Postmillennialism is the teaching that Christ’s second coming will not happen until after the “millennium,” a golden age or era of Christian prosperity and dominance. They believe that the world will become better and better until perfection is achieved, then Christ will come and take over. In other words, Christians will establish Christ’s kingdom on the earth and not Christ Himself.

The problem is, the world is not getting better and better – a cursory reading of today’s headlines will tell you that. And the Bible says that it will continue to get worse. Paul writes in II Timothy 3:1-7: “This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away. For of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, Ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.” He continues in verse 13: “But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived.”

We also have the description of the Second Coming of Christ in Revelation 19:11 – 21: “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war. His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself. And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God. And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean. And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords. And I saw an angel standing in the sun; and he cried with a loud voice, saying to all the fowls that fly in the midst of heaven, Come and gather yourselves together unto the supper of the great God; That ye may eat the flesh of kings, and the flesh of captains, and the flesh of mighty men, and the flesh of horses, and of them that sit on them, and the flesh of all men, both free and bond, both small and great. And I saw the beast, and the kings of the earth, and their armies, gathered together to make war against him that sat on the horse, and against his army. And the beast was taken, and with him the false prophet that wrought miracles before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into a lake of fire burning with brimstone. And the remnant were slain with the sword of him that sat upon the horse, which sword proceeded out of his mouth: and all the fowls were filled with their flesh.” That does not sound like Christ will be coming to a peaceful Utopia.

The web site Got Questions states this about postmillennialism:

“Those who hold to postmillennialism use a non-literal method of interpreting unfulfilled prophecy, assigning their own meanings to words. The problem with this is that when someone starts assigning meanings to words other than their normal meaning, a person can decide that a word, phrase, or sentence means anything he wants it to mean. All objectivity concerning the meaning of words is lost. When words lose their meaning, communication ceases. However, this is not how God has intended for language and communication to be. God communicates to us through His written word, with objective meanings to words, so that ideas and thoughts can be communicated.

A normal, literal interpretation of Scripture rejects postmillennialism and holds to a normal interpretation of all Scripture, including unfulfilled prophecy…Postmillennialism fails in that it interprets Bible prophecy subjectively and holds that the millennial kingdom will be established by the church, not by Christ Himself.”

The promise of 72 virgins does not come from the Quran, it comes from a hadith of the Prophet Muhammad.

According to the web site http://eshaykh.com/hadith/martyr-and-72-virigins/

Hadith means “saying.” Hadiths are the second source of the Shari`ah, the first being the Qur’an. The Qur’an is all-binding and unquestionable as a source for Muslims, but hadiths need verification and authentication, hence the need to specify, when one of them is cited, that it is “authentic.” The nine most authentic compilations of hadith in Islam are Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim, Muwatta’ Malik, Sunan al-Nasa’i, Sunan al-Tirmidhi, Sunan Abi Dawud, Sunan Ibn Majah, Musnad Ahmad, and Sunan al-Darimi.

The hadith in question is found in Sunan al-Tirmidhi and Musnad Ahmad and states:

“Truly the martyr is given by Allah Almighty six things:

1. Forgiveness of sins from the first drop of his blood to be shed;
2. Protection from the torment of the grave;
3. Safety from the Greatest Fear [i.e. the Day of Judgment];
4. Receiving the crown of veneration, a single sapphire of which is worth more than the whole world and its contents;
5. Marriage to seventy-two of the wide-eyed virgins;
6. Intercession on behalf of seventy of his relatives.”

The number “seventy” in Arabic denotes “a great number.” The reason for the wives being 72 is 70+2, seventy (i.e. many) of the Houris of Paradise and two of the women of this world, and Allah knows best.

We continue to receive numerous emails and letters concerning CERN and the Mandela Effect changing words in the King James Bible. We will attempt to cover some of the verses that continue to pop up.

Matthew 6:11 “in earth” vs “on earth”

The Latin Vulgate reads: “in caelo et in terra”

The 1389 Wycliffe translation: “be thi wille don as in heuen and in earthe”

The 1526 Tyndale translation: “thy wyll be fulfilled as well in erth as hit ys in heven”

The 1611 King James Version: Thy will be done, in earth, as it is in heauen”

In the 1549, 1662, and 1772 versions of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer all state “in” earth.

The words “debts” and “debtors” in Matthew 6:12 in the original Greek are “opheilEmata” (owes) and “opheiletais” (owers) which is different from “trespasses” in verses 14 and 15 which is “paraptOmata” (offenses).

Matthew 7:1 – the only version that I have found that reads “lest” is the Orthodox Jewish Bible, all the other translations say “that”.

Matthew 9:17; Mark 2:22; Luke 5:37, 38 – bottles – the 1389 Wycliffe translation, the 1582 Douay-Rheims translation both use “bottles”; the 1526 Tyndale translation uses “vessels”; and of course the 1611 King James Version uses “bottles.” The 1828 Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language defines bottles as: A hollow vessel of glass, wood, leather or other material, with a narrow mouth, for holding and carrying liquors. The oriental nations use skins or leather for the conveyance of liquors; and of this kind are the bottles mentioned in scripture. “Put new wine into bottles.”

In Luke 17:34 & 35 the words “men” and “women” are not in the original Greek, it just says “duo” or two. However the Greek words have a specific gender, the one in verse 34 is an “Adjective, pronominal cardinal nominative masculine plural” – in verse 35 it is “feminine plural” – in essence two men and two women.

In Luke 19:23 – 27 it is not Jesus commanding His disciples to bring His enemies before Him so He can slay them. This is ending of the parable that Christ was giving to His disciples. Jesus never gave a directive to His disciples in a parable, they were used for teachings.

Luke 20:24 – again, the older translations use the word “penny”.

John 12:24 – the Wycliffe, Tyndale, and KJV Bibles use “corn of wheat” Webster’s Dictionary tells us that the word “corn” comes from the Middle English, from Old English; akin to Old High German & Old Norse korn grain, Latin granum. And it means: a: the seeds of a cereal grass and especially of the important cereal crop of a particular region (as wheat in Britain, oats in Scotland and Ireland, and Indian corn in the New World and Australia) b: the kernels of sweet corn served as a vegetable while still soft and milky. So the word “corn” can mean “seed” and not just the modern concept of kernels of corn.

I John 4:7 – 11 states: “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.”

First of all, we are to continue to love them. We do not condone their lifestyle, but we love them. Remember that all sin is offensive to God, and all sin results in death – Romans 6:23 – but the …gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. Homosexuality is just one of the many sins listed in I Corinthians 6:9 – 10: “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.” Thankfully verse 11 goes on to say: “And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Jennifer Waddle on her blog: Can a Christian have a gay friend? brings out four things to keep in mind:

We do not have to participate in gay-related events. Yes, it will be awkward to decline the invitation, but it will be even more awkward to attend and feel like we are compromising our beliefs.

We can encourage, support and interact with gay friends so long as we remain steadfast in the truth. If we are tempted to be swayed, it would be wise for us to re-evaluate the friendship. We must hold everything to the light of Scripture. The Holy Spirit will guide us.

It’s ok to disagree. Our friends may try to convince us that their lifestyle is loving and good. We should gently remind them that they were created in the image of God and for the purpose of bringing Him glory. We should seek opportunities to share the Gospel.

If they walk away from the friendship, we shouldn’t take it too personally. We should continue to pray hard for them. Pray that we have planted a seed and that someone else will water it. Most of all, we should pray that they will come to know Jesus as Lord and Savior.

One thing to keep in mind is that the Bible is the supreme authority on all matters of faith and conduct. Romans 1:24 – 32 states: “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen. For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.”

The Bible tells us in Genesis 6:11: “The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence.”  Jesus said in Matthew 24:37: “But as the days of Noe [Noah] were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be.”

The terror attack in Orlando, the killing of the two police officers in Paris this week, the attacks in Paris and San Bernardino CA in 2015 and Brussels earlier this year are all fulfillments of what Jesus predicted in Matthew 24:37.

The world is in a precarious position. But we’ve seen nothing yet. Violence will rear its ugly head in monstrous proportions as terrorists prepare for germ and biological warfare to hold major cities captive. Soon millions will die. When it does occur, could it be the beginning of the Tribu­lation Hour? But fear not, Jesus said in Luke 21:9, “When ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified: for these things must first come” and then adds in verse 31, “When ye do see these things come to pass, know ye that the kingdom [return to earth] of God is nigh at hand [near].”

We have just been made aware of these videos, and to be honest, I have not been able to make myself watch any of them all the way through.  They are basically saying that CERN has created a Mandela Effect worldwide.  The Mandela Effect is called that because a blogger and “paranormal consultant” was at a convention in 2010 and discovered that many other people there shared the same “memory” that Nelson Mandela had died while he was in prison in the 80’s.  They vividly recalled the funeral, riots in the streets, and his wife speaking at his funeral.  This effect theorizes that there are multiple parallel universes, and in one of those universes Mandela did die in the 80’s, and those memories “bleed over” into our universe.  They claim now that the Large Hadron Collider is breaking these barriers on a massive scale and is changing things constantly.

The problem is, our collective memory is not always accurate.  There are multiple examples in pop culture where we remember things wrong.  One video in particular mentioned the line “Luke, I am your father” from Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back.  That was never the line, it was “No, I am your father.”  Another example is from the movie “Casablanca”, when you think of that movie, you think “Play it again Sam” – again, the problem is, Humphrey Bogart’s character never said that line.  Another example is from Star Trek the original series.  One phrase that is tied to that is “Beam me up Scotty”, again the problem is, that phrase was never uttered by Captain Kirk on the show.

When it comes to the Bible, they claim that Isaiah 11:6 the word has been changed from “lion” to “wolf.”  It has not changed.  Isaiah 11:6 has always read: “The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf and the young lion and the fatling together; and a little child shall lead them.”  There are numerous phrases that people positively know that are in the Bible, yet they are not.  For example, the Bible never says “God helps those who help themselves” or “Cleanliness is next to godliness” or “Hate the sin, love the sinner” or “Money is the root of all evil” or “This too shall pass” and of course “The lion shall lay down with the lamb.”

Daniel 12:11 – 12 states: “And from the time that the daily sacrifice shall be taken away, and the abomination that maketh desolate set up, there shall be a thousand two hundred and ninety days.  Blessed is he that waiteth, and cometh to the thousand three hundred and five and thirty days.”

The abomination that makes desolation happens at the mid-point of the Tribulation when the Antichrist stops the Jewish sacrifices (Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15; II Thessalonians 2:4).  Three and one-half years of 360 days per year adds up to 1,260 days, it is thought that the extra thirty days mentioned here are for the judgments that take place after the Second Coming of Christ to the earth – Ezekiel 20:33 – 44; Joel 3:2- 3; Matthew 25:32.

Since Daniel 12:12 tells us that the one who lives seventy-five days after the Second Coming, or 1,335 days from the mid-point of the Tribulation, we believe that this will begin Christ’s Millennial reign on the earth.

Jesus is called the “son of David” in seventeen different verses in the New Testament.  This refers to the fact that Jesus, the Messiah, was, and will be, the fulfillment of the promise that God made to David in II Samuel 7.  This is also known as “The Davidic Covenant”.  This is an unconditional covenant that God made with David saying that the Messiah [Jesus Christ] would come from the lineage of David and the tribe of Judah and He would establish a kingdom that will last forever.

The first part of this covenant was fulfilled with the Incarnation, when Christ came into the world in a physical body through Mary.  The two genealogies recorded in Matthew 1 and Luke 3 give proof that Jesus, in His humanity was a direct descendent of Abraham and David, both through his adoptive father, Joseph [Matthew 1] and through His mother, Mary [Luke 3].

The future and complete fulfillment of the Davidic Covenant will happen when Christ returns to the earth and sets up His kingdom.  This is what the angel Gabriel was referring to when he told Mary in Luke 1:30 – 33: “And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary: for thou hast found favour with God.  And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name Jesus.  He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David:  And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of his kingdom there shall be no end.”

Those statements are not in the Koran itself, but in the hadiths which are reports describing the words, actions, or habits of Muhammad.

The book “Shariah: The Threat to America” says on page 32:

Lying/Taqiyya: It is permissible for a Muslim to lie, especially to non-Muslims, to safeguard himself personally or to protect Islam.

• “Let not the believers take the disbelievers as friends instead of the believers, and whoever does that, will never be helped by Allah in any way, unless you indeed fear a danger from them. And Allah warns you against Himself, and to Allah is the final return.” (Q 3:28)
• “‘Unless you indeed fear a danger from them’ meaning, except those believers who in some areas or times fear for their safety from the disbelievers. In this case, such believers are allowed to show friendship to the disbelievers outwardly, but never inwardly…‘We smile in the face of some people although our hearts curse them.’” (Tafsir Ibn Kathir, Vol 2, 141)

Regarding the 72 virgins, we read in the hadith of al-Migdaam ibn Ma’di Karb:

“The martyr (shaheed) has seven blessings from Allaah: he is forgiven from the moment his blood is first shed; he will be shown his place in Paradise; he will be spared the trial of the grave; and he will be secure on the Day of the Greatest Terror (the Day of Judgement); there will be placed on his head a crown of dignity, one ruby of which is better than this world and all that is in it; he will be married to seventy-two of al-hoor al-‘iyn; and he will be permitted to intercede for seventy of his relatives.”

In I Samuel 28: 3 – 25 King Saul found himself in a difficult situation, Samuel had died, and the Philistines had gathered themselves in Shunem ready to battle against Israel.  When Saul saw the number of Philistines, he inquired of the Lord, but the Lord did not answer him.  We are told in I Samuel 16:14 that the spirit of the Lord departed from Saul, and an evil spirit was used by God as an instrument of judgment on Saul.  In desperation, Saul sought out a woman with a familiar spirit to try and contact Samuel.

When Samuel actually appeared in I Samuel 28:12, the woman cried out in fear, implying that when she summoned people before, it would be an evil spirit that would impersonate that person.

Hebrews 1:14 tells us that angels are “…ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them, who shall be heirs of salvation…”  Angels are spiritual beings, yet the Bible gives several examples of them appearing with physical bodies.  Could these angels appear as friends or loved ones who have passed?  Yes, it is possible.  But it would not be the actual person because when a person dies, their soul goes immediately to either heaven or hell, and there is nothing in the Bible that would give us reason to believe that they would have any ability to leave either heaven or hell to visit living family members.

We believe that the answer Paul gave to the Corinthians is applicable to this situation today: “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one. For though there be that are called gods, whether in heaven or in earth, (as there be gods many, and lords many,) But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him” – I Corinthians 8:4 – 6.

Warren Wiersbe in The Bible Exposition Commentary on I Corinthians 8 states of the Corinthians: “They knew that an idol was nothing, merely the representation of a false god who existed only in the darkened minds of those who worshipped it. The presence of an idol in a temple was no solid proof that the god existed. (Later, Paul would point out that idolatry was basically the worship of demons.) So the conclusion was logical: A nonexistent god could not contaminate food offered on his altar.”

The same is true of food that is prayed over in the name of Allah. There is only one God who provides all things for us. Claiming the name of Allah does nothing to the food physically or spiritually.