At the center of the debate is the question of “the Israel of God” (Gal 6.16). Of course, this is not a new question. During our Lord’s earthly ministry and after his resurrection and before his ascension, the disciples asked him repeatedly, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” (Acts 1.6). Continue reading →
There is much consternation and joy about the announcement that the United States intends to recognize Jerusalem as the capital of Israel. Some evangelicals and fundamentalists, perhaps inspired by a Dispensational understanding of redemptive history and their pre-millennial hermeneutic, are overjoyed with . . . Continue reading →
Yesterday (August 13) was the 477th anniversary of a small but symbolic event in Reformation history. On that date in 1541 John Calvin returned to Geneva from Strasbourg, where he had been a happy exile for about three years. On his first . . . Continue reading →
One of the several challenges faced by those who are moving from outside the Reformed churches to inside the Reformed churches is the transition from, e.g., worship in the broader evangelical world to worship as the Reformed churches understand it. Underneath the . . . Continue reading →
It is not difficult to find calls for the church to be “prophetic” especially toward the end of “social justice.” Of course we should favor social justice since nature and Scripture (e.g., Rom 13:1–7) both teach us that it is the function . . . Continue reading →
For many American evangelicals, faithfulness to the Bible means believing in a view of end times (eschatology) that teaches that says something like this: The book of the Revelation is to be read literally (including chapter 20) The formation of the nation . . . Continue reading →
As evangelicals become dissatisfied with the emphasis on personalities, annoying trendiness, and the shallowness of Modern evangelical theology, piety, and practice they begin to look around for an alternative. One challenge they face right away is that, in many cases, their religious . . . Continue reading →
For many American evangelicals, faithfulness to the Bible means believing in a view of end times (eschatology) that teaches that says something like this: The book of the Revelation is to be read literally (including chapter 20) The formation of the nation . . . Continue reading →
Arguably Reformed theology has never been more popular among evangelicals than it is right now. There are multiple large parachurch movements that extol the virtues of Reformed theology in a way that was unknown thirty years ago. It has never been easier . . . Continue reading →
Dispensationalism describes a way of reading the Bible and a system of theology the nearest roots of which are in the 19th century. There have been premillennial (traditionally known as “chiliastic) movements, including some Reformed theologians, since the early church but most . . . Continue reading →
Now sanitized for your listening safety, the Heidelcast is back with episode 149 in which we take questions from Lancaster, PA, Houston, TX, Cork, Ireland, and Belfast, UK. The Heidelcast is a global podcast. As always we had some good and challenging . . . Continue reading →
Over the last week, on social media, there has been some discussion of an essay entitled “The Second Eve: How Christian Women Undo The Curse.” This expression, “undo the curse,” is a provocative way to speak and is used in modern authors . . . Continue reading →
What is God doing in the history of redemption and how to does that inform us about what he will do in the future? What were the Old Testament believers expecting? Has God promised to establish a literal 1,000 year kingdom on . . . Continue reading →
We begin this episode with a classic public service announcement by Vincent Price from 1950, warning about the dangers of bigotry and prejudice in American life. You shall have to hear it for yourself. It is apropos of our renewed social concern . . . Continue reading →
“Yahweh saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually…But Noah found favor in the eyes of Yahweh. Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight, . . . Continue reading →
If we are to understand how we’re to think about eschatology, about end times, about the relations between heaven and earth, and about life between the ascension of Christ and his return, we have to get to grips with our Lord’s Olivet . . . Continue reading →
We are a little late with our call-in show but here it is with excellent calls from London, UK, New Jersey, Madison, IN, and St Louis among other places. As always we have great calls on a variety of topics. I must . . . Continue reading →
Several weeks ago my pastor, Chris Gordon, reflected briefly in his morning sermon on Psalm 137. I have been meditating on it since. The theme of the believer’s exile in this world is frequently sounded in Scripture. Abraham was a pilgrim, who . . . Continue reading →
These episodes were meant to be an introduction to Christian eschatology so that we can consider 1 and 2 Peter but it has turned into a mini-series of its own and in this episode we’re looking that the Revelation given to the . . . Continue reading →
The City of Moscow, Idaho, which Christ Church (Moscow, ID) expects one day to transform into a bastion of adherence to the Mosaic judicial laws, reports (HT: Alexis Van Horn) about the recent publicity stunt and protests disguised as “Psalm sings:” From . . . Continue reading →