Full Bible Timeline

My Response

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1. Affirmation

We can all agree that God is good. His nature is unchanging, His mercy endures forever, and His dealings with humanity flow from love, justice, and holiness. Likewise, no believer should “celebrate” human suffering or rejoice in calamity. Compassion and intercession—not gloating—are the marks of true discipleship.

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2. Clarification

However, these two statements imply that certain end-times views:

• distort God’s nature, or

• delight in bad news

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This is simply not true of any historic, orthodox eschatology. No premillennial, postmillennial, or amillennial theologian teaches believers to rejoice in tragedy or to view suffering as something to celebrate.

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What is true is that Scripture describes certain signs preceding Christ’s return. Recognizing them is not the same as celebrating them. It is simply acknowledging biblical reality while responding with compassion and urgency.

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3. Correction

Premillennial theology does not alter God’s goodness. It simply recognizes:

• the world is fallen

• humanity is sinful

• Satan still influences unbelieving societies

• suffering exists because the world is not yet redeemed

• Christ will ultimately make all things new

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The character of God remains intact throughout. His mercy, justice, patience, and love are displayed from Genesis to Revelation—including in His judgments, which are consistently framed as redemptive opportunities rather than vindictive destruction.

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4. Evidence from Scripture and History

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The Ongoing Reality of Suffering

Throughout history—biblical and modern—suffering has occurred not because God is “bad,” but because:

• humanity sins

• nations rebel

• rulers commit atrocities

• the earth is under the curse

• creation groans (Romans 8:22)

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The question “How could a good God allow this?” is answered not by dismissing prophecy, but by understanding the Fall, human responsibility, and the spiritual battle still underway.

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The Cross Did Not Erase Human Choice

You make a key point: the Cross secured victory, but humanity continues to reap what it sows. Environmental devastation, disease, poor stewardship, idolatry, greed, and violence are human contributions—not indictments against God’s goodness.

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Many of the world’s tragedies come not from heaven but from:

• corruption

• war

• injustice

• exploitation

• neglect

• hatred

• unbelief

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Suffering does not reflect God’s nature; it reflects ours.

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Prophetic Warnings are not Celebrations

In Acts 11, Agabus prophesied a coming famine. This was not cause for celebration—it was cause for preparation. The Church responded with generosity, not mockery.

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If the early Church had followed the logic of Core Belief #6, they may have dismissed Agabus’ prophecy as “too negative” or “contrary to a good God.”

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Instead, they understood:

• warning ≠ celebration

• prophecy ≠ pessimism

• preparation ≠ unbelief

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5. Historical Reflection

Mary and Joseph

Would Mary and Joseph have been accused of “celebrating bad news” because they recognized the signs of Messiah’s birth? Bethlehem was under Roman oppression. Herod was preparing his massacre. The times were perilous, but prophecy was being fulfilled.

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They didn’t rejoice in tragedy.
They rejoiced in purpose.

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The Early Church

Under Rome’s brutality, early believers didn’t deny reality; they endured it with faith, hope, and perseverance. They saw persecution as a sign—not of God’s cruelty, but of Christ’s nearness.

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Israel in Captivity

When Israel suffered in Babylon, the elders didn’t accuse God of changing His nature. They recognized:

“We have sinned.”
“We have not obeyed the voice of the Lord.”
(Daniel 9)

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The Talmud (Sanhedrin 97) expresses that the Messiah’s delay was due to Israel’s sins—not God’s lack of goodness.

Judgment served to bring repentance, not to deny God’s character.

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6. The Real Underlying Question

The minister’s statements assume:

• a good God = no judgment

• prophetic signs = negativity

• end-time warnings = bad theology

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But Scripture presents a different picture:

• God is good and God judges.

• God is merciful and God disciplines.

• God is loving and God corrects.

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The Cross did not eliminate these truths; it revealed them.

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7. Application

Premillennialists do not celebrate tragedy; they mourn it. But they also recognize that Jesus Himself said certain events would precede His coming (Matthew 24). Our response is:

• compassion

• prayer

• intercession

• evangelism

• readiness

—not celebration.

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A worldview that denies biblical warnings leaves believers unprepared when difficulties arise. Worse, it leaves no coherent explanation when the world experiences war, persecution, famine, or hostility.

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8. Conclusion 

Acknowledging biblical prophecy does not change the nature of God, nor does it celebrate evil. It honors His truthfulness. God remains good, unchanging, and merciful—regardless of our eschatological view. Believers should neither fear prophecy nor mock it but discern it with humility and hope.

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