Research Paper

So I have picked to write about eschatology. I personally love theology and for my denomination (Orthodox Presbyterian Church) there is some debate about the end times. I have not studied the topic enough to make an educated decision myself, so hopefully by the time I am finished with the paper I will have come to some kind of conclusion. The paper will analyze both the post-millennialist and amillennialist views of the end times. My pastor let me borrow a massive stack of books on the subject, all of them at least 300 pages. Pastoral humor is great. :-) But I really look forward to studying this topic and sharing what I find with you all. If you have any source suggestions, please, share them. I will post my bibliography at the bottom of the page shortly so you can see what I have, because it has changed significantly since my last post.

The Next Step

The drama is over. After twenty-two months of campaigns, news reports, commercials, advertisements, the nation has finally elected it's new president. It was amusing to me, to some extent, to watch how people acted yesterday while the preliminary reports were coming in. The nervousness, the intensity, the obvious concern was evident in everyone's face and body language of both McCain and Obama supporters. The fact of the matter is this: we can pray and we can vote. Heck, we can go stand on the side of the street preaching how good McCain is and why everyone should vote for him. But in the end, God establishes who will be the next president. It was obviously His will to raise up a new kind of leader, and whether it be to punish us as a nation or for some other reason, God wanted Obama to be the next president of the United States. Romans 13: 1-4b (ESV):

"Let every person be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those that exist have been instituted by God. (2) Therefore whoever resists the authorities resists what God has appointed, and those who resist will incur judgement. (3) For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Would you have no fear of the one who is in authority? Then do what is good, and you will receive his approval, (4) for he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain."

For those of us, like myself, that would rebel against authority such as Obama, this passage is a strong reminder that this is sin. We may disagree with almost every political decision that Obama makes, but God put them there. And we know that everything is a part of God's plan to advance His kingdom. While it may seem like a tribulation now, it will result, in the end, in the growth of the Church. And to compare this situation to one that everyone can relate to, we had Bill Clinton as president for eight years. Eight. And yes, it was hard. But because of God's grace and ever-watchful eye on His church it was not as nearly as hard as it could have been, and our suffering individually was miniscule. Obama is not a Nero. He is just a confused, ambitious, and unregenerate man. And he needs our prayers. So don't fall back to bitterness and resentment and hate. Pray for our new leader, and continue to pray that God will preserve His church in this nation as we undergo these next four, possibly eight, years.