HOW TO INTRODUCE PRETERISM (1)

Fun Stuff, Revelation December 16, 2025 Comments: 2

PMW 2025-099 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In the modern evangelical world, we live in a dispensational-dominated reality. The average Christian leads a colorful life of expectation. He is either looking for a red heifer or a blood moon, while he plays pin-the-horns on the Antichrist. Consequently, it is difficult to get a hearing on even the possibility of a preterist analysis of everyone’s favorite book of the Bible: Revelation. And by this I mean, of course, an orthodox preterist approach to Revelation. Not the wholesale preterist theology of hyper-preterism, which is unorthodox heresy.

So, how can you introduce a preterist approach to Revelation in just the few minutes you will have before your head is bashed in with the New Scofield Reference Bible, or one of the other two dozen or so dispensational study Bibles written by “prophecy experts”? We must take to heart Jesus’ directive: “What thou doest, do quickly.” Continue reading →

GOD IS A LOVING CREATOR (3)

Creation December 12, 2025 Leave a comment

PMW 2025-098 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

As I conclude this brief three-part study on God’s goodness to us in creation, I want to close with the fact that our Creator is perfectly righteous.

God Is Perfectly Righteous

The God who creates man and gives him all good things, is perfect and righteous. The Bible repeatedly speaks of God’s absolute righteousness, making such statements as:

“The Rock! His work is perfect, / For all His ways are just; / A God of faithfulness and without injustice, / Righteous and upright is He” (Deut 32:4).
“As for God, His way is blameless” (Psa 18:30a; 2 Sam 22:31).
“Your righteousness is like the mountains of God; Your judgments are like a great deep” (Psa 36:6).
“Your righteousness, O God, reaches to the heavens” (Psa 71:19a).
“The ways of the LORD are right” (Hos 14:9).
“The LORD is righteous within her; / He will do no injustice. / Every morning He brings His justice to light; / He does not fail. / But the unjust knows no shame” (Zeph 3:5).

Jesus prays to God calling him “righteous Father” (John 17:25). Continue reading →

GOD IS A LOVING CREATOR (2)

Creation December 9, 2025 Leave a comment

PMW 2025-097 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

This is my second article in a three-part series on God’s goodness as our Creator. Postmillennialists should emphasize God’s goodness in creation because his goodness guides creation to its good end. We believe that even though the world will never be perfect before Christ returns, we will make dramatic advances toward perfection as the gospel progresses in history.

Now I will consider the fact that:

God Creates Man

The Bible opens in its first chapter with the majestic march of six days. In Genesis 1 we read the record of God’s unfolding creative process as it leads to its climax in the creation of man (Gen 1:26–28). Man is the very goal of creation, and its high point. In fact, though it necessarily mentions the creation of the starry heavens (Gen 1:1, 14–16), the creation record intentionally focuses on a small part of the universe: the earth, its flora and fauna . . . and man (Gen 1:2–13, 17–30). And even the creation of the sun, moon, and stars is for the purpose of giving light on earth the special arena of God’s creative work (Gen 1:14–16). Continue reading →

GOD IS A LOVING CREATOR (1)

Creation December 5, 2025 Leave a comment

PMW 2025-096 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

The postmillennial hope is rooted in the goodness of our loving God, who is our Creator. Thus, evidence of the postmillennial hope can be found in the creation account in Genesis 1–2.

Genesis is the book of beginnings, and for our purposes we will focus on its presentation of the beginning of the world, of man, and the revelation of God’s goodness to man. In order to properly understand our spiritual hope in a God-given salvation we must recognize our historical context in a God-created world. Neither Christianity nor salvation can be abstracted from the real world. Christianity is not a magical and mystical faith, but an historical and supernatural one. Continue reading →

RESURRECTION “FROM THE DEAD”?

hyperpreterism, Resurrection December 2, 2025 Comments: 3

PMW 2025-095 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Hyper-preterists often attempt to reinterpret verses dealing with “the resurrection of the body” (e.g., 1 Cor 15:42). They strive to draw a contrast between “the resurrection of the dead” and “the resurrection of the flesh.” This strained attempt to undermine the historic Christian belief in a physical resurrection is not helpful to their cause. Indeed, such is greatly mistaken.

The New Testament often speaks of actual physical resurrections of deceased people as being a resurrection of “the dead.” It can do so using various expressions for resurrection, while clearly speaking of a dead physical body’s arising to life again in this physical world. Note the following verses that speak of “the dead” without reference to “the flesh.” Yet these verses are clearly speaking of a body’s physical resurrection, which the historic, corporate, public, universal, systematic Christian faith has held for 2000 years to be a firm eschatological truth preparing us for our eternal consummate condition. Tragically the resurrection is being rejected today by hyper-preterism’s neo-Gnostic heresy. [1]

But now let us survey a number of verses affirming resurrection as being a physical resurrection of deceased people arising from the dead. Continue reading →

CHRIST AS LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT (2)

Age(s) (Two Ages), Christ, Resurrection November 28, 2025 Comments: 2

PMW 2025-094 by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

Gentry reminder:
This article continues the one in my previous posting. It continues citing a lengthy excerpt from Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.’s excellent book, Resurrection and Redemption (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1978), pp. 78-92. This is a compelling study of Paul’s confusing statement regarding Christ being a “life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45).

And again, I have only included Gaffin’s main text, not his footnotes. You can order this book here: https://www.prpbooks.com/book/resurrection-and-redemption

Now for the conclusion of Gaffin’s material.

The following is all Gaffin who writes:

With this preparatory spadework completed we can now concentrate on the description of Christ as life-giving pneuma in verse 45c. (1) What is the specific reference of pneuma? (2) When did he become life-giving pneuma?

(1) The first question is answered in the light of the correlation between pneuma and the adjective “spiritual” (pneumatikon, vv. 44b, 46), an especially close correlation in view of the overall structure of the passage and the function of verse 45 in providing proof for verse 44b. In Paul’s usage, with the exception of Ephesians 6:12, pneumatikos always has specific reference to the activity of the Holy Spirit (e.g., Rom. 1:11; 7:14; I Cor. 12:1; 14:1; Gal. 6:1; Eph. 1:3; 5:19; Col. 1:9). This is particularly apparent in 1 Corinthians 2:13-15, the only other place where Paul contrasts pneumatikos with psuchikos. The main emphasis of the immediate context (vv. 10ff.) is the Spirit’s function in revelation (cf. v. 4), and repeated reference is made to his person (v. 10 [twice]; vv. 11, 12, 13, 14). The contrast then, underscores the indispensability of the Spirit’s activity. The phrase at the end of verse 13 (pneumatikois pneumatkia sugkrinontes), whatever its precise meaning, refers to those things and that activity distinguishing the teaching ministry of the Spirit. Accordingly, the “natural man” (psuchikos anthropos) is unable to receive “the things of the Spirit of God” because he lacks the corresponding facility of discerning “spiritually” (pneumatikos) requisite for understanding them (v. 14). In contrast, “the spiritual man” (ho pneumatikos), since he is qualified by the Spirit, possesses such discernment (v. 15; cf. v. 12). All four occurrences in verses 13-15 of “spiritual(ly)” plainly refer to the activity of the Holy Spirit. Continue reading →

CHRIST AS LIFE-GIVING SPIRIT (1)

Age(s) (Two Ages), Christ, Resurrection November 25, 2025 Leave a comment

PMW 2025-093 by Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.

Gentry note:
This and the article that will follow it in a couple of days are excerpts from Richard B. Gaffin, Jr.’s excellent book, Resurrection and Redemption (Phillipsburg, N.J.: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1978), pp. 78-92. This is a compelling study of Paul’s confusing statement regarding Christ being a “life-giving Spirit” (1 Cor. 15:45). As Peter wrote, Paul could say some things difficult to be understood (2 Pet. 3:16). Stumbling over this text can lead one into various heresies, not the least of which is Hyperpreterism. So, understanding Paul properly is an important issue in today’s evangelical culture.

I have only included Gaffin’s main text, not his footnotes. I highly recommend your getting, reading, and studying this book — with its significant footnotes. I not only desire to offer insightful articles on my site, but also to encourage the reading of important and relevant literature from various theologians.

You can order this book here:
https://www.prpbooks.com/book/resurrection-and-redemption

Now for Gaffin’s material (the following is all Gaffin):

I Corinthians 15:45
Our interest in this verse is the description of Christ as the last Adam, as “lifegiving pneuma” (pneuma zopoioun). However, nowhere in the whole of Paul is a statement more inextricably embedded in both its narrower and broader contexts. In verses 45-49 together with verse 22, “Paul provides us with what is one of the most striking and significant rubrics in all of Scripture.” Compact modes of expression and the density of thought also make it, along with verses 42-44, one of the most difficult Some consideration, then, needs to be given to this contextual factor. Continue reading →