Tag Archives: Theology

October 31, 2025

How Soon is “Shortly”?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The Book of Revelation opens, “The revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave unto him, to show unto his servants things which must shortly come to pass…” (Rev1:1a). The remainder of the book is a revelation of the details concerning the coming Rapture of the Church, the 7-year Tribulation period (i.e., Daniel’s 70th Week), the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the establishment of the Millennial Kingdom on this earth. When the Lord Jesus revealed these things to John the Apostle at the end of the 1st century, he said these were events that “must shortly come to pass”. To date, they have not come to pass, and almost two thousand years later we still await their fulfillment (to the scoffing of the world; Cp., 2Pet3:3-4).

Preterists connect the “shortly” of Revelation 1:1 with “this generation” of Matthew 24:34 and insist that the events of the Book of Revelation had to have occurred within the lifetimes of the Jews who were alive at the first coming of Christ. Clearly, that understanding of “shortly” cannot be valid, as the second coming of Christ did not occur in the 1st century in any literal sense. Thus, “shortly” did not mean within one generation. The question, therefore, remains, “How soon is shortly”?

The beginning of an answer to this question is found in the very passage in which the Apostle Peter warns of second coming scoffers who would arise “in the last days” (2Pet3:3-4). He goes on to conclude, “But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day” (2Pet3:8; Cp., Ps90:4). The point is that God’s experience of time is not the same as ours, and this truth is observed throughout the scriptures.

Consider the following examples:

  • “I call heaven and earth to witness against you this day, that ye shall soon utterly perish from off the land whereunto ye go over the Jordan to possess it; ye shall not prolong your days upon it, but shall utterly be destroyed” (Deut4:26). The LORD spoke these words through Moses c. 1400 BC. The first dispersion of the Jews from the Promised Land, the Babylonian exile, occurred c. 600 BC, followed by the Roman Diaspora in 70 AD. Thus, “soon” in this context meant at least ~800 years into the future, and perhaps ~1,500 years.
  • “Fret not thyself because of evildoers, neither be thou envious against the workers of iniquity. For they shall soon be cut down like the grass, and wither like the green herb” (Ps37:1-2). This psalm of David would have been written c. 1000 BC. The judgment of the wicked occurs at the Great White Throne, which takes place at the end of the Millennial Kingdom. Thus, “soon” in this context meant at least ~4,000 years into the future.
  • “For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory” (2Cor4:17). Here, the Apostle Paul characterizes the lifetime of a person (i.e., 70-80 years; Ps90:10) as “a moment”. In Psalm 90:10, a man’s life is said to be “soon cut off”.
  • “And the God of peace shall bruise Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen” (Rom16:20). The Apostle Paul spoke these inspired words in the 1st century. Depending on one’s understanding, the defeat of Satan will either come at the second coming of Christ, when Satan is bound in the bottomless pit (Rev20:1-2), or at the end of the Millennial Kingdom, when Satan is cast into the lake of fire (Rev20:10). Thus, “shortly” in this context meant at least ~2,000 years into the future, and perhaps ~3000 years.

Thus, when the Lord Jesus Christ told the Apostle John that the events of the Book of Revelation “must shortly come to pass” (Rev1:1), the fact that they were yet ~2,000 years into the future was entirely consistent with the way in which God characterizes time, from His perspective, throughout the scriptures (Cp., Hos5:15-6:2).

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September 20, 2025

Gentiles and the Abrahamic Covenant

By The Paleofundamentalist

In Genesis 12:1-3, God initiated what would become the Abrahamic covenant (for its full development, cf. Gen12:1-7; 13:14-17; 15:7-21; 17:1-8).  This covenant was made by the LORD with Abram (i.e., Abraham), and it was unconditional; in it God made commitments to Abraham and put no obligations on him in order to receive its promises other than the faithfulness of God Himself.  The question today is, what is the relationship of Jews and Gentiles to the covenant God made with Abraham?

First, the Jews are a party to the covenant and stand to inherit all of its promises in the most literal way.  In Genesis 12:2, God viewed Abraham as more than merely a man, but as the “nation” He intended to make from him.  Furthermore, God extended the covenant to Abraham’s son Isaac (but not Ishmael; cf. Gen17:19), then to Isaac’s son Jacob (but not Esau; cf. Gen28:13-14).  No distinction is made after Jacob, such that all of Jacob’s descendants are included in the covenant (cf. Ps105:8-11).  In Romans 11:28, the Apostle Paul says that “as touching the election, they are beloved for the fathers’ sake”, where “the election” is Israel as God’s chosen nation (Isa45:4), and “the fathers” are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob (Exod4:5).  Today, the Jews are the physical descendants of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, some of which have been gathered to the nation of Israel reestablished in 1948, but many of which remain scattered throughout the world.

Second, the Gentiles are not a party to the covenant.  Nevertheless, their salvation is provided through it; namely, “in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed” (Gen12:3; Gal3:8), since “salvation is of the Jews” (Jn4:22).  Furthermore, in the covenant there is an obligation for the Gentiles to “bless” Abraham and his descendants (i.e., the Jews), for which they are promised a blessing from God, as well as a threat that those who “curse” Abraham and his descendants will be cursed by God.  At the return of the Lord Jesus Christ, He will judge the Gentiles who survive the 7-year Tribulation period alive according to this standard (cf. Matt25:31-46).  Those Gentiles who “blessed” the Lord’s “brethren” will be granted entrance into “the [Millennial] kingdom” (Matt25:34,40), whereas those who “cursed” them are not (Matt25:41).

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September 16, 2025

Did Jesus Use the Septuagint?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The view of many mainstream scholars today is that Jesus used the Septuagint (LXX; i.e., the translation of the O.T. in Greek) as His Bible. The primary evidence offered in support of this view is that many of His quotations from the O.T. appear to better match the Greek text of the LXX than the Hebrew (Masoretic) text. That evidence, however, must be weighed against the fact that the earliest extant manuscript copies of the LXX come from several centuries after Christ, creating the possibility that the Greek text for these O.T. verses could have been taken from their N.T. quotations in order to create an exact, verbatim match (which otherwise is not the pattern of scriptural quotation seen in the Bible). Is there alternative evidence in favor of Jesus’ use of the Hebrew O.T. rather than the LXX? The answer to that question is YES, and the evidence is quite compelling.

In Luke 24:44, Jesus made reference to the written O.T. scriptures:

“And [Jesus] said unto them, These are the worlds which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me.”

Implicit in these words of Jesus is the structure and organization of the Hebrew Bible (which is equivalent in content to the O.T.). The books of the Hebrew Bible (i.e., TNK, or Tanakh) are organized into three sections: the law [of Moses] (Heb., Torah), the prophets (Heb., Nevi’im), and the writings (Heb., Ketuvim; the first book in this section is the Psalms). By referring to the entirety of the (O.T.) scriptures as the law, the prophets, and the psalms, Jesus presupposed the organization of the O.T. canon that appears only in the Hebrew scriptures. In contrast, the books in the LXX (which also contains many non-canonical books) are organized much like they appear in modern English Bibles (e.g., historical books, wisdom books, and prophetic books). Thus, Jesus’ words presuppose the Hebrew Bible, not the Greek Septuagint.

This presupposition of a Hebrew Bible is seen again in Matthew 23:35, where Jesus refers to the first and last martyrs in the O.T. as:

“That upon you may come all the righteous blood shed upon the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel unto the blood of Zacharias son of Barachias, who ye slew between the temple and the altar.”

Abel is the first martyr recorded in Genesis 4, and Zacharias is the last martyr recorded in 2 Chronicles 24. Genesis is the first book in the Hebrew Bible, and 2 Chronicles is the last book in the Hebrew Bible. Again, Jesus’ words presuppose the Hebrew Bible, not the Greek Septuagint.

Did Jesus use the Septuagint? NO, Jesus used the Hebrew scriptures.

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August 12, 2025

Who Are the Many?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The adjective/pronoun “many” occurs hundreds of times in the Bible, both Old and New Testaments. In the vast majority of those instances, the immediate context makes clear to whom/what “many” refers. However, there are a small number of important instances in which there is no definite referent for “many” (e.g., Dan8:25; 9:27; 11:14,18,26,33,34,39; 12:10; Matt19:30; 20:16; 20:28; 22:14; 26:28; Mk10:31,45; 14:24; Luk14:16); it should be noted that these instances tend to occur primarily in the O.T. and the synoptic Gospels, whose focus is the nation of Israel under the Dispensation of Law. In these instances, the “many” refers to Israel. For a study of this issue, see the article Who Are the Many? Under the Biblical Studies tab.

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June 4, 2024

The Identity of the 24 Elders

By The Paleofundamentalist

In Revelation 4:4, “four and twenty elders” are seen by the Apostle John sitting on “four and twenty [thrones]” in heaven.  The identity of these 24 elders has long been debated.  However, most Dispensationalists have traditionally held that the 24 elders represent the completed Church (i.e., the Body of Christ).  If that view is correct, the completed Church is in heaven before the 7-year Tribulation (i.e., the 70th Week of Daniel; Dan9:27) begins in Revelation 6, which all but necessitates a pre-tribulational rapture of the Church; such a conclusion is seemingly inescapable.  Hence, the correct identification of the 24 elders is pivotal to a proper understanding of the chronological sequence of eschatological events. A systematic analysis of the Identity of the 24 Elders can be found under the Biblical Studies tab.

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January 20, 2024

Noah and Adam

By The Paleofundamentalist

Noah and Adam are related, both seminally and typologically. In many ways, Noah typologically recapitulates Adam’s original fall and its consequences for humanity. For an outline of this connection, see Noah and Adam under the Biblical Studies tab.

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December 20, 2023

When Was Jesus Born?

By The Paleofundamentalist

Although Christians celebrate the birth of Jesus Christ on December 25, that is almost certainly not the correct month/date of our Savior’s birth. Actually, Scripture gives us a relatively clear indication of when Jesus was born; namely, in the September-October timeframe. See the new Chart: WHEN WAS JESUS BORN? under the Biblical Studies tab for an overview of the calculation using scriptural clues.

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February 14, 2021

Why Were the Thessalonians Shaken?

By The Paleofundamentalist

The second chapter of Paul’s second epistle to the Thessalonians is a mighty tour-de-force polemic for the pre-tribulational nature of the rapture of the Church.  It has long been recognized that the Restrainer of 2 Thessalonians 2:7 is the Holy Spirit, and that His removal before the Antichrist is revealed (i.e., before the Tribulation begins) necessitates the rapture of the Church due to the Spirit’s indwelling of the Body of Christ as a temple in the present dispensation (1Cor6:19).  It has more recently been recognized that the “falling away” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 (KJV; Greek, apostasia) that also must occur before the Antichrist is revealed is in context better understood to be a departure (i.e., the rapture of the Church).  However, even without these clear and powerful witnesses, a pre-tribulational rapture of the Church is a necessary inference from Paul’s opening to the chapter in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2.

FIGURE 1. Timing of the Rapture in the Pre-Trib, Mid-Trib,
Pre-Wrath, and Post-Trib Views.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:1, Paul introduces the subject of the chapter as “the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together unto him”.  The subject is a single event, since the first substantive clause is articulated and the second is not, being connected by an epexegetical kai in the Greek text (i.e., the Granville Sharp rule).  Paul’s subject is that particular “coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” which involves “our gathering together unto him” (cf. Jn14:1-3; 1Thess4:13-18). Thus, the subject of the chapter is the rapture of the Church.

In 2 Thessalonians 2:2, it is revealed that the Thessalonians had become “shaken in mind” and “troubled”, apparently as a result of a “letter as from us” (i.e., a letter alleging to be from the Apostle Paul, which was in fact a forgery). Their alarm was caused by the fact that the letter asserted that “the day of the Lord” had begun. The remainder of the chapter presents an iron-clad polemic for why that could not possibly be the case. However, one must ask why this news so disturbed the Thessalonians; why were the Thessalonians shaken?

In 2 Thessalonians 2:5 Paul reminds the Thessalonians that he had previously instructed them concerning this subject. Indeed, Paul’s first epistle to the Thessalonians discusses the rapture in every chapter (cf. 1Thess1:9-10; 2:19; 3:13; 4:13-17; 5:1-11). Presumably Paul had taught them when the rapture would occur relative to the coming 7-year Tribulation (i.e., the day of the Lord; 2Thess2:2). If he had taught them that the rapture of the Church would occur mid-trib, pre-wrath, or post-trib (i.e., any view that sees the rapture of the Church as occurring at some point during the Tribulation; see FIGURE 1), there is no reason for the Thessalonians to be “shaken” or “troubled”. There would be no inconsistency between those rapture views and the counterfeit message alleging that the Tribulation had begun. Rather than causing them to be “shaken”, such news would be cause for excitement and anticipation, since it would mean that their rapture was necessarily drawing near. However, if Paul had taught the Thessalonians that the rapture of the Church would occur before the Tribulation begins (i.e., pre-trib), then it is easily understandable why news that it had begun would be so troubling; if true, it would mean either: 1) that Apostle Paul’s previous teaching was untrue, or 2) the rapture of the Church had already occurred, and they had been left behind.

Only a belief in a pre-trib rapture as taught to the Thessalonians by the Apostle Paul explains why they were so “shaken” and “troubled” by the counterfeit message that the day of the Lord (i.e., the Tribulation) had begun. No other rapture view would have troubled the believers at Thessalonica. Properly understood, 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2 is a powerful witness to the fact that the Apostle Paul taught that the rapture of the Church would be pre-trib!

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February 14, 2021

Jude: Contending for the Faith Amidst Apostasy

By The Paleofundamentalist

“Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.” (Jude 3)

A brief one chapter epistle written by the half-brother of Jesus, the theme of Jude is contending for the historic faith delivered by the apostles in the midst of a present and growing apostasy (Jude 3-4). Jude describes the false teachers and doctrines that, beginning in the 1st century, would “wax worse and worse” (2 Timothy 3:13) throughout the Church Age. The messages of Jude and 2 Peter are very similar. As the message of 2 Peter is given in the future tense, whereas that of Jude appears in the present tense (Cp., Jude 3; 2 Peter 2:1), it is apparent that Jude was written after 2 Peter and quotes from it. The shocking message of Jude is that the apostasy prophesied by Peter had begun! As our culture increasingly rejects the Biblical worldview and rushes to embrace paganism, the message of Jude could not be more relevant for the days in which we live.

A Bible study class on The Epistle of Jude will begin in March 2021. The notes and audio for the study will be updated weekly. You can find them under the Biblical Studies menu; check periodically to follow the study as it progresses. God bless!

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January 2, 2021

Dispensationalism’s Necessity of a Pre-Tribulational Rapture

By The Paleofundamentalist

A proper dispensational understanding of the Bible (2 Timothy 2:15) absolutely necessitates a pre-tribulational Rapture of the Church.

What is the Church? The Church is being formed during the present Dispensation of Grace and is comprised of all who believe, whether Jew or Gentile, who are subsequently baptized into the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:12-13). Furthermore, the Church is not (the nation of) Israel, or any other nation, but a unique body comprised of believers from all nations. However, if the Church is present on earth during the Tribulation period (i.e., the 70th Week of Daniel; Daniel 9:27), all who believe during the Tribulation must become members of the “Church”. If this is to be the case, there can be no “saved” nation of Israel or Gentile nations present on earth at the end of the Tribulation to enter the Millennial Kingdom.

Utter confusion results if the Church is present on earth during the Tribulation. But thanks be to God, who has promised to remove the completed Church, the Body of Christ, at the Rapture (e.g., 1 Thessalonians 1:10; 2 Thessalonians 2:3; Revelation 3:10). During the Tribulation, the Church will be wed to Christ in heaven (Revelation 19:7-8), and those on earth who believe and endure to the end make up the “saved” nations who enter the Millennial Kingdom at the second coming of Christ.

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