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I have long been interested in the doctrine of Antichrist, a fascinating subplot in redemptive history (see my book The Man of Sin ). If you know anything about me and the Riddleblog, you know that it is my contention that much of the Antichrist speculation of late strays very far afield from the biblical text. The reason for much of this speculative over-reaching is due to a preoccupation with geo-political events in the Middle East (especially the goings on in Israel and its neighbors) or fears about the potential destructive power of AI, should it fall into the hands of a maniacal end-times figure.
This Letter on Life and Times of the Antichrist was likely written in the mid–10th century (c. 950–954) by a Benedictine monk, Adso of Montier-en-Der, who was Abbot of the monastery of Montier-en-Der, in France. His work—a treatise written to Gerberga, the Saxon Queen of West Francia—is one of the most influential medieval treatments of apocalyptic expectation. Written in the style of the lives of the saints then popular (only in reverse since Antichrist is an “anti-saint”), Adso’s work was hugely popular, given the fact the critical edition of his treatise was based upon 171 manuscripts—demonstrating a wide distribution of copies. It did much to establish the future course of addressing the subject [1].
Adso lived during a time of increased eschatological speculation. The years he was active were those immediately prior to the end of the first millennium (1,000 CE)—a date which provoked all sorts of worries and apprehensions just as Y2K did in our own recent past.
Furthermore, the Roman church was struggling with corruption and bad-behavior among the highest ranks of the Papal court. The Holy Roman Empire was on its heels as well. Islam had pushed back the expanse of the Eastern part of the empire into fortified Byzantium. Regions which had long been “Christian” (e.g., Egypt, North Africa, the Levant, Asia Minor, and even most of Spain) had fallen to Islamic armies. There were also legions of war-like pagans beyond the Danube yet to be evangelized.
In the minds of those like Adso, these things were very likely harbingers of the return of Christ and the final judgment.
To see the main points from Adso’s “On the Life and Times of Antichrist” follow the link below
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The Pilgrim Journey
In many places, the Bible speaks of the Christian life as a pilgrimage. Paul describes the Christian life in terms of enduring this present evil age as we make our way to the glorious inheritance which is ours in the age to come (cf. Galatians 1:4, Ephesians 1:21). When our Lord Jesus calls and instructs his disciples, he uses images drawn from Israel’s Exodus from Egypt, in which Jesus promises that he will lead us from the bondage of the guilt and power of sin, into the promised land, which is our Sabbath rest in the presence of God. The Bible also tells us that we are citizens of two kingdoms–the city of man, and the heavenly kingdom. We live in the one, all the while we long for the other. There is something deep inside us that longs to reach our goal–the heavenly city and its temple.
As God’s people, we also long for God’s presence and favor. This is our hope and the realization of our heavenly citizenship. This gives meaning and purpose to our lives as we make our way towards our goal and final destination. The problem isn’t that we haven’t found what we are looking for–we have. The problem is that we won’t fully receive what we have found until we come to the end of our pilgrimage, and we are not there yet. This is why the biblical writers can depict the struggles of the Christian life as a pilgrim journey of sorts, as we make our way to that place for which we so eagerly long.
The Background to Psalm 84
Psalm 84 is attributed to the Sons of Korah. This Psalm is found in the third book of the Psalter and describes a pilgrimage to the city of Jerusalem to worship YHWH in his temple. Although the pilgrim motif takes many different forms in the Scriptures, one way it is depicted is in terms of a longing for fellowship with the living God. In the Old Testament we find this longing expressed by many of Israel’s prophets. During that period of redemptive history from the time of Israel’s release from captivity in Egypt to the forty years of wandering throughout the wilderness of the Sinai, the people of God long to enter the promised land of Canaan–for them a new Eden of sorts.
During the era of Joshua and the Judges, and then throughout the period of the united kingdom of Saul, David, and Solomon, God’s people desire to worship God in his temple, which they see as the visible sign of YHWH’s presence in the midst of his people. But once the kingdom is divided and Israel’s fortunes become bleak, God’s people find themselves longing for deliverance from the apostasy of the people, and from the wickedness of their religious leaders. The people of Israel long for deliverance from their enemies and for that time when Israel will once again live in peace, safety, and prosperity. It is not accidental that messianic prophecy flourishes during this time, as God’s people increasingly long for their promised Messiah.
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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 nature and timing 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 during a millennial age (whether present, or future). Satan is said to be “bound” for the duration. 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.
Amillennarians believe that the binding of Satan is but another way of speaking of Jesus’s victory over the devil during our Lord’s messianic mission. The thousand years are not a literal period of time, but refer to the entire age between Christ’s first and second coming (the inter-advental period). If true, the binding of Satan begins with our Lord’s death and resurrection, continues throughout the present age, and ends with the release of Satan from the abyss (abussos—the place of the dead, cf. Romans 10:7) shortly before Jesus returns at the end of the age when Antichrist is revealed during a time of final apostasy (cf. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12). This brief apostasy is followed by the final consummation when Jesus returns (the second Advent). His return includes three concomitant events: 1). The general resurrection (1 Thessalonians 4:13-5:11; 1 Corinthians 15:50-57), 2). The final judgment (Matthew 25:31-46; Revelation 20:4-6, 11-15), and 3). The ushering in of a new heavens and earth (2 Peter 3:4).
Premillennarians, however, contend that the thousand years are a literal period of time commencing after Christ’s second advent, who then establishes his physical rule over the earth in a millennial kingdom (Revelation 20:1-7). During this time, Satan is bound. The thousand years end with Satan’s release from his imprisonment so as to lead the nations in a final revolt against Jesus’s rule, immediately before the final judgment at the end of the millennial age (Revelation 20:7-10).
Why Premillennial Objections to the Amillennial View of the Binding of Satan Actually Backfire
The premillennial objection to the amillennial view is a simple and obvious one. How can there be evil on the earth if Satan is bound? This objection is plausible if two very untenable assumptions are in place. The first untenable assumption is that supposedly there are people on the earth in natural bodies during a future millennial age (after Jesus returns), who comprise the nations mentioned in Revelation 20:8. On premillennial assumptions, these are the people who revolt against Christ once unbound, and who are destroyed at the end of the millennial age at the time of final judgment. But the false assumption here is how can there be people on the earth after Jesus returns to raise the dead, judge the world, and usher in a new heaven and earth as made clear in the passages above? Who makes it through the final judgment and goes on to repopulate the earth, only to be deceived by Satan after the Second Advent? This is a biblical impossibility, especially in light of our Lord’s words in Luke 24:34-36. “And Jesus said to them, `The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection.’” There can be no people in unresurrected bodes on the earth to revolt against Christ! Nor is Satan still around to be released and deceive them—his end (the Lake of Fire) has already come at the Lord’s return (Romans 16:20; Revelation 20:10).
The second untenable assumption is that evil remains on the earth even after our Lord’s return when the consummation of all things takes place (see the texts cited above) and time (this present evil age) gives way to eternity (the age to come). It makes far more sense that Revelation 20—speaking of martyrdom as it does, and ending in an apostasy and a revolt against Jesus while he rules the nations—is much more likely to be a description of the end of this present evil age, and not a depiction of some sort of a “second Fall” of redeemed and unredeemed people supposedly on this present earth after Christ’s return, post resurrection, post-judgment, and post cosmic renewal. This is highly problematic and does great injustice to the flow and progress of redemptive history.
I address the serious problems with the premillennial understanding of redemptive history and a future millennial age in some detail here: Evil in the Millennial Age? A Huge Problem for Premillennarians and in the Blessed Hope Podcast here: “This Age and the Age to Come: The Implausibility of Premillennialism.”
To summarize, amillennarians understand the binding of Satan to be a present reality, while premillennarians see this scene as an entirely future event. In what follows, I will consider and evaluate the biblical background to John’s vision and then respond to the premillennial challenge, “when and how is Satan is bound?” And “why is there so much evil in the world if he is?” These are two important questions which merit response.
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In light of yet another war raging in the Middle East–this time between the United States and Israel against Iran and its Revolutionary Islamic Government, appeal is made by dispensational prophecy pundits to the prophecy of Gog and Magog found in Ezekiel 38-39. Ezekiel supposedly predicted the war in Iran–as Greg Laurie claims in but one of a scad of recent YouTube pundits making the same claim.
In a time of fear and uncertainty brought about by war, it may be comforting to think that biblical prophecy is being fulfilled through these events—which can only mean that the rapture must be soon at hand. It is also a way to attract followers, get clicks, and sell books. People are worried and want answers. If pundits can claim this is the fulfillment of biblical prophecy, what can be more reassuring than that?
But this repeated use of Ezekiel 38-39 to explain the wars and rumors of wars in the Middle East has a number of serious interpretive weaknesses. What are these weaknesses? How has this prophecy been understood by dispensationalists in the past? And if the dispensational reading of the passage is not the correct one, how then should we understand the passage?
An Interesting History of Interpretation
Since the mysterious Gog and Magog are associated with a persecuting empire depicted in Ezekiel’s prophecy as being destroyed at the time of the end—the same holds true in the Book of Revelation (Rev. 20:8)—Gog and Magog have often been tied to the political powers which arise in conjunction with speculation about the future appearance of Antichrist.[1] Martin Luther once referred to the Ottoman Turks, then at the gates of Vienna, as Gog’s forces soon to come under the judgment of God.[2]
Dispensationalists of a previous generation equated the names that appear in this passage (Gog, Magog, Rosh, Meshech, Tubal, and Gomer, Ezek. 38:2–6 NASB) with nations of modern Europe in some sort of alliance with the Soviet Union (now the nations of the former Soviet Union). According to Hal Lindsey, Gog and Magog are supposedly tied to Russia (Rosh supposedly equals “Russia”) while Meshech is identified as “Moscow” and Gomer as “Germany,” all of whom will form an alliance with Ethiopia (Cush) and Libya (Put) and invade the modern nation of Israel, now back in the land, sometime toward the end of the seven-year tribulation.[3] But historian-archeologist Edwin Yamauchi thoroughly refuted the claim that Ezekiel is referring to the modern nation of Russia and the city of Moscow when the prophet uses these names.[4] His work was simply ignored by advocates of the “Russian Invasion” theory. “Hey Yamauchi, I’m trying to sell books here, don’t scare people off with the facts.”
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The answer to the question above should not come as a surprise. Not much. At least nothing about this war specifically.
Jesus did say one of the signs of the end which will characterize the entire inter-advental age is the presence of wars and rumors of wars. In Matthew 25:6, he tells his disciples “and you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, for this must take place, but the end is not yet.” So, despite the rantings of the prophecy pundits, the New Testament did not predict this current war but Jesus does tell his disciples not to be alarmed because such things are signs that the end will come when he returns on the last day to raise the dead, judge the world, and make all things new.
For an in-depth discussion of the signs of the end, as spelled out by Jesus in the Olivet Discourse, I covered the matter in an episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast, recorded shortly before the Hamas attack upon Israel (Oct. 7 2023). I was able to discuss the signs of the end addressed in the New Testament without the temptation to tie them to current events.
You can find that discussion here: Episode Five: "The Signs of the End"
I also address Paul’s discussion of the future of Israel in Romans 9-11 here: What Does the Future Hold for Israel? A Look at Romans 9-11
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Note: The following is an excerpt from the script of the Blessed Hope Podcast Season Two/Episode Five: "Labor and Toil, Calling and the Kingdom, Hindering the Gospel" (1 Thess 2:1-16). It has been edited for publication here.
Harsh Words for the Jews in Thessalonica
In verses 15-16 of 1 Thessalonians 2, we encounter one of the most controversial passages in all of Paul’s letters. Paul uses very strong language when he speaks of his own people, the Jews, as those “who killed both the Lord Jesus and the prophets, and drove us out, and displease God and oppose all mankind by hindering us from speaking to the Gentiles that they might be saved—so as always to fill up the measure of their sins. But wrath has come upon them at last!” Paul’s comments are considered by many of our contemporaries to be “hate speech” and anti-Semitic. People easily take great offense at such language–especially with growing anti-Semitism still found in the long shadow of the holocaust. Several critical scholars have even argued that these words were inserted into Paul’s letter at a later date so as to escape the difficulties this presents.[1] Sadly, the apostle’s words have been twisted on occasion by those who seek to justify violence against the Jewish people. What are we to make of this?
To start with, context is everything. Paul has just recounted to the Thessalonians how he had been treated in Philippi, then in Thessalonica, and even in Berea. This is the only place in his epistles where he speaks of the Jews as responsible for the death of Jesus.[2] In speaking this way, Paul echoes the apostle John, who in his gospel, speaks of “the Jews” as those associated with the chief priests who opposed Jesus throughout his entire messianic mission.[3] John’s reference does not extend to the Jewish people as a whole, but to the priests and scribes who sought to put Jesus to death.
Similar language is found in the Book of Acts, as Luke likewise ties the crucifixion to the Jewish religious leaders in Jerusalem.[4] It is a fact of history that the Jewish religious leaders led by the high-priest Caiaphas, turned Jesus over to the Roman governor Pilate as a seditious blasphemer who was a threat to the peace and security of Jerusalem during the Passover. It is also a fact of history, that shortly before writing these words, Paul was driven from Thessalonica by a mob (the “fellows of a baser sort” – cf. Acts 17:5) which surrounded Jason’s house and exacted bail from him, while Paul was rescued and fled for his life from the city. Any discussion of Paul’s words here must consider this recent escape from bodily harm at the hands of an angry mob.
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I am really excited about this one!
Why are American evangelical churches and progressive Protestant churches hemorrhaging membership? Why are these churches ignoring, downplaying, or renouncing distinctive Christian doctrine and ethics while striving to be “spiritual”? Why are the “nones” the fastest growing group in recent surveys of American religious affiliation? Why does your neighbor or your co-worker renounce “organized religion” in the name of “spirituality?”
Michael Horton addresses these matters in his series on the Divine Self, laying out the reasons behind this shift—those who embrace the divine self (likely without any awareness of doing so) will inevitably see themselves as “spiritual,” but not “religious.”
Horton’s series on the roots of “spiritual but not religious” is to my mind one of the most profound and important of recent efforts to determine why Western Civilization is becoming increasingly pagan. The first volume of a projected three volume series on the Divine Self (Shaman and Sage), was released in 2025, and dealt with the Axial Age (800-200 BCE) through to the Middle Ages, where the roots of modern forms of “spirituality” originate. Volume two (Magician and Mechanic) takes us from the Enlightenment, to the Renaissance, and then to the Scientific Revolution, addressing the challenges to orthodox Christianity as they develop in surprising ways throughout this period. Volume Three (which covers the modern period) will complete the series and is still TBA.
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The New Year — A Time of New Beginnings?
In the minds of many Americans, New Year’s Day is an occasion for parades and college football—until NIL and CFP ruined the latter. But the first day of the New Year is also a time of new beginnings. It is the first day of 2026 after all. As we enter a new year, it is customary to look back and reflect upon all the significant events of the past year. Various media outlets have spent much of the past week recounting the names and faces of those influential figures and celebrities who died in 2025. Christians lost a number of faithful saints as well. I am always amazed at how many of these people are already largely forgotten within a year of their death. It is a stark reminder that life is fleeting—we are but vapors after all (cf. James 4:14). The calendar keeps rolling on.
And then there are the poignant reminders of significant events of the past year including a host of human tragedies, natural disasters, and significant geopolitical events–including wars, and rumors of wars. But looking back is not all we associate with the new year. As is the custom, we are challenged to make a series of New Year’s resolutions about what we will do better next year or not do, as the case may be. Such resolutions too are but vapors which do not last. Nevertheless, this combination of things makes New Year’s a great time to consider the events of the recent past, as well as the nature of our hope for the future. In fact, this has been the historic practice of Reformed churches. Article 37 of the URCNA Church Order lists New Year’s Day (along with New Year’s Eve, Christmas, Good Friday, Easter, Pentecost, and Ascension Day) as occasions when the consistory may call the congregation together for worship.
Too Many Think Like Henry Ford
As with most things, the Christian take on the events of the past and our expectations for the future stands in sharp contrast to that of non-Christians around us. One place where the contrast between Christian and non-Christian thinking is most striking is in how we as Christians view the importance of history. Most Americans, I think, would agree with Henry Ford (the founder of the automotive company which still bears his name) who is widely quoted to have said, “history is more or less bunk. It’s tradition. We don’t want tradition. We want to live in the present and the only history that is worth a tinker’s ____ is the history we make today.”
If Ford is right, then the past is unimportant and irrelevant. What is important is the present, the here and the now. As a very pragmatic man and quintessential American, this makes perfect sense coming from someone like Henry Ford. Although he died in 1947, Ford’s sentiments still reflect the thinking of many of our contemporaries. This glib dismissal of everything which has gone before helps to explain why many Americans have little regard for tradition and institutions, why everything in this culture must be new and improved, and why so much of American life caters to those who demand instant gratification.
This is surely one reasons why so many of our contemporaries want little to do with serious thought or careful reflection. This anti-historical sentiment is reflected throughout American evangelicalism as well. People who think like Henry Ford will be much more interested in the local mega church with its garage band worship and all the bells and whistles than they will in a confessional Reformed or Presbyterian church. And from the usual comparative size of the these two types of congregations, it is obvious that very many of our contemporaries think like Henry Ford.
History Has No Goal or Purpose? Really?
This thoroughly pragmatic and utilitarian view of the world–all that matters is what works or what is useful–is also apparent when Ford reportedly defined history as “the succession of one ____ thing after another.” History has no goal or purpose. All that matters is the present. But this is where we as Reformed Christians must disagree. Why? Because Christianity is a religion necessarily grounded in history. We base everything we believe about the here and now in light of several very specific things which occurred in the past. As Christians, we see the present as but part of the larger story of redemption. We don’t believe that history is bunk, or the mere succession of one random thing after another. We believe history to be the outworking in time and space of God’s eternal decree–his eternal plan for the ages. Whatever happens in human history is part of God’s purpose, no matter how difficult this is to see in the midst of trial and tribulation.
Therefore, it is vital that we grasp the notion that history is the outworking of the will of God in our world because this is what gives everything that happens—good or bad—meaning and purpose. The events we recall from the past year are not simply random or disconnected events, one after the other. Rather, in these things we witness God working all things according to his will and purpose. He will bring all things to their divinely appointed ends—the telos. This is why “right now counts forever” as one famous Reformed thinker (R. C. Sproul) liked to remind us.
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The Great Christmas Hymns—Why We Love Them
You are no doubt familiar with the well-known hymn, “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” which includes the phrase in the first stanza and again in the refrain, “glory to the new born king.” Many of us know these words from memory. We sing about a coming king with great gusto and emotion. But what do these words truly mean? What exactly is implied when we sing of Jesus as this newborn king, yet who is to be received by all the earth? How can we speak of that ruby-cheeked babe in a manger scene as the King of kings and Lord of Lords?
Christmas in America—Tough for Christians to Navigate
Christmas is a surprisingly difficult time to be a Christian in America, because Christmas as traditionally understood–the celebration of the birth of Jesus–has been transformed into a secularized shopping event known simply as “The Holidays.” During the four Sundays before Christmas (Advent) many Christians use each of these Lord’s Days in sequence to focus upon one aspect of the coming of the Savior on that first Christmas. Advent is intended to be an annual reminder of who Jesus is and what he has come to do for us. The very fact that a Savior must come to earth to save us from the guilt of our sins forces us to consider the reality that we are sinners in need of a savior. This is but one reason why the Christmas story is so compelling. The German Reformer Martin Luther’s best sermons were arguably his Christmas sermons. This story stirred many a Christian heart to compose the great music and hymns packed with rich theological content, which we love to sing when Advent comes each year.
Since the transformation of Advent into the secular gift-giving season, the traditional focus upon the birth of Jesus is almost completely lost. Given this continual barrage of a secularized “happy holidays” replete with a now svelte Santa and his reindeer, it is easy to reduce Christmas to a sort of “birthday party” for Jesus. The justification for the giving of gifts is tied to the imitation of the wise men from the east who brought Jesus gifts of gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Because these changes to the biblical Christmas story can be so subtle, and distort the biblical account of Christ’s birth so badly, this is but one of the reasons why the Puritan side of the Reformed tradition views the very idea of Christmas/Advent with an understandable suspicion
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Shortly after I released an episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast on 2 Corinthians 5:14-6:2 entitled “God Was in Christ,” a discussion began on social media regarding the matter of “hypothetical universalism” and the question of whether or not this view is compatible with Reformed orthodoxy. The Synod of Dort said “no” to that proposal in the first refutation of errors under the second head of doctrine. So does Paul.
In 2 Corinthians 5:17-21, Paul's focus falls upon what reconciliation accomplishes for God’s people. This is Paul's indicative (we are reconciled to God through the death of Jesus) to a congregation in Corinth which had tolerated false apostles who sought to undermine Paul’s apostolic authority as well as the gospel he preached. Paul’s imperative is found in 2 Corinthians 5:20—we implore you, "be reconciled." Paul is, in effect, saying “do not listen to such teachers.” To a church in turmoil, Paul urged the Corinthians to stand upon the gospel which he preached to them previously so as to be at peace with God. Why? Today is the day of salvation (i.e., the age of salvation). This is the context for a section of my exposition of the passage, reproduced below.
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In a recent post, I mentioned that there were three important new books soon to be published. I was not aware of this book at the time, but soon after learned of it through a good friend (Dr. Andrew Compton). I followed up by listening to a Reformed Forum podcast episode (October 31, 2025) which discussed this gem in great detail.
I cannot say enough good things about this volume. Meredith Kline had written much on the Book of Revelation, but it was widely scattered among a number of publications, many of which can be found here (including mp3s). However there was much work on Revelation by Kline which had not been published until now. It is great to find it all in one place in a book with a quality binding and nice print. Reformed Forum did a great job with the project.
Kline’s books and essays are often tough going, with the common quip (which is often said of Geerhardus Vos as well), that his writings need to be translated into English. But his sermons (published in part two of the volume) are simple biblical expositions of texts from Revelation, and provide a nice primer to Kline’s academic work. The sermons are Christ and gospel centered and demonstrate his ability to explain the apocalypse with such great clarity that you’ll find yourself want to read it again, this time through the new eyes Kline provides. It has been a long time since I read gospel sermons on difficult texts from the Book of Revelation which are as clear, profound, and moving as these—his Easter, Christmas, and Lord’s Supper sermons especially.
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Peter Thiel and John Lennox on AI and Recent Antichrist Speculation
There has been much speculation of late about the growth of AI, multi-faceted AI tools, and a future antichrist. It should come as no surprise that much of this recent interest is tied to a longstanding tendency to incorporate antichrist speculation into the preexisting end-times categories of dispensationalists—a final apocalyptic battle (Armageddon), a one world tyrannical government (the UN/EU is the usual suspect), and in many circles this includes events in Israel involving the Jerusalem temple. Many have wondered about how an end-times antichrist may use exploitive technologies to do his nefarious bidding and establish a worldwide antichrist government—hence the concerns about AI. Although I wholeheartedly reject dispensational eschatology, as a small government Reagan conservative with libertarian leanings, I do have some sympathy for worries expressed by dispensationalists regarding our government’s use of evolving technological tools such as AI to restrict the constitutional liberties of its citizens.
In light of the recent trend to associate such an individual with rapidly developing technologies, we need to be clear that the common use of the term “antichrist” is highly problematic. In American culture, the term has a vague, generic meaning largely influenced by film and pop-culture (both evangelical and secular). This generic antichrist is thought to be a mysterious and evil end-times personage who appears on the world stage, usually in conjunction with the end of the world, but often tied to dystopian and post-apocalyptic end times scenarios.
This understanding of the Antichrist has virtually no connection to the term’s biblical usage. Many are surprised to discover that the term “antichrist” never appears in the Book of Revelation. In fact, the biblical use of the term, is much more precise and specific. John tells us that the Antichrist is anyone who denies that Jesus is the Christ, that there were a number of them, and that they were already present in the days of the apostles (e.g., 1 John 2:18; 2:22; 4:3; 2 John 7). Biblically understood, an antichrist is any false Messiah associated with the heresy of denying the deity of Jesus.
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Amillennialism with Kim Riddlebarger and host, Caleb Lenard
This is part two of a three part series on the Theology of the Church Podcast. Dr. Jim Hamilton presents historical premillennialism and Dr. Josh Howard presents postmillennialism.
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My piece on the liberation of the will, is published in the October 2025 Tabletalk magazine.
If you don’t already subscribe, I highly recommend it.
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A Favorite Psalm for Many
With the possible exception of John 3:16, there is perhaps no more familiar portion of the Bible than the 23rd Psalm. Many people memorize it as children. The text of the 23rd Psalm set against the backdrop of a pastel landscape adorns the stock funeral program in countless mortuaries across the United States. As the most famous of all the Psalms, the “shepherd’s Psalm” has been set to music by Bach, Shubert, and Williams. It is recited by characters in countless movies and novels whenever the plot requires proof that someone is a Christian or generically religious. But the 23rd Psalm is beloved by Christians because of its simple expression of confidence in God’s goodness, and because of Jesus’s identification of himself as the “good shepherd” who accompanies us as we walk through the valley of the shadow of death.
The 23rd Psalm is classified a “Psalm of trust” reflecting the believer’s trust in God’s tender care of his people. It is attributed to David (Israel’s shepherd-king), although no title or authorship is attached to the Psalm itself. Found in the First Book of the Psalter (which includes Psalms 1-41), Psalm 23 draws on the familiar image of the Lord (YHWH) as a shepherd who cares for his sheep (the people of Israel).
The Shepherd
Shepherd imagery was very familiar to everyone living in Israel at the time of David, and reflects David’s experience as a shepherd responsible for the care of his flock. In 1 Samuel 17:34-35, we read, “but David said to Saul, `Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him.” David knew what was involved in the care of sheep, and in this Psalm he depicts God as the true shepherd of Israel.
Some scholars contend that this Psalm reflects David’s time in the wilderness when he was hiding from Absalom–which may or may not be the case. But this Psalm does reflect a sense of readiness to face trials, difficulties, and danger because of our confidence in the Lord’s presence with us, especially in light of the fact that being in the presence of the Lord for all of eternity is every Christian’s hope.[1]
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Lecture Three–Preaching and Biblical Theology
In our third and final lecture, I will discuss the benefit of placing the “box-top” of redemptive history before a congregation in order to provide the “big picture” categories needed to interpret the Bible correctly. Teaching these big picture categories to our hearers will better enable them to resist the pull toward the subjective turn associated with contemporary American spirituality, a turn which renders the Bible irrelevant, pulls biblical passages out of context, or which understands the Bible as something other than revelation from God. Reading and understanding the Bible through the lens of a well thought-out biblical theology goes a long way toward helping us draw proper conclusions about what the kind of book the Bible is, as well as guiding us to the proper application we ought to draw from those doctrinal dots we have connected together.
The Panorama of Redemptive History
Building upon the previous lectures, I will focus upon an interpretive framework developed along the lines Dr. Michael Horton describes as the internal architecture of Scripture–God’s covenants.[1] God’s story as revealed in his word is tied to specific historical events which make up that story. As such, this story is true and comes to us in words and sentences with subjects, verbs, and objects, thereby summoning us to listen and look outside ourselves, not turn within. Telling God’s story challenges all personal and subjective mythologies, and is actually far more interesting than anything we can dream up.
The panorama of the redemptive drama flows out of this covenant history taking us from the moment of creation, to Eden, to Adam’s creation and fall, to the person and work of a second Adam, Jesus, including his death, resurrection, and ascension, to a new creation when our fallen universe becomes the home of everlasting righteousness. This panoramic view provides the “big picture categories” (the box-top of a many-pieced puzzle), the importance of which we will discuss in the balance of our time.
As we turn to the relationship between preaching and biblical theology, again, we are reminded of the connection between the facts of God’s redemptive word and deeds and essential Christian doctrines connected to them. The father of Reformed biblical theology, Geerhardus Vos, writes,
If we can show that revealed religion is inseparably linked to a system of supernatural historical facts at its culminating epoch in Christ–as we think can be done, we can see that the faith of the Apostles and the faith of the Apostolic Church revolved around the great redemptive facts in which they found the interpretation of the inner meaning of the Savior’s life. To the earliest Christian consciousness doctrine and fact were wedded at the outset.[2]
The key event in the Bible–Jesus’s messianic mission–takes place in a specific context, one foretold throughout the Old Testament in the words of Moses and the prophets. Promise becomes fulfillment because God’s self-revelation is inseparable from historical events. There is a definite and discernible progress in the biblical narrative toward a final and ultimate goal–the renewal of the cosmos and the redemption of God’s people.
In our first lecture I addressed the importance of preaching apologetically–grounding our preaching in the fact that Christianity is at its heart a truth claim, a claim tied to specific historical events. When looking at the box-top we see a succession of such events–the period before and after Noah, the age of the patriarchs, the Exodus, the Conquest, the exile and return, Christ’s life and messianic mission, his death and resurrection, Pentecost, and the Ascension, all pointing ahead to our Lord’s return and the final consummation.
In our second lecture, we discussed the importance of preaching from the biblical text through the lens of a system of theology. This enables us to lay out the dots, so to speak, and then connect them for those in our congregations who otherwise might not make the connections. A biblically based systematic theology provides the proper theological categories through which to understand the Bible as the revelation of God’s story in history. Doing so exposes the futility of the turn toward subjective and self-referential epistemologies typical of contemporary American spirituality. Pushing our hearers to consider “what God said and did” is a powerful antidote to focusing upon subjective “feelings,” self-justifying opinions or that misguided question we hear far too often, “what does this verse mean to you?”
The “Big Picture” Categories
In this lecture, we continue to consider “big picture categories,” but this time from the perspective of their historical development in Scripture (the historica salutis). We are looking at categories as they develop throughout the course of redemptive history (a line) not topically as in systematic theology (a circle). We already know many of the proof-tests for our doctrines, so the challenge is to look to see how these doctrines extend throughout the whole of Scripture and which challenge those who have taken the subjective turn.
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Preaching and Dogmatics
In this, my second lecture, I will discuss and emphasize the importance of teaching our congregations sound doctrine as the basis for making proper application. It is important to note at the outset that a sermon ought not be a doctrinal lecture. But given the concerns raised in my previous lecture, a little bit of doctrinal lecturing in our sermons might be in order–especially when we consider the number of times the Bible itself speaks of the importance of proper doctrine as a corrective to error, ignorance, and apathy, and repeatedly warns us about false teachers.
The question before us is simply this: “how do we communicate doctrine–the deep truths of the faith–while making such doctrine applicable to daily life?” Yes, I know that people want to cut out the doctrine and get right to the application–it is a common lament. But part of the mess we are in is that far too often, and far too readily, churches have caved in to what is actually an unreasonable demand. These concerns typically come from Sheilaists, Moralistic Therapeutic Deists, adherents of American Civil Religion, and Critical and Social Justice Theorists described in my previous lecture.
Our question is also especially relevant in light of our previous lecture in which we discussed the necessity of preaching apologetically–which I define as acknowledging that the Christian faith is a truth claim grounded in specific historical events, all of which culminate in the person and work of Jesus Christ–his incarnation, death, and resurrection. One of the peculiarities of Christianity is that its main doctrines are also historical facts. B. B. Warfield pointed out the obvious when he declared, “the resurrection of Christ is the fundamental fact of Christianity.”[1] The same holds true for Christ’s cross, his ascension, and a host of other factual occurrences which are loaded with doctrinal significance. Like the resurrection, these doctrines are tied to history (they occurred) but also become fundamental doctrines. If God did and said these things recorded in the Bible, then Christianity is true and its claims upon those things we believe and its commands as to how we are to act stand–despite the objections those who want to get right to the acting part, bypassing or down-playing the importance of what must be believed in order to act properly.
The New Testament Repeatedly Warns About False Doctrine and False Teachers
It should not come as a surprise that our work as ministers will be conducted under difficult circumstances. Throughout the New Testament we are warned in no uncertain terms of opposition to the Christian faith and its central doctrines in part, because it requires the hearer to trust someone other than themselves (Jesus) to save them from the wrath of God (if there even is such a thing). So we will begin our time surveying the various warnings in the New Testament about serious challenges raised by false doctrine and unbelief, then we will spend the balance of our time identifying some of the over-arching doctrinal categories necessary to equip our hearers to resist the challenges associated with our age.
The warnings about false doctrine given in the New Testament center around the ignorance of, confusion about, or opposition to specific Christian doctrines and teaching. As he faces death in a Roman jail, Paul’s lasts words to Timothy, leaves his associate with both a warning and an exhortation. In 2 Timothy 3:12-17, Paul tells Timothy,
Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.
Paul’s point is that the nature of Scripture as “god-breathed” (i.e., having its origin in the will of God) establishes the Bible as the source of all Christian doctrine, the basis of our practice, and the sole standard by which all Christian proclamation and conduct is to be evaluated.
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The term “optimistic” amillennialism is widely used these days, but I remain hesitant that it is of much value. I discussed the use of “optimism” and “pessimism” as proper adjectives along with the development of the “optimistic amillennial” moniker vis a vis the two main varieties of postmillennialism (Evangelical and Theonomic) on a previous episode of the Blessed Hope Podcast.
I make my case here: Eschatology by Ethos: Why Optimism and Pessimism Do Not Work As Eschatological Categories
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Here’s the link: A Case for Amillennialism (English and Spanish)
The AI generated glamour photo makes me look thinner and younger. I’m not sure what to think of it!
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