216. Why Do Christians Fight Over End-Times Prophecies? | E. Stephen Burnett vs Zackary Russell

It’s the end! It’s the end! Or rather, this could only be… the beginning. Sure, it’s cliché to doomsay, but Christians have enjoyed doing this for centuries. So, next week, Stephen and Zack want in on this end-times debating action. This will be a knock-down, drag-out, facts-and-feelings fight that will divide denominations and result in a lot of colorful, complex charts—or maybe it’ll just be some slightly heated fun to start our new series: Left Behind Legacy.

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Mission update

• Lorehaven reviews: Breath of Bones, Blood of the Stars
• Stephen’s new article: Should I Let My Son Read Harry Potter Stories?
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Concession stand

• Some prophecy views are older than others; they may be right or wrong.
• For whatever His reasons, God has let the Church debate about this.
• “It’s a prestigious line of work, with a long and glorious tradition.”
• Perhaps the Lord felt we needed less-clear doctrines to keep us busy.
• To some extent, we’ve “lived in the end times” since the New Testament.
• So when people say “We in Revelations,” yes, correct. Always have been.
• (By the way: it’s Revelation, not Revelations. Violators of this are heretics.)
• Yes, we’re aware that some end-times views are used to support evil ideas.
• End-times topics are great for discussion-starters with non-Christians.

Quotes and notes

• Different Christian Views of Revelation Explained, Mike Winger on YouTube
• My WARNING about the rapture, Mike Winger on YouTube
• Questions about the End Times (All), GotQuestions.org
• Four Views on the Book of Revelation by Stanley N. Gundry, C. Marvin Pate
• Revelation: Four Views, A Parallel Commentary by Steve Gregg

1. What do Christians think about the end times?

• Off the top of our heads, and with re-research, here are the basic ones.
• Premillennial, Jesus returns before a literal 1,000-year reign in Earth.
  • Classic pre-millennial, which skips a literal period of Tribulation
  • Dispensational pre-millennial, which includes a literal Tribulation
    • Pre-tribulation: a “Rapture” event before the Tribulation
    • Mid-tribulation: a “Rapture” event in the middle of Tribulation
    • Post-tribulation: a single (“Rapture”?) event when Jesus returns
• Amillennial: less clear about Tribulation, but millennial reign is figurative
  • Some also believe many prophecies are fulfilled across history