Job, the ‘Resurrection,’ and His ‘Miserable Comforters’

Job, the ‘Resurrection,’ and His ‘Miserable Comforters’

One of the few chapel messages I remember from my seminary days was delivered by Dr. Jack Scott. He began by outlining all the supposed orthodox statements made by Job’s “friends.” He then asked: “Right or wrong?” Not waiting for a response, he nearly shouted, “Wrong!” Some of the comments I’ve received in emails, private messages, and on Facebook come from “miserable comforters.” Eliphaz, Bildad, [...]

Sola Scriptura, or Who Will Interpret the Interpreters?

Sola Scriptura, or Who Will Interpret the Interpreters?

I was raised in the Roman Catholic Church. My Catholic upbringing included Catholic school through the fifth grade and serving as an altar boy through my teen years. My first dose of a foreign language was Latin, a prerequisite if you were an altar boy in the 1950s and 1960s. After becoming a Christian in 1973, I began to question several Catholic doctrines based on the Bible. It was sola scriptur [...]

The Soulless Atheist and What It Means for Ethics

The Soulless Atheist and What It Means for Ethics

“The Thing’s shifty scientist, Carrington, helps to keep the ‘super-carrot’ alive, hiding it from the military men who want to destroy it. According to him, ‘There are no enemies in science … only phenomena to study’, and he is awed by the creature’s evolutionary perfection: ‘No pain or pleasure as we know it. No emotions. No heart. Our superior … in every way’, although the compliment isn’t retur [...]

What Gary DeMar Believed and Argued 25 Years Ago!

What Gary DeMar Believed and Argued 25 Years Ago!

The claim has been made that “Gary DeMar has changed his eschatological beliefs” or that he’s been “bewitched.” Not so. These types of comments show how desperate some people are to avoid answering the hard questions. The questions I was asking in 1998 are the same ones I’m asking today (see below). The difference is that I have studied the topic in greater detail, but the original questions and t [...]

The Importance and Sacredness of the Here and Now

The Importance and Sacredness of the Here and Now

In a conference a few years ago, I emphasized the importance of biblical optimism during attacks, persecution, and the advance of secularism. Young people need to believe there is a future waiting for them, that not everything is gloom and doom and escapism. To be overly preoccupied with the future at the expense of the present is to replace discipleship with dreaming. God, the source of all hope, [...]

The ‘Jesus Revolution’ and the Always Soon Coming of Jesus

The ‘Jesus Revolution’ and the Always Soon Coming of Jesus

Listen to the podcast on this topic here The Asbury Revival and the release of the film The Jesus Revolution have gotten a lot of media attention. The reviews of the Jesus Revolution have been good. With Kelsey Grammar, fortunately replaced Jim Gaffigan, playing Chuck Smith (1927-2013), it should be good in terms of production value. Here’s the storyline: Inspired by a true movement, JESUS REVOLUT [...]

Christians Being 'Less than Loving' Means Criticizing Jesus for the Same Thing

Christians Being 'Less than Loving' Means Criticizing Jesus for the Same Thing

The enemies of the truth are always awfully nice. Truth is the strong compost in which beauty may sometimes germinate. — Christopher Morley (1890-1957) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) said the following about the $20 million spent on the “He gets Us” campaign: “Something tells me Jesus would not spend millions of dollars on Super Bowl ads to make fascism look benign.” Huh? Does she have any idea wh [...]

Do Luke 17 and Matthew 24 Describe Different Comings of Jesus?

Do Luke 17 and Matthew 24 Describe Different Comings of Jesus?

A post on a Facebook page has an interesting discussion on Luke 17 and its relationship to Matthew 24-25 and Greg L. Bahnsen’s view of that relationship. Dr. Bahnsen took the view that Luke 17:22-37 refers to the Second Coming while Matthew 24:1-34 refers to the judgment on Jerusalem that took place before that first-century generation passed away (24:34). Kenneth Gentry agrees with Dr. Bahnsen. K [...]

Why Creation and Eschatology Can’t be Separated

Why Creation and Eschatology Can’t be Separated

The Apostle’s Creed and the Nicene Creed describe God as “Creator of heaven and earth”/ “Maker of heaven and earth.” Nothing is said about the age of the earth. The Westminster Confession of Faith states the following, but does not say anything about how old the earth is: It pleased God the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, for the manifestation of the glory of His eternal power, wisdom, and goodness, [...]

Gestapo Tactics Exposed at the DOJ

Gestapo Tactics Exposed at the DOJ

“Intelligence analysts and the chief counsel for the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond, Virginia field office are concerned ‘radical-traditionalist Catholics’ are a threat to our democracy and could be ripe for recruitment by white supremacists.” What are the red flags? • Homeschooling • Meeting Every Sunday with Other People Who Want Good Lives • Pro-Life and Anti-LGBT+ Look what the DOJ [...]

Separating Fact from Fiction

Separating Fact from Fiction

(The following is the preface to a new edition of Left Behind: Separating Fact from Fiction. The book is currently in production and will be available in print next month.) I thought we were done with the Left Behind film franchise that started in 2000 with Kirk Cameron who played Buck Williams in three films, a television journalist investigating the sudden disappearances of millions of people. L [...]

How Should the Greek Word 'Mello' be Translated?

How Should the Greek Word 'Mello' be Translated?

There’s a debate going on about the translation of the Greek word mellō. Depending on the context, mellō can mean “about to” and “on the point of being done.” At times mellō is not translated and has the meaning of “necessity.” By reading some (most?) translations, the reader unfamiliar with Greek would never know mellō is used in some passages since it is often untranslated. For example, in Revel [...]

Of Shellfish, Pig Skins, and Mixed Fabrics

Of Shellfish, Pig Skins, and Mixed Fabrics

This is some of the exchange that followed with my response: Satori Kane: Seams if you never read a book, you can claim whatever you want about it. “So maybe actually read the thing before you start quoting from it.” Brian Le Flem: Quoting from what? The Bible? If so, then please tell me the exact passage where Jesus spoke about homosexuality Joseph Salluce: Think not that I am come to destroy the [...]

The Ten Commandments of Secular Statism

The Ten Commandments of Secular Statism

John Wycliffe of Oxford University produced the first hand-written translation of the New Testament into English in the 14th Century, he wrote in the preface: “The Bible is given for the government of the people, by the people, and for the people.” The Bible was not given only for religious people of a particular theological persuasion; it was designed to be a standard for everyone and every gover [...]

Is a One-World Government Around the Corner?

Is a One-World Government Around the Corner?

I received the following in an email: The Vatican is pushing for the establishment of “a supranational authority” with worldwide scope and “universal jurisdiction” to guide economic policies and decisions. (i.e., a one world bank) I know that some of you will be mad at what you are about to read. That’s OK. I don’t mind. Now is the time to prepare for what may be some very difficult living conditi [...]

Hijacking the Declaration in Defense of Abortion and Atheism

Hijacking the Declaration in Defense of Abortion and Atheism

Vice President Kamala Harris loves abortion. She and many more like her believe it’s a political sacrament, a religious rite that’s necessary to “save democracy” by killing off the future. It makes perfect sense if you are a self-absorbed secularist which she is. Her latest manipulation to give gravitas to her views is an appeal to the Declaration of Independence. On the 50th anniversary of the Ro [...]

Are Only Laws Repeated in the NT Applicable?

Are Only Laws Repeated in the NT Applicable?

(This is Part Two. Part One is here.) For many dispensationalists and now some preterists, law in the Old Testament is “Jewish law.” In Dallas Theological Seminary’s scholarly journal, Bibliotheca Sacra, S. Lewis Johnson, a former professor at the seminary, argued that the Ten Commandments should not be a part of the Christian’s ethical life. He wrote the following: Donald Grey Barnhouse, a giant [...]

Are Christians Exempt from Keeping the Ten Commandments?

Are Christians Exempt from Keeping the Ten Commandments?

The Ten Commandments are under attack, and not only by religious skeptics like Ted Turner who at the National Press Association in Atlanta, Georgia, in 1988, said the following: “We’re living with outmoded rules. The rules we’re living under [are] the Ten Commandments, and I bet nobody here even pays much attention to ’em, because they are too old. When Moses went up on the mountain, there were no [...]

Robots Prove Something-From-Nothing Evolution is Not Science

Robots Prove Something-From-Nothing Evolution is Not Science

Robots are everywhere. We’re not at the I, Robot stage of development, but robots are here to stay. Automobile manufacturing today is a far cry from Henry Ford’s assembly line of production that revolutionized the industry and made cars more affordable. Their production facilities (below) are like a scene from the 2002 film Minority Report: Boston Dynamics has released two videos that show robots [...]

Will the United States Succumb to “Secular Fundamentalism”?

Will the United States Succumb to “Secular Fundamentalism”?

Will America suffer the same fate as Europe and the rise of what Karen Armstrong calls “secular fundamentalism”? We seem to be headed in a similar direction with the secularization of our schools, courts, media, and politics. Christianity in America, like Christianity in Europe, is under attack. We see it every day. Judges are being scrutinized for their religious beliefs, especially on abortion, [...]