Henry George Liddell

“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…

God poured out the Holy Spirit during Israel’s feast of Pentecost. This provided the church with the power necessary to fulfill the Great Commission (Acts 1:8). That commission contains two parts. First, Jesus commands his disciples to “teach (Gk. mathēteuō) all nations” (Matt 28:19, KJV). The word “teach” means “make…

What did Jesus mean when he said, “I will build my church”? In last week’s post (here), we defined the terms “church” and “kingdom” as Jesus used them in Matt 16:18–19. The church (Gk. ekklēsia) comprises all persons in covenant relationship with God during the messianic age. The kingdom is…

Jesus asked his disciples an important question. “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am?” (Matt 16:13). Peter responded correctly: “You are the Messiah, the Son of the living God!” (Matt 16:16 HCSB). Jesus then gave Peter a great revelation: Thou art Peter, and upon this rock…

A brother responded to the ideas in last week’s post (here). He said, “I disagree with your reading/understanding of this simple text. I believe the text supports the traditional view of it being a visible, physical, and bodily return of our Lord.” He referred me to Dr. Keith A. Mathison’s…

“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.…

Preaching the kingdom of heaven was central to the early church’s ministry. This was true from the start of the gospel. God chose John the Baptist to prepare the way for Christ. His first and primary message was about the kingdom. He said, “Repent ye: for the kingdom of heaven is at…

Revelation’s sixth vision—The Vision of the Great Whore (Rev. 17–20)—mentions a thousand-year reign of Christ (Rev. 20:2–7). Commentators call this period “the millennium.” This word comes from the Latin words mille, “thousand,” and annum, “year.” The traditional prophetic frameworks derive their names from this period. Postmillennialism believes the Lord will…

One of our readers made a mild objection to our last post, Can God’s Kingdom Grow?. His two observations are correct: the terms “church kingdom” and “creation kingdom” do not occur in the Scriptures and there is only one kingdom. This post will explain why we introduced these terms. For…

Revelation’s bookend time stamps raise important questions. If we interpret them as literal truth statements, what profound event(s) happened soon after John saw these visions? What fulfilled his about-to-be prophecies? The answer depends on another important question: When did John see these visions? Most conservative scholars limit the possible date…