Posts in eschatology
This Will Drive the Bible Prophecy Pundits Wild
This Will Drive the Bible Prophecy Pundits Wild

In 2018, when Pete Hegseth was still a reporter for FoxNews, he made several provocative comments about the Temple Mount in Jerusalem. Now he is Trump’s Defense Secretary. But the internet never forgets.

According to Qatar-backed London based media site Middle East Eye,

Donald Trump's choice as the next United States defense secretary has called for the building of a third Jewish temple on the site of Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem.

Hegseth has previously touted his avowedly pro-Israel credentials, which derive in part from his fundamentalist Christian beliefs.

Speaking at an event in Jerusalem in 2018 he said there was "no reason why the miracle of re-establishing the temple on the Temple Mount isn’t possible", using the Israeli name for the raised plateau in occupied East Jerusalem where Al-Aqsa Mosque stands.

"I don't how it would happen, you don't know how it would happen, but I know that it could happen - and a step in that process is the recognition that facts and activities on the ground truly matter," he said at the event, which took place at Jerusalem's King David Hotel.

He also told attendees that Israel should take advantage of Trump being in office to do what they needed to do in the region, because there were "true believers" in Washington who would back them.

Any discussion of the future of the Jerusalem Temple and its environs is provocative to say the least. The news article spells out the reasons why this subject is so fraught with religious and political tension.

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End Times Nuttiness, eschatology, Biblical EventsKim RiddlebargerRebuild the Temple in Jerusalem?, Christ the true temple Comments
The Late Great Hal Lindsey (November 23, 1929-November 25, 2024)
The Late Great Hal Lindsey (November 23, 1929-November 25, 2024)

Hal Lindsey has died at age 95. Here’s an obit in CT from Daniel Hummel—Hal Lindsey

Say what you will, Lindsey’s Late Great Planet Earth was the best-selling book in America during the 1970s. It was, I recall, the first theological book I picked out and read on my own as a young teen. That book was one of the reasons for my life-long interest in eschatology. Although now largely forgotten, Lindsey put the biblical prophecy industry on the map and opened the door for the Left Behind series and a host of other prophecy punditry.

My parody of Lindsey’s ever-changing mustache was one of the most popular posts on the old Riddleblog which I re-posted here several years ago. And There Will Be Signs on the Earth—Hal Lindsey’s Mustache

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eschatology, End Times Nuttiness, Current EventsKim RiddlebargerHal Lindsey, The Late Great Planet Earth Comments
“Watch!” – Jesus’s Olivet Discourse (Mark 13:24-37)
“Watch!” – Jesus’s Olivet Discourse (Mark 13:24-37)

Jesus Continues His Farewell Discourse Before His Death and Resurrection

As Jesus and his disciples sat on the Mount of Olives, directly across the Kidron Valley from the Jerusalem Temple, Jesus began to answer those questions put to him by his disciples regarding a statement he made a short time earlier. As they were leaving the temple complex on Tuesday afternoon of Easter Week–the disciples remarked about the grandeur of the temple and the huge stones which were used in its construction. Upon hearing their comments, Jesus told them, “`Do you see all these great buildings?’ . . . `Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.’” This shocking comment from Jesus prompted the disciples to ask Jesus privately, “`Tell us, when will these things happen? And what will be the sign that they are all about to be fulfilled?’” Jesus answered their questions, taking their second question first. This section of the gospel has come to be known as the Olivet Discourse. These words constitute our Lord’s most significant teaching about the future course of history. In this passage, Jesus sets out those things his people should expect until he returns at the end of the age.

Having completed the first part of the Olivet Discourse (verses 1-23 of Mark 13), when Jesus set forth those signs which would precede the destruction of the temple, we now move into the second portion of the discourse, which deals with Jesus’s return at the end of the age to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. The Olivet Discourse is a significant discourse (taking up all of chapter 13 of Mark’s gospel) given by Jesus to explain to the disciples what is soon to come to pass with the events of A.D. 70. Jesus predicts that the Roman army, led by Titus, will destroy the temple and the city of Jerusalem, thereby scattering the Jews into the ends of the earth as a tragic consequence. While explaining the signs that precede these momentous events–in effect, answering the second question put to him by the disciples first–Jesus goes on in the last half of the discourse to speak of a new event, his own second coming at the end of the age.

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Biblical Events, Biblical Theology, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerThe Oloivet Discourse, Mark 13:24-37Comment
1 Thessalonians 1:10, Dispensationalism, and the “Wrath of God”
1 Thessalonians 1:10, Dispensationalism, and the “Wrath of God”

The following is from my forthcoming exposition of Paul’s Thessalonian Letters, “When the Lord Jesus Is Revealed from Heaven” which will be made available as a free download for those who complete season two of the Blessed Hope Podcast.

Paul’s contention in 1 Thessalonians 1:10 that the day of God’s wrath (and the final judgment) occurs when Jesus returns on the last day, raises insurmountable difficulties for all forms of premillennialism. Premillennarians contend that Jesus returns to establish a millennial kingdom on the earth, usually thought to be structured upon the theocratic nation of Israel, with Jesus physically ruling over the earth from David’s throne in Jerusalem. At the end of the millennial age, supposedly, Satan is released from the Abyss and organizes the nations who collectively revolt against Christ and his church (Revelation 20:7-10). In response to this last outbreak of evil, when God casts Satan and his minions into the lake of fire, only then does the final judgment take place, fully one thousand years after Jesus Christ returns to deliver his people from the coming wrath of God.

In light of the premillennial misinterpretation of the scene in Revelation 20:1-10–supposedly occurring after our Lord’s return, instead of seeing John as referring to the interadvental period and its consummation when Jesus returns–premillenarians (including dispensationalists) must assert that God’s eschatological wrath is not manifest until the thousand year millennial age comes to an end. Both camps affirm they hold this view based upon what they claim to be a literal reading of an apocalyptic text. But the impossibility of the premillennial view becomes all-too clear when Paul, in an epistle written to answer specific questions about the Lord’s return, informs the Thessalonians that God’s eschatological wrath occurs when Christ returns to deliver them (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10), not one thousand years later. This leaves no room for a millennial age after our Lord’s return. None at all.

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Amillennialism, eschatologyKim Riddlebargerwrath of God, premillennialism, dispensationalism Comments
Some Thoughts on Paul's Doctrine of Christ's Parousia
Some Thoughts on Paul's Doctrine of Christ's Parousia

The following is from my forthcoming exposition of Paul’s Thessalonian Letters, “When the Lord Jesus Is Revealed from Heaven” which will be made available as a free download for those who complete season two of the Blessed Hope Podcast.

_______________________________________________

Paul answers the question asked by the Thessalonians, “do those who die before Christ’s return miss out on the benefits of our Lord’s return”?

In verse 15b, Paul responds, stating that “we who are alive, who are left until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep.” There is no diminished blessing for those who die before our Lord’s return. They don’t miss out on anything so there is no need to worry about them. They already possess eternal life as spoken of by Jesus in John 5:24—“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.” All those who have died in Christ will return with Jesus when he does (1 Thessalonians 4:14).

Paul describes Jesus’s return as his parousia (παρουσία), a term with a very rich cultural background. According to Gene Green, parousia is . . .

a term that commonly meant the glorious “coming” of a deity or the official visit of a sovereign to a city, who himself was often honored as divine. An imperial visit was an event of great pomp and magnificent celebrations, with rich banquets, speeches that praised the imperial visitor, a visit to the local temple, rich donations, celebration of games, sacrifices, statues dedicated, and arches and other buildings constructed. Money was minted to commemorate the event, crowns of gold might be given, and at times a new era was inaugurated. . . . The officials and a multitude of people would head out of the city to receive the one who came, all dressed with special clothing.[1]

When Jesus returns with his heavenly host, his people who are living at that time will be caught up to join him in his triumphal return.

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eschatology, Biblical Events, Biblical Theology, Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerChrist's parousia, 1 Thessalonians 5:13 Comment
Paul on Christian Hope in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14
Paul on Christian Hope in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

The Question Put to Paul by the Thessalonians

In light of the broad background of the New Testament’s teaching regarding the second advent of our Lord, we consider Paul’s teaching regarding Christian hope in verses 13-14 of 1 Thessalonians 4. Paul is addressing the question brought to him from the Thessalonians by Timothy regarding the fate of those who die before Christ returns. Since Paul had been gone from Thessalonica for but a short period of time, many have wondered about how it is that this question would arise, since it is not likely that many people in the congregation would have died during the short time span between Paul’s departure and Timothy’s return trip to the city. Perhaps some were martyred due to persecution, but this is improbable. Although many proposals have been put forth as an explanation, Gene Green wisely cautions us,

The reconstruction of greatest merit argues that at the moment of confronting the reality of death, the Thessalonians did not allow their confession to inform their reaction to this human tragedy. Alternately, they may simply have not understood fully the reality of the resurrection from the dead, especially in light of the general Gentile consensus that such things simply do not happen.[1]

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Biblical Events, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerThe resurrection of the dead, Believers return with Christ Comment
My Take on the Hamas Attack on Israel -- 10/7 2023
My Take on the Hamas Attack on Israel -- 10/7 2023

A number of friends, church folk, and Riddleblog readers have asked about my take on Israel’s 911 (10/7). So, here you go.

It won’t surprise you that my take on the Hamas’s vicious attack on Southern Israel is much different than Greg Laurie’s ("Fasten Your Seat Belts"). A legion of prophecy pundits and “end-times” YouTubers have popped up, many offering wild and bizarre speculation about the tragedy and its role in the end-times. This is what they do. Admittedly, I have not watched or read much of this recent prophecy speculation, but what I have seen (most of which folks have sent to me) is largely a re-hash of prophetic scenarios long-since discredited (by the embarrassing fact that they got it wrong when previously proposed) now re-packed and presented as new material, with the hope that people will forget how wrong the pundits were the last time they made such predictions.

My points for consideration:

1). As for any biblical significance to the horrors inflicted upon Israeli citizens by Hamas terrorists, this clearly falls under the category of signs given us by Jesus regarding wars and rumors of wars (Matthew 24:6-8). Jesus did not predict specific conflicts (such as this one), only what he describes as “birth pains” of the end. What happened in Southern Israel falls into the category of “wars and rumor of wars,” with no specific fulfillment of any biblical prophecy regarding Israel. What Hamas did was very much like what Vladimir Putin did in his barbaric invasion of Ukraine. He ignored all conventional rules of war and inflicted savagery upon innocents—the elderly, women and children, and unarmed civilians. Hamas has done the same in Israel. In this we see the depths of human depravity as divine image-bearers are slaughtered merely to satisfy someone’s rage and anger. Jesus told us to expect as much until he returns.

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eschatology, Amillennialism, End Times NuttinessKim RiddlebargerIsrael and Hamas, Israel back in the land Comments
The Next Episode of "The Future" Is Up! "This Age and the the Age to Come: the Implausibility of Premillennialism"
The Next Episode of "The Future" Is Up! "This Age and the the Age to Come: the Implausibility of Premillennialism"

Episode Synopsis:

I begin this episode with a personal testimony.

I was born and raised a dispensationalist. Our family owned a Christian bookstore. The first Christian book I picked out and read on my own was Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth. Years later, I was challenged by one of our delivery men about the books we were selling–all the dispensationalist best sellers. He said he was “Reformed.” I thought he meant that he had gone to “reform school” or was on work release from prison. The questions he put to me bounced off like BB’s against a Battleship. Dispensationalism was biblical. How could anyone doubt that?

But those BB’s actually penetrated my embarrassingly thin armor. Eventually, I became a very reluctant Calvinist and then I started re-thinking my eschatology. After university and a year at the Simon Greenleaf School of Law (which was founded by John Warwick Montgomery, the faculty included Walter Martin, and Rod Rosenbladt, and is now the Trinity Law School in Santa Ana), I was steadily moving away from my doctrinal roots (Arminian and dispensational). I found that the Reformation views on law and gospel, the five solas, and the end times, were absolutely compelling because they were thoroughly biblical. To my surprise Drs. Montgomery and Rosenbladt suggested a career change–seminary, specifically the new seminary in Escondido (90 miles to the South), Westminster Seminary California.

In the Acts and Paul class taught by Dennis Johnson, I first encountered what I came to know as the two-age model–terms I was familiar with from reading the New Testament but never thought much about–“this age” and “the age to come.” After reading Herman Ridderbos and Geerhardus Vos on Paul, I realized how serious a challenge the two-model was to my premillennial eschatology (I had pretty much given up on most of my dispensationalism by then, although I still thought like one). Driving home after Dr. Johnson’s class, I had an “ah-ha moment.” “I can’t be premillennial any more.” The two-age model makes premillennialism (in all its forms) a biblical impossibility. I dug in my heels and fought the inevitable. But here I am far down the road, presenting and defending the two-age model. If you’ve not heard this before, you are in for a real surprise. This is a game changer in terms of your view of the end times.

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

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Blessed Hope Podcast, Amillennialism, eschatology, Reformed ResourcesKim RiddlebargerThe Two Age Model Comments
A "Review" of Daniel G. Hummel's, "The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism"
A "Review" of Daniel G. Hummel's, "The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism"

Daniel G. Hummel, The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism: How the Evangelical Battle Over the End times Shaped a Nation (Eerdmans, 2023), 400 pages, $29.99

What Sort of Book Is This?

Daniel Hummel’s book is not written to defend or refute the dispensational approach to biblical prophecy and the end times. I noticed a fair bit of pre-publication chatter to that effect, so it is important to tamp down that expectation now that the volume is available. What Hummel has done is to write a thorough, quick-paced, and well-sourced history of the origin, development, and current status of what we speak of today as “dispensationalism.” Hummel’s “nothing but the facts” approach makes the book hard to review since the author moves quickly through the history of the movement with but minimal amounts of evaluation along the way. This is the proper method for a volume such as this one, but leaves little about which a reviewer might quibble.

The most significant thing to note about The Rise and Fall of Dispensationalism is that Hummel situates the rise of a distinct dispensational theology within the broader context of what we often identify as “American evangelicalism.” This is Hummel’s purpose, one which he accomplishes quite well, and which is very valuable in its own right. But this broader perspective can also be a bit frustrating for those who participate in a more nuanced and related space which Hummel only addresses tangentially—the internecine debate about whether or not dispensationalism provides a helpful, and dare I say “biblical” manner of interpreting the Bible. Those readers of the Riddleblog who are interested in Hummel’s volume should keep his purpose in mind so as not be disappointed in what they will find. This is not a refutation of dispensationalism. Hummel’s book is exactly what it claims to be—an account of the rise of a distinctive dispensational theology in the 1830’s until its most recent period of development, which Hummel identifies as the “pop dispensationalism” of the Trump era. This is an historical account of dispensationalism and the role it has played in the development of American evangelicalism, and a well-written and important one at that. Hummel’s book is therefore must reading for anyone interested in eschatology, the rise of American evangelicalism, or who might have deep dispensational roots as does the author and this reviewer.

To read the review, click here: A "Review" of Hummel's Rise and Fall of Dipsensationalism

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Amillennialism, eschatology, History and Culture, Riddleblog PublicationKim RiddlebargerReview of Hummel, Hummel on Dispensationalism Comments
Louis Berkhof on the Historical Development of the Church's Doctrine of Antichrist
Louis Berkhof on the Historical Development of the Church's Doctrine of Antichrist

Berkhof’s summation of church’s development of the doctrine of “Antichrist” across time is very helpful. As you can see, there has been little consensus about this. Berkhof is also writing before more recent speculation generation by the prophecy pundits, especially in light of Israel being re-installed in her ancient homeland.

Historically, there have been different opinions respecting Antichrist. In the ancient Church many maintained that Antichrist would be a Jew, pretending to be the Messiah and ruling at Jerusalem. Many recent commentators are of the opinion that Paul and others mistakenly thought that some Roman emperor would be Antichrist, and that John clearly had Nero in mind in Rev. 13:18, since the letters in the Hebrew words for “emperor Nero” are exactly equivalent to 666, Rev. 13:18. Since the time of the Reformation many, among whom also Reformed scholars, looked upon papal Rome, and in some cases even on some particular Pope, as Antichrist. And the papacy indeed reveals several traits of Antichrist as he is pictured in Scripture. Yet it will hardly do to identify it with Antichrist. It is better to say that there are elements of Antichrist in the papacy. Positively, we can only say: (a) that the anti-Christian principle was already at work in the days of Paul and John according to their own testimony; (b) that it will reach its highest power towards the end of the world; (c) that Daniel pictures the political, Paul the ecclesiastical, and John in the book of Revelation both sides of it: the two may be successive revelations of the anti-Christian power; and (d) that probably this power will finally be concentrated in a single individual, the embodiment of all wickedness.

L. Berkhof, Systematic Theology (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans publishing co., 1938). 702.

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Amillennialism, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerAntichrst Comments
The Great Tribulation and the Great Commission—Disciples, Witnesses, and Martyrs
The Great Tribulation and the Great Commission—Disciples, Witnesses, and Martyrs

The Great Commission and the Great Tribulation Run Concurrently

It is common for Christians to discuss the Great Commission in a missionary context and to consider and develop its role as the final marching orders coming from Jesus to his church. In Matthew 28:18–20, we read, “And Jesus came and said to them, `All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.’”

It is also common for Christians interested in eschatology to discuss and debate the nature of the great tribulation (i.e., “when?” and “how long?”). In a previous essay (The Great Tribulation -- When and How Long?), I wrote,

In light of the tendency to relegate a time of "great" tribulation to the distant past or the immediate future, it is important to briefly survey the biblical teaching on this topic. When we do so, it becomes clear that the time of “great tribulation” cannot be tied exclusively to the events of A.D. 70, nor to the seven years immediately before our Lord’s return. The Bible does not speak of tribulation in this manner, and as we know, many of God’s people have already faced periods of horrific tribulation following the days of Christ’s redemptive tribulation on the cross, and that such tribulation for the people of God will continue until Jesus returns at the end of the age to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.

But it is not often that the Great Commission and the tribulation are discussed in relation to each other (they are connected), and seen as running in parallel throughout the entire inter-advental age. Each give us quite different perspectives on the same period of time—this present evil age. In what follows, I will attempt to draw out and highlight the connection between the mission of the church to go out among the nations, and the opposition from those nations which that mission generates. Jesus himself tells us that this mission extends throughout this present evil age (“I am with until the end of the age”), and provides the context of the nature and mission of the church which Jesus established—to make disciples. It also is apparent that this mission will be conducted in an atmosphere of hostility—i,e., the age of tribulation.

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Amillennialism, Biblical Events, Biblical Theology, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerThe great tribulation, The great commissionComment
"Maranatha! Our Lord, Come" in Biblical Context
"Maranatha! Our Lord, Come" in Biblical Context

Although I grew up in “Bible Churches” in which exposition of the Bible was standard fare (if given through a dispensational interpretive grid), I don’t recall hearing any discussion of Paul’s use of the term “Maranatha” found at the end of 1 Corinthians 16:22. But when I occasionally attended Calvary Chapel, I noticed the word Maranatha, was ubiquitous. Everyone seemed to know it came from an Aramaic word which means “the Lord Come.” Maranatha appeared on bumper stickers and tee-shirts. Calvary’s rapidly growing music enterprise was labeled “Maranatha Music,” which had its own a slick logo complete with the Calvary Chapel dove. At the time, this struck me as odd since Paul was obviously referring to the parousia of Jesus when using Maranatha and not Pentecost.

A quick internet search will reveal a surprisingly wide range of businesses, churches, and other enterprises which use Maranatha as a title—presumably to identify themselves as evangelical Christians of a particular sort even if not directly affiliated with Calvary Chapel. I use the term to end each of my podcasts, since it is the perfect way to end any discussion of Paul’s letters, just as he closes out his first Corinthian letter in the same way (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:22).

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Biblical Theology, Biblical Events, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerMaranathaComment