Gog from Magog

John C. Whitcomb

The word of the LORD came to me: “Son of man, set your face toward Gog, of the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him and say, Thus says the Lord GOD: Behold, I am against you, O Gog, chief prince of Meshech and Tubal. (NKJV, Ezekiel 38:1–3)

The approximate time of the invasion of Israel’s land by Gog from Magog (Ezek. 38:2) remains a debatable question among pre-tribulational theologians.

Three options are available. First, some place an invasion at the very beginning of the 70th week (i.e., the coming seven-year tribulation, which follows the rapture of the church; see Dan. 9:27). A second possibility would be just before the middle of that week. Thirdly, some place it at the end of the week.

For several reasons, the second option, namely an invasion just before the middle of the 70th week, seems to involve the fewest problems.

The first and third options face the very difficult problem of having Gog entering the Holy Land (“the midst of the land,” Ezek. 38:12) when its inhabitants “dwell safely” (Ezek. 38:8, 11, 14) in “unwalled villages” (v. 11).

The third option is immediately eliminated because at the end of the great tribulation period the Jews will have been driven out of the land (Matt. 24:15-22, Rev. 12:13-17).

Discussion

"While it may appear as though theological debate today is more polarized than ever, in fact it is perhaps as civil as it's ever been."

SI Filings
“What few of us realize is that when we press those ‘Publish,’ ‘Post,’ ‘Comment,’ and ‘Send’ buttons, we are making the shift away from merely ‘believing’ truth and stepping into the arena of publishing that belief. In doing so we are effectively assuming a position of leadership and teaching that prior to 2004 was not available to us.” Not Many of You Should Presume to be Bloggers

Discussion

Outlets for magazine articles

Barbara H.
I don’t know of many independent fundamental Christian magazines. In fact, I only know of one: the FBFI’s Frontline. I’ve sent a few articles to them, but I am wondering if there are others. Do any of the rest of you write magazine articles, and where do you send them?

Discussion

What are you working on?

Barbara H.
Just thought I’d ask other aspiring Christian writers what kinds of projects your working on.

I have one article almost ready, a novel idea with two characters fleshed out but not sure where I want them to go, another bare-bones idea for a novel, and a couple of ideas for devotional-type books. I’m not sure when or if the “ideas” will get beyond that point, but I take them out and fiddle with them now and then.

How about you?

Discussion

Should Believers Avoid Eating Blood (Acts 15:29)?

Ed Vasicek

Poll Results

Should Believers Avoid Eating Blood (Acts 15:29)?

Yes, with rigor Votes: 1
Yes, but only if it is called to our attention Votes: 3
No, this was only a concession for the Jews Votes: 0
No, it was only for that era Votes: 1
It is unclear or I am undecided Votes: 0
Other Votes: 1
Yes, for believers who fellowship with Jewish believers Votes: 2

Discussion

Answering the 95 Theses Against Dispensationalism, Part 10

Paul Henebury

Republished with permission from Dr. Reluctant. In this series, Dr. Henebury responds to a collection of criticisms of dispensationalism entitled “95 Theses against Dispensationalism” written by a group called “The Nicene Council.” Read the series so far.

Thesis 46

Contrary to dispensationalism’s claim that “the Church is a mystery, unrevealed in the Old Testament” (J. D. Pentecost), the New Testament writers look to the Old Testament for its divine purpose and role in the history of redemption and declare only that the mystery was not known “to the sons of men” at large, and was not known to the same degree “as” it is now revealed to all men in the New Testament (Eph 3:4-6), even noting that it fulfills Old Testament prophecy (Hos 1:10 / Rom 9:22-26), including even the beginning of the new covenant phase of the Church (Joel 2:28-32 / Acts 2:16-19).

Response: First, one does not have to be a dispensationalist to hold that the mystery of the Church as the Body of Christ was not known in OT times (see Bruce, O’Brien, Barth). The adverbial conjunction “as” in Ephesians 3:5 is best seen in a descriptive sense asserting the difference in kind which the mystery discloses, rather than a restrictive way whereby more is known now than was known before. Paul is speaking here of the entity which is the Church. The Church is the Body of Christ which is entered into through the Baptism of the Spirit (1 Cor. 12:13). According to Acts 1:5 (cf. John 7:39) this baptism began at Pentecost. It is this new revelation of the Body of Christ which it is crucial to keep in mind since it is just not found in the OT. Further, the mystery was covered up, “hidden,” or “not made known” (3:5), but is now revealed. This surely supports the descriptive sense! It wasn’t half covered up!

Colossians 1:26, which is more emphatic, again refers to that which “was hidden from ages…but now has been revealed.” So there is a strong case against the view that Paul is talking about the amount or “degree” of the mystery that was known prior to the NT. Paul is rather saying that the Church was completely unknown.

Discussion

Clumsy Coverups in UBS4

Edward Miller
On the subject of undocumented changes, sometimes what was a documented reading becomes an undocumented one. While the motive for alterations in the apparatus of a critical text may be benign, the result is still the same: obscurity, and a decrease in information available and knowledge about the text.

Here’s an example:

This is a remarkable reading, not because it has any credibility as a reading (it is an obvious homoeoteleuton error, acknowledged by most critics and editors), but because of its strange history in the UBS text.

Discussion