My review of Benoit, Not By Ignorance (Review copyrighted and sponsored by The Foundation for Pentecostal Scholarship, Inc.)

Frank W. R. Benoit, Not by Ignorance: An Explanation of Cessationism (Sisters, OR: Deep River Books, 2020; Spanish first edition 2017, Sevilla, España), 264 pp. $15.99 paperback. The FULL review in English is available HERE.The full review in Spanish is available HERE.In both cases, the reviews are copyrighted and sponsored by The Foundation for Pentecostal... Continue Reading →

August 9, 2025 0

The canon of the Bible is closed, but Revelation 22 says nothing about it

I affirm that, of course, the canon is closed. But beyond that, there are those who use Revelation to prove that the gift of prophecy must have gone extinct, because of the dark double curse found in Rev 22:18-19: For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If... Continue Reading →

June 14, 2024 0

‘We must take Revelation literally!’ they say. ‘Except when I don’t do so!’

I have written several papers on how the church of the 2nd and 3rd centuries reported that they experienced the gift of prophecy. For example, only in the early 3rd century did Origen observe that "since [the time of Christ and the apostles] these signs have diminished, although there are still traces of His presence... Continue Reading →

January 24, 2020 11

Christian prophecy and canon in the second century: a response to B. B. Warfield

This was originally published in the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 40/4 (December, 1997): 609-626. TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE. Here is a summary of our conclusion: Many of today’s cessationists rely on Warfield’s decision to tie the end of prophecy to the completion of the canon (with or without the help... Continue Reading →

September 20, 2019 2

The Book of Acts: Do the apostles always do right?

Does the book of Acts intend to tell us a historical narrative, or does Luke tell us how we should be living? In other terms, is it principally or simply descriptive, or is it also prescriptive? One approach is that we should follow what Acts says - or follow it more confidently - only when... Continue Reading →

September 4, 2019 2

My Favorite 5 New Testament Archaeology Discoveries in Recent Years!

Usually it’s the Old Testament that garners all the publicity for archaeological finds, and for good reasons: the Israelites inhabited the land for centuries and left behind all kinds of artifacts. Jesus and the apostles did not erect buildings or put up inscriptions or make special clay pots. Nevertheless, New Testament archaeology has yielded some... Continue Reading →

March 31, 2017 2

Lady Apostle Lands in Jail!

If I asked you “Who were the martyrs of the early church?” you would, quite properly, begin with Stephen in Acts 7; James in Acts 12; and then go on to Peter and Paul. “Brave, godly men were early martyrs” = a right answer But not a complete answer. Why not? Because we all, simply... Continue Reading →

October 29, 2016 5

The Emperor Constantine the Great – a villain or a hero, or something in-between?

Download the article as a pdf: Shogren_The Emperor Constantine the Great – a villain or a hero, or something in-between To many, the Emperor Constantine was a saint: in the Orthodox church he is one of the “Equal-to-Apostles” (isapóstolos) a title given to people (such as Patrick, Cyril the evangelist of Russia and others) who were... Continue Reading →

November 11, 2015 7

Is There Prophecy Today? John Piper, along with John MacArthur, John Wesley, John Calvin, and John/Joan Q. Christian

Is the New Testament gift of prophecy operative in the church today? Many say Yes; [1] many, No, famously John MacArthur in 2014, in his Strange Fire conference and book. [2] There is third response, a Yes, but viewpoint which has been popular among some non-charismatic evangelicals, and affirmed in recent times by John Piper:... Continue Reading →

April 11, 2015 5

Two of my essays included in a new collection!

They have just published a pair if my essays in Strangers to Fire: When Tradition Trumps Scripture. It's now available on Amazon. You might recognize the title as a response to John MacArthur's book, Strange Fire: The Danger of Offending the Holy Spirit with Counterfeit Worship. The contributors of these 35 essays are not the sort... Continue Reading →

August 29, 2014 7

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