Antichrist | Open Our Eyes, Lord!

The first seminary where I taught put us through a sort of Professor Boot Camp. Our academic dean stressed: “Your students will remember only a portion of the content you teach; they will always remember your attitudes and values.

That principle has been true as far as my memories: I can remember a few professors who came across as, well, self-satisfied, distant, or lethargic; I hope my impressions were mistaken.

Other professors seemed to be hard workers, careful students of the Word, loving individuals and encouraging. (more…)

Published in:

on March 11, 2013 at 7:02 pm Comments (3)
Tags: Bible, Christian, commentary, devotions, hermeneutics

Gog of Magog is dead…and I have seen his grave

In my first days as a Christian, they filled me in that the Soviet Union was predicted in Ezekiel 38-39 and that Russia and the Warsaw Pact countries would attack Israel at any time. Hal Lindsey’s The Late Great Planet Earth was the #1 bestseller; it had a chapter called “Russia is a Gog,” and said it was clear as could be that the Bible foretold a Soviet invasion more than 2500 years ago.[1] Google Magog and Russia and you will see how many “prophecy experts” take the Lindsey/Russia view as gospel, without ever checking on the basic facts. [2]

Where did this idea come from? From an amateurish reading of certain Hebrew terms.

Rosh – probably not in your Bible at Ezek 38:2 (unless you read the NKJV or the NASB), but the Hebrew word that is rendered “chief” or “prince” is Rosh = head. But others said, “Hey, think about it! Rosh…uh?? Roshuh? Russia, you see?”

Meshech – why, that must be Moscow!

Magog – was a Scythian city, and the Scythians later migrated into Russia, so Magog is Russia! (they did no such thing, I later found out, but that was the rumor at the time)

Tubal – this would have to be Tobolsk which, some speculated, was the eastern capital of Russia.

Gomer was East Germany.

To cap it all off, these enemies come “from the north,” and Russia, at least its extreme western frontier, lies due north from Israel.

This meant, then, that Russia and its Warsaw Pact allies would attack Israel, immediately before or after the rapture

“Gog is dead and I have seen his grave”

of the church, and that Israel’s enemies would be totally eliminated, perhaps by nuclear weapons. Imagine the chills this gave me in October 1973, when the United States and Russia very nearly intervened with A-bombs in the Yom Kippur war between Israel and Egypt. (more…)

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on January 13, 2013 at 5:34 pm Comments (12)
Tags: Bible, China, Ezekiel, Gog, Magog, Meshech, prophecy, Russia

How to write a commentary when your library is 2000 miles away

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Last month, Zondervan published my commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians, a volume I’ve been working on since 2005 (click HERE). When I saw it on display at the annual meeting of the Evangelical Theological Society, I heaved a sigh of relief, and not just because finishing a book, any book, lightens the spirit. (My 1 Corinthians commentary is available for free download HERE).

I was pleased because the whole production seemed like a gamble from the outset. I had to figure out how to write a commentary without a library. I felt like the first person to invent the flourless cake.

I teach at a Bible college and seminary located in Costa Rica. Most Americans know it as a land of natural wonders, with beaches, rafting, rainforests, volcanoes and of course, gold-standard coffee. We are located in San José, a city of a million: not exactly the “bush,” but I might as well be when I sit down to do my writing. (more…)

Published in:

on December 17, 2012 at 12:06 pm Comments (6)
Tags: Bible, Christian, commentary, ZECNT, Zondervan

Published in:

on December 4, 2012 at 8:23 pm Comments (2)
Tags: Bible, calendar, December 21, Mayan, prophecy

My four decades in the Bible – Part II

Please read Part I before starting Part II; click HERE

Chapter Three – My Sojourn in Pentecostalism

Until I turned 14, the only charismatic person I knew anything about was JFK. Since then I have been charismatic (one year, give or take); then post-charismatic; anti-charismatic; teacher of charismatics; bridge-builder with charismatics; regular spokesman against neo-Pentecostals and Word of Faith teaching.

If you haven’t read Part I of my testimony, it might interest you to read Chapter One – I react against false teaching. While I was working through the life-and-death question of what it takes to be saved, in tandem for some months I was figuring out what it meant to be a charismatic believer. I am the only person I’ve ever met who was a practicing Adventist and a practicing charismatic at the same time; now Wikipedia tells me that there are thousands of people who have managed to combine the two.

After supper on September 15, it was warm enough to go to the local swimming hole for a dip. When I got back, I saw that someone had lent my mother a copy of Dennis Bennett’s The Holy Spirit and You: a guide to the Spirit filled life. This was 1972, and the charismatic movement had been moving outward from the Pentecostal churches and the Assemblies of God; people in many denominations began to pursue a more direct experience with the Spirit.

Days later and the news began to circulate around the Baptist church that “Gary got baptized in the Spirit!” My pastor said that I should read 1 Cor 12-14, a passage I devoured as being relevant to my life today. A few people from our church went to a Thursday night prayer meeting in a school across town, and they offered to take me. For about an hour and a half we would have choruses, Bible readings, and at some meetings someone would speak in tongues or give a “message” to the group. I learned later that it was a group of mainline charismatics, and in fact the Rocky Hill School was an Episcopalian prep school – so, no jumping around, no shouting or confusion, just a quiet and orderly time of worship. When someone spoke in tongues, they waited for someone to interpret.

My pocket Testament went where I went

It was there that someone gave me a pocket New Testament, which was a constant companion – I wore out a couple, and still have my last copy. (more…)

Obamacare, microchips, the mark of the beast and March 23, 2013

Additional note: Now that the date has passed, and no-one seems to be implanting us with microchips, some bloggers are now saying that as of March 23 the government COULD implant chips. Of course, anyone COULD do ANYTHING – but the original prediction is that it WILL TAKE PLACE as of that date. I invite anyone who has made that prediction to retract it and to rethink their method of predicting the future, based as it was on wild speculation.

Under Obamacare, I keep hearing, everyone will have to have a tracking device planted under their skin. The rumor even gives a date: March 23, 2013! Another version has it that all newborns will receive an implanted microchip. People even quote the supposed page number of the House bill, H. R. 3200.

H. R. 3200 may be read HERE. (This or any bill of Congress may be read here on the official website of the US Government Printing Office: http://gpo.gov/).

[NOTE: readers should also go to this SITE about the persecution of Christians]

Is this chip part of your future?

The relevant paragraph of H. R. 3200 (more…)

Published in:

on October 1, 2012 at 11:30 am Comments (15)
Tags: Obama, Christian, obamacare, microchip, biochip, mark of the beast, 666, implant, Newborn

1 Corinthians and Thessalonians: My New Commentaries now available!

The English versions of my Thessalonian commentary is available from Amazon! http://www.amazon.com/Thessalonians-Zondervan-Exegetical-Commentary-Testament/dp/0310243963/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343856671&sr=8-1&keywords=shogren

And the English version of my 1 Corinthians is available on Logos software – http://www.logos.com/product/24079/first-corinthians-an-exegetical-pastoral-commentary

Blessings! Gary

Published in:

on August 2, 2012 at 12:22 pm Comments (1)
Tags: Bible, christianity, commentary, Corinthians, epistles, Greek, Thessalonians

Christians and myths

Gullibility is not a fruit of the Spirit. Yes, Paul did say that a Christian “believes all things” (1 Cor 13:7), but what he meant was, “to whatever extent possible, believe the best about other people”.

It’s important to establish this up front, since Christians are regularly bombarded by rumors, many of which are false. Wait ‘til you hear this! someone breathlessly informs us:

They are banning all Christian radio! A guest preacher spoke in our church. “The famous atheist Madalyn Murray O’Hair is leading a movement to take away our freedom!” he exclaimed. “If we don’t act now, then Christian radio programs will be banned!” He gave some details of the crisis, and I signed the petition to the FCC to reject the atheistic petition RM-2493 and keep the gospel message on the airwaves.

The only trouble is, I was fifteen when I put my signature on the petition. Yet decades later, that same warning keeps circulating, given new life by email and then Facebook. (more…)

Published in:

on May 4, 2012 at 4:32 pm Comments (12)
Tags: Bible, second coming, myth, urban legend

An introduction to 1-2 Thessalonians [Studies in Thessalonians]

This is an article on these Pauline letters for a new Spanish-language Bible dictionary. The reader should note that a dictionary article is supposed to be ”descriptive,” that is, the author is expected to describe the state of the discussion, not argue for or against a particular viewpoint.

Zondervan will be publishing my exegetical-pastoral commentary on 1-2 Thessalonians in November, 2012.

Thessalonians CLIE Bible Dictionary Shogren

Open Our Eyes, Lord!

Gary Shogren's Blog

Studies in Thessalonians series

My Four Decades in the Bible, Part IV, Conclusion

Gog of Magog is dead…and I have seen his grave

How to write a commentary when your library is 2000 miles away

My four decades in the Bible – Part II

Obamacare, microchips, the mark of the beast and March 23, 2013

Christians and myths

An introduction to 1-2 Thessalonians [Studies in Thessalonians]

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