Part Two I said at the end of the last post that we would be thinking about what God thinks of those who enter into covenants and fail to perform the words of those covenants. But I find am going to put that subject off until next time, until I am satisfied that I have driven home my point about the disingenuous god whose word is something of a mask; a mask behind which this god’s real intentions lurk. I …
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Previous installment This reposts an essay from ten years or so ago. A Plea For Plain-Speaking I am considering this matter of plain speaking in theological discourse, and have noted my dislike of those views which put something in a such way that it is easy to mistake the intentions. We are used to being given the run-around by the Cults – for they deal in duplicity – but evangelical brothers and sisters can do this sort of thing too. …
PART ONE Continuing my personal assessment of the state of Dispensationalism, here are four more factors: 6. Lack of grounded, holistic Dispensationalist Systematics I referred to this above but it bears a little more investigation. Dispensational Systematic Theologies don’t exactly grow on trees. And this is unusual amid the general popularity of Systematic Theology in evangelical circles. Here are the major Dispensational works that I am aware of: Lewis Sperry Chafer (1947) – a large work with some excellent chapters. …
Previous Post The Apostle Paul is the first theologian of the Church. He was not a disciple of Jesus, and he never had the advantage of living and working with the Lord in his earthly sojourn. But Paul did have first-hand training from the risen Christ according to Galatians 1:11-12, 15-18, and 2:2. With an excellent background in the Law and traditions (Acts 22:3), personal instruction from Jesus and a special commissioning from the Holy Spirit (Rom. 1:5; Gal. …
Part Nine “If He is the King of Israel” We have seen that Matthew employs the idea of the kingdom in two basic ways. At the beginning of his Gospel the kingdom is the eschatological Kingdom of OT expectation. In the parables however, the introductory phrase “The kingdom of heaven is like” points to images of the progress of the kingdom program as it wends its way to final fulfillment; only now and then is the age to come …
Part Eight Matthew 25 The Parable of the Ten Virgins in Matthew 25 The two parables that begin chapter 25 both have lead-ins which state, “The kingdom of heaven is like” (Matt. 25:1, 14). The second of these, the Parable of the Talents (Matt. 25:14-30)[1], is about stewardship in honoring the King. Glasscock hits the nail on the head: [T]he Lord’s point was that the kingdom…was calling servants to honor and glorify its King. Those who failed to do …
Part Six The Image and the Great Tribulation It is usual for Dispensationalists to divide the seventieth week of Daniel 9; a week that lasts for seven years, into two halves of three and a half years each. There are good reasons for this which we shall discuss, but this clean division is not as apparent when one concentrates solely on the Olivet Discourse. The passage continues like this: Therefore when you see the ‘abomination of desolation,’ spoken of by Daniel …
Part Five The Olivet Discourse (Pt. 1) Coming at last to the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25, although the main descriptive section comes in Matthew 24 with an addendum at the end of Matthew 25, before which are two parables. Matthew 24:1-2 belong on their own. They provide the setting for the discourse that follows in that they refer to the glories of Herod’s temple.[1] Jesus does not even acknowledge the great work, which by His time was famous …
Part Two This is from the first draft of my book ‘The Words of the Covenant: New Testament Continuity’. Interpreting Matthew 10 Jesus dispenses power to vanquish demons and sicknesses to His disciples in Matthew 10:1 in preparation for them going throughout Israel heralding the impending Kingdom of Heaven (Matt. 10:1-10). The wonders they are to perform in the sight of their countrymen demonstrate the unsuitability of putting new wine in old wineskins. The Kingdom they are preaching as …
Expanded Rules of Affinity Premise: If all Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for doctrine, it is imperative that our doctrines line up with Scripture. Theology may be defined as correct alignment with the pronouncements of the Bible. The ‘Rules’ demonstrate that some doctrines line up much more closely to Scripture than others. Those with a very strong, direct “affinity” are ranked in the first category (C1). Those with the weakest claim to any affinity with the text of the Bible …
