Views on Heaven and Hell According to Christian theology, multiple views of heaven and hell have been explored. Some suggest a metaphorical approach, as others present a more literal perspective of what the Bible says. It is very clear throughout Scripture that there are exclusively two destinations dependent on our faith in God. Knowledge regarding what comes after our earthly lives is essential, so we will be more capable to share with others. God has a well thought out plan for our eternity…
Daniel’s 70 weeks lay out God’s plan for the nation, Israel (see Daniel 9:24-27). According to most scholars within both the Dispensational and Covenantal camps, the Messiah (Jesus) is cut off (crucified) after the 7 and 62 (7+62=69) weeks. These are weeks of years, not days. Dispensationalists teach a parenthesis (2000-year gap) between the 69th and 70th week, which becomes the church age of grace, essentially starting from Christ’s resurrection and extending all the way until the rapture of…
Revelation, an apocalypse, is one of the most misunderstood books of the Bible. In this book, John describes heavenly wisdom he received from an angel. Readers often have a difficult time understanding this book because John depicts the supernatural world through many strange events and symbols, and scholars debate the legitimacy and context of John’s vision. Upon further reading of the text, it appears that stories in Revelation should be taken literally and that the events are predicting…
The millennium was labeled by Jonathan Edwards of a time of great peace throughout the world. Which was also described in the New Testament as a time of peace for a thousand years. In A Treatise on the Millennium Samuel Hopkins helps support this idea of harmony throughout all nations. Hopkins a follower of Edwards and a Congregational minister goes into more details about how the idea was brought up and seen in the culture of North America. During this time of early antebellum its easy to see…
decree to reconstruct Jerusalem. God revealed to Daniel that there would be sixty-nine seven periods, i.e. 483 years, from the time the order to rebuild Jerusalem and the coming of the Messiah, the anointed. I concur with Miller’s description, “Christians have traditionally identified this "Anointed One" as Jesus Christ, who is called in the New Testament both king and priest” . There are differences of opinion as to the exact time the 483 years began. Some say 538 B.C., when Cyrus' decree was…
rather enjoy it. We have now entered the end of the postmodern age where truth is replaced with emotion. If something so small as a criticism of one’s hands or fingers can send Trump into a never-ending obsessive tirade, what would happen if genuine Christians throughout the world went on a relentless campaign targeting Donald Trump as Satan incarnate? Again, consider his past reactions to trivial comments while imagining his response an international group of thousands, even millions, of…
Daniel utilizes a new introductory formula in this verse to focus the attention of the reader to the climax of the visions of the beasts. From this group of ten horns, comes up “another horn, a little one” which displaced three other horns. This little horn had “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking great things.” Nothing specifically is said about the nature of what is being said, however, within the Bible’s wisdom literature, through the eyes or speech of a person, their…
Enlightenment The Renaissance movement marked the transition from intense catholic faith, to a period where religion, education and above all, the arts were greatly developed. With the vast knowledge of previous civilizations, the imagery of the Renaissance surpassed anything before its time. Initially, fear and darkness were represented in medieval times because the church was a major cultural factor. The School of Athens fresco and the last judgment relief, shows the huge shift from the…
Throughout The Bible, passages describe the character of The Antichrist using both direct prophetic allusions and types (typology). Within all these passages, certain themes are discovered again and again. The composite picture paints a fairly simple-minded yet predetermined individual, driven by an insatiable desire for self-elevation and praise. Like Lucifer before him, this obsession will cause The Antichrist to proclaim himself as God’s co-equal, if not higher. Lucifer’s proclamation is…
2.) There is nowhere in the text that says this number is to be used to find out the identity of the Antichrist. Most futurist scholars would probably agree that by the time the Mark of the Beast is instituted, it won’t be a huge secret who the Antichrist is, especially to the saints living at the time of the Mark of the Beast. Contextually, it is clear from this passage that the Antichrist has already reached the place where Satan has come down to earth and is possessing the Antichrist (verse…