GENTRY COMMENTARIES

AD 70, Books, Matthew 24, Olivet Discourse, Preterism, Revelation April 24, 2018 Comments: 23

PMW 2018-033 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Gentry Commentary on Revelation

I have just received notice from the publisher that my commentary on Revelation will be released this Summer. It’s title is: The Divorce of Israel: A Redemptive-Historical Interpretation of Revelation. It will be around 1800 pages in two volumes.

I am excited that the long wait for it may be over. A day waiting for one’s book to be published is like a 1000 years. Only more so. I never thought I would interpret a 1000 years so literally!

But what does a used Revelation commentator do in his spare time, such as it is? He gets started on Revelation’s best friend, the Olivet Discourse. After all, Revelation opens with “the Revelation of Jesus Christ” (Rev. 1:1), and has four key passages from Christ that greatly impact its drama, each one taken from the Olivet Discourse. Continue reading →

RANDOM THOUGHTS ON CAPITAL PUNISHMENT

Culture, Law, Worldview April 20, 2018 Leave a comment

PMW 2018-032 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

As Christ’s kingdom advances to greater fulfillment in the world, it will establish a full world and life view. Thus, it will impact the laws of men and nations. One aspect of this advancing endorsement of law is the principle of capital punishment. Though capital punishment is rejected in most European nations and only partly maintained in America, it is important that the Christian understand the obligation to a Bible-based criminal justice system.

In Genesis 9:6 God establishes his covenant with Noah as he disembarks the Ark to repopulate the world. One of the principles he establishes in this covenant is that of capital punishment. Genesis 9:6 reads: “Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, For in the image of God He made man.” Thus we have here a justification for one man taking the life of another: because man is in the “image of God” he may therefore act for God on just occasion. Continue reading →

LINKING REV 20 AND REV 21

New Creation, Revelation April 17, 2018 Leave a comment

PMW 2018-030 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

The Problem before Us

Many Revelation commentators argue that the new creation of Rev. 21–22 follows after the final judgment of Rev. 20:11–15. And it certainly is not unreasonable to hold that John’s statement that “the first heaven and the first earth passed away” (21:1) chronologically “follows on the heels of 20:11, where it is said that ‘heaven and earth fled away from the presence [of God], and no place was found for them’” (Beale 1039). This would suggest that ch 21 follows after the final judgment in 20:11–15. Continue reading →

BIG BANG AND DIVINE CREATION?

Creation April 13, 2018 Comments: 3

PMW 2018-030 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Many Christians accept the Big Bang model of creation, believing that the sudden creation of the universe comports with the Genesis account of creation. But Big Bang cosmology fails to match up with the biblical view of the origins of the universe. In this brief notice, I will quickly point out four major problems facing the Big Bang model, as viewed from a biblical standpoint. Continue reading →

HORRIFIC SUGGESTIONS OF A MODERN ACADEMIC

Culture, Ethics, morality April 6, 2018 Comments: 2

PMW 2018-028 by Paul Price (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

Gentry note:
The world needs Christianity, not only for personal salvation but for a moral foundation. Cornelius Van Til spoke of the progress of unbelief in becoming more consistent as an “integration downward into the void.” That is, the more fully thought-out and applied unbelief becomes, the worse its results will be.

Postmillennialist believe Scripture teaches that in the long run (not by the year 2018!), the Christian faith will overwhelm the world, leading to a long era of righteousness, peace, and prosperity. But we also believe there will be ups and downs along the way, such as we are experiencing today as unbelief has gained the upper hand.

Nevertheless, as the real-world implications of unbelief become more obvious, its results will become less appealing. God will use the horror of unbelieving culture to cause a response against it, furthering the Christian faith. The unbelief controlling evolutionary thought will be one of those sparks for the resurgence of the Christian faith. And because of this, there is a way in which we can thank Dr. David Barash for helping us to see the horror of atheism (for those who did not learn it from the French Revolution or Soviet Communism).

Continue reading →

WHEN HARRY BECAME SALLY

Culture, Ethics April 3, 2018 1 Comment

PMT 2018-027 by John Stonestreet

What was once unthinkable has become unquestionable. And so, every Christian must know how to engage this transgender moment.

Imagine this scenario: Your 17-year-old daughter tells you she’s trapped in the wrong body, is really a boy, and wants hormone therapy to begin the process of transitioning. As her parent, you love your daughter, but you disagree. You want to look at other options to help her. Continue reading →

THE BIBLE AND HOMOSEXUAL ACTIVITY

Culture, Ethics March 27, 2018 Leave a comment

PMT 2018-025 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Postmillennialism expects salvation to overwhelm the world bringing in a long era of righteousness, peace, and prosperity. Thus, postmillennialism is not simply interested in the gospel alone, but in the gospel and what it can accomplish. The gospel can and does change lives. One of the big moral challenges facing the Church today is the homosexual movement.

The Scriptures universally condemn homosexual conduct as a reprehensible (e.g., Gen. 19:5; Lev. 18:22; 20:13; Rom. 1:24, 26–28; 1 Cor. 6:9; 1 Tim. 1:8–11; Jude 7). [1] Yet, some scholars argue that the only clear, definitive proscriptions (rather than historical descriptions) against such are found in Leviticus 18:22 and 20:13. These show that they involve temporary, old covenant ritual laws. Continue reading →