Michael Brown and Craig Keener: Not Afraid of the Antichrist

Michael Brown and Craig Keener: Not Afraid of the Antichrist

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Michael L. Brown and Craig S. Keener, Not Afraid of the Antichrist: Why We Don’t Believe in a Pre-Tribulation Rapture (Chosen, 2019), 238 pages, ISBN 9780800799168.

Eschatology—the study of the end times—seems to be a perennial topic of interest among Christian readers (and Christian publishers who seek to supply what the reading public wants). Sadly, many books that get published and rise to popularity seem to fall into one of two categories: authors who believe they have uncovered some great new insight into how biblical prophecy relates to today’s headlines (often relying on the most tenuous of speculation to link things together), and authors who know eschatology sells and jump on the bandwagon to get their slice of the revenue pie.

Biblical scholars Michael L. Brown (Old Testament) and Craig S. Keener (New Testament) break that mold. In Not Afraid of the Antichrist, the authors build their case against the dispensational, pre-Tribulation view of Christ’s second coming through careful exegesis of the relevant biblical texts, making a strong argument that Christ’s promised return will occur in one appearing that will take place after a period of great tribulation.

Brown and Keener make it clear in the book’s preface they understand the dilemma many readers will face when approaching this work: “What if the map of the end times I was taught for years earlier in my life gets challenged? What if I’ve been wrong all this time?” Such fears frequently hinder people from being willing to read views that may contradict what they have always believed (sometimes because they were taught that a certain system was “what the Bible clearly teaches,” and they see no point in reading something that “contradicts the Bible”). The authors write, “Holding the ‘right view’ does not put us in a position spiritually superior to those who differ, nor does it give us a license to put them down.” This irenic tone continues throughout the book, as the authors do not try to score “gotcha points,” but simply invite readers to examine the Scriptures on their own terms, without forcing things into a preconceived schema of how the end times will play out.

The authors observe how the prosperous West has bought into the idea that because God loves His children, He would never allow them to go through extreme tribulation, despite the fact that Jesus promised His disciples things would not be easy for them. Concerning whether believers will be taken out of the world before the terrible events described in the book of Revelation, “the issues should be whether the Bible actually teaches that we will escape it, and if not, how we should live. Such readiness is important for any kind of suffering we may face” (p. 24).

Not Afraid of the Antichrist is divided into three parts after the preface and introduction: (1) a survey of reasons many people doubt or question the popular “Left Behind” model of the end times; (2) an analysis of what the Scriptures actually say about the last things and Christ’s second coming; and (3) what the implications of the previous two sections suggest for how Christians should live their lives in light of these facts.

In Part One, Drs. Brown and Keener point out that the dispensational pre-Trib view unnecessarily complicates Bible prophecy, arguing that the simplest solution is usually more likely true. They demonstrate how various biblical passages that talk about the resurrection, death being the last enemy defeated, the time of Christ’s appearing in relation to the Tribulation, and other end-times events, end up being forced to contradict one another (or require elaborate, roundabout arguments to eliminate contradictions) when forced into the dispensational roadmap.

Both authors were initially taught dispensational pre-Tribulational eschatology when they became Christians. In chapter two, they discuss how they came to leave behind their “Left Behind” ideas. Brown relates how he began to wonder how it came to be that, “after reading the Bible day and night for two years, also memorizing thousands of verses, I could back up everything I believed with Scripture, but when it came to the Second Coming, I had to read other books? Why did I not just get this from the Word?” (p. 45). Keener relates how, when he converted to Christianity from atheism, he started out disposed to accept the teachings of his new church, which held to a pre-Tribulation view of the Rapture. But as a new convert called into ministry and attending Bible college, he felt the need to “catch up” with the other students who had grown up in church, so he started reading forty chapters of the Bible every day. Such sustained reading of large chunks of the biblical text led him to see the verses people used to support the dispensational view in their larger contexts, which did not support the way dispensationalists made use of them. When he then discovered that the pre-Trib view was not what all Christians everywhere had always believed, but was developed as recently as 1830[1], and that nearly all of the biblical scholars he respected held to a post-Trib view (although not all in the same exact way), he decided that he should follow the evidence of Scripture over denominational traditions.

Chapter three gives an overview of church history, discussing which views of the end times developed and dominated in different periods (often in relation to the Church’s social situation in relation to the rest of society). Chapter four discusses some of the major issues with the broader dispensational framework, such as arbitrary starting and ending points for the various dispensations that are not clearly marked in Scripture, the relationship of Israel and the Church as the people of God, and serious interpretive gaps introduced by the dispensational schema.

After discussing the issues that cause believers to question the dispensational framework, the second part of the book then dives into what the Bible itself teaches. In chapter five, Dr. Brown looks at the question of whether the Old Testament teaches a pre-Tribulation Rapture. He points out how time and again in the Hebrew Scriptures, even when God was pouring out His wrath on the wicked (whether pagan kingdoms or disobedient Israelites), the faithful, righteous remnant was preserved, and proposes that this could well be the pattern that will be repeated at the end of the age.

Chapter six addresses the question of whether there are one or two phases to Christ’s second coming, concluding that “there is only one second coming” (the title of the chapter). Exegetical work is done with reference to the Greek words for “coming,” “appearing,” and “revelation,” comparing the various passages where these words are employed, yet at a level of discussion that is accessible to readers who have not studied New Testament Greek. Chapter seven evaluates several arguments put forth by those who support a pre-Tribulation view, such as “We will not go through God’s wrath,” “Jesus can come at any moment,” and “Believers will be kept from the hour of testing,” among others. The authors demonstrate how some of these arguments are simply not sustainable from the text, and how others are not the “slam dunk” their proponents think them to be (by showing how the key passages in question can just as easily support a post-Tribulation view).

Chapter eight then presents several passages that the authors believe clearly argue for a post-Tribulation view of the single second coming of Christ. A helpful chart on pp. 151-152 shows how Jesus’ statements in the gospels align with Paul’s declarations in 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Dr. Keener concludes the chapter with an admonition to readers to be wiling to examine any system, eschatological or otherwise, from an outside viewpoint, so as to avoid the confirmation bias that comes from only looking at one’s theological framework from within.

“Tribulation is the normal experience of believers in this age. … We should always be ready to suffer for Christ and always be ready for Christ’s return.”

The third and final part of the book deals with the practical implications of the preceding analysis for Christian living. Chapter nine discusses the Tribulation as “an intensification of the satanic design that has corrupted the whole course of this age” (p. 161), rather than being something of another type entirely from what God’s people have always faced. The authors argue that Christians are better off if they prepare to face great trials and testings, rather than assuming they will be exempt from them. “In other words, tribulation is the normal experience of believers in this age. Not experiencing affliction is a blessed exception that we should enjoy when we have it, but we should not count on it as if it were our right in Christ. We should always be ready to suffer for Christ and always be ready for Christ’s return” (p. 166). Believers are to hold fast in allegiance to Christ and His ways, even in the midst of trials, lest at His coming they be found to be allied with the ways of the corrupt world systems.

Chapter ten discusses further how believers should live in light of a post-Tribulation view. Instead of speculating about the identity of the antichrist and looking for signs of his arrival, Christians should focus on living faithfully for Christ and anxiously await His appearing—not to whisk them off to heaven, but to judge the nations and reward His faithful followers. Christians should continue building for the Kingdom that is coming, including showing God’s love through the alleviation of human suffering, and not simply abandon this world to its present state because “Jesus is coming soon and the physical isn’t important.”

Chapter eleven, “A Practical Message,” points out that the passages in the Bible dealing with Jesus’ return are “less about relief from tribulation in this world than about being ready to stand before the Lord” (p. 201). The authors point out that our evangelism efforts must be more than offers of “fire insurance”—they should point out that there is a cost to discipleship, a cross to bear. Chapter twelve closes out the book, pointing out that the life Christ offers is worth any temporary pain or persecution we may face; that trials actually help to strengthen the church; that suffering can draw us closer to God because we can no longer rely on our own resources; and that, at the end of it all, God will restore paradise.

While this book may not convince everyone who holds to a dispensational, pre-Tribulational premillennialist view of eschatology, it should at least help people see that a post-Tribulation view has solid biblical support, and is not the “doom-and-gloom” scenario some pre-Tribulation supporters make it out to be. The biblical scholarship of the authors is top-notch, but presented in such a way as to be accessible to the average Christian reader with an interest in the end times.

Reviewed by Brain Roden

 

For further discussion by the book’s authors on this topic, check out the following video interviews:

Drs. Brown and Keener interviewed about this book in particular: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ntFde3GQCBw

Dr. Brown explaining post-tribulation  end times theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pw-kH0CG-xM

Dr. Keener discussing disproving the pre-tribulation rapture theory: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yzHZEyjihXk

 

Publisher’s page: http://bakerpublishinggroup.com/books/not-afraid-of-the-antichrist/390720

 

Preview Not Afraid of the Antichrist: https://www.google.com/books/edition/Not_Afraid_of_the_Antichrist/I6FkDwAAQBAJ

 

Notes

[1] Editor’s note: Proponents of Dispensationalism and pre-Tribulation Rapture dispute this late date as the emergence of this doctrine.

50 Comments

  • Reply January 20, 2023

    Anonymous

    this is a good eschatological one to start the mornign with Dale M. Coulter Tony Richie John Mushenhouse

    after wondering what Keener’s got to do with Brown for starters
    we cannot pass the arrogance of the TITLE You dont need to be afraid to die during the tribulation

    1 out of 2 will die during the tribulation when you calclulare what Revelation says – so either keener or brown – as the 2 witnesses will be gone but not resurrected in 3 days Philip Williams

    so it seems apart from messenger of 3rd Pentecost we now have the 2 big cheese witnesses 🙂 Jerome Herrick Weymouth

    WHAT else does this book tell us? J.D. King certianly does not tell us HOW and WHY it ommits the use of the word antiChrist with def. article by John meaning it to be a person. The BOOK further recognizes the antiChrist as a person to be feared? Who fears things that are only spirits? – certainly ppl in church nowadays dont fear antyhign spiritual and Godly. Philip Williams dont even recognize the Spirit as a person Kyle Williams SO fear or not 1 out of 2 will die during Trib. and this is NO good news for anyone Michael Chauncey Neil Steven Lawrence Brett Dobbs

    NOW how about that Ilya Okhotnikov https://www.pentecostalnews.com/2023/01/19/kremlin-us-russia-on-the-brink-of-a-direct-clash-in-ukraine/

    • Reply January 20, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day quit using the news paper to read your Bible. People should not take pre millennial dispensationalism seriously. It’s a cartoon version of biblical eschatology. Childish and fundamentally heretical

    • Reply January 20, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams what news paper? I was making a reference to Keener and Brown’s book – have you NOT read it yet?

    • Reply January 20, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day then whats the link about Russia for?

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day Should The FSB eliminate Putin to restore the respectability of Russia?

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Jeffrey Snyder if you ask Ilya Okhotnikov who served spetzNaz service to the SmertchONtrain rockets he may agree Putin has been eliminated according to his first wife AND this is a double, hence the strange action with his arm when walking ; it is also well known original skinny Putin liked chubbier women not gymnasts so there is plenty there

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams RUSSIA has been called empire of evil AND many USSR Christians saw the antichrist in STALIN which points to a certain person NOT just a spirit

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day the Anti Christ is long gone… if you believe Stalin is the Anti Christ, you’re deluded

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams many Russian Christians did believe STALIN was the antiChrist of which Ilya Okhotnikov can attest as well ARE YOU saying they were deluted but you are not AND that they persevired tribullations NOT seen before that you have not ?

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day futurist eschatology is inherently deluded.

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams but they are NOT futurists as you claim They were very much present-alists claiming the witnessed the antiChrist you really need to read what you write first

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day well they should look into preterism

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams well they all died for their faith under Stalin so yes you can teach them more about their faith

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day Martyrdom doesn’t = perfection of understanding but perfection of faith and nature

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams doubt you can add anything to their martyr faith with your dubuios teachin – reallu doubt it BUT once again you are sidetracked AND not talking about The antiChrist revealed in the BIBLE and to the church as a person

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day I believe the Anti Christ was a person. That person died in the First Century of the Church

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams of you have 0 Biblical proof because you have to explain to Ricky Grimsley who the RESTRAINER was in the First Century of the Church – that RESTRAINER had to be taken So who was the RESTRAINER in your belief ?

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day I don’t have to explain anything to anyone.

      My proof is this. Jesus said to the Disciples that those things were to come on that generation, not a generation 2000 years removed.

      Welcome to the millennium, Troy.

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams oh yes you do BECAUSE if the restrainer was NOT taken you cannot reveal the antiChrist

      so NO – we dont live in the Millenium now like your hyper calvinist forums claim You are in PLAIN HERESY brother You are denying Christ in FLESH – There cannot be a Millenium withot Christ physically present resurrected in the flesh

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day where does the scripture state that Christ must be present in the flesh? It just states that He must be reining on the Throne of David….

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams oh dear GOD brother-get some basic TH101

      1 John 4:3 “And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard .

      them hyper calvinist forums had really delluted your faith

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day Jesus Has come in the flesh, that was the Incarnation. Definitely not denying that. So now, produce the text that says He must be physically present on planet earth during the 1,000 years…

      You can’t do it.

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams I just did but you need to study the BIBLE more – the text you twisted to say HAS come does not mean HAD come as you said it does. It actually says

      is come in the flesh

      rendering present continious – look it up

      There is NOT a single proof or BIBLE verse we live in the Millenium right now Even the authors from the OP do not dare claim that and I dont think you know half of what they do THAT you can have a KINGDOM without Christ present is exactly whatS wrong with the Church today. NOW if you feel you know enough about the Millenium I will be MORE than happy to start a separate OP and tare down your hyper calvinist forum “facts” THIS one however is about the antiChrist who is also yet to come – you have not answered WHO the restrainer is in your fake frontology and PLS do not repeat hyper-calv.forums that the restariner is the antiChrist who is restraining himself 🙂 please spare me

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day pure eisegesis. Yes Jesus still exists in the flesh, He is a man, He has received His resurrection body, which isba physical body. 1 John 4 :3 is in reference to the incarnation and your are contra all of Church History in making application to the millennial reign with that text

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams 1 John 4 in no way refers to the incarnation ALONE

      You admit incarnation is physical
      You admit resurrection is physical
      Why would you deny his return being physical 🙂

      How heretical is that JUST for starters
      You are inviting me to post an OP per 1 Jn 4 in Greek where the present continues tense does NOT allow you to claim just incarnation but consistent physical presence – you are denying Christ from your faith brother? This is NO covenant theology this is plain hyper calvinism heresy Why would you do that ? and Why wouldnt you show the restrainer in the 1st century ? OR at least show where lion and lamb are together in your freak fake millenial …

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day the Reformed confessions repudiate Chilasm as heresy. I’m being consistent with a covenantal understanding of scripture, first and foremost. I’m nor talking about His physical return to gather the Saints to Himself and judge the quick and dead. I’m denying that comes after His second coming.

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams sorry you are not talking reformed covenant theology here – you are deep into hyper calvinism forums where Scripture is plainly denied Rev 20 comes to mind 1 jn 4 seems to have been deluted The restrainer etc…

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day I don’t deny Revelation 20. Or 1 John 4. You’re not doing theology here. Simply stating your opinion

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Kyle Williams you seem to be deep in the hyper calvinist heresies brother and still not stating who is the restariner

  • Reply January 20, 2023

    Anonymous

  • Reply January 20, 2023

    Anonymous

    • Reply January 20, 2023

      Anonymous

      this is just plain amazing Philip Williams you feel like father Noah and he feels like father Moses with the vail ON – cant wait for Jeffrey Snyder to declare being father Abraham Kyle

    • Reply January 20, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day father Abraham had many sons, and many sons had father Abraham…oh sorry. The post reminded me of a song😊. Well gotta go Elroy, they are rolling me out to breakfast. We are having oatmeal. Hard to type without my teeth…thoughts from “Tales of the home” 🤣🤣

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      Jeffrey Snyder but Philip Williams found NOAH ?

    • Reply January 22, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day Noah (Philip Williams) found grace in the eyes of the Lord😊. That’s pretty good positioning 😎

    • Reply January 22, 2023

      Anonymous

      Jeffrey Snyder Noah Philip also has a story AFTER the flood

    • Reply January 22, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day He does? What story is that?🤔

    • Reply January 22, 2023

      Anonymous

      Jeffrey Snyder oh letS just say it is NOT for public radio

    • Reply January 22, 2023

      Anonymous

      Troy Day okey-dokey then 😃

  • Reply January 20, 2023

    Anonymous

    HOW do you mean William Lance Huget James Pinkerton

  • Reply January 21, 2023

    Anonymous

    What is the Antichrist and is it in the Bible? Most of us have heard of a figure called “The Antichrist.” It sounds like the name of the ultimate evil nemesis we’d find opposing all .

    The New Testament letters known as 1, 2, and 3 John rank among the shortest and most obscure of all the books in the Bible. Their conviction that the end of the world was near and that Christians must fend off the feared Antichrist soon earned them an authoritative place in Christian thought. The author was alert to the anxieties aroused by the expectation that Christ would return at any moment to pronounce this final judgment. It was imperative that someone define Christian faith clearly so that believers might be careful not to stray accidentally into heresy and thereby cost themselves eternal salvation. In particular, these letters condemn the beliefs and spirituality espoused by a relatively affluent group of Christians who were accused of being false prophets empowered by “the spirit of the antichrist.” The symbol of Antichrist emerged as central to this apocalyptic tradition and how it was elaborated upon from the earliest days of Christianity through the Middle Ages.

    The Apostolic Church believed that Antichrist was to be a “person,” the embodiment of human blasphemy and wickedness, but toward the close of the Twelfth Century many began to look upon the Pope as Antichrist, and this view has been largely advocated by Protestant commentators. The arguments in favor of this view are ingenious and plausible, but they are hard to reconcile with the Word of God. This view makes Antichrist a “System” rather than a Person, and would see in the “Papal System” the Antichrist. But this is disproved by the Word of God.

    All Protestant commentators insist that the “Papal System” is described in Rev. 17:4,5, under the figure of a “Woman” arrayed in “purple and scarlet color,” and decked with “gold and precious stones and pearls.” This is undoubtedly true, but this “Woman,” the “Mother of Harlots,” is represented as riding upon a “Beast,” universally admitted to be the Antichrist. If the “Beast” is the Antichrist, the “Woman” cannot be, and that they are separate and do not signify the same thing is clear.

    THE EARLIEST ANTICHRIST TRADITIONS Those writings from before ca 70 CE, in which the Endtyrant tradition seemsto be emerging into forms that show some similarities to the fully developedAntichrist myth, were considered at §11. In the following chapter the related,but probably divergent, traditions of the Beliar and Nero myths were noted ina number of Jewish and Christian texts ca 70-150 CE. With the aid of thoseinsights into the Jewish and Christian apocalyptic traditions of the period, it isnow possible to examine the texts in which the earliest definite evidence forthe Antichrist myth seems to be found: Didache, Testament of Hezekiah, theJohannine epistles, the Apocalypse of Peter, Polycarp’s epistle to thePhilippians, and the Dialogue of Justin Martyr. These will be examined in turn,and it will be seen how they represent the earliest Antichrist traditionsavailable to the modern readers

    In his impressive analysis of Antichristic rhetoric throughout the history of Christianity, Bernard McGinn, in his Antichrist: Two Thousand Years of the Human Fascination with Evil (New York: HarperCollins, 1 994 ), outlines the many ways Antichristic rhetoric has functioned to mark insiders and outsiders to one’s religious group and its
    cause. For an analysis of prophecy speculation in America, see Paul Boyer’s When Time
    Shall be No More: Prophecy Belief in Modern American Culture (Cambridge, MA:
    Belknap/Harvard University Press, 1 992).

    Something has happened, which has not happened
    before, and which means that the sovereign power of
    God has come into effective operation. It is not a matter
    of having God for your King in the sense that you obey
    His commandments: it is a matter of being confronted
    with the power of God at work in the world. In other
    words, the ‘eschatological’ kingdom of God is proclaimed as a present fact, ‘Realized eschatology’ then points to the idea that eschatology
    is not dependent on familiar concepts of time, but bears witness to
    God’s activity by irrevocably replacing the old with the new

    Note the powerful organizing potential of the ‘Left Behind’ series by Tim LaHaye
    and Jerry Jenkins, especially books 3 and 9: Nicolae: The Rise of Antichrist, and Desecration: Antichrist Takes the Throne (Carol Stream, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1998 and
    2002), where the evil protagonist embodies many of the attributes deserving of disdain.
    See analyses of these and other books on the subject by Amy Johnson Frykholm, Rapture
    Culture: Left Behind in Evangelical America (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004),
    and Barbara Rossing, The Rapture Exposed: The Message of Hope in the Book of Revelation (Boulder, CO: Westview Press, 2004)

    https://www.pentecostaltheology.com/the-already-but-not-yet-rapture-parousia-explained-with-the-greek-nt/

    • Reply January 21, 2023

      Anonymous

      this to Brett Dobbs NOT that Link Hudson or Kyle Williams will know what this is telling them straight from the BIBLE

  • Reply January 21, 2023

    Anonymous

    Somebody talk to me about the RESTEAINER in Greek 🙂 Ricky Grimsley Kyle Williams J.D. King

    καὶ νῦν τὸ κατέχον οἴδατε, εἰς τὸ ἀποκαλυφθῆναι αὐτὸν ἐν τῷ ἑαυτοῦ καιρῷ. τὸ γὰρ μυστήριον ἤδη ἐνεργεῖται τῆς ἀνομίας, μόνον ὁ κατέχων ἄρτι ἕως ἐκ μέσου γένηται.

    1[τὸ γὰρ μυστήριον] 3[ἤδη ἐνεργεῖται] 2[τῆς ἀνομίας—μόνον ὁ κατέχων—] 4[ἄρτι] 5[ἕως ἐκ μέσου γένηται].

    καὶ [even] νῦν [now] τὸ κατέχον [the neuter restrainer ] οἴδατε [you know] εἰς τὸ [that] ἀποκαλυφθῆναι [to be revealed] αὐτὸν [he] ἐν [in] τῷ [the] ἑαυτοῦ [his own] καιρῷ [time] τὸ [the] γὰρ [for] μυστήριον [mystery] ἤδη [already] ἐνεργεῖται [is working] τῆς ἀνομίας [of iniquity ] μόνον [except] ὁ κατέχων [the masculine restrainer] ἄρτι [now] ἕως [until] ἐκ μέσου [from the midst] γένηται [he becomes]

    “Even now you know (recognize) the restraining effort, that he should be revealed in his own season. For the mystery of iniquity—except the restrainer—is already working now until he becomes (arises) from the midst.”

  • Reply January 22, 2023

    Anonymous

    BACK to your denial of physical Christ during His Kingdom and a literal Rev20 millnium I give you VERY Calvinist Charles Spurgeon,
    “Justification and Glory,” in The Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit 11:249

    We know that Christ was really, personally, and physically here on
    earth. But it is not quite so clear to some persons that he is to come,
    really, personally, and literally the second time. . . . Now, we believe
    that the Christ who shall sit on the throne of his father David, and
    whose feet shall stand upon Mount Olivet, is as much a personal Christ
    as the Christ who came to Bethlehem and wept in the manger…

  • Reply January 22, 2023

    Anonymous

    A clear depiction of an earthly reign of Christ without
    his physical presence is nowhere found in Scripture!

  • Reply January 22, 2023

    Anonymous

    “Many of the issues of eschatology are obscure and difficult to deal with. Moreover, in situations where a rather minor point of eschatology has been made a test of orthodoxy, younger pastors tend to avoid the subject entirely, hoping thus to avert suspicion. And in settings where discussing eschatology has become an intramural sport, some pastors, hoping to avoid divisiveness, make little or no mention of the millennium and the great tribulation. In this respect, eschatological topics are not greatly unlike glossolalia…” HUMOR in Millard Erikson’s Systematic Theology p.1153

  • Reply January 23, 2023

    Anonymous

    Michael Brown is not sound in theology; tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine.
    Biblical eschatology, derived by consistent exegesis, is Premillennial.

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