TABLE OF CONTENTS
BOOK OF DANIEL
The Antichrist (Daniel 2, 7, 8, and 11) [top]
• Daniel 2: Nebuchadnezzar’s Dream
• Daniel 7 – The Vision of Four Beasts – MP3
• Daniel 7 – What is the Fourth Beast? – MP3
• Daniel 8 – Out of what does the Horn come? – MP3
• Three Interpretations of the Little Horn – MP3
• Identity of the Little Horn – MP3
• Daniel 11 – Who is the Vile Person? – MP3
• Is Antiochus Daniel’s Antichrist?
Daniel 9 [top]
• Summary of the articles below
• Daniel 9 Explained, Verse-by-Verse
• Introduction to Daniel 9
• What is the purpose of the 70 weeks?
• What was the Decree to Restore Jerusalem?
• When did the 490 years end?
• Are the events described chronologically?
• Who makes what covenant during the last seven years?
• What is the Abomination of Desolation in 9:27?
• When will the goals in 9:24 be fulfilled?
• When did Daniel 9 say the Messiah would come?
• Does Daniel 9 describe the same crisis as Daniel 7?
• Did the vision answer Daniel’s prayer?
• Where are the 70 years of Babylonian captivity in history?
• The Book of Nehemiah – Valuable Context
• Dispensational Interpretation
• Anomalies in the Dispensational Interpretation
• Historical-Critical Interpretation
• Symbolical Interpretation
Is Daniel a Fraud? [top]
• Historical criticism implies Daniel is a forgery.
• Daniel is true prophecy.
• The Fall of Rome validates Daniel.
• Who was Darius the Mede?
• The Book of Daniel in the Dead Sea Scrolls
BOOK OF REVELATION
General Topics [top]
• Does Revelation describe events chronologically?
• Is a literal interpretation appropriate?
• Every main part of Revelation begins in the temple in heaven.
• The Return of Christ in Revelation
• The hearing/seeing theme in Revelation
• What do the numbers in Revelation mean?
The Seven Seals (4:1-8:1) [top]
• Summary of all articles on the Seven Seals
• God’s throne room (4:1-8)
• The 24 elders in God’s throne room (4:4)
• Worship in God’s throne room (Rev 4 & 5)
• What event is Revelation 5?
• The Sealed Book (5:1)
• Why Jesus had to die (5:6)
• Revelation 5 – Verse by Verse
• The White Horse of the First Seal (6:2)
• The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (6:1-8)
• The Souls under the Altar (6:9-11)
• Why must God’s people suffer (6:11)?
• The Sixth Seal (6:12-17)
• When will God’s people be sealed? (7:1-3)
• What is the Seal of God? (7:1-3)
• The Sealing in the Book of Daniel
• The 144,000 sons of Israel (7:1-8)
• The Great Multitude before the Throne (7:9-17)
• The Seventh Seal (8:1)
• Does the seventh seal include the seven trumpets?
• Why has Christ not yet returned? What is God waiting for?
The Seven Trumpets (10-11) [top]
• The Little Open Book (10:1-7)
• The Church’s Final Message (10:8 to 11:2)
• The Time, Times, and a Half (11:2)
• God’s Two Witnesses – Who are they? (11:3-6)
• The Death and Resurrection of the Two Witnesses (11:7-14)
• The Seventh Trumpet (11:15-19)
Revelation 12-14 [top]
Revelation 12
• Who are the woman and her child? ()12:1-5)
• What are the stars of heaven (12:4) – angels or people?
• When was Satan thrown out of heaven? (12:9)
• How Christ’s death won the victory in heaven (12:11)
• How did “they” overcome Satan? (12:11)
• Why did God not end evil after the Cross?
Revelation 13
• The Dragon Identified
• The Beast is Daniel’s 11th horn.
• The Beast’s fatal wound (13:3-4)
• Revelation’s Beast Identified
• The Mark of the Beast (a summary of several articles)
The Seven Last Plagues [top]
• Introduction (Rev 15)
First Four Plagues:
• Not interpreted individually.
• Why do they target the earth, sea, waters, and sun?
Plague 5:
• The Throne of the Beast
• The Loud Cry
• Where did the Beast receive its throne?
Plague 6:
• The drying up of the Euphrates (16:12)
• The Kings from the East (16:12)
• Armageddon
• Jesus comes like a thief (16:15). A secret rapture?
• Why must the Euphrates dry up?
• Summary of the articles on the Sixth Plague
Conclusion
• The Seventh Plague
• Purpose of the Plagues
• The plagues validate God’s judgments.
Revelation’s Beasts [top]
• The Seven-Headed Beasts
• How the seven-headed beasts relate to the seven heads
• The Seven Heads Identified
• The Sixth Head receives the Fatal Wound.
Babylon, the Mother of Harlots [top]
• Babylon unites the World against God.
• The Harlot and the Beast
• Babylon became Christian.
• Babylon’s Merchants are her false teachers (18:23).
• Is Babylon a literal city?
• Is Babylon the Papacy?
• Overview of the articles on Babylon
Revelation 17-18 [top]
• 17:1-3 verse-by-verse
• 17:4-6 verse-by-verse
• The Time Perspective in Revelation 17
Revelation – External Resources
• Rev 12 – Revelation 12 and the War in Heaven. (mp3)
• Rev 4 and 5 (mp3)
• Paulien’s commentary
CHRISTOLOGY [top]
• Who is Jesus? He is not God, but He is equal with God.
• In the Trinity doctrine, Jesus is God, but Jesus is not God.
• Is Jesus God Almighty?
• He is subordinate to God.
• Is Jesus eternally equal with the Father?
• In many respects, the Son is equal to God.
• Christ’s divinity in John’s gospel
Jesus in Specific Bible Books [top]
• John consistently distinguishes between God and Jesus.
• Colossians: The roles of God and Christ
• Colossians: Is Jesus God or a created being?
• The Trinity in the Book of Revelation
Jesus in Specific Bible Passages [top]
• Philippians 2: Jesus was equal with God but emptied Himself.
• Does 1 Corinthians 8:6 include Jesus in the Shema?
• In John 10, did Jesus claim to be God?
• “I and the Father are one.” Are they one Being?
Christ’s Origin and Pre-existence [top]
• Does monogenēs mean “only-begotten?”
• The firstborn of all creation (Col 1:15)
• God created all things through the Son.
• Where is Jesus in the Old Testament?
• Jesus existed before His human birth.
Worship [top]
• If Jesus is not God, why must we worship Him?
• Jesus is worshiped. Does that mean that He is God?
• Is Jesus worshiped in Revelation 5:14?
Does the Bible call Jesus “God?” [top]
• Overview of these articles
John 1:1
• Possible Translations
• Does it mean, ‘The Word was a god?’
• Theos is a count noun.
• Does it mean, ‘The Word was God?’
Other Instances
• When it refers to Jesus, how should theos be translated?
• Does John 1:18 say that Jesus is God?
• Did Thomas call Jesus “God” (John 20:28)?
• Romans 9:5 – Paul never referred to Jesus as God.
• Does Hebrews 1:8 prove that Jesus is God?
The Word of God [top]
• The Word in John 1:1 – a Person or a principle?
• Why is Jesus called “the Word?”
• Did Philo influence the New Testament?
TRINITY DOCTRINE [top]
• The Trinity Doctrine
• Eternal Generation of the Son
• An Eastern Orthodox view of the Trinity
• The Trinity Doctrine vs Modalism
• The Athanasian Creed vs Eastern Orthodoxy
• Elohim is plural. Is God more than one Person?
External Resources
• Kermit Zarley
• Dr. Steven Nemes – Part 1 (mp3)
• Dr. Steven Nemes – Part 2 (mp3)
ORIGIN OF THE TRINITY DOCTRINE [top]
The Trinity doctrine gained the upper hand through the 4th-century Arian Controversy. This article series discusses the views during the first three centuries, the events of the fourth, and the developments in the later centuries.
Fourth Century Arian Controversy
• The Origin of the Trinity Doctrine
• The Traditional Account of the Controversy
• An informative lecture by R.P.C. Hanson
• The Sabbath was part of the Controversy.
• What was the Core Issue?
• Competing views on the Incarnation
• The terms Prosopon and Hypostasis
Pre-Nicene Fathers [top]
• Justin Martyr
• Logos-theology – MP3
• Rome and Alexandria disputed homoousios. – MP3
• Monarchianism (Modalism) – MP3
• Tertullian – MP3
• Sabellius
• Ignatius of Antioch
• Polycarp
• Irenaeus
• Did the church fathers describe Jesus as God?
• External resource: Dr. Tuggy’s podcasts 239-242.
Arius – Beginning of the Controversy [top]
• When the Controversy began, what was the traditional view of Christ?
• How did scholars describe Arius over the Centuries?
• Did Arius learn from Paul of Samosata?
• Who was Arius? Why do many regard him as an Antichrist?
• Did Arius cause the Arian Controversy?
• Did Arius corrupt theology with philosophy?
• Did Arius follow any pre-Nicene Father?
• Did Arius follow Origen?
• Did Arius say time existed before the Son?
• Did Arius describe the Son as mutable?
• What did Arius teach?
The Nicene Council and Creed (AD 325) [top]
• Constantine’s Role and Influence
• In the Creed, is the Son equal to the Father?
• Was the Creed a Sabellian victory?
• ‘He is not of another substance’ – What does that mean?
• The Trinity doctrine did not exist in 325.
• How Eusebius of Caesarea explained the Creed
• Should a Protestant accept the Nicene Creed?
• The Trinity doctrine deviates from the Nicene Creed.
• What did homoousios mean to the Nicene Council?
• Did homoousios originate from Egyptian Paganism?
• Was homoousios regarded as important?
• After Nicaea, the Council’s agreement was overturned.
Arianism [top]
• What is Arianism? What was its core teaching?
• After Nicaea, Arian emperors dominated the church.
• The term ‘Arian’ is a serious misnomer.
• The Dedication Creed – AD 341
• Why the Dedication Council avoided Homoousios
• The Macrostich (Long Lines Creed)
• Did Arians describe the Son as a creature? – MP3
• The Homoians
• The Homoiousians
• How did Arius explain John 1:1?
• How did Arians interpret Colossians 2:9?
Nicenes and Nicene Theology [top]
• Athanasius was deposed for violence.
• The East deposed Athanasius, but the West vindicated him.
• Athanasius was a Unitarian, not a Trinitarian.
• Athanasius on the Incarnation and Soteriology
• Council of Serdica (AD 343)
• Sabellian Theology
• Athanasius’ revised explanation of the Nicene Creed
• Basil of Caesarea’s View of the Trinity
• The Meletian Schism – Athanasius vs. Basil of Caesarea
End of the Controversy [top]
• Emperor Theodosius and the Edict of Thessalonica
• Why did Theodosius succeed in ending the Controversy?
• Council of Constantinople – AD 381
• The creeds of 325 and 381 compared
Later Centuries [top]
• The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire
• Why the Empire fell
• After the Fall of Rome, Arianism dominated.
• The Abomination of Desolation (Daniel 12:11)
• 6th to 8th centuries: End of Arianism. – MP3
• The Roman State Church became the Roman Church.
• The Catholic Church called for the Waldensian massacres.
THE SABBATH [top]
In the Old Testament
• The Seventh Day was sanctified at Creation.
• Evolution neutralizes the Bible’s core message
• A weekly cycle before the time of Moses
• The Sabbath in the Ten Commandments
• The Sabbath in the Traditions of the Elders
Jesus’ Sabbath Healing Miracles [top]
• His first two Sabbath healing miracles
• The man with the withered hand
• The crippled woman
• The paralytic at Bethesda
• The man who was born blind
Jesus’ Sabbath Teachings [top]
• The Sabbath was made for man.
• Christ deliberately contravened the traditions.
• The real reason they killed Jesus
• Why did Jesus heal on the Sabbath?
• What did Jesus teach about the Sabbath?
• Jesus taught a different Sabbath.
• The Law of Christ replaced the Law of Moses.
Other Sabbath Articles [top]
• No Sabbath Commandment
• Each must be fully convinced in his own mind (Rom 14).
• The Sabbath was part of the Arian Controversy
OTHER SUBJECTS
The Law of Moses [top]
• The Law of Christ replaced the Law of Moses.
• The Old Testament implies that Moses’ Law would fall away.
• Christ replaced the Law with higher standards.
• What is the Law of Christ?
• Summary of the previous four articles
Sermon on the Mount [top]
• Jesus fulfilled the Law and the Prophets.
• Objections to the previous article
• Did the Church Council in Acts 15 contradict Jesus?
• Sermon on the Mount
Atonement – Why Jesus had to die [top]
• What does “atonement” mean?
• Overview of the main theories of Atonement
• How this website explains Atonement
• Metaphors for Salvation
• Christ’s death enabled God’s grace.
• An explanation of the atonement to a Muslim
• A brief overview of these articles
External Resources:
• Graham Maxwell – Part 1
• Noah Worcester Part 1
• Noah Worcester Part 2
Justification [top]
• God judges people by their deeds and justifies some by grace.
• Justification is not a mere legal process. It really changes the person.
State of the Dead [top]
• The Souls under the Altar in the Fifth Seal – Are they alive?
• Do people have immortal souls? (1 Corinthians 15)
• UCG – The Immortal Soul (An external resource)
• With what kind of body will the dead be resurrected?
• Evidence for the Resurrection of Christ (External mp3)
Eternal Torment [top]
• God will annihilate the lost.
• The smoke of their torment will rise forever (Rev 14:9-11).
• Tormented day and night forever (Rev 20:10, 15)
• The evidence for eternal torment
• Summary of these articles
• Only God’s people will receive eternal life.
External Resources
• Why I am an Annihilationist (Glenn Peoples)
• A Final Word With Edward Fudge
• The Case for Annihilationism
• Traditional Objections Answered
Why does Evil exist? [top]
• The Origin of Evil
• Why Satan thought he could win
• Who are the rulers and authorities?
• How the Cross disarmed the rulers and authorities (Col 2:15)
Very Early Church History [top]
• For the first years, the church was a sect of Judaism.
• The 490-year covenant ended when Israel killed Stephan.
• Dispute over the Law when the first Gentiles became Christians
• Acts 15 Church Council – distinguished Jews and Gentiles.
• Early Church History – Important context for theology
• Chronology
Christ’s Return [top]
• When and how will Jesus return?
• Christ’s Return in the Book of Revelation
• What will happen at the End of the Age?
• Christ’s teachings of the end-time
• A comparison of Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21
• Christ promised to return soon.
• This generation passes away. (Matt 24:34)
• His disciples finish going through the cities of Israel.
• Some of His contemporaries would die. (Matt 16:28)
• Does God delay Christ’s return?
Jesus promised to return soon. Fulfilled through:
• The outpouring of the Holy Spirit?
• Or through the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70?
General [top]
• Christmas
• Christianity became integrated with Paganism.
• About Author
SPECIFIC BOOKS
Romans [top]
• Romans 1
• Romans 2
• 3:1-8 Did God reject Israel?
• What does the term “Israel” mean? (Romans 9-11)
• Summary of the previous article
• God elected Israel for a mission, not to save them.
Recommended external podcasts
• Arminianism as a God-centred Theology
• Dr. John Piper on the election
Romans 14
• The dispute was not about the Law of Moses (14:1-4).
• “Unclean” does not refer to unclean animals. (14:14).
• We see the same dispute in Corinthians 8 and 10.
• Is the weekly Sabbath optional (14:5-6)?
• God will judge people by their deeds (14:7-13).
• Rather, abstain from meat (14:13-23).
Galatians [top]
Galatians 1
• 1:1-5 – Jesus gave Himself to rescue us.
• 1:6-9 – The dangerously distorted gospel
• 1:10-12 – Paul received his gospel from Christ.
• 1:13-14 – The Traditions of the Elders
• 1:15-24 – Overview of Galatians 1
Galatians 2
• 2:1-10 – Circumcision
• 2:11-14 – The Circumcision Party
• 2:15-16 – Must Gentile Christians be circumcised?
• 2:17-18 – The dividing wall between Jew and Gentile
• 2:19-20 – Christians are not subject to the Law of Moses.
• 2:21 – Attempts to earn “righteousness” through the Law
• Overview Galatians 1 & 2
Galatians 3
• 3:1-5 – The Galatians want to continue in their own power.
• 3:6-9 – Those who believe are sons of Abraham.
• 3:10-14 – No one is justified by the Law.
• 3:15-18 – Jesus Christ inherited the covenant promises.
• 3:19-25 – Christ replaced the Law as our Tutor.
• 3:26-29 – Israel no longer has a separate role in God’s plan.
• Overview Galatians 1 to 3
Galatians – General
• When was Galatians written?
• What did the Galatians do wrong?
• List of articles with more detail
Colossians [top]
Colossians 1
• Introduction (1:1-8) – The hope laid up for us in heaven
• 1:9-14 – The Father rescued us.
• 1:15-19 – The Colossian Deception
• 1:20-22 – War in heaven
• 1:23-28 – Gentiles are fellow members of the body.
Colossians 1
• 2:1-4 – Deceivers merged the gospel with mystery religions.
• 2:5-8 – The Colossian deception was not Judaism.
• 2:9-10 – The deception claimed to obey supernatural rulers.
• 2:11 – A heart circumcised by the Spirit hates sin.
• 2:11-14 – In Christ, Christians are already complete.
Cheirographon (2:14-15)
• Compare 2:14 to Ephesians 2:15.
• Different translations of cheirographon
• The Cheirographon is a certificate of debt.
• The rulers and authorities disarmed – 2:15
Colossians 2:16
• Who criticized whom with respect to the Sabbath?
• Festivals, New Moons, and Sabbaths
• Are these weekly or annual Sabbaths?
• The Colossians were criticized for HOW they kept the Sabbath.
Hebrews [top]
• Jesus had to suffer and die without sin.
• Jesus is a better priest than the Levitical priesthood.
• Christ appears before God for us.
• Come to the throne with confidence, for Jesus is our high priest.
• The Unpardonable Sin
• 1:1:3 – Christ’s message is superior to the Old Testament.