The Riddleblog

Peter Thiel and John Lennox on AI and Recent Antichrist Speculation

There has been much speculation of late about the growth of AI, multi-faceted AI tools, and a future antichrist. It should come as no surprise that much of this recent interest is tied to a longstanding tendency to incorporate antichrist speculation into the preexisting end-times categories of dispensationalists—a final apocalyptic battle (Armageddon), a one world tyrannical government (the UN/EU is the usual suspect), and in many circles this includes events in Israel involving the Jerusalem temple. Many have wondered about how an end-times antichrist may use exploitive technologies to do his nefarious bidding and establish a worldwide antichrist government—hence the concerns about AI. Although I wholeheartedly reject dispensational eschatology, as a small government Reagan conservative with libertarian leanings, I do have some sympathy for worries expressed by dispensationalists regarding our government’s use of evolving technological tools such as AI to restrict the constitutional liberties of its citizens.

In light of the recent trend to associate such an individual with rapidly developing technologies, we need to be clear that the common use of the term “antichrist” is highly problematic. In American culture, the term has a vague, generic meaning largely influenced by film and pop-culture (both evangelical and secular). This generic antichrist is thought to be a mysterious and evil end-times personage who appears on the world stage, usually in conjunction with the end of the world, but often tied to dystopian and post-apocalyptic end times scenarios.

This understanding of the Antichrist has virtually no connection to the term’s biblical usage. Many are surprised to discover that the term “antichrist” never appears in the Book of Revelation. In fact, the biblical use of the term, is much more precise and specific. John tells us that the Antichrist is anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, that there were a number of them, and that they were already present in the days of the apostles (e.g., 1 John 2:18; 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7). Biblically understood, an antichrist is any false Messiah associated with the heresy of denying the deity of Jesus.

To read the rest, follow the link below

I Was a Recent Guest on the “Theology for the Church” Podcast

Amillennialism with Kim Riddlebarger and host, Caleb Lenard

This is part two of a three part series on the Theology of the Church Podcast. Dr. Jim Hamilton presents historical premillennialism and Dr. Josh Howard presents postmillennialism.

“Shall Christ Be King of the Nation?” Ask My Great, Great, Grandmother

My longstanding interest in family history has been a rewarding and interesting endeavor. As genealogists often quip, “if you shake the family tree hard enough, the nuts will fall to the ground.” Yes, there are a few “nuts” in my family lineage (Rufus Riddlesbarger— tax dodger, inventor of birth-control devices, all around scoundrel), and a murderer (Raymond Bernard Finch), whose notorious crime and trial in 1960-1961 became the basis for a Perry Mason episode. There are also several notables including a US Senator (Harrison Holt Riddlebarger). But I get that a post like this could quickly turn out to be the equivalent of watching someone else’s family home movies. I’ll spare you.

There is one direct ancestor on my maternal line whose story may be worth consideration. My great, great, grandmother, Jenny Bland Beauchamp [hereafter JBB] (1833-1914), was a Baptist preacher’s wife, and an author (she wrote a book on Christ’s second advent, Our Coming King in 1895, as well as an earlier book, a polemic against the Church of Christ, Maplehurst; or Campbellism not Christianity in 1867). She was a prominent prohibitionist and activist in Denton, TX. The entry about her in the on-line Handbook of Texas is remarkable. By all accounts, she was a force with which to be reckoned.

If you live in a current or former dry county in Texas, you have her to thank. According to the Handbook of Texas History,

During the final year of her presidency, Mrs. Beauchamp traveled more than 5,000 miles lecturing and organizing for temperance; by the close of her administration Texas had 1,600 WCTU members, organized into about 100 local unions. Jenny Beauchamp was elected to a fifth presidential term in 1888 but declined to serve because of ill health. Like her husband [Rev. Sylvester A. Beauchamp], she was also an active worker in the state prohibition movement in the 1880s.

What brought her to my recent attention is the current debate over Christian Nationalism. Her essay in the Union Signal of February 6, 1890, wrestled with the question “Shall Christ be King of the Nation?” and provoked a snarky critical review in the Freedom Sentinel penned under the initials A.T. J.

JBB opens with the question, “Shall Christ Be King of the Nation?” She affirms that “every loyal Christian heart must answer this question in the affirmative,” which she qualifies with a follow-up question. “But in what sense will Christ be King of the Nation?” Her explanation affirms the complexity of the question as well as that of her proposed answer.

To read the rest, follow the link below

October Musings (10/8/2025)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates:

Christ Reformed Church’s 30th Anniversary celebration is coming up—October 24-26. C-Ref alums Dr. Mike Horton and Dr. R. Andrew Compton will be speaking on Friday night (Oct. 24), Dr. Brian Lee will be leading the catechism service, and I’ll be preaching Sunday morning (Oct. 26). If you wish to attend, go here for info (Christ Reformed Church 30th Anniversary)
Programming note: Both Riddleblog posts and the Blessed Hope Podcast will be interrupted at the end of the month and early November. I will be traveling

Thinking Out loud:

Preach it, Warren Buffet! “I could end the deficit in five minutes. You just pass a law that says that any time there’s a deficit of more than three percent of GDP, all sitting members of Congress are ineligible for re-election”
After a terrible July-August, it is hard to believe that the Yankees have made the playoffs, beat the Bosox, and are now squaring off against the Jays. We’ll see how that turns out—looks bad so far
I’ve used Gameday to follow MLB games for years. The balls and strikes count is quick on that platform and should be seamless in games given such a large and prolonged user-test. Using such a system will end bad calls by the home plate umpires, it should reduce the number of batters chirping over ball and strike calls, as well as cut back much of the whining coming from the dugouts about missed calls. Manager ejections should decrease dramatically. Someone quipped that we all owe Angel Hernandez a debt of gratitude for dragging MLB into the future
After watching Kash Patel, Pam Bondi, and members of Congress act like they were in an Animal House food fight, it is time turn the cameras off and put an end to this sort of asinine political theater. Is there any wonder why Congress has a 70% unfavorable rating? The government shutdown no doubt will increase the already pathetic unfavorability rating
I’m with Justin Amash on this. “I’d never trust anyone on the right or the left who is inconsistent on free speech. A person willing to abandon this fundamental American principle for short-term politics—justifying their own hypocrisy by citing the other side’s hypocrisy—can’t be counted on to uphold anything”
To tweak a phrase from Tombstone, it is not a reckoning Trump wants, it is revenge. Not a good character trait for a president
I’m glad Gavin Newsom is running for president—with the qualification, I hope he loses badly enough to leave the political scene permanently. For one thing, California will finally be rid of him (although he will still probably live in Napa Valley). For another, he’ll have to do something to keep gas prices from spiking after the New Year. With a national average in the mid-three dollar per gallon range, it is not a good look for a presidential candidate from California to have the state’s gas prices hover between five-six dollars per gallon—two dollars more than the national average

To read the rest of “my musings” follow the link below

"Jars of Clay" -- A New Episode the Blessed Hope Podcast (2 Corinthians 4:1-15)

Episode Synopsis:

In chapter 4 of 2 Corinthians, Paul addresses a subject no one likes or wants to talk about–the frailty and weakness of the human body. We have all seen images of great athletes with robust and fit bodies–the Greeks and Romans idolized the human body in their art and sculpture. But think of those magnificent bodies at their peak (say in their 20-40s) in contrast to those instances where we see the same person much older–with weight gain, joint and muscle deterioration, baldness, crepey skin and wrinkles, and the onset of illnesses and various maladies. That is what Paul is getting at here. We are all “jars of clay” destined to die. This is the inevitable outcome of Adam’s fall into sin.

Given his experience as an apostle, preaching the cross of Christ (as unpopular a message as one can find in the ancient world), Paul knows what it is like to suffer for Christ’s sake, as well as sacrifice his own body and health in the service of Christ’s church. Paul is not a masochist nor a whiner. But he has suffered greatly for the cause of Christ, especially in his work in Corinth–a church where many now belittle his work because of his physical weakness. We get hints in this letter of the emotional toll this took on Paul, as well as the impact of illness and bodily trauma. Paul recounts these matters to explain to the Corinthians why things have taken the course they have.

Paul is not a stoic who strives to “keep calm and carry on.” He is not a peddler of God’s word. Paul trusts in God’s providence through the power of the resurrected Christ and the indwelling Holy Spirit to bring about deliverance from the source of all of these problems–human sin. Paul reminds the Corinthians (and us) that eternal things are indeed ultimately far more important than temporal things. The cross is a divinely-revealed message which speaks to these ultimate concerns, whereas Greek and Roman paganism is a mere figment of the sinful human imagination and does not–indeed cannot. In fact, Paul attributes the latter to the work of Satan–the blinder of minds and the thief of souls.

In response to the challenges he faces in Corinth, Paul does not stress fitness, diet, supplements, or exercise as we are apt to do and which are, no doubt, important to our quality of life. Knowing that bodily frailness will eventually overcome us all–Paul directs the Corinthians (and us) to the sure and certain hope of the resurrection and entrance into the glory of God. We may be afflicted and suffer now, but the glories of Christ and eternal life in his presence is our future.

To read the show notes, or listen to the episode, follow the link below

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerOctober 6, 20252 Corinthians 4:1-15, Jars of ClayComment

Who Said That? (Updated)

Who said that?

"Whoever says in the Spirit, `give me money,' or anything else [like that], do not listen to him."

Please do not look up the answer—the whole point is to guess! But if you can’t restrain yourself, or if you know the answer, please don’t post the source and ruin it for everyone else.

Answer is in the comments section below

Who Said That?Kim RiddlebargerOctober 3, 2025If anyone says . . ., give me money Comments

"Liberation of the Will" -- My New Tabletalk Essay

My piece on the liberation of the will, is published in the October 2025 Tabletalk magazine.

If you don’t already subscribe, I highly recommend it.

"My Shepherd" -- An Exposition of the 23rd Psalm

A Favorite Psalm for Many

With the possible exception of John 3:16, there is perhaps no more familiar portion of the Bible than the 23rd Psalm. Many people memorize it as children. The text of the 23rd Psalm set against the backdrop of a pastel landscape adorns the stock funeral program in countless mortuaries across the United States. As the most famous of all the Psalms, the “shepherd’s Psalm” has been set to music by Bach, Shubert, and Williams. It is recited by characters in countless movies and novels whenever the plot requires proof that someone is a Christian or generically religious. But the 23rd Psalm is beloved by Christians because of its simple expression of confidence in God’s goodness, and because of Jesus’s identification of himself as the “good shepherd” who accompanies us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.

The 23rd Psalm is classified a “Psalm of trust” reflecting the believer’s trust in God’s tender care of his people. It is attributed to David (Israel’s shepherd-king), although no title or authorship is attached to the Psalm itself. Found in the First Book of the Psalter (which includes Psalms 1-41), Psalm 23 draws on the familiar image of the Lord (YHWH) as a shepherd who cares for his sheep (the people of Israel).

The Shepherd

Shepherd imagery was very familiar to everyone living in Israel at the time of David, and reflects David’s experience as a shepherd responsible for the care of his flock. In 1 Samuel 17:34-35, we read, “but David said to Saul, `Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” David knew what was involved in the care of sheep, and in this Psalm he depicts God as the true shepherd of Israel.

Some scholars contend that this Psalm reflects David’s time in the wilderness when he was hiding from Absalom–which may or may not be the case. But this Psalm does reflect a sense of readiness to face trials, difficulties, and danger because of our confidence in the Lord’s presence with us, especially in light of the fact that being in the presence of the Lord for all of eternity is every Christian’s hope.[1]

To read the rest, follow the link below

Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerSeptember 29, 2025The 23rd PsalmComment

Dogs in Dutch Churches

This scene (painted by Dutch artist Emanuel de Witte in 1651) is titled “Interior of the Oude Kerk [old church] at Delft During a Sermon” (1651). de Witte is well known for his interior scenes of churches. This particular painting is now part of the Wallace collection in London.

de Witte depicts a Reformed minister preaching from the raised pulpit in the center of the church. If you look carefully, several of those listening to the sermon have brought their dogs. According to one source, this was a common practice. Churches could be uncomfortably cold and dogs provided warmth. But should your dog bark, become disruptive, or attempt to do their business, church wardens would instruct the dog's owner to take them outside, or else make the owner clean up if the dog made a mess.

To read the rest, follow the link below

History and CultureKim RiddlebargerSeptember 26, 2025Dogs in churchComment

What Is So Hard to Understand About "No One Knows the Day or the Hour"?

Here we go again.

A South African Baptist pastor, Joshua Mhlakela, claims that the Lord revealed to him in a vision that the Rapture would occur on September 23-24 (during the Feast of Trumpets) which falls on those days. His YouTube video has over a half million hits and this is now buzzing all over the news in addition to social media. He’s interviewed by two spiritales presumably named Prisca and Maximilla.

I too eagerly await the Lord’s return, but am amazed that this seemingly endless stream of prophetic visionaries continue to do this and claim that the Holy Spirit reveals this nonsense to them, when Jesus was direct and crystal clear in Matthew 24:36, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.” It is bad enough that Mhlakela would make such a claim, but it still amazes me that the gullible and curious among professing Christians would give any credence to this. Until Jesus does come again, we will be plagued by Montantists of various stripes doing an end-run around the biblical teaching regarding our Lord’s return. Jesus urges us,”therefore you also must be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Matthew 24:44). Neither does the Holy Spirit reveal anything to anyone contrary to the express teaching of Scripture.

The great irony here is that Peter warned about such conditions in 2 Peter 3:3-5.

Knowing this first of all, that scoffers will come in the last days with scoffing, following their own sinful desires. They will say, “Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as they were from the beginning of creation.” For they deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God.

These so-called “prophets” do great harm to Christ’s church and their falsehoods only create the kind of rank skepticism the apostles warned us about in regard to the Lord’s return.

To read the rest, follow the link below

End Times Nuttiness, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerSeptember 24, 2025Sept 23-24 Rapture Comments

A New Episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast -- "The Glory of the New Covenant" (2 Corinthians 3:1-18)

Episode Synopsis:

As Paul finds himself facing a serious situation with challenges to his apostolic authority and attacks upon his person and reputation, he defends himself and his apostolic office by pointing to God’s saving work among the once pagan Corinthians. Through Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit, the believers among the Corinthians now have hearts of flesh through which they have become “letters from Christ.” This is not only proof of the effectiveness of God’s work among them through the labors of the apostle Paul, but as the apostle will go on to spell out this is a sure sign of the superiority and glories of the new covenant–something the old covenant can never match.

Paul draws three important contrasts in chapter 3 of 2 Corinthians. First, he explains the glories of the new covenant which makes it vastly superior to the old which it has superceded. Second, Paul contrasts the flesh and the Spirit, in which the distinction between the law and gospel is made explicit. Third, Paul draws out the superiority of Christ to Moses by illustrating the fading glory of the old covenant. In making these contrasts, Paul explains how properly understanding the course of redemptive history is one of the key features of his apostolic ministry through which hearts of stone are transformed into hearts of flesh. None of the false teachers and opponents of Paul can make such a claim. Their self-aggrandizing efforts to undo the work that God has done in their midst through the labors of Paul is nothing but a dead end and can do nothing to transform the sinful human heart.

At the end of chapter 3, Paul discusses the glory upon Moses’s face as recounted in Exodus 34. While Moses was forced to veil his face because the Israelites were terrified after Moses had been in the presence of YHWH, Paul described how that fading glory actually reveals the shortcomings of the old covenant and that as a result the hearts of the Israelites were hardened. But the work of the Holy Spirit under the new covenant takes away the need for veiling as required after Moses was given the law at Sinai. Under the new covenant, our faces are unveiled as we are transformed unto glory in anticipation of being in God’s presence through the work of the Spirit under the new covenant.

To see the show notes or listen to the episode, follow the link below

“Something Better for Us” Hebrews 11:29-40 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Twenty-One)

Final Fulfillment Awaits

Throughout Hebrews 11, the author uses the phrase “by faith” in reference to the particular individuals singled out for mention in this well-known chapter of the Bible. Those mentioned here–who are found throughout the whole of the Old Testament, prior to the dawn of the messianic age–believed that God would keep his covenant promise.

But for everyone on the list, the fulfillment of that promise was still far off in the distant future. As the author of Hebrews has been pointing out, it was not until the coming of Jesus Christ that the exact nature of God’s covenant promise and the wonderful benefits our Lord secures for us become clear. That for which these Old Testament saints longed, is for us, a glorious and present reality. What God had promised to the Old Testament saints is now fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ.

Last time we took up the closing verses of Hebrews 11, the so-called “hall of faith.” As we have seen throughout our time in this chapter, the author of Hebrews is making the point that there has always been one covenant promise–“I will be your God and you will be my people”–and that this same covenant promise unfolds throughout the pages of the Old Testament.

One Covenant Promise Which All Those Listed Embraced

In Hebrews 11, the author appeals to a litany of well-known people who believed this promise. Although the people mentioned here serve as an example to us of sorts, the author’s primary purpose in this chapter is not to present these Old Testament saints as examples for us to emulate. Rather, his purpose is to remind his Jewish readers that the same promise which these Old Testament saints believed, pointed ahead to the coming of Jesus Christ, in whom the promise has been fulfilled. Therefore, the author’s emphasis falls on the continuity of the covenant promise (God’s promise does not change across time), not so much on the example these saints set for us–some of whom, as we will see, were not very saintly.

To read the rest, follow the link below

HebrewsKim RiddlebargerSeptember 19, 2025Something Better to Come, Hebrews 11:29-40Comment

“The Error of Denying Biblical Teaching That We Are Dead in Sin” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (4)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

IV. Who teach that unregenerate man is not strictly or totally dead in his sins or deprived of all capacity for spiritual good but is able to hunger and thirst for righteousness or life and to offer the sacrifice of a broken and contrite spirit which is pleasing to God. For these views are opposed to the plain testimonies of Scripture: “You were dead in your transgressions and sins” (Eph. 2:1, 5); “The imagination of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil all the time” (Gen. 6:5; 8:21). Besides, to hunger and thirst for deliverance from misery and for life, and to offer God the sacrifice of a broken spirit is characteristic only of the regenerate and of those called blessed (Ps. 51:17; Matt. 5:6).

This article is a summary statement of ground covered previously. Arminians do indeed acknowledge the reality of Adam’s fall into sin, but in order to preserve human freedom, they seek to mitigate the damage done to human nature as a result. Those who teach that people are merely weakened by the fall, yet are still able to do spiritual good (defined in the Canons as “hungering and thirsting after righteousness”), or who chose to follow Christ prior to regeneration, which then results in “life”, find themselves facing a tidal wave of biblical texts which teach the exact opposite. Several such passages are included in the refutation. Of course, there are many more.

Arminians teach that people are “wounded in sin” as a consequence of the Fall, but not “dead in sin.” They concede that human nature has been damaged, but also contend that people still retain the natural ability to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Knowing that Scripture is clear about grace preceding faith, the Arminians reduce grace to an enticement for the sinner to act using their ability to do so retained after the Fall. If they so choose to seek salvation, they receive more grace which God then brings to conclusion—regeneration and a change of nature. But according to Arminians, grace is not tied to prior regeneration (which, the Scriptures teach–John 3:3-6; John 6:44, 65, etc.) and therefore precedes any exercise of faith. Instead, it is taught that grace is merely offered to Adam’s fallen children who must then take advantage of it. In this scheme, fallen sinners must co-operate with such grace, but as a consequence of their operating assumptions, Arminians must overlook or ignore the fact the those “dead in sin” (as the Scriptures so clearly teach) retain neither the power nor the ability to come to faith in Christ apart from prior regeneration.

To read the rest, follow the link below

The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerSeptember 17, 2025The Effects of the Fall Comments

Our Current Political Turmoil -- The Cause and a Cure

Yuval Levin’s American Covenant is an important and timely book. If you are wondering what is wrong with American politics and our government’s ongoing failure to address and attempt to solve pressing political and societal issues, Levin has your answer—our Congress is failing to fulfill its proper function according to the Constitution. Once that domino falls, so too come the downstream consequences which seriously impact both the executive office (Congress has ceded far too much power to the President—hence the constant stream of executive orders) and the judicial branch of government (the federal courts and the Supreme Court) has far too often become a determinative body in disputes over legislative matters which should be addressed and debated in the Congress, but which are not.

Levin calls our attention to something quite easy to overlook but vital to understand. The Constitution was never designed to secure complete national unity and full agreement of the citizens. The Constitution was intended to give America a political framework from which to work through our inevitable disagreements by forcing elected officials (Congress) to negotiate over legislation and then compromise to get such legislation enacted. As Levin puts it, “a more unified society would not disagree less, but would disagree better” (3.)

Levin’s purpose statement is clear and capably unpacked in subsequent chapters. He writes,

I begin from the premises that the self-evident truths to which our country has been often imperfectly dedicated from the start remain as true as ever; that the Constitution has enabled us to work toward governing ourselves accordingly (and increasingly so in some important respects) and that the hard work involved in its preservation, improvement, and repair is, therefore, worth our best efforts (8-9).

The Constitution provides the framework for a renewal of public life since it is the supreme legal authority of the land, providing our nation with a rule of law. It provides the means by which our government can address pressing problems through enacting legislation, not by moralizing, pontificating, and social media peacocking.

To read the rest, follow the link below

Who Said That? (Updated)

Who Said That?

"Sacred doctrine makes use of these authorities [philosophers and human arguments] as extrinsic and probable arguments; but properly uses the authority of the canonical Scripture as an incontrovertible proof, and the authority of the doctors of the Church [the theologians] as one that may be properly used, yet merely as probable. For our faith rests upon the revelation made to the apostles and prophets, who wrote the canonical books, and not on any revelations (if there were any) made to other doctors."

Please do not look up the answer—the whole point is to guess! But if you can’t restrain yourself, or if you know the answer, please don’t post the source and ruin it for everyone else.

Leave your answer in the comments section using the link below

Who Said That?Kim RiddlebargerSeptember 11, 2025Sacred doctrine Comments

"The Aroma of the Gospel" -- A New Episode of the Blessed Hope (2 Corinthians 1:23-2:17)

Episode Synopsis:

Paul is under attack by some in the Corinthian church who question his intentions and his ability–he will later identify them as “super” or “false” apostles who are agents of Satan. These men claim to exercise charismatic gifts but which call attention to themselves in a manner unlike Paul had taught the Corinthians. They claim that although Paul is tough when he picks up his quill, he is weak in person, and a poor public speaker to boot. He tells the Corinthians he’s going to come to them, but he doesn’t. They say Paul is wishy-washy and unreliable. Instead of coming himself, he sends his lackeys, Timothy and Titus. Things in Corinth were so bad that one of Paul’s critics caused such great harm to Paul’s reputation and challenged his authority to the point the entire congregation was severely impacted.

But as we have come to expect of him, Paul takes the high road. As the founder and spiritual father of this congregation, he will not let the situation get out of hand. He will defend himself and explain his current circumstance. He begins by calling God as his witness so that everyone understands that Paul is a truth-teller and not an excuse maker. As he explains, he did not come to Corinth because he did not want a repeat of his previous “painful visit,” which he feared would only bring additional stress to the congregation and greater distance from himself. It grieves Paul to have to say as much, but since the matter has caused so much pain, it was best not to come then. Since the Corinthians have disciplined the offending party, and since he had apparently repented and was restored to fellowship, this opens the door for Paul to make his promised trip to Corinth after visiting Macedonia. Meanwhile, there have been many tears shed and if the Corinthians have forgiven the offender, Paul has too.

Paul explains that his plans for his visit evolved due to the ever-changing circumstances in Asia Minor, including his missed connection with Titus–a matter of great frustration to Paul, who pressed on to Macedonia. Using the image of the triumphal procession led by ancient rulers–including the Roman Caesars–Paul speaks of himself as a servant in the royal train of Jesus Christ. As a great leader ensures his presence is manifest in a fragrant scent covering the stench of his defeated foes, who march in chains and filth at the end of the processional, so too Paul speaks of the gospel as the most pleasing aroma, covering the stench of human sin. Paul flips the royal image so as to remind the Corinthians, that he is captive to the king of kings and Caesar’s lord, Jesus Christ, and no amount of flower petals and incense can match the wonderful aroma of the gospel.

To read the show notes and listen to this episode, follow the link below

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerSeptember 8, 2025Aroma of the Gospel, 2 Cor 1:13-2:17Comment

September Musings (09/05/2025)

Riddleblog and Blessed Hope Podcast Updates

More traveling to come for the Rs, so the schedule for new episodes of the Blessed Hope Podcast and posting on the Riddleblog will suffer occasional disruption through the end of October
Now that I am retired, I can do stuff like this—if anyone is interested in pictures of my grand kids, the missus and I celebrating stuff, our family travels, and my yard and garden, you can check out my instagram account. No pictures yet of me chasing the neighbor’s kids off my lawn

Thinking Out loud:

The worst commercial currently popping up in my feed is the Jardiance ad, especially the baseball version. Jardiance may be really swell, but no one on that baseball team can probably lift a bat, much less swing one
When someone tells me they are going to “research something online,“ more often than not they really mean that they are going to “research” stuff which only reinforces their current beliefs/opinions
Rumor has it that Bill Bellicheck’s 24 year old girl friend is going to enter the transfer portal after UNC’s blow-out loss to TCU. He was 41, when she was 7. The creepy ick factor is off the chart here

An observation—the evangelicalism of my youth (the R’s attended Grace Brethren and Evangelical Free churches) were passionately interested in missions and evangelism. What happened? Tribal politicking, debates over Christian nationalism, and support for Trump despite his lack of personal morality now dominates the religious circles of my youth. I get that Trump has done much to push back against “woke” nonsense (and I agree with many of his goals if not necessarily with his methods). But the shift in focus from taking the gospel to the ends of the earth to Trump’s near-canonization on the part of many evangelicals is something I am sure future historians will identify as evidence of a significant decline of American Christianity and obvious secularization
I recently renewed my CA diver’s license. If the efficiency of the California DMV in any way reflects the competency of our current governor, why anyone would vote for Gavin Newsom for president is beyond my comprehension. Oh, and then there is the high speed rail project. Don’t get me started. California is the greatest state in America—except for our state government which is awful
Just saw an ad from Disneyland (a few miles away from me) explaining that this was the cheapest time of year for you to go (after the kids are back in school and before they start their Halloween Stuff in August ?????). Tickets for sixteen special dates are only $104.00 each! You gotta be kidding me—Halloween events starting in August?

To read the rest of my musings, follow the link below

MusingsKim RiddlebargerSeptember 5, 2025The Civil War, Calfornia craziness, Updates and links Comments

Warfield on Colossians 1:12 -- “The Heritage of the Saints in Light”

B. B. Warfield’s sermon, “The Heritage of the Saints in Light,” is based upon Colossians 1:12 – “Giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.” This sermon does not appear in the comprehensive Warfield bibliography (and so is not dated), but since it appears in the volume Faith and Life, it was likely given in the chapel at Princeton Theological Seminary as typical on Sunday afternoons.

Mongerism has an electronic version available in multiple formats here. Faith and Life

Here are some excerpts, although I encourage you to read the sermon in its entirety. The theme is “light” as our Christian inheritance, since God is light, and darkness is our condition in sin.

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Our passage is one of those fervent descriptions of the blessed state of the saved soul in which the writings of Paul abound. It occurs in the midst of the prayer which he says he has been offering for the Colossians ever since their conversion. . . . From that day, he says, he has been continually thanking God for the Colossian Christians, and mingling with his thanks earnest petitions for their Christian walk.

The gist of his petition is that they—so lately brought to Christ and so surrounded by danger—should be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding, so that they might walk worthily of the Lord unto all pleasing. Two points are to be noted here. The thing which Paul desires for the Colossian converts is that they may, in their walk and conversation, be well pleasing to Christ. . . . The second thing to be noted is that Paul expected this perfection of service to be mediated by perfection of knowledge. What he directly asks for is that these converts may be filled with the knowledge of God's will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding—and the word used here for “knowledge” is the term for precise, full, accurate, profound knowledge. He prays directly that they may have the knowledge—in order that they may walk worthily of their Lord unto all kinds of pleasing.

Knowledge comes thus before life and is the constructive force of life. Thus the Apostle teaches us the supreme value of a right and profound and exact knowledge of Divine things. Not as if knowledge were the end—life, undoubtedly, is the end at which the saving processes are directed; but because the sole lever to raise the life to its proper height is just right knowledge. It is life—the right life—that the Apostle is praying for in behalf of the Colossians: but he represents knowledge—right knowledge—as possessing the necessity of means to that life.

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B. B. WarfieldKim RiddlebargerSeptember 3, 2025Light as inheritanceComment

“By Faith the People Crossed” Hebrews 11:29-40 (An Exposition of the Book of Hebrews–Part Twenty)

Moses—A Surprising Choice to Lead His People

You would think that if God were going to raise up someone to lead his people to freedom from their bondage under the Pharaoh of Egypt, he would choose someone other than Moses–a man who didn’t speak well in public, and who killed an Egyptian before fleeing across the Red Sea to the Sinai peninsula to go into hiding and remaining there until God summoned him back to Egypt. You would also think that if you were going to list those people most closely associated with the Exodus and conquest of Canaan whose faith stands out as an example for us to follow, you would probably mention Joshua or Caleb. Instead, the only name which appears in Hebrews 11 in connection to the Conquest is that of Rahab, a woman who owned a brothel in the city of Jericho. God does indeed move in mysterious ways, and to accomplish his purposes he often uses people whom we would never choose nor ever expect him to use.

Examples? Or a Demonstration of God’s Faithfulness? Or Both?

Hebrews 11 is often described as the “hall of faith.” The chapter has been given this label because, as is often taught, the author lists a number of the great saints from the Old Testament and their exploits so that we might emulate their example. “Have faith like Abraham had and do what Abraham did.” But as I have been arguing throughout our time in this chapter, the example these people set for us is secondary to the author’s primary purpose. As I see it, the author’s emphasis falls not so much on the faith of the individuals mentioned here (as examples for us to emulate), but on the continuity of God’s covenant promise which progressively unfolds throughout redemptive history as seen by the presence of believers throughout the whole of biblical history (God’s faithfulness). These people believed (or trusted) the same thing across time–God’s gracious covenant promise. Therefore, the importance of this famous passage is not to be found so much in the example set for us by those listed here, but in the continuity of God’s promise across the ages. This means that the same gospel was found throughout the Old Testament, which has been revealed by Jesus and taught us by the apostles in the New, which is the primary point of Hebrews 11.

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HebrewsKim RiddlebargerSeptember 1, 2025The Exodus, The Conquest, Rahab Comments

“The Error of Denying Biblical Teaching Regarding Free Will” — The Rejection of Errors, Third and Fourth Head of Doctrine, Canons of Dort (3)

Synod rejects the errors of those . . .

III. Who teach that in spiritual death the spiritual gifts have not been separated from man’s will, since the will in itself has never been corrupted but only hindered by the darkness of the mind and the unruliness of the emotions, and since the will is able to exercise its innate free capacity once these hindrances are removed, which is to say, it is able of itself to will or choose whatever good is set before it — or else not to will or choose it. This is a novel idea and an error and has the effect of elevating the power of free choice, contrary to the words of Jeremiah the prophet: “The heart itself is deceitful above all things and wicked” (Jer. 17:9); and of the words of the apostle: “All of us also lived among them” (the sons of disobedience) “at one time in the passions of our flesh, following the will of our flesh and thoughts” (Eph. 2:3).

Building upon the previous article, the error addressed in paragraph 3 is that according to the Dutch Arminians, the human will remains largely undamaged by Adam’s fall–although human willing may be influenced by inherited corruption impacting the mind and emotions. Since the will supposedly operates independently–apart from original righteousness and holiness–despite the fall of Adam, the human will remains free possessing the power of contrary choice. This supports the unbiblical notion of semi-Pelagianism that although human nature is damaged by the fall, since the will is not part of that nature, fallen sinners retain the power to choose Christ, or not, depending upon one’s greatest inclination at any given moment. So, to summarize the error being addressed, whatever damage may have been done to human nature in the Fall, the human will was not significantly damaged.

The authors of the Canons point out that nowhere does the Bible allow for human nature to be weakened by the fall, while the human will remains largely unaffected. If the human heart is “deceitful” above all things, then the human will cannot operate “neutrally,” apart from sin’s effects upon the heart–which is but another way of saying that the person is at their core enslaved to sin. Paul says people are by nature “sons of disobedience” and apart from a work of God’s grace changing our nature (regeneration), we all follow the passions of the flesh (the sinful nature) in all our thinking and doing. The will remains enslaved by sin until acted upon by God. We have no more power if left to ourselves to choose Christ, than a dead person does to raise themselves from the dead.

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The Canons of DortKim RiddlebargerAugust 29, 2025The Arminian defense of free willComment