Faith Bible Blog

Question: Why will there be a temple during the millennium? Will there be sacrifices and if so, why?

Answer:

Good question! On the surface, it seems a bit strange that a “physical temple” would exist in the millenium since God, the Son, will be “physically present” with us.  And, given that Christ personally fullfilled the Old Testament law and made  an eternally sufficient atonement for sin on our behalf, why continue the sacrificial system in the age to come?

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! Read more…

Peter Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question:The premillennial position was not held by early church fathers, reformers and some great scholars today. Why?

Answer:

 Actually, I would encourage you to rexamine the early church fathers’ stand on premillenialism.  A review of  2nd century church history demonstrates that in the  immediate, post -apostolic era, church leaders such as Polycarp (ca. 69-155AD), Justin Martyr (d.138AD), and Irenaeus of Lyons (d.177AD) were premillenial.

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… Read more…

Peter Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: Does the Antichrist know of his eventual defeat to Christ, like Satan does?

Answer:

The Bible declares that the final Antichrist, the “man of lawlessness” pictured in 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, is one who is energized by Satan as a counterfeit Christ (2 Thess 2:9).  The Scripture does not explicitly state the Antichrist knows, or is aware, of his eventual doom.

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)

Peter Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: Many scholars today say that the antichrist will come out of the papacy.  Is there truth to this?

Answer:

So you’re asking, ‘who is the antichrist and what do we know about him?’  Well, Revelation13:4-8 says…

and they worshiped the dragon, because he gave his authority to the beast; and they worshiped the beast, saying, “Who is like the beast, and who is able to wage war with him?” 6 And he opened his mouth in blasphemies against God, to blaspheme His name and His tabernacle, that is, those who dwell in heaven. 8 And all who dwell on the earth will worship him, everyone whose name has not been written from the foundation of the world in the book of life of the Lamb who has been slain.
[Will he be a religious leader to be worshipped?]

Daniel 9:26 says,

and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary.
[Will he be a Roman/Italian?]

And Daniel 11:36-37 says,

Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god, and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done. 37 “And he will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all.
[Will he be homosexual OR celibate?]

The biblical descriptions above definitely COULD point to the Antichrist being a Roman Catholic Pope in the future.

Chris Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: What is the difference between the lake of fire and hell?

Answer:

Good question! The Bible assigns a unique name to the ultimate place of judgment for those who reject the gospel of grace.  To best answer your question, let me define a few things…

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). Read more…

Peter Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, hell, TXT Question

Question: will God’s people be taken away when Jesus comes back or before?

Answer:

  Among all who believe in the physical, bodily rapture of believers, I do not think that there is any debate on this question.  All will agree that God’s people will be raptured (taken up physically to meet Jesus) BEFORE Jesus comes back.

For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and thus we shall always be with the Lord.  (1 Thess 4:16-17)

Paul is pretty clear that there will be a point when Christians who have not died will rise from the earth and meet Jesus in the air.  The only question is WHEN?!

Of that particular day, no one knows (1 Thess 5:2, Mark 13:32).  Of the general timeframe, there is much debate…  Is it pre-trib, mid-trib, pre-wrath, post-trib?  Personally, I’m hoping/praying/expecting a pre-tribulational rapture, but I’m not dogmatic that everyone has to agree with me on this.

John Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: Is heaven christians home or will the new earth be?

Answer: In modern vocabulary, we tend to think of everything in terms of “heaven” and “hell.”  But when you look at Revelation 20-22, which describes the final places which are made for all people, you see that the eternal home of all people will be either “the new heavens & the new earth” or “the lake of fire.”  But it’s not just the new earth on which Christians will live, but in the new “Jerusalem” which will come “down out of heaven from God” (Rev 21:10).  This is the place which Christ is preparing now for all those who love Him, whom the Father has called (Jn 14:2).

And to that I say, wahoo!  Come, Lord Jesus, come quickly!

John Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: How can you be certain that the 10 kingdoms are the European Federation? Could the world and its nations look significantly different 1000 years from now?

Answer:

This is a great question.  As we heard the sermon preached, I was initially thinking the same thing — ‘Can we be confident that the 10 kingdoms arise from Europe?’  About two-thirds of the way through the sermon on Sunday, it clicked.  Yes.  You can be certain.  Here’s why:  Daniel 7:24.  Daniel 7:24 says that the ten horns/kings shall arise out of the fourth kingdom.  Without dispute, the fourth beast/kingdom is Rome.  The ten kingdoms and the antichrist — all yet to come, according to Rev 17:12 — will have Rome as their ancestor.  The Roman Empire fell apart in 476 A.D. but it has lived on in Europe.

One of the reasons I love visiting Europe is for all the history.  On my last trip, I visited Trier on the far west side of Germany.  It has one of the largest city gates still standing, north of the Alps — the Porta Nigra — built for and used by the Romans throughout their reign.  (That’s me, standing in front of it, in the picture.)  I say this because, as Americans, our geography and our knowledge of history can be shoddy.  The Roman Empire was not confined or even mainly in & around Italy.  It was all across Europe.  Great Britain was a major Roman province named Britannia, with Hadrian’s Wall blocking off access to the northern barbarians (the Scots).

So, yes, you can be certain that the 10 kingdoms are Europe.  Not necessarily the European Union in its current state, for as you say, things can look significantly different over the span of years.  But geographically, this does appear to be the region and people from which the 10 kings prophesied in Daniel 7 shall arise.

John Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: Why insert a gap after the 4th kingdom (in Daniel 7)? A regular read would put u in the 10th Roman ruler in Christ’s day. Nero came out of this. Doesn’t that make more sense than some still future guy?

Answer:

As stated during the message last Lord’s day, we affirm that God’s Word is to be interpreted as any other form of written communication using the normal rules of  language and grammar (Neh 8:8).  So when we seek to accurately interpret  the Bible, we need to apply those rules and take into account the type of language and literary genre the Bible is using.  This is especially true when interpreting prophecy!

For example, when reading about  God’s promises (prophecy) in Scripture, we sometimes see a  short  fulfillment time – days, months, & years or  longer intervals like decades, centuries or millennia! This principle is illustrated clearly in Daniel’s prophecy about Nebuchadnezzar’s conversion (Dan 4).  This prediction was fulfilled within the King’s lifetime (a relatively short period of time).  Other times, we see a somewhat later fulfillment, like the fall of Belshazzar and the ascendency of the Medo-Persian kingdom ruled by Cyrus (Dan 5).  Sometimes the fulfillment stretches over centuries, like the promise of God fulfilled in the Exodus!

One  clear example  of this “near/far fulfillment  principle” in Scripture  is seen in the prophecy of Christ’s birth.  It was first promised way back in Gen 3:15 but actually occurred some 4,000 years later! If you look closely you’ll see a “near vs. far ” fulfillment pattern in the  “prophetic sections” of  the Word. It is essential that we apply that principle as we interpret prophecy!

Daniel 7 describes the four final world empires which God promised to unfold during human history.  As we saw last week, the  fourth and final kingdom consists of two fulfillments (ie, near/far principle).  The first was the emergence of the Roman Empire (ca. 200 BC  to 300 AD) and the second, still to come, is the “little horn” (final anti-Christ) who assumes power and leads a resurgence of the Roman Empire — still yet future.  Scripture proves this is a later, yet unfulfilled prophecy because :

1. Rev. 13  declares  this “little horn” or  beast or ruler was “yet to come.”  He was not on the scene as John received and wrote of  the book of Revelation.  So John was stating that the coming anti-Christ was still yet future!
2. To remain true to a “grammatico-literal-historical-contextual interpretive method” when  unfolding  prophetic or end times literature, we must apply the near/far fulfillment rule  where  the context and the rest of Scripture support it. Daniel 7 is a clear presentation of this important interpretive principle.

So how does this apply to your question?  I believe your question may describe a part of an eschatological (“future or last things” ) position known as the ”preterist view.”  In that view, the prophecies concerning the  final world ruler and his kingdom  were fulfilled prior to the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 (which was a horrific act ordered by the emperor Nero).  But a careful examination of the apostle John’s account of the coming antichrist demonstrates that this awful event decreed by Nero was not an act of the antichrist.  John wrote the book of the Revelation in AD 90.  No doubt John was aware of  the destruction of the temple in Jerusalem some twenty years earlier.   This was not a shock to John as Christ had predicted in Matthew 24:1-2 that this would occur!  Yet John, writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, stated the future antichrist  and the revived Roman empire was still to come:

“And the ten horns which you saw are the ten kings, who have not yet received a kingdom, but they receive authority as kings with the beast for one hour” (Rev. 17:12)

So, based on Rev. 13: and 17:12, other yet unfulfilled prophecies and the witness of history, Nero could not be the final antichrist.  So Daniel 7 :7b-8 is still yet unfulfilled.

The reason there’s a “gap” is because God’s promised “little horn” is still yet  to come. Nero was a horrble dictator, but a careful reading of the pertinent prophetic passages of Scripture prove that He could not have been the  “little horn’ of Daniel 7!  Just like the  “gap” between the prophecy of Christ’s  birth and its fulfillment took 4,000 years for its fulfillment.  Rest assured that God has set a time for the final fulfillment of the prophecies concerning  Daniel 7 and the end of this age.

So what does this mean for us today? One thing is abundantly clear. Its fulfillment is obviously much closer than when Daniel received the vision and the Apostle John further illumined it for us! Are you ready?

” So will My Word be which goes forth  from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it” (Isa 55:11)

Peter Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question

Question: Is it necessary to believe in a literal 1,000 year kingdom? Can’t “the kingdom” refer to the eternal new heaven and earth?

Answer:

Thank you for the question.  The matter of how one interprets the Scriptures is very important.  At FBC, we would interpret Revelation 20:4-6 literally. (The literal method of interpretation is that method that gives to each word the exact basic meaning it would have in normal, ordinary, customary usage. This is called the grammatical-historical method. )

The fact that this number is repeated six times in this passage indicates that the figure is to be understood literally.  Why the repetition if it is not to be taken literally?  The Old Testament also teaches the literal 1,000 year reign of Christ on earth. The Davidic covenant between God and the nation of Israel unveils that Jesus will reign from the throne of David in Jerusalem for a 1,000 years. Key texts which should be interpreted literally are:  Ps 2:1-9; Isa 9:6-7, 11:1-2, 55:3; Jer 23:5-8, 33:20-26; Ezek 34:23-25, 37:23-24; Luke 1:32-33.

If you don’t use the historical-grammatical method, the text can be made to mean any number of things.  The Word of God becomes “putty in the hand of the interpreter.” In Genesis 17: 8, God made a covenant with Abraham  in which God gave to him and his descendants the land of Canaan. When any student of the Word of God reads this text, they all interpret it literally.  Abraham received actual literal dirt — miles and miles of real land.

The leadership at FBC would interpret the Scripture concerning the Davidic Covenant the exact same way that we interpret the Genesis 17 passage – the Abrahamic Covenant) — literally.  Otherwise Abraham never really received any literal land. It must have been a spiritual land. (I say this in jest.)  As the land of Canaan was a literal place given to Israel, so the 1,000 year reign of Christ will literally happen.  Jesus will sit physically on a real throne, in the physical city of David here on earth.

Jon Bible Issues & Questions eschatology, TXT Question