Premillenialism Explained by William Bell

The prophetic speculators are running wild and our imaginations are not far behind. We are piqued with impending excitement wondering how all of this end times drama will play out. Many eschatological specialists wait with an eager sense of anticipation to see whether the vacant European Parliament seat number 666 will be filled by Spaniard Javier Solana (the 1st European Union High Representative for the Common Foreign and Security Policy). Nice title, eh? And why is this of any relevance you ask? Because Javier may soon be fulfilling his role as the antichrist! Seat # 666 is the golden ticket. Say it ain't so!

But didn't John tell his readers 2,000 years ago that he KNEW it was the "last hour" because many antichrists had come and the spirit of the antichrist was already in the world? (1 John 2:18; 4:3) John, quit spoiling the fun. You're ruining a really good where's the antichrist adventure hunt? Reminds me of "To Tell the Truth", a game show I loved when I was in my mere youth. They would ask the three guests (one of whom was the real deal) various questions, trying to figure out who was telling the truth about who he or she claimed to be. Then at the end the impostors would remain seated while the real person stood up. Will the real antichrist rise to your feet!

Further evidence that some say we are nearing the end... A website steeped in these current apocalyptic signs, points to the clever way the UN displayed it's 60th anniversary. Do you see it? In the picture above, which was taken at a 2005 UN meeting (Condoleezza Rice is 2nd from right) we see 666 cleverly adorning the UN Wall. Convinced yet?

As the Apostle Peter wrote, "The end is near!" and "the elements will melt with fervent heat." (1 Pet 4:7; 2 Pet 3:10,12) And according to many profits of doom (pun intended) the elements are already heating up.

Oh but it gets better.

Quoting from www.Jesus-Is-Savior.com, we see another clear reference to the antichrist as he is about to be revealed. What recommendation number do you think gave Javier emergency powers over the military wing of the EU in 2000? You guessed it...recommendation number 666! The pattern is unmistakable, right?

"The purpose of the European Union's creation was and is, ultimately, to create a European super-state or “United States of Europe,” as some have suggested naming it, that would eventually rival the United States in influence and military might. In 1999, Javier Solana became the High Representative for the European Union’s foreign and security policy, and through recommendation number 666, he was given emergency powers over the military wing of the European Union in 2000. All that currently remains to create a truly revived Roman Empire is the creation of a permanent executive branch of government and the full integration of the new Euro currency. With the introduction of the new European Union constitution, the groundwork is being laid for just such an executive branch and economic system."

They say that "Mr. Europe" (Solana), as he's affectionately titled, is a perfect match for the man referenced in Daniel 11:37.

He shall regard neither the God of his fathers nor the desire of women, nor regard any god; for he shall exalt himself above them all. Daniel 11:37 (NKJV)

Although his Jewish heritage is questionable ("shall not regard the God of his fathers") and considering the fact that he's married with 2 children ("nor his desire of women"), this minor discrepancies do not seem to slow the abounding speculations one bit. So they go on to highlight the fact that Solara does have the tendency to "exalt himself above them all." As if this could not be said of 25% of our planet's male population. :)

So if you feel driven and tossed by the prophetic winds (and you will if you partake a steady diet of these "proofs"), stop and gain a clearer understanding of the premillennial system that spawns this kind of speculation. It is clearly the "end times" champion of our time, so it might be beneficial to see it from a fresh perspective. It'll only take about 15 minutes and I believe it will be time well spent.

In the following 3 videos, William Bell takes a closer look at premillennialism. You may find his conclusions challenging, but hopefully he will facilitate a desire to see if these things are so.

PART 1


PART 2


PART 3

For more information, William Bell can be reached at www.AllThingsFulfilled.com.

The Monsterellas

I am not a fan of Halloween so please no nasty hate-mail. Matthew's girlfriend Rebecca put this together and I thought it was incredibly funny. I don't think Debbie's laughed that hard in the last 20 years. She came in to tell me about it and she could hardly speak because she was laughing to the point of tears.

Collision: Atheism vs. Christianity

When worldviews collide. God-hater vs. God adorer. Christopher Hitchens (avowed atheist) vs. Douglas Wilson (pastor and evangelical theologian). COLLISION is a movie about diametrically opposing paradigms. It opens at theaters nationally October 27, 2009 and is also available in DVD at American Vision.

This is no ordinary debate. It doesn't take place behind separate lecterns in a sterile stodgy auditorium. These men interact at the deepest level in a variety of settings. They are passionate but civil. They pull no punches. Whatever your theistic position you will be stretched and challenged.

“(Christianity) is a wicked cult, and it’s high time we left it behind.” - CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS

"There are two tenets of atheism. One, there is no God. Two, I hate him." - PASTOR DOUGLAS WILSON

SYNOPSIS
The documentary COLLISION pits leading atheist, political journalist and author Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything) against fellow author and evangelical theologian Pastor Douglas Wilson on a debate tour arguing the topic “Is Religion Good For The World?”. Lives and worldviews collide as Hitchens and Wilson wittily and passionately argue the timeless question, proving to be perfectly matched intellectual, philosophical, and cinematic rivals. COLLISION is directed by prolific independent filmmaker Darren Doane (Van Morrison: To Be Born Again, The Battle For L.A., Godmoney).



OVERVIEW
In May 2007, leading atheist Christopher Hitchens and Christian apologist Douglas Wilson began to argue the topic “Is Christianity Good for the World?” in a series of written exchanges published in Christianity Today. The rowdy literary bout piqued the interest of filmmaker Darren Doane, who sought out Hitchens and Wilson to pitch the idea of making a film around the debate.

In Fall 2008, Doane and crew accompanied Hitchens and Wilson on an east coast tour to promote the book compiled from their written debate titled creatively enough, Is Christianity Good for the World?. “I loved the idea of putting one of the beltway’s most respected public intellectuals together with an ultra-conservative pastor from Idaho who looks like a lumberjack”, says Doane. “You couldn’t write two characters more contrary. What’s more real and punk rock than a fight between two guys who are on complete opposite sides of the fence on the most divisive issue in the world? We were ready to make a movie about two intellectual warriors at the top of their game going one-on-one. I knew it would make an amazing film.”

In Christopher Hitchens, Doane found a celebrated prophet of atheism. Loud. Funny. Angry. Smart. Quick. An intimidating intellectual Goliath. Well-known for bullying and mocking believers into doubt and doubters into outright unbelief. In Douglas Wilson, Doane found the man who could provide a perfect intellectual, philosophical, and cinematic counterpoint to Hitchens' position and style. A trained philosopher and and deft debater. Big, bearded, and jolly. A pastor, a contrarian, a humorist--an unintimidated outsider, impossible to bully, capable of calling Hitchens a puritan (over a beer).

It was a collision of lives.What Doane didn’t expect was how much Hitchens and Wilson would have in common and the respectful bond the new friend/foes would build through the course of the book tour. “These guys ended up at the bar laughing, joking, drinking. There were so many things that they had in common,” according to Doane. “Opinions on history and politics. Literature and poetry. They agreed on so many things. Except on the existence of God.”

John Piper interviews Wilson - 15 min

Gary DeMar: "Where does 'good' come from?" - 15 min

Joel Mcdurmon: "Synonymous with sin...metaphorically" - 15 min

BIOS

CHRISTOPHER HITCHENS
Christopher Hitchens (b. April 13, 1949) is a popular political journalist and the author of several books, including God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything. Hitchens is regarded as one of the most fundamental figures of modern atheism. A regular contributor to Vanity Fair, The Atlantic Monthly and Slate, Hitchens is also a frequent guest on The Daily Show, Charlie Rose, Washington Journal, and Real Time with Bill Maher. He was named one of the US’s "25 Most Influential Liberals” by Forbes and one of the world’s “Top 100 Public Intellectuals” by Foreign Policy. Hitchens lives in Washington, DC.

DOUGLAS WILSON
Douglas Wilson (b. June 18, 1953) is a pastor of Christ Church, editor of Credenda/Agenda magazine, and a Senior Fellow at New Saint Andrews College. A prolific writer, he is the author of many books, including The Case for Classical Christian Education, Letter from a Christian Citizen, Reforming Marriage and Heaven Misplaced: Christ’s Kingdom on Earth. Wilson lives in Moscow, Idaho.

DARREN DOANE
Darren Doane is a Los Angeles-based independent filmmaker. Doane made his name as a music video director. His work for Blink-182, AFI, Jimmy Eat World and Pennywise is credited for helping bring punk rock into the mainstream in the 1990s. His previous documentary film, The Battle For LA, explored the underground battle rap scene in Los Angeles. Doane is currently in production on the documentary film To Be Born Again about legendary musician Van Morrison and has also written and directed several feature films, including Godmoney, 42K and Black Friday.

Author: featuring Douglas Wilson and Christopher Hitchens

Specifications: DVD, NTSC 90 minutes

© 2009 Level4

(1 min)

Is the Islamic Savior the Biblical AntiChrist?

We are being bombarded by things apocalyptic from every angle and there seems to be no end in sight. As 2012 approaches, I believe “end times” infatuation will explode exponentially. We are being inundated from every angle. A group of astronomers have joined to debunk the 2012 Doomsday theories. Consider the list of supposed doomsday triggering events or objects: Planetary alignment; Galactic alignment i.e. solstice, black hole and dark rift; Doomsday objects e.g. Nibiru, Planet X, asteroids, comets etc.; Magnetic pole shift; Rotational pole shift; Solar flares…and the list goes on and on.

The other day while on WorldNet Daily, I noticed an ad for “The Islamic AntiChrist” (right). The Christian bookstores are inundated with these types of "end times" reads. Is it possible that the coming Islamic messiah is in fact the Biblical antichrist? How can we know? Are we at the mercy of these "last days" prophetic speculators? Is there truly no hope for the rest of us in our quest to be faithful Bereans "seeing if these things are so?"

(2012 trailer)

It seems as though the steady diet of antiChrists, 666, embedded micro-chips and overall gloom & doom (even emanating from the secular world), is surreptitiously laying the ground work for more apathy and confusion within the Christian community. These books are continually repackaged with a few key date and player changes, yet few of us seem to be keeping score.

Listen, I don't doubt the sincerity of any of these authors, but is this a justifiable reason for not holding their feet to the fire of accountability? Since many of us do not possess a sound interpretational approach to Scripture, we are constantly being driven and tossed by the winds of these predictions.

Try as we may to turn a deaf ear to these constant prognostications, they unwittingly take their toll far beneath the cognitive processes of the brain. When anything negative happens i.e. a kidnapping, a disease outbreak or we witness blatant evidence of our ensuing cultural breakdown, it's not long before we hear something to the effect of, "It's just a sign of the times." The inference? It's only going to get worse so just buckle down, grin and bear it...before you know it we'll be raptured out of this evil abode.

Recently, I was visiting a church in another city. The Sunday school lesson centered on chapter 2 of Paul's second letter to the Thessalonians. Apparently some of the the Brethren living in Thessalonica were under the false understanding that the Lord Jesus had already returned. Seems rather preposterous that they were so far off given our current expectations, doesn't it? Have you ever wondered how they could have been so confused?

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, ² not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2

How they could have thought their Messiah had already come if His return was to mark the cataclysmic end of planet earth, is certainly a question worth pondering. And why did they miss the timing so badly? 2,000 years off! Or did they?

Actually it's not really difficult to understand their plight given their Lord's rather emphatic statements that He would return within a generation, while some of His followers were still alive and before His disciples finished going through the cities of Israel. (Mt 10:23; 16:27-28; 24:34) Coupling these expectations with the really intense statements of the NT author's (Heb 10:36-37, James 5:8-9, 1 John 2:18; 1 Peter 4:7, 1 Cor 10:31, 1 Cor 7:29-31) and there's no wonder the persecuted Thessalonians thought they missed this great cloud coming event.

So as the discussion wound down in that Sunday school class we were exhorted much the same way Paul challenged these troubled men and women who feared they missed the Lord. Slightly paraphrased, our class leader charged us with this. "Men, it's going to get a whole lot worse out there so hunker down and get ready. I don't know how long it will be, but I feel that it's going to be soon."

I find it fascinating that we are prone to the same sense of imminent expectations they felt in Paul's day. Two thousand years ago the Apostle Paul wrote, "The time is short...for the form of this world is passing away." This sounds eerily familiar doesn't it? Don't we say the same thing? Have you ever wondered how a man inspired by the Spirit of God could be so far off? Do you see the predicament? Somebody's wrong on this one. It's either Jesus, Peter, Paul, John or it's us.

People are even being lead to believe that financial doom is part and parcel of this near-term (we are told) cataclysmic collapse that's a precursor to the end...that it's part of the "birth pains" prophesied in Matthew 24:8, 1 Thes 5:3 and Romans 8:22. Yet nowhere does Jesus predict high unemployment rates, a stock market collapse or crippling gas prices. But even if He did, consider the unemployment rates throughout the Depression Era. For 11 years during this very difficult time, unemployment was higher than it is now . And for 4 of those years it was double our present rate.

The sheer weight of this multimedia blitzkrieg is affecting us far more than we realize. We simply cannot escape the impact of men like that well-meaning Sunday school leader who is convinced that all of the tumblers are falling into their final place. The mere fact that so many believe the Gospel's 2,000 year reign and extraordinary Kingdom expansion is going to be defeated by the forces of evil, should be enough to cause all to pause.

Eschatology is clearly not a foundational doctrine and one we should never divide over, but unfortunately, in it's presently accepted form, it is creating many beneath-the-surface expectations that I believe are rather unhealthy and unBiblical. Isn't it possible for the "Left Behindology" to have precipitated a self-fulfilling prophecy? "For as he thinks within his heart, so he is." (Prov 23:7) Could the signs of moral decay be the result of taking ourselves out of the game instead of some sort of proof that the last days are upon us?

Let me ask you this? What happens if we are wrong? What if we are encouraging an Armageddon that is not destined by God?...that actually stands contrary to His Word and against a foe that may be a future target of God's grace and mercy? What if this presumed world-ending clash took place almost 2,000 years ago between the spring of 66 to the fall of 70 AD? Preposterous? Is it possible that Peter, John and Paul were not mistaken? What if there is a mass conversion of the Muslims on our horizon? Is this too large a task for God?

Not unlike the rest of the boatload of these prolific apocalyptic money-makers, The Islamic Antichrist touts a “devastating account” leading up to the world’s demise. It’s uniqueness (although it is a carbon copy of a similar work from the 1920s) and intrigue springs from it’s boldness (in my opinion) to compare the Biblical antichrist with the Islamic savior. In the synopsis we find, “The Bible predicts that in the last days a charismatic leader will establish a global following in the name of peace.” Oh really? Where these authors come up with this stuff only their hairdresser knows for sure. :)

This book can be discredited from simply analyzing the sensationalism of its synopsis.

1. The New Testament authors made it clear that they were nearing the end of the “last days” in the first century. (1 Cor 7:29,31; 1 Pet 4:7; Heb 10:36-37; 1 Cor 10:11; Heb 1:1-2; 1 Peter 1:20)
2. The Apostle John offered proof that he was living in the “last hour” by the fact that many false Christs (antichrists) had already come. “…by which we KNOW that it is the last hour.” This fulfilled Jesus’ prediction in the Olivet that “false prophets will rise up and deceive many. “
3. The word “antichrist” never appears in the book of Revelation and John only uses it 4 times in two of his three epistles. As far as the Apostle John’s testimony is concerned, all the fuss over identifying THE modern day antichrist is absolutely baseless.
4. Notice (below) John tells us that “the spirit of the antichrist” was already in the world 2,000 years ago. Just because there are and have been many evil rulers and regimes, does not mean that any qualify as THE antichrist, since there’s no Biblical mention of a single antichrist much less one that’s 2,000 years old. =) Hitler was “anti-Christ” and so was Stalin, Mussolini and Napoleon.

For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. 11 Then many false prophets will rise up and deceive many. Matthew 24:5, 11 [The Apostle John said this was fulfilled by the writing of his epistles – somewhere in the mid 60s AD – yet for some reason many ignore his testimony]

Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. 1 John 2:18

and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world. 1 John 4:3

My hope is that we will stop buying these books and encourage others to do the same, lest we continue to cause the credibility of the Scriptures to suffer. I’m not insinuating that people like Joel Richardson are insincere. I believe they are definitely committed to their views. What I do question are their guiding hermeneutical principles.

Few seem to care that hundreds of these books fly off the shelves and yet not one of them has been right. I’m hoping we begin applying pressure on these authors to be accountable when they’re wrong. And why this obsession with antichrists anyway? Shouldn't Jesus Christ be our primary focus?

Eschatological Musings - Gary DeMar

Gary talks about his radio interview with Neil Boron regarding the "end times". Grant Jeffrey', who was to follow DeMar, espouses the typical view held by most Christians today. Is the end near? There are social, moral, and political implications in place to make such eschatological assertions.



Gary argues that one's eschatological conclusions will affect a whole host of issues. The "signs" that many use to "prove" that we are in fact living in the "last days" are actually much less prevalent now then they have been throughout history. Consider the fact that the "Black Death" killed tens of millions and between 25-40% of the European population. In my view, we have a very poor historical aptitude and therefore are subject to the assumptions of the prophecy speculators.

We have developed so many errant presuppositions that never seem to be questioned. Where in the NT does it state that Israel becoming a nation in '48 is a fulfillment of prophecy? Where do we find even one NT text prophesying a rebuilt temple? Why is it that Jesus is returning "soon" now when all of the verses using this kind of language were written almost 2,000 years ago? The current eschatological model isn't simply broken, in my view it needs to be scrapped.