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"Amillennialism 101" -- Audio and On-Line Resources

 

Living in Light of Two Ages

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Monday
Dec242007

Born of the Virgin Mary

From the Heidelberg Catechism, Lord's Day 14

35. What is the meaning of “conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the virgin Mary?”

That the eternal Son of God, who is and continues true and eternal God,[1] took upon Himself the very nature of man, of the flesh and blood of the virgin Mary,[2] by the operation of the Holy Spirit;[3] so that He might also be the true seed of David,[4] like unto His brethren in all things,[5] except for sin.[6]

[1] Jn 1:1-4, 10:30-36; Rom 1:3-4, 9:5; Col 1:15-17; 1 Jn 5:20; [2] Mt 1:18-23; Jn 1:14; Gal 4:4; Heb 2:14; [3] Mt 1:18-20; Lk 1:35; [4] 2 Sam 7:12-16; Ps 132:11; Mt 1:1; Lk 1:32; Rom 1:3; [5] Php 2:7; Heb 2:17; [6] Heb 4:15, 7:26-27

36. What benefit do you receive from the holy conception and birth of Christ?

That He is our Mediator,[1] and with His innocence and perfect holiness[2] covers, in the sight of God, my sin,[3] wherein I was conceived.[4]

[1] 1 Tim 2:5-6; Heb 2:16-17, 9:13-15; [2] Rom 8:3-4; 2 Cor 5:21; Gal 4:4-5; 1 Pt 1:18-19; [3] Ps 32:1; 1 Jn 1:9; [4] Ps 51:5

Monday
Dec242007

The Annunciation to the Shepherds

angels-announce-birth-of-jesus.jpgWhen the angels went away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us go over to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has made known to us.”  (ESV)

Friday
Dec212007

Merry Christmas from the Riddleblog!

riddlebarger%20family%20pic.jpgMerry Christmas to all from the Riddlebargers!

(My sons, Mark and David; my wife, Micki; and my mother-in-law, Gerry Nutter)

The photo was taken @ a family wedding this summer on a harbor boat in San Diego.

Andy (the wonderdog) is not pictured, but he did take the photo.

Friday
Dec212007

Some Interesting Links on a Friday. . .

Links.jpgBoy, I'm glad to learn I don't need those eight glasses of water every day.  I'm even more relieved to know that my hair won't grow back after I'm dead.  Check out these common myths that even doctors believe.   Click here: 7 Medical Myths Even Doctors Believe | LiveScience

Hey Benny and Creflo . . .  You're fired!  Click here: More housecleaning at Oral Roberts U. | Liveblog | Christianity Today

Before you buy the Prius and get rid of all your incandescent light bulbs, you better check this out.  400 renowned climate experts and scientists say that Gore and company are full of it.  Click here: .: U.S. Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works :: Minority Page :.

Speaking of environmentalism, if you want that new 620 horsepower ZR-1 Corvette, you better put your order in now, and hope that Chevy reconsiders . . . Click here: FOXNews.com - Tougher Emissions Regulations Could Bring End to Muscle Cars, Says GM- Local News | News Articles |

What happens when the Red Sox win their second World Series in four years?  Papelbon's dog chews up the ball used to make the final out!  You gotta be kidding me!  Click here: ESPN - The dog ate it? Closer's canine reportedly chews on history - MLB

Is there a new Star Wars movie starring Michael Jackson?  Why does this guy look like Darth Vader?  Click here: Jacko's Face -- It's Bad! - TMZ.com

Thursday
Dec202007

The Canons of Dort, First Head of Doctrine, Article 3

Synod%20of%20Dort.jpgArticle 3: The Preaching of the Gospel

In order that people may be brought to faith, God mercifully sends proclaimers of this very joyful message to the people he wishes and at the time he wishes. By this ministry people are called to repentance and faith in Christ crucified. For how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without someone preaching? And how shall they preach unless they have been sent? (Rom. 10:14-15).

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The authors of the Canons are careful to link the end (God’s gracious desire to save sinners who do not deserve his favor), with the means by which those same sinners are called to faith in Christ--the preaching, teaching and communication of the gospel (the message of Christ crucified) to non-Christians.  

The Canons correctly remind us of Paul’s words in Romans 10:14-15, well worth quoting in their entirety:  “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed?  And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard?  And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!" (Romans 10:14-15)  

In 1 Corinthians 1:18-20, Paul points out that “the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written, "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart."  Where is the one who is wise?  Where is the scribe?  Where is the debater of this age?  Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?”  According to Paul, it is the preaching of Christ crucified that is power of God, and the specific means that God uses to grant us faith.  This is why in Romans 1:16, Paul can state, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.” 

Although the preaching of Christ crucified is foolishness to the Greek, a stumbling block to the Jew, and probably both to a modern American, the preaching of Christ crucified is the only divinely ordained means through which God offers forgiveness of sins to sinners.  As Calvin has said, “every time the gospel is preached it is as if God himself came in person solemnly to summon us.”

As the Canons make plain, it is God, in his grace, who uses the proclamation of Christ crucified--the foolishness of preaching--to call us from darkness to light, and to grant us entrance into the kingdom of his dear Son.

Therefore, in this article, the Canons remind us that God has not only ordained the ends (those whom he will save), he has ordained the means by which he will save them--the preaching of Christ and him crucified. 

Thursday
Dec202007

More Interesting Links

Links.jpgI've heard people say one of the loudest cheers they ever heard in a movie theater came during the scene in Mars Attacks, when the Martians blow up congress.  Now we have a poll which proves that sentiment is held by more than just a few movie-goers.  If you thought Bush's poll numbers were bad, wait till you see how poorly congress polls. Click here: Americans' approval of Congress sinks to new low - USATODAY.com       

Most baseball fans believe MLB's Mitchell Report was totally inept.  Now comes the bad news.  Guess who wants to investigate baseball the next time?  That's right, the only people more inept than baseball's commissioner and his chief investigator, George Mitchell.  The ever-popular US Congress now wants in on the action. The reason?  Congress' concern about PEDs?  Of course not.  The reason is more camera time for certain pompous US Senators (John McCain) and Congressmen (Henry Waxman). Click here: SI.com - MLB - Congress could call players to steroid hearings - Tuesday December 18, 2007 3:20PM

Boy, this is the pot calling the kettle black.  Pete Rose calls out steroid users?  C'mon Pete, you committed baseball's unpardonable sin--betting on games you managed.  Put a sock in it!  Click here: SI.com - MLB - Rose: Steroids 'making a mockery' of baseball - Tuesday December 18, 2007 10:05PM

If your church stages one of those Christmas pageants and uses live animals, you might want to get them to re-think the whole idea.  Animals will behave like . . . animals.  Click here: Awry in a Manger: It Takes a Miracle To Stage This Play - WSJ.com

Oh, the joys of socialized medicine and government-run health care.  Seems Britons were healthier in the middle ages than they are now.  Click here: Britons 'healthier in medieval times' - Telegraph.  I can't wait for Hillary care!

My wife wages a daily war on ants--you know, those pesky little black ants that get in everything . . .  No wonder they are so tough to wipe out.  These critters will eat anything.  First, they kill off all the local insects and then they go vegetarian.  Come to think of it, that's what many newcomers do in So Cal.  Click here: Alien Ants Devour Locals, Then Go Vegetarian - Yahoo! News

Wednesday
Dec192007

Why Doesn't John Mention the Destruction of the Temple in Revelation?

eschatology%20q%20and%20a.jpgJoyce asks the following question (September 2007):

I am wondering why, with all the destruction of Jerusalem, and "no stone left on top of another" in the temple --why would John write the Book of Revelation and never even mention these events? I would think, when writing to the seven churches, it would have been important for John to note the fulfillment of the prophecies Jesus made concerning the temple as an encouragement and as a warning of the coming of similar tribulation--if, in fact, John was talking about some tribulation other than what they had already lived through.

My question is, then, what proof is there that John wrote Revelation sometime in the 90's rather than sometime before AD70?"

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Joyce:

Great question!  On the face of it, this seems like a powerful argument for an early date for the Book of Revelation (i.e., before AD 70).  But upon closer inspection, I think the case for the traditional dating (about AD 95) holds up quite well.

Man%20of%20sin%20small.jpgThere are a couple of important things to consider when trying to determine the date of the Book of Revelation.  First, there is no "proof" by which to date of the Book of Revelation one way or the other.  There is however, a great deal of internal and external evidence which, in my estimation, points strongly toward the traditional date of about AD 95.  The evidence adduced for an early date by Gentry and others is not nearly as strong as appears at first glance.  I deal with this extensively in my book The Man of Sin (Click here: Riddleblog - Man of Sin - Uncovering the Truth About Antichrist).  I also deal with this in an Academy lecture given at Christ Reformed Church, which can be found here: Click here: Christ Reformed Info - MP3's and Real Audio (of Academy Lectures).  Scroll down to the lecture "Problems for Preterists." 

Second, the date of the Book of Revelation does not effect my interpretation of Revelation, one way or the other.  As a Reformed amillennarian, I hold to the modified idealist (eclectic) position advocated by Beale, Johnson, and others.  My position is not dependant upon the dating of Revelation.  On the other hand, if the Book of Revelation was written after AD 70 the preterist position collapses.  I get the sense that preterists develop their view from the Olivet Discourse and secondarily from 2 Thessalonians 2, and because of that understanding then have to prove that Revelation was written prior to the destruction of the Jerusalem Temple.  For a host of reasons I spell out in my book, I don't believe that you'd come to the early date based upon an objective look at the internal and external evidence.  I think preterists have already painted themselves into a corner elsewhere, and then have to prove the early date of Revelation to make their interpretive scheme work.   

Third, an argument from silence is exactly that--a silent argument.  The absence of any mention of the destruction of the Temple can be explained in one of two ways.  One is that Revelation was written before the Jerusalem Temple was destroyed (on the early date interpretation).  The other is that Revelation was written to the churches in Asia Minor nearly twenty-five years after the destruction of the temple, and this was not a theological or pastoral issue for these churches (the traditional dating).  In fact, as Beale and others have argued, the only time the Temple is mentioned in Revelation (Revelation 11:2), the passage cannot be referring to the Temple in Jerusalem.  Neither the context of the passage nor the historical circumstances of the Gentiles occupying the outer-court for 42 months, allow for this to be a reference to the Jerusalem Temple.  I discuss this in my book as well (Man of Sin, 181-183).

Fourth, as Colin Hemer documents, the historical situation of the seven churches as depicted in Revelation 2-3 fit much better with the traditional date of Revelation--about AD 95.  Especially important in this regard are the churches in Ephesus (which is depicted as losing its first love--a situation which wouldn't make sense if Revelation were written before AD 70), and the church of Laodicea (which John depicts as wealthy.  But since an earthquake completely devastated the area in AD 61, its hard to imagine this could be the case, if Revelation were written before AD 70.  It is much more likely that John is speaking of a later period).  To check out Hemer's book,Click here: Amazon.com: The Letters to the Seven Churches of Asia in Their Local Setting (The Biblical Resource Series): Books

I hope that helps!
 

Wednesday
Dec192007

The Mormon PR Machine at Work

Salt%20Lake%20Temple.jpg

The Mormon PR machine is really cranking it out these days.  After the recent Huckabee/Romney dust-up over Mormon doctrine (doesn't Mormonism teach that Jesus and Satan were spirit brothers?), Fox News put a series of questions to LDS church officials about Mormon doctrine.  Planet Kolob . . .  The deity of Jesus. . .  Does God really have a body?  Temple marriage. . .  Temple garments . . .  The whole nine yards.

In answering these questions, LDS officials evaded, dodged, and obfuscated.  Read it for yourself.  Click here: FOXNews.com - 21 Questions Answered About Mormon Faith - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Rob Bowman goes through these 21 questions and Mormon "answers" point by point with a helpful commentary.  Click here: Parchment and Pen » Straight Answers to Fox’s 21 Questions about the Mormon Church

Despite all LDS protests to the contrary, the Mormon Church is a heretical sect.  Far and away, the best book I have read on the topic is Richard Ostling's Mormon America. Click here: Amazon.com: Mormon America: The Power and the Promise: Books: Richard Ostling,Joan K. Ostling

Tuesday
Dec182007

So That All the Peoples of the Earth May Know -- Joshua 4:1-24

Joshua%20Conquest.jpgThe Fifth in a Series of Sermons on the Book of Joshua

As Israel’s priests carried the ark of the covenant into the waters of the Jordan, the moment their feet touched the water, the river miraculously stopped flowing.  The people of Israel then began crossing through the river on dry ground.  As they did so, they were, at long last, entering that good land flowing with milk and honey which God promised to them.  But not only was God fulfilling his covenant promises to his people, at the same time through this display of his mighty power, he was instilling fear in the hearts of the Canaanites, causing them to melt away before the approaching Israelites.  In fact, once the people of Israel finish crossing the river, they will camp at Gilgal, just a few miles from Jericho, that fortified city which blocked Israel’s way into the land of Canaan.  It was truly a great day in Israel’s history.  It is a day long to be remembered by all.

We are continuing our series on the history of redemption and we are in that section of the Book of Joshua (chapters 3-4), in which Joshua describes Israel’s dramatic entrance into the land of promise.  It is important to remember that this dramatic entrance into Canaan was the fulfillment of that covenant promise which God made to Abraham some four hundred years earlier, a promise which was then subsequently reaffirmed to Isaac and Jacob, and then finally to Moses as the people were about to leave Egypt at the end of their captivity.  Since the book of Joshua opens shortly after Moses’ death, we see throughout the opening chapters God reaffirming this promise to Joshua and then to all Israel.  The forty years of wandering throughout the wilderness of the Sinai finally have come to an end.

As we saw last time, Joshua gave the final orders for the people to march the 7 miles or so from Shittim to the banks of the Jordan River.  As they marched, the ark of the covenant–which contained the two tables of the law, Aaron’s staff and a jar of manna–went before the people, leading them to the very spot where they would cross the river.  Since the ark symbolized the presence of God with his people, the presence of the ark at the front of the Israelite column as they marched was a very clear warning to all those watching–especially in Canaan–that Israel was in covenant relationship with the great king, YHWH, and that YHWH was leading them into the land of promise.  And because Israel was in covenant relationship with YHWH, YHWH is Israel’s shield and defender.  He will lead his people to their inheritance in Canaan and the Canaanites will not be able to stay or turn God’s hand.

To read the rest of this sermon, click here
 

Tuesday
Dec182007

Man of the Year -- Honorable Mention

Man%20of%20the%20year%202.jpgI recently posted a photo of the "Man of the Year" from a email my wife received from one of her friends documenting insensitive male behavior toward the "fairer" sex (Click here: Riddleblog - The Latest Post - "Man of the Year".

The guy in this photo only got an "honorable mention."  In my mind, he should at least be "runner-up."  He and his bike are warm and safe, but his poor woman is left out in the cold on a pile of rocks.

But knowing the male digestive tract and camp food, maybe she left the tent voluntarily.