Kim Riddlebarger's Blog

Got an email update of Gene Cook's guests this week and Kim Riddlebarger's photo was staring me in the face, so I clicked on it thinking it would take me to Unchained Radio and I would get to hear the Eschatology Monday episode "The Case for Amillennialism" but instead it took me to his blog. The Riddleblog, "a website devoted to Reformed Theology and Eschatology. The latest entry was dealing with Islam and had a photo of a beautiful temple/mosque. I've always been predisposed to that type of architecture anyway... I just didn't know they had anything quite so grande. I'm putting a blurb up here because Riddlebarger looked like he had some good links - White Horse Inn and such...

DNA - 12 generation chart

1st generation = self
2nd generation = 2 parents
3rd generation = 4 grandparents
4th generation = 8 great-grandparents
5th generation = 16 great-great-grandparents
6th generation = 32 great-great-great-grandparents
7th generation = 64 great-great-great-great-grandparents
8th generation = 128 G5-grandparents
9th generation = 256 G6-grandparents
10th generation = 512 G7-grandparents
11th generation = 1,024 G8-grandparents
12th generation = 2,048 G9-grandparents
13th generation = 4,096 G10-grandparents
14th generation = 8,192 G11-grandparents
15th generation = 16,384 G12-grandparents
16th generation = 32,768 G13-grandparents
17th generation = 65,536 G14-grandparents
18th generation = 131,072 G15-grandparents
19th generation = 262,144 G16-grandparents
20th generation = 524,288 G17-grandparents
21st generation = 1,048,576 G18-grandparents
22nd generation = 2,097,152 G19-grandparents
23rd generation = 4,194,304 G20-grandparents
24th generation = 8,388,608 G21-grandparents
25th generation = 16,777,216 G22-grandparents
26th generation = 33,554,432 G23-grandparents
27th generation = 67,108,864 G24-grandparents
28th generation = 134,217,728 G25-grandparents
29th generation = 268,435,456 G26-grandparents
30th generation = 536,870,912 G27-grandparents
31st generation = 1,073,741,824 G28-grandparents
32nd generation = 2,147,483,648 ancestors (or G29-grandparents)

"So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations; from David to the deportation to Babylon, fourteen generations; and from the deportation to Babylon to the Messiah, fourteen generations." (Matthew 1:17)

14+14+14=42

Romans 11 and the "Future" of "Israel"

I was going to do print out tomorrow's scripture passages that I want the children to read, maybe download one of Gene Cook's broadcasts to listen to when that Fide-O thing he keeps talking about caught my eye, so I surfed over and read the following about R.C. Sproul and his millennial views:

Today, I am attending “The Cross of Christ: Redemption Accomplished” Conference in Anaheim, California with R.C. Sproul and Ligon Duncan.

Last night I got a chance to spend some time with Dr. Sproul and talk about eschatology. I mentioned to him that I felt like in his book “The Last Days According to Jesus” that he really didn’t let his readers know which eschatological camp he was in: Premil, Postmil, or Amil. He laughed heartily and replied, “That’s right, because I don’t actually know. I see valid points in all of them and weaknesses, too.” R.C. made sure that I knew that he was a partial preterist who viewed this age in a very positive way. He talked about how the church in the West is filled with apostasy and liberalism but in other parts of the world the church is doing great. When he spoke of these matters he sounded like an Amillennialist. But he said that when it came to Romans chapter 11 that he agreed with Charles Hodge and believed that there was something in the future specially for the ethnic Jews of Israel. His view of Romans 11 was similar to Historical Premil. He then apologized to me for being confused. Now that was humbling. If it were not for Dr. Sproul quite possibly I could still be an Arminian – so don’t apologize to me, Dr. Sproul. In fact, to confess that some theology confuses you encourages me and reminds me that we all approach the Bible from the same place – a place of desperate need for God’s wisdom!

The service last night was a Q&A session with Dr. Sproul. Here are some of the answers he gave. There were more questions than what I have listed below and, of course, Dr. Sproul’s answers were longer than what I have given below. But I thought you may enjoy this abridged version.

Q – How do you feel about current supernatural works of the Holy Spirit?

A – I feel good about the Holy Spirit miraculously doing His work of bringing men to salvation… But concerning miracles as defined theologically I am a cessationist…. Miracles in Scripture were used by God to verify and authenticate agents of revelation and to verify the divinity of Christ… God is not doing such miracles today.

Q – Are Arminians saved?

A – The real question is whether they are safe… Saved? Most are, barely… really the debate between Calvinists and Arminians is an intramural debate among Christians.

Q – Why is tension between Reformed Christians and Conservative Evangelical over the doctrine of predestination?

A – There has been tension in nearly every century for 2000 years so we shouldn’t be alarmed… The good news is Conservative Evangelicals believe that there is a biblical doctrine of predestination. The issue is what is the definition… Some are upset with this doctrine because it seems to cancel human free will and it seems to make God unfair and unloving… Arminians never get charged with their gospel making God look unrighteous. But Paul knew that his definition of predestination would bring that charge, so he anticipates the charge in Romans 9 by asking, “Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means!”

Q – Is Israel still an entity in God’s plan or has Israel been replaced by God?

A – Yes… but Dispensationalism is flat out wrong!

Q – How do you feel about last nights game between Pittsburg and Miami?

A – It reconfirmed the grace of God.

Q – The church is always under attack, but what do you see as the most dangerous?

A – Hostility of the secular culture and those who want to use the power of the state to mute and marginalize the church… the secularization of worship… but always the greatest enemy of the church is not from without but within, the false teachers.

Nothing new there. Nothing too upsetting. It was the comment about Israel and the comments that followed. Actually, it was something Gene had said in his discussion with "Dee Dee Warren" of PreteristSite.com and TheologyWeb.com fame and later with Jason Robertson in his discussion of DiSpENSATIONALism, NCT and CT regarding the "future" of "Israel" that gets me so riled up - especially when people bring up Romans 11 as if Romans 11 is somehow separate from the context of the rest of the Bible, and history, and soteriology, and anthropology, and genealogy, and ..., and ...!!!

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