Coming Again - Softcover

Newcombe, Jerry

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1564767698 ISBN 13: 9781564767691

Publisher: Chariot Victor Pub, 1999

Synopsis

Preface

The predictions about Christ's first and second coming is one of the most important parts of the Bible.
--T. Norton Sterrett

Ben Franklin once said, "Many a long dispute among divines may be thus abridg'd, It is so, It is not so; It is so, It is not so." Don't let the old-American English get in the way of appreciating what he's saying. His observation would seem to apply quite well to the end-times disputes between theologians, writers, and speakers: "Yes, it is." "No, it's not." "Yes, it is." "No, it's not."

Anybody familiar with the subject of Bible prophecies and the end times knows that there's quite a bit of the Ben Franklin-type disputes: Yes, it is! No, it isn't! There are all sorts of opinions out there, and they all claim to base their version of the last days on what the Bible says.

The questions at hand for this book deal with end-times prophecies.
+ When and how is Christ coming again?
+ Is there a literal millennium to look forward to?
+ Is the Antichrist alive and well and awaiting his turn to take center stage?
+ Are these the last days? Are we the generation that will see the Second Coming?
+ Are these and similar questions theologically on target?

Views differ on eschatology, even among scholarly, Bible-centered Christians. How can we get through the maze of all these different opinions? It is my goal to simplify much of the controversy and be your objective--hopefully--guide through this labyrinth of some two thousand years of views. I say two thousand years, but in reality the controversy has heated up since the rebirth of the great interest in prophecy beginning in the 1830s.

What can we know for sure about His return? Is there common ground between the various views of the return of Christ?

While we don't have time for every pet theory of every obscure group, we do want to look at some of the major opinions on some of the key issues of the last days. Here's a quick overview of where we're headed in our journey:

Part 1 is "What's the Difference?" The goal will be to form a clear idea of some of the major theories about the Second Coming and to see what they're based on. Included in this section will be a briefing on key terms helpful to our journey, a chapter on how the premillennialists envision the end time, and also a look at what the amillennialists and postmillennialists think will happen.

I should point out that when I quote a premillennialist, he or she is not necessarily speaking for all premillennialists. Nor is each nonmillenarian speaking for all amillennialists or postmillennialists. But often they are.

As we progress to Part 2, we enter what I call "The Heart of the Controversy." On the subject of the end times, Charles Ryrie points out, "the disagreement is in the interpretation of prophecy." That is absolutely correct, and it's helpful to back up and examine the underlying assumptions.

Then we head to Part 3, "Is the Great Tribulation a Past or Future Event?" The primary goal will be to look at what Jesus said on the subject. Then we'll explore two key questions in depth: Is the great tribulation a past event? That may sound like heresy to modern ears, but some leading theologians through the ages would basically answer that question yes. Then we'll look at the counterpoint: Is the great tribulation a future event?

We'll move on from there to Part 4, a section I call "Issue by Issue." Here, we'll go through some of the controversial subjects surrounding the end times chapter by chapter, such as the Rapture, the Antichrist, the Millennium, the role of Israel in the last days, and Daniel's Seventieth Week.

Finally, we'll progress to Part 5, which is a look at "Practical Applications." With the differing views on Christ's coming, is there some common ground? Then we'll look at ways in which prophets of the Apocalypse have blown it in the past, predicting Christ's sure return by XYZ date even though He told us nobody knows the day or the hour (I even read one such prophet who essentially said--with a straight face: Christ didn't tell us the day or the hour, but that doesn't mean we can't know the year, the month, or the week! Finally we'll consider Ezekiel's question that Francis Schaeffer popularized: How should we then live?

As we consider differing opinions on the end times, keep in mind a few points:

(1) It's best to try to keep an open mind and approach this subject with humility. Truly committed Christians take differing sides on this issue. Thus, though you may have your own opinions and convictions, at least try to understand other opinions. I'm not exploring the views of the cults or other religions--I'm exploring opinions by Bible-believing Christians. Therefore, it behooves us to be humble. Many have been wrong in the past on the end times. How can we think we're infallible?

(2) Let's all try to be Bereans. The Berean Jews, we are told in Acts 17:11, were more noble than the Thessalonian Jews because when they heard what Paul had to say about Jesus of Nazareth, they "searched the Scriptures" to determine whether these things were so. Judge the various opinions you encounter here with what god says in His holy Word.

(3) Above all, we need to be ready at all times for His return. He could come tonight. He could come next year. Some people even think He could come tens of thousands of years from now. He could come whenever. It's quite clear that when He does, He wants to find us active in His work, not idly speculating on the minutia of details of the last days.

So with these thoughts in mind, let us humbly cross the threshold into the maze of opinions on the end times. On to Part 1. Let the journey begin.

About this edition

• Publisher: Chariot Victor Pub
• Publication date: 1999
• ISBN 10: 1564767698
• ISBN 13: 9781564767691
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 364