A New Heaven and a New Earth


Book Description

In recent years, more and more Christians have come to appreciate the Bible's teaching that the ultimate blessed hope for the believer is not an otherworldly heaven; instead, it is full-bodied participation in a new heaven and a new earth brought into fullness through the coming of God's kingdom. Drawing on the full sweep of the biblical narrative, J. Richard Middleton unpacks key Old Testament and New Testament texts to make a case for the new earth as the appropriate Christian hope. He suggests its ethical and ecclesial implications, exploring the difference a holistic eschatology can make for living in a broken world.




Parents Rising


Book Description

How to raise godly children in a godless world Do you feel like you’re fighting a losing battle? Against the culture, against the busyness, sometimes even against your spouse and kids… Often it seems like everything is against you as a parent, and your everyday life can feel far from joy-filled. But it doesn’t need to be that way. Parents Rising will show you eight cultural trends that parents are up against today and what you can do to claim victory. This book is about growth not guilt. It’s not a pep talk, or a “try harder” speech. This is real help for real problems that every parent faces. It’s a way to focus your efforts so that they’ll be more effective and you’ll be less exhausted.




The Antichrist and the Second Coming


Book Description

What if the commonly held beliefs concerning the Antichrist are mistaken? The Antichrist and the Second Coming looks at the Antichrist and the Second Advent of Christ from a preterist (i.e., past fulfillment) perspective and provides a unified interpretation of the little horn, the prince to come, the king of the North, the man of lawlessness, and the beast. This is the second in a two volume set on the Antichrist; it focuses on the book of Revelation. This edition stands on its own and is recommended reading even if you have not read the first volume (which focuses on Daniel and 2 Thessalonians). McKenzie shows how the Antichrist was ultimately a spiritual ruler from the abyss (Rev. 11:7) that worked through Titus in his three-and-a-half-year destruction of the Jewish nation (AD 67-70; cf. Dan. 9:26). This spirit of Antichrist was about to come out of the abyss in the first century (Rev. 17:8 NASB) and was destroyed by the Second Advent of Jesus in AD 70 (a spiritual event). Continue reading to see how McKenzie convincingly makes the biblical case for this fascinating and controversial position, and what it means for us today. Dr. Duncan McKenzie is a licensed psychologist (Ph.D. in psychology) who lives in Los Angeles, California. He has been studying Bible prophecy for the past twenty-five years and has been researching and writing this two volume set for the last twelve years.




What's the Truth About Heaven and Hell?


Book Description

Recent books about heaven and hell have aroused the interest of committed Christians and curious seekers alike. But the wide range of viewpoints has also created confusion and left many people wondering what they are to believe. This user-friendly guide presents the most popular views on heaven, hell, purgatory, judgment, and related topics, followed by brief, easy-to-follow analysis. Readers will be equipped to make their own well-informed decisions about questions like these: What happens when we die? Where did the idea of purgatory come from? Will our bodies be resurrected someday? If so, does cremation offend God? Will unbelievers be judged by God and punished in hell forever? Or will they be annihilated? What about those who never heard the gospel message? This summary of the latest Evangelical teaching and traditional mainstream scholarship provides readers with tools to assess each position in the light of Scripture.




Problems with Preterism


Book Description

Preterism is the belief that the majority, if not all, of the eschatological passages in the New Testament have already been fulfilled in the first century. Although there are some needed correctives that preterism provides when interpreting eschatological statements in the Synoptic Gospels, the interpretive methodologies employed are largely plagued with exegetical and logical fallacies. On top of these, the genre of apocalyptic is often completely lost on the modern interpreter and as a result leads to numerous non sequiturs made when it comes to the nature and time of biblical eschatology. This book seeks to correct these hermeneutical missteps by providing exegetical principles that may help guide the reader to a more biblically sound conclusion concerning the timing and nature of biblical eschatology.




Love God and Leave the Last Days Behind


Book Description

Many Christians grew up hearing that Jesus will come back any moment. We believed this strongly. I was one of those who felt strongly as a teenager that I would probably see Jesus coming in the clouds. I remember looking up in the sky several times when I was thirteen hoping to see it happen. I no longer believe that Jesus will physically show up in the clouds any minute, even though I deeply love all of my family and friends who still think that way. What changed my mind? It was taking seriously what our Lord actually told His First Century followers about His coming. He said it would happen in their lifetime, and I now believe that it truly did. It was a coming just like all of the Old Testament comings had been. They were all judgments upon persons living in specific places where God was about to end their way of life. First Century Jerusalem confronted the most significant battle in all of human history, and it was a covenantal battle. The Jewish nation found itself during the forty years following the Cross and the Resurrection of Jesus having to decide between the claims of the rulers of the nation that Jesus was not Messiah, and the claims of the Apostles of Jesus that He was, in fact, the Promised Son of David, and Savior of the world. The end came to the people of the ancient Hebrew Prophet Daniel, just as God told Daniel centuries before it happened. The coming of the last days of the Jewish national covenant with Yahweh was tragic and painful and changed all of history! Today, many people are fascinated by novels about 666 and trying to figure out the modern beast and anti-christ. This might be entertaining, but it lessens our devotion to the King Who has kept His Word, and through Whom we all will eventually give an account. Leaving the last days behind will enable all of us who love God to focus better on the principles of His kingdom, loving our families and neighbors and the larger community of our neighbors better. We will become less enthralled with science fiction if we conclude that the Biblical last days both began AND ENDED more than 1900 years ago. It will help us see our role more clearly in living the kingdom hands on to solve the problems of our times, and to build the brightest goals for future generations of our peeps!




Against Jovinianus


Book Description

Jovinianus, about whom little more is known than what is to be found in Jerome's treatise, published a Latin treatise outlining several opinions: That a virgin is no better, as such, than a wife in the sight of God. Abstinence from food is no better than a thankful partaking of food. A person baptized with the Spirit as well as with water cannot sin. All sins are equal. There is but one grade of punishment and one of reward in the future state. In addition to this, he held the birth of Jesus Christ to have been by a "true parturition," and was thus refuting the orthodoxy of the time, according to which, the infant Jesus passed through the walls of the womb as his Resurrection body afterwards did, out of the tomb or through closed doors.




The David Story: A Translation with Commentary of 1 and 2 Samuel


Book Description

"A masterpiece of contemporary Bible translation and commentary."—Los Angeles Times Book Review, Best Books of 1999 Acclaimed for its masterful new translation and insightful commentary, The David Story is a fresh, vivid rendition of one of the great works in Western literature. Robert Alter's brilliant translation gives us David, the beautiful, musical hero who slays Goliath and, through his struggles with Saul, advances to the kingship of Israel. But this David is also fully human: an ambitious, calculating man who navigates his life's course with a flawed moral vision. The consequences for him, his family, and his nation are tragic and bloody. Historical personage and full-blooded imagining, David is the creation of a literary artist comparable to the Shakespeare of the history plays.




Like Father, Like Son, on Clouds of Glory


Book Description

While the vast majority of Bible students believe that Jesus promised to return to earth in the physical body of a 5' 5" Jewish man, the actual truth is that he made no such promise! He promised to come "in the glory of the Father"- which means he was going to come, as the Father had come many times before! In this important tome, prolific author Don K. Preston, provides an incredible, challenging look at the Second Coming of Christ, giving the reader an abundance of evidence to prove that Christ's Second Coming was in the same manner as the Father and occurred in AD 70 with the dissolution of the Jerusalem Temple and the end of the Old Covenant age. An incredibly important book, and a true "must read!"