The Day of the Lord

At times I wonder if it isn’t easier to convince an unbeliever of the truth about the Lord and his word than to convince a believer who believes wrong doctrine and thinks he is correct. It doesn’t seem to matter how many Scriptures I use to prove a point, the brother will cling to the error taught him by a man he trusts or the organization of which he is a member.

 

Image of the Beast & The 7 Sons of Sceva ~ Part 1

Awhile ago, I had been reading about a particular study theme in Lee T. Dahn’s blog showing both the Gospel of Luke and the book of Acts have an underlying theme that contrasts the priestly family of Annas with the priesthood of Christ, the one being corrupt and the other holy. I found his point of view very interesting, and because of my reading his study, I have begun to recognize this theme behind some of the symbols in the book of Revelation. For example, I’ve already made the claim that the Image of the Beast is actually the seven sons or descendents of Annas, the high priest.

 

Who or What is Antichrist?

Many folks seem to be looking for an end-time figure who would rule the world for a short time, and this political figure would set up a deal with the Jews and later betray them. It would look like he would make peace, but in the end terrible destruction eventually takes place. They have several names for this political person: the Beast, the Man of Sin, the Son of Perdition and even Antichrist, because he is supposed to also persecute Christians. What about these things; are they true? No, they are actually false conceptions. I have written about the Beast and several times about the Man of Sin, who is also the Son of Perdition. At this time I intend to address the name Antichrist.

 

Gospel to Be Preached in All the World

Jesus said in Matthew 24:14 that the Gospel of the Kingdom of God would be preached in all the world and then the end would come. What does this mean? Did Jesus mean it must be preached to every remote tribe or village on every continent and island on the planet? Did he mean it had to be preached to every people-group, as is assumed by many today, before the end could come? If Jesus cannot come until the Gospel is preached according to his command, then it should be obvious in the text what Jesus meant. What does the text actually say?

 

Jesus’ Coming in 70 CE

“When shall these things be?” (Matthew 24:3). Some folks try to say that this question concerned the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 CE, but the final two questions in this verse, namely “What shall be the sign of your coming” and “(What shall be the sign) of the end of the age (or world)?” are for our future in the 21^st century. But is this true?

 

Can the Great Tribulation be Shortened?

In Matthew 24:21 Jesus foretold a time of great tribulation. It is from here that we get our modern doctrine of “The Great Tribulation.” In Revelation believers are warned to repent or they would go through “Great Tribulation,” and then in Revelation we find that many did repent while going through “Great Tribulation.” Whether all these Scriptures refer to the same period is uncertain as far as the texts are concerned. There doesn’t seem to be any real evidence to tie them together.

 

This Generation Revisited

What does the term “this generation” mean as it pertains to the Biblical events and especially Matthew 24:34? Many folks seem to think it means a generation 2000 years or more after Jesus gave us the Olivet Prophecy. Notice:

 

Antichrist & Great Signs and Wonders

A lot of folks seem to be looking for some great magician to come on the scene, someone to really WOW the world and cause them to believe that God is speaking through him. I cannot imagine anything like this occurring today, since he would soon become the object of a great many experiments to prove his authenticity. Atheists simply will not believe anyone is speaking for a God they don’t believe exists simply because someone is wowing the crowds and claiming he is from God. This simply does not compute in today’s cultural scheme, and I believe preaching it makes Christianity look foolish.

 

The Beginning of Sorrows

In the Olivet Prophecy Jesus told the disciples that they had to be on their guard, so they wouldn’t be deceived (Matthew 24:4). Then he pointed out several things from wars and natural disasters to false-christs that would seem to lead people into thinking “the end” is near. People are never more religious than during times of disaster. When hope is ebbing away and control over one’s life seems all but gone, people turn to God, or at least give an appearance of turning to him. Churches fill up during the times of war. Many in America began turning to God during the 911 crises a decade ago. But, as time takes the edge off our fears, we begin to resettle ourselves into the pattern which we had grown to enjoy prior to whatever made us afraid.

 

The Olivet Prophecy

Many folks point to the Olivet Prophecy to show the chronology of Christ’s return at the end of this age. Is this accurate, that is, is the understanding that what Jesus told the disciples on the Mt. Olives just before his death a true and clear explanation of the chronology of the Second Coming of Christ? Well, Jesus does give what seems to be a chronology of his coming, but I don’t believe it points to his Second Coming as we understand this term today.

 

No Man Knows the Day or the Hour!

If we cannot know the day or the hour of the Second Coming of Christ, does this mean we could know the year or the month? Some people think we could! Some even say not knowing the day or the hour is a code for not knowing which Feast of Trumpets would be the day upon which Jesus would return. The theory is that no one knew when the Jewish new year would begin until the first crescent of the new moon was spotted, so no one knew if the 6^th month would have 29 or 30 days.[1] Well, people will imagine a great many things so that they might proceed with their latest prognostications in good conscience.

 

A Sure Word of Prophecy?

Who is willing to admit error? In recent months we have heard that the world was about to come to an end—at least as we know it. Well May 21^st has come and gone, but no one is willing to admit error. It seems the prognosticator was only a few months off, it is really October 21^st! So, did he really make an error? Well, yes he did, and the Bible tells us about folks who do this kind of thing, but that’s another subject perhaps for another blog.

 

The Number of the Beast ~ 666

I think that of all the people who never read the Bible or know much about the Bible, the one thing they are most likely to know about the Bible is some misconception of 666. Undoubtedly, their misconception is founded upon their attending one of the creations of the equally ignorant Hollywood productions like the Omen series. Did you ever wonder how we would know the number of the so-called Beast? Would the number be written 666 beneath the hair of his scalp like it was done in the Hollywood production? If so, why does the Bible say we must calculate his number (Revelation 13:18)? In the 1970s I remember that some folks thought Henry Kissinger was the Antichrist, because someone calculated K-I-S-S-I-N-G-E-R and came up with 666!

 

Who is the Man of Sin? ~ Part 3

We are discussing the identity of the Man of Sin, whom the Lord said he would destroy with the brightness of his coming. We left off in the previous blog with the writing of the Gospel of Luke which was presented to Theophilus, the reigning high priest, who averted war with Rome and eventual destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple by repenting and stopping the persecution of the believing Hellenist Jews. Nevertheless, when another of Annas’ sons got into the high priesthood, he advised Herod Agrippa to strike out at the Apostles and he killed James, John’s brother, but Peter and the other Apostles escaped, leaving only James, Jesus’ brother, and the most conservative believing Jews to preach the Gospel in Jerusalem.

 

To Seal up the Vision and the Prophecy

I now come to the fifth work of God as prophesied by the angel in Daniel 9:24. Each work, thus far, we have found has been finished in Christ and there remains nothing more to fulfill at a later date, showing the future fulfillment of the final seven years of this prophecy is a false doctrine. By believing that there remains seven years to be fulfilled before completion of this prophecy has kept us from the truth that this prophecy reveals in Christ. We need to examine our understanding of these things to assure ourselves that what we believe is sound and taught by the original Apostles (cp. 2Corinthians 13:5).