THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY AMILLENNIALISM Part III After being persecuted in Derbe, Paul and Barnabas returned to some of the cities where they had won converts to Christ and sought to give them advice: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). If they were in the kingdom, this […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY AMILLENNIALISM Part II AMILLENNIALISM AND THE CHURCH FATHERS In the East, Eusebius of Caesarea (263–339), the court theologian to Constantine and theological heir of Origen, was a strong leader in the rejection of apocalypticism. With the rise of Constantine and the adoption of Christianity as the empire’s official religion, […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY AMILLENNIALISM Part I AMILLENNIALISM TEACHES THAT there will be no literal, future 1000-year reign of Christ on earth. Most amillennialists believe that a spiritual form of the kingdom is present now. Systematic amillennialism was the second of the three major eschatological views to develop; it was first taught within […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY AGES OF TIME Part II Christ’s Perspective of Bible Prophecy Jesus uses the same vocabulary in the same way when He says in Matthew 12:32, “Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY AGES OF TIME Part I AN IMPORTANT BIBLICAL PHRASE in Bible prophecy is “the age to come.” A understanding of a related term, “the present age,” is also necessary for properly interpreting biblical prophecy. “The present age” refers to the current church age that began almost 2000 years ago […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY ESCHATOLOGY OF ACTS Part III THE RESURRECTION AND JUDGMENT OF ALL PEOPLE In his address at Athens, Paul announced that the God who is creator of all is also judge of all.He has even fixed the day and appointed the Judge (Acts 17:30-32). The resurrection of this Judge, Jesus […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY ESCHATOLOGY OF ACTS Part II AMOS’ KINGDOM PROPHECY AND THE EARLY CHURCH At the Jerusalem Council of Acts 15, James, the pastor at Jerusalem, quotes the Old Testament prophet Amos (9:11-12) to show that the salvation of many Gentiles during the days of the early church should not be […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY ESCHATOLOGY OF ACTS Part I WHEN WILL GOD’S KINGDOM COME? The book of Acts is a pivotal book in the New Testament. It records the transition from the Old Testament and the Gospels to the epistles, from a focus on Israel as God’s chosen nation to the church—people whom […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY ABRAHAMIC COVENANT Part III The New Covenant The next unconditional covenant between God and Israel is the New Covenant. The covenant is new because it replaced the Old or Mosaic Covenant. Israel was unable to keep the Mosaic covenant, so God graciously promised to give them a new covenant […]
THE POPULAR ENCYCLOPEDIA OF BIBLE PROPHECY ABRAHAMIC COVENANT Part II THE EXPANSION OF THE ABRAHAMIC COVENANT John F. Walvoord (pp. 44–45) summarizes the foundational importance of the Abrahamic covenant in the study of Bible prophecy. He states: “The Abrahamic covenant contributes to the eschatology of Israel by detailing the broad program of God as it […]