Search — Theology Explorer

Galatians 1:8-9 2 Corinthians 12:7-9 Bill Johnson Galatians 1:8-9 2 Corinthians 12:7-9

Bill Johnson quotes Galatians 1 anathema to condemn anyone who teaches that sickness can be God's will — including Paul's thorn in the flesh interpretations

Mike plays and analyzes a provocative Bill Johnson video on the anathema of Galatians 1

Revelation 2:23 Exodus 3 Bill Johnson hermeneutics christocentrism

Bill Johnson: 'Jesus is perfect theology' — any revelation about God that contradicts what you see in Jesus must not be allowed to shape your theology; 'what storms did Jesus bless?'

Mike plays a third Johnson video reinforcing the hermeneutical pillar and unpacks its practical implications

Revelation 2:22-23 Bill Johnson healing theology Revelation 2:22-23

Revelation 2:22-23 — Jesus threatens to cast a false teacher into a sick bed and kill her followers: direct scriptural refutation of Johnson's 'God cannot give sickness' claim

Mike cites a key New Testament text to disprove Johnson's theology from within the very Jesus-focused framework Johnson uses

Matthew 26:11 Bill Johnson hermeneutics prosperity gospel

Examining 'Jesus-only' theology on its own terms: if we take only Jesus' three-and-a-half years, did he teach full present-tense prosperity? Matthew 26:11 — 'The poor you will always have with you'

Mike tests Bethel's Jesus-only hermeneutic against actual teachings of Jesus

Matthew 6:10 Bill Johnson Matthew 6:10 kingdom of God

Matthew 6:10 ('on earth as it is in heaven') is the central practical scripture of Bethel's theology — they interpret it as God manifesting heaven's conditions on earth right now

Mike identifies and challenges Bethel's key proof text for their present-kingdom expectations

Revelation 21:4 Kris Vallotton healing theology kingdom of God

Bethel's standard for 'heaven on earth' is too low: they aim for physical healing while Revelation 21:4 promises no death, sorrow, or pain — which has not yet come

Mike argues that Bethel's version of heaven-on-earth falls short even of its own claim

Bill Johnson revival healing theology

Bill Johnson video quote: 'We're coming into a day when the presence of the Lord will be so pronounced in a meeting that everyone who walks into the building will be healed — that's already happened'

Mike plays a direct video clip of Johnson making an extreme healing claim

Jeremiah 23:16 Jeremiah 23:25-26 prophecy false prophecy Jeremiah 23:16

Jeremiah 23:16 — prophets prophesying 'a vision of their own heart, not from the mouth of the Lord'

Mike cites the specific Jeremiah text that establishes the third category of prophecy

John 5:19 prayer Bill Johnson healing theology

John 5:19 refutes Johnson's teaching that God responds to human declarations — Jesus only did what He saw the Father doing, not the reverse

Mike cites a specific text to challenge one of Johnson's specific claims about how God responds to human proclamation

Matthew 21:21 James 4 1 John 5:14 prayer faith Matthew 21:21

Q&A — Matthew 21:21 ('if you have faith you can move mountains'): must be interpreted alongside other prayer scriptures — faith, right motives (James 4), and God's will (1 John 5:14)

Q&A question from Judah Matthews

Mike Winger idea 2018-01-31

Mike opens by claiming Joseph Smith perpetrated a fraud that undermines Mormonism's foundations

Introduction to the livestream topic

Mormonism Joseph Smith fraud

Mike Winger idea 2018-01-31

Strategy for engaging Mormons: move them from feeling-based certainty to evidence-based testing

Practical apologetic methodology for talking to Mormons

Mormonism apologetics subjective religious experience

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

The Watchtower condemned vaccinations as Satanic and a violation of God's covenant with Noah (1921, 1931), then reversed position in 1952 citing legal liability.

Mike adds vaccinations as a third case of Watchtower medical hypocrisy and doctrinal reversal.

Watchtower doctrinal reversal doctrinal hypocrisy vaccination doctrine

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

1 Corinthians 8:8 and Romans 14:14: food does not define one's standing before God; nothing is inherently unclean for the Christian.

Mike shifts from the hypothetical framework to his actual position: there is no food-law prohibition on blood for Christians.

1 Corinthians 8:8 Romans 14:14 Christian freedom 1 Corinthians 8:8 Romans 14:14

Mike Winger idea 2018-02-21

Mike plans a future series on 'Jesus in the Old Testament' after completing his Romans series, and the next week's livestream will respond to Ricky Gervais's atheism arguments.

Closing announcements about upcoming content.

Romans atheism Ricky Gervais Jesus in the Old Testament

Todd White healing fraud confirmation bias

Scoliosis diagnosis via back-twisting is medically invalid — a 'pop' is not confirmation of healing, and Todd White has cultivated a deliberately low threshold for confirming healings.

Medical and methodological critique of the scoliosis healing video.

Matthew 7:21-23 discernment healing Matthew 7:21-23

Q&A: The Bible supports both sides — go out and pray for healing confidently, AND Jesus warned that false healers will claim to have cast out demons and healed in his name while he never knew them.

Viewer question about whether fake healing is condemned in the Bible.

cessationism discernment Word of Faith

Preview of next week's topic: the tactics and distorted scriptures used by extreme healing movements to create unrealistic healing environments in churches — with quotes from movement leaders.

Closing preview of the follow-up livestream.

Todd White accountability Hosanna Christian Fellowship

Mike extends a gracious, direct invitation to Todd White to call Hosanna Christian Fellowship in Bellflower and talk personally — framing the critique as brotherly rather than adversarial.

Closing direct address to Todd White.

Isaiah 24:1 David Mead Isaiah 24:1 Will Planet X Signal the Rapture

David Mead's first Scripture abuse: Isaiah 24:1 and the 'polar shift' interpretation

Mike walks through Mead's Kindle book 'Will Planet X Signal the Rapture?' verse by verse. Isaiah 24:1 is the opening Scripture Mead uses.

Genesis 7:4 2 Peter 3:8 Psalm 90:4 hermeneutics Harold Camping numerology

Harold Camping's numerology: 7,000 years of creation history derived from combining Genesis 7:4 and 2 Peter 3:8

Mike now explains the mathematical system Camping used to arrive at his dates.

Psalm 90:4 2 Peter 3:8-11 Second Coming hermeneutics Harold Camping

2 Peter 3:8 in context: the passage teaches God's patience and the unexpectedness of judgment — not a mathematical formula for calculating dates

Mike reads 2 Peter 3:8-11 in full to demonstrate that Camping's formula rips the verse from its actual argument.

Second Coming eschatology thief in the night

The Second Coming is by design unexpected; Christians differ from the world not in knowing the date but in being ready

Mike draws the practical theological conclusion from 2 Peter 3.

Revelation Isaiah Jeremiah hermeneutics Old Testament prophecy interpretation

Reason 2: Future prophecy is extremely challenging — Revelation requires knowledge of the whole Old Testament

Second reason people are vulnerable to false predictions.

hermeneutics eschatology confirmation bias

Reason 4: We see 'fulfillment' everywhere — vague general events matching vague prophetic categories creates false confirmation

Fourth reason people fall for false predictions.

Calvary Chapel Second Coming revival

Reason 6: People want it — desire for Jesus's return creates confirmation bias favoring predictions

Sixth reason people fall for false predictions.

false prophecy Jewish calendar blood moons

Reason 7: Astrological 'snake oil' — rare celestial events exploited as prophetic signs

Seventh reason people fall for false predictions.

Matthew 24 Mark 13 Second Coming eschatology Matthew 24

Preview of next livestream: How long did Jesus expect it would be until his return? Examining parables and Second Coming teachings

Mike closes the main presentation and previews the follow-up topic.

Mark 13:32 Second Coming no one knows the day or hour Mark 13:32

Q&A: Why does Jesus now know the day/hour when he said he didn't while on earth? — Kenosis and the limitation of incarnation

Question from Marlin Thea. Mike answers cautiously and flags it for next week.

eschatology tribulation pre-trib / mid-trib / post-trib

Q&A: How should Christians feel about the end times — fear, joy, concern?

Question from Joshua Rivera.

Revelation premillennialism Revelation Two Witnesses

Q&A: Is Revelation linear? Where do the Two Witnesses fit in the timeline?

Question from William Toy.

Revelation eschatology premillennialism Revelation

Q&A: Premillennial vs. postmillennial; why Mike identifies himself as premillennial in this context

Question from B.C.B. Lloyd about millennial views.

John the Baptist Matthew 11:14 Malachi 4:5 prophecy interpretation Elijah John the Baptist

Q&A: Partial and multiple fulfillment of prophecy — the Elijah/John the Baptist example

Question from William Toy about whether Mike sees prophecy as having partial and multiple fulfillment.

Revelation 13 mark of the beast numerology 666 mark of the beast Revelation 13

Q&A: 666 and the mark of the beast — why any name can be made to equal 666 using flexible math; and why barcodes and microchips are not the mark

Question from 'Bible History Science' about whether 666 is itself numerological.

Mike Winger idea 2017-12-27

Ephesians 5:15-17 — 'Walk circumspectly' as a call to wise, 360-degree self-awareness and time stewardship

Scriptural support for Tip 3. Mike quotes and exegetes Ephesians 5:15-17.

Ephesians 5:15-17 wisdom Ephesians 5:15-17 circumspectly

Mike Winger idea 2017-12-27

Q&A: Jesus's swords passage — 'have a sword but don't use it' and the principle of Christian self-defense

Live chat question from Ryan White about Luke 22:35-38 and Luke 22:49-51 / John 18:10-11.

Luke 22:36-38 Luke 22:49-51 John 18:10-11 Luke 22:36-38 Luke 22:49-51 John 18:10-11

Mike Winger idea 2018-01-24

Q&A: The LDS church is already beginning to change its doctrine — prioritizing organizational health over theological integrity, which started with polygamy and race issues.

Viewer question from 'Rob Donahue': Will the Utah LDS church change its doctrine due to the information age?

LDS doctrinal evolution LDS polygamy LDS and race

James 2:14-26 hermeneutics contextual interpretation James 2:14-26

Proper methodology: verse-by-verse contextual study of the passage being debated rather than countering with other passages

Mike's positive hermeneutical proposal

James 2:24 James 2:21 James 2:14-26 Abraham James 2:24 James 2:21

Full reading of James 2:14-26

Setting the passage before beginning verse-by-verse analysis

1 Timothy 2:15 semantic range 1 Timothy 2:15 sozo

1 Timothy 2:15 — 'saved in childbearing' as further example of non-theological use of 'saved'

Second example of 'saved' used in a non-salvific sense

James 2:18 dead faith demonstration of faith James 2:18

James 2:18 — misunderstood verse: James is voicing an objector's position and then rejecting it, not affirming works over faith

Interpreting the difficult verse 18 of James 2

James 2:18 demonstration of faith saving faith James 2:18

James 2:18b — 'I will show you my faith by my works' — works demonstrate faith, faith is still the issue

Completing the analysis of James 2:18

Genesis 15 Genesis 22 Abraham Genesis 15 Genesis 22

Application: real faith will eventually bear fruit/works, even if years later (as with Abraham)

Practical application of the Abraham timeline

James 2:24 sola fide James 2:24 dikaioo

James 2:24 — 'justified by works and not by faith alone' means vindicated before people, not made righteous before God

Direct interpretation of the most contested verse in the passage

Matthew degrees of sin Mosaic Law judgment

Degrees of sin — some sins are worse than others; the Law has different consequences; Jesus said some will suffer greater judgment

Within the Q&A on murder and saving faith

evangelism apologetics Evidence That Demands a Verdict

Q&A: Apologetics effectiveness debated — Mike strongly defends apologetics against claims it doesn't work with Millennials

Viewer shares a pastor's claim that apologetics isn't effective for Millennials

1 Corinthians 3 hermeneutics exegesis 1 Corinthians 3

Method: read 1 Corinthians 3, present the Catholic interpretation, then do verse-by-verse exegesis

Establishing the exegetical methodology for examining the passage

1 Corinthians 3:4-15 Paul Apollos works

Reading of 1 Corinthians 3:4-15

Scripture reading of the first key passage

1 Corinthians 3:8 1 Corinthians 3:14 exegesis purification rewards

The key word in 1 Corinthians 3 is 'reward' (vv. 8 and 14), not purification — establishing the passage's actual theme

Verse-by-verse exegesis identifying the controlling theme of the passage