BOOK REVIEW: “A Case for Amillennialism” by Kim Riddlebarger

Heretics!  Deceived by Satan!  Heathens!  Catholic dogs! Well, I made that last one up.  A Jehovah’s Witness called me that once and I’ve been dying to use it for years.   But wow…when you do a search on amillennialism, you certainly get strong opinions!

I’ll be the first to admit that prior to reading “A Case for Amillennialism” by Kim Riddlebarger, I really didn’t know anything about the view.  It’s fairly easy to encounter people in the pre/post mill camps, and both will readily inform you that you need not look at “that amillennialist” view as it was only for liberals, heretics and weak Christians who have handed the pink slip of their souls to the Whore of Babylon.

This book will kill those arguments.

Before I continue on, I should mention ( again ) that I personally am not an Amillennialist.   My eschatological views fall somewhere within a “Pre-Wrath” framework, but I am also not a dispensationalist either.  Pre-tribulationism in my humble view, is a total fantasy. That having been said, I was simply amazed how this book completely decimated the popular notion that the amillennialist view is somehow a liberal non-literalist interpretation.  On the contrary, I found that Kim Riddlebarger was able to share his views in a very Biblical manner and is probably the most articulate writer regarding end-times study that I perhaps have ever read.

The idea that we are currently living in the “millennium” as described in Revelation 20 was a curious thing to hear and I was quite eager to see what the case for such a view would be.  Suffice to say, the case is one that deserves to be heard.  What I learned quickly is that this view suffers from one thing in particular…bad press.  Perhaps some of it deserved, much of it not.   Ironically, the most aggressive criticism comes from the likes of Hal Lindsay and Jack Van Impe…individuals who should be the LAST people anyone should get advise from regarding prophecy!

The author comes from the view of a former pre-millennialist, and readily admits his difficulty in switching gears.  Much of the book debates against current pre and postmillenial viewpoints which is understandable considering their popularity.   What is refreshing to read is the authors ability to refute opposing arguments without ad-hominem attacks and circular reasoning so prevalent in the current popular views.

In what felt like an added bonus, the author even had a section dealing with possible problems with the Amillennialist view.  Good luck finding THAT kind of honesty in any Tim LaHaye book!

It doesn’t matter if you subscribe to this view or not…you owe it to yourself to learn what it is about simply to make yourself more informed.  Because in all honesty, many have dismissed this view without even having a clue what it has to say for itself.

So did this book convince me?  No…and yes. Let’s just say that it certainly has given me something to think about in certain areas.  For that reason alone it was worth the cover price.  What it did convince me of is that Amillennialism deserves to be at the table of prophecy discussion.  Perhaps as much as anyone.  Certainly more than most.

5 Feathers out of 5.

H1N1 Vaccine Shortage Plays On Human Nature

Whether the shortage of H1N1 vaccine is real or artificial, the ultimate outcome is still good for the drug companies.  People begin to “panic buy”, and demand increases. Cha-ching.

The simple psychology of it all is fascinating.  The easiest way to make everyone want something its to create a shortage ( or at least take advantage of it ) and then have the audacity to tell them they must wait.  It likens me to a time when parents were climbing over each other to get a Cabbage Patch Kid at 5x retail price, only to have them readily available a short time later at a substantial discount.  For you younger viewers, think Playstation 3.

Thus we have people acting like Arnold Shwarzenegger in “Jingle All the Way” fighting for the last H1N1 flu shot as if their very lives depended on it.  Problem is, the media is telling them that very thing.

My wife had a good laugh as she saw lineups wrapped around buildings of elderly folks camping out in lawn chairs in sub-zero temperatures desperate to get their H1N1 shot.  Half of them will likely die of pneumonia!

A few weeks back me, my family and many co-workers were dropped with a nasty flu.  It is quite likely that we had H1N1 seeing as it making it’s way around these parts.  I took a couple days off work, relaxed, read a book and was able to get back in the saddle after some rest.  Another touchdown for the immune-system!

Look, if you’re 85 years old and fear a stiff wind then maybe a flu shot isn’t such a bad idea considering your shaky constitution.  But when average people who are in at the very least “acceptable” physical condition are complaining to health care authorities that they should be able to “handle this panic better”, then I must shake my head in a little disgust.

Once this flu has passed, be prepared for the next big scare.  Global warming, terrorism, nuclear Iran, a new Brittany Spears album…there are plenty of things to be afraid of.  Just don’t take on more than you can handle!

Halloween Fading Away

Like John Cougar, I too was born in a small town.  It was a place where many a kid could go door to door unescorted to obtain loot without worrying about some pervert trying to ruin the day.  It also was an opportunity to test out my running skills as I fled down main-steet like a shell-shocked Commando while dodging eggs that were being hurled from multiple dark corners.  Indeed, the best of times.

Have to admit though, our family doesn’t do Halloween anymore.

It’s not that I’m some crusader against the holiday or anything.  Personally I have no problem if someone wants to dress up as Bruce Campbell from the Evil Dead or if a co-worker wants another excuse to wear his tailored Star Trek klingon uniform.

I guess as far as my household is concerned, we’ve just sort of moved past it.

Often times I lament how Christianity as a whole has abandoned biblical festivals, yet replaced them with rather hollow traditions.   As our family moved towards a more “Levitical” holiday schedule, we just don’t seem to have the desire to add the meaningless man-made stuff.

Or perhaps it’s the “commercial holiday of the month” that makes me revolt.  It gets tiresome being told another reason to buy something I neither need nor want.

But most likely it is our “kosher”-Christian living added to the fact that we’re also unbearably annoying health hippies.  Really, I feel terrible when people invite us over as we might as well ask for a plate of Eucalyptus leaves and juice from a pomegranate to wash it all down.   The me of 15 years ago would look at my current self and think what an insufferable high-maintenance pain I’ve become!  Plus if I eat chocolate my face transforms into a horrid puss-ridden mess that would make Doctor Doom recoil in horror.

The hey-day of Halloween is long past and in all likelihood is on life support merely by department store advertising efforts.  It is also unlikely they will concede defeat anytime soon and let the holiday disappear into the trash-bin of history lest it affect sales.

I just done my part by letting it all go.

H1N1 and The Irrelevance of the Media

I can’t go ten minutes without hearing about it.  H1N1.  It’s a total pandemic alright…a pandemic of absolute irrational panic! My goodness, out of 5 Billion humans there must be…hundreds of cases.  Truly, we are doomed.

I’ll admit it right here…I work in news media.  Well, technically I’m not a journalist per se as much as I’m the “man behind the curtain” who must maintain the network of misinformation.  It’s a paycheck. But I’ve seen enough to know that investigative journalism died years ago.

In other words, I’m just as qualified as any reporter.  Odds are you are too if you can use Google.

Any rational person knows that the truth doesn’t sell.  We can’t handle the truth nor do we want to.  We want something small and tangible that we feel we might have some control over.  It becomes a coping mechanism we use to avoid coming to grips with how utterly on the brink we are as a society.  Ah man, you see…that’s what happens when I watch “V for Vendetta” back to back with Battlestar Galactica.  Get me some Weird Al…stat!

Do we really want relevant news?  For example…Iran.  La la la…  Or the genocides in Africa?  Or maybe Obama attempting to shut down portions of the news media that don’t throw roses at his undeserving feet.  Holy 1984 Batman…

Nope, we want the latest on the flu.  We want “balloon boy”.  It’s unfortunate really.  Unfortunate that we are caught in a circle where we claim to lament the demise of the media, yet have no desire to support a relevant journalistic society.  Maybe because one no longer exists.

And the media has done it to itself too.  Meaningless stories, and “reporters” who are as relevant as a gnats fart in a hurricane are constantly trying to work against an ever increasing and much deserved public skepticism.  Investigative journalism is now nothing more than using an internet search engine.

So my advise on H1N1?  Wash your blasted hands ya filthy pigs and don’t lick any door knobs. Eat right and exercise.  And if by some mathematical fluke you actually do get H1N1, try and remember a time when the flu was considered simply an INCONVENIENCE, not a death sentence.  Just don’t give me any of that Spanish Flu fear tactic drivel, because I haven’t dumped my feces into an open sewer lately or tried living solely on potatoes.  Well, not since college anyway.

Obama Gets the Big Prize. Umm…Why?

Surprise! Obama gets a Nobel Prize.  I certainly hope I’m not the only person asking the eternal question…

…why?

According to the unbiased and professional media, Obama was awarded for his “extraordinary efforts to strengthen int’l diplomacy and cooperation between peoples;” and vision of a nuke-free world.  Well if that isn’t a bunch of baloney, then why am I holding two pieces of bread?

After breaking into Santa’s secret lair and immobilizing him with a rhino tranquilizer ( the guy just wouldn’t go down no matter how hard I hit him with a tire iron ), I checked out the list of good deeds for Obama, and thus far I have nuffin’ really positive to work with.

1) The US economy still stinks. In fact it is worse off because America essentially printed more money and got further in debt.  Sorry folks, but the payback is going to be a killer when it comes around to pay that bill.

2) The US is still at war. Iraq and Afghanistan haven’t changed much as we’re still spending billions on high-tech munitions to fight a guy with a IED strapped to the back of a camel.  That and the disturbing fact that these people seem to WANT to live in chaos, and have no interest in helping themselves.

3) Iran is still building “da-bomb”. If I was an Israeli I’d be pulling my hair out right now with all the inaction taking place.  Iran is going thermo-freaking-nuclear and Obama would rather pitch for the Chicago Olympics?  Even today Iran threatened to “blow the heart out of Israel”.  Help me out here…somebody.

4) Middle Eastern talks amounted to less than if I got on a plane to Israel and had lunch at Denny’s with PM Netanyahu and whatever scumbag runs Hamas these days.  Actually, if it was me doing the peace talks we’d be settling the issue like Stephen Seagal in a bar beating on Abbas with a set of pool cues.   Trust me folks, that kind of stuff is good old school diplomacy.

I can’t shake the notion that if George Bush was still in power, we’d be in the exact same place we are now.  Crummy economy, questionable wars and the usual Middle Eastern fare.  Yet Obama gets a Nobel Prize?

I have my own theory on why.  It’s because he’s not George Bush. Because the entire world thinks Dubbya is a weiner, they’re just so elated to give the next man in charge some sort of token of their undying respect.  Because aside from that, President Obama really doesn’t deserve this kind of recognition in the least.

My advise for the Nobel Prize committee…get some general criteria in place besides highly proficient skills with a teleprompter.  Because right now the credibility of the Nobel Prize is about on par with that online ordination I got a few years back.

Letterman Confesses

I’m not really a huge fan of Letterman.  But neither am I antagonistic towards the man.  I guess I see him in much the same way I see a…I dunno, a tire on the side of the road.  I think my apathy towards Dave happened around the time I had kids, and late-night television became a thing of the past lest I join the ranks of the walking dead next workday.

But Dave has gotten himself into another mess, although it seems to be from antics done some time ago with certain female staff members.  And by antics, I mean chic-a-bow-bow.

Now while I’m neither going to take the “Dave is a godless hell-bound sinner destined to rot eternally” approach nor the “Dave’s just a good guy at heart and God is just so full of ooey-gooey grace”, I still feel some moral stance is warranted.

One, Dave eventually did the right thing.  He came clean.  Granted, he had little choice given the extortion plot by CBS Producer Robert Halderman.  But at least he disclosed all and took an offensive posture instead of being bombarded by reporters much like the aftermath of another “family-man” parasite pinstriped politician who denies banging his 17 year old intern.

And finally, nobody really held Mr. Letterman in high moral regard anyway.  Let’s be honest, 99% of the Hollywood elite are amoral, self absorbed attention whores at best.  The fact that Dave admitted to wrongdoing puts him on moral high ground compared to most of his “who me?” guests.  People love to see a hero fall, but this was probably a lateral move at worst in the eyes of the public.

To quote the Bible, “your sin will find you out” applies here well.  It really does. For me it takes a physical avatar in the form of my wife.  She’d find me out for sure, so I might as well fess up to any wrongdoings.  Like the time I said I would check the basement rooms before bedtime and I didn’t…busted.  Or the time I said there was no more cereal, but what I really meant was there was only enough left for me. Sorry.

Many are slapping Dave on the back and giving him the “you’re only human” speech and I can only half agree with that.  While stoning him in the public square would be improper ( yet totally entertaining in a medieval sense ), I also cannot say it should be brushed off and relegated to “the past”. That’s not good advise.

I’m sure Dave is dealing with this with his family, and people need to understand that this is indeed a situation that requires drastic action.  Jokes are good for the camera, but make no mistake, there are hard days ahead in the private life of David Letterman.

At least the world seems prepared to forgive Dave.  But healing the wounds of mistrust between him and his family will take time and cannot be repaired by celebrity status.  But if the man can fall down, get back up again AND learn something, well…maybe it’ll all work out in the end.

REVIEW: “The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church” by Marvin Rosenthal

After digging into the history of this book, I found that I am obviously very naive about how much of a golden calf pre-tribulationism is to some people.  I mean, I have no problem with someone BEING pre-trib…or post or a-mill for that matter.  It’s really no big deal.  But man, some organizations are downright MILITANT about it.

Enter Marvin Rosenthal.  Martin used to be an director/editor for Friends of Israel, an organization that publishes “Israel My Glory” magazine ( which I HIGHLY recommend ). A one-time pre-tribulationist, he had to resign his position with FOI after being unable to agree to the pre-trib rapture doctrine.  That alone surprised me, as I really didn’t think it would be all that big a deal.  Guess it is.

Rosenthal does what few books on eschatology do: Form a sound argument.  This is something that LaHaye, Van Impe, Lindsay, etc. never do.  I’ll give Marvin credit, the lad did his homework and obviously knows the Bible extremely well.  So much so that his views are attacked quite viciously by the die-hard pre-trib camp.  I guess they know a credible threat when they see one.

Although there is an abundance of material, there are places where the book rambles on with seemingly unrelated subject matter.  For the first couple of chapters the reader may find themselves tapping their fingers and thinking, “lets get on with it already!”.  However, patience will pay off.

Much effort is put into making the reader understand that the pre-trib concepts of “tribulation”, “great Tribulation”, and “Day of the Lord” have been re-defined by many modern eschatologists to fit a view that the timeline of scripture does not allow.   One such example, Joel prophecies that the cosmos will go all gangbusters BEFORE the “Day of the Lord”, yet Pre-trib theology adamantly and without justification states that the rapture happens before the cosmic signs.  Jesus also told us to watch for these same events, which would be pointless advise if we’re gone.

The key point of the Prewrath view is that the rapture comes sometime after the sixth seal is opened (Rev 6:12).  The tribulation of God’s people will then be cut short (Matthew 24, Mark 13) with the second coming of Christ and the rapture, and those who are left behind on Earth will experience a new definition of “suck” with the trumpets and bowls of God’s wrath (Rev 16:1).  This also means that the return of Christ happens once…not twice as pre-tribulationists mistake.

So…everybody confused? SEE A TIMELINE courtesy of Wikipedia.

The book goes on to show Daniel timelines and a whole lot more goodies to numerous to bring up here.  It should be noted that while I absolutely love this book, I also do not fully agree with ALL of its conclusions.  I’m personally a bit hazy on what the true rapture WILL EVEN BE, as the whole modern idea of empty laundry seems a bit out of the blue and out of sync with the theme of scripture in general.

If I can grind one axe with this book it is this…the omission of any view on the two reapings in Revelation 14:14.  With the complete absence of any commentary on this, I’m starting to wonder if I have a shelf full of misprinted Bibles!

I should also emphasize that this subject is not a hill to die on for any of us.  I mean really…who can be 100% sure given the amount of differing opinions on the future prophetic timeline?  Truth is, we can’t.  So while it is fine to have a strong opinion, we must remain cool and not dogmatic about it.   But for now I feel it is safe to say that in my own mind at least, I can remove pre-tribulationism from the police lineup.

Despite some minor flaws, this book manages to squeak by with 4 feathers out of 5 mainly because of the groundbreaking work that was put into it.

King James Only?

I don’t often get a lot of King James propaganda pointed in my direction.  My church is a combination of traditional and contemporary that sees the benefit of multiple translations.  In short, nobody really cares what version the other person uses.

But every now and then one comes along…

Yes, you know what I’m talking about…the King James ONLY person.

I’m a guy that runs like a flowchart.  Because of this I am also an intensely boring individual.  So much so that you would probably rather shave your tongue than spend five minutes talking to me about anything emotional.  I swear I can be worse than Spock sometimes.

The King James only folk are the antithesis of all that.  Logic be damned…THIS is the AUTHORIZED Word of God!!

Yet I must ask…“Authorized by who?  Moses?  Paul?  JESUS?” You wish.

Nope, it’s none other than King James.  So what makes this guy so freaking special?  How is that different from a “Queen Elizabeth” or  “Prince Charles Bible”?  Or better yet…Zondervan, Tyndale Publishers, etc?

And what about the first Japanese version?  Or Dutch?  Do they need royal accent from a dictatorial monarch in order to be Authorized?  You see how the logic is falling apart here pretty quick.

I find it highly improbable that the translators finished the KJV only to suddenly proclaim “Hear unto us…this is the Bible in English, and lo unto thee, there shall never be another made…EVER!”.  Even the Scottish would have laughed at them.  If that were true, then why is it that almost NOBODY uses the 1611 version?  Like it or not, the KJV commonly used is a revision of the original.

The amazing irony is that the intended mission was to translate the Bible into the language of the ENGLISH SPEAKING people.  For a time the KJV performed this task with unparalleled mastery.   What is a sad outcome is that many are forcing those who cannot understand it to spend time learning a dead dialect…effectively doing what the nasty Catholics did by hoarding the Bible in a Latin translation.

If I want to communicate the Bible, I generally use translations that flow well with modern english.  Right now I’m enjoying the ESV, but have gained much while using the NIV, NASB, Good News, New Living, etc, etc.  Funny thing about English…it’s not a one size fits all language!

Now, I’m not dumping on the KJV. I’m dumping on the King James ONLY people.  The KJV has served a mighty purpose in history.  I use it from time to time myself, and am a big fan of the NKJV.  It has a wonderful prose to it that is nice to read from time to time.  But it is also obvious that the English language ( and scholarship ) has come a long…long way since the 1600’s.  I would ask the KJO-types to try and think in terms of postmodern evangelism, and less in terms of the stereotypical Baptist “suit and tie” outreach.

Bottom line, if you want to read the truly inspired Word of God, learn Hebrew, Aramaic and Greek.  But to argue that you must learn late 1600’s ENGLISH because it alone is inspired is the very definition of preposterous.

(1)  * Hebrew translation: “I don’t speak english”

Netanyahu Rips UN a New One

In plain english…so the vast majority of the UN could understand him plainly…Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu ripped the General Assembly a new orifice today, calling to task the nations of the world on the international body’s responsibility and criticizing them for being a bunch of spineless, flaccid dorks.

The PM then went on to criticize the recently published UN-commissioned report claiming both Israel and Hamas committed war crimes during Operation Cast Lead in the Gaza Strip in January.

“Not one UN resolution was passed condemning Hamas rocket attacks on Israel,” Netanyahu said, “We heard nothing, absolutely nothing from the UN Human Rights Council.”

“Israel tried to minimize civilian casualties…We dropped countless flyers over Gazans’ homes, sent text messages to Palestinian residents, made cellular phone calls urging them to vacate, to leave,” the prime minister said, stating that “never has a country gone to such length to remove the enemy’s civilian population away from harm’s way.”

As well, the PM gave his best “are you a bunch-o-moron’s?” speech by showing actual documentation proving the holocaust in response to Iranian Grand-Denier Ahmadinejad.  Waving a copy of the “Final Solution” that was drafted in Wannsee and construction plans for the Auschwitz-Birkenau concentration camp, the Palestinian delegate turned tail and left…no doubt to consult with his Iranian and Syrian overlords who will instruct him to run headlong into a concrete wall until all memory of what he saw is gone.

Netanyahu concluded his speech with a quote from the book of Joshua: “Let us be strong and of good courage let us confront the peril… let us forge an enduring peace for generations to come.”

It would seem that before the road to peace can happen, we must first struggle to remove the roadblocks.

The full story can be picked up on the Jerusalem Post website

Rapture Mindset Getting Out of Hand

When I packed up my bags as a young man and went to Bible college, I was ready to begin studying my newfound faith.   But as a young Padawan, the Jedi council informed me very early on that Pre-Tribulationism was just the best scenario out there.  I was totally cool with that as I had no reason not to be.  Beam me up? Why not…where do I sign?

But as I grew in my studies, the supposed scriptural support for pre-trib theology wasn’t materializing.

To compensate for this lack of proof, Pre-tribulationism has resorted to an all-out Christian advertisement campaign that is getting, in my opinion, totally out of hand.  Video’s “left behind” for your family explaining the sudden appearance of empty laundry and my personal favorite…pet services to pick up little fluffy after the rapture event.  Yeah, like anyone is going to honestly care about your stupid cat or dog AFTER you’re gone!

After much study in the area of eschatology, I am convinced that the scriptural support for pre-tribulationism is at best, creative interpretation.

Here’s a logical way of looking at it.  Jesus told us to look at the signs in the sun, moon and stars.  Revelation shows these as the six seals.  Yet we’re supposed to be gone by then.  Yet we’re supposed to look for them.  That only works if we’re still here.

Most pre-tribber’s will admit Christ describes the “rapture-event” in Matthew 24:31.  Revelation 14:15-16 places this event almost verbatim significantly into the pre-tribulation timeframe.

Then we have the destination problem.  Pre-Tribulationism states we will meet the Lord in the air and reside forever in heaven.  Problem is, he’s not on his way to heaven…he’s on his way to Jerusalem.  And it would seem we are too.  That is of course, unless we just plan on waving at each other as we pass by.

These are only the tip of the iceberg for arguments against this popular theory.  So why the rabid adherence to this escapist theology?

Probably 90% of the reason is that we give 90% of our eschatological Bible study thinking over to big names like Tim LaHaye and the like.  Now let’s be clear…these are good men and this is not a salvation issue.  They have good things to say and I do not question their hearts or motives.

Well, unless you’re Jack Van Impe, in which case you’re a garden variety false prophet….but I digress.

We need to step back and realize that although Pre-Trib may be the most popular view…it is also the most unlikely to happen based on the scriptural evidence.   It’s a snowball effect.  And now we have most of North American Christians making rapture preparations. ie: doing nothing. This in my opinion, is leaving us totally unprepared for whatever comes down the road.

Now I’m not endorsing stocking up on beans and ammo.  Not unless you like shooting guns all the time while having explosive flatulence.  In that case load up.  But neither do I advocate doing nothing but playing “Left Behind-The Video Game”.

Sure, I hold a pre-wrath”ish” view, but I’m also open to the idea that I’m completely full of crap when it comes to my particular views on this subject.  I’m not going to tell you that this is CORE doctrine because it shouldn’t be.  It’s a mystery that we all are doing our best to solve to the best of our ability.  This is not salvation, and should NEVER be put on the same level.

Yet we need to open ourselves to the idea that pre-tribulationism, despite it’s Christian pop-culture popularity, is almost certainly not even close to the real deal.