Archive for the ‘Apologetics’ Category

Hell Is For Real

Thursday, March 31st, 2011
Rob Bell

Image by feyip via Flickr

The study of prophecy must include what happens to people at the end of their mortal life. Two books that are very popular right now deal with some of these questions. One of them is Heaven is for Real: A Little Boy’s Astounding Story of His Trip to Heaven and Back. It is the delightful story of Todd Burpo, a 3 year-old who apparently went to heaven briefly during an emergency appendectomy. Little by little, his family discovered that he had experienced many wonderful contacts with Bible personalities and family members whom he had never even known existed. This heartwarming message is not a Bible study. It is offered as an account of one boy’s personal experience. It does not contradict orthodox Bible doctrine.

The other book was just released two days ago, but it caused an enormous theological debate even before its release. That book is Love Wins: A Book about Heaven, Hell, and the Fate of Every Person Who Ever Lived, by emergent church pastor Rob Bell. Conservative Bible scholars are alarmed by Bell’s position that the traditional Christian teaching about hell is mean-spirited and untrue. The book tries to answer to the question that all of us have: “How could a loving God condemn people to an eternity of torment in hell?”

While thoughtful theologians agree that there may be various levels of punishment for those who rebel against God’s will, Bell apparently thinks that judgment and hell are mostly descriptions of the awful events that happen to people during their lifetime (“hell on earth”). As I read the book, I noticed that he didn’t explain the Great White Throne Judgment. How could a serious book about hell ignore this passage?

Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. The earth and the heavens fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life. The dead were judged according to what they had done as recorded in the books. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done. 14 Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. 15 Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. – Revelation 20:11-15

Taking Bell’s arguments to their extreme leads to what is known as “universalism,” the belief that people will eventually be drawn by God’s love into his blessing instead of his punishment, even if they do not receive Christ’s offer of salvation during their mortal lifetime.

The obvious problem with this view is that it is contrary to the clear teaching of Jesus and the rest of the Bible. Jesus taught more about hell than all the prophets that came before him. Yet he loves sinners more than anyone else has ever loved them, and sacrificed his life for them! His stern warnings about hell are the direct result of his love for the people he came to save.

Bell agrees that God’s love is infinite (thus the title: “Love Wins”), and that salvation is accomplished through the atonement of Jesus’ death. But he thinks that those who respond to God’s love will receive the gift of eternal life even if they don’t know about Jesus.

This issue will undoubtedly create a great debate among Bible scholars in the days to come. We will follow that debate and post more information in our blog from time to time.

From the standpoint of Bible prophecy, the acceptance of universalism will make possible a final world-religion. According to several passages of Scripture, there will be a great apostasy, or “falling away” of Bible-observing Christians (Matthew 24:12; 2 Timothy 3:1-5; 2 Timothy 4:2-4). Apostate Christianity will then be able to merge with other religions. The final evil one-world government will be supported by a united religion, symbolized by the adulterous woman who rides on the beast in Revelation 17.

For more information about Heaven, Hell, and the End-Times, see our book – Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy.

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Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, Evangelism, Missions, Religions | 3 Comments »

Our Book Is Now On Kindle

Monday, March 7th, 2011
Cover of "Kindle Wireless Reading Device,...

Cover via Amazon

We are happy to announce that our new book, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, is now available as a digital/electronic book (eBook). It is already available on Amazon.com for their Kindle reader. And it is scheduled to be released soon by other eBook suppliers like Barnes and Noble for its Nook reader and Apple iBooks for the iPad.

I have been doing most of my reading on the Kindle recently because I can literally have a whole library of books in one convenient device that also lets me pick the size of the font.

Prophecy students will still want to have the printed book because Connecting the Dots is a reference manual – a notebook of sorts that you can underline and make personal notes in the margins.

However, the Kindle version is better in some ways. You can set bookmarks to favorite places. It remembers where you stopped reading and lets you continue quickly. It is lightweight, and as mentioned before, you may choose the font size that suits you best. It allows you to do a word search through the entire book. And, if you want, you can even have the Kindle read it to you with their text to speech feature that has been enabled for this book!

A great deal of extra work went into this version to enable hundreds of hyperlinks. Each chapter and subtopic in our 12-page Table of Contents is linked. Just click on the topic and the reader takes you to the section you want to read. Amazingly, the extensive index is also linked. When you find an entry in the index, you can click on the “page” number and the reader will find the proper section in the book, even though page numbers are not used in eBooks.

Lambert Dolphin and I are blessed to be able to share our passion for Bible prophecy through our book, and it is our prayer that it can be a tool to equip a new generation of Bible students and help stimulate an End-Times revival!

More information about the book is available at Connecting the Dots.

The Kindle version can be downloaded in one minute from Amazon.com

Posted in Apologetics, Apostasy, Connecting the Dots: A Handbook of Bible Prophecy, Earthquakes, Egypt, Evangelism, Fearful Events, Gog and Magog, Islam, Israel, Mark of the Beast, Middle East War, New World Order, Peace, Persecution, Prayer, Rapture, Revival, Revived Roman Empire, Technology, Terrorism | No Comments »

The Little Church That Shouldn’t

Thursday, September 9th, 2010
Book burning
Image via Wikipedia

Will Koran-burning Pastor Miss the Perfect Opportunity?

The little church that plans to burn the Koran on 9/11 will probably miss the perfect opportunity to demonstrate the difference between Christianity and Islam. By heeding the pleas of Christian and governmental leaders not to burn Korans, this pastor and his church could demonstrate how the leaders of the “Ground-zero Mosque” project should act. In both cases, thanks to our amazing freedom of religion, these clerics have the legal right to do such things, but they don’t have the moral right. In both cases, it just isn’t the right thing to do.

Many of the founders of The United States were descendants of various Christian groups that moved to this new world to escape persecution. They were strong in their belief that America should be a place where everyone could practice his own belief system. They did not adopt this incredible concept of religious freedom because they personally thought all religions were equal. They were dedicated believers in the Bible and in the person and work of Jesus Christ. But they understood that freedom would allow all people to seek the truth, and would result in the continued growth of Christianity.

It is unfortunate that a small, independent church can give a false impression of what Christianity is to the rest of the world. Many Christians are aware of the dangers posed by radical Islamic teaching and actions, and that these errors can be traced to the Koran. But burning the Koran will cause people who know little about true Christianity to hate and possibly even harm Americans.

If the little church does miss this opportunity to do the right thing, the rest of us need to do our own demonstration - by disclaiming their actions. I believe that, if this church does burn Korans, every pastor should condemn this action from the pulpit. I surely will! And I am encouraged by the disgust that has been expressed by Christian leaders. This, by the way, is another difference between the two religions. Very few “moderate Muslims” go out of their way to cry out against terrorist attacks and insensitive actions, like building a 13-story mosque near New York’s ground zero.

In the end, if for no other reason, the little church in Florida should follow Jesus’ own example in this matter. Jesus did express anger, but it was outrage against the hypocrisy of the leaders of his own Jewish heritage. He never organized a protest against the horrific false religions of his day. Instead, he demonstrated the better way of love.

Posted in Apologetics, Islam, Terrorism | 3 Comments »

In Israel…

Saturday, May 22nd, 2010

Dead Sea Scrolls at APU

Dead Sea Scrolls at APU

I am leading a tour to Israel and the world-famous passion play in Oberammergau, Ger- many. It’s a great combination: all the major holy sites that make the Bible come to life, and a dramatic presentation of Jesus’ life in the beautiful setting of the Bavarian Alps!

I wish you all could be with us. At least you can come along on the Internet. We will post our impressions here from day to day (Starting Tuesday, May 25), and you can see pictures on Facebook as we go along.

What a time to be in Israel! There is constant news about the danger of war between Israel and her neighbors. If these aren’t the last days, I can’t imagine how things can get much more dramatic.

I always feel safe in Israel though. Statistically, we are much more likely to face danger in Los Angeles than in Israel. The Lord is in control of our lives isn’t He?

In the meanwhile, if you live near Azusa Pacific University in Southern California, you can treat yourself to an amazing exhibit of the history of the Bible and see their newly acquired fragments of the Dead Sea Scrolls! It is almost as good as going to the Holy Land in person!

Treasures of the Bible: The Dead Sea Scrolls and Beyond!

Tour Pictures on Facebook

Posted in Apologetics, Israel | 2 Comments »

Apologetics Central

Wednesday, February 17th, 2010

My main hobby in life turns out to also be a ministry. This hobby is the study of Bible prophecy. There are lots of us prophecy students out there. And why not? About 1/3 of the Bible is prophecy. The part that has already been fulfilled is the greatest proof of all that the Bible is truly God’s Word! And the part that hasn’t been fulfilled yet is looking more and more likely to happen soon.

This hobby became a ministry about 12 years ago when I began to maintain a website for prophecy students and teachers. It is called “Prophecy Central”. And, praise the Lord, it has become one of the top websites on the subject. I have the privilege of serving up fresh information about prophecy every day, and thousands of people visit the site daily. It takes a little time – an hour or so every morning before breakfast, but it is worth it.

Over the years I have discovered a close connection between prophecy and another area of study called “apologetics”. Christian Apologetics is a defense of Biblical beliefs. It comes from the Greek word apologia, “to speak in favor of.” So anything that strengthens a Christian’s understanding and belief in the Bible or the Christian faith is a part of this vast area of study. Some of the major areas of apologetics are: Belief in God, Creation, The person and the work of Jesus Christ, the Resurrection of Christ, Proofs that the Bible is the inspired word of God, Archaeology, Prophecy, Comparison of Christianity with other religions, and Defense of Christianity against atheism, cults and false teaching in general.

I am happy to announce that after a couple of years of preparation, we have launched a “sister site” to Prophecy Central. It is called “Apologetics Central.” It is another resource on the Internet for serious Bible students. It has separate sections for the major topics of apologetics, lists of apologetics sites on the Internet, a growing list of writers and speakers who are “heroes of the faith,” and much more.

Under each topic we list Scriptures that relate to the subject, collect news about speakers, books, and conferences that relate to that subject, answer common questions about the topic, give a list of websites that deal with that issue, and provide links to other resources, including books and video clips.

Please check it out and let me know what you think. What could be added? What changes would you suggest to make it truly helpful to you?

Apologetics Central
www.apologetics-central.com

Prophecy Central
www.Bible-prophecy.com

Posted in Apologetics | 2 Comments »

Prophecy and Apologetics

Tuesday, February 9th, 2010

The Codex Gigas from the 13th century, held at...
Image via Wikipedia
We have just launched a companion site to Prophecy Central. It is Apologetics Central. We have been working on this project little by little for over a year, so that it would have enough substance to make it worth visiting regularly.

Christian Apologetics is a description of the work that serious scholars do to provide answers to the tough questions we have about our faith. It comes from the Greek word apologia, “to speak in favor of.” It is a defense of the Bible and of Christian beliefs.

Before saying any more, let me agree with the old saying, “You don’t need to defend the Bible, you just need to use it.” In Ephesians 6:10-18, every piece of armor except one is used for protection. Items like the breastplate, the shield and the helmet are defensive. But one piece is used for offense, and that is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God!

On the other hand, seekers and followers of Christianity have a right to know the reasons why the Bible stands alone as the one holy book in the world that is completely true and trustworthy. Skeptics can bring up some serious questions that ought to be answered. Great Christian authors from Augustine to C.S. Lewis have provided eloquent answers to these objections to the Christian faith. And today we are fortunate enough to have the ongoing wisdom of many “defenders of the faith” like Josh McDowell, Lee Strobel, and Ravi Zacharias.

Apologetics Central lists about 20 of these heroes, and gives some basic information about each one of them and how you can reach their websites and obtain their resources. Many others will be added soon. In addition to the well-known leaders in this field, there are literally hundreds of sites on the Internet that you might want to visit to understand the essence of Christian belief or for help with various questions about evolution, atheism, cults, and other false teaching. We list many of them for your convenience.

Bible Prophecy is just one branch of the immense subject of apologetics. We are grateful for the privilege of starting this project and of sharing it with you. It will grow gradually, just as Prophecy Central has done over the years. Please pray that it will be beneficial to Christians. We would be honored to have you visit the site. And you can click on “Comments” below to give us your reactions and suggestions.

Apologetics Central
http:www.apologetics-central.com

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Posted in Apologetics | 1 Comment »