Problems for Premillennialism

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“When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ ‘O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?’” (1 Corinthians 15:54-55).

Here we clearly see that the end of death at the second coming of Christ is the fulfillment of Isaiah 25:8. According to the prophet Isaiah, God “will swallow up death forever; and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth.” In light of this, I have two questions for my premillennial readers.

First, how can God “swallow up death forever” at the time of the return of Christ and the resurrection of our bodies if, according to premillennialism, physical death continues to prevail for 1,000 years after the parousia? Look again closely at the development of Paul’s argument in this paragraph. The final generation of Christians who are physically alive when Christ returns will “all be changed” (1 Cor. 15:51b). It will happen “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (v. 52a). When will this occur? It will happen “at the last trumpet” (v. 52b). I don’t know of anyone who denies that this is Paul’s description of the Second Coming of Christ.

When this occurs, “the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed” (v. 52b). He’s clearly talking about the resurrection. This resurrection (which I believe is synonymous with the Rapture) means that “this perishable body” will put on “the imperishable,” and “this mortal body” will put on “immortality” (v. 53). Are you following me, or better yet, are you following Paul? When all this happens, or as Paul says, “when the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality” (v. 54), which all agree happens at the time of the Second Coming of Christ, “THEN shall come to pass” the fulfillment of Isaiah 25:8 where it was prophesied that “death is swallowed up in victory.”

Let’s now put two and two together and see if it actually comes up four. The “end” (1 Cor. 15:24) is marked by the destruction of the “last enemy,” namely, “death” (1 Cor. 15:26). All millennial views agree on this. And when is “death” destroyed? When does “death” cease to prevail? When is “death” going to be “swallowed up in victory”? Paul’s answer couldn’t have been clearer or more explicit: Death is defeated, death dies, death is swallowed up in victory and is utterly and absolutely no more, as Isaiah 25:7-9 has prophesied, at the very moment that the last trumpet is sounded, at the very moment we are all changed, at the very moment when the perishable puts on the imperishable and the mortal puts on immortality! And when, might I ask, is that? It is at the time of the Second Coming of Christ (and not some 1,000 years later as death continues to exert its horrid influence on the human race). Continue reading →

Gospel Tract (Flyer)

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flier - man with face in hands pictureHave you made peace with your Maker?

Or can you relate to this picture when you think of standing before a holy Judge, giving an account of your life? Does your conscience bear witness that you will be in serious trouble?

If it doesn’t, it should, because if we’ve told even one lie, we are liars. If we’ve stolen anything (even something small) we are thieves. And Jesus said if we even LOOK with lust, we are adulterers at heart.

So the important question is, “Do you know how to make peace with God?”

Who do you listen to for answers? The Discovery Channel? Oprah? Are you willing to trust your eternal welfare to what they say? Have you given as much time to planning your eternity as you did planning your last vacation or shopping list?

Have you noticed that 10 out of 10 people die? It’s not a matter of IF but WHEN you will stand before your Creator and Judge.

Does the Bible have answers that you CAN trust? We believe it does! And here’s the thing… God demands 100% faultless, perfect obedience, and if you can’t do that, you had better find someone who can do it for you.

That someone is the Lord Jesus Christ. He lived the perfect life (never breaking any of God’s laws) and yet He died a criminal’s death, paying the fine we owed, so that all who repent of their sin and trust in him can have their “case” dismissed on the Day of Judgment: not on the grounds of being innocent, but because Jesus Christ has paid their fine. We would count it a privilege to point you to the Biblical answers that God the great Judge, in His great mercy, has provided.

KINGSJSv3We worship every Sunday morning at 11:00 a.m. at Palos Verdes, 18441 N. 87th Avenue, Peoria, AZ 85382.

www.kingschurchaz.com

Who Wrote the Gospels?

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four-gospels2 Part Post…

Timothy Paul Jones Mark, Luke, and John dictated the books that bear their names? According to skeptics, these four first-century personalities had little or nothing to do with the four New Testament Gospels. One scholar of the more skeptical sort has described the process in this way:

[The New Testament Gospels] were written thirty-five to sixty-five years after Jesus’ death, … not by people who were eyewitnesses, but by people living later. … Where did these people get their information from? … After the days of Jesus, people started telling stories about him in order to convert others to the faith.[i] … When … Christians recognized the need for apostolic authorities, they attributed these books to apostles (Matthew and John) and close companions of apostles (Mark, the secretary of Peter; and Luke the traveling companion of Paul).[ii]

In other words, Christians didn’t connect the Gospels to Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John because these individuals actually wrote the Gospels. Early believers fabricated these connections to make the documents seem more authoritative.

Now, it is indeed quite likely that the earliest Gospel manuscripts didn’t include titles in the manuscripts themselves (though the possibility titles on tabs hanging from manuscripts or inscribed at the end of each book should not be ruled out). But there’s a serious problem with the skeptics’ reconstruction.[iii] By the late first and early second century, the Gospels had spread throughout the Roman Empire.[iv]

If second-century Christians had simply added names to each Gospel to make that Gospel seem authoritative, what would have happened? (Remember, there was no centrally-recognized authority to force congregations to connect a certain name to each Gospel—no executive director, no denominational board, no international convention of Christians.[v] And it wasn’t as if one pastor could stop by an office and email fellow-pastors about how to name a certain Gospel!)

Here’s what would likely have occurred: One church might have dubbed a Gospel with the name of Andrew, for example, while another congregation ascribed the same Gospel to Peter or Thaddeus or Bartholomew. As a result, each Gospel might have a half-dozen—or more!—different names, depending on where your ship happened to land.

But that’s not even close to what we find when we look at the ancient manuscripts. Continue reading →