The title of this article alone is enough to make you want to close your bulletin before proceeding further. The words present the reader with an ominous sound. However, what is the “Abomination of Desolation?”  Jesus used the phrase in Matthew 24:15 when he said, “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place…”  From that verse, we learn that this abomination was first mentioned by Daniel, and that he will one day stand in the “holy place,” which many scholars equate with the Jewish Temple in Jerusalem. Read the rest of this entry →

Within premillenialism two camps have arisen: the pre-tribulational and the post-tribulational views.  The pretribulational, or dispensational, type of premillennialism has become very popular since the 19^th century.  In contrast to the historic view, this more modern version of premillennialism teaches not only that Christ will return pre, before, the millennium occurs, but also that Christ will return before the tribulation period takes place.  The historic view, however, would take issue with the concept of Christ returning prior to the tribulation period, for many reasons, but in essence because they only believe in “one” second coming (further, the much less common mid-tribulational view holds that Christ returns during the seven year tribulation period, just prior to the great tribulation (i.e. the last 3½ years). Read the rest of this entry →

1 Corinthians 16

Within the theological framework of Eschatology, three primary views concerning the Millennium and the return of Christ have been prevalent in Christianity throughout the centuries.  The three positions are: amillennialism, post-millennialism, and pre-millennialism.  These views did not always exist as they do in the present day, as many varieties of millennial positions have evolved throughout church history.  The scope of this article is to briefly introduce these multiple meanings behind the term millennium. Read the rest of this entry →

Matthew 3:1-2 says, “in those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, ‘repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,’” and with those words, the New Testament refocused the idea of Kingdom to the worshippers of Jehovah.  For centuries the Jews longed for a visible Kingdom in which the rule of God would spread over his people Israel, freeing them from every vestige of Gentile law. The Jews longed for that day when King David would once again rule over Israel (cf. Jeremiah 30:8-9), and so when John the Baptist came on the scene, many thought the fulfillment of God was close. However, they stumbled over the nature of God’s kingdom. Read the rest of this entry →

1 Corinthians 16, 2 Corinthians 8-9

God, being who He is, holy with an unchanging character, has been judging sin since it entered history.  Punishment following Adam’s sin was immediate and definite, as it was at many other places throughout the Bible-Korah’s rebellion, Achan, the false prophets on Mt. Carmel, Ananias and Sapphira.  At other times judgment was “stored up” or accumulated until a point at which God executed it, the Israelite conquest of Canaan and the fall of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. following many centuries of idolatry and breach of the covenant being cases in point. Read the rest of this entry →

As all the other category words we have seen since we started writing these, this one also is Greek in origin.  It comes from an adjective meaning “last” and in theology refers to the doctrine of last things.

One might ask, “Last compared to what?”  Or perhaps, “How much is included in ‘last’”?  To answer, it might be helpful to think about the theological connection between creation and Read the rest of this entry →