William Hendriksen

Our survey of 1 Timothy brings us to another passage that contrasts two ages: Paul says, “Bodily exercise profits a little, but godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Tim 4:8). Commentators have long assumed that…

I want to take a moment to recap the work we (myself and guest bloggers) have done on the blog and explain my plans for the future. I have shown that inmillennialism (my prophetic model) arises from an exposition of the Olivet Discourse and 1 Corinthians 15 (here). My follow-on projects…

God has said that the kingdom of God, as it now exists, will transform the earth through our obedience to the Great Commission (Matt 28:18–20). One day, “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:9). Three of the four…

I love a good night’s sleep. So, I paid attention when a friend said he would ask the Lord to give me sleepless nights until I wrote a post that shows how inmillennialism interprets the following passage: Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.…

Jesus spoke of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob entering the messianic-age kingdom on multiple occasions. One time was in the early part of his preaching career, during his “Great Galilean Ministry.” Matthew says a Roman centurion expressed faith in him by affirming his absolute authority: When Jesus heard it, He marveled, and said…

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…

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…

“The main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing.” In the Olivet Discourse the “main thing” is the Temple’s destruction. Jesus foretold it (Mark 13:1–2). The disciples asked two questions about it: when would “these things” happen and what would be their sign (Mark 13:3–4)? Jesus answered the…

“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint, but blessed is he who keeps the law.” — Prov 29:18 (ESV) Prophecy leads God’s people to obey their Lord. But, several ingredients must be present. First, God must give us a vision. When Samuel was young, “the word…

This post will appear during Thanksgiving week. Our forefathers in the United States established a tradition of thanking God for the year’s harvest. We continue that practice and here acknowledge our Father’s blessings this year. A harvest of a different kind is the subject of our blog this week. We…