Replies

“... I look for the resurrection of the dead at the end of history. This is, IMHO, the one and only future event we can look for with certainty.”

Fair enough. I think you make it very simple to refute you in that case.

Jeremiah 50:39-40
“39Therefore the wild beasts of the desert with the wild beasts of the islands shall dwell there, and the owls shall dwell therein: and it shall be no more inhabited for ever; neither shall it be dwelt in from generation to generation.
40As God overthrew Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbour cities thereof, saith the LORD; so shall no man abide there, neither shall any son of man dwell therein.”

When were these prophecies against Babylon fulfilled? When did they become uninhabited for ever?

Jeremiah 3:17
“17At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of the LORD; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of the LORD, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the imagination of their evil heart.”

When was this prophecy fulfilled? When did all nations gather at Jerusalem, call it the throne of the Lord, and worship the Lord?

“When Paul wrote his last recorded letter, to the only protege who was still on board, he gave that guy the news that guy needed. He did not abruptly STOP writing to Timothy, to speak to folks like us living nearly 20 centuries later.”

You speak as if the Apostles did not know that their writings would be the living witness to Christ after their deaths, for generations to come. Of course, they did know this, which is why many of their writings have import both for their original correspondent and for later generations.

“But, then again, I take God’s Word more seriously that I do Cyrus Scofield’s footnotes. That’s the difference between us.”

So do I. I’m not sure if you’re aware of the rules of debate on FR, but “mind-reading” is not acceptable. I haven’t cited a word of Scofield, I’ve only appealed to the Scriptures to support my opinion, so I can only assume you are pulling this Scofield accusation out of thin air. If you want to debate Scofield with someone, start a thread for that and find some Scofield supporter to debate.

You still haven't answered my question.

How are your children doing?

The statistics indicate that American evangelicals, a demographic group that mostly agrees with your eschatology, are losing their children in record numbers. The exceptions? Amish families keep more than 90% of their children. Serious Reformed families, which stress the development of the Christian mind, and are often post-mil, also keep more than 90% of their kids. The generic evangelicals, however, see the vast majority of their children abandon ship soon after leaving home.

I suspect there's some cause-and-effect in play here. People who have written off the future also take child-rearing less seriously.