Welcome

What's this site about?

The purpose of this website is to reintroduce Christians today to a classically Protestant way of understanding "the end times." I add that word "classical" to "Protestant" because historic Protestantism and much that is called Protestantism today are not the same thing. The name, "Protestant" dates back to the revolution that happened in Germany, and to the Diet of Speyer in 1529. It might sound negative to "protest" but the word wasn't just about what Protestants were against--it's about what Protestants were for. "Protestants believed they were confessing the primitive faith of the early church, which had been obscured by the later innovations of medieval Catholicism."[1] 

The preaching of classical Protestantism coalesced around five key truths the Reformers recovered from the early church. As Stephen Wellum puts it,

Reformation theology is often summarized by the five solas. Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) is the formal principle of the Reformation and the foundation of all theology. God’s glory alone (soli Deo gloria) functions as a capstone for all Reformation theology, connecting its various parts to God’s one purpose for creating this world and humanity in it. In between these two solas, the other three emphasize that God has chosen and acted to save us by his grace alone (sola gratia), through faith alone (sola fide), and grounded in and through Christ alone (solus Christus).[2] 

The united voice of Protestantism around Scripture Alone, God's Glory Alone, Grace Alone, Faith Alone, and Christ Alone, also unified classical Protestantism in seeing what had long undermined and threatened the teaching of these precious truths: The Roman Catholic Church. Protestants were united for a long time in recognizing that a widespread apostasy had taken Christianity off-course, and that this apostasy could be traced to the "innovations of medieval Catholicism." From the time of the early Reformation through the era of the English Puritans, Protestants were united in their identification of the Antichrist. What makes the Antichrist the enemy of Christ is that he undermines the Gospel of Christ captured in the five solas.

When you read classic works by writers like Matthew Henry, or John Bunyan, or sermons by Charles Spurgeon, for example, their comments about the Antichrist might seem strange. Modern scholars sometimes seem a little embarrassed by what the Reformers and Puritans said about such things. You might hear pastors today quote John Owen on the doctrine of the Trinity, or Jonathan Edwards about the doctrine of election, but their interpretations of Bible Prophecy are viewed as naive or immature. And yet, while the Reformers and their theological heirs did not agree on all details of end times prophecy, it is often overlooked that they did agree on many details. It is what they usually held in common, when it comes to the doctrine of the end times (eschatology), that I hope to reintroduce. The things most classic Protestants used to hold in common regarding the major prophecies of Revelation and Daniel reflect a way of reading those prophecies that today is called "historicism."

What's on this site?

I invite you to explore the sections of this website and use this material to do your own exploration of the great prophecies in the Bible. The Blog (in the main menu) contains expositions of Bible prophecies organized by passage, along with stand-alone blog posts related to end-times prophecy. Under Media, you will find my verse-by-verse podcast on the Book of Revelation, and both audio and video of my sermons on Bible prophecy. Under Essays, you will find a list of academic essays. Under Books you will will find a number of old books on Bible prophecy.  And under Guinness, you will find my little "archive" of works by and about Dr. Henry Grattan Guinness. We are also about to release a study guide to Daniel and Revelation (and other prophecies to be added), featuring the biblical text along with study notes and helps drawn from my collected preaching and teaching. A good friend of mine is working on editing that project right now. When it's ready you will find it in a new section of the menu labelled, "Bible Study."

I encourage you, however, to approach this site with discernment. You should be careful about what sort of Bible teaching you take in. So to help you know who I am and where I'm coming from, be sure to read about me here. Also check out what I believe on this page. Finally, if you have questions, you can contact me through the form on this page.

Where to begin?

A good place to begin exploring Bible prophecy for the first time, or to find out how historicism is different from other major views of the end-times, is with my short article on how historicism and futurism differ on the Antichrist (see below). If you are not new to Bible prophecy and are wondering whether I believe in a literal interpretation, you might want to begin with my article on taking the Bible literally. If, on the other hand, your end times views are typical of those from theologically Reformed backgrounds, you might want to start with why I am premillennial. Choose from the links below to get started. 

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