Sam Storms

Our last two posts on First Thessalonians provided key information about Paul’s “rapture” passage (i.e., 1 Thess 4:13–5:11). First, his aim was to assure the Thessalonians that their dead brothers and sisters would be at no disadvantage during the messianic-age parousia (presence) of the Lord Jesus with his people. Second, the…

In this series of posts, I am using the inmillennial prophetic model to interpret Paul’s letters to the Thessalonians. My last three posts mentioned a point N. T. Wright has made: Paul’s recognition of Jesus as the Messiah forced him to adjust three key elements of his Jewish theology—election, monotheism, and eschatology. A…

Prophetic models and their underlying assumptions influence how we interpret Scripture. The atheist Bertrand Russell believed Jesus taught his coming, the end of history, and the kingdom’s arrival would occur simultaneously. Further, he believed Jesus said they would happen in his generation based on passages like Matt 16:27–28; 24:1–3, 34.…

John the Baptist was a metaphorical civil engineer. Isaiah had predicted his construction of a divinely ordained highway. He would cry out “in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God” (Isa. 40:3; Matt. 3:3). The Baptist prepared the…

Our initial blog posts have generated some interesting and provocative questions. We take this opportunity to address a few of them. We plan to answer future questions on an as-needed basis. Please submit your questions in the comment section at the end of each blog post. Why focus on AD…

My rating: 4 of 5 stars Sam Storms’ transparency and honesty regarding his own struggles with prophetic interpretation increase the value of this book. At several points, for example, he admits his attraction to other eschatological views, especially postmillennialism and preterism. I would not at all be surprised if he…