation deserves. We can react with holy indignation and display little or no grief and shed no tears. The result will be a hardening of our hearts and the growth of a self-righteousness that will blossom into an ugly pride. On the other hand, we can descend into sentimentality by displaying only sympathy. The truth is we live in tension while we are here. On the one hand there must be righteous indignation, but it must be joined with grief, compassion and Christlike tears. He alone is the pattern for our response to this present crisis and if there is to be revival in the church this certainly ought to be one of the things that must characterise the church. Have we become so dulled and adopted such an ungodly apathy and indifference that our hearts no longer feel any real compassion and our eyes shed no tears.
Read the article HERE

Tuesday, May 19, 2020

Robert Culver on the Rapture

In his book Daniel and the Latter Days, Robert D. Culver wrote:
I must assert that the precise relation of the rapture of the church to the coming Great Tribulation has been purposely veiled for moral reasons. I have heard and read the arguments of the pre-, mid-, and post-tribulationists, and have been much impressed by many of them, to say nothing of the evidence of Scripture that I have surveyed in preparing this book. I have the personally expressed opinions of the heads of at least three premillennial schools of higher learning that any just presentation of this subject by a premillennialist must recognize these three respectable opinions. E. S. English's series in Our Hope magazine entitled "Rethinking the Rapture" was, I think, a harbinger of more gracious understanding of our differences in matters of this sort.
My copy of Culver's book is the 1977 Revised Edition. Since then, of course, the Prewrath Rapture system has been formulated. I sometimes think of it as a Neo-Posttrib view. It is a modified posttrib system. Some will prefer to use the word "refined." Its proponents are currently more vocal than classic futuristic posttribbers and there is a strong affinity between these two camps.

No doubt proponents of the prewrath view would be tempted to think that had Culver been aware of this new system, he would have embraced it as the correct view. Yet Culver's hope of a "harbinger of more gracious understanding" hasn't been realized. Rapture timing discussions almost inevitably devolve into heated debates.

Friday, May 15, 2020

Mark Tooley interviews Owen Strachan

Interesting thoughts in this interview:

"Besides his fascination with war and courageous statesmen, Strachan here discusses the state of American evangelicalism, his support for gender complementarianism, his thoughts on gay Christians, his hopes for Southern Baptists, and his attitude toward generating controversy."

Click Here

Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Justin Peters’ Response to Servus Christi

As an ex New Ager I took particular interest in this video by Justin Peters. In trying to take Peters (and Phil Johnson) down, S.C. (or Josh Chavez) has also attacked baby-Christian Doreen Virtue. From what I gather, Virtue left the New Age in 2017, and has been humble and gracious in admitting making mistakes since her conversion. She has also been open to correction. I wrote more on this HERE

People like Chavez develop a cult following. Sadly, these followers often become stuck in their attack mind-sets and cannot be reasoned with.

Long Addendum:

I've been debating whether I should comment any further. Several times I've been privately asked about Chavez and his associates and have been uncomfortable about replying. I'm going to be blunt now.

Chavez's ministry has been linked with Moriel (Jacob Prasch). Both are notorious for attacking other ministries. It seems that in recent years, Prasch's main target has been John MacArthur and anyone associated with him. This includes Phil Johnson, Justin Peters, and all the other so-called MacArthur "sycophants." Prasch's vendetta against MacArthur may have festered after the "Strange Fire" conference.

Some time after Justin Peters responded to Chavez, the latter removed his attack video. Why would he do this presuming he was right and given his discernment focus? If he had second thoughts, he ought to have apologized. But he didn't.

Soon afterwards, Chavez's video was hosted on YouTube by Amos Farrell, who is also associated with Moriel Ministries. It was soon taken down and replaced by Peters' response. Then the entire channel disappeared! At time of writing Jacob Prasch (Moriel TV) went into bat for Chavez with his own video. And a new channel calling itself "Truth Matters" suddenly appeared featuring Chavez's edited video attacking Doreen Virtue. What a tangled web!

As for Virtue, you can watch her position HERE. There's no doubt she's made some problematic statements. There's also no doubt in my mind that she has a humble and teachable spirit. It has been only three years that Virtue came out of the New Age. She is striving to learn and change and is attending a seminary. I also came out of the New Age (circa 2000). It took a lot longer than three years, and many false tracks, before I fully left it behind. Frankly, she humbles me.


Monday, May 11, 2020

Effacement Theology: Michael Rydelnik

Dr. Michael Rydelnik responds to the New Danish Bible Translation and fleshes out its problems HERE

Saturday, May 9, 2020

Robert D. Culver's Systematic Theology

No, I'm not reviewing Culver's Systematic - thankfully, you say! Rightfully so too.

Recently Dan Phillips mentioned Culver's little commentary on Daniel in a tweet. That little exchange spurred me to get out his Systematic and the Daniel commentary, and take a quick look at them again.

From a prophetic angle, I appreciate a lot of what he writes - his position on Israel in Daniel and the Olivet Discourse, the rapture, the millennium, and some interesting comments on the Restrainer. Culver is also irenic and respectful of positions he disagrees with.

I find that I'm spreading myself a little thin over too many areas lately. There are so many non-prophetic books I want (and need) to catch up on. That said, Culver has sparked my enthusiasm for some possible future articles.

You can read Dr. Paul Henebury's in-depth review of Culver's Systematic Theology HERE

Sunday, May 3, 2020