The Riddleblog

Exposition of Article One of the Belgic Confession Posted

When someone says “I think God is like,” I can be certain that the person speaking hasn’t got a clue as to what God is like. Since the only way God can be known is through his self-revelation in creation and his word–the topic of article two–someone who defines God based upon personal experience, or personal opinion, is engaging in rank idolatry. While it is easy to think of idolatry as something associated with the primitive peoples of the past, or with pagan religions of the east, nothing could be further from the truth. We are all habitual idolaters. America is a land filled with idols. When we believe and confess that there is only one God, we are raising a standard against the spirit of the age.

The confession of the Reformed churches that there is only one God is at the very heart of all Christian theology. The famous Shema, “Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one” (Deuteronomy 6:4) is the basic confession of faith of Israel and separates biblical revelation from all forms of paganism. Christians do not worship the “sun god” nor the “moon god” as do the ancient pagans. We worship the true and living God who created the sun and the moon. Nor are we pantheists and identify God with that which he has made, as in “the earth is our mother,” the creed of those environmentalists who worship nature. There is only one God–not many gods–and since God has created all things, God cannot be equated with that which he has made. He is transcendent and Lord over all the earth.

To read the rest of this exposition, click here: Exposition of Article One of the Belgic Confession --There Is Only One God

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerDecember 5, 2020Belgic Confession

New Post in Riddleblog Publications -- Hitler as Antichrist Figure

How did the ordinary-looking child (pictured above) become an antichrist figure, the maniacal leader of a "Christian" nation such as Germany?

Uncovering the answer to this question has kept plenty of capable historians busy since the Second World War. But evangelical theologians and Bible prophecy experts, who may have genuine insight into an answer, have largely remained silent.

One reason for this silence regarding Adolf Hitler as an antichrist figure is that many who write in the field of eschatology these days tend to push the discussion of the two beasts in Revelation 13 back into the distant past. In Revelation 13, John sees one beast rising out of the sea (Rev. 13:1-10), and another beast rising out of the earth (Rev. 13:11-18). This understanding of Revelation 13 is obvious because of the historical connection between these two "beasts" and imperial Rome. This is characteristic of the preterist reading of Revelation--which contends that the Apocalypse was written before A.D. 70 and speaks of the destruction of Jerusalem, it's temple, and God's judgment upon Israel in the form of the Diaspora.

Others interested in biblical prophecy (the futurists) tend to see the events of Revelation 13 as something yet to come during a future tribulation period. Many futurists see John's description as a prophetic warning of a revived Roman empire, unleashing its full fury in the final days upon those who remain "left behind" after the rapture, now forced to face the Antichrist during the seven-year tribulation period.

On both of these views, there is no reason to look for "antichrists" manifesting themselves during the inter-advental period--i.e., in the present course of history. Either the beast has come and gone (the preterist view), or is yet to come (the futurist view).

To read the rest of this article: Hitler as an Antichrist Figure

eschatologyKim RiddlebargerDecember 3, 2020Hitler as Antichrist

An Introduction to the Belgic Confession Posted (PDF)

“We Believe and Confess” An Introduction to the Belgic Confession

We are pilgrims passing through a foreign land. Like Abraham, the father of the faithful, we too are looking for the promised land flowing with milk and honey, that place where at long last we will find rest for our weary souls. In Hebrews 11:10, Abraham is commended because even though the land of promise was not yet his, and even though he believed that God would keep his promise and give him the land, nevertheless Abraham was looking beyond that land lying between the Euphrates and the River of Egypt to that heavenly city whose builder and architect is God. Abraham did this, Scripture says, “by faith.”

To continue, click here: An Introduction to the Belgic Confession (PDF)

Belgic ConfessionKim RiddlebargerNovember 30, 2020Belgic Confession

Welcome to the All New Riddleblog!

I published my first Squarespace blog post on November 5, 2005. Wow, that was a long time ago. I’m one of a shrinking number of bloggers who have stuck with it.

There were several software upgrades over the years, but eventually Squarespace launched an entirely new version—7.0, which required a full re-do of my current blog. I’ve delayed the inevitable until retirement.

So, here’s the new blog which should work much better with tablets and Android and Apple phones.

Riddleblog UpdateKim RiddlebargerNovember 24, 2020New Riddleblog Comments

Sermons on the Seventy Weeks of Daniel Added

A short series of sermons I preached on Daniel 9 (and the “Seventy Weeks”), in 2016, have been added to the Amillennialism (Audio) section.

eschatologyKim RiddlebargerNovember 24, 2020Seventy Weeks of Daniel 9