My Eschatological Puzzle

 

 

 

Whether Idealist, Historicist,

Preterist or Futurist,

I am definitely positive

There is something they all miss.

 

With each of these four

There is an emphasis

And with their intended unique focus

Some information is dissed.

 

A focus on the past

As in the Preterist’s case

May very well overlook the future

In their eager haste.

 

Similarly, the Futurist,

Intent on their peculiar task

Could have inadvertently missed

The prophetic past.

 

Idealist and Historicist

Could be culpable too

Premising their summations

On a partial view.

 

 

Therein is my puzzle

Concerning any eschatology,

And thus, I refuse to be labelled

By any category.

 

I do believe, however,

Most prophecies are past

And I note that this is a position

Most have not grasped.

 

Prophecy fulfilled

Is a vindication of the Word

That God in his infinite knowledge

Has never deferred.

 

Not one has failed,

They all have come true

And the annals of history show

This to me and you.

 

 

Some have been distant

And some near at hand

But that some indication is given

Has always been God’s plan.

 

In Daniel he was told,

Shut up the words, seal the book,

Go now to Daniel 12 verse 4

And have a look.

 

The urgency was not then

But for a while after

And thus, the sealing of the vision

Until the time of the matter.

 

 

But not so in Revelation

In the vision given to John,

This was sent to seven churches,

Yes, to everyone.

 

It was a matter of urgency

Applicable to them

And that’s why with the Futurist

I have a problem.

 

I have a huge problem

With the Preterist as well,

Concerning the current believers,

What hope do they tell?

 

Hyper Preterist teach

Every prophecy is fulfilled,

There remains not a single one

Regarding God’s will.

 

No coming yet to come

And no physical resurrection,

What then, I am forced to ask,

Is my redemption?

 

Regarding life after death,

When does this life truly begin?

And, will there never ever be

Complete riddance of sin? 

 

I am still puzzled

But not unduly disturbed

For there is still much that I glean

From God’s Holy Word.

 

In the 1^st chapter of John

And in the third also,

A wonderful truth has been given

And this truth I know.

 

I am a child of God

Having received Him by faith,

Naught of any good I have done,

Only by God’s grace.

 

But as many as receive Him

Not one of them will perish,

For all will have everlasting life

And this I truly relish.

 

 

 

So though puzzled I may be

Concerning its working out,

That God will bring it all to pass

I have absolutely no doubt.

 

Stewart Russell © March 6, 2025

 

Some Don’t Believe

If you don’t believe

There is going to be a hell

Then believe this, my friend,

There’s one the Bible tells.

 

Jesus said more about it

Than he spoke about heaven,

We don’t have to dread it

If we’ve been forgiven.

 

There is a fancy I know

We can argue things away

But believe God’s word

It is here to stay.

 

 

Hell was created;

In the Bible you’ll find this

So it won’t go away

However hard you wish.

 

Interesting enough,

It wasn’t created for man

But for the devil and his angels,

This was the plan.

 

However, all who reject Christ

Will be cast into hell

And it is not a place of comfort

But a place of dread.

 

I have heard it said

Hell is right here right now:

Some manner of retribution

God has avowed.

 

Death will end it

It won’t forever abide,

Perhaps this is the reason

Some commit suicide.

 

There is a hell

That many go through here

But for this type of hell

It is man we must fear.

 

 

 

His selfishness and greed

Is responsible for this

But there is no comparison

If heaven we miss.

 

God’s great salvation

Is the only way of escape,

If you are on the broad way

Hell is your fate.

 

I know some will laugh

And call this baloney

But I say to all naysayers

Hell is a reality.

 

God does not operate

After the fact,

Oh no, my friend,

He’s not a God like that.

 

That god is human

Spelt with a common ’g’,

Certainly not Almighty God

That exists eternally.

 

God is not reactive

As humans tend to be.

The entirety of life’s future

Is God’s history.

 

 

History is different though

From His story,

God’s narrative is man’s redemption

In the Bible that’s what we see.

 

A narrative of hope

But also, one of dread:

Heaven for the spiritually alive;

Hell for the spiritually dead.

 

I will be too busy

Shaking hands with friends

Was what one critic said

Of his destined end.

 

He doesn’t believe

But this doesn’t change the fact

That hell is a real place

And there's no way back.

 

Stewart Russell © March 16, 2024

 

His Story

 

 

Do note the title!

It is two words and not one,

It is a prophetic history

Not totally gone.

 

It is a history written

And its end already declared

By God who established it

In Christ who did appear.

 

People look for flaws

And for contradictions too,

And seek to confuse many

Like me and like you.

 

But His story is flawless;

No errors you will find,

Any contradictions that exist

Exist in our mind.

 

His story is about a plan

And, also a man,

One needs to recognize this

To better understand.

 

 

From Genesis to Revelation

Redemption is its theme,

Jesus is central to His story

In every unfolding scene.

 

It starts out with the creation:

The origin of the universe,

All was declared good

But then sin emerged.

 

In a corner of creation

There was the garden of Eden

Where the first married couple

Committed the forbidden.

 

Adam and Eve were real:

Not a mere legend or myth

As some would want to say,

If you catch my drift.

 

If Adam and Eve is a myth

Then so was the crucifixion,

There was no coming of the Christ

And definitely no resurrection.

 

No ascension,

Hence, no coming back again,

If the beginning is a myth

Then none has a claim.

 

The cleric who believes this,

What does he teach?

For, if there is no Saviour

Of whom does he preach?

 

Thank God, my friend,

This is so far from the truth,

His story is history

Substantiated by His proof.

 

For the woman’s seed

Did bruise the serpent’s head,

The crucifixion proved

Just what in Genesis is said.

 

Thousands of years after

This event was prophesied,

The woman’s seed, Jesus,

Was crucified.

 

 

His story was unfolding,

It was all coming true,

Jesus came and he died

For me and for you.

 

So, if Genesis is a myth,

The Church’s preaching is in vain

So, what is this cleric doing

Preaching in Jesus’ name?

 

It’s a contradiction of sorts

Or a confused state of mind,

No wonder such clerics get it wrong

Each and every time.

  

His story is still unfolding;

The end is already written,

There is the reality of salvation

For all of the forgiven.

 

For the creator of the beginning

Is the establisher of the end,

Man make talk his foolishness

But God is God, my friend.

 

 

Whose report will you believe?

His story or man’s?

Will you believe the Devil’s lie?

Or trust redemption’s plan?

 

All of the Holy Bible, I repeat,

Is centred on a man

And that man, I reiterate,

Is central to salvation’s plan.

 

There is no Saviour

Other than the Saviour, Jesus Christ,

And the salvation he offers

Is the only one that will suffice.

 

Tell my friend, that cleric,

He must revisit the Word

For the one that he now teaches

Is absolutely absurd!

 

Stewart Russell © February 13, 2022

 

It Is Fixed

 

No prayer of mine got me in the here and now

No beseeching, no promise, no pleading, no vow

I had no control over my arrival on this earth

And no determination of mine decided my birth

 

I didn’t pray concerning the time of my sojourn

That was ordered long before I was even born

My days were numbered and in fact they still are

And like me is everyone whether he is near or far

 

A thousand years are but a day in Thy sight, O Lord

So stated the psalmist in Psalm 90 verse 4

It was noted again in second Peter 3 verse 8

So whenever we go it is neither too early nor too late

 

History is already written in the annals of heaven

Concerning all who will be pardoned and forgiven

That fact is also true concerning all that will be lost

Even though they had a choice: their way or the cross

 

The Lamb’s Book of Life has already been decided

The Triune God knows those who will have abided

The past, present and future are all the same to Him

For God declares the end from the beginning

 

There are those who often question God’s infallibility

Pretending to be gods they display their own stupidity

For sooner or later they confront their own mortality

Which confirms to all that they are not God Almighty

 

 

The Bible too is viewed with mounting suspicion

By critics and pundits and even some within Christendom

Pulled down by atheists and promoters of evolution

Denouncing as a myth the Genesis account of creation

 

The world mocks and scorns those who follow Christ

Declaring the same to be their cop-out mechanism device

Afraid to face up to the uncertain reality of the future

They create for themselves a godlike benevolent creature

 

The truth be told this applies to them outside of Christ

To them with their pantheon of gods which never suffice

Worshipping the gods that they themselves have formed

Their creation they worship could never be the norm

 

Yet they regard true Christians as lacking in scholarship

Purporting them to be far behind and continuing to slip

Choosing rather to believe in fancies and fiction and lies

Hoping one day to see this God who will appear in the skies

 

 

But consider that none of us has control over the future

The past is just that and in a our minds a receding picture

In the present we live and that quickly becomes the past

And we must adjust since the present passes so fast

 

Clearly we are not in control as we often pretend to be

We are not on top of everything and that is plain to see

Not in control of our days, our weeks, our months or years

And our plans are flawed when the future appears

 

This perception of control is a perception; that’s all it is

For each day brings a new set of questions: a different quiz

And often while grappling with the queries of one day

The next day arrives with its challenges to our dismay

 

And how do we respond to the constant challenging days

Well from my obscured vantage we do so in varied ways

Some throw their hands up in stark displays of disgust

Some hands fall by the side; too tired even to fuss

 

Some will show a determined face though inwardly weak

Quite a few will not even bother to hide their fearful streak

Still some will struggle on though faced by imminent defeat

While others will try to find solace in some form of retreat

 

So which one of us is in control please raise your hand

Which one of us gets what he wants simply by a demand

Which one of us is unaffected despite what another does

Just as I thought, not a hand raised; only a growing buzz

 

 

We can’t add another heartbeat to the length of our days

Even when the best medical mind tries a myriad ways

It’s really a fallacy when we speak of prolonging one’s life

For all our days are numbered come peace or come strife

 

Not one has ever lived to reach his one-thousandth year

Only a few in very ancient times have even come near

969 is the maximum the Scriptures recall

With a few more 900's before they too were stalled

 

Life and death, origins and destinies are in God's hand

They were all instituted at His creative command

He simply spoke the word and it all came to pass

What we are now experiencing is already scripted and cast

 

God is the one in control whatever the perceived reality

Faith not sight is what He demands from all of humanity

The one who will come to Him must believe that He exists

Having not seen yet believed are the ones He enlists

 

Stewart Russell© 2016

 

None Is Squeaky Clean

 

In every life there’s a little dirt

A little scum and grease,

And often it turns up to haunt us

And to rob us of our peace.

 

None of us is squeaky clean

There’s some dirt in every past

And to ever get the rid of it,

Is an impossible task.

 

None can rewrite his history,

What is written is written

But God is faithful to all that asked

And our sins can be forgiven.

 

Our sins He nailed to the cross

When His Son was crucified,

Our past we can put behind us

We no longer have to hide.

 

 

For all have sinned, the Bible says,

And fallen short of God’s glory

But God through Jesus made a way

To change our sin-stricken story.

 

The wages of sin is death

But someone paid that debt for us

And just in case you didn’t know,

That someone is Jesus.

 

He calls the whosoever to himself

It matters not what he has done,

He will in no wise cast him off

There’s no more need to run.

 

One cannot rewrite his past

But it need not be his blight,

Jesus can change the vilest sinner

If he would come to the light.

 

That light is Jesus!

Jesus is the light of the world,

There is life eternal in Jesus Christ

He is the living Word.

 

 

Come to him this moment

Especially if you hear his voice,

Come to him; don’t turn away,

There is no better choice.

 

Stewart Russell © August 2020

 

Order of the Bible Books

 

 

Let me draw to your attention

The order of the Old Testament books,

The focus is on two orders in particular

And I encourage you, take a look.

 

Law, History, Wisdom/Poetry,

Major and Minor Prophets,

These are the main classifications of the OT

That we traditionally get.

 

The traditional order is ingrained

Unlike the second which is chronological,

But whichever order we consider,

An understanding is critical.

 

Whether traditional or chronological

The first seven books are the same:

Genesis to Judges I mean

So first, let me make this plain.

 

 

1440-1400 B.C.

 

Genesis #1                Genesis #1

Exodus #2                 Exodus #2

Leviticus #3             Leviticus #3

Numbers #4             Numbers #4

Deuteronomy #5     Deuteronomy #5

 

1440 – 1400 B.C.

 

Joshua #6                  Joshua #6

Judges #7         Judges #7

 

The first five books are the Toro

In these books we find the Law,

Moses, Joshua and Judges led Israel

Though not without their flaws.

 

The chronology of these seven books

Spreads from 1440-1000 B.C.

Ruth or the Psalms will follow next

Depending on what the order be.

 

1000-586 B.C. (pre-exile – mid-exile)

 

Traditionally Psalms is the 19^th book

But chronologically, it is # 8

This shifts Ruth down to book # 9

Where traditionally it is at # 8.

 

Chronologically follow thereafter,

1^st and 2^nd Samuel,

Then Job, Proverbs and Ecclesiastes,

And the Songs of Solomon.

 

Traditionally this is different

As we take the next seven books,

They are 1^st and 2^nd Samuel, 1^st and 2^nd Kings

1^st and 2^nd Chronicles and Ezra, the 15^th book.

 

From the Psalms to the Songs of Solomon

Is a period of sixty-nine years

Which makes sense chronologically speaking

In the order these books appear.

 

Period of Rehoboam to Hezekiah (931 – 686 B.C.)

 

Let’s stay with the chronological order

As we view the next seven books,

I am sure that up to this point

You are having an enlightened look.

 

Isaiah, Hosea, Joel and Amos

Followed by Obadiah, Jonah and Micah,

Instead of Nehemiah, Esther, Job and Psalms

Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and Songs of Solomon.

 

Period of Hezekiah to the exile (686 – 586 B.C.)

 

Enter Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah

Instead of Isaiah, Jeremiah and Lamentations,

1^st and 2^nd Kings, 1^st and 2^nd Chronicles

Instead of Ezekiel, Daniel, Hosea and Joel.

 

Jeremiah, Lamentations, Ezekiel, Daniel

Instead of Amos, Obadiah, Jonah and Micah,

Thirty-three books we have so far covered

The next six is Ezra to Malachi.

 

516 – 400 B.C. (post-exilic)

 

Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther

Rebuilding the temple and repairing the walls,

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi

Chronologically, that accounts for 39 in all.

 

Nahum, Habakkuk and Zephaniah

Haggai, Zechariah and Malachi,

These six complete the traditional order

On this information we can all rely.

 

Chronology in bold, traditional in light

Now you can go back and get it right.

For sure, you would recognize as I have,

Bible study is a delight.

 

The Old is the New concealed,

And the New is the Old revealed,

With this in mind, let’s move into the New

And reveal the once concealed.

 

That Christ is the Supreme Marker

There should be no dispute,

That he determines the entirety of time

Let us not refute.

 

 

Let me draw to your attention

The order of the New Testament books,

The focus is on two orders in particular

And I encourage you, take a look.

 

Traditionally we have the Gospels

Then the Acts of the Apostles,

Noteworthy is the book of Revelation

Preceded by the Epistles.

 

Some place this period

Around 40 – 68 A.D.

And this, for the most part is confirmed

By secular history.

 

All of the Messianic prophecies

Were fulfilled in the New,

The Gospels and the Acts of the Apostles

Assure us of this view.

 

In the Chronological and traditional

Matthew is placed at #40

This period is around 40 – 45 A.D.

Which excludes Mark, Luke and John.

 

45 -50 A.D.

 

Following is the chronological order

For the next six books

And the traditional order by comparison,

Take a careful look.

 

1^st Thessalonians #41              Mark #41

2^nd Thessalonians #42            Luke #42

1^st Corinthians #43                   John #43

2^nd Corinthians #44                 Acts #44

Romans # 45                     Romans #45

Luke #46          1^st Corinthians #46

 

50 – 55 A.D.

 

The next ten books are interestingly divided

Take a look at the position of the Acts,

Remember, grouping is traditional

But chronological is the timing fact.

 

Galatians #47          2^nd Corinthians #47

Ephesians #48          Galatians #48

Philippians #49               Ephesians #49

Colossians #50                 Philippians #50

Philemon #51          Colossians #51

Acts #52           1^st Thessalonians #52

 

1^st Timothy #53                2^nd Thessalonians #53

2^nd Timothy #54                       1^st Timothy #54

Titus #55          2^nd Timothy #55

Hebrews #56           Titus #56

 

55 – 60 A.D.

 

James and Jude before Philemon and Hebrews

In the period 55 - 60 A.D.,

Two more differences in these orderings

That chronologically and traditionally we see.

 

James #57                          Philemon #57

Jude #58                   Hebrews #58

 

60 – 68 A.D.

 

Finally, we come to the last eight books

It is a long way from the start,

And still the lists are so varied here,

Compare the positions of the book of St Mark.

 

Traditionally set at #41

But chronologically set 20 positions down,

The last before all of John’s five books

Is an eyeopener that is rather sound.

 

1^st Peter #59                     James #59

2^nd Peter #60                    1^st Peter #60

Mark #61                   2^nd Peter #61

 

John #62                   1^st John #62

1^st John #63                       2^nd John #63

2^nd John 64                        3^rd John #64

3^rd John #65                      Jude #65

Revelation #66                Revelation #66

 

 

So, here we have the sixty-six books

Comprising the Old and the New

With significant differences in their ordering

Re the chronological and traditional view.

 

For prophetic and historical enquiry

The chronological order is the better,

However, for literary giants and dramatists,

It’s better they choose the latter.

 

Whether chronological or traditional

The Bible is its own best source,

Use a Biblical text to explain another

And make it your primary reading resource.

 

Stewart Russell © September 13, 2021