Where did this take place?

This morning I was reading the story of Samson in Judges 13-16. Mentioned in these chapters were the names of many towns I was unfamiliar with. I found myself asking "Where did this take place?" I couldn't of told you where Eshtaol, Zorah, Ashkelon, Gaza or Hebron were located. Knowing how helpful it is to understand where the events I'm reading about took place, I pulled out my Holman Bible Atlas by Thomas V. Brisco and skimmed over the chapters again, this time locating in my Bible Atlas where each town was located. This brought a deeper understanding and a richer Bible reading experience.

A Bible Atlas will help you better understand where the events you are reading about took place. Some Study Bibles already have maps in the back, but if yours doesn't you may want to purchase a Bible Atlas for your personal Bible study. In addition to the Holman Bible Atlas I would also recommend the Zondervan Atlas of the Bible by Carl G. Rasmussen. 

Questions from Psalm Week One

We started a new teaching series this past Sunday on the book of Psalms. Here are two questions I've received so far: 

Question #1: I have a question about Psalms 1.  If we are supposed to distance ourselves from sinners then how do we ultimately bring them to Christ?  Does our refusal to associate with them have a positive impact and start the conversation? I would like to hear your thoughts/advice.

Question #2: I really enjoyed the sermon Sunday on psalms. I found the way you talked about it very relatable, and in a way that I could easily understand. I had a question about Psalm 1:1, "Oh the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers." How can I make "The godly don't stand around with sinners" pertain to my life? I'm a student, and to be honest most of my friends I hang out with or know are not Christian. Don't get me wrong, I do have a connection to the small Christian group here at school, but does this mean I should only hang out with them? School is hard enough as it is with schoolwork and temptation, but I think it would be harder if I didn't have my friends. Thanks for your time!

Answer: As Christians we are to use our lives to point people to Jesus. Obviously, we can't do that if we aren't around those who are not saved. But when those that are not saved are having a more negative influence on us than we are having on them, even though it's scary, it's best to put some distance between or even end the relationship.

Let's consider the options we have...

Option#1: You have fewer friends. And I know that sounds terrible, but consider the other option. 

Option #2: You have lots of friends that pull you down, cause you to turn away from your Christian faith, which winds you up in hell.

Something else to consider is the definition of a true friend. Proverbs 27:17 says that as iron sharpens iron one person sharpens another. A true friend builds you up and doesn't tear you down. If you have people in your life that are tearing you down, they are not true friends, at least not according to God's word.

Maybe the friends you currently have are not negatively influencing you. If that's the case, keep using your influence to point them to Christ as God provides the opportunity.

I will pray that God helps you to see clearly which kind of friends you have. Have a great day and thanks again for writing.

Events Timeline with References

During the course of our Back to the Future teaching series, I tried to find a biblical events timeline I could share with our church, but couldn't find quite what I was looking for. So...I made my own.

Click here to see a version you can actually read! :) 

Questions from Back to the Future Week Three

Here's the third round of questions from our Back to the Future teaching series. I'll add new questions and answers to this post as they come in. 

Question #1: Hope you don't mind a minority viewpoint. Charles Schmitt is a Bible teacher who I have followed for the past 30 plus years. He recently wrote the attached article on the End Times. I have understood many of his key points for these many years such as the pretrib rapture theory starting with fifteen year old Scottish girl Mary MacDonald giving a prophesy. This theory then embraced by Darby, hence the term for this theory being called Darbyism. The theory then became widespread due to Scofield's Bible notes in his reference Bible. Some scholars say that there is no evidence of belief for a pretrib rapture before the 1800's.

After reading the attached article in the email I replied: 

Answer: Thanks for taking the time to write. It's great that you are studying these things further than just Sunday morning. 

I read the article and here are my thoughts: 

1. The author seems to view the Rapture of the Church and the Second Coming of Christ as one event, while the Bible describes them as two separate events. In the Rapture Jesus comes FOR his church (to take them to heaven) and at the Second Coming Jesus comes WITH his church (to reign on the earth for 1,000 years). 

2. The author says "historically, it [the idea of the Rapture] found its way into the evangelical mainstream only in the mid 1800's. This is 100% incorrect. Paul wrote to the church in Thessalonica because they were concerned that their loved ones and friends who had died would miss out on Christ's Second Coming to reign on the earth for 1,000 years. Paul corrects their mistaken view (basically telling them they have nothing to worry about) by informing them that the Rapture will take place first. In other words, he told them that neither the dead in Christ, nor the living in Christ, would miss out on the thousand year reign inaugurated by Christ's Second Coming. Therefore, it is incorrect to think the church didn't start believing the Rapture would take place prior to the Second Coming until the 1800's. The Pre-Trib Rapture theory didn't start with a 15 year old Scottish girl named Mary MacDonalad giving a prophesy. It started with the Holy Spirit inspired teachings of the apostle Paul. 

3. The author establishes his case primarily by quoting Didache, Hermas, Irenaeus, and Augustine, but not the authors of Scripture. We have to build our beliefs on Scripture, not extra-biblical accounts. 

4. The author seems to view "the first resurrection" to take place after the seven year Great Tribulation. This resurrection is A PART of the first resurrection, but it certainly isn't the very first resurrection. I'm teaching on this on Sunday, so here's a section of my sermon that teaches on "the first resurrection". 

•  Now when the Bible talks about “the first resurrection” that includes multiple resurrections over a long period of time. 
• Jesus was the first to be resurrected (1 Corinthians 15:23 - Christ, the first fruits) 
• Those who resurrected from their graves when Jesus did, were second to be resurrected (Matthew 27:51-52 says that when Jesus the curtain in the temple was torn in two, and the earth shook and the rocks split, and the tombs broke open and the bodies of many holy people who had died were raised to life. They came out of the tombs after Jesus’ resurrection and went into Jerusalem and appeared to many people.)
• When Christ returns in the Rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first, then those who are alive - these people are third to be resurrected (I Thessalonians 4:15-17) 
• Then after the Great Tribulation is over, a fourth group is resurrected - those who were beheaded during the Great Tribulation because of their faithfulness to Christ (Revelation 20:4) 
• All these people who have been part of what the Bible calls the first resurrection will be priests of God and of Christ and will reign with him for a thousand years, Rev 20:6 

5. The author seems to fail to see the difference between tribulations as trouble all Christians will experience on this side of eternity and tribulation as the wrath of God poured out on sinful man. Jesus said in this life we'll have troubles. Paul said in this world we'll have light and momentary troubles. But the troubles of this world are different from the tribulations to take place during The Great Tribulation. During the Great Tribulation God will pour out his wrath on sinful man, not on his church (1 Thessalonians 5:9, Romans 5:9). 

Since you seem interested in Biblical Prophecy, let me recommend to you some really good people, who have a solid understanding of the Scriptures as it relates to prophecy. 

1. Chuck Smith. You can listen to him teach on the book of Revelation verse by verse and chapter by chapter here http://twft.com/?page=C2000 He has also written some great books I think you would find helpful in understanding biblical prophecy: The Final Act and What the World is Coming To 

2. David Jeremiah. He has also written some great books including: What in the World is Going On?, The Prophecy Answer Book, The Coming Economic Armageddon and Escape the Coming Night. He doesn't have any free resources that I know of, but you can also get some great tools at http://www.davidjeremiah.org/shop/p-7032-prophetic-turning-points---30th-anniversary-prophecy-collection-cd-album.aspx 

Keep up the great work in studying these very important topics! I commend you for studying these issues deeper than just Sunday!