Apologetics and Theology Blog Should We Be Watching For the Rapture? Stephen Bedard, September 16, 2023September 16, 2023 When I came back to faith in my early 20s, I began attending a Pentecostal church. This church was extremely interested in the end-times, especially the rapture. This is not just my impression. At one point, while I was in seminary, I looked into getting credentialed with that denomination. One… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Are We in the End Times? Stephen Bedard, December 28, 2022December 28, 2022 Worldwide pandemics. Russia invading another European nation. Does all of this mean that we are now in the end times? That’s what we look at in this episode. Please support this podcast through Patreon. Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog A Study in the Book of Revelation Stephen Bedard, August 21, 2020August 26, 2020 I am doing a study in the book of Revelation on my YouTube channel. I will post new videos here as they are made. If you want some extra study, the book I recommend is Craig Keener’s commentary on Revelation. Continue Reading
Bedard on Discipleship Thoughts on the End of the World Stephen Bedard, August 14, 2020August 14, 2020 This episode of the podcast looks at my changing views of Christian theology. There is room for disagreement as people have had different opinions right from the beginning. You can support this podcast at Patreon or by downloading a free audiobook with a free trial of Audible. This episode is the audio for… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Is COVID-19 a Sign of the End-Times? Stephen Bedard, April 7, 2020April 7, 2020 We are in the midst of a worldwide pandemic. It would not be surprising if people saw this as an indication that we are about to experience the end of the world. We get such predictions when everything is fine, so this time of pandemic is ripe for such claims…. Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Where is the Rapture in the Book of Revelation? Stephen Bedard, December 14, 2018December 11, 2019 I spent much of my 20s in a Pentecostal church which stressed the rapture. What is the rapture? It is the belief that God will rescue his people from earth. I will get into the biblical evidence later in this post. The church I attended also emphasized the book of… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog My Eschatology Has Changed (But It’s Not the End of the World) Stephen Bedard, July 13, 2016April 20, 2020 When we speak of eschatology, we must remember that there are a couple of aspects to this doctrine. It both refers to what will happen to the world when Jesus returns and what happens to individuals when we die. My eschatology has developed in both areas. Growing up Anglican, I… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Did Paul Write 2 Thessalonians? Stephen Bedard, May 27, 2016March 4, 2020 You may or may not be aware that there is some disagreement among New Testament scholars about how many of the letters Paul actually wrote. The “authentic” letters, that is the letters that they are most confident in are Romans, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, 1 Thessalonians and Philemon…. Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Where Did Rapture Theology Come From? Stephen Bedard, February 6, 2016September 17, 2019 Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog What is the Apocalypse? Stephen Bedard, December 6, 2014June 4, 2019 Ever since I was a teenager and right until today, I have enjoyed stories set in a post-apocalyptic world. There is something fascinating about watching humanity rebuild after the apocalypse. One of my current favourites is the 100, a show that takes place almost one hundred years after a nuclear… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Anti-Christmas Stephen Bedard, December 24, 2012December 20, 2019 I hate to do this on Christmas Eve, but since this is my 666th post on this blog, I decided that I needed to post on the Antichrist. What do we know about the Antichrist? When I returned to church in my early 20’s, I attended a church that had… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Suffering, Protection and the Pre-Trib Rapture Stephen Bedard, July 21, 2012March 23, 2020 There was an interesting conversation at our most recent class on Romans. We were looking at a number of passages on suffering. “More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance.” (Romans 5:3 ESV) “And if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Health, Sex and the End of the World Stephen Bedard, September 25, 2011July 20, 2020 In Hitchens’ chapter “A Note on Health, to Which Religion Can Be Hazardous,” he continues his tirade against religion. This chapter is really just more of the same. Hitchens’ goal is not to offer a direct link between religious teachings and evil/suffering but rather to just show some of the… Continue Reading
Apologetics and Theology Blog Will There Be a Rapture? Stephen Bedard, September 1, 2011July 11, 2020 With claims a number of months ago about a predicted rapture and the hugely popular Left Behind series from a few years back, the concept of the rapture has hit the mainstream. What are we to make of the rapture? I grew up Anglican and we never talked about anything… Continue Reading