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12/31/4: -
American Prophecy and the Judeo-Christian crusade against evil - "Jerry
Falwell puts it into a political framework as well, “There’s
nothing that would bring the wrath of the Christian public in this
country down on this government like abandoning or opposing Israel in a
critical matter,” and further that “the Bible Belt in America is
Israel’s only safety belt right now.” Speaking even more forcefully,
more prophetically, Ed McAteer, the ‘Godfather of the Christian Right’
and founder of the Moral Majority, sees in Israel “prophecy unfold so
rapidly and dramatically and wonderfully and, without exaggerating,
makes me breathless.” As for Palestine, McAteer says, “every grain of
sand between the Dead Sea, the Jordan River, and…the Mediterranean Sea
belongs to the Jews,” while the Palestinians themselves “could be
cleansed from their God-given real estate and moved to some Arab
country." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Characters and Events of Roman History: From
Caesar to Nero - Guglielmo Ferrero
(1906) "In this story St. Paul is exactly the antithesis of Nero. The
latter represents the atrocious selfishness of rich, peaceful, highly
civilised epochs; the former, the ardent moral idealism which tries to
react against the cardinal vices of power and wealth through universal
self-sacrifice and asceticism. Neither of these men is to be
comprehended without the other, because the moral doctrine of Paul is
partly a reaction against, the violent folly for which Nero stood the
symbol; but it certainly was not philosophical considerations of this
kind that led the Roman authorities to rage against the Christians. The
problem, I repeat, is insoluble. However this may be, the Christians
were declared responsible for the fire; a great number were taken into
custody, sentenced to death, executed in different ways, during the
festivals that Nero offered to the people to appease them. Possibly Paul
himself was one of the victims of this persecution."
"The armies of Gaul and Spain, for a long time irregularly paid, led by
their officers, revolted. This act of energy sufficed. On the 9th of
June, 68 A.D., abandoned by all the world, Nero was compelled to commit
suicide. So the family of Julius Caesar disappears from history. After
so much greatness, genius, and wisdom, the fall may seem petty and
almost laughable. It is absurd to lose the Empire for the pleasure of
singing in a theatre. And yet, bizarre as the end may seem, it was not
the result of the vices, the follies, and the crimes of Nero alone. In
his way, Nero himself was, like all members of his family, the victim of
the contradictory situation of his times."
12/30/4: -
Exposed: The Jesus Fakes From correspondents in
Jerusalem "The four men indicted were Tel
Aviv collector Oded Golan, owner of the James ossuary and the Yoash
tablet; Robert Deutsch, an inscriptions expert who teaches at Haifa
University; collector Shlomo Cohen; and antiquities dealer Faiz al-Amaleh." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Dr.
Francis Nigel Lee
-
The Olivet Discourse and the Destruction of
Jerusalem in prophecy
(2000)
"The beginning of that "abomination" refers to the desecration of the
city by the ensigns of the Romaneagles3089
(or unclean vultures)3090 which
surrounded Jerusalem in 66.5 A.D. So the Dordt Dutch
Bible, Matthew Henry, Adam Clarke,
Albert Barnes, and Marcellus Kik. The
"desolation" itself would be
engineered three and a half years later at the destruction of Jerusalem
and its temple in 70 A.D." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Dr.
Francis Nigel Lee
-
John's Revelation Revealed
(1999)
"John does not say or mean (preteristically) that all those
things would soon finish coming to pass. Nor does he say or mean
(futuristically) that almost none of those things would even start to
occur until after an alleged and still-future 'rapture.' He says and
means (historicalistically) that first some and then all those things
would "shortly" start coming to pass. -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Dr.
Francis Nigel Lee
-
The Non-Preterist Historicalism of John Calvin and
the Calvinistic Standards (1993)
"Historicalists would agree with Preterists that
there is indeed a very important sense in
which Christ did come (invisibly) to Jerusalem, in punitive judgment,
during A.D. 70.. He would particularly come and comfort them in
the hour of those believers' deaths. Yet if they, the first-century A.D.
Congregations, would not repent of their backslidings ¾ that same Jesus
would come even to chasten and to correct them. Indeed, He
certainly came invisibly yet powerfully
¾ to destroy the wicked
Jerusalem in 70 A.D." -
Wave hit Christians during church service - In Indonesia, where less
than 1 percent of the population is Christian, believers "have been very
badly affected," said a report from that nation. "At least 150
Christians have died and about 5,000 have been displaced," a contact
e-mailed to Barnabas Fund." "Luther noted that
Christ warned about false prophets coming from the desert (Matthew 24:
24 – 26) and this certainly included Muhammad."
12/29/4: -
Henry Hammond:
Hammond's Commentary Added to Southwestern's
Library - "Hammond
was a preterist, one who believes the events of the Apocalypse had
already come to pass. During a chapel service in November Driver read
from a review written by
Charles Spurgeon,
who had a mixed assessment of Hammond’s New Testament commentary.
“Though Hammond gives a great deal of dry criticism and is Arminian,
churchy, and peculiar, we greatly value his addition to our stores of
biblical information. Use the sieve and reject the chaff,” Spurgeon
wrote."
12/27/4: -
Press: Tidal Wave Tragedy Teaches Humility - UPI "The Book of
Revelation predicts a dramatic earthquake will shake the earth before
the Second Coming of Christ. Accordingly, Christian fundamentalist
groups have always been prone to see earthquakes as signs of divine
judgment or of the imminence of the return of Jesus.
And even with accounts of the death tolls and devastation still
incomplete, it teaches the sobering lesson that the wrath of Nature
can dwarf the worst excesses of Man." -
Pret Website:
Beyond the End Times Ministry
- Ron McRay "In the past fifteen years, I have reviewed my convictions
with the intent of testing them to see if they agree with the Bible,
rather than make the Bible fit what my ideas are."
12/26/4: -
Ralph
Woodrow:
Matthew 24 - The Great Tribulation: Future or
Fulfilled? "The
scholarly Christian translator of Josephus’ works mentions this in a
footnote: “That these calamities of the Jews, who were our Saviour’s
murderers, were to be the greatest that had ever been since the
beginning of the world, our Saviour had directly foretold (Mt. 24:21;
Mk. 13:19; Lk. 21:23,24) and that they proved to be such accordingly,
Josephus is here a most authentic witness.” (Preface, p.429)." -
Caiaphas' Bones
12/25/4: -
Symbols of Christmas - "Christmas is a later Christian festival,"
(Baptist Theologian Timothy) George said. "Early Christians didn't
observe Jesus' birth; they were concerned about his death, resurrection
and second coming." -
dEmEnTiA:
Enjoy the peace of Christmas - "Seems to me the longer Jesus waits
to come back for his second return, the more we experience the Biblical
account of "Sodom and Gomarrah." The Rev. Dr. Billy Graham said on one
occasion.. I do not believe we will experience this type of peace until
Christ's second coming."
12/24/4: -
Transition Texts:
Gary DeMar:
Randall Price and the Transition Texts of Matthew
23:38-39 "Toussaint and Price are
willing to dismiss repeated references to an impending judgment by
straining to find a single passage to bolster their argument that a pre-tribulational
rapture, a rebuilt temple, and the reinstitution of Old Covenant Judaism
during an earthly millennium remain to be fulfilled. " -
Levi and Sarah, or the Jewish Lovers (1821) "The last siege and
capture of Jerusalem will ever be memorable in the history of mankind. " -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Josephus
by Norman Bentwich (1914) "Josephus hardly merits a place on his own
account in a series of Jewish Worthies, since neither as man of action
nor as man of letters did he deserve particularly well of his nation."
12/23/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Douay-Rheims Version of the Holy Bible
(1586) William Allen, Richard Bristow, Thomas Worthington
"Zacharias Chapter 11 - The
destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. God's dealings with the Jews,
and their reprobation. 11:1. Open thy gates, O Libanus, and let fire
devour thy cedars. O Libanus. . .So Jerusalem, and more
particularly the temple, is called by the prophets, from its height, and
from its being built of the cedars of Libanus.--Ibid. Thy cedars. . .Thy
princes and chief men." "A fountain shall come forth of the house
of the Lord, etc. . .Viz., the fountain of grace in the church militant,
and of glory in the church triumphant: which shall water the torrent or
valley of thorns, that is, the souls that before, like barren ground
brought forth nothing but thorns; or that were afflicted with the thorns
of crosses and tribulations." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
The Ballad of the White Horse
(1911) -
G.K. Chesterton
"For the White Horse knew England When there was none to know; He saw
the first oar break or bend, He saw heaven fall and the world end, O
God, how long ago.
For the end of the world was
long ago,
And all we dwell to-day
As children of some second
birth,
Like a strange people left on earth
After a judgment day.
For the end of the world was
long ago,
When the ends of the world waxed free,
When Rome was
sunk in a waste of slaves,
And the sun drowned in the sea.
When Caesar's sun fell out
of the sky
And whoso hearkened right
Could only hear the plunging
Of the nations in the night.
When the ends of the earth came
marching in
To torch and cresset gleam.
And the roads of the world
that lead to Rome
Were filled with faces that moved like foam,
Like faces in a dream.
12/22/4: -
FP:
Eric Fuggett
-
The Birth of Jesus
"Is
it just a coincidence that when the one true High Priest comes into the
world, that for the first and only time, a temporary High Priest is
appointed to perform the important duties for the Day of Atonement? Not
if you believe, as I do, that the exact date for Jesus' birthday is the
Day of Atonement or September 11, 5 BCE. " -
Venerable Bede:
Added
Anglo-Saxon Chronicles (the "Saxon Chronicle" contains the original
and authentic testimony of contemporary writers to the most important
transactions of our forefathers, both by sea and land, from their first
arrival in this country to the year 1154) "We
come now to a more cheering prospect; and behold a steady light
reflected on the "Saxon Chronicle" by the "Ecclesiastical History" of
Bede; a writer who, without the intervention of any legendary tale,
truly deserves the title of Venerable" -
"A.D. 71. This year Titus, son of Vespasian, slew in Jerusalem eleven
hundred thousand Jews." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Josephus:
The Antiquities of the Jews -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Ancient Man: The Beginning of Civilization by Hendrik Willem Van
Loon "The temple which served no practical purposes (as far as they
could see) was neglected until the days of Herod, who was King of the
Jews by the Grace of the Roman sword and whose vanity wished to renew
the ancient splendor of the bygone ages. In a half-hearted manner the
oppressed people set to work to obey the orders of a master who was not
of their own choosing. When the last stone had been placed in its proper
position another revolution broke out against the merciless Roman tax
gatherers. The temple was the first victim of this rioting. The soldiers
of the Emperor Titus promptly set fire to this center of the old Jewish
faith." -
When Will Jesus Return? - Joseph Farrah "In 1772, Edward Gibbons
published "The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire," in which he cites
early documents suggesting the Christian disciples of the first century
were taught that Jesus would return after 2,000 years. We'll soon find
out if they were right." -
Jesus and the development of afterlife beliefs - "The apocalyptic
end of the current world is also what Jesus is referring to in his
foretelling of destruction below: And as Jesus was coming out of the
Temple, one of his disciples said to him, 'Teacher, see what great
stones and what great buildings are here.' And Jesus said to him, 'Do
you see these great buildings? Not one stone will be left upon another
that will not be destroyed.' (Mark 13:2)" (Muslim WakeUp!)
12/21/4: -
J. Randall Price :
A Brief History of the Jewish Temple "Although newly restored, it was still subject to
the old terms of the covenantal contract, and with the Nation's
rejection of Jesus as Messiah the Temple was again doomed to desolation.
All of Jesus pronouncements of the Temple's destruction (Matt. 24:2/Mk.
13:2; Lk. 21:6, 20-24) must be viewed in this light, and not as a
rejection or replacement of the Temple as a legitimate institution. In
fact joined immediately to Jesus' own pronouncement of the Temple's
desolation (Matt. 21:38) is His promise (in the word "until") of Israel
(and the Temple's) restoration (Matt. 23:39). This and Jesus' positive
statements concerning the Temple elsewhere (Matt. 12: 4; 17:24-27;
23:16-21; Jn. 2:16-17) and especially in His Olivet Discourse (Matt.
24:15; Mk. 13:14) hold out the prophetic promise that the history of the
Temple would be continued in the future." (An
Overview of the Future Temples) -
J. Randall Price :
The Eschatology of the Dead Sea Scrolls "The history of mankind is traced from the
Creation (1QS 4:15-17) and leads up to the eschaton or the "latter
generation" or the "end-time," finally culminating in the
"Latter Days" (QpHab 4:1-2, 7-8, 10-14; cf. 2:5-7). This culminating
period also looks forward in its description of this age ending the era
of wickedness as "the decreed epoch of new things" (1QS 4:25; cf. Dan.
9:26-27; 11:35-36; Isa. 10:23; 28:22; 43:19)."
"The Messiah of the Dead Sea Scrolls is clearly eschatological. His
coming is at "the end of days," and is royal (Davidic), priestly (Aaronic),
and prophetic (Mosaic) in nature."
"In Dead Sea texts which depict this period of great spiritual
declension of Israel, the apostasy is said to be spearheaded by a figure
refer to as "Belial" and a "son of Belial." The term appears also in the
New Testament at 2 Cor. 6:15. In other texts, this figure is called
"son/man of sin" (cf. CD 6:15; 13:14; 1QS 9:16; 10:19). This expression
is quite similar to an expression found in the Pauline description of
the eschatological desecrator, the Antichrist, in 2 Thess. 2:3b. It is
complemented by another term "son of iniquity" in 1QS 3:21, which is
comparable to the phrase "the man of lawlessness" paired with "man of
sin" in 2 Thess. 2:3. Even the phrase "the mystery of lawlessness,"
found only at 2 Thess. 2:7, has an almost
identical expression at Qumran: "the mystery of iniquity"
12/20/4:
12/19/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Philip Schaff
-
History of the Christian Church
(1882)
(Chapter
6: The Great Tribulation - The Roman
Conflagration and Neronian Persecution) "The aforesaid Scribes and
Pharisees, therefore, placed
James upon the
pinnacle of the temple, and cried out to him: "O thou just man, whom we
ought all to believe, since the people are led astray after Jesus that
was crucified, declare to us what is the door of Jesus that was
crucified." And he answered with a loud voice: "Why do ye ask me
respecting Jesus the Son of Man? He is
now sitting in the heavens, on the right hand of the great Power, and is
about to come on the clouds of heaven."
And as many were confirmed, and gloried in this testimony of James, and
said:, "Hosanna to the Son of David," these same priests and Pharisees
said to one another: "We have done badly in affording such testimony to
Jesus, but let us go up and cast him down, that they may dread to
believe in him." And they cried out: "Ho, ho, the Just himself is
deceived." And they fulfilled that which is written in Isaiah, "Let us
take away the Just, because he is offensive to us; wherefore they shall
eat the fruit of their doings." [Comp.
Is. 3:10.]"
-
This Will Take a Miracle -
Indianapolis Star - Bill Moyers: "Theology asserts propositions that
cannot be proven true; ideologues hold stoutly to a world view despite
being contradicted by what is generally accepted as reality. When
ideology and theology couple, their offspring are not always bad but
they are always blind." "After the last tree is
felled, Christ will come back," James Watt, Ronald Reagan's secretary of
the Interior, told Congress in the formative days of the Moral Majority.
Millions agree, just as millions agree with the general who went around
proclaiming that his God was mightier than the Muslims' God. As this
strain of religion vies with the other one for the helm of the state,
prophecies of a final battle may prove perfectly down-to-Earth. Happy
holidays." -
Smith Bicentennial Renewing Debate - "To loyal Mormons, Joseph Smith
Jr. was an American prophet whose creed is preparing for Christ's Second
Coming. To skeptics, he was a reprobate impostor, if a remarkably
successful one."
12/17/4: -
FP: Dan Delegrave:
Compilation of 2004 Articles From Fulfillment
Ministries -
Western Wall hill to be removed - "Jerusalem city engineers will
take down the hill jutting out from the Western Wall, replacing it with
a bridge. Archaeologists expect to find treasures, such as a tall gate
from the Second Temple." -
A Crack in the Theory "in scholarly circles, a storm is brewing,
raising questions about the spiritual past of the site and its
connection to some of the legends that have risen on its ashes. Did
Essenes live at and scribe the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran? No, says a
soon-to-be-released report."
12/16/4: -
An Exchange between Old School Baptists on Preterism -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS: Lands of the Bible - J.W. McGarvey "The
death of Agrippa occurred in the year 44 of our era, just ten years
after the death of Jesus, and twenty-six years before the destruction of
Jerusalem by Titus; consequently, this enlargement of the city to the
greatest dimensions which it ever attained occurred subsequent to the
solemn announcement of its doom which had been made by Jesus.
Though that doom was to befall it, according to the prediction, before
the generation then living should pass away,
when ten years had passed the city had started on a new career of growth
and apparent prosperity, yet the words of Jesus were not falsified by
the result." -
Press:
Why do End-Time Beliefs Endure? - The Economist "Christians
have kept faith with the idea that the world is just about to end since
the beginnings of their religion. Jesus Himself hinted more than once
that His second coming would happen during the lifetime of His
followers." -
Press: In Line for
the Rapture - Rick Perlstein, Village Voice "The Apostolic Congress,
a Christian Zionist movement, has some attentive ears in the White
House. How much influence do they wield on American policy in Israel?"
Affiliated with the United Pentecostal Church, the Apostolic Congress is
part of an important and disciplined political constituency courted by
recent Republican administrations. As a subset of the broader Christian
Zionist movement, it has a lengthy history of opposition to any proposal
that will not result in what it calls a "one-state solution" in Israel."
-
Jerusalem History:
Images of the Temple
-
Catholic Gonzalo Rojas Flores :
The Book of Revelation and the First Years of Nero's Reign -
"According to ecclesiastical tradition,
the Book of Revelation was written by the apostle John, the son
of Zebedee, about the year 95, during his exile in Patmos, shortly
before writing the fourth gospel in Ephesus. Most scholars support this
late dating (last days of Domitian’s reign), but the early dating
(between the years 64 and 70) has the support of many important authors1.
In this article I will try to demonstrate that (a) the external evidence
is not conclusive in favor of a late dating, because there is an
important patristic tradition in favor of Nero’s reign; and (b) the
internal evidence provides important arguments affirming that the
definitive version of Revelation was redacted after Nero’s
ascension to power in the year 54 and before the earthquake of Laodicea
in the year 60."
12/14/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
The Second Coming of Christ and the Destruction of
the World - Benjamin Franklin
(1869) "But there is another class of scoffers that this discourse has
to do with. They say the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ has long since
occurred--that he came the second time at the destruction of Jerusalem;
that he there judged the world; separated the righteous from the wicked,
and, consequently, argue that the coming of Christ, the judgment, and
punishment of the wicked are all long since gone by. This fallacy must
now be refuted. It must be shown that the coming of the Lord is yet
future." (The Gospel Preacher, Ch. 18) -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Evidences of Christianity: A Debate - Alexander Campbell and
Robert Owen (1829) "beside the predictions uttered by the Savior
concerning his own demise, and all the circumstances attendant upon it,
he foretold one event of such notoriety and importance as to confirm the
faith of one generation and to produce faith in all subsequent
generations." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Illustrated New Testament - Abbott and Abbott (1878) On Acts 2:19-20
"These, also, are figurative expressions, referring to the portentous
events which preceded the destruction of Jerusalem." -
The Lord's Supper: Its Use and Abuse - W.K. Pendelton (1902) "No one
can pretend to deny that Paul teaches the fitness of observing the
supper till the time the Lord shall come; but it is by some contended
that the coming of the Lord, referred to by him, took place at the
destruction of Jerusalem, and that since that time, therefore,
Christians are under no obligation to show forth his death
farther;--that the observance of the supper should have ceased with the
destruction of Jerusalem." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Essays on the Work of the Holy Spirit - Alexander Campbell
(1824) "we shall proceed to notice a prophecy of great utility, which
respected an event about forty years distant. This prediction was
designed for public conviction, and was perfectly adapted to this end.
It was of that character of events which must necessarily be notorious
and eminently conspicuous. Let us attend to it." -
The Second Coming of Christ a Past Event? - T. Orr, Launceston,
Tasmania. (1961) "To the Bible student who is not trammelled by a theory
that he must needs uphold at all cost, I commend what I have written as
being worthy of careful study, for it accepts the plain statements of
the New Testament writers, and requires no evading of the passages in
Matt. 10:23, 16:28, and 24:34 which contain a time-limit set by Jesus
for His Second Advent." -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
Philip Mauro:
Looking for the Savior
(1913) -
Open Source Theology: NT Imminence of Parousia
12/13/4:
12/11/4: -
Listening And Talking To God About Invading Other Countries -
"The Israeli government, however, has submerged humor and forged close
alliances with fundamentalist Christians. In return, evangelicals
contribute big bucks to
Israel and lobby for pro-Israeli
policies. So, Israeli officials turn blind eyes to Reverend Falwell’s
verbal transgressions As recently as January 14, 1999 Jerry Falwell speculated on “the
Anti-Christ.”
-
The A.D.70 Doctrine - George E. Jensen
-
Preterism, the Millennium, and Historical Contingencies - Larry
Gwaltny "Essentially, Jesus did
come “soon” in his initial judgment of AD 70, but this does not preclude
his coming again in the future, this time in full force, with full
recompense, both good and bad"
-
The Olivet Discourse in the History of Dispensationalist Thought
(With a Comparison of the Preterist View) J.H. Hixon
12/10/4: -
Book Store: Continuity
of Religion (1670) By
Bishop Jacques Bénigne Bossuet -
Chapter 21 Completed
"He had foretold the manner in
which the ungrateful city would be besieged, and the dreadful
circumvallation that was to encompass it. He had warned the Jews
that the time of their calamity was at hand; He had laid open to them
the long series of crimes which were to draw such punishments upon them.
In a word, He had traced the whole history of the siege and of the
desolation of Jerusalem." -
Don't Be Left Behind - "As a born again Christian, does the
President support efforts to rebuild the temple on the Temple Mount?"
Hearing this question, all of a sudden, Scott was in a hurry. He mumbled
something like, "I will be glad to take your question, and if there
is more, I will get back to you on that," ended the press
conference, and left the room.
12/8/4: -
Bob Dylan's Unshakable Monotheism: Part IV - "Christ will set up his
kingdom in Jerusalem for a thousand years, where the lion will lie down
with the lamb. Have you heard that before? Have you heard that before?
I'm just curious to know, how many believe that? [mixed audience
response] Alright. This is called 'Slow Train Coming.' It's been coming
for a long time and it's picking up speed."
12/7/4:
12/6/4:
12/5/4: -
Book Store: Continuity
of Religion (1670) By
Bishop Jacques Bénigne Bossuet
"Titus, enlightened enough to know that Judea
perished by a manifest effect of the justice of God, knew not the crime
which God had willed to punish so terribly. It was the most
heinous of all crimes, a crime then unheard-of, namely, Deicide, which
therefore gave occasion to a vengeance such as the world had never seen.
But if we only open our eyes and consider the course of things, neither
that crime of the Jews nor its punishment can remain hidden from us."
12/4/4: -
Apologetics.com:
Discussion on Preterism - "I believe that Jesus Christ clearly
taught that he would return in his second coming (parousia) during the
lifetime of his disciples, and that he did in fact do just that. Is
anyone interested in having a friendly debate on the timing of the
second coming? I hold the position that the second coming was a past
event that has already taken place. Again, I stress "friendly debate."
No ad hominem attacks (name calling and the such). So calling each other
heretic is strictly forbidden. Let's just stick to clear argumentation
and exegesis."
12/3/4: -
Tim LaHaye:
LaHaye: "New End Times Thriller Teaches 'Ridiculous' Views" -
Tyndale Defends Choice to Publish Hanegraaff's Preterist Series -
"The pre-trib author says the new book by Hanegraaff erroneously teaches
that all of Revelation's prophecies have come to pass and the rapture
has already occurred. "Their idea that the Book of Revelation was
written in 64 or 66 A.D. means it's passed -- it was all fulfilled," he
notes. "Personally, I think it's an absolutely ridiculous view -- and
indefensible."
11/26/4: -
FP: Walt Hibbard:
Jesus' Promise of a First Century 'Parousia' --
Not Clear? (Comment by Reformed
scholar) "It
is far from ‘clear’ that Jesus promised that His parousia would
be in the first century. That is the point of disagreement. If it was
clear, then the Christian church would have believed it and so would I.”
He goes on to add the following: “Much of what you say here is based on
the belief that there can be no doubt on this matter. However, for
myself and the historic Christian church these claims are not clear and
so your conclusions do not follow.”
11/25/4:
11/24/4: -
Hank Hanegraaff:
Hank Hanegraaff Gave Tim LaHaye the People's
Elbow! "This story is too good to pass
up. LaHaye, alleged author of the Left Behind Series, and Hank
Hanegraaff, the man who refers to himself as the Bible Answer Man and
lives in a palace near San Diego where he suffers for Jesus, are having
a feud about the End Times. Sort of... What's truly sad about this story
is that most Christians won't recognize that Hanegraaff is far closer to
orthodoxy here than LaHaye." |
New Book Challenges 'Left Behind'
|
Blog: Irking LaHaye
|
Audio: Hank Hanegraaff the Preterist? Part 1
|
Part Two |
Last Disciple on Audio CD
|
BAM Archives -
Thomas Ice:
The Destructive View of Preterism "What’s happening is that
Preterism is challenging futurism. Idealism is not a factor out there
and Historicism is not a factor. Preterists are rising up, coming mainly
out of the Reconstructionist Movement, to do this. What is their theme
verse? Does anybody know? Let’s all say it together, "Truly I say to
you, this generation will not pass away until all these things be
fulfilled." So, when you talk to a Preterist, get ready to hear the
words, "this
generation" at least eight dozen times if you have an extended
conversation... You might be interested to know that in 1843, when the
journal Bibliotheca Sacra was first started, it taught Preterism.
You can go back and look at the early articles – Scholars such as Moses
Stewart and James Robinson wrote for the journal in those early years.
It was not until 1934, when Dallas Seminary took control of Bib
Sac, that it became a futurist organ." -
Oil. Water. Ice. The End. - Interesting collection
11/23/4:
11/22/4: -
Gary DeMar:
"Shreds
of Preterism" Among First-Century Writers
"Much of the debate over preterism comes down to when the document was
written. This is especially true for the book of Revelation.
If a document was written prior to the destruction of Jerusalem which
occurred in A.D. 70, then any statement about future prophetic events
could be a reference to that event."
11/21/4:
11/20/4: -
Accept Evangelicals as Friends despite their Theology - Cleveland
Jewish News "Their
theology seems strange and bizarre to Jews. But, "the reality is that
this election was won by the galvanization of the evangelicals to vote,"
said Cook, professor of Judaeo-Christian studies at Hebrew Union
College-Jewish Institute of Religion. "This is not a time to isolate
ourselves. That will make us feel there is no hope of getting along with
these people."
11/19/4: -
The Judgment of Jerusalem
By William Patton (1877)
- NOW COMPLETE! "The singularly exact fulfilIment of the
prediction of the Saviour relative to the destruction of Jerusalem and
the temple by the Romans, as well as the possession of their land by the
Gentiles for eighteen hundred years, are fully chronicled in history.
But what has become of the people?"
11/18/4: -
CARM: "The Last Disciple" By Hank Hanegraaff Discussion - "I feel
the need to post a correction of an earlier post on the subject of
Hank's eschatological views. I had read where someone said he was a
preterist. I responded, basically, that I thought that I had heard him
say that he was a PARTIAL preterist (full preterism being unbiblical). I
was wrong. On his broadcast (which I listen to every day) today -3, Nov
2004- he said explicitly that he is NOT a partial preterist and that his
position will be laid out in his book on the subject which will be
released in a few months. In my attempt to defend a man from whom I've
learned so much, I misstated his position." -
Thomas Ice:
One Thousand Years, Literal or Figurative? "Hank Hanegraaff of Bible
Answer Man fame has recently delved into the field of eschatology (the
study of last things) with the release of a novel called The Last
Disciple,[1]
co-authored with Sigmund Broward. It appears that Hanegraaff has adopted
the preterist position in this first novel in a series that sees the
book of Revelation as having been fulfilled in the first century. "Hank
is a partial preterist who holds to a view on eschatology that is
similar to the position held by Gary DeMar," according to DeMar's
website"
11/17/4:
11/14/4:
11/13/4: -
Dialogue with (Anti-Preterist speaker) Scott Hoffstee who claims to be
one of the two witnesses of Revelation : "I can understand that Preterism is a joke, but since
Scott Hofstee claims to be one of the two witnesses, isn't that even
more ignorant?" Scott Hofstee: We are dead against preterism because its
a lie" -
World Journalists Condemn Vanunu Re-Arrest "Vanunu was detained by
police who raided the guesthouse at St. George's Cathedral in East
Jerusalem. After interrogation, he was taken before magistrates who
ordered him confined to house arrest for seven days and banned him from
contacting people connected to the investigation against him." -
The Case of the Disappearing Rabbis
"According to the story for which Barbara was the sole witness, the
Orthodox Rabbi informed her that he believed in Yeshua, and that there
were some 40 additional Rabbis, all supposedly Believers as well, who
were congregating together regularly in Jerusalem. In an effort
to investigate this phenomenon, I personally
asked over two dozen congregational leaders and elders about these
so-called secret believers. and only three (3) were able to verify that
there MAY be a "secret underground" movement amongst the Haridim, who
believe in Yeshua. The majority were skeptical or were just convinced
that so such community could exist and be counted amongst the household
of faith in any tangible way."
11/12/4: -
"Apocalyptic Feud" Picked up by Ft. Wayne, IN Sentinel "But the Rev.
Tim LaHaye, co-author of the "Left Behind" books, called the decision by
his publisher "stunning and disappointing" and said he felt betrayed.
"They are going to take the money we made for them and promote this
nonsense," he said." -
Christian Zionism, Premillennialism, Dispensationalism, Terrorism: Is
there a Cure? - Ward Fenley "I think the only hope of a prosperous
and safe U.S. is a complete pullout of Israel" -
Tommy Ice:
Revealing the Truth: Preterism Control Page - Articles "many of the
teachings within this heresy deny clearly taught doctrine essential to
the salvation of the believer." -
BOOK STORE: Before
Jerusalem Fell By Ken Gentry
"Furthermore, my preterism - which is generated out of my early date
analysis-is adamantly opposed to the heterodoxy associated with the
hyper-preterist movement, spawned by the republication of J. Stuart
Russell's
The Parousia.'
I am a fully orthodox, confessionally-based Presbyterian" -
The Fall of Jerusalem: An Oratorio By
Dominic Muldowney "We saw the flaming chariots in the sky - The
Sanctuary is no more. It is reviled. It is defiled.
The Sanctuary is no more" -
Arafat News |
Mid-level official to attend funeral for U.S |
'The Monster' |
Carter calls Arafat 'powerful human symbol'
- Just hours after Arafat was laid to rest in a stone-and-marble tomb,
President Bush said his death provided ``a great chance to establish a
Palestinian state,'' and pledged in his second term ``to spend the
capital of the United States on such a state.''
11/11/4: -
R.C. Sproul, Jr.:
He ain't heavy, he's my brother
"The Mormons, for one,
baptize in the Trinitarian formula, all while not being Trinitarian. And
Rome does the same, all while not being Christian. So, I presume, would
Full-Preterists, Campbellites, and assorted other damned institutions."
11/10/4: -
BOOK STORE; Outside Study Links
- Equip.org
-
Hank Hanegraaff's
Official Website. Purchase :
The Last Disciple
- Write a Review! (Apocalypse Novel Rivaling Left Behind,
but from Preteristic perspective) "Tyndale House, the publisher of the
Left Behind books, the megaselling Christian series about the end times,
now presents a new series with a very different interpretation of
biblical prophecy. Christian radio-show host Hanegraaff and bestselling
CBA novelist Brouwer take readers back to the time of Nero in the first
century. As the Roman Empire ruthlessly persecutes Christians, the
novel's warrior-hero, Vitas, tries to defend them. But even Vitas can't
prevent the destruction of the Jewish Temple—the historical event that
sits at the center of this novel. Hanegraaff and Brouwer posit that the
Book of Revelation, in code, predicted Roman persecution and the
Temple's fall; subsequent novels in the series presumably will walk
readers through the rest of Revelation, tying historical events to
biblical prophecy. This is, to be sure, middle-brow genre fiction, and
not an especially shining specimen thereof. The prose is plodding, with
far too many dramatic sentence fragments and a conventional plot. The
dialogue tends toward the unsubtly didactic (" 'Jesus, then, uses this
rich symbolism?' Darda nodded.... 'You said John was obviously educated.
Can you make any other guesses about him?' 'John verges on genius.' ")
Despite the series' many flaws, readers who are hungry for apocalyptic
fiction may embrace it, though it remains to be seen whether they'll
find a first-century apocalypse as gripping as Left Behind's
21st-century one. " -
Adam Clarke
on
Daniel 11:30 & Kittim:
"Verse 30. For
the ships of Chittim shall come against him. Chittim
is well known to mean the Roman empire. Antiochus,
being now in full march to besiege Alexandria, and within seven
miles that city, heard that ships were arrived there from Rome,
with legates from the senate. He went to salute them.
They delivered to him the letters of the senate, in which he was
commanded, on pain of the displeasure of the Roman people, to put an
end to the war against his nephews. Antiochus said he would go
and consult his friends; on which Popilius, one of the
legates, took his staff, and instantly drew a circle round Antiochus
on the sand where he stood and, commanded him not to pass that
circle till he had given a definitive answer. Antiochus,
intimidated, said, he would do whatever the senate enjoined;
and in a few days after began his march, and returned to Syria.
This confirmed by Polybius, Livy, Velleius, Paterculus, Valerius
Maximus, and Justin." (Adam Clarke's Commentary,
Dan. 11:30)
11/9/4: -
FP: Dan Delagrave -
The Dead Sea Scrolls and the End "The Scrolls reveal exactly what the New Testament
reveals about the imminent "end" - that It was a dominant belief at that
time based on the teaching of Jesus and the inspired Apostles.
Information was being stored away for future generations because the
Jews knew that the end was indeed very near. That end came in 70 A.D." -
House of God? "As a movement made up of people drawn from a range of
denominations, the religious right has co-opted the name of Christianity
in the service of an overarching doctrine of power known as dominion
theology."
11/8/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
DSS:
The Dead Sea Scrolls and Christianity By Robert C. Jones (1999)
"Second Temple Judaism can now be seen as a transition period in which
the sectarianism and apocalypticism of the period gradually gave away to
rabbinic Judaism, on the one hand, and Christianity, on the other.
Indeed, it is now clear that the Second Temple period was a
kind of sorting process.” -
Jewish Religious Parties: Essenes "Dupont-Sommer has the correct
interpretation of the Kittim being the Romans, Cf. Daniel 11:30 where
LXX renders the term correctly, and Vulgate: Romani. One particular
detail stands out which can only apply to the Romans and that is they
worshipped their military standards. On Hab 1,16 DSH says "Its
interpretation is that they offer sacrifices to their standards and
their weapons of war are their religion." This points only to the Romans
as the Roman worship of the signa, a practice not known among the
Greeks."
11/7/4: -
MP: Ralph Bass:
Introduction: Methods of Interpretation:
Back to the Future
"The
Preterists see the message to the seven churches as having contemporary
significance to the generation to which it was written. They understand
that the prophecies of the book were determined for the near future, and
were substantially fulfilled by the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70. As one
author clarifies, ".the sustained attempt to root the fulfillment of the
divine prophecies of Revelation in the first century A.D. constitutes
the preterist 's distinctive approach." Preterists contend, therefore,
that because of its first century context, most of the prophecies of
Revelation have been fulfilled and are now, two thousand years later, in
our past. In other words, "Though the prophecies were in the future when
John wrote and when his original audience read them, they are now in our
past." In this camp you will find
Jay E. Adams,
R. C. Sproul,
Kenneth L. Gentry,
Greg L. Bahnsen,
Gary DeMar,
J. Marcellus Kik,..
David Chilton,
David S. Clark,
J. Stuart Russell,
Phillip S. Desprez,
Moses Stuart
and
Milton Terry."
11/6/4:
11/5/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
DSS: Pesher Habakkuk |
DSS Timeline |
Dead Sea Scrolls: Reference Materials "It has also been hypothesized
that the Qumran scrolls are the secreted library of a community, perhaps
Essene, that lived at
Qumran, and thus survived the destruction of the settlement in c.A.D.
68. Startling parallels in expression and thought between the Qumran
materials and the New Testament have led to speculation as to their
influence on early Christianity." (Kittim:
"Term appearing in the
Dead Sea Scrolls, used of the Romans. The Kittim are referred to as
warriors from the west, who capture Jerusalem." -
Kittim - Symbolic of Rome - 'Kittim'
as 'the Romans' may be earliest example of precise preterist
interpretation of Jewish Apocalyptics. This preterist
identification dates before Pompey in 63 B.C., as revealed in the DSS
"Habakkuk Commentary" -
BOOK STORE:
F.F. Bruce: New
Testament History (Kittim
is Rome) "They believed that the iniquities of the Wicked Priest and
his associates would bring the judgement of God upon them. As time
went on, they came to see clearly who would be the instruments of God's
judgement. God was raising up the 'Kittim' for this purpose, and
by the 'Kittim', as has been said above, they probably meant the Romans.
It was indeed the Romans who, by their occupation of Judaea in 63 B.C.,
put an end to Hasmonaean domination; but the Qumran community could see
the shape of things to come before that date. They also saw that
the Romans would exceed the terms of their commission and incur the
divine judgement themselves because of their impiety and rapacity." -
Matthew Henry: Habakkuk 1:4-6 It shall be a punishment in which
much of the hand of God shall appear; it shall be a work of his own
working, so that all who see it shall say, This is the Lord’s doing;
and it will be found a fearful thing to fall into his hands; woe to
those whom he takes to task! 5. It shall be such a punishment as will
typify the destruction to be brought upon the despisers of Christ and
his gospel, for to that these words are applied Acts 13:41, Behold,
you despisers, and wonder, and perish. The ruin of Jerusalem by the
Chaldeans for their idolatry was a figure of their ruin by the Romans
for rejecting Christ and his gospel, and it is a very marvellous thing,
and almost incredible. Is there not a strange punishment to the
workers of iniquity? II. The sentence itself is very dreadful and
particular (v. 6): Lo, I raise up the Chaldeans. There were those
that raised up a great deal of strife and contention among them, which
was their sin; and now God will raise up the Chaldeans against them, who
shall strive and contend with them, which shall be their punishment.
Note, When God’s professing people quarrel among themselves, snarl at,
and devour one another, it is just with God to bring the common enemy
upon them, that shall make peace by making a universal devastation. The
contending parties in Jerusalem were inveterate one against another,
when the Romans came and took away their place and nation." -
BOOKS:
Kittim and Rome Books The Untold Story of Qumran "The new leather
fragment now provided a first-century B.C.-A.D. testimony to the
accuracy of the text as it has been preserved - Kasidim was clearly in
the text used by the copyist. The next line, however, begins, "Its
interpretation concerns the Kittim...." The modern theory had already
been propounded by interpretation by the ancient community two thousand
years earlier!" -
Calvinism:
Golb: Excavations of Qumran support "Jerusalem Origin" instead of "Essene
Origin" Theory - "Ever since the scrolls were first discovered in
1947, the Qumran-Essene theory—or as Golb has called it, “the myth of
Qumran”—has taken on a life of its own and is still strongly defended by
many. Christian writers have been attracted to the mystique of the
Essenes because of the connections they can draw between Essenic
anti-materialistic beliefs and the teachings of Christianity, which
discourage an interest in worldly wealth. The Essenes also espoused
predestination, a belief adopted by Calvinists during the reformation in
support of a biblical interpretation that some people are chosen by God
for salvation, while others are not. Many Jewish scholars also have
supported the Qumran-Essene theory. This, as well as the large bulk of
evidence that has accumulated now—which, Golb emphasized, the early
researchers could not have foreseen—led him to infer that the scrolls
were gathered in caves for safekeeping by the Jews of Jerusalem just
prior to the Roman siege of 70 A.D. "
11/4/4:
11/3/4: -
BOOKS:
The Temple of Jerusalem: A Revelation "When the Temple was
destroyed, they say, the world fell into disorder and nothing has ever
gone right since." -
Dispensationalism:
Emasculating the Book of Revelation "In the dispensational
interpretation of Revelation the church mysteriously disappears from
view in Rev 3:22 (to be replaced by Israel) only to reappear in Rev 19,
thus making most of the book irrelevant to the church today. Hence it
weakens Revelation by cutting out (emasculating) a whole section which
is meant to speak to, and strengthen, the church."
11/2/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
The Judgment of Jerusalem
(Chapter
Nine)
-
Patton
(1877) "Eusebius
also says that Jerusalem "was ploughed-up by the Romans, and that he saw
it in ruins." Thus it was that the prediction of Micah, made more than
seven hundred years before Christ, found its fulfilment: "Therefore
shall Zion for your sake be ploughed as a field, and Jerusalem shall
become heaps, and the mountain of the house as the high places of the
forest." To this fatal end was Jerusalem reduced after a siege of
about five months, in the second year of the reign of Vespasian, and
thirty-eight years after the crucifixion of our Lord. Such was the end
of this city and the Jewish polity. The sceptre had departed,-the daily
sacrifices had ceased,-the day of vengeance had come, and in its mighty
ruins it stands forth the monumental proof that "heaven and earth shall
pass away" before one jot or tittle of all that God hath spoken shall
fail." -
BOOKS:
When Shall These Things Be?
- A Reformed Response to Hyper-Preterism By Keith
Mathison (Search Inside This Book!) "Traditional
Christians "built a creedal fence to lock out heresy, but they didn't
realize they built their own prison walls" -
BOOKS:
Nobody Left Behind By David Vaughn Elliott - The Great Tribulation
of A.D.70 -
Added
Amazon Honor System Donation Page due to demand.
11/1/4:
10/31/4: -
FP:
Jim Gunter
-
"Heaven and Earth Must First Pass Away"
- Matthew 5:17,18 "I
am fully persuaded by these words of Jesus, that if "heaven and earth"
have indeed NOT "passed away," then we today would of necessity still be
held sway under the Old Covenant or Law of Moses. If in fact
"heaven and earth" have not "passed away," then it would mean that not
ONE "stroke or the smallest letter" found in the Law has passed away!" -
BOOKS: Paul L. Maier
-
Josephus: The Essential Works 1988
- Search within this "Full-color edition with updated text, charts and
maps" - Textbook Quality for Jewish History as Translated from
Josephus' Works -
Rexella Van Impe:
Animals in Heaven
10/28/4: -
Allen Beechick:
Where is the Promise of His Coming? (An
Answer to Preterism) Part One "Some
preterists attempt to solve the timeline issue by saying that a heavenly
temple was anointed in 70 AD upon the destruction of the earthly temple.
In this way, they make the goals and the weeks coterminous. Aside from
the fact that they stretch the 70th week (making it last
about 40 years) in order to make this happen, how do we know that the
heavenly temple was anointed in 70 AD?" -
Once Upon End Time - "Ever since the dawn of
Christianity, groups of believers have searched the scriptures for signs
of the End Time and the Second Coming. Today, most of the roughly 50
million right-wing fundamentalist Christians in the United States
believe in some form of End-Time theology." -
Israel votes to abandon Gaza - "After millennia of foreign conquest
and forced exile, Tuesday's decision marked the first time the leaders
of Israel had voluntarily relinquished control over land explicitly
promised them by the Almighty. The first five books of the Bible
outline God's covenant with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, which included
control over what is now Israel, the PA-controlled territories, western
Jordan, as well as much of Lebanon and Syria. The book of Joshua records
the deeding of the Gaza Strip to the Tribe of Judah."
10/26/4: -
What really happened in 605 B.C.?
By John S. Evans, 2004 (Author of
The Four Kingdoms of Daniel - A
Defense of the "Roman" Sequence with AD70 Fulfillment) "Although
liberals insist that Nebuchadnezzar could not have besieged Jerusalem in
605, it is historically documented that he conducted a military campaign
in that year that took him far from Babylon and must have brought him
into or near Judah."
10/23/4: -
FP:
Kurt M. Simmons
-
Revelation's Millennia and Greco-Roman Notions of
Hades
"The millennia of Revelation twenty have no Biblical source in the Old
or New Testament. Far from representing a purported “interim
reign” of Christ, they appear to be an appeal to Greco-Roman
associations concerning Hades. The book of Revelation was
addressed to Greek speaking residents of Asia minor who would have made
an immediate connection between John’s imagery and traditional
Greco-Roman belief about the underworld. The purpose in this was
to assist them in interpretation of the imagery and thus gain strength
against the coming crisis. " -
BOOKS:
King Jesus: A Novel - Robert Graves "I,
AGABUS the Decapolitan, began this work at Alexandria in the ninth year
of the Emperor Domitian and completed it in Rome in the thirteenth year
of the same.. Nobody can understand the story of Jesus except in
the light of this Jewish obsession of celestial patriarchy.." -
Ussher's Creation Theory toasted on "Earth's 6,000th Birthday"
"At six last night local time at the Geological Society of London,
scientists were to raise their glasses to James Ussher, Archbishop of
Armagh, who in 1650 used the chronology of the Bible to calculate the
precise date and moment of creation"
10/22/4: -
Bizarro Bush "Get ready for the Rapture, my friends, and make sure
you pull that lever and vote Republican – because if you don't, then
we'll be spared the fulfillment of all those dire Biblical prophecies,
and the Second Coming will be delayed. Yes, the Rapturists are crazed
enough to believe that human intervention can have an effect on the
timing." |
Apocalypse Now - "American evangelicals, according to former Israeli
prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, “are the Israelis’ best friend in the
whole world.” -
Messing with Texas - "Like many born-again Christians, DeLay
believes strongly in the end times. DeLay sees the West Bank as the
ancient kingdoms of Samaria and Judea, which must be reunited before the
second coming. He openly opposed Bush's "road map to peace" as too soft
on the Palestinians." -
Anti-Christian Hate Crimes in Israel "It has been Jerusalem's dirty
little secret for decades: Orthodox yeshiva students and other Jewish
residents vandalizing churches and spitting on Christian clergyman as
they walk along the narrow, ancient stone streets of the Old City...
Besides the Armenian rite, clergy of other Christian churches have been
targeted, Shirvanian said. "This is not happening only to Armenian
clergy, but also to the Catholics, Syrians, Romanians and Greek
Orthodox."...According to Shirvanian, church officials are frequently
subjected to spitting, from yeshiva students as well as from
ultra-Orthodox women and young children. He said ultra-Orthodox Jews
also throw garbage on church doorsteps and break windows at churches and
at Christian homes. Daniel Rossing, a former adviser on Christian
affairs at Israel's Religious Affairs Ministry, said there has been an
increase in the number of such incidents recently, "as part of a general
atmosphere of lack of tolerance in the country."
10/20/4: -
FP: Jim Gunter
-
"The Last Days"
"Beloved is there any wonder why Peter on Pentecost pleaded with them to
"Be saved from THIS PERVERSE GENERATION?" (Ax.2:40). Yes, folks, as an
inspired apostle, Peter knew what was about to befall THAT GENERATION."
10/17/4: -
FREE ONLINE BOOKS:
The Judgment of Jerusalem
(Chapter
Eight)
-
Patton
(1877) "Titus now gave
orders to his soldiers to make a breach in the foundations of Antonia,
except such portions as were needed for the garrison, and to make a
ready passage for his army to come up. While these orders were being
executed, he learned that on the seventeenth day of the month Panemus
the daily sacrifice had failed to be offered to God for want of men to
offer it, and that the people were grievously troubled at it. Seizing
upon this incident, he determined to make still another effort to end
the war." -
BOOKS:
The Four Kingdoms of Daniel
- A Defense of the "Roman" Sequence with AD70 Fulfillment
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