The Riddleblog

"Deliverance from the Wrath to Come" -- Episode Four of My Series on Paul’s Thessalonian Letters

Episode Synopsis:

There is one thing a congregation dislikes even more than stewardship Sunday–a sermon on the wrath of God. To proclaim that the wrath of God is coming upon the whole world (and it is) is be thought of as some sort of fundamentalist with the misguided faith of a snake-handler, or the mind-set of a Jihadi terrorist. Any one who believes such a thing is considered a kooky zealot who probably carries around a sandwich-board sign which reads, “Repent, for the end is near!”

Since Paul ties Christ’s second advent to the coming day of wrath, he creates very difficult problems for all forms of premillennialism–those who insist that Jesus’s Christ return will usher in a thousand year reign of Jesus upon the earth with the final judgment not occurring until the millennium comes to an end. How does this fit with Paul’s declaration in 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10 that deliverance from the coming wrath of God occurs when Jesus returns? (Hint, it doesn’t). What does what does this say to those engaged in the “pre” and “post” trib debate, and to the dispensationalist expectation of a future seven-year tribulation period?

We’ll tackle these issues and more in this edition of the Blessed Hope Podcast

To listen to the podcast and view the show notes, follow the link below

Blessed Hope PodcastKim RiddlebargerDecember 9, 2022The wrath of God, Problems with premillennialism, 1 Thessalonians 1:9-10Comment

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

Amillennialism, eschatology, Riddleblog PublicationKim RiddlebargerDecember 17, 2021Zechariah 14, evil in the millennial age, Problems with premillennialism Comments