Answer:

Peter

Biblical theologians have grappled with this  interesting question over the centuries.  But all are left with the same dilemma… Scripture seems to indicate that, in fact, there will be a renewed physical temple and a system for worship practiced in the millennial kingdom!

Scripture indicates that the millennium will be a time of special ministry by the Holy Spirit (Isaiah 32:15)  to not only the  church-age saints, but also Israel.  In fact, Scripture indicates worship will be at the center of millennial life! (Joel 2)  A large portion of the activities during the millennium are direct fulfillments of God’s promises to Israel, and those promises often center upon the complete and unfettered worship of  the  God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob!

So it stands to reason that God’s covenant relationship with Israel would include specific promises being fulfilled during this time. For example, Ezekiel 40-48  declares that a magnificent temple will be constructed and a system of  priestly and memorial sacrifices will be set up during this time.   It seems clear that the sacrifices are not for the removal of sin, as they were in the OT system, but rather now serve as a unique means of  memorial worship to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords for His “once for all” atoning sacrifice for His people!

While a complete answer to the question of the temple and sacrificial system remains somewhat confusing, the main point is clear:

In keeping with God’s promises to Israel, there will be an ordered system of worship once again in a renewed temple in Jerusalem.

In the  final verse of the 48th chapter of Ezekiel, a glorious purpose for the  renewing of Jerusalem and  construction of the magnificent millennial temple is given;

‘The city shall be 18,000 cubits round about; and the name of the city form that day shall be,  ’The Lord is there’ “(Ezek 48:35)

For a fuller discussion on this and other related topics regarding the millennium, I recommend the following article:

‘The Glorious Restoration of Israel in the Millennium”  by Dr.John Walvoord
this article can be accessed at bible.org

Answer:

Peter

Why? First off, because that was the singular view taught by the apostles.  :-)  Secondly, these early church fathers were faithful to pass on the teaching of the apostles. They fought hard to “defend the faith once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 3).

Many of them died as a result of the apostolic faith they proclaimed!  Church historians have  established that Polycarp was personally discipled by the apostle John – the Spirit-led, human writer of the book of the Revelation (who, we can rest assured, knew a few things about the end of the age and God’s plan for the future!).  Polycarp was later marytred for his faith.

So, that begs the question… When did premillenialism start? When and why did the church  develop differing views regarding end-times?  Let’s look at it…

When did premillennialism start? Way back in the OT!  God’s promises to Israel  regarding a future messiah-king  who would rule and reign forever are recorded throughout the OT canon (Isa 65:17-25; Ezk 37:21-28, Zec 8:1-7; Isa 11, 65:17-25; Ezk 38:33-38).  The NT  affirms and sheds further light on certain aspects of God’s plan for Israel, the church and the “end times” (Rom 11:1-33; Eph 2:11-3:21; 1 Thess 4:13-5:11).  An unbiased,  straight-forward grammatico-literal reading of the pertinent prophetic passages of the NT  naturally reveals the apostles taught premillennialism.

Church historians tell us that for the first 300-400 years of church history the predominate “end times” position was premillennial.  Why did this change? The primary cause was a increasing  lack of adherence to a literal interpretation of Scripture.  This was somewhat fueled by the advancing growth of the papacy.  The church hierarchy began using a form of interpretation known as allegory.  The allegorizing of the Bible (making it’s meaning symbolic rather than a straightforward, literal unfolding of  the author’s intent) began to introduce all kinds of mischief into Bible interpretation.  Sadly, one of the major proponents of this approach was the great theologian Augustine.  By the time of the Reformation (1520+ AD), premillennial teaching was nearly extinct.

The reformers were primarily “amillennial” due mainly to the developing theological system known as “covenant theology.”  A  main tenet of this system is applying the future promises that God made to Israel to the church, in light of Israel’s past rejection of the Messiah.  In this system, the church replaces Israel obviating the need for the millennial reign of Christ upon the Davidic throne!  (contra Rev 3:7, 5:5, 22:16).

The key to truly understanding the nature and timing of God’s final purpose for history is contained in openly and diligently seeking God’s intent within His Word.  That means not following a eschatological/theological system that requires conforming Scripture to that system.  Just take Scripture in its plain, literal sense and see what it teaches!

The reason there are many different positions is NOT because the Bible is confused or unclear.  It is because people are subject to error, and over the history of the church, the many approaches to understanding these things have become firmly entrenched.  We hold to a simple interpretive principle — use the plain principles of grammar and language to ascertain the plain, literal meaning of the text — assume that God chose to communicate clearly & plainly with us about these things, rather than shading meanings and leaving great mystery that requires the interpreter to come up with the meaning.  We  believe you can arrive at God’s intended meaning in Scripture if you just take it as it stands.   Now the dangerous part… are you willing to believe, trust and obey what God has said, no matter where His truth leads you?

We are all finite, fallen and in need of God’s grace every day! We just want to let the plain, literal sense of the bible speak for itself  …and when you do, you will naturally arrive at a pre-millennial view.   But listen… eschatology is not a cause for division or relational conflict, we love all those who are true followers of Christ, even though we may hold differing views on God’s plan for the future!

Answer:

Peter

Therefore, it is important to appreciate this principle for a couple of reasons.  Namely, to provide context and clarity because  1) a portion of the predictions are yet future (Dan 7:1-8 and Dan 11:36-45) .  And 2) to accurately understand “when” and “how” these events happened vs. those yet future we must use other validation methods like archaeology and recorded human history as well as the Bible.  This is where most of the confusion lies for believers (e.g., Dan 11:36-12:13).

To use Daniel as a means to demonstrate the supernatural  nature of the Bible to unbelievers can be a good tool.  It can be a useful means or segue to sharing the gospel because many today are troubled by the state of the world and mankind’s future on earth.  So… Getting to the gospel is the key!

Since the events described in Daniel  11 are verifiable in history, it does provide one support for the truthfulness of Scripture and the sovereignty of  it’s Author!  The majority of reputable textual scholars affirm that Daniel was written ca. 536-530BC.   The events predicted in Daniel 11 are cataloged in numerous history books by non-biblical historians (recently National Geographic Channel did a  historical retrospective on the  “History of  Babylon” which affirmed the four kingdoms predicted in Daniel 11).

The book of Daniel unfolds much of middle eastern history from 605 BC to 165 BC.  So precise are the 100 predictions found in Daniel that many skeptics have rejected them and claim that Daniel was written after the rise and fall of the kings and kingdoms predicted in chapter 11. However, that is not the testimony of archaeology and history.

Here are some key points to consider:

1. Secular historians don’t dispute the four kingdoms predicted in Daniel 11 came to pass because archaeology and ancient recorded history and historians confirm their existence, exactly as predicted by Daniel (ie, Herodotus ca 200 BC).
2. Those who claim Daniel was written retrospectively (ie, after the events predicted in Daniel) claim that Daniel was written ca. 165 BC.  This assertion was proven incorrect in light of the manuscript evidence found when the Dead Sea Scrolls were discovered in 1947-56.  These  ancient documents provide copy fragments of  the book of Daniel  dated over two hundred years before the supposed date given by the skeptics.  They show the predictions recorded in Daniel 11 already existed before 165BC!

Answer:

Peter

Based on the personal characteristics of the “man of sin” described in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, we can safely draw some inferences about him:

1. He opposes and exalts himself above everything, even the one true and living God (v.4a)
2. He proclaims himself  to be God (v.4b)
3. He is completely influenced by and reflects the nature and character of Satan (v.9)

Scripture declares that Satan is the father of pride, the father of lies and the deceiver.  As a part of God’s sovereign plan for redemptive history, Satan is allowed to use this final “son of perdition” to carry out his evil attempt to usurp Christ and be worshipped as God.  Satan will do anything to oppose God’s rightful rulership and glory.  Therefore, one can safely argue that the Antichrist, in a way and depth unmatched by any of  the other preceding megalomaniacal world leaders, is blinded, self-deluded and completely given over to evil through Satanic influence.   (Far more than Antiochus Ephinanes or Adolf Hitler!)

Like Satan, he is completely consumed with pride and self-idolatry. I  believe the Antichrist will be shocked when he swiftly incurs his ultimate fate - the just and eternal wrath of God.

“And then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming” (2 Thess 2:8)

Answer:

Peter

First, those who have died without repenting and trusting  Christ’s  payment for their sin (thereby receiving the  imputation of His righteousness to them see – 2 Cor 5:21) are awaiting “final judgment” of their lives (Rev 20:11-15).  In contrast, the believer’s sin was judged at the cross through Christ’s atoning death (1 Cor 15:1-4).  So there is no judgment of  our sin at death because Christ’s perfect payment cancels our unpayable debt of sin to God!  (Jn 19:28)

The Bible states that when the unsaved die, they await final judgment of their sins in a place called Hades (the Greek word for the Hebrew word sheol) – c.f., Matt 11:23, 16:18; Lk 10:15, 16:23; Rev 6:8.

Hades is not the ultimate destination of the unrepentant (i.e., Hell). The ultimate sentencing of the unsaved occurs as a result of the final judgment called the “Great White Throne Judgment” (Rev 20:11-15).  All the unsaved receive God’s final judgment and condemnation at the Great White Throne Judgment.  The Bible calls the final place where the unsaved carry out their eternal punishment, the “lake of fire.” Revelation 20:14-15 describes this most serious, sobering and tragic truth in all of Scripture:

“Then death and Hades were thrown in to the lake of fire.This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyones’ s name was not written in the book of life,he was thrown into the lake of fire”

So the Bible calls what we think of as “eternal hell” the “lake of fire.”

There is debate among theologians about when this final hell described as the “lake of fire” comes into existence.  Some argue it may already exist (Matt 10:28), but if it does, it is currently unoccupied!!  Why? Because its first eternal inmates, the beast (Anti-Christ)  and the false prophet (an end-time world religious leader) will not begin serving their never-ending sentence until the end of the Tribulation (Rev 19:20).

So, to recap:

1. “Hades” is the place where the unsaved go after death to await the “Great White Throne” Judgment.  The Bible intimates this is a “temporary” place of punishment (Luke 16:19-31). Hades is not eternal Hell.
2. The “lake of fire” is the final destination for all the unrepentant for all eternity; this is what is commonly referred to as “hell.”  The Greek word for Hell is “gehenna,” not “hades” ( lit., “the place of the unseen”).

While everyone will die one day (except those ”snatched away” in the rapture – 1 Thess 4:16-18!), anyone can avoid Hades and the just punishment of  Hell  by confessing their sin and trusting in Jesus Christ’s work of salvation . . . ” for the wages of sin is death (complete separation from God and serving out the  tragic consequence of the Lord’s just sentence/punishment for your sin forever).  Thank God for the second half of Romans 6:23 . . . but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord!” Because of God’s grace, we do not have to experience eternal death but can inherent eternal life through personally receiving the free gift of salvation in Jesus Christ!

If you have not confessed to God that you are  sinner by nature and a sinner by choice, repent and trust Christ for the complete payment of your sins.  The Bible repeatedly declares that you are headed toward God’s perfectly just judgment  and condemnation for your sins.  If you have not personally cried out to God for His mercy, please do so now! (Read  Luke 18:9-14!)  I beg  you to repent and agree with God that you need to embrace and trust Christ alone as your only Savior and Lord (Rom 10:10).  Only He qualifies to be your perfect substitute and is able to make complete atonement for your sin! (1 Peter 1:18-19)

Please recognize your  inability to pay for your sin and earn God’s favor by your efforts! Do not accept the false notion that living a “moral life” or doing “good things” makes you right with God. Rather, embrace and receive God’s free offer of forgiveness and eternal life through trusting in the finished work of  Christ alone (1 Peter 3:18) . . . then begin to  live for Him now with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, knowing that He will one day bring  you to the never-ending  joy of heaven — to an eternity that is inexhaustibily blessed!  He will bring you to the ulitmate meaning of  life: to experience an everlasting life of glorifying Him and enjoying Him forever! (Jude 24-25)

Answer:

Peter

“When the dead rise , they will neither marry nor be given in marriage.  In this resepect, they will be as the angels in heaven”(Matt. 22:30)

Scripture does not teach there will be no marriage in heaven! In fact, it clearly teaches there will be marriage in heaven.  What it says is that there will be one marriage, between Christ and His bride- and we’ll all be part of it! (Rev 19:9; 21:1-2)

The one-flesh marital relationship which we enjoy on earth is a signpost pointing to our relationship with Christ as our bridegroom.  Once we reach our ultimate destination, the signpost becomes unnecessary (i.e., earthly marriage).  That future marriage – our marriage  or union with Christ – will be so infinitely and completely satisfying that even the most wonderful earthly marriage could not be as fulfilling.

Many happily married believers struggle with this , but they really shouldn’t!  I fully expect that my wife, Linda, and I will be closer than ever in heaven.  We will enjoy one another in ways that we can’t yet imagine or conceive of  in this earthly realm! All believers will overflow with joy, being part of the same marriage – an eternal marriage – to Jesus Christ, our bridegroom.

“As the Scriptures  say,”A man and women leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife and the two are united as one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the Church are one” (NLT, Eph 5:31-32)

Answer:

Peter

However, he makes a very clear point of distinguishing between judging those in the church and “the immoral people of this world” (1 Cor 5:10).  Paul emphatically declares that we are not to  judge the behavior of those outside the faith (1 Cor 5:10). Apparently the church at Corinth misapplied Paul’s teaching about separating from an unrepentant brother caught up in sexual sin and refused to have contact with the unsaved. So they stopped contact/relationships with the very ones that need the gospel shown and shared with them and instead tolerated the sinning brother in their midst! (1 Cor 5:11)

The unsaved of this world are already under the judgment of God (John 3:17-18)! They need the gospel, not self-righteous moralism.  We must purpose in our heart to show the love and  power of God’s transforming grace by befriending those who’re caught up in the  empty cares and pleasures of this world.  We are called to show God’s love through giving our time, talent and resources toward the unsaved whom we interact with in our personal context (work, neighborhood, school, sports/recreational activities, etc.)

Get to know your neighbors and co-workers.  Become their friend.  Be creative about displaying the love and kindness of Christ. Bring them a useful gift (like a new plant for the garden or a gift certificate to Home Depot!)  Invite them out for coffee or over to watch the big game …as your friendship grows, show and share the love of Christ in real and tangible ways… and when the time is right share your testimony – and most importantly, share the gospel of grace (1 Peter 3:15), pray for them regularly and invite them to FBC!

“For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  If you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the unsaved do the same? Therefore, you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matt 6:46-47)

Answer:

Peter

To “live godly in Christ” means faithfully living a life that puts Jesus on display, showing and sharing Him in a world that rejects His message and His gospel.  Jesus said in the “Sermon on the Mount” (Matt 5-7) that we are blessed when we live in a way that pursues and manifests His righteousness.  We are not blessed by the world, that’s for sure! No! Jesus says we are blessed by our faithfulness to Him, both in this life and the life to come!  Being persecuted for Christ results in a deeper, more intimate relationship with Him.  He goes on to say what true persecution looks like — casting insults against you, hunting you down, ridiculing you and falsely accusing and slandering you (Matt 5:10-11).  He then gives the reason for this type of  verbal and physical abuse — it is on “account of Me.” We will be despised and persecuted for reflecting Him . . . for attitudes and actions that look like Jesus!  So where’s the blessing??  The apostle Peter says it this way, “if you are reviled for the name of Christ you are blessed, because the Spirit  of glory and God rests upon you (1 Peter 4:14).”

So, here’s the point:

First, our identification with Christ and the faithful display of His character is to be the cause of genuine “persecution.”

Second, because we as Christians are fallen sinners, we  are sometimes guilty of avoiding persecution.

Why do we avoid persecution sometimes? Because there is a cost to following Jesus . . . “deny yourself, pick up your cross and follow Me” (Matt 10:24).  Dying to your ways, your ideas of right and wrong, your view about what’s good and fair and just is all part of what it means to be a Christian.  By definition, a Christian is a Christ-follower!

Third, Jesus’ call to “deny ourselves” and our faithfulness to follow Him is directly related to the fervency of our love, trust and obedience toward Him and His Word (John 15).

Are you purposing to live for Christ and put Him on display? Are you passionate about pursuing  a life of purity? Are you faithfully reflecting His righteousness at home, work, even during times of recreation? If not, why not? It may be that you’re consumed with the things of this world and yourself!

If  you have no desire to follow Christ, to serve and glorify Him, then there is serious reason for concern (Matt 10:33).  Examine your heart  and life to see if you’ve  become too comfortable with living for self and the world? If you have repent and return to your first love! (Rev 2:4-6)

. . .”if anyone suffers as a Christian let him not feel ashamed, but in that name let Him glorify God” (1 Peter 4:16)

Answer:

Peter

So what is “sanctification”? Here’s a simple biblical definition:

“That  life-long work of  the indwelling Holy Spirit that progressively molds and shapes the believer into the image of Christ ” (Rom 8:29; 2 Cor 3:18).

At salvation, the Bible states that we begin a life-long, Spirit -driven process of becoming more and more like Christ in our attitudes and actions.  While saved from the penalty and power of sin,  we are still confronted, both internally and externally, with the presence of sin.  So, during our earthly life, we constantly battle with  our fallen humanness, the world’s temptations and the evil one’s schemes.  Progressive sanctification is the life-long journey  whereby, through that battle, our character is conformed more and more to the image of Christ.  This “conformity” is a cooperative process by and between God’s Spirit  working in us and our obedience to  God’s Word (Phil 2:12-13).

The Bible  teaches  ”sanctification” includes three (3) key components:

1. Positional Sanctification: That component of God ‘s “gift of salvation” where He makes, declares  and sees  the believer  as “positionally” holy and perfect  through the death of the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:32; 1 Cor. 1:2, 1:30, 6:11; Heb 2:11)
2. Progressive Sanctification: The Holy Spirit’s ministry to every believer where He  progressively brings us into conformity to the likeness and character of Christ through obedience to the Word of God (John 17:17, 19; 2 Cor 3:18; Eph 5:26; Rom 8:29)
3. Perfect Sanctification: The final act in our sanctification by God wherein He makes our “positional sanctification” and “progressive sanctification” one and the same as we arrive in heaven! Our practice is forever conformed to our position in Christ — perfect, holy and blameless (Rom 8:23; 1 Cor 15:42-44, 51-53; Phil 3:21; 1 John 3:2)

Here’s some other verses that speak to the process of ” progressive” sanctification:

Rom 6:19, 8:13; Heb 12:1, 14:1 ; 1 Thess 4:3; 1 Tim 4:8; Phil 3:13-14

Hope this helps!

Answer:

Peter

So in this instance, “fear”  triggers a God-given mechanism to confront or remove us from  physical harm.

In a similar manner, when we were saved and transformed by God’s grace, He places within us “saving faith” (Eph 2:8-9).  This supernatural “faith”  (an ability  to trust Him) resides in our hearts. However we must exercise or activate it to experience its power (Heb 11:1-2).  I believe that one of the reasons the book of  Daniel (& Hebrews!) was given to us is to show “saving faith” in action! Like Daniel, we “possess” the same kind of “supernatural faith” which he had, in order to respond to the uncertainty and fear that confront us in this life!

Here’s the key — just like God has given all humans the natural ability to effectively respond to physical threat, uncertainty and danger, so He has endowed us as His people to be vessels of His supernatural power.  We can respond to fear and uncertainty in every dimension of life with faith & hope!  In fact, God receives great glory when we exercise childlike trust in Him and His promises. I believe that much of the fear we  deal with in this life is to be used as an opportunity to experience His faithfulness (Lam 3:19-22).

So when you’re confronted with doubt, fear, anxiety or a bad case of the “what if’s”, try doing what Daniel’s friends did when tested by the fiery furnace for their faith in God”

‘O  Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter.  If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us  from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us, O king.  But even if He does not, let it be known that we are not going to serve your gods or the golden image that you have set up. (Dan 3:16-18)

Moving from “fear” to “faith” simply means entrusting yourself to Him and trusting His promises to you. Leave the outcome to Him. He  alone is completely trustworthy! (The great reformer, Martin Luther, struggled mightily with fear.  During the persecution he  received from the Roman Catholic establishment  for his singular faith in the God of the Bible, he was  moved to write the great hymn, “A Mighty Fortress is our God,” based on Psalm 91.  I encourage you to read  it!  The psalm AND the hymn!)

God in His grace and wisdom gives you and I daily opportunities to trust Him.  He delights in proving that He is who He says He is! (Lam 3:19-22, Heb 11:1-40)