The Riddleblog

Being “In Christ” Anticipates the Glories of the “Age to Come”

Throughout his letters, Paul contends this present evil age will give way on the day of Jesus’ return to the glories of the age to come, just as Jesus went from death (Good Friday) to resurrection life (Easter Sunday). Paul describes a tension between what Jesus has already accomplished (in his death, resurrection, and ascension) and what remains to be fulfilled at the final once for all consummation; when Jesus returns on the day of resurrection and brings about the final manifestation of the wrath of God (cf. Romans 2:5, 5:9, Ephesians 2:3), elsewhere spoken of as the day of judgment (2 Corinthians 5:10). This tension is often described as the “already” and the “not yet” and is found throughout the letters of Paul. What we are “in Christ” anticipates and foreshadows the glories of “the age to come.”

The Main Event — the Return of Jesus Christ

Primarily, however, Paul’s two-age eschatology points ahead to that one critical event which brings about the end of the curse (sin, guilt, and death), and in which all the promises of God are fully realized (forgiveness, righteousness, and eternal life).[1] That event, of course, is the bodily return of Jesus Christ at the end of the age to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new. As Paul puts it in Titus 2:13, we are “waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” The heart of New Testament eschatology is not the hope of a millennial age in which this present “evil” age is progressively transformed into some sort of earthly utopia either before or after Christ returns. Biblical eschatology cannot be viewed through the lens of secular and cultural progress, nor current events. The end of human history comes about at Jesus Christ’s second advent described by Paul in 1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10; 1 Corinthians 15:51-57. For Paul, Christ’s second advent is the final consummation. This present age with its sin and death will come to a final and dramatic end (as will all things temporal). Yet, because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, the age to come is even now a present reality (through the work of the Holy Spirit), but awaits that moment when the Lord returns and the temporal finally gives way to the eternal.

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The Binding of Satan

The Binding of Satan — Background and Introduction to the Controversy

In Revelation 20:1-3, John is given a remarkable vision:

“Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain. 2 And he seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years, 3 and threw him into the pit, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he might not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were ended. After that he must be released for a little while.” In verse 7, John adds, “and when the thousand years are ended, Satan will be released from his prison.”

The binding of Satan as depicted in this passage raises several obvious questions, especially in light of the on-going debate between amillennarians and premillennarians about the timing and character of the millennial age. This is the only biblical text which specifically mentions a thousand year period of time in which Satan’s power and activity are curtailed (the millennial age). The two most obvious questions raised by John’s vision are, “what does it mean for Satan to be bound in such a manner?” and “are the thousand years a present or a future period of time?” Amillennarians and premillennarians take quite different approaches to this passage and offer conflicting answers to these questions.

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One People or Two? The Challenge Raised to Dispensationalism by Ephesians 2:11-22

It was the famed New York Yankees’ catcher turned philosopher, Yogi Berra, who once said, “when you come to a fork in the road, take it!” Paul’s discussion in Ephesians 2:11-22, addresses the relationship between Jew and Gentile in Christ’s church. It is a passage which requires us to ask a “fork in the road” sort of question. “In the new covenant era, does God have one people (the church), or two peoples (Jew and Gentile) each assigned different redemptive purposes?” Reformed amillennarians and dispensationalists take quite different directions when coming to this important Pauline “fork in the road.”

Dispensationalists struggle to understand and explain Ephesians 2:11-22 because Paul assets something much different than the standard dispensational claim that although there is but one gospel, nevertheless, God has two distinct redemptive purposes, one for national Israel and another for Gentiles.

To illustrate the problem faced by dispensationalists, it is useful to survey the way in which traditional dispensational writers have approached this passage. J. Dwight Pentecost, writes that this passage describes God’s purpose for the present age (where there is a visible unity), but does not describe his purpose for the millennial age when the two peoples (Jew and Gentiles) are again distinct groups. Pentecost is so bold as to state, “Scripture is unintelligible until one can distinguish clearly between God’s program for his earthly people Israel and that for the church.”[1]

John Walvoord understands the passage as referring to the “new program” for the church which, he claims, was a mystery in the Old Testament. In the New Testament dispensation, a living union is formed so that Jew and Gentile are brought together with all racial tensions eliminated [2]. Like Pentecost, Walvoord argues that such unity is only temporary and in the millennial age the historic and ethnic differences between Jew and Gentile re-emerge.

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A Rebuilt Temple in Jerusalem? A Look at Ezekiel's Vision in Chapters 40-48

In light of periodic calls to rebuild the Jerusalem Temple (Time to Rebuild the Temple?), the matter of whether or not this will come to pass is part and parcel of the on-going debate about events associated with the end times and the return of Jesus Christ. The very possibility of rebuilding the Jerusalem Temple raises a number of serious theological questions which ought to be addressed, especially in light of the dispensational expectation of a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem at the dawn of the supposed seven-year tribulation period, which then functions as a center of worship during the millennial age.

As for the possibility of the temple actually being rebuilt, I am one who says “never say never” about future world events. I have no idea what will happen over the long run in Jerusalem and Israel. That said, I do not think such a thing is even remotely likely, given the current tensions in Jerusalem over control and access to the Temple Mount, much less the long-term political circumstances of doing so. Should Israel develop the religious and political will to occupy the Temple Mount (something unforeseeable at this point in time) and eventually take the steps necessary to demolish the Al-Aqsa Mosque (which is the third holiest site in Islam), the Jewish state would face the wrath of the entire Islamic world as well as that of much of the secular West. Since dispensationalists often connect the rebuilding of the temple to the geo-political tensions necessary to foster the appearance of the Antichrist, who, they claim, will make a peace treaty with Israel before betraying the nation leading to a final end-times catastrophe, such upheaval is not beyond the realm of possibility. Dispensationalists expect the Jerusalem Temple to be rebuilt and fervently hope for it.

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I Was a Guest on the Bible Theory Podcast Hosted by the Chicano Knox

We discussed signs of the end, the Rapture, problems with dispensationalism, all in light of amillennialism

You can listen to the podcast by following the link below

Isaiah 65:17-25: A Millennial Reign on Earth? Or a Vision of a New Heaven and Earth (the Eternal State)?

One of the most remarkable prophetic scenes in all the Bible is Isaiah’s vision of a new heavens and earth (Isaiah 65:17-25). Isaiah’s vision speaks of the created order being renewed and transformed to such a degree that former things will not be remembered. Jerusalem, too, will be renewed as her years of mourning turn to joy. The scene given us by Isaiah speaks of long life, the bounty of the land, carnivores (lion and wolves) eating straw with lambs and oxen, and with poisonous serpents no longer feared. Although Isaiah’s vision was given in the eighth century BC, it points ahead to the distant future; both to the coming messianic age (Christ’s first advent) and to the final consummation at the end of the age (Christ’s second advent).

The nature of Isaiah’s prophecy raises questions about when and how the scene will come to pass. When the prophet speaks of long life is he speaking literally—that the current human life span will be extended past one hundred years, and that carnivores will become herbivores? Is he foreseeing that the earthly city of Jerusalem will be the center of piety and the worship of YHWH? Or is Isaiah speaking of things which are eternal (a post-consummation new heavens and earth) using temporal earthly images (which people can understand) to point to eternal things which, on Isaiah’s side of Christ’s resurrection, would be impossible to understand.

There are several interpretations of this passage familiar to those interested in eschatology: (1) The dispensational view, (2) The postmillennial view, and (3) The amillennial view. We will take them up in order.

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Eusebius (the Church Historian) and the Image of the Beast

Occasionally, we find in church history an account of an event long since past but which sheds much light on difficult biblical passages. Such information may even give us pause about our own long-held interpretations of certain passages and might push us to further reflection and study. The famed church historian, Eusebius, recounts one such event.

Eusebius was born about 260 A.D. and died in 348/349. He lived during the Constantinian Period in the Roman province of Syria Palestina (which includes the modern nations of Israel and Syria, as well as portions of Jordan, Turkey, and Egypt). Eusebius is best known for his Ecclesiastical History (which covered the apostolic age until his own) and his unfinished Life of Constantine. Eusebius was an early sympathizer of Arius, but eventually signed off on the homoousion.

In his history of the church, Eusebius recounts an event which sheds some interesting light on one biblical passage which has long perplexed interpreters—Revelation 13:13-15. There we read that the second beast [from the land] “performs great signs, even making fire come down from heaven to earth in front of people, and by the signs that it is allowed to work in the presence of the beast it deceives those who dwell on earth, telling them to make an image for the beast that was wounded by the sword and yet lived. And it was allowed to give breath to the image of the beast, so that the image of the beast might even speak and might cause those who would not worship the image of the beast to be slain." This beast performs signs, including making an image of the first beast speak. He also coordinates the persecution of the faithful.

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Jesus Christ -- The Israel of God

If we stand within the field of prophetic vision typical of Israel’s prophets after the exile, and we look to the future, what do we see? Israel’s prophets clearly anticipate a time when Israel will be restored to its former greatness. But will that restoration of Israel to its former glory mirror the former days of the Davidic monarchy—i.e. a restored national kingdom? Or does the prophetic vision of restoration point beyond a monarchy to the ultimate monarch, Jesus the Messiah, who is the descendant of David, YHWH’s servant, and the true Israel?

The prophetic vision given the prophets is remarkably comprehensive. The nation had been divided, and the people of both kingdoms (Israel and Judah) were taken into captivity or dispersed as exiles throughout the region. Judah was exiled to Babylon five centuries before the coming of Jesus. Since the magnificent temple of Solomon was destroyed by the armies of Nebuchadnezzar and the Levitical priesthood was in disarray, any prophetic expectation related to Israel’s future would naturally speak of a reversal of fortune and the undoing of terrible calamity which had come upon the nation. The restoration to come in the messianic age therefore includes not only the fate of the nation, but also the land of Canaan, the city of Jerusalem, a rebuilt temple in Jerusalem (the so-called “second temple”), as well as the long anticipated heir to David’s throne—the coming Messiah.

Yet, once Israel’s Messiah had come, and the messianic age was a reality, how do the writers of the New Testament understand these Old Testament prophecies associated with Israel’s future restoration?

To read the rest of this essay, follow the link below

Amillennialism, eschatology, Biblical Events, Biblical TheologyKim RiddlebargerJanuary 13, 2022 Comments

Evil in the Millennial Age? An Exposition of Zechariah 14

I am convinced that one of the major weaknesses of all forms of premillennialism is the presence of evil in the millennial age (The Presence of Evil in the Millennium -- A Huge Problem for Premillennarians). How do people in natural human bodies pass through the events associated with Christ’s return (the general resurrection, the final judgment, and the creation of a new heaven and earth) without being raised from the dead and appointed to their eternal destiny (heaven or hell)? There is a related question also raised by the premillennial understanding of redemptive history: “how can evil exist on the earth, while Jesus rules over the nations from David’s throne in Jerusalem after he has judged the nations?” Premillennarians seek to avoid this conundrum by assigning final judgment and elimination of evil to the close of the millennial age, fully one thousand years after Jesus returns. But the millennial age is not future as premillennarians claim, it is a present reality. Christ’s return is the final consummation, the summing up of all things, not but another step on the way to the final consummation a thousand years later.

Premillennarians respond to this amillennial challenge by asserting that the presence of evil in the millennial age was foretold by the Prophet Zechariah in the fourteenth chapter of his prophecy, thereby parrying the thrust of the amillennial argument.[1] The purpose of this essay is to set Zechariah’s prophecy in its context, summarize the varying interpretations of Zechariah 14 (including premillennialism and Reformed amillennialism), then interpret the entirety of the chapter, before drawing some final conclusions.

To read the rest of the essay: Evil in the Millennial Age? An Exposition of Zechariah 14

Jesus Christ -- The True Temple

When Jesus declared, “I tell you, something greater than the temple is here,” (Matthew 12:6) and then told a Samaritan woman that he can give her “living water” (John 4:10-14), we are given a major clue that the pre-messianic understanding of God’s temple must be reinterpreted in the light of Jesus’ messianic mission.

The temple occupies a significant place in the witness of Israel’s prophets regarding God’s future eschatological blessing for the nation. This witness points forward to the coming of Jesus. When Jesus connects his mission to this prophetic expectation, we are greatly aided in our understanding of the nature and character of the millennial age as a present reality—not a future hope.

We begin with the Old Testament expectation regarding the temple in Jerusalem at the commencement of the era of “Second Temple” Judaism. Isaiah (2:2-4) and (Micah 4:1-5), both speak of God’s future blessing upon Israel in the last days, depicting it as a time when God’s people will go up to mountain of the Lord, and the rebuilt and reconsecrated temple, where God’s people will once again renew themselves in the ways of the Lord.

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I Was on the Hood Grace Podcast

I was a recent guest on Rudy Rubio’s Hood Grace Podcast. We talked about how confessional Reformed theology actually works well for urban church planting (in L.A. suburbs of Lynwood and Compton. Who’d have thunk?

Hood Grace Podcast With Rev. Rudy Rubio with KR as Guest

eschatology, Amillennialism, History and CultureKim RiddlebargerAugust 13, 2021Hood Grace PodcastingComment

Athanasius on the 70 Weeks of Daniel -- A Fulfilled Messianic Prophecy

I’ve been reading through Athanasius’ classic text, On the Incarnation. In Section 39, Athanasius is marshaling evidence from fulfilled prophecy to confirm the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. He is primarily concerned with responding to Jews who do not believe that Jesus is God incarnate when the evidence from their own prophets indicates otherwise.

Athanasius writes,

On but perhaps, not even themselves being able to fight against obvious truths, they will not deny what is written, but will positively assert that they are expecting these things, and that God the Word has not yet come. For this is their common and continual talk, nor do they blush to fly in the face of obvious facts.

To build his case, he introduces Daniel 9:24-27 as an example of an Old Testament prophecy which confirms that Israel’s prophets foretold of the coming Messiah.

But on this point the more especially shall they [the Jews] be confuted, not by us, but by the most wise Daniel, who indicates both the present time and the Divine manifestation of the Saviour, saying: ‘Seventy weeks are cut short upon thy people and upon the holy city, to make a full end of sin, and for sins to be sealed up, and to expunge iniquities, and to make propitiation for iniquities, and to bring eternal righteousness, and to seal vision and prophet, and to anoint the All-Holy One; and thou shalt know and understand from the going forth of the word to answer, and build Jerusalem until Christ the Chief.’

There are some interesting points as well as significant omissions made here.

To read the rest of Athanasius’s discussion of the seventy weeks prophecy, follow the link below

Princeton and the Millennium: A Study of American Postmillennialism

In this essay, I address the postmillennial eschatology of the famous “Old Princeton” theologians, Charles Hodge, A. A. Hodge, and B. B. Warfield. I look at the postmillennialism of Daniel Whitby and Jonathan Edwards, move on to discuss the various postmillennial distinctives, the rise of a distinct Amillennial view (which had previously been discussed under the heading “postmillennialism”) before I draw a series of conclusions about how each of the Princeton theologians modified and moderated the postmillennialism which they inherited from Whitby and Edwards.

You can find the essay here: Princeton and the Millennium: A Study of American Postmillennialism

New Riddleblog Publication -- "The Seventy Weeks of Daniel: Daniel 9:24-27"

My exposition of the famous "Seventy-Weeks" prophecy of Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27) begins in what is perhaps a surprising place–the Gospel of Matthew with Jesus giving his so-called "Olivet Discourse." The discourse is so named because Jesus and this disciples were sitting on the Mount of Olives, looking across the Kidron Valley at the magnificent Jerusalem temple, restored to its original grandeur by King Herod. Jesus uses this occasion to predict the destruction of the temple and the city of Jerusalem, as well as discuss the end of the age. When passing the temple earlier that day, his disciples asked him a question about the end of the age and what would happen to this great building. Jesus told them, “you see all these, do you not? Truly, I say to you, there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Matthew 24:2). The magnificent second temple will be completely destroyed–again.

Jesus is predicting something unthinkable to a Jew of that day, since the Jewish people had endured this terrible fate once already. This time, Jesus implies, the destruction of the temple will be final. While predicting the destruction of the temple and teaching his disciples about the end of age, Jesus repeatedly appeals to the prophet Daniel. So it is here we begin our exposition of the "Seventy Weeks" prophecy of Daniel–with Jesus, on the Mount of Olives, teaching his disciples about the time of the end, all the while quoting from or alluding to Daniel’s prophecies. By considering how Jesus understood the Book of Daniel, and then spoke of his own role in fulfilling key portions of Daniel’s prophecies, we gain the proper perspective to interpret Daniel’s "Seventy Weeks" prophecy correctly.

You can read the rest of the essay here: "The Seventy Weeks of Daniel: Daniel 9:24-27"

"If My People"

It is common to hear Christians claim that America is a “Christian nation.” What, exactly, does that mean? One thing it does not mean is that America has a divinely established national covenant with God similar to God’s covenant with Israel.

Because our Lord’s promise of divine protection and deliverance is given to the church (Matthew 16:18), the temptation is ever-present for Christians to mistakenly assume that our Lord’s promise extends beyond the church to that nation in which they live. Support for such divine protection is found by an appeal to 2 Chronicles 7:14 — “If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”

The claim that “God is on our side” usually surfaces when politically active American evangelicals see themselves in another skirmish in the ongoing culture war–contending with secular-progressives for the soul of the nation in a Manichean struggle between good and evil. In the heat of battle, Christians invoke covenant promises made by God to national Israel, mistakenly assuming these promises apply to the United States because the United States is a “Christian nation,” and therefore like ancient Israel, allowing appeal to God’s promise of protection and eventual victory upon the condition, “if my people humble themselves.”

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The Book of Revelation – A Surprisingly Practical Book

The Book of Revelation is the last book in the Bible and completes the New Testament canon. This easily overlooked fact directs us to view the Book of Revelation as one of the most practical and important of all the New Testament epistles. John’s apocalyptic vision is Jesus Christ’s final word to his church until he returns.

Likely written near the end of the first century, Revelation comes in the form of a circular letter addressed to seven churches in Asia Minor (chapter 2-3). The order of Jesus’s prophetic word of encouragement and rebuke to each of these seven churches mentioned follows the postal route from Ephesus to Laodicea reminding us of the both the letter’s purpose and its original audience.

The Christians in these churches lived in an empire that was openly hostile to all who proclaimed that Jesus is Lord, not Caesar. This guaranteed a wary eye from Roman officials who often, but mistakenly, saw Christians as insurrectionists. These Christians lived in the midst of a pagan culture which worshiped and served the creation rather than the Creator. It was an age of bizarre rituals, magic, and sacrifices. Christians also faced the ire of those Jews living in the area who saw Christians as threat because so many of their fellow Jews had become followers of Jesus. This book is written to them, surely, but also to the people of God across the ages. There is no book quite like it in all the Bible.

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Amillennialism, eschatologyKim RiddlebargerMarch 1, 2021Eschatology, Book of Revelation

Evil in the Millennial Age -- A Huge Problem for Premillennarians

One of great strengths of premillennialism is its apparently straightforward reading of Revelation 19 and 20. If John depicts the Second Advent of Christ in Revelation 19, and in Revelation 20 he describes the millennial reign of Christ which follows, this would seem to establish some form of premillennialism. At first glance, this appears to be a strong argument in favor of premillennialism.

When amillennarians attempt to challenge this point by contending that Revelation 20 is part of a different vision which recapitulates the events depicted in Revelation 19, we run headlong into the premillennial argument that amillennarians “spiritualize the Bible.” Supposedly, we don’t take John seriously when he speaks of a “literal” thousand year reign and a bodily resurrection (the “first” resurrection) associated with the second coming of Jesus Christ.

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Two New Riddleblog Publications

I have uploaded two essays from the old Riddleblog to “Riddleblog Publications.”

You can find them here:

Eschatology by Ethos

A Rival to Biblical Christianity

My Interview on Protestant Underground Radio -- Amillennialism and the Future of Israel

Interview on Protestant Underground Radio

eschatologyKim RiddlebargerDecember 12, 2020Amillennialism

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