2020

Job’s hope is secure in inmillennialism. He said, “I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth” (Job 19:25, NKJV). Our prophetic model says Job’s redeemer—Jesus Christ—stood on the earth in the “last days” (Heb 1:2) of the Mosaic age. Job also said, “And though…

A brother has asked for my view of Col 3:4. Paul told the Colossians, “When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.” This brother wants to know how this statement affects our interpretation of 1 John 3:2 (here). He makes several valid…

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God, and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (1 John 3:2). This verse causes some readers to doubt inmillennialism. For…

Our family is moving to a new city during the week of December 14, 2020. This move will disrupt my writing schedule, but I don’t want to miss any of my traditional Wednesday publishing dates. A friend recently helped me find a solution to this dilemma without knowing he was…

In our last post (here), we proposed that Paul meant for his “rapture” passage—1 Thess 4:13–5:11—to comfort the Thessalonians regarding the relationship of their dead to the parousia (i.e., coming/presence) of Christ. Here is the heart of his answer: We say this to you by a revelation from the Lord:…

We have arrived at a passage—1 Thess 4:13–5:11—that mentions several important prophetic events. In this famous “rapture” passage, Paul discusses the coming (i.e., parousia = presence) of the Lord (1 Thess 4:15), the resurrection (1 Thess 4:16–17), the day of the Lord (1 Thess 5:2), and sudden destruction that would…

R. C. Sproul, one of my favorite theologians, spoke often of living life coram Deo. He explained: “The big idea of the Christian life is coram Deo. Coram Deo captures the essence of the Christian life.” This phrase literally refers to something that takes place in the presence of, or…

Paul tells the Thessalonians of his desire to be present with them but says “Satan hindered us” (1 Thess 2:18). Most commentators express uncertainty about Paul’s meaning here, but I want to make a suggestion that, if true, will help us understand God’s prophetic word: Satan was using Israel after…

A reader who wishes to remain anonymous responded to my recent blog post, Parousia Now. Carl—my fictitious name for the reader—said: The Messiah is not on earth yet. When he is here there will be no evil. Evil is rampant now. I don’t see how you can say we are…

Commentators often make interesting interpretive adjustments when they encounter certain words and concepts in prophetic contexts; they do not allow them to keep the meaning they have elsewhere. Our present passage in 1 Thessalonians furnishes two examples important for our understanding of God’s prophetic word: (1) Paul’s desire to be…