Theological Studies - Blog

Playing in the Streets and Millennial Implications from Zechariah 8

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 20:55:50 +0000

If you are like me you have probably not heard many sermons or messages from Zechariah 8. But this chapter gives some beautiful descriptions of God's coming kingdom when Jesus returns. The chapter begins with God restoring Jerusalem. With "great wrath" and "jealousy" (8:2) the Lord returns to Zion and dwells in Jerusalem (8:3). The great city will have another name—"City of Truth" (8:3).

My Thoughts on the Dispensational Study Group at ETS

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Fri, 18 Nov 2011 20:37:37 +0000

Last Tuesday (Nov 16) was the 25^th anniversary of the Dispensational Study Group at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society in San Francisco. Craig Blaising, of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, offered a discussion on the validity of labels in distinguishing types of Dispensationalism. Bruce Compton, of Detroit Baptist Theological Seminary, gave a response to Blaising.

Apologetic Lessons from Matthew 12:22-29

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Wed, 31 Aug 2011 04:08:18 +0000

Books on Christian apologetics rarely reference Matt 12:22-29 and Jesus’ encounter with the unbelieving Pharisees, but I believe this passage has some important implications for apologetics. With this study I am not attempting a full explanation of Matt 12:22-29 but I want to address where this

Topics I Will Be Addressing

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Mon, 29 Aug 2011 21:59:09 +0000

Tomorrow (Tuesday) I begin my sixth year of teaching at The Master’s Seminary. The first five years have flown by, mostly because of the fantastic students at TMS and the great people I work with (both faculty and support staff). The courses I am teaching this semester are:

--Man, Sin, Salvation (Theology 3)

--Apologetics

--NT use of the OT

Because I will be immersed in these courses I will try to post material related to the topics in these courses. So keep coming back to TheologicalStudies.org for more. (Of course, I will still be writing on issues related to eschatology and Dispensationalism.)

I will also post updates on these matters at my twitter account—@mikevlach.

Theological Implications of Zechariah 14

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Wed, 24 Aug 2011 02:55:44 +0000

In my two previous blogs I summarized Zechariah 14. Now I want to highlight some key theological implications of this chapter.

First, Zechariah 14 affirms that there is a coming kingdom upon the earth. Verse 9 explicitly states—“And the LORD will be king over all the earth.” God will rule over the planet He created. Eugene Merrill is correct that, “The God who led His people through spatial, temporal history will recreate the

Zechariah 14:10-21 and the Nature of the Coming Kingdom

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 18:12:07 +0000

(The following is Part 2 of a three-part series on Zechariah 14)

Zechariah 14:1–9 revealed the timing of the kingdom of God. God’s kingdom comes in the context of a multi-national siege of Jerusalem that is foiled by the Lord’s intervention on behalf of Jerusalem and the people of Israel. At that time, “The Lord will be king over all the earth” (v. 9).

Zechariah 14 and the Timing of the Kingdom

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Mon, 15 Aug 2011 22:41:48 +0000

This is first of a 3-part series on Zechariah 14 Part 1 will discuss the timing of the kingdom. Part 2 will discuss the nature of the kingdom. Part 3 will tackle theological implications of the kingdom from Zechariah 14.

Zechariah 14 has significant information concerning the kingdom of God, and thus should be a major area of study for those desiring to understand the kingdom. Important for our purposes is verse 9 which states:

Another Review of "Has the Church Replaced Israel?"

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 18:38:21 +0000

The reviews of my new book, Has the Church Replaced Israel?, keep coming. This one is done by Fred Zaspel, a pastor at the Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia, PA and a professor at Calvary Baptist Seminary in Lansdale, PA. Dr. Zaspel has written several books, the one I am most familiar with is the book he co-authored with Tom Wells called, New Covenant Theology.

I am grateful to Dr. Zaspel for reviewing my book and even letting me see a copy of it before it went online. My interaction with him has been positive.

This review can be found at www.credomag.com. Click here to see the review.

Luke 17:20-21: Is the Kingdom "Within You" or "In Your Midst"?

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Sun, 07 Aug 2011 05:00:05 +0000

One of the most debated passages regarding the kingdom of God is Luke 17:20-21. Is this verse teaching that the kingdom of God is a spiritual entity that resides in the hearts of men?

Luke 21:31: What an Often-Overlooked Verse Has to Say about the Timing of the Kingdom

mvlach@theologicalstudies.org (Michael Vlach) — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 20:39:24 +0000

So you also, when you see these things happening, recognize that the kingdom of God is near (Luke 21:31).

One verse often overlooked regarding the kingdom of God is Luke 21:31.Rarely is this verse discussed in depth, but I think it has major implications for understanding the timing of the kingdom of God. Here Jesus tells us that certain events must take place before the kingdom would come. In sum, Luke 21:31 teaches that the kingdom of God will only come after the events of the coming Tribulation Period. To show this, I will briefly set the context for this verse and then discuss how Luke 21:31 has important