Category Archives: Objections

THE FINAL BATTLE

Objections, Optimism, Revelation September 3, 2014 Leave a comment

PMT 2014-106 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.Tank

John’s stating that these nations are in the “four corners of the earth” is a Semitism for the far reaches of the earth, represented by the four cardinal directions (Rev 20:8; 21:13; cp. Ge 28:14; Dt 3:27; Ps 107:3; Isa 11:11-12; Jer 49:36). Here he mentions “nations,” which shows that tes ges here is not “the Land” of Israel (as commonly in Rev), but the broader world.

We should understand that “after the Thousand years the symbols become even simpler and broader. They are in the far future now, and St. John deals only with gigantic general principles” (Carrington, The Meaning of Revelation, 325). “This shows that the very distant future is designed to be merely glanced at by the writer. So it is with the Hebrew prophets. But here, there is a special reason for brevity. The main object of writing the book is already accomplished, for substance. Christians have been consoled by assurances, that all the enemies with whom the church was then conflicting, would surely be overthrown. . . . [So that] mere touches and glances are all which it exhibits, or which were intended to be exhibited” (Stuart, Apocalypse, 2:354). Continue reading →

CURRENT WEAKNESS; FUTURE GLORY

Objections, Theology August 18, 2014 1 Comment

PMT 2014-099 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.Heaven

You have suffered long enough: this is my last article in a series on the question of suffering, the church, and postmillennialism. I have been dealing with the charge that God has called the church to suffer in this age, which would seem to undermine the postmillennial expectation. But postmillennialists affirm the reality of suffering — and even in the time of Christianity’s highest advance before Christ returns! How can this be?

We must recognize that even the very height of earthly, postmillennial glory pales in comparison to the “weight of glory” that is ours, and that stirs our deepest longings as sons of God (cf. Php 1:23). As recipients of the mysteries of the kingdom of God, Christians experience “the heightened form which our desire for this future [resurrection] state assumes. For it is not mere desire to obtain a new body, but specifically to obtain it as soon as possible” (cf. 2Co 5:1–10) (G. Vos, Redemptive History, 46). Continue reading →

IS THE CHURCH CALLED TO SUFFER?

Objections, Theology August 6, 2014 Comments: 3

PMT 2014-094 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.Weeping

Most non–postmillennial eschatologies argue that the church is called to endure suffering throughout the entirety of history. They argue that they are optimistic, in that the church has a hope for glory, though only beyond the present era and after the return of Christ. By this maneuver they attempt to discount charges of pessimism against their position, while simultaneously seeking to undermine the postmillennial system. If this is so, no room exists in the biblical view of the church for a long era of righteousness, peace, and prosperity.

In this brief series of articles I will be responding to the very widespread argument for the suffering-church motif. To set the table, let us first note many proponents of this motif:

William Hendriksen teaches as strongly as conceivable that the gospel age “will finally result in the complete destruction of the church as a mighty and influential organization for the spread of the Gospel. For, finally every tribe and people and tongue and nation will worship antichristian government.” (Hendriksen, More Than Conquerors, 178) Continue reading →

JOHN’S REVELATION, DISPENSATIONAL CONFUSION, AND GENTRY FRUSTRATION

Dispensationalism, Objections, Revelation April 16, 2014 Comments: 15

How dispensationalists see themselvesPMT 2014-046 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Revelation is a book as fascinating as it is difficult. Unfortunately, it is made more difficult by approaching it in the wrong way and viewing it through out-of-focus lenses. In our day the naive dispensational view is the dominant evangelical approach to eschatology — despite its many and continuing failed predictions of the date of the rapture and its erroneous identitifying of the Antichrist.

So many Christians have been raised in this system that they cannot even understand any other approach. This makes reasoning with them extremely difficult. In fact, reasoning with a populist dispensationalist is a lot like saddling a cow: It is a whole lot of work and there is not much point in it. Continue reading →

JOHN, HEBREW, AND 666

Objections, Revelation March 19, 2014 Comments: 8

PMT 2014-034 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In my last two blogs I have been considering an objection to the postmillennial, preterist’s understanding 666 Nero 2of 666. We believe it has John using a Hebrew spelling of “Nero Caesar” for understanding his meaning. Some reject this analysis because Revelation was written to Asia Minor and not to Israel.

Below I will continue responding to it, using the enumeration began previously.

Sixth, similar Hebraicism’s elsewhere

The use of Hebrew names is not unique to identifying the beast. In other places John will use Hebrew names. For instance, in Rev 16:16 we read: “And they gathered them together to the place which in Hebrew is called HarMagedon.” Elsewhere we read: “They have as king over them, the angel of the abyss; his name in Hebrew is Abaddon, and in the Greek he has the name Apollyon” (Rev. 9:11). Continue reading →

JOHN’S USE OF HEBREW FOR 666

Objections, Revelation March 17, 2014 Leave a comment

PMT 2014-033 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In my previous blog (PMT 2014-032) I began considering an objection to the postmillennial, preterist’s 666 flamesunderstanding of 666. We believe it has John using a Hebrew spelling of “Nero Caesar” for understanding his meaning. Some reject this analysis because Revelation was written to Asia Minor and not to Israel.

I offered two replies to this objection in my last blog. Below I will continue responding to it, continuing the enumeration began previously.

Third, the local population
This objection against our analysis of 666 overlooks the social context of the Asian churches. Asia Minor was heavily populated by diaspora Jews. The Jewish population in the empire was between six and seven million, with the “largest concentrations of Jewish settlements” in Egypt, Palestine, Syria, and Asia Minor (John’s direct audience) (Mayo, Those Who Call Themselves Jews [2006: 30, 62]). [1] Continue reading →

HOW COULD JOHN USE HEBREW FOR 666?

Objections, Revelation March 14, 2014 Comments: 6

PMT 2014-032 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

The preterist perspective on Revelation generally interprets the 666 of Rev 13:18 as presenting the 666name of Nero Caesar as a cryptogram. The usefulness of this number for John’s readers derives from the fact that in antiquity alphabets serve dual purposes. Letters function, of course, as phonetic symbols for building words in written communication. As such, they serve just as our modern alphabet does. But in ancient times letters also function as numerals, in that the Arabic numbering system is a later development of history. Continue reading →