Free Republic

The reaction to Pastor Josh Butler’s article and his subsequent cancellation is deeply rooted in the pathologies of some American evangelicalism.Yes, the church is the bride of Christ, and Christ will be united to His bride. Consequently, Christian marriage, including its physical consummation, is an image of Christ and the church. But proclaiming these beautiful and profound biblical truths is now enough to get Christians mobbed by other (ostensible) Christians.Pastor Josh Butler was just canceled by The Gospel Coalition, which caved to an online backlash against him over an article he wrote. The offending essay was erased from the group’s...

Then shall the kingdom of heaven be likened unto ten virgins, which took their lamps, and went forth to meet the bridegroom. And five of them were wise, and five were foolish. They that were foolish took their lamps, and took no oil with them: But the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps. While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept. And at midnight there was a cry made, Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him. Then all those virgins arose, and trimmed their lamps. And the foolish said unto the wise, Give...

To deliver thee from the strange woman, even from the stranger which flattereth with her words; Which forsaketh the guide of her youth, and forgetteth the covenant of her God. For her house inclineth unto death, and her paths unto the dead. None that go unto her return again, neither take they hold of the paths of life.( Proverbs 2:16-19)Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her, so that he shall have no need of spoil. She will do him good and not evil all...

The history of the Book of Genesis revolves around seven great men; Adam, Enoch, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph. In the measure that the image of Christ was formed in them, to that degree they are typical men. All these were married men. We are not told how three of them got their wives, but this we are told about the other four. Each of these four received his wife through suffering. Adam did not suffer actually, but typically, and he suffered in the capacity of a king. Jacob suffered as a servant, Isaac as the only begotten son...

And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars: And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered. (Revelation 12:1)The visions of Prophets recorded in the Bible are God-given revelations, that we might see spiritual realities otherwise hidden. Often these apocalypses,(“unveilings) use symbolism and metaphor to reveal abstract truths to God’s people. In apocalyptic imagery, a woman is often a symbol for a spiritual body. Thus faithful Israel is often referred to as “the daughter...

DID I REALLY LEAVE THE HOLY CATHOLIC CHURCH? The Journey into Evangelical Faith and Church Experience William Webster This article was first published by Moody Press in the book titled, Roman Catholicism: Evangelical Protestants Analyze What Divides and Unites Us in 1994. In light of the recent reversion of Francis Beckwith to Roman Catholicism I felt that perhaps the testimony of one who was Roman Catholic and is now a convinced evangelical Protestant might prove helpful to some. The arguments presented here as to why I could never become a Roman Catholic, based on the truth of Scripture and the...

(3) And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold, a great red dragon, having seven heads, and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads. (3a) "And there appeared another wonder in heaven: and behold, a great red dragon,..." Red is the ancient color of evil. Red and black in combination symbolizes far greater evil. The red dragon is both Satan/The Serpent, and the body politic spiritual construct of the known world in the fifteenth century. It is both theological and secular, but primarily it is a cabal bent on world domination. Again, we are dealing with non-linear time....