An Incomplete List of Consequences of Misunderstanding the Kingdom of God

Possible consequences of misunderstanding the nature of the Kingdom of God:

  • The crusades
  • The Catholic priesthood
  • Calvin’s Geneva
  • A temptation toward anti-Semitism
  • A tendency to confuse law and grace
  • A tendency to confuse a Christian’s relationship to Sabbath days
  • A temptation to replace straightforward interpretation of scripture for allegory
  • Misapplying scriptures about Israel to the Church, or even America
  • Despair and discouragement in reaction to apostasy and counterfeit Christianity
  • Despair and discouragement at the world’s continued rejection of Christ
  • Forgetting or underappreciating the thriving gospel among the world’s individuals
  • Neglecting the gospel for the “social gospel” and the liberal political agenda
  • Neglecting the gospel for patriotism and the conservative political agenda
  • Neglecting the gospel for a comfortable life
  • Identifying the church with the state
  • Fighting the world’s battles
  • Practically forgetting the return of Christ

    related: The Application for Every Verse  The Kingdom – Part 1

Aside | Posted on January 24, 2017 by | Leave a comment

Does the Bible imply that you should be a vegan?

Posted on January 14, 2017 by

wolf-and-lamb-is-11The Washington post recently published an article saying that Christians should all be vegans. The author was inspired by a recent announcement from a prominent evangelical celebrity who claimed he is doing so for health reasons. The article says, good for him, but he should also do it because, “The Bible is clear… Animals are meant to be our companions, not our food.” Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Living, In The News | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Kingdom – Part 3

Posted on January 13, 2017 by

This is the conclusion of a study of the Kingdom of Heaven by my friend Michael White. If you missed it, check out part 2.

By: Michael White

A Postponed Kingdom (Continued)

This brings us to the Third and final rejection mentioned before during the previous phase of the kingdom. We will spend some time on it now. This rejection of the Kingdom by Israel happens after the resurrection. Some may struggle with the concept that the Kingdom is still offered to Israel up until Acts chapter 8. To help…

Wiersbe cites 11 reasons that the kingdom was still the primary focus after the resurrection for the first eight chapters of Acts. Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine Study, Guest Author, Prophecy | Tagged , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Kingdom – Part 2

Posted on January 5, 2017 by

A Postponed Kingdom

This is part 2 of a series written by Michael White on the Kingdom of Heaven. See Part 1.

kingdom-graphic-1

Jesus, in response to His rejection withdraws from the “house” of Israel and teaches “the crowds” in Matthew 13. He begins to teach in parables, saying “The Kingdom of Heaven is Like…” The disciples are astonished at this. Matthew 13:10 asking “Why do you speak to the people in parables.”  It is reasonable to understand their astonishment. John the Baptist had preached the message publicly in Matthew 3 and was astonished after he was thrown in prison even asking Jesus about his identity. Jesus himself had proclaimed it publicly in Matthew 4, and ultimately was astonished at Israel’s lack of faith Mark 6:1-6, Matthew 8:5-14. The Apostles had been told by The King Himself to proclaim the message publicly in Matthew 10 and been astonished at the Demons submission to this coming Kingdom. So after a very public proclamation “repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” and its accompanying miracles proving the validity of their message, they are now told that the message is to be concealed inside parables. Continue reading →

Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study, Guest Author, Prophecy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Kingdom – Part 1

Posted on December 29, 2016 by

This is the first part of a study of the Kingdom of Heaven by my friend Michael White. The paper in its entirety can be downloaded here.

By: Michael White

the-kingdom-of-heaven-title-graphic

We are all familiar with the term, “kingdom of God,” but what does it mean? What is its nature? When we look at the world around us it’s easy to see that God’s “will…” is not always done “…on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10). We are challenged as Christians “How could a good God allow such pain and suffering?” Moreover, there is within the Church significant disagreement concerning various doctrines and religious views, even those that represent blatantly heretical false teachings. If the Kingdom of God is truly among us today in 2016 (Luke 17:21), why aren’t all of our prayers answered the way we want, and why hasn’t Christianity triumphed as the dominant worldview?  Since our ability to share knowledge has increased so dramatically with new technologies, and with such an abundance of books and study materials available to us than at any time in human history, why do we see such a wide divergence of doctrinal views rather than a coming together in greater agreement? And what did Jesus mean in responding to a Pharisee’s question about the kingdom of God, when He said “nor will they say, ‘See here!’ or ‘See there!’ For indeed, the kingdom of God is within you (in your midst)” (Luke 17:21)?   Then In the very next verse, Jesus turns to his disciple’s and tells them to watch for signs that would precede the coming kingdom?   So which is it?   Is the Kingdom of God here now?  Then what did Jesus mean that it is still to come (Matthew 17:11)?  Is Jesus contradicting Himself in the very same passage?  Continue reading →

Posted in Bible Study, Doctrine Study, Guest Author, Prophecy | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Five Terrible Objections to the Rapture

Posted on September 19, 2016 by

This is the first in a series of posts on the doctrine of the Rapture of the Church.

"I am... the Bright and Morning Star" Revelation 22:16“The word rapture isn’t in the Bible.” This objection is so bad it didn’t even make the list! The word is right here:

1 Thessalonians 4:16-17: “the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will 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.” The Greek word that is translated “caught up” in English, is translated ‘raptura’ in Latin, which is where the English word ‘rapture’ comes from.

Continue reading →

Posted in Doctrine Study, Prophecy | 18 Comments

In Defense of The Third Premise

Posted on September 17, 2016 by

This is in response to a friend’s critique of my argument for the existence of God. 

Quote:
Whatever is changeable is changed in the act of changing another

Comment:
By this premise, in order to change something, one must change himself. This means the unchanged changer is either (A) an exception to the rule, whatever is changed must be changed by another, or (B) both the changer and not the changer at the same time.

If we are going to say a contradiction exists, or an exception to a rule exists, why this exception and not another? Or, why not admit to the many other contradictions we could imagine as solutions? We could assume that there is an entity that has both potentiality and actuality which caused everything. It would be an exception to the rule, but so is the proposed solution.

By the way, If I use the word ‘move’, it will be in the classical sense. I mean something more than locomotion. I mean change in general. Continue reading →

Posted in Christian Apologetics, Philosophy, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment