Book Review: Storm Warning by Billy Graham

Storm Warning  is another great book for anyone interested in the book of Revelation and how it relates to the world today.

Billy Graham’s says that the Bible teaches that a time is coming in the very near future when God will bring judgement upon the world.  This judgment will begin with deception followed by war, famine, and death.  These correspond to what is commonly known as the four horsemen of the Apocalypse and the first of the seven seal judgements. 

For Billy Graham, the progressively more severe judgements of the seven seals, seven trumpets, and seven bowls can all be related to the four horsemen.  The first horse or seal of deception is most significant for Mr. Graham.  We certainly see war famine and death in our times but the opening of the seal of deception marks the beginning of God’s terrible judgements on Earth.  In our time there are many who have put their faith in Jesus and follow Him.  However, when the seal of deception is opened many will turn from God and trust in false religion and humanism.  Judgement will come on the heels of this widespread rejection of God.

According to Billy Graham this time of deception may be very near if not already upon us.  Billy Graham points to the fact that many have already abandoned God and followed their own ways. Believers will not suffer under these judgements but those who reject God will prefer death to the judgements but not find it. 

As always, Billy Graham’s heart is for those who do not believe.  He takes great care in showing how current events have been arranged to bring us to the doorstep of judgement.  He points out how there are numerous pauses in the book of Revelation that give unbelievers the opportunity to change their hearts and follow God.  Billy Graham uses these situations to ask unbelieving readers of his book to pause  and consider their eternal destiny.  Billy Graham’s desire is for his unbelieving readers to change their minds about God.  

Storm Warning provides reassurance for believers that God is sovereign over the affairs of men and his judgements are just.  Storm Warning calls unbelievers to wake up, gain understanding, and change their hearts toward God so that they may have eternal life.  It is a  resource for evangelism and a wonderful book to give to a friend that does not believe.

Resources on the Book of Revelation

Resources

Blum, Edwin, ed., Revelation, Shepherd’s Notes, Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999

Comment: Shepherd’s notes are conservative in theology and give a solid foundation for understanding the book. This was one of the primary sources for the class.

Duck, Daymond R., Richards, Larry, ed., Prophecies of the Bible—God’s Word for the Biblically Inept, Lancaster PA: Starburst Publishers, 2000

Comment: This is actually a good resource but caution is in order because the writer intersperses commentary of trustworthy Bible teachers along with others who promote false doctrine.

Hanegraaff, Hank, The Apocalypse Code, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2007

Comment: Hank Hanegraaff hosts the Bible Answer Man Radio Show. He is a preterist and this book provides a comprehensive defense of this position. At times he slips into some logical fallacies and tends to ridicule other positions.

Jeremiah, David, What In The World Is Going On? 10 Prophetic Clues You Cannot Afford To Ignore, Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 2008

Comment: A good book. Compares current events to prophecy. Seems to be mostly a take off on Walvoord’s book, Oil, Armageddon, and The Middle East Crisis.

Klien, William W., Blomberg, Craig L., Hubbard Robert L. Jr., Ecklebarger, Kermit A., ed., Introduction To Biblical Interpretation, Dallas: Word Publishing, 1993

Comment: Terrific book on how to interpret the Bible. It is an academic book and not an easy read.

Lewis, Gordon R., Decide for Yourself: A Theological Workbook, 9th Edition, Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 1978

Comment: A challenging book that requires the reader to explore various alternatives, search the Bible, and reach their own conclusions about various doctrinal issues. There is a companion book out called Judge for Yourself on current social issues.

Miller, Stephen, ed., Daniel, Shepherd’s Notes, Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1998

Milne, Bruce, Know The Truth A Handbook of Christian Belief, Downers Grove: Inter Varsity Press, 1982

Comment: A Bible doctrine book. Not a dispensational point of view but does try to present the main ideas of various views. Seems like the author leans toward the idea that the Kingdom is present now.

Ryrie, Charles C., A Survey of Bible Doctrine, Chicago: Moody Press, 1972

Comment: Ryrie is a dispensational teacher and this book reflect that view point on future things. He explains the other viewpoints fairly I think.

Ryrie, Charles C., Dispensationalism Today, Chicago: Moody Press, 1965

Comment: Presents the dispensational case. It is a counterpoint to the Apocalypse Code

even though it was written long before Hanegraaff wrote his book.

Revelation, Life Change Series, Colorado Springs: Navpress, 1989

Comment: This was another primary resource for the class. A difficult fill in the blank type book but has very good commentary on historical background and culture.

Sproul, R.C., Essential Truths Of The Cristian Faith, Wheaton, Ill.: Tyndale House, 1992

Comment: Basic Bible doctrine from a reformed point of view. Definitely not dispensational, used this in class once.

Swindoll, Charles R., God’s Masterwork, Volume Five: 2 Thessalonians-Revelation, Bible Study Guide, Anaheim: Insight for Living, 1998

Swindoll, Charles R. and Walvoord John F., ’Til His Kingdom Comes: Living In The Last Days, Issues and Answers Collection, Anaheim: Insight for Living, 2007

Comment: Used this in class because it has great charts.

Swindoll, Charles R., Letters to Churches: Timeless Lessons for the Body of Christ, Bible Study Guide, Anaheim: Insight for Living, 1998

Tenney, Merrill C., Interpreting Revelation A Reasonable Guide to Understanding the Last Book in the Bible, 3rd edition, Peabody, Mass.: Hendrickson Publishers, 2003

Comment: Tries to give a fair review of all the interpretive schemes for the Book of Revelation. Thinks the futurist viewpoint is probably most correct.

Tenney, Merrill C., New Testament Survey, Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1961

Swindoll, Charles R., Walvoord, John F., Pentecost, Dwight J., The Road To Armageddon, Nashville, Word Publishing, 1999

Walvoord, John F., Armageddon, Oil, And The Middle East Crisis, Revised Edition, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1990

Comment: Great book and lots of charts. The earlier edition had better charts. Another good resource for the class.

Walvoord, John F., Major Bible Prophecies 37 Crucial Prophecies That Affect You Today, Revised Edition, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1991

Personal Note

I actually referred to all of these books in my study for the class. Sadly, most of the information contained in them could not make it to class and sometimes events conspired to prevent me from using some of the things I wanted to bring.  I hope that you have come away from the class with sense that this difficult book can be understood and that you have a handle on the main message.  There is always more to learn so I am providing this list of sources in hopes that it will serve as a starting point in your journey to learn more.

In my study, I have leaned mostly on the work of Ryrie and Walvoord and I like the premillennial dispensationalist view.

I appreciate the faithfulness of all of you in persevering to the end. Each of you added to our class.  I hope you keep on growing and studying Revelation.

Finished Revelation

We finished Revelation yesterday.  Some have asked about the materials that were used in the class so I will keep our ABF website up and running with the materials in the documents section.

We are starting the Truth Project in 2 weeks.  I suppose the blog can be used for that class too so I will also keep the Little Man’s Blog going.

Just a personal note to all those that came to the class:  Thank you all for persevering and contributing your thoughts.  It was one of the more difficult books we tackled and I would say we got through it pretty well. I’ll put all the resources I used on the web page if you want to study more.

Revelation 20

I think Christians are revolutionaries in some sense.  Look at this link for my thoughts and the Che Guevara quote.

https://coyotessearch.wordpress.com/2009/11/01/revolution-ii/

Revelation Chart

Alister Begg’s warnings about putting too much stock in complicated charts and timelines are well taken. Nevertheless, this chart is too cool to not share.  I know nothing about this Ironside fellow but he makes nice looking charts.  It is a nice summary in that it seems to follow the same order that things are revealed in Revelation.

Check the link out:   http://www.broadview.gospelhall.com/chart_ironside_large.gif

Book Review: What in The World is Going On? by David Jeremiah

I thought this book was easy to read and moves along pretty quickly.  It provides and excellent view of the pre-millennial, pre-tribulation rapture, dispensational point of view.  I think David Jeremiah makes a good case for the position and gives the relevant scripture to back it up.  For this reason it is a good book to have in your library.

Like others, Jeremiah, takes current events and attempts to show how they fit into prophecy.  Unfortunately, this is where the book departs from good scholarship and enters into speculation.  Many books have been written about how current events have resulted in a situation that has set the stage for the rapture and return of Jesus.  I have been around long enough to observe that these books need to be updated every 10-15 years to accommodate new information from the newspaper headlines.  I suspect that the next revision of this book will be due around 2019.  Of course, at some point in time, one of these books has got to turn out to be right and I hope the 2019 revision date is unnecessary.

Nevertheless, I think this kind of speculation is one thing that makes Christian appear foolish to the rest of the world.   We would do well to remember that the time of Jesus return has not been revealed to man and scripture seems to indicate that the time will come unexpectedly and suddenly.  People will not be able to predict this event with any certainty.   Christians have thought that Jesus return is immanent for over 2000 years. 

It is good to be watchful and ready for His return.  This is an area where Jeremiah has done well.  His last words to the reader is filled with practical advice on being ready.  I have not seen that often in books of this nature and this is another good reason to get a copy.

Jeremiah has a 1 hour  video on his web site about the book that is worth a look: 

http://www.davidjeremiah.org/site/television.aspx

Le Grande Derangement

Two of my friends, who I respect a great deal, have told me in separate conversations, using similar words, that they consider themselves to be recovering dispensationalists.  That means that at one time they believed in the literal mellenial reign of Christ after 7 years of tribulation and all the other stuff that goes along with it.  They both still take a high view of scripture and study the scripture diligently.  Yet, their studies have led them to reject the futurist view of things.

It is unsettling when friends  you respect take up a differnt view of  things than you.  Could it be that the entire Hal Lindsey , Tim LaHaye, and Jerry Jenkins crew and all of thier followers have become immersed in some incredible delusion that they can’t see their way out of? 

Delusions are tough to figure out.  The objective observer can see that the delusional system  is clearly out of touch with reality but,  in the deluded person’s mind, events are interpreted in ways that support the delusion.  Even evidence that might counter the delusion is somehow incorprated into the delusional system of thinking.  Objective truth is often seen as evil forces trying to decieve.  The delusional system of thinking is often impossibe to crack and sometimes it is so tightly wound that the victim has an answer for everything and even years of therapy can’t crack the system.  Paranolid delusions are the worst.

I’d hate to think that I have been living in a delusion for several years at the mercy of a band of religious sounding crackpots.  Yet my delusion, if it is real, is not so tightly wound that I can’t see that nobody sounds more like a crackpot than Hal Lindsey.  The current popularization of dispensationalism with the Left Behind series, movies, books, etc., contains elements of paranoia and smells like one of those Christian rackets that make a lot money for a time and then retreat from the scene leaving nothing but a dry hole in the heart.  Thats kind of what happened with the prayer of Jabez.  I must not have done it right because I never got rich.

 On the other hand, as Reb Tevia says, the guys that  came up with this line of reasoning  originally were serious scholars and some of those that continue to teach it in our times are people to be reckoned with–Walvoord, Swindoll, Ryrie, and nearly all of my pastors are a few names that come to mind.            

I will leave it to you–either we have gone crazy or we are a lampstand for the world.

Two More Thoughts On Revelation

I was listening to the 08/25/2009  Truth For Life broadcast and the pastor said that Revelation is not about making a bunch of charts and diagrams and trying to fit everything into a certain chain of events and time lines.  He said “That is largely an American invention. I am sorry, but it is true”.  He went on to say that the point of Revelation is that if we truly believe that Jesus is returning and will judge the world, then we should be striving to live a life worthy of  Him so that our lives will be a witness to the world and we should work  to tell others about  Christ.  I agree with Alister Begg. 

I asked Celeste, a coworker, what she thought about Revelation.  She said it is all about Jesus and having a relationship with Him.  We don’t know when he will return but it all about being ready.  We need to be prepared for his return.  I agree with that too. 

I think  that the intent of Revelation is primarily to encourage us to remain faithful and finish strong.

The Distinctive of Dispensational Hermeneutics

In our study of Revelation we have adopted a futurist point of view although we have also tried to explore other points of view including the preterist view.  Dispensationalists say that their interpretation of the Bible is dependent upon the method they employ in interpretation.

Here are what I understand to be the main principles of the method.

1. Words are important but they may not mean the same thing today as they did in Biblical times.  It is important to understand the historical meaning of words and illustrations to arrive at a correct interpretation.
2. The Bible should be interpreted literally.   While the Bible does contain symbols and metaphors the context of the passage or the text itself makes it clear when something is not to be taken literally.  In most cases words should taken at face value and are intended to communicate truth in a plain and normal sense.
3. Dispensationalists consistently apply the literal principle.  Non-literalists would also agree with the first two points but they may not be consistent in their application.  For example, a non-literalist would say that Revelation is apocalyptic literature and is filled with types and symbols that point to a spiritual truth and it is the reader’s job to discover the spiritual meaning.  The two witness in Revelation may be seen as a representation of the missionary activity of the whole church before Christ’s return.  The dispensationalist would say that there is no justification for adopting this spiritualized interpretation and there is no indication that it is not to be taken literally.  Therefore, the passage means that in the end times there will be two actual witnesses with the power to act according to the descriptions provided in revelation. 
4. In old testament times prophecy was fulfilled literally so we ought to expect prophecy in the new testament to be fulfilled literally. 
5. Revelation in the Bible is progressive.  God reveals more about his plans through the scriptures as time passes.  Daniel predicted a time of trouble for Israel but Revelation provides more details about these events.  
6. Prophecies can have a near or immediate fulfillment as well as a  future fulfillment.
7. The Bible is God’s revelation to man about himself.  The Bible should be viewed as a unity with a consistent message.  Interpretations must be consistent with what God has already revealed and we should seek to see how a passage relates to the Bible as a whole.
8. Israel does not equal the church.  These are two separate groups and one should never say that God’s promisses to Israel are fulfilled spiritually through church.  God’s promises to Israel are yet to be fulfilled literally.

Here are a couple of links to more on the subject.  A good book is Ryrie’s Dispensationalism Today.  Ye olde disclaimer: I know nothing about Andy Woods but he seems to be conservative in theology and does a fair job of representing the dispensational position.  You would find an excellent defense of the non-literalist view in Hank Hennegraff’s book,  The Apocalypse Code.

Dispensational Hermeneutics by Andy Woods

Dispensational Hermeneutics a Matter of Genre by Andy Woods

Some have said that Dispensationalist views are guided more by a theological point of view rather than hermeneutics.  What is your view?  Are you a literalist or a non-literalist when it comes to Revelation?

The Strong Angel in Rev 5:1

Why was the angel in Rev 5:1 a “strong” angel.  Two possibilities come to mind.  First, in chapters 4 and 5, we are seeing God in all his power and glory.  In asking the question, “Who is worthy…?” the angel is acting as a representative or proxy of God and so it is fitting that the angel should be strong as a representative of God.  It would not be appropriate to have Daffy Duck ask this question as it would be inconsistent with God’s omnipotence and sovereignty as described here.

Another pssibility is that the angel is issuing a challenge to all and, in order to answer the challenge, one has to be at least as mighty as the strongest angel.

I found this quote from Matthew Henry’s Commentary that may be helpful:

1. The crier was a strong angel; not that there are any weak ones among the angels in heaven, though there are many among the angels of the churches. This angel seems to come out, not only as a crier, but as a champion, with a challenge to any or all the creatures to try the strength of their wisdom in opening the counsels of God; and, as a champion, he cried with a loud voice, that every creature might hear. 2. The cry or challenge proclaimed was, “Who is worthy to open the book, and to loose the seals thereof? Rev. 5:2. If there by any creature who thinks himself sufficient either to explain or execute the counsels of God, let him stand forth, and make the attempt.” 3. None in heaven or earth could accept the challenge and undertake the task: none in heaven, none of the glorious holy angels, though before the throne of God, and the ministers of his providence; they with all their wisdom cannot dive into the decrees of God: none on earth, no man, the wisest or the best of men, none of the magicians and soothsayers, none of the prophets of God, any further than he reveals his mind to them: none under the earth, none of the fallen angels, none of the spirits of men departed, though they should return to our world, can open this book. Satan himself, with all his subtlety, cannot do it; the creatures cannot open it, nor look on it; they cannot read it. God only can do it.