I am recovering from a bout of the flu and am not yet fit enough to write anything new. Hope this piece is a decent stop-gap. In Daniel 9:24, Gabriel’s words are absolutely essential for a correct interpretation of the Seventy Weeks’ prophecy; the location of the last week especially. Gabriel says the entire period involves Daniel’s people and Jerusalem, and these referents are not to be swapped out with ecclesial ones[1] There are then six particular things to be accomplished …
Blog Posts
An Excerpt from ‘The Words of the Covenant’ Until now we have not ventured any specific identifications of the kingdoms in the dream. We have tried to view Daniel’s interpretation with the eyes of the king. But we, of course, have the advantage of looking back along the line of history to Nebuchadnezzar’s day. What does this backward look tell us? The first thing to be noted is that not everyone looks back in the same way. The main issue …
Part One As the author comes to the Prophets, he gives his reader a summary of the overall message of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel: Israel was being judged and dispersed to the nations for covenant disobedience, but in the latter days Israel would be regathered and restored to her land and experience New Covenant blessings, both material and spiritual, under the leadership of the ultimate Son of David. As a result, the nations, who will be judged for a time, …
A Review of He Will Reign Forever: A Biblical Theology of the Kingdom of God, by Michael J. Vlach: Silverton, OR. Lampion Press, 638 pages, hdbk. Dispensationalists and open-minded amillennialists know that a book or article by Michael Vlach is going to be worth reading. His contributions are always well thought-out, and his style is usually analytical yet easy to follow. He has written several useful works, including Has the Church Replaced Israel? and a recent e-book, How Does the …
NB This article reproduces and modifies some of the chapter on “Covenant and Apocalyptic” in the book I am writing. It is therefore not meant to be a full exploration of the subject. If you have been keeping abreast of evangelical treatments of the books of Daniel, Ezekiel, and Zechariah, or the Olivet Discourse or Book of Revelation you will have run into the term “Apocalyptic literature.” It’s the favorite go-to for anyone who wants to stop the mouths of …
Image: Tom Vanderwell Here is a piece which originally belonged in some correspondence I had with a covenant theologian. I have added a few things, but I think it makes a decent stand-alone article. Some amillennialists think that the original hearers of Ezekiel couldn’t comprehend a future glorious kingdom where Israel is regenerate, and Messiah reigns in justice and righteousness from Jerusalem. That they couldn’t see a time where priests serve God in a new temple. I think they could …
I have been putting my introductory lectures for Telos on Apologetics & Worldview up on YouTube. There are several more to come, but I thought it would be useful to place the three classes dealing with Science together in a post. Throughout the classes I quote from quite a number of authorities. I hope this is more helpful than it is distracting. The first, “Science and Personal Knowledge” includes a study of Michael Polanyi’s theory of knowledge, which is important …
Having seen the prophetic emphases of Amos and Hosea, I want to turn to Micah the Moresthite (c.742-685 B.C.). He too brought scathing indictments against his people. At one point he accuses them of having risen up as an enemy against their God (Mic. 2:8). There is no let up until the end of chapter two where these enigmatic lines appear: I will surely assemble all of you, O Jacob, I will surely gather the remnant of Israel; I will put …
Part Six The two small letters of Paul to the young Thessalonian Church are among the earliest of his writings. This means that they are also among the earliest writings of the New Testament – even for those of us who opt for the traditional dates of the Gospels. Although I am pretribulational it has to be admitted that Paul does not settle the date of the rapture in these letters. Therefore, what I look for is careful exegesis informed …
Amos (active c.765-760 B.C.) Amos is a simple shepherd and gatherer of figs to whom the word of the LORD (dabar YHWH) comes. He cries against both Israel (2:6) and Judah (2:4; 3:1). A major concern of his is social justice. Amos certainly has much to say by way of reproof to “the whole house of Israel”, and most of the first seven chapters concern themselves with the moral resistance of Israel to their covenant God. However, despite the strong …
