The Ancient Mystery That Holds the Secret of America's Future

 

Is it fact or fiction? That is the question everyone asks when they first encounter Jonathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger. The answer is both, I guess—a little from column a and a little from column b. How about this: The Harbinger is meant to be fact presented in the form of a novel; in reality it is an unfortunate mixture of truth and error presented in the form of a script. Still with me?

What is demonstrably factual is that The Harbinger is a phenomenon. It has held steady for forty weeks on the New York Times list of bestsellers, selling over 700,000 copies through fifteen reprints. At the time I write this, Amazon ranks it #2 on their list of Christian fiction and #7 on their list of Christian theology. The book had largely escaped my view until the past few weeks when I received a series of emails from people wondering what it was all about. I finally caved and read it. Consider this more of an explanation of what it is than a thorough review.

I will get to the content in a moment, but first a word about the form. Though described as a novel, the book is actually far closer to a script (a script that would make an exceptionally tedious play or film). There is very little action, only the barest semblance of a plot, and no development at all of the three characters. Instead, the book is composed of amateurish dialog that proceeds at a plodding pace. The writing is repetitive to the point that it could easily have been boiled down to a third or a half of its current length. The book is a chore to read and, speaking personally, the end simply could not come too soon.    Continue at Tim Challies

Seven Ways to Get to Christ in the Old Testament

Maybe some of you have had a similar experience to mine. I was born and raised in a Christian home where the Gospel was believed and the Bible was taught and God was revered and trusted.

All of that was great, and I am so thankful and blessed for my upbringing, but the Old Testament was always a disconnect for me to the Gospel and the New testament. I wasn’t ever taught false doctrine but I believe that the emphasis was put in the wrong place. As far as I knew, Jesus’ life was just another story of the Bible among others like Daniel, Abraham, David, Esther, etc. You get the idea.

My friend recently described it as if you were given a box full of parts and told to assemble them not knowing that you were supposed to be building a motorcycle.

I think that this comes from an over emphasis on “Bible Study.”  I am not saying that there is anything wrong with Bible study or having a good hermeneutical foundation. Obviously, these are important for context so we don’t miss the original meaning and message. We correctly exegete the word and do not perform the big no no of eisegesis.

When Paul the Apostle refers to the Gospel or sometimes even “the Mystery” he isn’t just talking about the “The Romans Road” or some easy steps to understanding salvation. When Paul uses these terms he is talking big picture; he is looking at the whole story of historical redemption. He is thinking of Creation to New Creation and everything in between. This is where a proper understanding of the Old testament fits in. All the stories, and historical events of the Old Testament are pointing forward to something greater – to some one greater! Jesus himself said to the religious leaders and students of his day:   Continue at Char Brodersen

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The Mystery and Miracle of Christmas

It is only 17 days until Christmas.

Thanksgiving, Black Friday, and Cyber Monday are all behind us—which means that, at least as far as retailers are concerned, the Christmas season is now in full swing. Visit your local coffee shop, take a trip to the mall, or just drive through your neighborhood at night, and it’s easy to see that the so-called “Christmas spirit” is alive and well in American culture.

Some of the ironies of our culture’s fascination with Christmas are especially evident where I live in Southern California.

• It hasn’t snowed here in years, but snowflake decorations are everywhere.

• Reindeer don’t live anywhere near us, yet my neighbors have several in their front yard (of the plastic variety).

• For that matter, we don’t exactly live in an evergreen forest. (The desert tends to be more “ever-brown.”) But, thankfully, local warehouse stores ship in Christmas trees by the truckload.

• All of this, so that for one month out of the year Southern Californians can pretend that we are walking in a winter wonderland.

Now, don’t get me wrong, there is something very fun about all of the excitement and buzz that whirls around Christmas. A leisurely stroll past festive storefronts while holding a warm cup of coffee, or a nighttime car ride to go look at Christmas lights, these are some of my favorite things about Christmastime. Add in the joys of time spent with family and friends and Christmas becomes one of my favorite seasons of the year.

But there is also a danger in all of this: distraction. It is the danger of being so caught up in the celebration that we forget why we are celebrating . . . or more importantly, whom we are celebrating.  Keep Reading >>>

The Appeal of Churches who Know What they Believe

The growth of theologically conservative churches and the corresponding decline of liberal churches has been the occasion of a lot of speculation over the years. 

Even sociologists have offered opinions. The findings usually suggest that people can't deal with the thoughtful subtleties and ambiguities of liberal churches. Therefore they flock to the so-called easy answers provided by conservative churches. It is reasoned that people feel "safe" with more rules so they prefer conservative churches. However, this assumes that conservative churches are more legalistic than liberal churches. But this is not at all the case. Liberal churches have the same capacity for legalism as their fundamentalist counterparts. The rules are simply different. Keep Reading...

The Mystery of Children’s Church

The Mysterious Case of the Disappearing Gospel

HT: Daniel Neades

The Mystery of Godliness