Will the real Bruce Jenner please stand up?

Will the real Bruce Jenner please stand up? Although it is certainly a “current theological issue,” I really hesitated wading into this particular mine field for a variety of reasons. The first is that I’ve already dealt with the alphabet soup of LGBT issues far more than I care to over the last couple of years in the process of simply addressing current theological issues each week. Without exaggerating, I could easily do a story related to this overall topic every week as there are continually new developments, yet I definitely don’t want to somehow communicate that I’ve become obsessed

Read more

God’s Plan through the Ages

God’s Plan through the Ages Imagine how hard it would be to put together a 5000-piece puzzle if you had all the pieces, but didn’t have the box with the picture on it. Even if you were to carefully examine the details, it would still be tough to figure out how the pieces fit together or how each one fits into the overall picture. You could probably put together a few groups of pieces by matching colors and patterns, but even then it would still be difficult to see how those groups go together. It wouldn’t take very long for

Read more

Threatened Lawsuit by The Harbinger Publisher & Author

I hope that you will take a few minutes to read this special edition of the “ABI Blog.”  We have received letters threatening legal action related to the publication of my book The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? These letters were from a lawyer with a firm which “serves as litigation counsel for Charisma Media, publisher of The Harbinger by Rabbi Jonathan Cahn and published by Charisma Media.” Therefore, we are asking that concerned believers everywhere make this a matter of prayer—that the Lord would graciously give us wisdom and that He would protect us in the midst of this challenge.

Read more

The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? (now available)

Click here to order the book on The Berean Call website Click here for the Kindle version on Amazon.com (Paperback version available soon through Amazon.com) The last three months have been quite incredible. Since Tom McMahon (executive director of The Berean Call) first contacted me on April 29 about my ABI article critiquing The Harbinger, we have been on a speeding train just trying to hang on. I am extremely grateful to the entire staff of The Berean Call who have been with me every step of the way since my book was little more than just the article. Everyone

Read more

The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction?

Does Isaiah 9:10 really contain an ancient mystery that holds the secret of America’s future? Note: This review is an abridged version of a book of the same title. PUBLISHING UPDATE: The Harbinger: Fact or Fiction? is now available for purchase on The Berean Call website and Amazon.com in paperback and Kindle formats. Article available in pdf format at this link. A discussion between Dave James and Jonathan Cahn, moderated by Jimmy DeYoung can be found at this link. The first one to plead his cause seems right, until his neighbor comes and examines him. (Proverbs 18:17, NKJV) Moderated discussion

Read more

“Son of God” Translation Controversy

For years there has been a discussion among missiologists and linguists concerning the proper translation of certain biblical passages into various languages in the Muslim world. Over the years, the discussion has turned into a debate and more recently into a full-blown controversy that has gained a lot of momentum over the last few weeks. The present controversy centers around specific decisions by Wycliffe Bible Translators, SIL International and Frontiers (an exclusively Muslim ministry) concerning the translation of the “Father-Son” (“divine familial”) language in a number of Bible versions created for the Muslim world. Note: In the case of Frontiers,

Read more

God’s Plan through the Ages

Imagine the difficulty of trying to put together a 2500-piece jigsaw puzzle if you had all the pieces, but not the box with the picture. You could examine all the details with as much care and precision as possible, but it would be very difficult to figure out how the pieces relate to one another and how each one fits into the overall picture. And even if you were to successfully assemble several groups of pieces scattered around the picture by matching colors and patterns, it would still be very difficult to figure out how these groups fit together when

Read more

The Greatest Tragedy of the Rapture Prediction

Predictably – and appropriately, conservative Bible teachers, theologians and pastors have uniformly condemned Harold Camping’s adamant declarations that the Rapture would occur before the end of the day on Saturday, May 21, 2011. It is now being widely reported that Mr. Camping has since admitted that he is neither infallible nor a “genius”, while inexplicably insisting that God’s judgment, did in fact begin on May 21: On May 21, this last weekend, this is where the spiritual aspect of it really comes through,” said Camping. “God again brought judgment on the world. We didn’t see any difference but God brought

Read more

Burning Korans (the right way)

You couldn’t watch or listen to the news for more than a few minutes this week without hearing about the Florida pastor’s plan to burn Korans on the anniversary of the 9/11 terror attacks. After it was reported that General Petraus had expressed his concerns that this could very easily put American soldiers and expatriates at risk in Afghanistan and other countries, I wrote an email to Pastor Jones asking him to reconsider his plans – both as a brother in Christ and as a fellow leader in ministry. I don’t know if he actually received or read my email.

Read more

Homosexuality and the Bible – Part III

(This article is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2 column article format: Click here to download) According to an April, 2009 article on MSNBC, a Washington Post/ABC poll released that month became the first to indicate that the number of Americans supporting same-sex marriages (49%) is now greater than those who oppose it (46%). Although the two numbers are within the typical poll margin-of-error of each other (±3%), there does seem to have been a significant shift in attitudes over the preceding 5-year period, when a Post/ABC poll put the percentage in-favor at just 32% in 2004. Between 1982

Read more

Homosexuality and the Bible – Part II

(This article is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2 column article format: Click here to download) Homosexuality and the Believer’s Identity in Christ But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12–13, NKJV) There are many things that distinguish Christianity from the religions of the world, not the least of which is the believer’s identity in Christ. In other religions,

Read more

Homosexuality and the Bible – Part I

This is the first in a series of articles on the topic of “Homosexuality and the Bible.” However, the series will not necessarily be presented in consecutive blogs. A Faltering Consensus The consensus among conservative evangelicals is that the Bible provides the final and authoritative word on all aspects of life. Historically, there has also been broad consistency in how the Bible has been understood and biblical principles have been applied to a variety of moral issues, including homosexuality. However, this consensus seems to be slowly dissolving in the face of seismic shifts in the views of society toward homosexuality

Read more

What About Those Who Haven’t Heard? An Exposition of Romans 10

During his 30-year career, the Apostle Paul personally carried the gospel to some of the most important and populous cities along the central corridor of the Roman Empire, including Rome itself. But this work was no easy task. Paul endured incredible hardship and continually put his life on the line for the sake of the gospel, facing death time and again (2 Corinthians 11:23-28), until finally he was executed in Rome for the message he preached. History tells us that most of the other apostles met similar fates. And through the centuries, countless others have given everything in order to

Read more

Unholy Trinity

The following is an article by John MacArthur, which recently appeared on his Shepherd’s Fellowship website. _______________________ Unholy Trinity Friday, Dec 11, 2009 (By John MacArthur) I don’t watch much television, and when I do I generally avoid the Trinity Broadcasting Network (TBN). For many years TBN has been dominated by faith-healers, full-time fund-raisers, and self-proclaimed prophets spewing heresy. I wrote about the false gospel they proclaim and the phony miracles they pretend to do almost two decades ago in Charismatic Chaos (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1992. See especially chapter 12). I had my fill of charismatic televangelism while researching that

Read more

“Dispensationalism must be wrong” – Part II

A visitor posted the following comment on the first blog post concerning popular arguments against dispensationalism. For those of you who are eschatologically expert, I invite you to comment specifically on a Google article entitled “Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty,” a photographic version of which is on the “Powered by Christ Ministries” site. Since some have given the impression that that article is full of errors, I would very much like to be informed as to which particular item in it is in fact erroneous. Thanks in advance. Karl The document to which he refers (Pretrib Rapture Dishonesty) was written by Dave

Read more

Pondering the Incarnation: Was Christ really tempted?

Over the years Karen and I have engaged in a lot of ministry through the internet by interacting in a number of forums. It has been an amazing opportunity to share the gospel and other biblical truth about a wide range of topics. Over the last couple of days I have been involved in some discussions over at Grace Centered Christian Forums (note: this is not an endorsement of this website because I haven’t yet fully investigated their theological positions). One of the questions that was posted a couple of hours ago was related to the temptation that Christ experienced.

Read more

Manhattan Declaration: Conclusions

(An article combining this post and the previous one on the Manhattan Declaration is available in downloadable and printable PDF, 2-column article format: Click here to download) This is the third and final post in a series concerning the Manhattan Declaration. I would encourage you to read the first two posts so you will have the context for understanding my final conclusions. Please take a moment to complete the ABI Manhattan Declaration Survey . . . The Nature of the Manhattan Declaration The Manhattan Declaration addresses issues that are a part of the current public debate and symptomatic of the

Read more

Manhattan Declaration: A Call of Christian Conscience

When I checked my Inbox on Saturday morning I found an email from Jimmy DeYoung (one of ABI’s co-founders) concerning the Manhattan Declaration. Because the Manhattan Declaration was still breaking news, Jimmy wanted to discuss it on his weekly radio program. So I quickly went to work trying to learn as much as I could before he called back to do the interview. The Manhattan Declaration is a 4732-word document which was made public at the National Press Conference on Friday, November 20. It was drafted by a committee that included Chuck Colson, Dr. Robert George and Dr. Timothy George

Read more

Chatting with an atheist

For the past couple of weeks I have been in an ongoing chat conversation with someone who self-identifies as an atheist. He connected with me after a discussion concerning a recent ABI blog. Over the course of our discussion I have asked him a number of questions, including those below in one form or another. I have also added a few comments after the questions to provide some perspective and additional “food for thought.” Perhaps some of them will be helpful if you find yourself in a similar discussion. Question(s): If it could actually be proven to your satisfaction that

Read more

Dispensationalism must be wrong – Part One

A number of arguments are regularly used to try to discredit dispensationalism and conclude that it is flawed and must be wrong as a theological system. Interestingly, two frequent arguments against dispensationalism are based on the history of dispensationalism, having nothing to do with theology or exegesis. One argument attempts to discredit dispensationalism with the charge that it is a “young” theological system. The other attempts to discredit dispensationalism with the charge that its development is suspect. However, neither is actually a legitimate argument against dispensational theology and both are relatively easy to refute. The Relative Youth of Dispensationalism Those

Read more