But Then Again . . . You May Be the Antichrist.

Given the genuine angst that many Christians feel after the recent passage of Obamacare, a number of people have actually written or asked me whether or not I think Barack Obama might be the Antichrist.

Having written a book on the subject, I guess people feel like I might be able to confirm their suspicions.  Sorry, I cannot.  Barring some completely unforeseen prophetic development (and I mean really unforeseen!), Barack Obama is not the Antichrist. 

This worry is not limited to Bible prophecy devotees as, apparently, a number of Republicans who oppose the recent healthcare bill have had the same concerns (25% of Republicans fear that Obama might be the Antichrist).

Although someone made a facetious "Barack of Sin" cover for my book (the same person made one with me on the cover as well-so don't get too upset), the biblical evidence points us in a very different direction.

The only time the term "antichrist" is used in the Bible (in John's Epistles) it refers to heretics who deny that Jesus is God in the flesh (1 John 2:18-22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7). 

When Paul speaks of the "man of sin" he's referring to someone in the church ("the temple of God") who opposes God and proclaims himself to be God (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12).

In the Book of Revelation (chapter 13), the dragon (Satan), the beast (the Roman Empire) and the false prophet (the imperial cult) oppress the people of God, persecuting them and preventing them from buying and selling unless Christians deny Christ and confess the deity of the current Roman emperor.  This image is given us as a warning of those empires which will arise throughout the course of this age, bent on opposing the kingdom of Christ, only to be thwarted by the preaching of the gospel and the providence of God until the time of the end.

I set out the biblical data for this in my book--you can read about it here:  (My book on the doctrine of Antichrist)  

All of that is to say, "No, Barack Obama is not the Antichrist."  Look, I don't like the guy either.  I don't trust him as far as I can see him.  I fear he's a Marxist (in terms of his view of history and economics).  There can be no doubt whatsoever that he is a statist and has little regard for the unborn.  He's also a bare-knuckled Chicago hack politician.  But he was duly elected, and like it or not he is our president.  If we disagree with his policies, we have an appropriate remedy--the ballot box.

"Pin the tail on the Antichrist" has long been a Christian parlor game.  If you don't like someone and fear their power, it is easy to demonize them.  Throughout the history of the church, Christians have called their enemies (perceived and otherwise) "antichrists."

Barack Obama is not the Antichrist.  But Nancy Pelosi on the other hand . . .

The Mayans Got It All Wrong! The World Won't End in 2012 . . . Because Jesus is Coming Back in May of 2011!

He's back . . .

According to Harold Camping (a man whose end-times prognostications have been wrong at least twice already), the Mayan prediction of the end of the world in 2012 is a "fairy tale."

Without missing a beat, Camping then proceeds to spin a fairy tale of his own.  Christ is coming back on May 21, 2011.  Well, we can be sure of one thing.  Christ won't come back on that date (cf. Matthew 24:36).

Here's Camping's goofy eschatological calculus.  And you thought dispensationalism was complicated!

The number 5, Camping concluded, equals "atonement." Ten is "completeness." Seventeen means "heaven." Camping patiently explained how he reached his conclusion for May 21, 2011.

"Christ hung on the cross April 1, 33 A.D.," he began. "Now go to April 1 of 2011 A.D., and that's 1,978 years."

Camping then multiplied 1,978 by 365.2422 days - the number of days in each solar year, not to be confused with a calendar year.

Next, Camping noted that April 1 to May 21 encompasses 51 days. Add 51 to the sum of previous multiplication total, and it equals 722,500.

Camping realized that (5 x 10 x 17) x (5 x 10 x 17) = 722,500.

Or put into words: (Atonement x Completeness x Heaven), squared.

"Five times 10 times 17 is telling you a story," Camping said. "It's the story from the time Christ made payment for your sins until you're completely saved.

"I tell ya, I just about fell off my chair when I realized that," Camping said.

One thing is all too clear.  At some point back in 1992-93, Camping actually did fall off his chair and cracked his noggin'.

Frankly, someone needs to just say it.  The guy is a kook.  Or else he's senile.  Or a false prophet.  Not good options.

How can any rational person listen to this nonsense?  This is one reason why "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.'” (2 Peter 3:3-4).

To read the article in which Camping's eschatological calculus is quoted, Click here

It Was Just a Matter of Time!

This exercise in creative exegesis will come as no surprise to those of you who keep up with Bible prophecy punditry!  All you need is a verse or two, a Strong's concordance, and presto . . . Barack Obama is the Antichrist!  You'll just love the disclaimer at the end! (h.t. Terry)

This is a classic example of one of the ways in which people seek to cope with political and economic uncertainty--they find an eschatological bogeyman.  "Pin the tail on the Antichrist" is nothing new, nor unique to modern America.

Hey, somebody ought to write a book about this! (Click here: Riddleblog - Man of Sin - Uncovering the Truth About Antichrist)

Obama's Cairo Speech and the Resurgence of Popular Dispensationalism

It will be very interesting to see what the prophecy pundits do with Obama's recent comments about Israel and Islam in his Cairo speech.  Click here: Obama does not recognize Israel land claims, security needs

Hal Lindsey, for one, is watching Obama's every word very closely . . . Click here: The Hal Lindsey Report.  No doubt, others will be doing the same.

Just when I start to think the end-times punditry is about finished, something happens on the world stage which reinvigorates the pundits all over again.  This will surely do the trick.  

Does Your Church Teach "Replacement" Theology?

 
According to a recent email from the "Jerusalem Prayer Team," here are the questions to ask so as to determine whether or not your church teaches "replacement theology."  (h.t. Rich Barcellos).

_______________________________________________ 

Why the Church Should Support Israel

Many Christians ask me, “How do I know if my church is a Bible-believing church that doesn't teach replacement theology, progressive dispensationalism or supersessionism?”

Ask yourself some questions:

1. Does my church pray for the Jewish people, the peace of Jerusalem, and Israel?
2. Does my church give offerings of compassion to comfort them?
3. Does my church preach on Israel and its Biblical significance?
4. Does my church take tours of Israel?
5. Is there an Israeli flag in my church?
6. Does my church teach on the significance of Church’s Jewish roots?
7. Does my church have a Night to Honor Israel or Jerusalem Prayer Summit annually?
8. Does my church ever preach against replacement theology, progressive dispensationaism, or supersessionism?

If the answer to these questions is “No,” then you may be a member of a church that refuses to believe the Bible, and rejects God’s Eternal promises to the House of Israel. If your church seems powerless, and appears not to be blessed by God, perhaps this is the reason.

___________________________________

These eight questions are taken from Mike Evan's book Why Christians Should Support Israel.

Hmmm . . . How does Christ Reformed stack up in light of these eight questions?

1).  In one sense, we pray for the Jewish people every Lord's Day in our pastoral prayer.   "We pray first for your benediction on your holy Gospel, that it may be faithfully proclaimed and the world filled with the knowledge of your truth. To that end, please send workers into your field to plant, water, and harvest a people for your name. But frustrate the work of those who would sow weeds of heresy and discord. Pull down all of the strongholds of Satan in this world and establish your kingdom throughout the earth. Please give fatherly attention to your servants who suffer persecution for the sake of the Gospel and strengthen them in mind and body by your Spirit through the means of grace. "

We also pray this collect every Good Friday:  "MERCIFUL God, who has made all people, and hates nothing that you have made, nor do you desires the death of a sinner, but rather that they should be converted and live; Have mercy upon all who know you not as you are revealed in the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and have mercy upon your ancient people Israel.  Take from them all ignorance, hardness of heart, and contempt of your Word; and so bring them home, blessed Lord, to your fold, that they may be made one flock with us under one shepherd, Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, world without end. Amen. "

2).  Not sure what that means . . .  I hope we'd be compassionate to all people . . .  I take Paul's words to heart in Romans 10:1; 11:17, 28.

3).  Yes, we teach and preach about Israel's significance.  We talk about Jesus Christ--who is the true Israel--every Sunday.

4).  No tours of Israel.  I've been to Israel and would love to go again, but no, we don't take tours to Israel.

5).  Sorry, there are no flags in our sanctuary--no Israeli flag, no American flag, no Christian flag.

6).  Yes, we teach about the church's Jewish roots and we show how all the Old Testament types and shadows are fulfilled in Christ.

7).  Nope--no nights devoted to praying for the Jerusalem Prayer Summit.  But, see number one above.  We do pray together for the conversion of Israel at least once a year (every Good Friday).

8).  Do we teach against replacement theology?  I'll have to think about this one (smile) . . .

So, are we teaching "replacement theology"? 

Absolutely not!  We don't teach "replacement theology" because we don't believe the church "replaces" Israel (but that's another story for another time).

OK . . . so how does your church stack up?  Do you go to one of those "powerless" churches that isn't blessed by God because it doesn't agree with Mike Evans and the Jerusalem Prayer Team? 

The Prophetic Top Ten

According to Rapture Ready, here are the top ten current prophetic issues (Click here: Top Ten):

1. Iran's nuclear program
2. Putin's grab for power in Russia
3. The supply of oil
4. Subprime loan crisis
5. The declining value of the dollar
6. China's growing economic and military might
7. Global terrorism
8. Nation ID initiatives
9. Global weather changes
10. Tension between Israel and Syria
    

Boy, do I miss the good ole days when the Soviet-Arab confederacy was about to invade Israel, and when everyone was worried that the EU would soon add the tenth and final nation reconstituting the Holy Roman Empire. 

I guess you gotta change with the times . . .

Thought You Might Want to Know . . .

The Rapture index is suddenly spiking.  It is now up to 168--the highest it has been in some time.  The all-time high was 182 (right after 911).   Click here: The Rapture Index.

Feed the pets, water the plants, and cancel the newspaper.  And most importantly, make sure those tidy-whities are clean.  If the "Left Behind" movie teaches us anything, it is that while you might go in the Rapture, your tidy-whities won't.

Old Dispensationalists Never Die . . . And They Never Seem to Fade Away . . .

I was making my semi-annual trip through the local Christian bookstore (actually, a trinket store) when I saw the third reincarnation of John F. Walvoord's best-seller Armageddon, Oil and the Middle East.  Originally published back in 1974 by Zondervan, the book was re-issued with a snazzy new cover after Operation Desert Storm in 1990.

Lo and behold, here it was again on the shelves of a Christian bookstore!  This time published by Tyndale with an update (apparently) by Mark Hitchcock.  I refused to buy it (since I've already purchased the two prior incarnations), so I can't tell you what has been updated.  But the title says it all.  Now that Saddam Hussein is pushing up daisies somewhere near Tikrit, the focus switches from a Soviet-Arab invasion of Israel and a revived Babylonian empire, to a more general Muslim threat to Israel and the new foil of dispensational end-times theorizing--Islamic terrorism.

Dr. Walvoord, who died in 2002 and now a member of the church triumphant, obviously, was not able to contribute to the new edition.

The shamelessness with which books like this can be corrected, updated and then republished with new covers and a new chapter or two, only to sell a gazillion more copies, is simply breathtaking.  Doesn't it trouble people that the 1974 edition and the 1990 edition got many things wrong?  I thought if we interpreted the Bible "literally" all the mysteries regarding the end-times would be cleared up.

The Soviet Union no longer exists . . .  Saddam Hussein is dead . . .  Militant Islam is the new menace from the east (displacing Communism and a revived Babylonian empire).  Barring the return of our blessed Savior, I suspect another edition, with another new cover, is a mere ten years away.  I can only imagine how the cover art and title will be tweaked this time.

As one who has written two books on eschatology, let me just say, if you see a new edition of A Case for Amillennialism or Man of Sin, in which my exegesis is "updated and corrected" to explain an as yet unforeseen world event that I failed to predict, don't buy it.  It means I didn't know what I was talking about!

That being said, I am now hard at work on an expanded eschatology text which will deal with a broader range of eschatological issues, including preterism and postmillennialism.  We do need a Reformed/covenantal/amillennial equivalent of the venerable J. Dwight Pentecost's Things to Come.  Lord willing, this will come to fruition . . .

Gog, Magog and an Iranian-Russian Alliance?

Joel Rosenberg is a very popular writer who tells a compelling story.  His books are even endorsed by Rush Limbaugh.  In his book Epicenter, which ranks high up on the Amazon best-selling chart, Rosenberg argues that the current animus between Israel and Iran is actually foretold in chapters 38-39 of the famous prophecy of Ezekiel regarding Gog and Magog. 

As Rosenberg sees things, one day soon Israel will find itself cornered by a Russian-Iranian-Arab alliance which will threaten Israel's very existence.  To prove his point he cites from a number of military, political and journalistic sources.  He is probably right about the animus and the Islamic designs upon Israel.  But my interest in this post is with Rosenberg's appeal to the prophecy of Gog and Magog in Ezekiel 38-39.

Typically, dispensationalists like Rosenberg appeal to this passage as a yet unfulfilled prediction of a Russian-backed Islamic invasion of the modern nation of Israel, at or about the time the seven-year tribulation begins.  Dispensationalists believe that the nations listed in the prophecy refer to people living in Ezekiel's time, who can then be traced to modern nations.  Following this method, Gog is the mysterious leader of Magog, a land north of the Caucasus mountains inhabited by the ancient Scythians.  This is in modern Russia.  Meshech is supposedly Moscow. Tubal is variously taken as Turkey or Tolbosk (a city in Russia).  Persia is clearly Iran.  Put is Libya.  Cush is Ethiopia.  Beth-Togarmah is Turkey.  Some have even identified Gomer as Germany.  But since the fall of the Soviet Union, Gomer is more often identified with Russia.  Since the bulk of these people live to the northern parts (Ezekiel 38:15) and since the predicted invasion of Israel will come from the north, Rosenberg's thesis is simply a new variation of an old dispensational theme.  At some point near the beginning of the tribulation, Israel will be invaded by a Russian-Iranian-Islamic confederacy, only to prevail militarily through God's amazing grace.

To be fair, the dispensationalists were not the first to tie this prophecy to contemporary events.  Ambrose identified these same figures as the Goths who were then threatening the Holy Roman Empire.  Luther applied this prophecy to the Turks, who were at the gates of Vienna at the time of the Reformation.

But there are two significant problems with this approach to Ezekiel 38-39.  First, as Edwin Yamauchi (a noted evangelical archaeologist and historian) has pointed out in his book, Foes from the Northern Frontier:  Invading Hordes from the Russian Steppes (Baker, 1983), this identification is based upon a number of unsubstantiated assumptions.  For one thing, Gog and Magog cannot be directly tied to the Scythians.  Yamauchi believes that their identity is not certain at all.  Furthermore, he contends that Meshech and Tubal cannot be tied to Moscow or Tobolsk in any sense.  He believes these are references to ancient Assyria which did invade Israel from the north.  This means that Ezekiel is speaking of Israel's immediate future (an Assyrian invasion from the north), which also prefigures an end-time event.

How do we know that to be the case?  If you follow the basic hermeneutical principle that the New Testament interprets the Old Testament (something dispensationalists are want to admit when it comes to interpreting biblical prophecy), then in Revelation 20:8-9, John speaks of Gog and Magog as symbolic of the nations of the earth, gathering together to make war on the saints (the church). 

This leads to the second problem with the dispensational understanding.  In Revelation 20:8-9, John is universalizing Ezekiel's prophecy of Israel being invaded from the north to the church being attacked from the four corners of the earth--this "spiritualizing" of the Old Testament as practiced by John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is, of course, the very thing dispensationalists claim is illegitimate.  The fact of the matter is, this is exactly what John does.

In Revelation 20:8-9, John sees a vision of Gog and Magog leading all of the nations on the earth to wage war against God's people (the church), after Satan has been released from the Abyss.  These enemies of Christ and his church are ultimately and finally destroyed at Christ's second advent (see Beale, The Book of Revelation, Eerdmans, 1022-1024).  This means that the Assyrian invasion of Israel from the north foretold by Ezekiel, is actually typological of the end-times war upon the entire people of God as witnessed by John in his vision.

If you are interested in such things, I also deal with this topic more fully in my recent book, The Man of Sin.  You can check it out, Click here: Riddleblog - Man of Sin - Uncovering the Truth About Antichrist

Rosenberg tells a great story and has gathered much interesting evidence about Islamic and Russian intentions.  But he also misuses the prophecy of Ezekiel 38-39 to make his point.  

A Good Reason Why Hal Lindsey and/or Jack Van Impe Should Follow Frank Beckwith to Rome

I saw this headline and immediately thought that this might be great incentive for one or more of the "end-times prognosticator" club to make the jump to Rome.

"Vatican Denies Hiding the Full Truth About the End of the World" (Click here: Vatican denies hiding the full truth about the end of the world-Comment-Faith-TimesOnline)

Since things in the Middle East and with the ten nations of the European Confederacy (the revived Roman empire) haven't panned out as predicted, this might give Lindsey, Van Impe and others a whole new angle.

According to the article:

"The Vatican tried yesterday to draw a line under a conspiracy theory that has dogged the Catholic Church for decades – that it was harbouring details of the predicted apocalypse.  The Pope’s second-in-command, Secretary of State Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, denied that the Church was suppressing a vision of the end of the world said to have been revealed by the Virgin Mary to three shepherd children on a hillside at Fatima in Portugal exactly 90 years ago.  The three `Secrets of Fatima' were written down by one of the children, Lucia Dos Santos – who became a Carmelite nun – and sent to the Vatican in a sealed envelope. Two of the `secrets' were made public, apparently predicting the inferno of 20th-century world war and totalitarianism and the eventual reconversion of Communist Russia to Christianity. Pope John Paul II suggested that the third `secret' predicted the 1981 attempt on his life. He failed to satisfy conspiracy theorists however, with many accusing the Vatican of disclosing only part of the last Fatima secret."

Think of the fun Lindsey and Van Impe could have with the "third secret."  A whole series of books and novels, DVDs and TV specials . . .  But they'd have to follow Beckwith to Rome.