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In my two previous blogs I summarized Zechariah 14. Now I want to highlight some key theological implications of this chapter. First, Zechariah 14 affirms that there is a coming kingdom upon the earth. Verse 9 explicitly states—“And the LORD will be king over all the earth.” God will rule over the planet He created. Eugene Merrill is correct that, “The God who led His people through spatial, temporal history will recreate the cosmos in those same categories. This is why a literal hermeneutic is essential in the absence of compelling evidence otherwise.”[1] Second, Zechariah 14 affirms that the kingdom...

(The following is Part 2 of a three-part series on Zechariah 14) Zechariah 14:1–9 revealed the timing of the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom comes in the context of a multi-national siege of Jerusalem that is foiled by the Lord’s intervention on behalf of Jerusalem and the people of Israel. At that time, “The Lord will be king over all the earth” (v. 9). Verse 10–21 reveal important details about the nature of the kingdom. The kingdom involves even more changes to Jerusalem as verse 10 indicates: “All the land will be changed into a plain from Geba to Rimmon...

Three years ago I mentioned to a Catholic friend that I was starting to work on a book critiquing the Left Behind novels. I explained that it would thoroughly examine premillennial dispensationalism, the unique apocalyptic belief system presented, in fictional format, within those books. Premillennial dispensationalism teaches that the “Rapture” and the Second Coming are two events separated by a time of tribulation and that there will be a future millennial reign of Christ on earth. “Why?” she asked, obviously bewildered. “No one really takes that stuff seriously.” That revealing remark merely reinforced my desire to write Will Catholics...

Christ’s Second Coming (1) Doug Focht, Jr.On the freeway, hundreds of cars are going in all directions without drivers; in the middle of a football game—zap!—suddenly, the quarterback disappears; the UN is in turmoil; millions of people have vanished from the earth with no trace, no warning!1 Thus Hal Lindsay, in his book, The Late, Great Planet Earth, describes an event called the rapture in which millions of people will be taken from earth and transported to heaven. Maybe you've heard talk of this and wonder what it's all about.Although there are some variations within the premillenial theology of Christ's...

The Coming Earthly Kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ - Part 2 by John MacArthur All Rights Reserved (A copy of this message on cassette tape may be obtained by calling 1-800-55-GRACE)  Revelation 20:1-5     Tape:  GC 66-74  As you know, we're studying the book of Revelation and we have been doing so for quite a long time. We find ourselves in chapter 20, a coming earthly Kingdom of Jesus Christ, Revelation chapter 20, and you'll want to be looking there in your Bible, following along as we embark upon the beginning verses of this tremendous, tremendous chapter. Let me...

The Church And Israel[1] Stanley Toussaint Senior Professor Emeritus in Bible Exposition Dallas Theological Seminary, Dallas, TX Importance of the Subject In his classic work, Dispensationalism Today, Ryrie sets forth a threefold sine qua non of dispensationalism—a distinction between Israel and the Church, a literal hermeneutic, and the glory of God as His purpose on earth.[2] Of these three, undoubtedly the most important is the distinction between Israel and the Church. Ryrie calls this “the most basic theological test of whether or not a man is a dispensationalist.”[3] He calls it the “essence of dispensationalism.”[4] He goes so far as...

The Old Covenant In the following diagrams, above the center line represents Israel, and below the line represents the Gentiles. Notice, in figure 1, Israel under the Old Covenant is divided into believers (light green) and unbelievers (tan). While the Scriptures still recognize all of the physical descendants of Jacob as 'Israel,' there is clearly a distinction to be made between the faithful remnant of Israel and the majority of the nation that rejected God and His covenant all throughout their history, [1 Kings 19:13-15,18, Mal. 3:13-18, Matt. 23:29-33]. Figure 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The New Covenant The New Covenant was made...

METHOD OF BIBLICAL INTERPRETATION Progressive Dispensationalism maintains the literal (normal) method of biblical interpretation as the default hermeneutic. Progressive Dispensationalists also rely heavily on the New Testament writers' interpretations and applications of Old Testament prophecy. This is more than simply applying a 'model' of interpretation based on a 'style' established by the New Testament writers. It is accepting their actual interpretations and applications of Old Testament prophecy at face value. ARE PROGRESSIVE DISPENSATIONALISTS REALLY 'DISPENSATIONAL?' Progressive dispensationalists are often accused of not being true 'dispensationalists.' This begs the question – what is a dispensationalist? Is a dispensationalist one who sees...