What is Dispensationalism?

What is Dispensationalism? An important new book has just been published titled, What is Dispensationalism? I had the privilege of being one of 27 different authors, contributing one chapter (“How Does Dispensationalism Impact Systematic Theology”), two articles (“What was the purpose of miracles?” and “Do Christians still perform miracles?”) and two appendices (“What is Covenant Theology?” and “What is Progressive Dispensationalism?”) Our target audience is the average person in the pew, but also with Bible institutes, Christian colleges and universities, and seminaries in mind as we believe it has the potential of becoming a textbook in some schools. It was

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Is Replacement Theology Inherently Anti-Semitic?

Is Replacement Theology Inherently Anti-Semitic?   Replacement theology (also known as “supersessionism”) is rapidly gaining traction in historically conservative evangelical churches around the world. The term “replacement theology” means that the church has replaced Israel in God’s program because as a nation they rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and so forfeited their right to the promises made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Abrahamic Covenant (Genesis 12, 13, 15, 17), as well as those made to Moses in the Land Covenant (Deuteronomy 29, 30), to David in the Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7), and to Jeremiah in the

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The New Covenant, Israel, and the Church

The New Covenant, Israel, and the Church   One of the great misunderstandings in Christendom today is the belief that the New Covenant was given by God exclusively to and for the church. Two of the main Scripture passages upon which this belief is based are Matthew 26:28 where Jesus states, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins” and 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 where Paul rehearses the Lord’s instructions for the church to observe what has come to be known as “The Lord’s Supper.” However, we need to understand

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Blessed Hope Prophecy Forum

Blessed Hope Prophecy Forum: A word of caution   On October 13-15, 2017, the Prophecy Watchers ministry hosted its first annual Blessed Hope Prophecy Forum in Norman Oklahoma. The term “blessed hope” comes from Titus 2:13 in reference to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (which will first be in the air at the rapture of the church, and then, to the earth after the seven-year Tribulation Period). Therefore the focus of this conference is of vital importance to believers in these Last Days because our “blessed hope” is that we will be spared the wrath of God as

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The Gospel of Roman Catholicism

IS THE REFORMATION REALLY OVER? The Gospel of Roman Catholicism In their 2005 book of the same title, Christian historians Mark Noll and Carolyn Nystrom posed the question “Is the Reformation over?” While acknowledging that doctrinal and practical differences between Catholics and evangelicals remain, they concluded that when it comes to the matter of justification by faith “…many Catholics and evangelicals now believe approximately the same thing.” Eleven years earlier, it was essentially this same conclusion that served as the fundamental premise of the 1994 ecumenical document “Evangelical and Catholics Together”: We affirm together that we are justified by grace

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90 Minutes in Heaven

90 Minutes in Heaven – the movie The new movie 90 Minutes in Heaven hit theaters on Friday, September 11 and I went to see it last night. The movie, which is based on a 2004 book of the same name, is about a pastor, Don Piper, who claims that he died, went to heaven and returned as the result of a terrible auto accident in 1989. His book is really what kicked off the current Near Death Experience (NDE) / “Heaven Tourism” phenomenon in the Christian realm—which continues unabated with books and movies. As of this writing, after eleven years,

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MARRIAGE: Do words have meanings?

MARRIAGE: Do words have meanings? With a single decision, a simple majority of five of nine justices on the Supreme Court of the United States, has successfully and irrevocably changed the meaning of a single word that has so clearly defined the most basic societal unit throughout history—a word with a meaning so clear and unambiguous that it had stood the test of time for millennia. Yet, on the morning of  June 26, 2015, the meaning of “marriage” according to U.S. law changed forever. The institution of marriage (and by extension, the family) is unlike any other societal custom or construct that has

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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

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Deep and Wide: A book review by Gary Gilley

BOOK REVIEW: Deep and Wide, by Andy Stanley (reviewed by Gary Gilley) Initial comments below by Dave James, followed by the full book review by Gary Gilley: Only occasionally one runs across an article that could be considered a “must-read”—and even less frequently, a book review that would fall into the same category. However, this particular book review by Gary Gilley really is a must-read because it deals with an issue that is broadly affecting the church in America. It is concise, insightful, relevant—and important to the on-going discussion of what it means to “do church” in a way that is

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The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven

THE BOY WHO (never really) CAME BACK FROM HEAVEN One of the major breaking stories this week is the decision by Lifeway (the Southern Baptist Convention bookstore chain) to pull The Boy Who Came Back from Heaven from its shelves because one of the authors, Alex Malarkey, (the boy who “came back from heaven”) has recanted his story, saying “I didn’t die. I didn’t go to heaven.” Alex was six years old in 2004 when the car his father, Kevin, was driving was hit broadside by another car. The horrific accident left Alex paralyzed from the neck down, and he became

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Grace & Sin in Catholic Theology

GRACE & SIN IN CATHOLIC THEOLOGY The following article began as part of an email discussion with a member of The Berean Call staff, which was then picked up and edited into an article which appears in this month’s issue of their monthly newsletter. My thanks go to the TBC team, and especially to the editor, Barb Romine, who always makes my writing look better than it does coming directly from me. ______ GRACE & SIN: Why the meanings of words matter by David James Note from TBC: Increasingly, we read of evangelical leaders dipping into the muddy waters of

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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

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Blood Moon Tetrad (2014-2015): A Sign of the End?

Blood Moon Tetrad (2014-2015): A Sign of the End?   (blood moon graphic from John Hagee Ministries used in his sermon series on this topic)   A relatively rare series of lunar and solar eclipses, which coincides with important dates on the Jewish calendar in 2014 and 2015, is generating a significant amount of speculation that these could be signs connected with the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. The four consecutive total lunar eclipses depicted in the above graphic from John Hagee’s website are known as a “blood moon tetrad.” Interestingly, each of the lunar eclipses falls on two specific

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9/11 Twelfth Anniversary Survey

9/11/2001 – Twelfth Anniversary Survey Click here to view survey results With last week marking the twelfth anniversary of 9/11, it is clear that the horrific events of that day remain indelibly etched in the hearts and minds of many Americans. The world was forever changed by the events of that day and we are reminded of this every time we walk into an airport or see a news story about the Department of Homeland Security or consider the ongoing tensions in the Middle East. Christians who believe that we are likely living in the last of the last days

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A Response to “In Defense of a Prophetic Voice” by David Reagan

A Response to “In Defense of a Prophetic Voice” by David Reagan (In the May / June issue of Lamplighter magazine)By David James My original article begins below the two updates, with the most recent update first. ___________  UPDATE #2:  Dr. David Reagan has posted an article to his website in response to mine. I have included the entire text of his response below, after which I have made a few observations: Introductory note: Over the past year and a half, many things have been said to us and about us, both publicaly and privately, to which we have responded

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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.

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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

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Are Muslims Seeing Jesus?

Recently, I was asked by another Bible teacher about my views concerning reports coming out of the Muslim world that many Muslims have been having visions and dreams of Isa (“Jesus” in Arabic) – and as a result, that many – perhaps tens of thousands – are coming to saving faith in Him. I have been aware of these stories for a number of years, but until a couple of weeks ago, I hadn’t done much research into the matter. My studies led me to a very well-written article by Dennis McBride, in which he addresses the major issues surrounding

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“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,

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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

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