1. A “User-friendly” introduction

(All Scripture Quotations NAS)

Evaluating our beliefs about the “End Times”

     There is probably no subject that evokes as much excitement and curiosity (for all people) as does the issue of the future, where we are heading, and how things on this earth will end.  This is certainly true in the area of Biblical study and theology - eschatology (study of the end times) deals with trying to understand what the Bible teaches about the return of Christ, how human history and this world will end, and what follows.  Because of its widespread fascination to us, we must also be aware that there are dangers.

     Sensationalism - There is a real opening here for “exciting” but un-Biblical notions.  Some “scandal sheets” sell well in the grocery store check-out line because of their exciting headlines and wild pictures.  Notions about vast plagues, natural calamities, horrible dictators, major wars, etc. will attract a lot of interest.  Because people naturally tend to believe what is in print, there is also a problem with zealous advocates of certain end times scenarios inventing or passing on unsubstantiated claims that support their beliefs - I have encountered such things in Bible notes and paperback books.

     Sadly, some of the so-called "prophecy experts" that make their living from hawking dispensationalism are downright irresponsible in some of the things they say to keep their followers on the "edge of their chairs."  I have heard Jack van Impe cite Nahum 2:4 as a "prophecy of automobiles (headlights/tail-lights) racing about Jerusalem" when Jesus is about to return (even though the prophecy is clearly identified as concerning the Assyrian city of Nineveh, probably describing its fall to Babylon in 612 B.C.).  I have also heard van Impe cite a portion of Revelation 12:7 "There was war in heaven . . ." as a prediction of satellite warfare between the United States and the Soviet Union just before Jesus returns, although the rest of the verse identifies the combatants as "Michael and the angels versus the dragon and his angels"!  Years ago, on the nationally televised Merv Griffin Show, Hal Lindsey said that when he talked with Jewish scholars, he was willing to ignore the first coming of Jesus so that he could talk with them about his view of Old Testament prophecy and end-times expectations.  When asked if he felt "inspired," Hal said "definitely" and claimed a supernatural experience in which God told him to write about his views on the 2nd coming.  Men like Jack van Impe and Hal Lindsey are, simply, irresponsible in their obsession with their end-time scenario.

     Pre-conceived ideas - My experience and study has led me to believe that the major problem with studying the “End Times” (or any other topic) is that most people begin with pre-packaged ideas, concepts, and scenarios that they adopted from some other source before they begin to read and study the Bible.  Some churches endorse certain scenarios and this encourages people to embrace a certain view from social pressure rather than as result of personal Bible study and rational investigation.  Because people trust their non-Biblical/pre-Biblical sources and our religious beliefs are interlinked with our worldview, these ideas tend to become emotionally “precious” to us and not easily surrendered (or even questioned!).  Often, even contradictory Biblical information that is not hard to understand is insufficient to change a person’s thinking, because of how deeply precious these ideas are.

     Accordingly, a sincere “love of truth” is required for Bible study - we must want the truth and trust God’s Word enough that soundly-studied Scripture defines our beliefs, even when deeply-held ideas are found to not be what Scripture is teaching.  However, take comfort in this - ideas you held before studying Scripture that turn out to be in harmony with Scripture will still be true and even more worth holding onto!  Lacking this love for truth is a main reason for why false prophets were able to deceive many Israelites (Deuteronomy 13:1-4) and why the “man of lawlessness” is able to deceive many (2Thessalonians 2:8-12).  However, Old & New Testament Scripture is to be taken seriously and will not change while the associated covenant is in effect (Deuteronomy 4:2; Galatians 1:6-9; 2Thessalonians 2:15).

      Let’s be honest - most of us learned a particular popular “scenario” about the “End Times” from some popular religious books (The Late Great Planet Earth or The “Left Behind” series) or TV preacher and we assumed that this scenario is what the Bible teaches because the “scenario-makers” told us it was.  But how can we check out the Biblical soundness of a scenario when that scenario is, largely, what makes up our “Bible knowledge” and causes us to read and understand Scripture as we do?

     How we read Scripture - Those who claim “We don’t interpret Scripture, we just read and believe it!” are seriously deceived to begin with, for “interpretation” means to “give the meaning” for something we read.  Every reader is an “interpreter” because they seek to acquire meaning from what they read.  The issue is the quality of our interpretation and it is heavily influenced by “how” we read.  Exegesis (lit. “to read out of”) is a term that refers to the proper way to read literature - begin open-minded/neutral and allow the actual words and grammar of the text (in their literary and historical/cultural context) to convey and define meaning.  With the Bible, this is reading Scripture so as to discern what the text really says and, thus, learn what ideas and concepts the original writers were trying to convey.

      The all-too-popular alternative is eisegesis (lit. “to read into”), wherein we begin with our own cherished ideas and beliefs that we read into the Bible, mentally adding, subtracting, or changing what Scripture says to fit our beliefs.  Already having a belief in mind, eisegesis causes a person to (1) look for passages that seem to sound like what they already believe, quietly supplying assumptions (unwarranted by the text and sometimes even contradictory to the context) necessary to make a proof-text seem to support what they believe and (2) ignore or seriously distort verses that clearly disagree with passionately-held beliefs.

     Consider an example - Read the following two verses,

Matthew 24:40-41/ Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.  "Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.

From what you find in the text alone, answer these questions: who is taken and who is left?  Where are the “taken” taken to?  What can you really know for sure from these two verses?  We will return to this passage a little later.

     Is your “scenario” for how things will end something you learned from the Bible or elsewhere?  Where does the Bible actually mention and discuss the term “Rapture,” antichrist, the “signs of the times,” a 7-year Tribulation period, etc.?  If you don’t know where these things appear in the Bible, how did you arrive at the scenario of “end times” beliefs that you hold?  Probably you picked up your ideas from some other source than the Bible.

Be Humble

     Remember: It IS possible to be so far “off-base” that you miss God’s program altogether.  Peter confessed Jesus to be God’s Messiah and immediately afterward contradicted His words on the purpose of His first coming because of popular ideas that he had embraced.  Jesus identified the problem as being rooted in the difference between “God’s interests” and those of men,

Matthew 16:21-23/ From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day.  Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him, saying, "God forbid it, Lord! This shall never happen to You."  But He turned and said to Peter, "Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God's interests, but man's."

     Jerusalem’s leaders totally missed the Messiah and failed to see prophecies pertaining to Him fulfilled that they read continually and even participated in fulfilling!

Acts 13:27/ For those who live in Jerusalem, and their rulers, recognizing neither Him nor the utterances of the prophets which are read every Sabbath, fulfilled these by condemning Him

     Jesus warned of religious people who would kill/persecute God’s saints, all the time sincerely believing that they were serving God as they did so (Acts 22:3-4; 26:4-11; 1Timothy 1:13)

John 16:1-2/ These things I have spoken to you so that you may be kept from stumbling.  They will make you outcasts from the synagogue, but an hour is coming for everyone who kills you to think that he is offering service to God.

     Paul spoke of those who had “a zeal for God” but not rooted in a knowledge of the truth,

Romans 10:2-3/ For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.  For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.

     Paul spoke of those who would reject “sound doctrine,” while seeking out teachers who would advocate and perpetuate their own favorite erroneous beliefs,

2Timothy 4:3-4/ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

     Peter noted that there are some things in Scripture that are “hard to understand” and some of it becomes “distorted” and twisted in the hands false teachers,

     2Peter 3:16-17/ as also in all his letters, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction.  You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness,

Be Careful You Don’t Come to “Expect” the Wrong Things!

Assembling and Testing “Chronological Systems”

     “End Times” scenarios are attempts to assemble a number of separate terms, phrases, and concepts into a chronological sequence of events reflecting what will happen in the end.  Human culture often supplies the context for assembling separate pieces of information or symbols.  Always ask a couple of questions about such chronological sequences: (1) what does each symbol mean individually, and (2) do these symbols belong together in a chronological arrangement and, if so, which one?  Some Examples:

     Seeing a few letters of the English alphabet immediately makes us think of it and most would know the sound and order of all of these letters in a system.

     As with the alphabet, the Arabic numeral system would quickly come to mind, for both are commonly understood symbol systems that all learn in the same way.

     The typewriter symbols present a bit of a challenge for us.  Anyone familiar with the individual symbols immediately recognizes them, but what chronological order should they be arranged into?  Here, we have little help, for these symbols are used individually and are never used in a larger conceptual "chronological" order, except perhaps in how they are laid out on a keyboard.  Accordingly, the only conceivable way of arranging them into a "bigger picture" would be in terms of the physical layout across the top of the keyboard and none of the suggested arrangements represent this layout.  The point: some symbols  belong in a chronological (or larger conceptual framework) arrangement and some don't.  For those that do function together to create a larger picture, we need to be certain that we give each symbol its proper meaning or the "bigger picture" that we assemble from the smaller pieces can be a monstrous invention.

An “End-Time” Chronology of events?

     End-time expectations involve a number of elements that people try to arrange in some kind of sequence.  Again, we need to ask two questions:

1. What does each item mean in itself?

2. How do these fit into a “big picture”?

     The various “end-time/millennial” scenarios that we have to sort our way through are the attempts of uninspired folks to form these into an orderly (although sometimes very speculative – and imaginative) system.  These man-made systems for understanding should NOT be given the same loyalty or authority that we give to the actual statements of Scripture that men/women weave together.

      Assembling a number of pieces into a system can be like a puzzle - what happens if you have similar pieces and put one in the wrong place?  You will have to put another piece in a wrong place also or have pieces left over that don’t seem to fit - then what do you do?  In Jesus' time, Judaism had developed a "big picture" of Messianic expectation that did not coincide with God's intentions, which Jesus identified as Peter's problem when he objected to what Jesus said was supposed to happen (Matthew 16:21-23).

       Judaism’s “End Time” Scenario - by Jesus’ time, Jewish Rabbi’s had developed a widely-accepted scenario about prophecy and the Messiah’s coming that helps to explain why many Jews had trouble recognizing Jesus as the awaited Messiah.  {1} Earth history was divided into three eras: a) Before the Law, b) under the Law, and c) Under the Messiah (sub-divided into his coming, period of reign, then eternity).  {2} Messiah would appear, put down a Gentile assault against Jerusalem, & the Messianic kingdom would begin (duration speculations ranged from 40 – 7,000 years).  {3} Dead Jews would be raised to enjoy the Messianic kingdom (although Jews who had died and were buried outside of Palestine would have to painfully roll underground until they reached the borders of Palestine before coming up out of the ground).  {4} Wheat would grow as high as palm trees and the wind would turn it to flour, miraculously.  {5} Each Jewish woman would daily give birth to a child until each family would come to be as numerous as the nation of Israel had been at the time of the exodus.  {6} A final Gentile revolt would result in their elimination and a new heaven & earth, wherein continual feasting and collecting jewels would occupy Jewish life for eternity.[1]

     Christian “End-Time” Scenarios - Similarly, during the Christian era, four major scenarios have been assembled to explain a chronology of “End Times” Items.  Focusing on the “1,000 years” of Revelation 20:1-6, “Pre-millennial” systems assume that Jesus returns “Pre’” (before) the “1,000 Years,” whereas “Post-” & “A-millennial” systems assume that Jesus returns “AFTER” the “1,000 years.”

      Essentially, “millennial” Systems try to understand the 2nd Coming of Jesus (and other things) in connection with the “1,000 Years” of Revelation 20:1-6.  One of these will probably be the basis of (or a conclusion associated with) any teaching you hear on the “end times.”  I believe that you will eventually need to plant your feet somewhere near one of these views (you’ll have to believe something about what Revelation 20 is referring to), but be aware of the assumptions/pros-cons of each and consider all of the options before you plant your feet somewhere.

(1) Historic Premillennialism – an early view, this scenario embraces the importance of Jesus' first coming and viewed Revelation 20:1-6 as an earthly kingdom age to follow the return of Jesus, with Him ruling over a kingdom of Christians for 1,000 years.

(2) Amillennialism – also an early view, dominant after Augustine, emphasizes the First coming of Jesus as what God expected and predicted, thus the “Messianic Age” falls between the two comings of Christ – i.e., the Church Age is the "Last Days/1,000 years.”  The Messiah “bound” Satan with His first appearance (Matthew 12:22-30) and the Gospel message heard/believed/obeyed & indwelling Spirit is the means of freeing people from Satan’s power (Hebrews 2:14-15; 1John 3:8).

(3) Dispensational Premillennialism – originating just a few centuries ago by a couple of Catholic priests to take the heat off of the Pope as “Antichrist,” it was adopted by some Protestants who believed God had “unfinished business” with national Israel.  This view asserts that God still owes Israel the final seven years of Daniel’s predicted 490 year period (Daniel 9:24-27), thus a “7-year  “tribulation” period.  This seven year period will end with “the Battle of Armageddon,” which Jesus will stop with His 2^nd Coming and then He will rule over an earthly 1,000 year Jewish kingdom.  Advocated by Hal Lindsey’s “The Late, Great Planet Earth” and Tim LaHaye’s “Left Behind” books.

(4) Post-millennialism believes that the Gospel will improve earthly conditions to the point that a 1,000 “golden age of peace” will begin during the Church age.  No one knows when the “1,000 years” will begin, but things will just get better and better.  This was popular during the latter part of the 1800’s – the industrial revolution and Woodrow Wilson sent American troops to fight in WWI believing it to be the “war to end all wars.”

A Long List of Misguided “Sign-Seekers”

     Montanus (ca. 150-200 A.D.) - A converted pagan priest of Cybele, this self-proclaimed prophet convinced two women to leave their husbands and join his “crusade.”  He announced a renewal of the miraculous spiritual gifts and claimed that Jesus would soon return and establish “New Jerusalem” in Asia Minor.

     Thomas Venner’s “5^th Monarchy Men” (1661) - They identified Oliver Cromwell as “the antichrist” and tried to capture the English throne, so Jesus could return and rule the earth

     William Miller (1843) - Preached in major churches along America’s East Coast.  Calculated Jesus’ “advent” (return) at March 21, 1843 (then October 22, 1844 when the first date failed).  When “date-setting” failed, Miller dropped out, but other leaders emerged to salvage the movement by advocating a return to the Jewish food laws and worship on the “Seventh Day,” by which these “Adventists” became “Seventh Day Adventists”.

     Joseph Smith (1832 onward) - Claimed a prophetic message from God, including predictions that the American Civil War would develop into world-wide Armageddon and that the “Millennial Temple” would be located in Missouri and be dedicated by his own hand.

     George Needham (1868) - Organized the Niagara Prophecy Conferences and repeatedly asserted that “all of the sure and unfailing signs” pointed to Christ’s return by 1900.

     Charles T. Russell - Claimed that Jesus had returned, invisibly, in 1874 and would be present for a 40-year generation.  Accordingly, in 1914, the earth’s governments would all be destroyed and the Millennium would begin.

       Evangelist Harry Black - Published a pamphlet, “Is the end of the age at hand?” and asserted that Jesus would probably return between 1945-1954

      Jack van Impe, in the early 1970’s, told a crowd of 2,000 people in Lansing, MI that all the signs pointed to Jesus’ return by 1976

     Hal Lindsey published “The Late Great Planet Earth” in 1970.  He taught that Jesus would return 40 years after Israel re-established national statehood (1948), thus implying that the “rapture” would occur in 1981, followed by seven years of tribulation, and Christ’s glorious return appearance in 1988.  On the Merv Griffin Show, Lindsey claimed “inspiration” for what he was writing and that the value of the first coming of Jesus is not worth arguing about if it stands in the way of discussing his end-times ideas with Jewish scholars.

       Yahweh Yehoshua (May 1981) - This messianic group waited on the beach at Coney Island for Jesus to return and part the Atlantic by 3:00 PM

     Bill Maupin (June 28, 1981) - He and followers in Tuscon, AZ waited together in a home, expecting Jesus to return on June 28, 1981

     Lee Jan-Rim (October 28, 1982) - South Korean church leader predicted the rapture for October 28, 1982.  He was arrested and charged with swindling followers out of $4 million (with $400,000 in bonds not to mature until May 1983)

     December 25, 1982 - One group put out literature asserting that all planets would line up on Christmas Day and there would be a world-wide cataclysm, Christ would return

     Thomas Staggs put an add in the “Daily Oklahoman” newspaper (July 25, 1986) predicting that Ronald Reagan would be killed during a Russian invasion of Israel (5/15/1988), that George Bush would be nominated, but not elected in 1988, and that Christ would return by 2000.

      Edgar C. Whisenant, with $250,000 of his own money, put out booklets all over the Midwest “88 Reasons why the Rapture will be in 1988.”  With the Rapture in 1988, 7-year tribulation would then mean that all would end in 1995.

       Harold Camping, in July 1994, predicted the end would come in September

       M. J. Agee - In January 1992, Archer Press advertised Agee’s book “Exit: 2007” in which he asserts that a large chunk of asteroid will hit the earth 9/13/2007.  In April 1999, he posted material on the internet asserting that the rapture would occur May 22, 1999.

        Tim LaHaye - In 1995, Tyndale House published the first volume of “Left Behind” (ghost-written by Jerry Jenkins) - a planned 11-volume series of fiction (although claimed to be based on the book of Revelation) about the end of this age and the return of Jesus.  It is an updated version of the same scenario Hal Lindsey presented back in the 1970’ with the rapture, 7-year tribulation, antichrist, and earthly millennium scenario stretched out with lots of fictional details.  Sold like hotcakes!!!

         Veronica Leuken - In 1997, she claimed revelation from Mary that a great comet would destroy the moon and kill ¾ of the world’s population in January/February 1997

     Of course, this is not even close to being an exhaustive list of those making such claims, but it does reveal what a lucrative ($) area for speculation the “End Times” have been.  But let’s stop and think about what is at stake here.  Are these folks on the right track and God has failed to fulfill what Scripture teaches?  Are they on the track but are all missing some key point that causes them to mis-judge the timing?  Or, are these folks seriously mis-reading the Word of God somehow and that is why Jesus fails to appear in connection with the alleged “signs” these folks claim to be seeing?  After years of study, I am convinced it is the latter!

How Do we unravel this mess?

     We need to begin by realizing that most people have embraced a humanly formulated (and very popular) “end times” scenario that creates an imaginary picture (complete with various smaller concepts) in their mind.  Back in the mid 1970’s and in ignorance, I embraced the most popular contemporary expression of “Dispensational Premillennialism” from Hal Lindsey’s book The Late, Great Planet Earth.  This same scenario, with a great deal more fictional elaboration, forms the underlying plot of the currently popular LaHaye-Jenkins “Left Behind” books.  A simple outline of the currently popular scenario follows,

      My advice would be that you read, study, & trust the Bible, rather than uninspired books/speakers about it.  Don’t just trust or reject all human teachers, but at least do what the Bereans did and check out what men say against Scripture (Acts 17:10-12), with Scripture being the final authority.

      Start with “end time” information offered in the more straightforward sections of Scripture (Gospels, NT Letters, etc.) before you take on the heavy symbolism (Daniel, Ezekiel, Zechariah, Revelation).

       Don’t be afraid to ask questions and look for unexplained assumptions.  Examine the assumptions, definitions, & concepts you hear.  Locate the terms and concepts discussed by end-times speculators and make sure that Scripture, in context, says what people claim it says about each of these.  Beware of terms/phrases that are invented (such as “the rapture, 7-year tribulation period; Battle of Armegeddon”) or detached from their original context (such as “signs of the times,” “antichrist” etc.).  Be prepared for some “eye-openers”!

     Do some “topical” studies to get individual items sorted out before you try to assemble a chronology of “end time” events (Day of the Lord; the Kingdom, Tribulation, Antichrist, etc.)

      When approaching a topical study, first identify what you have heard or think you believe about it.  Then, to support, fine-tune, or disprove that popular notion, begin a topical study by finding (with an exhaustive concordance keyed to your translation) every occurrence of the key term or phrase in your Bible.  Read each occurrence in context and note what each passage has to say.  Then try to draw some conclusions about what you have found out from all of the passages and compare it with the ideas you began with.  Let’s consider an example.

      Antichrist - the Greek word antichristos (transliterated “antichrist”) appears in the Bible text only at 1 John 2:18-22; 1 John 4:1-3; 2John 7 – read these and see what information you can gather on the topic.  What popular notions find no support anywhere the term “antichrist” actually appears?

Look for plain statements in Scripture that define boundaries

       When are the “last days” according Biblical usage of the term/phrase and is this current age the last one for this earth or is there still another earthly, millennial kingdom age to come?  As we will do in the next section, collect all of the Biblical occurrences of a phrase and close parallels and see what the NT writers believed about the meaning of the phrase.  Always be on the lookout for pertinent Biblical information and comments that may be “clinchers” for understanding this.  If the you can find passages that indicate that the current “church Age” is the last of the earth’s ages (1Corinthians 10:11; Hebrews 9:26), then you have some solid help in deciding which “millennial” view is closer to the truth.

Read the whole context of “proof-texts” cited for certain ideas

     Let’s re-visit Matthew 24:40-41 and consider “Who is taken/left?” by considering the surrounding context.

Matthew 24:35-42/ Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.  But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.  For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.  For as in those days before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and they did not understand until the flood came and took them all away; so will the coming of the Son of Man be.  Then there will be two men in the field; one will be taken and one will be left.  Two women will be grinding at the mill; one will be taken and one will be left.  Therefore be on the alert, for you do not know which day your Lord is coming.

      Notice that context provides some needed information for understanding vv. 40-41.  Jesus seems to have understood that the end of heaven and earth will coincide with the coming of the Son of Man.  The ones who were “taken away” in the flood were the “they” who did not understand and went on with the normal affairs of life.  On the other hand, Noah and his family “did understand” and were involved in unusual preparations, were preserved through the flood, and remained when it was all over to re-populate the cleansed earth.  Thus, we have some contextual basis for understanding who will be taken/left in verses 40-41. 

       Look for parallel teachings that touch on the same issue.  As it turns out, the often missed point of Matthew 24:35-42 was already presented by Jesus in two earlier parables.  Read Matthew 13:24-30,36-43 and answer the question - at the end of the age, who will be “gathered up/out” first?  Now read Matthew 13:47-50 and answer this question “at the end of the age, which group will be “taken out” when the righteous and unrighteous are separated?  While the “righteous-first rapture” notion is very popular, it appears to me that Jesus was very plain and consistent about what will happen at the end of the age.

Look for passages that provide a “chronology” of events

       In 1Corinthians 15:20-26, the Apostle Paul was very specific about the chronology of certain events.  (1) Christ was raised first, as the “first fruits,” in His first coming.  (2) Christ’s people will be raised at His return.  (3) Then comes the “end,” when he turns the kingdom back to the Father.  His return and the resurrection of the saints is NOT followed by another earthly kingdom age over which Jesus rules from an earthly throne.  Jesus rules (now) UNTIL “death” is defeated by the resurrection!

        In 1Thessalonians 4:13-18, the Apostle Paul provided some more chronological information concerning the order of Christians raised at the time of the 2^nd Coming.  (1) The main purpose of this teaching was encouragement for first century AD saints concerning believers who had already died before the Lord returns (not escaping “tribulation” at the time of the 2^nd Coming).  (2) Whereas “rapture” theory holds that living Christians are the first to go when Christ returns (7 years before anyone else?), Paul said the “dead in Christ” would rise     first, and then those physically alive at the time of His coming.  Living saints go last, not first!  (3) This passage does not describe a “secret rapture,” for it is announced with great noise and fanfare (v. 16) and does not just involve the saints physically alive at the end, but describes the “resurrection” and raising of all the saints, including those already “dead in Christ.”  (4) The wicked are not even discussed in this passage, nor is anything said about tribulation, Armageddon, earthly kingdoms, etc.

     I really don’t believe that the Biblical information concerning the end of things is nearly as confusing when we collect and study it - FIRST!  The biggest problem is the set of ideas we bring with us when we examine Scripture that work against understanding and believing all that we find there.

Charles E. McCoy

10/01/2006