CATEGORIES
This website does not reflect the views of any specific denomination or church. (See – About author) The articles are categorized as follows:
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- The Book of Daniel:
- Book of Revelation:
- Specific Books
- Specific Topics
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If you are interested in joining a Zoom meeting in which I explain the articles on Daniel and Revelation, please forward me an email to Andries770@gmail.com.
ANTICHRIST IN DANIEL
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- Daniel 2 – World history divided into six successive ages
- Daniel 7 – Four beasts and eleven horns
- Daniel 8 – Three alternative views for the evil horn
- The animals of Daniel 7 and 8 reveal the Antichrist.
- Did the evil horn in Daniel 8 come out of a Greek horn?
- Daniel Eleven – Who is the “vile person?”
- Antiochus IV does not fit the profile.
DANIEL 9 – SUMMARY
DANIEL 9 – SPECIFIC CONCEPTS
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- Introduction – Overview of the prophecy and major interpretations
- With which decree did the 490 years begin?
- The 490 years are an extension of God’s covenant with Israel.
- The 490 years ended when the Jews stoned Stephen.
- Who confirms what covenant with whom during the last 7 years?
- What is destroyed in verse 27?
- Does the prophecy list events in chronological sequence?
- When are the goals for the 490 years (verse 24) fulfilled?
- Translations differ with respect to WHEN Messiah will appear.
- Do all the prophecies in Daniel 9 describe the same crisis?
- Daniel’s prayer and the 490-year prophecy form a unit.
DANIEL 9 – INTERPRETATIONS
DANIEL 9 – RELATED ARTICLES
IS THE BOOK OF DANIEL A FORGERY?
REVELATION – GENERAL
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- Why is the title of this website BY and not FROM Jesus Christ?
- Does Revelation describe events in chronological sequence?
- Every main part of Revelation begins in the temple in heaven.
- Is a consistently literal interpretation appropriate?
- God’s throne is the control center of the universe.
- The Return of Christ
- Does the book of Revelation present Jesus as God?
THE SEVEN SEALS (4:1-8:1)
REVELATION FOUR
REVELATION FIVE
REVELATION SIX
REVELATION SEVEN
REVELATION EIGHT
REVELATION TWELVE
REVELATION THIRTEEN
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- The Beast is the successor of the beasts of Daniel ch 7. (13:1-2)
- The beast’s fatal wound was healed. (13:3-4)
- The beast of Revelation is the mainstream church.
- Supporting articles:
SEVEN LAST PLAGUES (REV 15-16)
PLAGUES 1-4
PLAGUE 5
PLAGUE 6
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- That the Euphrates dries up means that false Christianity will lose control over the people.
- The Kings from the East are Christ and His angels.
- Armageddon is not a place but Judgment Day; the Day of the Lord.
- Does “coming like a thief” support a secret rapture? (16:15)
- The Euphrates dries up to reveal the true nature of false Christianity.
- Overview and Conclusions
PLAGUE 7
PURPOSE OF THE PLAGUES
REVELATION 17
BABYLON
THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS
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- Babylon is false religion and her merchants are her false prophets.
- The Babylon of Revelation is not a literal city.
- How Babylon relates to the dragon, the beast and the false prophet
- Overview – the false system of religion – has existed for all human history, corrupting the people and reigning over the kings.
REVELATION’S BEASTS
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- What are the three seven-headed beasts of Revelation?
- The sixth head, when the beast “is not,” is the Time of the End (Rev 17:10).
- The three seven-headed beasts are three of the seven heads.
- The seven heads are the 4 beasts of Daniel 7 plus the three phases of the 11th horn.
- Overview of the anti-God powers in Revelation 12 to 19.
REVELATION – EXTERNAL RESOURCES
EARLY CHURCH HISTORY
(Key events which transformed the church from a sect of Judaism to an independent religion
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- At first, the church was a Jewish sect, based in Jerusalem.
- The Christians fled from persecution to Judea and Samaria.
- A dispute arose – Must Gentile converts comply with the Law?
- Acts 15 caused a separation between Jew and Gentile.
- This history provides context to Paul’s theology.
- Dates for key events in the first few decades
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DEATH, ETERNAL LIFE,
AND ETERNAL TORMENT
ETERNAL TORMENT
ETERNAL LIFE AND DEATH
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
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- Glenn Peoples’ article, Why I am an Annihilationist (rightreason.org).
- Rethinking Hell podcasts, including:
- What does the Bible say about the “Immortal Soul”?
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ATONEMENT
How did Christ’s death atone for sin? What problem did His death solve?
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- The meaning of the word “atonement”
- Overview of the theories of atonement
- My theory of the atonement is that Christ’s death proved that God judges rightly.
- Paul’s metaphors of salvation must not be literally interpreted.
- The article Why Jesus had to die attempts to explain the theory of the atonement to a Moslem, without Bible references.
- A brief overview of these articles
- The significance of Christ’s death as explained by the Book of Revelation
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RELATED ARTICLES
EXTERNAL RESOURCES
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- Listen to Graham Maxwell’s view of Atonement, Justification, and why Christ had to die from the letter to the Galatians.
JUSTIFICATION
“Justify” is one of many metaphors and we should not interpret metaphors literally.
“Live by” is an Old Testament expression that is equivalent to the New Testament concept of justify.
GOSPEL IN GALATIANS
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- The doers of the Law will be justified but NOT by the Works of the Law. (Rom 2:13)
- If people are justified through faith, why will they be judged by their deeds?
- Is justification a legal process or does it mean that the person is changed?
- Christ’s death removed our sin and thus enabled the grace of God.
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EXTERNAL RESOURCES
Graham Maxwell explains his view of God’s use of the law from the letter to the Galatians.
GALATIANS
Galatians is important because it describes the very early power struggle between Paul and Judaising Jewish Christians.
Gal 1:1-5 – According to the will of our God and Father, Jesus gave Himself to rescue us from this present evil age.
Gal 1:6-9 – The Galatians accepted a dangerously distorted gospel.
Gal 1:10-12 – Paul received his gospel directly from Jesus Christ.
Gal 1:13-14 – The emphasis on outward behavior in Traditions of the Elders shifts the focus away from God to self.
Gal 1:15-24 – Short review of Paul’s history & Overview of Galatians 1.
Gal 2:1-10 – Paul took an uncircumcised Gentile Christian to the church leaders in Jerusalem. The church leaders accepted him.
Gal 2:11-14 – God instructed Peter to accept Gentiles without circumcision but he yielded to the Circumcision Party.
Gal 2:15-16 – The Acts 15 Church Council confirmed that Gentile Christians do not have to convert to Judaism.
Gal 2:17-18 – Paul’s teachings destroyed the law; the dividing wall between Jewish and Gentile Christians.
Gal 2:19-20 – Christians are not subject to the Law of Moses but to the Law of Christ.
Gal 2:21 – To attempt to earn “righteousness” through the Law is to nullify “the grace of God.”
Gal 3:1-5 – The Galatians received the Spirit without the Law but want to continue in their own power.
Gal 3:6-9 – Those who believe are sons of Abraham.
Gal 3:10-14 – No one is justified by the Law because no one is able to comply with the law.
Gal 3:15-18 – Jesus Christ is Abraham’s true Seed. As such, He inherited the Covenant promises.
Gal 3:19-25 – When Christ came, He became our Tutor. We no longer need the Law.
Gal 3:26-29 – There is no need to circumcise Gentile Christians because Israel no longer has a separate role in God’s plan.
OVERVIEW OF GALATIANS CHAPTERS 1 TO 3
CHAPTER 4 – Work in Progress
TRANSVERSAL TOPICS
Galatians represents Paul’s arguments before the Jerusalem Church Council in Acts 15.
The Galatians were at risk of losing their eternal inheritance. What exactly did they do wrong?
COLOSSIANS
Col 1:1-8 – We thank God for the hope laid up for us in heaven.
Col 1:9-14 – The Father rescued us from the domain of darkness.
Col 1:15-19 – The Colossian deception claimed to have supernatural knowledge, but all knowledge is found in Christ.
Col 1:20-22 – Through Christ, God brought an end to the war in heaven.
Col 1:23-28 – The mystery which has been hidden, namely that Gentiles are fellow members of the body
Col 2:1-4 – Deceivers merged the gospel with mystery religions, arguing that Christ is not the only source of knowledge.
Col 2:5-8 – The Colossian deception was man-made pagan philosophy; not Old Testament law..
Col 2:9-10 – The deception claimed that people need more than Christ to become complete.
Col 2:11 – Circumcision without hands is a heart circumcised by the Spirit. It loves God and hates sin.
Col 2:11-14 – Canceling the certificate of debt is forgiving of sins.
Col 2:14
Col 2:15 – What rulers and authorities did God disarm through Christ?
Col 2:16
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- The Sabbath is heavily debated today but it was a not controversial issue in Paul’s day.
Festivals, new moons, and sabbaths is a technical phrase for “all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel.”
- “Sabbaths” refers to the weekly Sabbath; not to the annual Sabbaths.
- Meros – The Colossians were criticized for HOW they kept these days.
- Building …
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COLOSSIANS: SPECIFIC TOPICS:
HEBREWS
1) Jesus became High Priest in the tabernacle in heaven through His suffering.
2) Jesus is a better High Priest because the Levitical priesthood was unable to do away with sin.
3) Jesus appears before God for us. He guarantees the promise which God made: “Their lawless deeds I will remember no more.”
THE SABBATH
The Seventh Day – blessed at creation, counted by Noah, made a Sabbath by Moses, corrupted by the Traditions, reformed by Christ, nut a non-issue for Paul.
IN THE OLD TESTAMENT
JESUS’ SABBATH HEALING MIRACLES
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- A demon-possessed man and Simon’s mother-in-law
- The man with the withered hand (Matt 12:9-14)
- The crippled woman (Luke 13:10-17)
- The Paralytic At Bethesda (John 5)
- The man that was born blind (John 9)
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JESUS’ SABBATH TEACHINGS
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- The Sabbath was made for man. (Matt 12:1-8)
- Christ deliberately contravened the Sabbath.
- The real reason they killed Jesus.
- His miracles gave Him the opportunity to teach.
- What did Jesus teach about the Sabbath?
- Jesus taught a different Sabbath.
- Jesus replaced the Law of Moses with the Law of Christ.
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THE SABBATH IN THE NEW TESTAMENT
LAW OF MOSES
DOES GALATIANS CONTRADICT JESUS?
Paul wrote that the Law of Moses has been nullified and replaced by “the Law of Christ” (Gal 2:19; 6:2). However, Jesus said:
“Do not think that I came to abolish the Law …
not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law.”
The following articles explain this apparent contradiction:
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- The Law of Christ (Gal 6:2) replaced the Law of Moses.
- The Old Testament foresaw that the Law of Moses will become obsolete.
- Jesus replaced the old commandments with much higher norms.
- The Law of Christ is what God’s Law always was and always will be.
- The final article summarizes the previous four.
- The purpose of this article by Thomas Lee is to rebut my article on the Law of Christ.
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SERMON ON THE MOUNT
THE ORIGIN OF EVIL
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- Origin of evil – Evil began next to God’s throne.
- Why Satan thought he could win against God – A study of Job
- Rulers and Authorities are Supernatural beings that oppose Christ
- The Cross disarmed the rulers and authorities.
- War in Heaven – why and how do the angels war?
- Why evil continues after the cross
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THE RETURN OF CHRIST
HOW WILL HE RETURN?
The “kingdom of God” has a King, laws, and citizens. Its King is God. Jesus explained its laws.
WHEN WILL HE RETURN?
These articles discuss the statements Jesus made indicating that He will return soon:
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- “This generation will not pass away until …” (Matt 24:34)
- “You will not finish … until the Son of Man comes” (Matt 10:23).
- What does “the Kingdom of God” mean?
- “Some standing here shall not taste death until …“ (Matt 16:28).
- Jesus said and His disciples believed that He will return soon.
- Did He return “soon” through His Resurrection?
- Did He return “soon” through the destruction of Jerusalem (AD 70)?
- Why did Jesus not return soon?
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IS JESUS THE MOST HIGH GOD?
SPECIFIC BIBLE BOOKS
SPECIFIC BIBLE PASSAGES
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- Philippians 2 – Four stages of Christ’s existence – (1) before He became man, (2) a human being, (3) death, (4) and His exaltation after His ascension.
- 1 Corinthians 8:6 – Does this verse divide the words of the Shema between the Father and the Son?
- John 10:33-36 – Did Jesus claim to be God?
- John 10:30; 38; 14:9 – What did Jesus mean when He said, “I and the Father are one?”
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ORIGIN AND PRE-EXISTENCE
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- Does Monogenēs mean “only begotten” or “only unique?”
- Is Jesus the “firstborn of all creation” (Col 1:15) in a literal or figurative sense?
- Jesus existed before his birth: He always existed in the form of God.
- God created all things “through” the Son.
- If Jesus always existed, where do we find Him in the Old Testament?
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JESUS IS SUBORDINATE TO GOD.
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- Jesus is not God. The Bible always distinguishes between God and Jesus.
- The Bible also always makes a distinction between the Almighty and Jesus Christ.
- The Son is subordinate to the Father; both before, during and after His human existence.
- If Jesus is not God, why must we worship Him?
- List of all worship verses in the New Testament.
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THE WORD OF GOD
JOHN 1:1
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- Introduction – John 1:1 is regarded as the best proof of Jesus’ deity.
- Objections to the translation: “The word was a god.”
- Theos is a count noun. What are the implications for the translation of this word?
- Objections to the translation: “The word was God.”
- John 1:1c uses theos in a descriptive sense. In other words, the Word is like God.
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OTHER VERSES THAT REFER TO JESUS AS “God”
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- The different meaning of theos (translated as “God” or as “god”)
- John 1:18 – “the only begotten God”
- John 20:28 – Why did Thomas address Jesus as “my Lord and my God?”
- A study of the title “God” in John’s gospel.
- Romans 9:5 – Paul never refers to Jesus as God.
- Hebrews 1:8 refers to Jesus as theos but the next verse says that God is His God.
- Summary of the articles discussing the verses that refer to Jesus as “God” – To translate theos as “God” when it refers to Jesus is an application of the Trinity doctrine; not proof there-of.
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OTHER RESOURCES
I do not agree with Dale Tuggy’s Christology but I do recommend his podcasts.
TRINITY DOCTRINE
– HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT –
In this section, I also provide links to articles I posted on Stackexchange.
CHRISTOLOGY OF THE PERSECUTED CHURCH (FIRST 3 CENTURIES)
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- Ignatius of Antioch described the Father as the only true God.
- Polycarp identified the “Lord God Almighty” as the Father alone.
- Justin Martyr wrote that Jesus was subordinate to the Father.
- Irenaeus identified the Father as the only true God.
- The ancients referred to Jesus as “our god.”
- Sabellius – Was he the first Trinitarian?
- Beau Branson argues that the church fathers all believed that Jesus is subordinate to the Father. See Dr. Tuggy’s podcasts 239-242.
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THE NICENE CREED OF 325 AD
The Nicene Creed is the most famous and influential creed in the history of the church.
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- The emperor forced the Nicene Council to accept a minority view.
- What was the dispute that led to the Council at Nicaea?
- Why the creed uses ousia and hypostasis as synonyms
- The influence of Emperor Constantine in the Nicene Council
- What the Nicene Creed really says
- If the Son is begotten, how could He be eternal? (Stack)
- What does it mean that the Son is “of the same substance” as the Father? (Stack)
- The meaning of “He is of another substance or essence“
- Kegan Chandler proposes that the term “homoousios” came from Egyptian religions.
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FURTHER FOURTH-CENTURY DEVELOPMENTS
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- After Nicaea in 325, the church remained Arian for another 50 years.
- What did the church believe during those 50 years?
- Long Lines Creed – an example of the creeds during those 50 years.
- Emperor Theodosius made the Trinity Doctrine law. (AD 380)
- Why Theodosius was able to end the controversy (Stack)
- Was the creed of AD 381 an update of the Nicene Creed of 325?
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AUTHORS ON THE ARIAN CONTROVERSY
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- RPC Hanson: A lecture on the Arian Controversy
- RPC Hanson: The conventional account of the Arian Controversy is a complete travesty.
- Edmund J. Fortman, The Triune God – Nicene Creed
- Millard J. Erickson, God in Three Persons
- William Boyd, The Ecclesiastical Edicts of the Theodosian Code
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LATER DEVELOPMENTS
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- The Roman Empire did not fall in the fifth century; it transformed.
- Why the Roman Empire fell
- After the Roman Empire ‘fell’, Arian tribes ruled Europe, but the church in Rome thrived.
- The Fall of Rome proves Daniel as true prophecy.
- In the sixth century, Justinian and the Byzantine Papacy wiped Anianism out.
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TRINITY DOCTRINE – GENERAL
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- The difference between the Trinity theory and Modalism
- Is the Athanasian Creed consistent with the “Monarchy of the Father” of Eastern Orthodoxy?
- The Trinity doctrine contradicts itself.
- Elohim, translated as “God,” is plural. Does that mean that God is more than one Person?
- The Eastern Orthodox view of the Trinity.
- The difference between the Trinity theory and Modalism
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ROMANS
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- Romans 1: God will not override human freedom.
- Romans 2: The doers of the Law will be justified.
- Romans 3:1-8: Did God reject Israel?
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ROMANS 9, 11
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- Romans 9-11: Who Israel is in the Book of Revelation?
- All Israel will be saved: Summary of the previous article
- Romans 9-11 describes election to a mission, not to salvation.
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ROMANS 14
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- 1-4 – The dispute was NOT over the Law of Moses.
- Koinós (unclean – verse 14) does not refer to the unclean animals.
- The same dispute in Corinth over eating meat is idol worship.
- 5-6 – These days do not refer to the Sabbath.
- 7-13 – God will judge people by their deeds.
- 13-23 – Abstain from meat if it may cause a brother to stumble.
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OTHER
Author – I have no formal Bible training and I am not part of any church group.
For general discussions of theology, I recommend Graham Maxwell, who you will find on the Pineknoll website.