DANIEL 7:13, MARK 9:1, AND ESCHATOLOGY (3)

AD 70, Christ, Olivet Discourse, Temple March 5, 2019 1 Comment

PMW 2019-019 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

I am engaged in a short series on the use of Daniel 7:13 by Jesus in Mark, particularly regarding its influence on Jesus’ statement in Mark 9:1.

In the first article I focused on the meaning of Daniel 7:13, which is widely misunderstood among evangelicals today. It is an enthronement vision that shows Christ entering into heaven to receive his kingdom. It does not refer to Jesus’ Second Coming to earth, as so many believe. The language itself will not allow it, for it says the Son of Man “came up to the Acient of Days / And was presented before Him.”

In my second article I dealt with the use of Daniel 7:13 in three key eschatological texts in Mark’s record of Christ’s teaching. Those verses include Mark 13:26 (in the Olivet Discourse) and 14:62 (Jesus’ statement before the high priest during his trial). Continue reading →

Advertisements

DANIEL 7:13, MARK 9:1, AND ESCHATOLOGY (2)

AD 70, Christ, Temple March 1, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 20199-018 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

In my last article I began a brief series on the influence of Daniel 7:13 on Mark 9:1. In that article I covered only one point of my six-step argument. I dealt with the vitally important issue of “The Meaning of Daniel 7:13 in Prophecy.”

I noted that, despite the great familiarity of this verse to most Christians, more often than not it is woefully misunderstood and misapplied by evangelical pastors and laymen. I argued that it does not speak of Jesus’ Second Coming back to earth at the end of history. Rather, it is an enthronement vision picturing Christ entering into heaven before God to receive authority and a kingdom.

With this interpretation in mind, I have laid the basic foundation for understanding Jesus’ use of it. But now, let us continue. Continue reading →

DANIEL 7:13, MARK 9:1, AND ESCHATOLOGY (1)

AD 70, Christ, Kingdom February 26, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-017 by Kenneth L. Gentry, Jr.

Daniel 7:13 is one of the most powerful eschatological statements in all of Scripture. And yet it is also one of the most misunderstood passages in popular Christian thought. A proper understanding of this verse — and it’s link to Daniel 7:14 — should go a long way in promoting a truly biblical eschatology. In this article I will provide a brief introduction to Daniel 7:13 — as it relates to Jesus’ eschatological teaching in Mark. I will focus especially on his prophetic statement in Mark 9:1.

Unfortunately, not only is Daniel 7:13 widely misunderstood by evangelical laymen, but Mark 9:1 is almost universally misunderstood by liberal biblical scholars. It is one of the passages used the most in attempting to undermine Jesus’ credibility (for instance, see Bertrand Russell’s, Why I am Not a Christian). Continue reading →

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND REFORMED THEOLOGY?

Culture, Ethics, Theology February 22, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-016 by Jared Longshore (Founders Ministries) https://founders.org/

Gentry: We must pray for revival in our nation. More particularly, a Reformed revival wherein Christians not only commit themselves more fully to God, but more fully to studying and applying his word. American churches have become places of entertainment rather than worship and instruction, which has reduced Christianity’s influence in our culture. Social Justice is the latest fad to confuse and afflict us. This is a helpful, brief article that goes right to the hear to the matter.

We might understand how social justice with all of its attendant ideologies could work its way into the evangelical world. But the crowd stands befuddled at the sight of social justice’s presence in the reformed evangelical world. At its core social justice is a worldview of victimized egalitarianism resulting in state redistribution of wealth, privilege, rights, and opportunities. And how exactly does such a worldview harmonize with Calvinism? About like the granny trio on the day, they left their hearing aids at home. Continue reading →

THE INFANTICIDE DEBATE

Culture, Ethics, Law, morality February 19, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-015 by Samantha Gobba (World magazine)

Gentry note: Since the Obama Presidency, America has lurched leftward and become destructively fragmented. Our culture is now in the wholesale process of “integration downward into the void.” That is, as unbelief gets its cultural act together, its deadly consequences and ultimate despair become more integrated in society and obvious to even the simplest citizen. Long predicted, infanticide has now become a topic of discussion and even legalization. I am convinced that this horrific practice may be the “bridge too far” that ultimately explodes in secularism’s face. I suspect that this may begin retarding the downward collapse of our culture. Of course, this will require a revival of Christianity in America, which postmillennialism expects. This article shows the horror of unbelief in our culture.

A Virginia bill that would have flung wide open the door to late-term abortions in that state caused a nationwide backlash and accusations that supporters of the measure were promoting infanticide. The bill died in a House of Delegates subcommittee vote last Monday, but the controversy about it has since inspired a push in the U.S. Senate to protect newborn babies from abortionists. Continue reading →

ABORTION BY INFANTICIDE

Ethics, morality February 15, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-013 by Lita Cosner (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

Gentry note: This is an older article (2008), but one that anticipates what we are now experiencing in America: the legal slaughtering of near term and delivered babies. As postmillennialists committed to the spread of righteousness and truth, we stand against such a practice. And the first step in standing against it is to understand what is going on. This article ought to help.

Blurring the line between abortion and infanticide?

When the Roe v. Wade decision was delivered, the reality that a baby was being killed during abortion was less clear to many people—it was common to think that what was being removed was ‘a blob’ or ‘a clump of cells’. But most who would be in favor of abortion would at least draw the line at birth—once the baby is outside the womb, nearly everyone agrees that he or she is entitled to the full protection of the law, regardless of what route the baby took to get there. But some think that there is one time a fully-born baby does not have the right to life—when he or she was born as a result of a botched abortion. Continue reading →

EVOLUTION: A MESSAGE OF HOPE?

Creation, Ethics, morality, Pessimism, Worldview February 12, 2019 Leave a comment

PMW 2019-014 by Philip Bell (Creation Ministries, Intl.)

The hope of the Christian faith is inextricably linked with a belief in purpose. The Apostle Paul famously waxed lyrical with the words, “Christ in you, the hope of glory” (Colossians 1:27). By virtue of His incarnation, crucifixion and resurrection, the Universe’s Creator and Sustainer (John 1:1–3, Colossians 1:16–17) became the Saviour. Having a personal relationship with God—through repentance and faith (e.g. Mark 1:14–15)—guarantees us a place in heaven. We have a confident, certain hope of eternal glory. But can this message be sustained if, as a consistent belief in evolution requires, humankind’s special creation by God is overturned?

“We are the one creature to whom natural selection has bequeathed a brain complex enough to comprehend the laws that govern the universe. And we should be proud that we are the only species that has figured out how we came to be.”1 So concludes evolutionary biologist Jerry Coyne in his book Why Evolution is True. Continue reading →