Lectures delivered at First Presbyterian Church, Richmond
Fall 2018
Category Archives: Apocalyptic
Reading the Prophets
A recent presentation on “Reading the Prophets” made at Powhatan Community Church, Dr. Brian Hughes, Pastor. The password is “Biddle.”
An Embassy in Jerusalem, a Rebuilt Temple, and Cynical Support for Israel
The recent ceremony celebrating the opening of the US embassy in Jerusalem featured two figures that call attention to the cynical character of the uncritical support of the modern nation of Israel offered by many evangelical Christians in the US.
Robert Jeffress, pastor of First Baptist Church Dallas, who offered a benediction at the Continue reading An Embassy in Jerusalem, a Rebuilt Temple, and Cynical Support for Israel
A Rebuilt Temple?
One aspect of contemporary apocalyptic doctrine held by many evangelical Christians is the expectation that a “third temple” (counting Herod’s temple as a continuation of the second temple rebuilt in the early Persian period) must and will be built in Jerusalem prior to the apocalypse. It is but a component of Evangelical Christianity’s theological program Continue reading A Rebuilt Temple?
Are “these” days “those” days?
No! Grammar matters!
“Whenever you hear of wars and reports of wars, do not fear. This must be, but it is not yet the end” (Mark 13:7, my trans.)
Christians should avoid apocalyptic speculation altogether. I hear and read “end times” talk more lately than I have heard it since the late 1960’s and mid-1970’s. In those days of national (think 1968) and international (think 1968 again) turbulence, the MADD doctrine was still the cornerstone of US strategic planning, no one foresaw the possibility that the Iron Curtain would fall, the United States was awkwardly Continue reading Are “these” days “those” days?
“Fallen, Fallen is Babylon” (Isa 21:9)
The Danger of Genre Confusion
During the initial days of the First Gulf War, several local news outlets contacted me wanting to know whether events in the Persian Gulf were fulfilling biblical prophecies against Babylon. I am sure that they expected the Baptist Old Testament professor at the local college to detail an apocalyptic panorama for them. Instead, I told them, simply,