MARSCAST

Having spoken on rationalism and theological false dichotomies, Dr. Alan Strange turns now to the spirituality of the church. What does this have to do with rationalism? What does it mean for the church to be a spiritual institution, and how was that doctrine abused in the South with respect to American slavery?

Branching out from the theme of the lure of rationalism, Dr. Alan Strange now explores theological false dichotomies, addressing the particular doctrines of salvation and justification, and in doing so, highlights the importance of not privileging certain aspects of those doctrines to the exclusion of others.

With us today is Dr. Alan Strange, Professor of Apologetics and Church History, addressing what he calls “the lure of rationalism.” As Christians, we’re not exempt from this temptation of reason over revelation. It’s certainly been on the rise since the Enlightenment, but really, it’s been with us ever since the Garden, and we need to be careful when playing around with reason and its relationship with divine revelation.

In today’s episode, Rev. Andrew Compton takes the principles of prophecy that he’s spoken to at this point (telescoping, reading biblical imagery in HiDef), and applies it to another Old Testament text in the book of Daniel (chapter 8), where he’ll look at the issue of typology and the oppressor of God’s people: Antiochus Epiphanes.

Last time on the show Rev. Compton elaborated a little bit on reading the Bible in HiDef, a method that is aimed at helping us to see and understand what is going on in biblical prophecy. He takes that method in today’s episode and applies it to a bizarre passage of Scripture in the book of Daniel, chapter 7, and the vision of the Four Beasts

What does it mean to look at prophetic literature in HiDef? In today’s episode Rev. Andrew Compton (Associate Professor of Old Testament Studies) gives us some pointers on reading prophecy properly, that we might have a better understanding as we read the Bible. 

Dr. Venema describes the conditions of the Millennium and what exactly is taking place during these thousand years.

In our final section on tough topics in Eschatology, Dr. Cornelis Venema explores Revelation chapter 20 and the question of The Millennium. In this episode, he lays a contextual foundation for the structure of the book of Revelation, and how chapter 20 functions literarily in that structure. 

Who is the Antichrist, the Man of Lawlessness? Will we know who he is when he shows up? Is the Antichrist even a person?  Dr. Venema answers these questions and more in our series of tough theological topics on Round Table. 

It’s a new year for the podcast, and we are glad to be back with some exciting content planned for you. As we move along, Director of Marketing, Jared Luttjeboer, will be sitting down with our faculty members, discussing some tough theological topics. He began with Dr. Cornelis Venema (President of the Seminary and Professor of Doctrinal studies). They sat down to discuss aspects of eschatology (the doctrine of last things or the end times), and began with one of the most controversial of topics – the Rapture. Take a listen.