The Spiritual Ramifications for Australia over the Passing of Cricket Commentator Richie Benaud.

Cricket Commentator Richie Benaud

There are few men who can pass on and can be remembered as one of the really great icons of Australian cricket. That was the life of Richie Benaud. Furthermore, not many cricketers have matured so gradually yet ripened so fruitfully as Benaud. With little to show for his first six years in Test cricket, he blossomed as a fully-fledged all-rounder in South Africa in 1957-58, then flowered as a charismatic captain at home against England in 1958-59. He repossessed the Ashes, which his teams then successfully defended twice. As a leg spinner, he was full of baits and traps, and he batted and fielded with verve. Yet it was his presence, as much as anything, which summoned the best from players: cool but communicative, he impressed as one to whom no event was unexpected, no contingency unplanned for. The same has applied to his journalism: terse, direct and common sensical, and his broadcasting: mellow and authoritative. His wise head was sought by Kerry Packer in the formation of World Series Cricket in 1977, conferring respectability on the breakaway professional circuit. A guru to Ian Chappell and Shane Warne among others, he is perhaps the most influential cricketer and cricket personality since the Second World War.

Already the accolades have started to pour in over the life of a man who will be remembered as one of the true gentlemen of the game of cricket. In fact, even after the passing of one of the greatest Prime Ministers this land has ever known, Malcolm Fraser, there has not been as much sorrow, sympathy and out pouring of grief shown to the passing of any other man in living memory. Nonetheless, we still need to have a reality check on the passing of Richie Benaud. That is the main purpose of this article. Not so that we can treat the passing of Richie Benaud in a derogatory manner. Instead, so that we are able to analyse and place the passing of Benaud and the reaction that is has caused into a true perspective comparative to the spiritual state of the nation. Firstly, I have always been someone who has treated the passing on of anyone with the greatest deal of respect that each and every individual deserves. No matter how good or bad someone was in life, it is not up to us to judge the final destination of anyone. That is the job of God alone. Even though he was great in the eyes of diehard cricket fans. A true devotee and representative to the game itself. He was still just a cricket commentator. A cricket journalist of some repute. However, there matters of extreme spiritual prominence to the nation at play here other than the passing of one man. A man whose very existence and passing has been acknowledged by current and past Australian Prime Ministers alike. That is true if one man passes to his appointed place and in doing so he is treated as a demi God. A man who could do no wrong. As such, he will be given a state funeral. However, does a man who was nothing much more than a cricket commentator deserve a state funeral? There are so many others who have done so much for the community who are not treated in a similar manner? It is true, he was a good bloke. Then again, he also earned a good living and made a good life for himself out of cricket. However, what the current fanfare over the passing of indicates is that we as Australians are in a great deal of strife if we place one man and the game that he represents over and above God almighty himself. I have tested this analogy out and found it to be true in so many; if not all instances. Mention God to the average ham in the street and how they were put here, and what their final destination is going to be, and the majority are definitely none committal. However, mention the death of Benaud and strangely enough most of those of whom I have spoken to are quite willing and able to speak with a great deal of knowledge over the subject. This fact alone is a true indicator that we as a nation are well and truly on the road to being completely sports mad. Regrettably, to the exclusion of God almighty himself. For goodness sakes wake up Australia before it is too late. That sad and sorry state can only lead in one direction for the nation as a whole, eternal damnation. God’s richest blessings.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

The Great Money Crash is Right Around the Corner - Or is it?

At the moment all that we are dealing with in this is nothing much more than speculation? What this kind of talk reminds me of is the Y2K bug when there was so much media hype over something that never ever took place. Isn’t that always the plan of the Illuminati, to create the crisis and then find a solution to the crisis? There might be some form of a money crisis right around the corner. However,  as this is talk only, just as it is about to hit someone will come forth with the solution to the problem. More than anything else there are certain scammers out there who see that the glass is half empty, as opposed to being half full. Then these same people come forth with these kind of scaremongering tactics so that the frightened little sheep rush out and buy their books. In the very least, they have solved the money crisis for someone, themselves, by selling masses and masses of books. If there is anything at all that arouses more interest than anything else it is money, or in this case of what the scammers are alleging is going to turn out to be a lack of spending power for the individual. According let’s just wait and see how all of this is going to pan out instead of taking too much notice of the likes of this fellow mentioned in the attached DVD.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

A little about my pet subject matter, the Mark of the Beast.

There can be no surer certainty that we are heading head on into the end times than the introduction of the Mark of the Beast over here in Australia/worldwide. Up until now this has been so subtle that there is hardly anyone at all who has come to realize what is really going on, other than the fundamentalist Born Again Christians.

Those who have been saying that the Mark was a microchip implant under the skin may have been right along simply because the word of God quite clearly says IN the right arm or forehead and not ON the right arm or forehead. It is right there in the scriptures, go ahead and read it for yourself, Revelation Chapter 13, Verses 16 to 18.

However, there is still a problem with that particular analogy that needs to be looked at. Here is the clincher, the scripture also says OR the name of the Beast, OR the number of his name in addition to the Mark. When I went to school, about 45 years ago, the word OR meant “other than”. So the word OR is an alternative. In this instance it means other than what has generally been accepted as being the Mark of the Beast, the microchip implant.

As it is being introduced in Australia right now, the alternative in this case could mean a tattoo on the skin with the number 666 embedded onto it. Reading on further in Revelation Chapter 14, we are told in no uncertain terms that anyone who takes the Mark is going to Hell. (Christians included)

However, because there is going to be an alternative in the form of the tattoo, what that means is that when the Mark is around the Christians will still be able to operate in the world economy without being forced to take the Mark, and will not have any fear of eternal damnation by taking a tattoo on the skin, as it is the Mark of the Beast that is going to send the recipient to Hell, and not the alternative, the tattoo.

The Mark of the Beast is being introduced over here in Australia via the mobile phones. Smart phones have gone one step closer to the Mark with the introduction of a nano Sim-Card which will be about the same size as the actual mark of the beast, about the size of a grain of rice. Up until now we have had a regular size, a mini size, and now the nano size Sim-card for the mobile phones. It looks very much to me like we are seeing both of the aforementioned being introduced over here are the same time. As God has quite clearly said in his word we are going to be offered an alternative to the Mark in the form of a tattoo so that we will still be able to survive in a world ruled by the Antichrist right up until the return of the Lord Jesus Christ back onto the earth.

If those who have been saying that the Mark of the Beast is a microchip implant and that a tattoo has nothing at all to do with the equation how could an implant have 666 embedded onto it and be recognizable if it was under the skin. Is there anything at all that you, the reader, would like to add to this at all? More than likely not.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

The Minimal Facts of the Resurrection

Written by Aaron Brake

He is Risen

“The evidence for the resurrection is better than for claimed miracles in any other religion. It’s outstandingly different in quality and quantity.”
—Antony Flew—

INTRODUCTION
The truth of Christianity stands or falls on the bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ. As Paul himself said, “If Christ has not been raised, our preaching is useless and so is your faith.”

[1] Here the Apostle provides an objective criterion by which to judge the legitimacy of the Christian worldview. Show that Christ has not been raised from the dead and you will have successfully proven Christianity false. Conversely, if Jesus did rise from the dead then His life and teachings are vindicated. The Christian faith, as it turns out, is falsifiable. It is the only religion which bases its faith on an empirically verifiable event.

[2]Christ Himself testified that His resurrection is the sign given to the world as evidence for His extraordinary claims: “A wicked and adulterous generation asks for a miraculous sign! But none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah. For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of a huge fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.”

[3] Furthermore, the resurrection was the central message proclaimed by the early church as most clearly demonstrated in the book of Acts.

[4] Therefore, it is entirely appropriate that an objective examination of Christianity focus on the most pivotal historical event of the faith: the Resurrection.

THE MINIMAL FACTS APPROACH
The approach I will take in this paper is commonly referred to as the “minimal facts approach.” This method “considers only those data that are so strongly attested historically that they are granted by nearly every scholar who studies the subject, even the rather skeptical ones.”

[5] It should be noted this approach does not assume the inerrancy or divine inspiration of any New Testament document. Rather it merely holds these writings to be historical documents penned during the first century AD.

[6]Though as many as 12 minimal facts surrounding the death and resurrection of Christ may be examined,

[7] the brevity of this paper limits our examination to four: the death of Jesus by crucifixion, the empty tomb,

[8] the post-resurrection appearances, and the origin of the Christian faith. I contend that the best explanation for these minimal facts is that Jesus was raised bodily from the grave.

Finally, if these facts “can be established and no plausible natural explanation can account for them as well as the resurrection hypothesis, then one is justified in inferring Jesus’ resurrection as the most plausible explanation of the data.”

[9]A MATTER OF HISTORY
Before looking at the facts surrounding the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ it is important to identify a set of objective criteria by which the validity of historical events may be judged. In other words, what criteria may be used to establish the occurrence of an event with reasonable historical certainty? New Testament scholars Gary Habermas and Michael Licona list the following five criteria noting that “a historian who is able to apply one or more of the following principles to a text can conclude with much greater confidence whether a certain event occurred.”

[10]Historical claims are strong when supported by multiple, independent sources.
Historical claims which are also attested to by enemies are more likely to be authentic since enemies are unsympathetic, and often hostile, witnesses.

Historical claims which include embarrassing admissions reflect honest reporting rather than creative storytelling.

Historical claims are strong when supported by eyewitness testimony.

Historical claims which are supported by early testimony are more reliable and less likely to be the result of legendary development.

[11]Therefore, when inquiring into a historical event “the historian combs through the data, considers all the possibilities, and seeks to determine which scenario best explains the data.”

[12]Some sceptics argue that the resurrection of Jesus cannot be investigated historically. But this is mistaken. The facts surrounding the resurrection are of a historical nature and available for anyone to examine. Consequently, “the meaning of the resurrection is a theological matter, but the fact of the resurrection is a historical matter.”

[13] Thus either the bodily resurrection of Jesus actually occurred in history or it did not. Either the resurrection is the best explanation for the known historical data or it is not. Regardless, what we cannot do is simply dismiss it as “supernatural” or “miraculous” in an attempt to remove it from the pool of live options a priori. Moreover, we need to be careful not to confuse “the evidence for the resurrection with the best explanation of the evidence. The resurrection of Jesus is a miraculous explanation of the evidence. But the evidence itself is not miraculous. None of these four facts is any way supernatural or inaccessible to the historian.”

[14] So although the resurrection may be classified as a “miraculous event,” it is a historical event nonetheless and should be investigated as such. John Warwick Montgomery provides helpful insight:

The only way we can know whether an event can occur is to see whether in fact it has occurred. The problem of “miracles,” then, must be solved in the realm of historical investigation, not in the realm of philosophical speculation. And note that a historian, in facing an alleged “miracle,” is really facing nothing new. All historical events are unique, and the test of their factual character can be only the accepted documentary approach that we have followed here. No historian has the right to a closed system of natural causation….”

[15]Therefore, whether or not Jesus rose from the dead is really quite straightforward: “If Jesus was dead at point A, and alive again at point B, then resurrection has occurred: res ipsa loquitur.”

[16]FACT #1—THE DEATH OF JESUS BY CRUCIFIXION
Perhaps no other fact surrounding the life of the historical Jesus is better attested to than His death by crucifixion. Not only is the crucifixion account included in every gospel narrative.

[17] But it is also confirmed by several non-Christian sources. These include the Jewish historian Josephus, the Roman historian Tacitus, the Greek satirist Lucian of Samosata, as well as the Jewish Talmud.

[18] Josephus tells us that “Pilate, at the suggestion of the principal men among us…condemned him to the cross…”

[19] From a perspective of historiography, Jesus’ crucifixion meets the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources including enemy attestation. John Dominic Crossan, non-Christian critical scholar and co-founder of the Jesus Seminar, states, “That he was crucified is as sure as anything historical can ever be.”

[20]Objection #1: Jesus Didn’t Really Die (The Swoon Theory)
Some sceptics argue that Jesus may have been crucified but He did not actually die. Instead, He lost consciousness (swooned) and merely appeared to be dead only to later be revived in the cool, damp tomb in which He was laid. After reviving He made His way out of the tomb and presented Himself to His disciples as the “resurrected” Messiah. Thus the Christian religion begins. This theory is problematic for several reasons. First, the Swoon Theory does not take seriously what we know about the horrendous scourging and torture associated with crucifixion. As an expert team from the Journal of the American Medical Association concludes, “Accordingly, interpretations based on the assumption that Jesus did not die on the cross appear to be at odds with modern medical knowledge.”

[21]Second, Jesus faking His own resurrection goes against everything we know about His ethical ministry.

Third, a half-dead, half-resurrected “messiah” could hardly serve as the foundation for the disciples’ belief in the resurrection. German theologian David Friederick Strauss explains:

It is impossible that a being who had stolen half-dead out of the sepulcher, who crept about weak and ill, wanting medical treatment, who required bandaging, strengthening and indulgence, and who still at last yielded to his sufferings, could have given to the disciples the impression that he was a Conqueror of death and the grave, the Prince of Life, an impression which lay at the bottom of their future ministry. Such a resuscitation could only have weakened the impression which He had made upon them in life and in death, at the most could only have given it an elegiac voice, but could by no possibility have changed their sorrow into enthusiasm, have elevated their reverence into worship.

[22]Fourth, this theory is anachronistic in postulating that the disciples, upon seeing Jesus in his half-comatose state, would be led to conclude that He had been raised from the dead within history, in opposition to the Jewish belief in one final resurrection at the end of time. On the contrary, seeing Him again would lead them to conclude He didn’t die!

[23]Fifth, Roman soldiers were professional executioners and everything we know about the torture and crucifixion of Jesus confirms His death, making this theory physically impossible.

Sixth, no early evidence or testimony exists claiming Jesus was merely wounded.
Finally, this theory cannot account for the conversion of skeptics like Paul who also testified to having seen the risen Lord and willing suffered and died for his belief in the resurrection.

FACT #2—THE EMPTY TOMB
Something happened to the body of Jesus. Of this we can be sure. Not only was Jesus publicly executed in Jerusalem but “His post-mortem appearances and empty tomb were first publicly proclaimed there.”

[24] This would have been impossible with a decaying corpse still in the tomb. “It would have been wholly un-Jewish,” notes William Lane Craig, “not to say foolish, to believe that a man was raised from the dead when his body was still in the grave.”

[25] The Jewish authorities had plenty of motivation to produce a body and silence these men who “turned the world upside down,”

[26] effectively ending the Christian religion for good. But no one could. The only early opposing theory recorded by the enemies of Christianity is that the disciples stole the body.

[27] Ironically, this presupposes the empty tomb. In addition, all four gospel narratives attest to the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea and place women as the primary witnesses to the empty tomb.

[28] Both of these are highly unlikely to be Christian inventions.
First, with regard to Joseph of Arimathea, Biblical scholar James G. D. Dunn explains that he

is a very plausible historical character: he is attested in all four Gospels… and in the Gospel of Peter…; when the tendency of the tradition was to shift blame to the Jewish council, the creation ex nihilo of a sympathizer from among their number would be surprising; and ‘Arimathea, ‘a town very difficult to identify and reminiscent of no scriptural symbolism, makes a thesis of invention even more implausible.’

[29]Atheist Jeffery Lowder agrees that “the burial of Jesus by Joseph of Arimathea has a high final probability.”

[30]Second, just as unlikely to be invented is the report of women followers discovering the empty tomb, especially when considering the low social status of women in both Jewish and Roman cultures and their inability to testify as legal witnesses.

[31] If the empty tomb account were a fabricated story intended to persuade skeptics it would have been better served by including male disciples as the primary witnesses. In other words, both the burial and empty tomb accounts demonstrate a ring of authenticity which lends credibility to the gospel narratives. As with the crucifixion, the account of the empty tomb meets the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources.

[32] including implicit enemy attestation as well as the principle of embarrassment. In addition, the reports of the burial and empty tomb are simple and lack theological or legendary development. Finally, there is no competing burial story in existence. Historian and skeptic Michael Grant concedes that “the historian… cannot justifiably deny the empty tomb” since applied historical criteria shows “the evidence is firm and plausible enough to necessitate the conclusion that the tomb was indeed found empty.”

[33]Objection #2: The Disciples Stole the Body (The Fraud or Conspiracy Theory)
As mentioned above, the earliest recorded polemic against the empty tomb is the charge by Jewish authorities that the disciples stole the body. This is commonly referred to as the Fraud or Conspiracy Theory. This scenario posits that Jesus’ followers stole the body away unbeknownst to anyone and lied about the resurrection appearances, pulling off what has thus far been the greatest hoax in human history. There are several problems with this view. First, this theory does not explain well the simplicity of the resurrection narratives nor why the disciples would invent women as the primary witnesses to the empty tomb.

[34] This is hardly the way one gets a conspiracy theory off the ground. Second, this also doesn’t explain why the disciples would perpetuate a story that they stole they body (Matt. 28:11-15) if in fact they stole the body! Propagating an explanation which incriminates oneself is again at odds with a conspiracy theory. Third, as will be discussed below, this theory does not account for the fact that the disciples of Jesus had genuine experiences in which they believed they saw the risen Christ. So convinced were these men that their lives were transformed into committed followers willing to suffer and die for their belief. Liars make poor martyrs. Fourth, this theory runs opposite to everything we know about the disciples. As J. N. D. Anderson states, “This would run totally contrary to all we know of them: their ethical teaching, the quality of their lives, their steadfastness in suffering and persecution. Nor would it begin to explain their dramatic transformation from dejected and dispirited escapists into witnesses whom no opposition could muzzle.”

[35]Fifth, this theory is completely anachronistic. There was no expectation by first century Jews of a suffering-servant Messiah who would be shamefully executed by Gentiles as a criminal only to rise again bodily before the final resurrection at the end of time: “As Wright nicely puts it, if your favorite Messiah got himself crucified, then you either went home or else you got yourself a new Messiah. But the idea of stealing Jesus’ corpse and saying that God had raised him from the dead is hardly one that would have entered the minds of the disciples.”

[36] Finally, this theory cannot account for the conversion of skeptics like Paul who also testified to having seen the risen Lord and willing suffered and died for his belief in the resurrection.

FACT #3—THE POST-RESURRECTION APPEARANCES
In 1 Corinthians 15:3-8 Paul recounts what biblical scholars recognize as an early Christian creed dating to within a few years of the crucifixion. Notice the creedal nature and repetitive structure of this passage when broken down in the following form:
For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received, in which also you stand,
that Christ died for our sins
according to the Scriptures,
and
that He was buried,
and
that He was raised on the third day
according to the Scriptures,
and
that He appeared to Cephas,
then to the twelve.
After
that He appeared to more than five hundred brethren at one time,
most of whom remain until now,
but some have fallen asleep;
then He appeared to James,
then to all the apostles;
and last of all, as to one untimely born,
He appeared to me also.

[37] Included in this creed are three of our minimal facts: the death of Jesus, the empty tomb, and the post-resurrection appearances. Furthermore, our fourth minimal fact (the origin of Christianity) is easily explained given the first thee facts. Paul not only mentions the multiple post-resurrection appearances but includes himself as having seen the risen Lord. Several indicators in the text confirm this to be an early Christian creed.

First, as shown above, the passage uses stylized wording and parallel structure common to creedal formulas. Second, the words “delivered” and “received” are technical terms indicating a rabbinic heritage is in view. Third, the phrases “He was raised,” “third day,” and “the twelve” are unusual Pauline terms making this unlikely to have originated with Paul himself. Fourth, the Aramaic term “Cephas” is used for Peter indicating an extremely early origin.

[38] New Testament scholar and skeptic Gerd Lüdemann assigns this passage a very early date stating, “the elements in the tradition are to be dated to the first two years after the crucifixion of Jesus…not later than three years…the formation of the appearance traditions mentioned in 1 Cor. 15:3-8 falls into the time between 30 and 33 C.E.”

[39]The early date of this creed rules out the possibility of myth or legendary development as a plausible explanation and demonstrates that the disciples began proclaiming Jesus’ death, resurrection, and post-resurrection appearances very early. Christian philosopher and theologian J. P. Moreland elaborates:

There was simply not enough time for a great deal of myth and legend to accrue and distort the historical facts in any significant way. In this regard, A. N. Sherwin-White, a scholar of ancient Roman and Greek history at Oxford, has studied the rate at which legend accumulated in the ancient world, using the writings of Herodotus as a test case. He argues that even a span of two generations is not sufficient for legend to wipe out a solid core of historical facts. The picture of Jesus in the New Testament was established well within that length of time.

[40]Again Lüdemann acknowledges, “It may be taken as historically certain that Peter and the disciples had experiences after Jesus’ death in which Jesus appeared to them as the risen Christ.”

[41] There is no dispute among scholars that the disciples experienced something.
But there’s more. The disciples not only proclaimed that Jesus was raised but they sincerely believed the resurrection occurred as demonstrated by their transformed lives. Eleven early sources testify to the willingness of the apostles to suffer and die for their belief in the resurrection.

[42] For example, we know extra-Biblically that Jesus’ brother James was stoned to death by the Sanhedrin and that the apostle Paul was beheaded in Rome under Nero.

[43] Many people will die for what they believe to be true but no one willingly suffers and dies for what they know to be false. Again, liars make poor martyrs. This important point should not be confused by an appeal to modern-day martyrs who willingly die for their religious beliefs. Making this comparison is a false analogy: “Modern martyrs act solely out of their trust in beliefs that others have taught them. The apostles died for holding to their own testimony that they had personally seen the risen Jesus. Contemporary martyrs die for what they believe to be true. The disciples of Jesus died for what they knew to be either true or false.”

[44]As with the crucifixion and empty tomb, the post-resurrection appearances meet the historical criteria of multiple, independent and early eyewitness sources, as well as the testimony of a former enemy of Christianity: Saul of Tarsus. Nine early and independent sources testify to the disciples’ proclamation that Jesus rose from the dead and appeared to them.

[45] To list just one example of this, the appearance “to the twelve” mentioned by Paul above is also attested to in Luke 24:36-42 and John 20:19-20. “The evidence,” says William Lane Craig, “makes it certain that on separate occasions different individuals and groups had experiences of seeing Jesus alive from the dead. This conclusion is virtually indisputable—and therefore undisputed.”

[46]Objection #3: The Disciples Experienced Hallucinations (The Hallucination Theory)
The most popular theory offered by skeptics to explain away the post-resurrection appearances is that the disciples experienced hallucinations. This is the position taken by Gerd Lüdemann (quoted above) among others. However, appealing to hallucinations as an explanation simply won’t work for the following reasons.
First, the testimony of Paul along with the Gospel writers is that the appearances of Jesus were physical, bodily appearances.

[47] In fact, this is the unanimous consent of the Gospel narratives. This is an important point because if “none of the appearances was originally a physical, bodily appearance, then it is very strange that we have a completely unanimous testimony in the Gospels that all of them were physical, with no trace of the supposed original, non-physical appearances.”

[48]Second, hallucinations are private experiences (as opposed to group experiences). A group of people “may be in the frame of mind to hallucinate, but each experiences hallucinations on an individual basis. Nor will they experience the same hallucination. Hallucinations are like dreams in this way.”

[49] Therefore, hallucinations cannot explain the group appearances attested to in 1 Cor. 15, the Gospel narratives, and the book of Acts.

[50]Third, ironically, the Hallucination Theory cannot explain the origin of the disciples’ belief in Jesus’ resurrection! Just like in today’s modern world, “for someone in the ancient world, visions of the deceased are not evidence that the person is alive, but evidence that he is dead!”

[51] This is a crucial argument to grasp:
Hallucinations, as projections of the mind, can contain nothing new. Therefore, given the current Jewish beliefs about life after death, the disciples, were they to project hallucinations of Jesus, would have seen Jesus in heaven or in Abraham’s bosom, where the souls of the righteous dead were believed to abide until the resurrection. And such visions would not have caused belief in Jesus’ resurrection.

[52]In other words, a hallucination of the resurrected Jesus presupposes the proper frame of mind which the disciples simply did not possess. Finally, hallucinations cannot explain such facts as the empty tomb, the conversions of skeptics like Paul, nor the multiple and varied resurrection appearances which defy a purely psychological, naturalistic explanation.

[53] “To be perfectly candid,” concludes Craig, “the only grounds for denying the physical, corporeal nature of the postmortem appearances of Jesus is philosophical, not historical.”

[54]FACT #4—THE ORIGIN OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH
No scholar denies the fact that the Christian religion exploded out of first century Israel. Within one generation of the death of Christ this movement known as “the Way” had spread to Europe, Africa, and Asia. Christianity is an effect that needs an adequate cause and explanation. Where exactly did the Christian faith come from and what best explains its origin? The most obvious answer to this question is that the disciples truly saw the resurrected Christ. Only an event of this magnitude could turn scared, scattered, and skeptical disciples, with no prior concept and expectation of a crucified and risen Messiah, into courageous proclaimers of the gospel willing to suffer and die for their belief that Jesus rose bodily from the grave. This is what Peter boldly declared: “This Jesus God raised up again, to which we are all witnesses… Therefore let all the house of Israel know for certain that God has made Him both Lord and Christ—this Jesus whom you crucified.”

[55] The origin of the Christian faith is best explained by the disciples’ sincere belief that God raised Jesus from the dead.

Anyone who denies the resurrection itself as the explanation for the origin of Christianity must posit some other explanation. Only three possibilities seem to exist. If the resurrection did not occur, then Christianity was either the result of Christian, Jewish, or pagan influences.

[56] Obviously the disciples could not succumb to Christian influences since Christianity was not yet in existence. But just as unlikely is the idea that the disciples’ belief in the resurrection originated from Jewish influences. The Jewish conception of the resurrection was one final, general resurrection of all mankind (or all the righteous) occurring after the end of the world. Nowhere in Jewish thought do we find the idea of a single individual resurrecting within history never to die again.

[57]Objection #4: Christianity Borrowed From Pagan Religions (The Copycat Theory)
Perhaps then Christianity finds its origin in paganism. Popular internet movies such as Zeitgeist have made ubiquitous the belief that there really is nothing unique about the Christian Savior. Jesus is simply a conglomeration of past dying and rising “messiahs” repackaged for a first-century audience whose zealousness eventually grew into the Christian religion we know today. Despite the pervasiveness of this belief it suffers from numerous problems. First, pagan mythology is the wrong interpretive context considering that “Jesus and his disciples were first-century Palestinian Jews, and it is against that background that they must be understood.”

[58]Second, the Jews were familiar with seasonal deities (Ezek. 37:1-14) and found them detestable, making it extremely improbable that they would borrow mythology from them. This is why no trace of pagan cults celebrating dying and rising gods can be found in first-century Palestine.

[59]Third, the earliest account of a dying and rising god that somewhat parallels Jesus’ resurrection appears at least 100 years later. The historical evidence for these myths is non-existent and the accounts are easily explained by naturalistic theories.

[60]Fourth, the Copycat Theory begs the question. It assumes the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are false (the very thing it is intending to prove) and then attempts to explain how these accounts originated by appealing to supposed parallels within pagan mythology. But first it must be shown that the accounts of Jesus’ resurrection are false! In other words, even if it could be shown that parallels exist, it does not follow that the resurrection of Jesus is not a historical event. The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection must be judged on its own merit because “the claims of resurrections in other religions do not explain the evidence that exists for Jesus’ resurrection.”

[61]Finally, to put to rest this outdated and unsubstantiated theory, the late Dr. Ronald Nash summarizes seven important points that completely undermine the idea that Christianity derived its doctrine from the pagan mystery religions:

1. Arguments offered to “prove” a Christian dependence on the mysteries illustrate the logical fallacy of false cause… Coincidence does not prove causal connection. Nor does similarity prove dependence.
2. Many alleged similarities between Christianity and the mysteries are either greatly exaggerated or fabricated. Scholars often describe pagan rituals in language they borrow from Christianity…
3. The chronology is all wrong. Almost all of our sources of information about the pagan religions alleged to have influenced early Christianity are dated very late. We frequently find writers quoting from documents written 300 years later than Paul in efforts to produce ideas that allegedly influenced Paul. We must reject the assumption that just because a cult had a certain belief or practice in the third or fourth century after Christ, it therefore had the same belief or practice in the first century.
4. Paul would never have consciously borrowed from the pagan religions…
5. Early Christianity was an exclusivist faith…
6. Unlike the mysteries, the religion of Paul was grounded on events that actually happened in history…
7. What few parallels may still remain reflect a Christian influence on the pagan systems…

[62]Nash offers this final word regarding the copycat theory: “Liberal efforts to undermine the uniqueness of the Christian revelation via claims of a pagan religious influence collapse quickly once a full account of the information is available. It is clear that the liberal arguments exhibit astoundingly bad scholarship. Indeed, this conclusion may be too generous.”

[63] Therefore, it is safe to conclude that “the birth and rapid rise of the Christian Church…remain an unsolved enigma for any historian who refuses to take seriously the only explanation offered by the Church itself.”

[64]CONCLUSION
If Jesus was dead at point A, and alive at point B, we have a resurrection. The bodily resurrection of Jesus Christ is the best explanation for the known historical data: His death by crucifixion, the empty tomb, the post-resurrection appearances, and the origin of the Christian faith. Furthermore, Jesus’ resurrection fits the context of his life, vindicating His teachings and radical claim to be the unique, divine Son of God. Paul says that Christ “was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead.”

[65] Naturalistic explanations (swoon theory, legendary development, fraud, hallucinations) fail to account for all the relevant data and in some cases (copycat theories) are outright false and ahistorical. Conversely, the Resurrection Hypothesis accounts for all of the known facts, has greater explanatory scope and power, is more plausible, and less ad hoc.

[66] Only if one is guided by a prior commitment to philosophical naturalism will the conclusion “God raised Jesus from the dead” seem unjustified.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.

OBJECTIONS TO THE DISPENSATIONAL INTERPRETATION

The objections to the dispensational interpretation are summarized below.

Dispensational statements are given in bold.

This is followed by counter-arguments in normal text.

1.      The 490 years start with Artaxerxes’ second decree.

This decree did not “restore” Jerusalem as judicial and executive capital of the nation, as required by the prophecy.  See discussion above.

2.      The 490 years have 360 days each.

The “weeks” of the Seventy Weeks are sabbatical weeks of years, where each seventh year is a Sabbath.  Each year is therefore a normal literal solar year.  There is no justification for reading this prophecy symbolically.

3.      The appearance of the Messiah (9:25) at the end of the 483 years is Jesus’s triumphal entry into Jerusalem.

Jesus appeared about three years earlier when He was “anointed” and introduced to the world at His baptism.  “God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power” (Acts 10:38) and proclaimed this Anointed One to be His Son or King (Mark 1:9-11; cf. Ps. 2:6, 7) on the day of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist:

so that He might be manifested to Israel, I came baptizing in water. (John 1:31)

4.      The Jewish period ended at Jesus’s triumphal entry, to be resumed much later.

The Jewish period did not end at Jesus’s triumphal entry, or at the Cross.  For the first three or four years after the Cross the gospel was preached with the power of the Holy Spirit exclusively to Jews.  It was only three or four years after the Jews started to persecute the believers that Peter, in a dream, received the instruction to take the gospel to the gentiles (Acts 10).

5.      The “firm covenant” of the 70th week (v 27) follows after the destruction of the city in verse 26 in AD 70.  Therefore the 70th week must follow after 70 AD, which necessitates a gap between the 69th and 70th weeks.

The events in the prophecy are not presented in chronological sequence, for instance:

The rebuilding of the city (25c) is mentioned after the appearance of the anointed one (25b), while the city was rebuilt four hundred years before the Anointed.

The prince causes sacrifices to cease (9:27) after the sanctuary is destroyed (9:26), but if the sanctuary is destroyed there remains no sacrificial system to be ceased.

Since 70 weeks have been determined for the city of “thy people” (9:24), the destruction of the city and the sanctuary in verse 26 must occur after the 70 weeks, and therefore after the 70^th week of verse 27.

To determine the actual chronological sequence it must be noted that the prophecy is presented in a poetic form of parallelism with two foci—Jerusalem and the Anointed, and alternates between the two:

JERUSALEM	ANOINTED ONE
9:25a  commandment to restore	9:25b unto the anointed one
9:25c Seven weeks	9:25c – and 62 weeks
9:25d shall be built again	9:26a - after the 62 weeks anointed cut off
9:26b destroy	9:27a - firm covenant – one week – sacrifice cease
9:27b abominations … maketh desolate

Because of this poetic parallelism, the assumption of a strict chronological sequence is incorrect.

6.      The desolation at the end of verse 27 is concurrent with the end that is made to sacrifice and offering “in the middle” of the 70th week (earlier in the same verse).  Daniel therefore placed the “abomination of desolation” exactly in the middle of the last week.  Our Lord placed the “abomination of desolation” at ‘the end,’ just before His second coming in glory (Matthew 24:15, 21, 29, 30).  The Seventieth Week therefore must also come at the end of the present age, just prior to Christ’s coming in glory.

The first assumption is the reasoning above is that the desolation of verse 27 is concurrent with making an end to sacrifice and offering.  This is not so:

According to the literary analysis the termination of the sacrifices relates to the Messiah while the desolation has to do with the city, some 40 years later.

The messianic context of the prophecy demands that the termination of sacrifices must refer to the Cross.

The second assumption in the reasoning above is that Daniel 9:27 refers to an “abomination of desolation”.  This is also not true.  9:27 refers to a desolator that arrives shortly after (on the wing of) abominations.  The phrase “abomination of desolation” is used elsewhere in Daniel for something that is set up (11:31; 12:11), not a desolator.  Similarly, our Lord spoke about the “abomination of desolation” as something that stands in the holy place (Matthew 24:15; or “standing where it should not be” Mark 13:14).  The abomination of Matthew 24:15 and the desolator in Daniel 9:27 are related, but different things.  An “abomination of desolation” is some repulsive sin, which leads to destruction.  A desolator is a destroyer.  It is therefore not appropriate to link Matthew 24:15 to Daniel 9:27 as if they refer to the same thing.  The “abomination of desolation” is something that belongs to the other prophecies in Daniel, and those are not limited to the 490 years or to the Jewish nation, as is the prophecy in Daniel 9.

Thirdly, Jesus mentions the “abomination of desolation in Matthew 24:15 in the context of the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD. (Compare mat 24:16-19 to Luke 21:20-23.)  Perhaps one can also apply it to the time before His return (v23), but that would be an additional meaning.

The reasoning therefore includes three major errors, any one of which would refute the conclusion.

7.      There is a gap of 2000 years or more between the first 69 weeks and the 70th week.

An important conclusion from the literary analysis above is that the first part of verse 27 elaborates on the Messiah, while last part of the same verse elaborates on the destruction of the city.  This denies the dispensational approach of detaching verse 27 from the previous verses and propelling it into the distant future to the end of time, to describe the events of the last seven years of earth’s history.

Verse 27 is arguably the core of the prophecy.  All important events occur after the long period of 69 weeks (483 years).  The purpose of the 69 weeks is therefore to foretell the timing of these events.  Hence, to postpone that final week of years and to propel it far into the future is to defeat the purpose of the 69 weeks.

Many of the words used to describe the destruction of the city in verse 26 are repeated in the description of the destruction at the end of verse 27 (desolations – decreed – flood/poured out – end of/complete destruction), which implies that these two verses refer to the same events.

The wording of the text of Daniel in no way indicates a break or gap.  There appears to be no valid reason, or defensible ground, for separating the seventieth week from the previous 69.  To postpone the last seven years of final crisis to the end of the age is a form of exegesis without a precedent in all prophetic exposition.

8.      The covenant in verse 27 is a new covenant made by an end time Antichrist.

The covenant in verse 27 is the divine covenant because that covenant is the central theme throughout Daniel 9, and for the other reasons provided above.

9.      The temple will be rebuilt again a second time, after the destruction in verse 26.

The prophecy explicitly promises only one rebuilding of the city and the sanctuary.  If the temple was to be rebuilt after the destruction of verse 26, the prophecy would have explicitly stated this, given that it is so clear about the rebuilding in verse 25.

10.   The sacrificial system will be resumed.

There is no indication in Daniel 9 that sacrifices will be resumed, as in Daniel 8.  Daniel 9 ends in the opposite, namely increasing chaos.  The re-instatement of the sacrifices stems from the assumption that Daniel 9 covers the same ground as the other prophecies of Daniel, an idea which has been refuted above.

There can never be a valid return to the old covenant and its earthly temple worship.  Christ, the Antitype, has terminated once for all the “shadow” and inaugurated a “better covenant” that offers His righteousness as the everlasting righteousness (see Hebr. 7:22; cf. chap. 10:12; Rom. 3:22, 25).

11.   The termination of the sacrificial system relates to an end time Antichrist.

According to the New Testament, through the sacrifice (death) of the Lamb of God, God brought the sacrificial system to an end, made atonement for sin and brought in everlasting redemption.  If we—against this background—read that the purpose of the 70 weeks includes “to make atonement and to bring in everlasting redemption” (9:24), and that the events of the 70 weeks include the appearance and death of the messiah, it is more than fair to conclude that the context demands that the termination of the sacrificial system in verse 27 refers to His crucifixion.

His death was the ultimate and real sacrifice for the sins of the human race.  We, frail and tiny humans, living on a speck of dust floating in the immeasurable universe, find it difficult to believe in the supernatural.  Here Daniel, 500 years before the cross, disclosed a great truth, which is also disclosed by Isaiah 53 when he wrote, ‘pierced through for our transgressions’.  We must cling to such proofs of the supernatural.  This also tells us much about the nature of the universe.  God knows where we are.  He died for our sins.  We cannot understand why and how because His thoughts are as far above our thoughts as the stars are above the earth, but it is wonderful to understand that the Source of all power and love feels this way about us; undeserving sinners.

12.   The sanctuary will be destroyed in the middle of the last week.

70 weeks have been determined for the city of “thy people” (9:24).  This promises safety for the city for 70 weeks of years.  The sanctuary will not be destroyed during that period.  For this reason the city and the sanctuary was destroyed after the end of the 490 years.

13.   The 70th week ends with the return of Christ.

The prophecy ends in the accumulation of desolations.  It does not refer to the return of Christ.  If the end of the last week was the Second Advent, would verse 27 not end in a description of His glorious return, as the other prophecies in Daniel do?

14.   The goals of 9:24 will be fulfilled at the end of the 490 years

Daniel 9:24 declares that “atonement for iniquity” and “everlasting righteousness” was to be attained during the 490 years, through Israel.

A strange aspect of Dispensationalism is the proposal that sin will continue for 1000 years after the return of Christ.  Furthermore, by postulating the Millennium as a period of Jewish dominance, it allocates in total 1490 years to the Jews; not 490 years.

It was argued above that Jesus made “atonement for iniquity” and consequently brought in “everlasting righteousness” for ages and ages to come.

WHY I AM NOT A DISPENSATIONALIST John Nelson Darby is recognized as the father of dispensationalism later made popular in the United States by Cyrus Scofield's Scofield Reference Bible. Charles Henry Mackintosh, 1820–1896, with his popular style spread Darby's teachings to humbler elements in society and may be regarded as the journalist of the Brethren Movement. CHM popularised Darby more than any other Brethren author. As there was no Christian teaching of a “rapture” before Darby began preaching about it in the 1830s, he is sometimes credited with originating the "secret rapture" theory wherein Christ will suddenly remove His bride, the Church, from this world before the judgments of the tribulation. Dispensationalist beliefs about the fate of the Jews and the re-establishment of the Kingdom of Israel put dispensationalists at the forefront of Christian Zionism, because "God is able to graft them in again," and they believe that in His grace he will do so according to their understanding of Old Testament prophecy. They believe that, while the methodologies of God may change, His purposes to bless Israel will never be forgotten, just as He has shown unmerited favour to the Church, He will do so to a remnant of Israel to fulfill all the promises made to the genetic seed of Abraham. I am not a dispensationalist; it is unbiblical.