John Mark Hicks

My Wednesday evening class–about 25 of us on average–have walked through Zechariah together. We began in January and finished Zechariah 14 last week (May 16). They are a patient bunch! It has been an exciting ride. The good news present in Zechariah is tailored for a disappointed people. Their hopes, dreams and expectations had not […]

In this story Jesus confronts the limiting rationality of Sadducees who think it impossible that God should raise the dead. Their theology is limited by their own experience and rational argumentation. I dare say that is not too uncommon in our present moment as well. For example, it is not unusual to hear, “If God is like […]

Zechariah 12-14 is the second oracle of the second half of the book of Zechariah. The first half of Zechariah contained eight visions (Zechariah 1-6) and four messages (Zechariah 7-8). The second half of Zechariah comes in the form of two oracles (the Hebrew term only occurs in Zechariah 9:1, 12:1 and Malachi 1:1). The […]

Frank Gibbs Allen (1836-1887), or usually known as F. G. Allen, was the conservative editor of the Old Path Guide (begun in 1879) which later merged with the Apostolic Times His Old Path Pulpit (available on Google Books) was published a year before his death (Covington, KY: Guide Print and Publishing Company). It was republished by the Gospel Advocate […]

Moses Lard, as Randall noted in a comment on my previous post, was a premillennialist. So, when did he think the earth would be renewed? Further, would the renewed earth be the eternal home of the saints or only one for 1000 years (as many contemporary premillennialists think)? Here is Lard’s answer. This is take […]

What does it mean for the creation to wait with earnest expectation for the revelation of the children of God in which it will be delivered from its own bondage of decay so as to experience the freedom of the redeemed and resurrected children of God?  Romans 8:19-23 Moses Lard (1818-1880), the conservative editor of Lard’s Quarterly and the Apostolic Times, answered […]

Lipscomb was asked: “What are the times of restoration and the all things spoken of by the prophets in Acts 3:20,21?” According to J. W. Shepherd’s Queries and Answers (published by F. L. Rowe, 1918), Lipscomb responded in this way (p. 360): Jesus had been to earth and returned to heaven. Heaven must receive him until […]

Several friends, in different places and ways, have asked me for a list of resources on renewed earth eschatology.  Below are some books that I think are quite helpful in developing and thinking through such an eschatology in biblical-theological terms. There are, of course, many more resources than these.  Many books on systematic theology (recently […]

The Bible Banner, edited by Foy E. Wallace, Jr. with a masthead reading “Devoted to the Defense of the Church Against All Errors and Innovations,” had a profound impact on Churches of Christ in the 1930s-1940s. Whether it was for good or ill depends on whether one thinks the theological movements and consensus achieved in that era, […]

I am often amazed at how some contemporary writers–missional and emergent–seem to believe that they have embraced a new vision for the mission of God. It also amazes me that some more traditional writers–some Evangelicals and some New Calvinists–regard the missional emphasis as a new understanding of the gospel.  David Lipscomb (1831-1917) reminds us that such emphases […]