Grace Basics

Capitalism and the Bible

2012-01-12T07:45:00.000-08:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 10 -- Matthew 24:7b
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

"...and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes." (Matthew 24:7b)

The predictions of Christ, speaking on the Mount of Olives, coincide with the events described by John in Revelation chapter 6. The famines in the early years of Daniel's seventieth week (Matthew 24:7b) are symbolized by the third horseman of John's apocalypse:

When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come."
I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine." (Revelation 6:5-6)

A denarius was a Roman coin, a day's wages for the average laborer. The word translated "quart" is the Greek word choinix. This was a dry measure equivalent to less than our quart. It might satisfy the daily appetite of the average person. So, the idea is that a day's wage will only purchase bread for that day and will not cover the cost of anything else, such as meat, eggs, cheese, vegetables, rent, utilities, etc. This describes severe famine conditions! At the time John wrote, a denarius would buy eight of these measures of wheat, or twenty-four of barley. Wine and oil will be luxuries enjoyed by a few--but you always have the rich and the poor, even when attempts have been made to establish an egalitarian society, where everyone has the same amount of wealth. I love what J. Vernon McGee said in his study of the book of Revelation many years ago. This is from his radio transcripts, which were published in 1979:

I feel like saying, "Ho hum," when I hear these sincere egg-headed boys talking about how they are going to work out the poverty problem. All that has been accomplished is that it has given a good job to a lot of them, but so far it hasn't filtered down and been a blessing to the poor. It has never helped the poor to lift themselves up with any degree of pride. Why? Because the only Man who can lift up the poor is Jesus Christ. None of these egg-headed boys is able to do it. I am sorry to have to say that, but somebody needs to speak out against all of this tomfoolery our government is going through. All that this wasteful spending of money of money does is to create more bureaucracy and to sap our tax dollars. This is the sort of thing that is abroad today, but just think what it is going to be like in that future day. This which we are talking about in the Revelation is future. The only reason that I make application to today is to show that this is not unreasonable; it is going to take place.[1]

J. Vernon McGee said that some time before 1979. What would he think if he were still alive today?

Antichrist will not only rise to a level of political power and military power that have never been witnessed in human history: This future ruler will also possess unprecedented economic power. He will regulate the purchase and sale of everything:

And he causes all, the small and the great, and the rich and the poor, and the free men and the slaves, to be given a mark on their right hand or on their forehead,
and he provides that no one will be able to buy or sell, except the one who has the mark, either the name of the beast or the number of his name. (Revelation 13:16-17)

This is the quintessential expression of government control over business. Thank God, believers of this present dispensation will not be on earth during that time--however, there may be some very challenging economic crises prior to Daniel's seventieth week. Let's make some application to our present conditions. When it comes to economic problems and the politicians who claim to have the solutions to these problems, the Christians in the USA who participate in the election of these officials should be humble enough--and teachable enough--to check their political ideologies at the door. They should be willing to discover and apply what the Bible says about economics, and they should make their decisions at the ballot box accordingly. The Bible actually expresses quite a bit of doctrine related to economics and enterprise. The reason we have the kinds of people we presently have in government is largely because Christians in our nation are either ignorant of the principles of capitalism and free enterprise that are set forth in the Scriptures, or they willfully reject them. The Bible is full of principles to guide us in business and enterprise, and we the people have lost sight of them. One of the places in the Bible that expresses the divine viewpoint on business is found in a parable of Jesus. Parables in the Bible are brief stories which illustrate spiritual lessons. This parable is in Matthew 20:

"For the kingdom of heaven is like a landowner who went out early in the morning to hire laborers for his vineyard.
"When he had agreed with the laborers for a denarius for the day, he sent them into his vineyard." (Matthew 20:1-2)

The landowner and the laborers entered into an agreement: a contract. As was previously mentioned, a denarius was a good day's pay for a good day's work.

"And he went out about the third hour and saw others standing idle in the market place;
and to those he said, 'You also go into the vineyard, and whatever is right I will give you.' And so they went." (Matthew 20:3-4)

The third hour would be nine in the morning our time. A contract was made with these workers as well, but the wage was not specified. The landowner said that he would compensate the laborers justly. These workers would rely on the integrity of the landowner.

"Again he went out about the sixth and the ninth hour, and did the same thing.
"And about the eleventh hour he went out and found others standing around; and he said to them, 'Why have you been standing here idle all day long?'
"They said to him, 'Because no one hired us.' He said to them, 'You go into the vinyard too.'" (Matthew 20:5-7)

The sixth and the ninth hour are the noon and 3:00 PM shifts. The final shift was hired at 5:00 PM.

"When evening came, the owner of the vineyard said to his foreman, 'Call the laborers and pay them their wages, beginning with the last group to the first.'
"When those hired about the eleventh hour came, each one received a denarius.
"When those hired first came, they thought that they would receive more; but each of them also received a denarius.
"When they received it, they grumbled at the landowner,
saying, 'These last men have worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have borne the burden and the scorching heat of the day.'
"But he answered and said to one of them, 'Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for a denarius?
'Take what is yours and go, but I wish to give to this last man the same as to you.
'Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own? Or is your eye envious because I am generous?'
"So the last shall be first, and the first last." (Matthew 20:8-16)

The response of the landowner seems rather unusual. However, in the harvest of grapes, time is of the essence. The service of the later shifts might be of increasing value to the owner of a vineyard who was trying to get the harvest in while the grapes were still good.

The purpose of the parable is to convey spiritual truths, and some of these truths are:

1) Latecomers to eternal salvation have the same privilege of grace as the "early birds."
2) All spiritual rewards for believers are related to the sovereignty of God.
3) Spiritual rewards are given on the basis of mental attitude and faithfulness to the task--not the amount of work done.
4)Work done in a legal spirit is repudiated by God.

All of the truths for the spiritual economy listed above are illustrated by the temporal events, actions, and attitudes described in the parable. But let's consider something about this parable that is often missed: In order for the spiritual principles conveyed by the parable to be true, the laws of the temporal world which illustrate the spiritual principles must themselves be valid, working principles. In other words, if the spiritual principles are true, there must be integrity in the illustration! When Jesus told a story to express spiritual truths, it would be unthinkable and unreasonable for the details about property and economics to be incompatible with the Lord's views. Bearing that in mind, let's look again at the owner's response: "Is it not lawful for me to do what I wish with what is my own?" (Matthew 20:15a) There you have it: a one-sentence summary of the divine viewpoint regarding property and economics! Think about this simple response of the business owner in the Lord's parable. Ponder it. The question asked by the owner of the vineyard expresses the divine endorsement of capitalism, an economic system in which there is private or corporate ownership of capital goods by private investments, and in which prices, production, and the distribution of goods are determined by competition in a free market.

A free market means a market without economic intervention and regulation by government except to regulate against things such as fraud. Free-market capitalism is shown in the Bible to be the divinely authorized system of economics. This is evident in God's model for His covenant nation, Israel. It is also expressed in such passages Proverbs 14:23 and 22:29. In the divine viewpoint, it was the vineyard owner's right to what he wished with what was his own. The owner was not unjust. The fact of the matter is that he paid the first shift of laborers, the shift which was paid the least amount in proportion to their work time, a wage which was considered a decent wage for a day's work. But the point is that he paid them a wage that had originally been acceptable to them: a wage to which they had agreed by verbal contract. The fact that he chose to pay the same amount to those who started later was his right. Their service at a later time was, for whatever reason, more valuable to the business owner.

Let's review the second question asked by the owner of the vineyard: "Or is your eye envious because I am generous?" (Matthew 20:15b) The fact that those who were hired first grumbled revealed their mental attitude sin: envy. It is widely taught in the world today that class distinctions in society are evil, and that society should be egalitarian, with everyone enjoying equality in wealth. The Bible teaches otherwise:

Do you see a man skilled in his work?
He will stand before kings;
He will not stand before obscure men. (Proverbs 22:29)

Class envy and the notion that wealthy people are evil have incited the economic systems of socialism, where the means of production and distribution of goods are owned and controlled collectively or by the government, and communism, a system based on holding all property in common, with the actual ownership ascribed to the community or state. Socialism and communism are directly opposed to the free enterprise sanctioned by the Bible. Notice that I am not presenting the talking points of political conservatism, but the doctrine in the Bible relative to the subject of economics.

That the owner of the vineyard and its production is to direct his business as he sees fit, without interference, is considered fact by the Scriptures. Notice also that the relationship between the owner and the laborers was based on agreement between the owner and each individual. This rules out collective bargaining and labor unions as biblical solutions. To try to solve problems in free enterprise with labor unions creates larger problems, some of which adversely affect those whom the unions are supposedly designed to help: the employees. American historian Clarence B. Carson explains:

... it is largely an illusion that unions are organized primarily against employers. The conflict ordinarily is not directly between management (or capital) and labor. It is basically between unionists and other workers or would-be workers. This is not to deny that employers may be injured by strikes, boycotts, and other coercive or violent union activities. Nor is it to deny ... that unions may pose a challenge and contest with governments, or that consumers and other businesses may be inconvenienced by union activities. Rather, it is to say that the intimidations, threats, and such violence as may be used by unionists is usually aimed directly at other workers.[2]

You might be thinking, "It's just too simplistic to assume that the Bible authorizes free-market capitalism and that there are no valid alternatives!" The truth is that if you are willing to check your philosophical and political ideologies at the door and accept the revealed divine viewpoint, capitalism and free enterprise are clearly what the Scriptures prescribe for the human race. Now, it is true that there have been many abuses of capitalism. Capitalism in our nation has deteriorated to crony capitalism, where the government is in bed with big business in a corrupt partnership where political favoritism results in unfair advantage for some businesses, while other business are unfairly penalized. This keeps politicians in power and some businesses prospering because of corruption, not free enterprise.

Also problematic is a distorted concept of capitalism that is detached from the biblical principles designed to guide free enterprise. An example of this is apparent in the literature of Ayn Rand, an American novelist and philosopher who lived from 1905 to 1962. Her novel, Atlas Shrugged, published in 1957, imagined a breakdown of the United States economy because of government intervention and the redistribution of wealth. In Rand's paradigm, people are motivated either by a destructive selfishness which masquerades as altruism or an "enlightened" selfishness which is beneficial to society even though that is not its aim. Rand exerted a considerable amount of influence on the conservative movement, but her atheism and cold logic, which was basically opposed to charity and altruism, presented a model of capitalism which is really an empty shell of the system of enterprise that God designed. Rand's writings inspired a cult of college students who became known as "libertarians." However, their perception of free enterprise was detached from the divine model, which is guided by the principle of loving your neighbor as yourself.

When man functions in business without accountability to God, he falsifies the free enterprise God designed for the blessing of the human race. Free enterprise under God will succeed. However, free enterprise will fall short when it operates under secularism. Thus, business will never be perfect in the fallen world, and that's why many people look at the shortcomings of capitalism, as it is practiced, and they do not like what they see. So what is the solution? The redistribution of wealth? Minimum wage laws? Labor unions? Why try to solve problems with other problems? The best solution to all of the economic problems in our nation would for the many Christians in our populace to return to the whole real of Bible doctrine as a way of life.

To Listen to Our Recently Recorded Bible Teaching:
Click Here!

Footnotes:
1. J. Vernon McGee, Revelation Chapters 6-13 (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, Inc.), p.44.
2. Clarence B. Carson, A Basic History of the United States (Wadley: American Textbook Committee) Vol. 4, pp. 103-104..
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

Wars and Rumors of Wars

2009-09-20T10:16:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 9 -- Matthew 24:6-7a
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.
"For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom..." (Matthew 24:7-7a)

The wars and rumors of wars described by Christ in the Olivet discourse correspond with the second horseman of the apocalypse in Revelation 6:

When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. (Revelation 6:3-4)

In our most recent study, we saw how the first horseman (Revelation 6:1-2), on the white horse, and wielding an empty bow, is symbolic of Antichrist initially emerging as one who will be reputed to be a peace maker. The second horseman, on a red horse, carrying a great sword, shows Antichrist's true colors: Antichrist will be a man of war! The final world empire under the authority of Antichrist will crush every opponent in its path. Included will be an agenda to destroy believers in Christ and to annihilate the Jewish race.

The warfare of Antichrist will eventually lead to the Campaign of Armageddon (Revelation 16:12-16; Zechariah 12:2-9). An early stage of this campaign is described in Zechariah 14:

Behold, a day is coming for the Lord when the spoil taken from you will be divided among you.
For I will gather all the nations against Jerusalem to battle, and the city will be captured, the houses plundered, the women ravished and half of the city exiled, but the rest of the people will not be cut off from the city. (Zechariah 14:1-2)

Notice that all the nations will be gathered in battle (verse 2). Preterists, who believe that that this prophecy was fulfilled in AD 70, when Rome destroyed Jerusalem, have a hard time explaining Zechariah's phrase: all the nations. They'll try to get off the hook by telling you that this is an exaggeration, a common feature of apocalyptic literature. But in the next verse, the Preterist runs into another problem:

Then the Lord will go forth and fight against those nations, as when He fights on a day of battle (Zechariah 14:3)

Preterists generally agree that the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 was the fulfillment of the many prophecies which predict God's judgement against Jerusalem. In fact, many Preterists believe that "the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory," in Matthew 24:30, is symbolic of the Lord's judgment on Jerusalem through the Roman army. But Zechariah 14:3 describes the Lord fighting the nations attacking Jerusalem. Yes, fighting the nations, plural, and fighting the nations attacking Jerusalem, not fighting Jerusalem! By any stretch of the imagination, this passage could not have already been fulfilled. This is a phase of a final campaign, in which the "kings of the whole world" will be gathered together "for the war of the great day of God, the Almighty" (Revelation 16:14).

Furthermore, at the conclusion of this campaign, the Lord will restore the wealth of His covenant people and will gather all the nations and take them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat to judge them:

"For behold, in those days and at that time,
When I restore the fortunes of Judah and Jerusalem,
I will gather all the nations
And bring them down to the valley of Jehoshaphat.
Then I will enter into judgment with them there
On behalf of My people and My inheritance Israel,
Whom they have scattered among the nations;
And they have divided up My land." (Joel 3:1-2)

Because of the ruthlessness of Antichrist, "the son of destruction"(2 Thessalonians 2:3), the world will suffer unprecedented carnage from the ravages of war. However, Antichrist will meet His end in the lake of fire (Daniel 7:11; Revelation 19:20). Although the Antichrist will initially disguise himself as a man who will bring peace to the world, it is only Jesus Christ who is able to bring genuine and permanent peace to mankind. Until He does, there will be wars and rumors of wars.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

The Roman-Greek-Assyrian-Jewish Antichrist

2009-09-17T07:14:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 8 -- Matthew 24:4-5
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you.
"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many." (Matthew 24:4-5)

Jesus warned His disciples against being misled by those who claimed to be the Christ. Commentators often suggest that there have been false Christs in every time, including the present: but is that really true? There have certainly been many leaders of cults who have been worshiped; even worshiped as deity. But in Matthew 24:5, Jesus, the Christ, the Jewish Messiah, was speaking to His disciples, who were Jews. His statement must be understood in the context of the Messiah of Israel. Christ (Greek christos, "anointed") translated the Hebrew word mashiyach in the Septuagint (the Hebrew Scriptures translated into Greek, completed about the middle of the second century BC). Mashiyach means "anointed," and is usually used to describe a consecrated person. Mashiyach translates into the English word Messiah in the prophesies about Christ in Daniel 9, verses 25 and 26. In these verses, "Messiah" identifies God's anointed, the One God has appointed to deliver and rule Israel. This person is known in the New Testament as Jesus Christ.

During Daniel's seventieth week there will be many false Messiahs competing for the attention of the Jews. You may be wondering how this can be. Isn't the Antichrist going to be the one who will have every one's attention? Won't he be the counterfeit Messiah? No, that is oversimplifying it all. Antichrist, though he will have some Jewish ancestory (we'll get to that later), will appear on the scene as a Gentile and will initially be a benefactor to the Jews, confirming a covenant with them (Daniel 9:27).

As the Antichrist rises to power, false claimants, professing to be the Messiah, will likely oppose him. In the middle of the seven year period, Antichrist will take his seat in the temple and declare himself to be God (2 Thessalonians 2:4). Yet his claim to deity is not a claim to be the Messiah of Israel. In fact, the Antichrist will attempt to wipe out the Jewish race. All the while, Israel will have the opportunity to either follow false Messiahs (which may cost them their lives) or to submit to and worship Antichrist.

Now, just who is the Antichrist? The term "antichrist" is found in John's first epistle:

Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour. (1John 2:18)

John uses the term last hour figuratively to emphasize that the consummation of human history is near. The rapture of the believers of this present dispensation, which could come at any time, will be followed by a period of only seven years which will end the present age and introduce the age to come. The term "antichrist" is the nominative masculine singular of antichristos, an adversary of Christ. This is a reference to the person, foretold by the prophetic word, who will become a world leader during Daniel's seventieth week. John noted that, at the time he wrote, many antichrists had already appeared. His plural use of "antichrists" is a broad term referring to false teachers in his own time who were contradicting the teaching of the apostles. He addressed some of their false doctrine in the epistle. It can be said that, while there have not been many throughout history who have claimed to be Israel's Messiah, there are many antichrists in every generation who have an agenda that is opposed to Christ. However, John's reference to Antichrist is to one person who will come in the future. This person is known by a number of names and descriptions:

He is the little horn, in Daniel 7:8; 8:9-12.

He is a king who is insolent and skilled in intrigue, in Daniel 8:23.

He is the prince who is to come, in Daniel 9:26.

He is the man of lawlessness, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

He is the son of destruction, in 2 Thessalonians 2:3.

He is the beast, in Revelation 13:3.

What is his race? What is his nationality? From what part of the world will he come? The most direct reference to the national and ethnic background of the Antichrist is found in the Book of Daniel:

"Then after the sixty-two weeks the Messiah will be cut off and have nothing, and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined." (Daniel 9:26)

Jerusalem and the sanctuary were destroyed by Titus of Rome in AD 70, about 600 years after Daniel wrote. But notice how the careful wording of this prophecy provides an opening for the Antichrist to come long after the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70! It does not say, "The prince who is to come and his people will destroy the city and the sanctuary," but rather, "...the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary." The people--that is, the Romans--destroyed the city and the sanctuary in AD 70. The prince of these people will come in the future. This testifies of the revived Roman Empire, which is illustrated by the multi metallic image in Daniel 2:40-43 and the fourth beast with the ten horns and the emergence of the little horn in Daniel 7:7-8. The concept of the revived Roman Empire has been dismissed by some commentators in recent times, but the concept is Scriptural.

So, Daniel was told that "the people of the prince who is to come" would destroy Jerusalem and the temple. This means that the Antichrist will be descended from the Romans who destroyed Jerusalem in AD 70. However, just because Antichrist will be descended from these people does not automatically mean that Antichrist will be of Italian ancestory--or even European ancestory! The Romans conquered most of the known world, and Roman citizenship was extended to people of many ethnicities. The fact that the Antichrist will be descended from the Roman people as they existed when Titus destroyed Jerusalem opens up the door to innumerable possibilities as to his ancestory!

Will the Antichrist be Greek? The angel Gabriel explained a vision Daniel had received involving a ram and a shaggy goat. It has been precisely verified by history that Gabriel described Alexander's empire divided into four parts after Alexander died, and that the Antichrist would descend from one of the four parts. This is found in Daniel 8:

"The ram which you saw with the two horns represents the kings of Media and Persia." (Daniel 8:20)

The emblem of Persia was the ram. Ancient Persian coins bearing the head of a ram have been found. The Persian king would go in front of his army wearing, instead of a diadem, a golden figure of a ram's head set with gems.

"The shaggy goat represents the kingdom of Greece, and the large horn that is between the his eyes is the first king." (Daniel 8:21)

The national emblem of Greece was the goat. Now it is very impressive that Greece would actually be named, because Daniel's vision was about two hundred years before the rise of Alexander the great! In fact when Alexander did come along, he was very impressed by this prophecy about himself, according to the historian Josephus.[1] When Alexander headed toward Jerusalem, he was angry at the Jews because they had refused to help him fight the city of Tyre, and he had lost a lot of troops. The high priest Jaddua was terrified because of what Alexander might do. When Alexander approached the city, Jaddua and another priest went out from Jerusalem in a grand procession and showed him the prophecies of Daniel. Alexander recognized the prophecies that were about himself and thus showed favor on the Jews.

"The broken horn and the four horns that arose in its place represent four kingdoms which will arise from this nation, although not with his power." (Daniel 8:22)

Upon his death, Alexander's kingdom was divided among four of his generals:

Cassander received Macedonia and Greece in the West.

Lysimachus received Thrace and Asia Minor in the North

Seleuceus received Babylon, Syria, and the area bordering India in the East.

Ptolemy received Egypt, Libya, Arabia, and Palestine in the South.

"In the latter period of their rule,
When the transgressors have run their course,
A king will arise,
Insolent and skilled in intrigue." (Daniel 8:23)

These four kingdoms will be resuscitated in some manner and apparently will be four of the ten kingdoms into which the revived Roman Empire will be divided. These four kingdoms were swallowed up by the historic Roman Empire and will live through, and be represented through, the revived phase.

"His power will be mighty, but not by his own power,
And he will destroy to an extraordinary degree
And prosper and perform his will;
He will destroy mighty men and the Holy people." (Daniel 8:24)

So, the Antichrist will be of Greek descent. Does this contradict the fact that he is of Roman descent? Of course not! You are probably quite aware that there were many Greeks in the Roman Empire. In fact, the Romans loved the art, literature, architecture, and religion of Greece and adopted many elements of these into their own culture.

Daniel chapter 11 provides more details on the break-up of Alexander's empire and links him to the kingdom given to Seleuceus, which includes the areas of Syria, Mesopotamia, and Persia (which includes modern day Iraq and Iran). It is likely that Antichrist will emerge from that geographical area.

Will the Antichrist be Assyrian? There is an interesting passage in the book of Isaiah about the king of Assyria:

So it will be that when the Lord has completed all His work on Mount Zion and on Jerusalem, He will say, "I will punish the fruit of the arrogant heart of the king of Assyria and the pomp of his haughtiness."
For he has said,
"By the power of my hand and by my wisdom I did this,
For I have understanding;
And I have removed the boundaries of the peoples
And plundered their treasures,
And like a mighty man I brought down their inhabitants,
And my hand reached to the riches of the peoples like a nest,
And as one gathers abandoned eggs, I gathered all the earth;
And there was not one that flapped its wing or opened its beak or chirped." (Isaiah 10:12-14)

Isaiah does not directly identify the king of Assyria as the Antichrist, but the resemblance is striking. Some students of the Scriptures believe that Isaiah 10:12-15 coupled with portions of Daniel 8 and 11 imply that Antichrist may well be of Assyrian descent and may come from the Assyrian region which is located in northern Iraq. There are presently people who are actually working toward an independent state in Northern Iraq!

If the Antichrist will be Assyrian, does that conflict with him being the ruler of the revived Roman Empire? No! In fact, Josephus noted that many of the soldiers in the Roman army who destroyed Jerusalem under Titus were Middle Eastern.[2]

Will the Antichrist be Jewish? The Bible gives us reason to believe he will be:

"Then the king will do as he pleases, and he will exalt and magnify himself above every god and will speak monstrous things against the God of gods; and he will prosper until the indignation is finished, for that which is decreed will be done.
"He will show no regard for the gods of his fathers or for the desire of women, nor will he show regard for any other god; for he will magnify himself above them all." (Daniel 11:36-37)

In the New American Standard translation, "He will show no regard for the gods [plural] of his fathers..." In the King James version, "Neither shall he regard the God [singular] of his fathers..." Elohyim is a Hebrew word which is plural in form, just as it is elsewhere in the Old Testament where it is translated God [singular], referring to the one, true God. The phrase, "the God of his fathers," is a Hebrew idiom which refers to the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. So, there is good reason to to believe that the Antichrist will be of Jewish descent, as well as the other ethnicities previously mentioned. There are other passages in the Scriptures that suggest he may be descended from the tribe of Dan.

Does the Jewish ancestory of Antichrist conflict with his being the ruler of the revived Roman Empire? Not at all! The apostle Paul is an example of a Jew who became a Roman Citizen. The renowned historian Josephus was also a Jew who acquired Roman citizenship. The Antichrist will apparently conceal his Jewish ancestory. In his early career, the Antichrist will deceive the world into thinking he is a man of peace:

Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come."
I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. (Revelation 6:1-2)

The first of the four horsemen in Revelation 6 portrays Antichrist as emerging as a powerful figure, but he is not yet waging war. He is described as possessing a bow, but no arrow is mentioned. He will initially conquer without bloodshed. It is not until the breaking of the second seal, which releases the second horseman, a man on a red horse with a sword, that Antichrist wages war. During the beginning of Daniel's seventieth week, the Antichrist will negotiate a peace for Israel with her neighbors. He would have a hard time doing that if it his Jewish ancestory is apparent!

Antichrist will initially recognize Israel's existence as a nation and will protect Israel with a confirmed covenant. But he will turn on Israel and will start a reign of terror in the last half of the seven year period. Many believers in Christ will be martyred, and the Antichrist will attempt to wipe out the Jewish race.

Thus, while false Messiahs will abound during Daniel's seventieth week, Antichrist will not be one of them. He will actually oppose them, along with many other factions and forces, as he gradually acquires total political, military, economic, and religious control over the earth.

Footnotes:
1. Flavius Josephus, The Antiquities of the Jews, Book 11, Chapter 8.
2. Flavius Josephus, The Wars of the Jews, Book 2, Chapter 13.7.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

The Parallel Between Matthew 24 and Revelation 6

2009-09-01T11:41:00.001-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 7 -- Matthew 24:4
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you." (Matthew 24:4)

On the Mount of Olives, Jesus was concerned that His disciples not be misled. To prevent the believers of Daniel's seventieth week from being misled, an apocalypse was given to John, on the island of Patmos. Much of that apocalypse parallels, and adds details to, the events Jesus set forth in the Olivet Discourse.

John Walvoord[1] and Marvin Rosenthal[2] are among those who have recognized a remarkable parallel between what Jesus described on the Mount of Olives and what was revealed to John in Revelation chapter 6. The basic events and actions in both Matthew 24 and Revelation 6 progress in the same chronological order. There is war, famine, death, and martyrdom, followed by cosmic disturbances. Bear in mind that the four horsemen in John's apocalypse are symbolic of four phases of the activity of the Antichrist during Daniel's seventieth week. I'll expound on that in future parts of this series, but for now, let's look at a comparison of passages of Matthew 24 and Revelation 6. So that the reader may easily view the contrast between the two accounts, I've rendered Christ's sayings from the Mount of Olives in red and passages from John's apocalypse in blue:

"For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Christ,' and will mislead many." (Matthew 24:5)
Then I saw when the Lamb broke one of the seven seals, and I heard one of the four living creatures saying as with a voice of thunder, "Come."
I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer. (Revelation 6:1-2)

"You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end."For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom... (Matthew 24:6-7a)
When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, "Come."
And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him. (Revelation 6:3-4)

"...and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.
"But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs." (Matthew 24:7b-8)
When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, "Come."
I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, "A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine."
When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature saying, "Come."
I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and by the wild beasts of the earth. (Revelation 6:5-8)

"Then they will deliver you to tribulation, and will kill you, and you will be hated by all nations because of My name." (Matthew 24:9)
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been slain because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained;
and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who dwell on the earth?"
And there was given to each of them a white robe; and they were told that they should rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brethren who were to be killed even as they had been, would be completed also. (Revelation 6:9-11)

"But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken." (Matthew 24:29)
I looked when He broke the sixth seal, and there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth made of hair, and the whole moon became like blood;
and the stars of the sky fell to the earth, as a fig tree casts its unripe figs when shaken by a great wind. (Revelation 6:12-13)

Thus, these two accounts in the New Testament provide a brief outline of some of the major features of the seven year period that will close the end of the age. In the next installments of our study of Matthew 24, we'll explore these things in more detail.

Footnotes:
1. John F. Walvoord, The Revelation of Jesus Christ (Chicago: Moody Press, 1966), p.123.
2. Marvin Rosenthal, The Pre-Wrath Rapture of the Church (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990), pp.150-152.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

Think Apocalyptically?

2009-08-12T06:01:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 6 -- Matthew 24:4
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you." (Matthew 24:4)

In part 5 of our study, I suggested that many believers have been misled throughout most of Church history in the area of eschatology (future events leading up to the consummation of history). In recent times, many believers are being misled by the Preterist approach to prophecy in the Bible. Preterism assumes that the major prophetic portions of the Scriptures, such as those in the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24 and 25) and the book of Revelation, were fulfilled in the events associated with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70 by Rome.

In recent years, Preterism is being fueled by a misinterpretation of the apocalyptic literature in the Bible. Apocalyptic is one of the genres of literature represented in the Scriptures. Genre is a word that comes to us from the French, meaning kind or species. When applied to biblical studies, genre refers to the different types of literature represented in the Bible. A particular genre is a group of literary works in which common traits in elements of content, form, and function have been recognized. We recognize biblical genres because we see them in the context of the larger world of ancient literature. The are six major genres in the Canon:

1. Theological Narrative--Biblical communication through the recording of events (e.g., Genesis through Esther, and Matthew through Acts)

2. Poetic Literature--Biblical communication with rhythm and often high emotion (e.g., the Psalms. Elements of poetry are also in Job, Proverbs, Ecclesiastes, Song of Solomon, and in parts of the Epistles)

3. Wisdom Literature--Biblical communication in generality to motivate the reader to live responsibly with a sense of accountability to God (e.g., Proverbs, Ecclesiastes and James)

4. Prophetic Literature--Biblical communication characterized by confrontation, exhortation, and often prediction (e.g., the Old Testament Prophets, major and minor)

5. Epistolary Literature--Biblical communication in discourse for the purpose of instruction (e.g., the Epistles, and some of Christ's teaching in the Gospels)

6. Apocalyptic Literature--Biblical communication which unveils and views the conflict in the world, future events, and the end times through a heavenly lens (e.g., portions of Isaiah, Daniel, Zechariah, Revelation, and portions of the eschatological discourses of Jesus in Matthew 24-25; Mark 13; Luke 17:20-37; Luke 21:5-38)

It is important to note that a number of genres are often represented in a particular book of the Bible. For example, while Matthew's Gospel is mainly narrative, the Olivet Discourse contains prophecy and apocalyptic.

Of all the genres, apocalyptic is the most cryptic and mysterious. Apocalyptic literature is heavily symbolic, so commentators often differ with one another as to what the symbols mean. This genre often communicates through pictures, and interpreters have different ideas as to just how to understand the images. Just what the images represent and how they relate to historic or future events is often the subject of heated debate.

There has been a recent trend among some evangelical interpreters to more or less lump together the apocalyptic in the Bible with the host of non-canonical writings that emerged during the intertestamental period and continued into the first two centuries. Writings such as The Testament of the Twelve Patriarchs, Ezra, Enoch, The Apocalypse of Baruch, and The Assumption of Moses share common features, such as visual images, extensive symbolism, angelic guides, and a focus on the end of the present age and the inauguration of the age to come. Because the apocalyptic literature in the Bible contains some of these attributes, it is argued (often by Preterists) that the biblical apocalyptic must be interpreted within the context of non-biblical apocalyptic. This new method of hermeneutics does away with the solid, conservative principle of assuming the author desired to be understood in literal terms, unless there is compelling evidence from the text that would dictate otherwise. That principle is replaced with the principle that symbolism and allegory are assumed unless the text informs the interpreter otherwise. There is definitely symbolism and allegory contained within biblical apocalyptic, but there are also specific persons and events: and there is prophecy.

An important point that Grant R. Osborne makes is that, "It is impossible to distinguish ultimately between prophecy and apocalyptic, for the latter is an extension of the former."[1] In fact, John calls his book an apocalypse in Revelation 1:1 (The Greek word translated "revelation" is apocalupsis.). But he calls the same book prophecy in Revelation 1:3. The imagery of biblical apocalyptic can represent reality generally or specifically, and I think that Darrell L. Bock makes a good point about the interpretation of the apocalyptic in the Bible when he says it is "...not a matter of literal versus figurative/allegorical approaches, but of how to identify and understand the reference of the figure in question."[2]

Preterism, with its supposed insight into the apocalyptic genre, is suddenly finding great popularity. A pastor I know, who was a premillennial dispensationalist for thirty years, has recently adopted the Preterist position and is now challenging the members of his congregation to learn to "think apocalyptically." He is now convinced that the thousand year reign of Jesus Christ, mentioned six times in Revelation 20, is not a literal thousand years during which Christ will reign in his prophesied kingdom. In his new viewpoint, the apocalyptic in the Bible has "radicalized" and reinterpreted the prophets and shown their words to be fulfilled in the present Church, which he calls the "eschatological Israel."

I fully understand the importance of genre classification with regard to the accurate interpretation of the Bible, but there are abuses of genre classification as well. The oldest apocalyptic is in the Bible, and it was born out of prophecy and never came to stand out in absolute contrast with prophecy. Therefore, biblical apocalyptic is the genuine apocalyptic. The true apocalyptic genre began in some of the writings of Isaiah, Ezekiel, Daniel, Joel, and Zechariah. The non-canonical apocalyptic literature began to emerge in about 250 B.C. and flourished when the Jews were under the pressure of Antiochus Epiphanes. This literature was a vehicle of the Hasidic movement and became a religious-political tool. The non-canonical apocalyptic was not prophecy. In fact, it emerged well after the last book of the Old Testament was written, a time during which God was not providing prophecy. Because prophecy had ceased during a frame of about four hundred years, the writers of apocalyptic thought it necessary to explain the delay of God's kingdom and the suffering of God's people. Apocalyptic became a literary form which tended to rewrite history as pseudo-prophecy, while not even claiming to be prophetic. Not only was the extra-biblical apocalyptic not prophetic--much of it was just bad literature! G.B. Caird described 1 Enoch as one of the world's six worst books, and he said that 4 Ezra (2 Esdras in the Apocrypha) was responsible for many of the worst features of medieval theology.[3] I can imagine a Jewish writer of the second century B.C. reading the book of Daniel and thinking, "Hey, I think I could write like that!" The apocalyptic genre became a literary style without being inspired by an actual divinely revealed apocalypse.

Here is my question: Do we interpret Old Testament apocalyptic by the standards of the non-prophetic, non-inspired apocalyptic literature which came later? Or, do we interpret Old Testament apocalyptic in its own right--in its own development within the Canon? After all, Old Testament apocalyptic is the original apocalyptic! My point is, the extra-biblical apocalyptic was an aberration of the original!

Now, it is true that in the non-canonical apocalyptic literature, numbers often represented concepts more than literal count units. But let’s consider what the result would be if we choose to interpret the Old Testament apocalyptic within its own time and not by the features of the non-canonical literature which came later. I think that it is very significant that in Daniel 9:2, Daniel was observing in the Scriptures the number of years revealed to Jeremiah that the people would be in captivity (and that was, without dispute, a literal 70 years), and then Daniel received the information on the 70 units of 7 prescribed for Daniel's people, the Jews (Daniel 9:24-27). Since the 70 years in captivity were literal years, is there any reason to assume that the 70 units of 7 were not to be taken literally? I don't think so. And, is there any indication in the development of apocalyptic in the Old Testament that new standards of interpretation must be adopted? Is there an indication that eschatological events are not to be taken literally? None that I know of.

When we come to the Book of Revelation, do we assume that the numbers in the book, such as the 1000 years, should not be taken literally because of the way that numbers were used in the some of the non-canonical apocalyptic? Or, do we refer to the genuine article and the roots for the apocalypse John received: the Old Testament apocalyptic--where the numbers mean the numbers? To me it only makes sense to interpret the Book of Revelation and other eschatological portions of the New Testament, like Matthew 24, by going to the Old Testament roots. In Revelation there are many hundreds of allusions to Old Testament passages. Let’s compare spiritual with spiritual (1 Corinthians 2:13). The Bible is its own commentary: I’m really not that concerned with what kind of form that literature took on outside of the Bible, and I’m certainly not going to use non-canonical writings as a standard for interpreting the Scriptures!

One of the greatest challenges modern communicators of doctrine face is their incomplete understanding of the times and cultural background in which the Bible was written. We have some writings and artifacts, and some archaeological ruins, but there is always the problem of our distance from the biblical world. We’ll never understand the ancient world as precisely as those did who inhabited it. With regard to the interpretation of the one thousand years in Revelation 20, I do find it meaningful that the early Christian writers of the first and second centuries, Papias, Justin Martyr, and Irenaeus were all born when apocalyptic literature was still being written--and all three believed the thousand year reign of Christ to be a literal one thousand years! Now, I’m not saying these men and others did not have some strange ways of applying that thousand years historically--but my point is, they interpreted the thousand years literally, and they did not have the previously mentioned problem of distance from the time in which Revelation was written. They were no doubt very familiar with the apocalyptic genre, being born while it was still being published! (It is believed that Papias, in his youth, may have been a student of the Apostle John.) Premillennialism appears to have been the dominant view in the Church until the time of Augustine, though there were some who were not Premillennialists.

I understand the necessity of recognizing figures of speech and symbolism in the Bible. However, references to the one thousand years in Revelation 20 describe a period of time marked off by events specifically taking place both prior to it and after it. To allegorize the Millennium and to remove the distinction between Israel and the Church, Christ's Body, is to send repercussions throughout the way we interpret the whole realm of the Canon. How we view the very essence and integrity of God is affected. Does He actually keep (and possess the ability to keep) the promises He has made to those to whom He made the promises? If His promises to the racial species He established through Abraham are not to be taken literally, then maybe the promises He made to the members of Christ’s Body are not to be taken literally.

In the apocalyptic language of Revelation, John often conveys truth through correspondence. By comparison, he is equating things from the world in which he lived to the future events he sees in the vision. Through this language, we are able to perceive a solid outline of the events which will occur during Daniel's seventieth week, and the believers who live during that time will be able to make sense of many of the finer details that we may not understand.

Footnotes:
1. Grant R. Osborne, Baker Exegetical Commentary of the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2002), p.13.
2. Craig A. Blaising and Darrell L. Bock, Progressive Dispensationalism (Wheaton:Victor Books, 1993), p.93.
3. David M. Williams, The Book of Revelation as Jewish Apocalyptic Literature, http://www.geocities.com/athens/forum/5951/ntb519c.html
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

See To It That No One Misleads You

2009-08-04T20:32:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 5 -- Matthew 24:4(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

And Jesus answered and said to them, "See to it that no one misleads you." (Matthew 24:4)

The disciples who came to Jesus privately on the Mount of Olives had just asked Jesus a question about how the destruction of the temple would fit in with the rest of God's prophetic plan: specifically, the end of the age and the Coming of Christ to rule His prophesied kingdom. Jesus introduced His response with a caveat: "See to it that no one misleads you." In order for them to cope with the unique seven year period prophesied by Daniel (Daniel 9:24-27), Daniel's seventieth "week," they would need to accurately understand the nature of prophetic events and their sequence. Although the Church, Christ's Body, will no longer be on earth during Daniel's seventieth week (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17; 1 Corinthians 15:51), it is important for us to not be misled as to the events of eschatology (future events leading up to the consummation of history), so that we may see how the unique dispensation in which we live fits into the framework of God's overall plan for mankind. It is unfortunate that the Church, on the whole, has been misled in the area of eschatology since the fourth century.

More than twenty years ago, one biblical truth that became ever so clear to me personally is that God has a plan that involves a specific agenda for Israel, the spiritually regenerated, racial species of Abraham; and an entirely different agenda for the Church of this present dispensation, a dispensation about which nothing had been disclosed until the ascended Christ conveyed the details to Paul by direct revelation (Ephesians 3:2-9). In the early fourth century, a paradigm shift in theology obscured this distinction between Israel and the Church. In my book, Then the Proconsul Believed, I explained the concept of the paradigm shift:

The word paradigm comes from the Greek word paradeigma, a pattern. A paradigm, in a general sense, is an example serving as a model. The word is commonly used today to mean an assumption; a frame of reference; the way we perceive things to be. In 1962, Thomas S. Kuhn was responsible for popularizing the term in his book, The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, which shook the foundations of the scientific community. In it he described how the real scientific breakthroughs of human history are the result of breaks with traditional ways of thinking, in which old paradigms are replaced by new and competing ones.

For example, in the 2nd Century, Alexandrian astronomer Ptolemy's paradigm was a universe with the earth at its center and the sun revolving around it. This notion was defended for centuries, even as conflicting evidence increased. Over a thousand years later, Copernicus replaced Ptolemy's model with the new and controversial theory that the earth and the other planets revolve around the sun. In Kuhn's view, science is not a steady and cumulative gathering of information, but a series of relatively peaceful periods of time broken by revolutions of thought through which new paradigms replace old ones.

Kuhn described the change which causes scientific revolutions as a "paradigm shift." Though Kuhn believed that existing paradigms must be lived in and explored before a break can be made, a scientific revolution occurs when an older paradigm is replaced in whole or in part by new and incompatible one. In a paradigm shift, the new paradigm does not build on the preceding one, but supplants it.[1]

In Theology Adrift: The Early Church Fathers and Their Views of Eschatology, Matthew Allen notes Kuhn's coining of the term, "paradigm shift," and suggests that paradigm shifts have "changed the world of thought (some for better, some for worse) in a fundamental way."[2] Allen then goes on to describe a paradigm shift in history and another in theology, both of which changed the world of thought for the worse. The historic paradigm shift Allen recognized was initiated by Constantine's Edict of Milan:

From a political perspective, Constantine's Edict of Milan, issued in AD 313, constituted the formal beginning of a major paradigm shift that signaled the end of the ancient world and the beginning of the medieval period. That edict legitimated Christianity and impressed upon it the Empire's stamp of approval.[3]

"Hi, I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help You!" was a post in which I wrote about the profound change brought about by Constantine's Edict of Milan (click here to read). Under the edict, religious persecutions were abolished and liberty of worship was declared for all. Constantine himself had professed faith in Christ and invited his subjects to join him. Three centuries of the cruel persecution of Christians had been ended.

It looked like the principle of freedom to obey God without interference had finally been recognized and embraced by the human race. But alas, Constantine turned out to be the quintessential politician, seizing every possible opportunity to gain the political support of both Christians and pagans throughout the Empire. Constantine went out of his way to make concessions so that Christianity would be more appealing to the heathens. Sunday (named for the sun god), the weekly holiday of the pagans, was declared to be a legal holiday ("holy day"). With the exception of farming when necessary, work on Sunday was outlawed, which made many pagans very happy.

But Constantine became very popular among Christians, too. He proclaimed Sunday the "Christian Sabbath," and more and more legislation provided privileges for Christians. The Church received large gifts of financial support from the State. The State payed for lavish church buildings (which happened to resemble pagan temples). The Roman government also provided tax exemptions, political appointments, exemptions from military proscription, and other benefits to those who converted to Christianity.

The sad result was that many pagans "converted" only because of the incentives they received from the government. The Christian church had become thoroughly paganized, something that never would have happened had the Church and State remained separate.

If that wasn't bad enough, it was not long after the reign of Constantine that the ancient Roman practice of persecuting those whose religions were not permitted was suddenly applied in a different way: Emperor Theodosius I issued an edict in AD 380 that established Christianity as the exclusive religion of the Empire. Those who deviated from the form of worship approved by the State were punished as heretics. What had appeared to be a new era of righteousness and freedom of religion had turned into an era of corruption and religious tyranny.

Allen goes on to note the theological paradigm shift, but in order to make any sense of what he describes, we must recognize the three theological approaches to the one thousand year reign of Christ mentioned six times in Revelation chapter 20. They are Premillennialism, Postmillennialism, and Amillennialism.

Premillennialism (which I believe is the correct view) is based on a literal, or normative method of Biblical interpretation. In the premillennial view, Christ will return to the earth prior to the one thousand year reign, inaugurate His prophesied kingdom on earth, and reign over that kingdom for a literal period of one thousand years. The early Church was largely, though not uniformily, premillenial in terms of eschatology. The early Christian writers, Papias (who wrote in the first half of the second century and when young may have been a disciple of the Apostle John), Justin Martyr (who lived from AD 100-165), and Irenaeus (who wrote in the second half of the second century), were premillennialists.

Postmillennialism holds that man, through the effect of the gospel, will bring in the kingdom, and after one thousand years of man's progressive improvement, Christ will return. Postmillennialism is relatively new, being traced to Daniel Whitby, a minister who lived in the seventeenth century. Postmillennialism declined significantly in the second half of the twentieth century. Postmillennialists had been persuaded that the First World War had been the war which would end all wars, and the gospel was now going to purify the world. Then, two decades later, the Second World War came, which really took the wind out of their sails!

Amillennialism takes a non-literal view of the one thousand years of Revelation 20. The amillennialist views the thousand years as symbolic of a spiritual kingdom operating during an unspecified period of time, the time between Christ's two advents. The amillennial system was pioneered and developed by Augustine of Hippo (354-430), using Origen's allegorical method to interpret eschatological events.

Now then, back to Matthew Allen. Here is the theological paradigm shift he recognized:

From a theological perspective--specifically an eschatological one -- the Edict of Milan also signaled a monumental paradigm shift--from the well-grounded premillennialism of the ancient church fathers to the amillennialism or postmillennialism that would dominate eschatological thinking from the fourth century AD to at least the middle part of the nineteenth century. Yet ... the groundwork for this shift was laid long before Constantine issued the Edict of Milan in AD 313. In the two centuries that led up to the edict, two crucial interpretive errors found their way into the church that made conditions ripe for the paradigm shift incident to the Edict of Milan. The second century fathers failed to keep clear the biblical distinction between Israel and the church. Then, the third century fathers abandoned a more-or-less literal method of interpreting the Bible in favor of Origen's allegorical-spiritualized hermeneutic. Once the distinction between Israel and the church became blurred, once a literal hermeneutic was lost, with these foundations removed, the societal changes occasioned by the Edict of Milan caused fourth century fathers to reject premillennialism in favor of Augustinian amillennialism.[4]

Augustine thought that the Church is the spiritual kingdom of God and is presently in the Millennium, though not a literal millennium of a thousand years with Christ bodily reigning over the earth. Can you see the correlation between the historical and theological paradigm shifts described by Allen? Bad doctrine in the Church paved the way for the political antics of Constantine and the readiness of the Church to get into bed with the State--and in turn, the corruption that resulted contributed to more bad doctrine! As the Church became an instrument of the State, there no longer seemed to be an interest in the grand theme of Bible prophecy: the reality that Messiah will return to earth and establish His kingdom. People assumed that the marriage between church and state indicated that Christ's kingdom had come! Then, by the time Augustine was formulating his doctrine, he became disillusioned because the prophesied kingdom described in the Scriptures did not match the condition of the world in which he lived. Therefore he concluded that the one thousand year earthly reign of Messiah could not be literal. If it existed between the two advents of Christ, as Augustine supposed, the kingdom must be a spiritual kingdom only, existing in the hearts of believers who are faithful to Christ.

In the last 150 years, the truth of Premillennialism has, to a large degree, been recovered within the Church. However, Amillennialism is on the rise again, and the results could prove disastrous in both the political and spiritual realms. Let us heed the Words of Christ: "See to it that no one misleads you."

Footnotes:
1. Lee Griffith, Then the Proconsul Believed (Prescott Valley, AZ: Finished Work Fellowship), 2006, pp. 1-2.
2. Matthew Allen, Theology Adrift: The Early Church Fathers and Their Views of Eschatology, http://bible.org/article/theology-adrift-early-church-fathers-and-their-views-eschatology.
3. Ibid.
4. Ibid.
Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

The End of the Age

2009-07-29T07:56:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 4 -- Matthew 24:3
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

After Jesus predicted the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:2), He went over a short distance to Mount Olivet where some of His disciples approached Him privately (Matthew 24:3). So, the disciples asked Jesus two questions:

1. When will these things happen?
2. What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

The first question regarded the timing of the destruction of the temple. How did it fit in with the other future events predicted by the prophets? That question was considered in Part 3 of our study. The second question was in two parts. First, the disciples wanted to be educated as to the sign of the Lord's coming. The word translated "sign" in Matthew 24:3 is the Greek word, semeion, which means a token signaling a future event. Jesus answers this part of their question in great detail in verses 15-22, which we will be studying in the future. The second concern of the disciples was: What would be the sign of the end of the age? This is addressed by the Lord in verses 23-51, which we will also study in future posts on this blog. I am going to devote this current post to a subject that is crucial to understand if Bible prophecy is going to make any sense at all to us: What did the disciples mean when they used the term, the end of the age?

During the time of the Old Testament and the time of Christ's earthly ministry, the Jewish perspective of history was very precise and simple. History consisted of two ages: the present age and the age to come. The present age was the age in which all Israel was waiting for Messiah to come and establish His kingdom. The present age would end in the devastating judgment predicted by the prophets and would be terminated by the appearance of Messiah. The age to come was the future age, introduced by Messiah's coming, an age in which the many blessings promised to Israel through the prophets would be fulfilled.

"The end of the age" is a term that was applied to the consummation of the first of the two ages: that is, the present age. We can see this very clearly in the last verse of the book of Daniel:

"But as for you, go your way to the end; then you will enter into rest and rise again for your allotted portion at the end of the age." (Daniel 12:13)

The angel Gabriel was imparting God's guarantee to Daniel that he would be physically resurrected to receive his inheritance of the blessings of the covenant promises God gave to Israel. Daniel will be resurrected at the end of the seventieth week designated for Daniel's people (Israel), in Daniel 9:24-27 (see part 3). Daniel will receive his resurrection body and allotted his portion at the end of the age (the age which will be terminated by the coming of Christ to establish His kingdom) to enjoy in the age to come.

In the Gospel according to Matthew, we see that Jesus held the same perspective on the two ages:

"Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come." (Matthew 12:32)

It is unfortunate that because they do not understand the dispensational significance of Matthew 12:32, many believers think they've "blasphemed the Holy Ghost" and are doomed to everlasting condemnation because they cannot be forgiven. But the context of Matthew 12:22-32 shows us that what Jesus was saying was addressed to many, but not all, of the people of one generation of the nation of Israel: the generation He was actually speaking to. God would forgive Israel for the sins committed against the Son. In fact, in Luke 23:34, the Son said, while hanging from the cross, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing." But after Israel had spoken against the Son of Man, The Holy Spirit was sent at Pentecost, and great signs and wonders took place through the apostles. God then offered Israel the opportunity to repent, and if Israel would respond, Jesus Christ would return to reign over the prophesied kingdom (Acts 3:19-21). But Israel did not repent. In fact, Israel's hostility toward Christ climaxed in the stoning of Stephen by the Sanhedrin, the ruling council of Israel. Just before he was stoned to death, in Acts 7:51, Stephen accused the leaders of Israel of resisting the Holy Spirit, just as their fathers had. In Matthew 12:32, Christ was addressing that one generation who would go into the Pentecostal era. Many in that generation would resist the testimony about the identity of Christ which was overwhelmingly confirmed by the activity of the Holy Spirit. Those in that generation who ultimately and categorically denied that testimony were not forgiven of it; and that generation of Israel will not be forgiven in the age to come either: because they died in their unbelief! A future generation of Israel will accept God's testimony about Messiah (Zechariah 12:10). But notice, in Matthew 12:32, that Christ embraced the same perception of history as the Jews of the Old Testament: this age and the age to come.

Now there is an interesting passage in the Letter to the Hebrews about the age to come. The Letter to the Hebrews was written before AD 70 (probably in the late 60's) to the thousands of Jews in Palestine who had believed in Christ during the Pentecostal era. Those Jews lived under very unique circumstances in a very unique time. Their state of mind was described in Acts 21:20 by James and the elders when Paul visited Jerusalem in about AD 56:

...and they said to him, "You see, brother, how many thousands there are among the Jews of those who have believed, and they are all zealous for the Law."

Paul had been staying away from Jerusalem, planting churches throughout the Empire and teaching the things that Jesus Christ had revealed to him (Acts 26:16; 2 Corinthians 12:7; Galatians 1:11-12; Ephesian 3:2-3). The new doctrine for the present dispensation was transmitted to Paul by Christ over a period of years and it took some time for it to be conveyed by Paul's teaching and writings to the other apostles and new testament prophets (Ephesians 3:5). Until they had received doctrine that was up to date, it was only natural and completely appropriate that the Jews in Palestine would remain under the authority of the Law of Moses, because they had received no instruction to the contrary. However, by the time the Letter to the Hebrews was written, the specific doctrine for this present dispensation had been widely published and taught. The Law of Moses had been set aside (Romans 6:14; Galatians 3:24-25). But those believers in Palestine and Jerusalem clung tenaciously to the Law, assuming that to adhere to it would fulfill the requirements of God. These Jews wanted to continue in the Levitical sacrificial system. The Letter to the Hebrews was written to those Jewish Christians to explain the person and and sacrificial work of Christ and to admonish them to let go of the previous dispensation and grow up into the new one:

For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit,
and have tasted the good word of God the powers of the age to come,
and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him openly to shame. (Hebrews 6:4-6)

Notice in verse 5, they have tasted of the Good word of God, and the powers of the age to come. Pentecost was a foretaste of the conditions that will be completely fulfilled when Christ reigns on earth in the Millennium! A careful reading of Peter's citation of prophecy by Joel confirms this (Acts 2:16-21). Now many believers are under the impression that verse 6 teaches that you can lose your salvation, but that is because they do not understand the verse in its historical setting. This letter was written to Jewish Christians who remained zealous for the Law. They had experienced a powerful demonstration of the Holy Spirit during the Pentecostal era. They experienced a taste of the powers of the age to come. But instead of going on to learn about the person and work of Christ, and instead of experiencing a rich relationship with Him that would have been far superior to their relationship with the Law, they wanted to remain under the Law. With that mental attitude, they were effectively crucifying the Son of God again by disrespecting all He had achieved. The writer of Hebrews goes on:

For ground that drinks the rain which falls on it and brings forth vegetation useful to those for whose sake it is tilled, receives a blessing from God,
but if it yields thorns and thistles, it is worthless and close to being cursed, and ends up being burned. (Hebrews 6:7-8)

Many believers are terrified, thinking that this passage is about a Christian losing his or her salvation and going into everlasting condemnation. That's not what it is about at all. This is about blessing from God for responding to the truth of His word versus the cursing of divine discipline for choosing to remain under the Law as if Christ hadn't even gone to the cross to justify us! The Law has never justified anyone (Acts 13:39; Romans 3:20). Incidentally, the city of Jerusalem was burned by the Romans in AD 70, shortly after the Letter to the Hebrews was written.

Now let's consider the Apostle Paul's perspective of history. In the first chapter of Ephesians, Paul prays that believers would be enlightened about the ascended Christ in his position which is:

...far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come. (Ephesians 1:21)

Yes, Paul, a Jew who had been raised with the Jewish viewpoint of history (a viewpoint acquired from the Scriptures), perceived history in terms of that dichotomy when he wrote his epistles: this age and the one to come.

Now, it is true that between the time that Christ had spoken about what He had called "this age and the age to come," and the time that Paul wrote about "this age" and "the one to come," a new dispensation had been inaugurated (Ephesians 3:2). But don't confuse dispensations with ages! An age is a period of time, while a dispensation is a particular arrangement by which God administrates to angelic or human beings and regulates their affairs. A dispensation is not a period of time, but an administration within a period of time. The present dispensation, a mystery which has interrupted the prophetic calendar, is operating within a continuation of the present age. After the Rapture of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), the prophetic plan will resume, and this present age will continue for seven years, until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ introduces the age to come.

In part 3 of our study, I mentioned a growing trend within contemporary Christianity that assumes that the major prophetic portions of Scripture, such as the Olivet Discourse (Matthew 24) and the Book of Revelation, were fulfilled in the events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. This viewpoint is called Preterism (from the Latin word praeter, which means "past"). Many Preterists believe that the term "this age" (or "this present age") refers to the approximately 40 year period between the time Christ engaged in His earthly ministry and the time that the temple was destroyed by the Romans in AD 70. This view would be hard to reconcile with these two statements by Paul:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ,
who gave Himself for our sins so that He might rescue us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father... (Galatians 1:3-4)

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
instructing us to deny ungodliness [godlessness] and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly [reverently] in the present age... (Titus 2:11-12)

If "this present evil age" referred to by Paul (Galatians 1:4) ended in AD 70 (not many years after Paul wrote), then the logical conclusion would be that the instruction of Paul's epistles for this age (Titus 2:12) was directed only to believers until AD 70. Amazing!

Now, back to Matthew 24. On the Mount of Olives, Christ's disciples said to Him, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" They were referring to the end of the age which precedes the age to come. We must remember that when they asked the question, the potential was there for the disciples to still be physically alive to go into Daniel's seventieth week, which would be followed by the glorious earthly reign of Messiah. In fact Jesus had encouraged them to expect it. Because of the Greek particle an with a verb in the subjunctive mood, a statement Christ made to his disciples in Matthew's Gospel should be translated like this:

Truly I say to you, there are some of those standing here who will not taste death until they may have seen the Son of Man coming in His kingdom." (Matthew 16:28)

When the prophesied kingdom was later formally offered, in Acts 3:19-21, had Israel accepted the offer, Daniel's seventieth week would have commenced, followed by the Second Advent of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom. That is why Jesus was instructing his disciples as to the nature of the final years before the kingdom, and how to survive until the return of Christ. Because Israel failed to respond to that offer, the establishment of the kingdom has been postponed. Thus, the Lord's discourse from the Mount of Olives will now be directed toward believers in the future, when Daniel's seventieth week begins.

After His resurrection, Jesus provided further instructions to His disciples as to their activity in the brief period of time leading up to Christ's return. These instructions are contained in what is commonly perceived to be the "Great Commission" for the Church, Christ's Body, but is actually a continuation of the only program the disciples had been familiar with when they received this commission: the kingdom program.

And Jesus came up and spoke to them, saying, "All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.
"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit,
teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age." (Matthew 28:18-20)

Jesus promised that He would be with His disciples (not physically, but in terms of power and provision) unto the end of the age. If this passage applied to the Church, Christ's Body, that would mean that there would be no Rapture prior to Daniel's seventieth week. However, this commission is addressed to those who will be on earth during the seven years preceding Messiah's kingdom!

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/ In Titus 2:11-12, the explanation in brackets is the author's. Matthew 16:28 is the author's translation.

When Will These Things Be?

2009-07-23T14:44:00.001-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 3 -- Matthew 24:3
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

In this post I'll consider the first of the two questions the disciples asked Jesus in Matthew 24:3, which was: When will these things be? The disciples figured that the destruction of the temple about which Jesus had just spoken (Matthew 24:2) would usher in the prophesied kingdom. They were probably connecting it with the siege of Jerusalem prophesied in Isaiah 14:1-2. However, a careful reading of Isaiah Chapter 14 will clarify that there are major differences between the siege of Jerusalem in the book of Zechariah and the destruction of the temple Jesus described in Matthew 24:2, which was fulfilled in AD 70 by the Roman army. Christ will intervene with the Second Advent in the future siege described by Zechariah.

In Daniel 9:24, the angel Gabriel informs Daniel that there are 70 "weeks" prescribed for Daniel's people (the Jews). The word translated "weeks" is the plural of the Hebrew word shabua, which means a unit of seven. The seventy "weeks" are actually a period of 490 (70 x 7) years. At this time we won't engage in a lengthy study of this passage, but a comparison of this prophecy in the book of Daniel with a history of the Jews makes it clear that all but one of those units of seven has been fulfilled. There is now only one period of seven years remaining on the prophetic calendar before Christ establishes His kingdom on earth. That's why some (including myself) refer to this unique period of time as "Daniel's seventieth week."

We are not presently living in Daniel's seventieth week. God's offer to Israel for Messiah to return and establish His kingdom (Acts 3:19-21) was rejected by the nation of Israel, so Daniel's seventieth week has been projected into future. The prophetic calendar has been interrupted, and a surprise dispensation has been introduced by God that had been kept totally secret by God until revealed by the ascended Christ Jesus to the Apostle Paul. This secret was then revealed to the other apostles and New Testament prophets by the ministry of the Holy Spirit through Paul's teaching and writings. This great "mystery" (disclosed secret) is summarized in Ephesians 3:2-9. This mystery dispensation has introduced the Church, Christ's Body, into human history.

Now in Daniel 9:26, there are two events which Gabriel said would take place after the "seven weeks and sixty-two weeks" (483 years), which have now been fulfilled. A study of the decree involved (in Daniel 9:25) and the Jewish calendar suggests that the 483 years were fulfilled the day Christ rode into Jerusalem on a donkey in His presentation to Jerusalem. I call the two events of Daniel 9:26 "floating" events, because they are specified to take place after the 483 years, yet Gabriel does not fit them into a particular time table and does not say they will take place during Daniel's seventieth week! The two events are:

1. "Messiah will be cut off and have nothing..." Most commentators that I've read believe this refers to the crucifixion of Christ. This may be true, but I think it may actually refer to national Israel's rejection of God's offer (made after Christ's resurrection and ascension) for Christ to return to earth to set up His kingdom (Acts 3:19-21). In either case, this event specified by Gabriel was fulfilled after the fulfillment of the 483 years--but before the yet future seventieth week of Daniel.

2. "...and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary. And its end will come with a flood; even to the end there will be war; desolations are determined." The destruction of the city and the sanctuary (the temple) is also a "floating" event. It occurred in AD 70--well after the fulfillment of the 483 years, but, like the first event, prior to Daniel's seventieth week.

Christ's prophecy of the destruction of the temple (Matthew 24:2), which He stated upon leaving the temple, was the second "floating" event in Daniel 9:26. It was fulfilled by Titus and the Roman army about 40 years after Christ predicted it. From the temple, Christ took a short walk to Mount Olivet, where some of the disciples approached Him privately. Beginning with Matthew 24:4, Christ's prophecy in this chapter--all of His prophecy--applies to the seven year period conveyed by Gabriel to Daniel--a period of time many Christians call the Tribulation. Absolutely no part of Matthew 24 is about the Church of the present dispensation or the Body of Christ. This is a hard pill for many believers to swallow, because of a lot of teaching within evangelical Christianity--teaching which has lacked specificity. If you continue through this study of Matthew 24, some very important things may be clarified for you. For the time being, let me simply assert (and I will back this up from the Scriptures as the study progresses) that everything that Christ describes in Matthew 24 is directed toward Israel, not the Church, Christ's Body. Believers of the present dispensation will be taken in the Rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17) prior to everything that happens in Matthew 24.

Now there is a recent trend in evangelicalism that assumes that the major prophetic portions of Scripture, such as the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24 and the Book of revelation, were fulfilled in the events connected with the destruction of Jerusalem in AD 70. This viewpoint is called Preterism (from the Latin word praeter, which means "past"). On the other hand, Futurism holds that there is no (or very little) prophecy being fulfilled during the present dispensation, that most of the prophecy in Matthew 24, the book of revelation, and many portions of Scripture (including many Old Testament passages) will find fulfillment in future events: Daniel's seventieth week, a literal 1,000 year earthly reign of Christ, and the new heavens and earth.

During the past 150 years, Futurism has dominated much of Evangelical Christianity--but in the last decade, Preterism has been on the rise. I am a Futurist, because I believe this position is the one supported by the Scriptures. If you stay with this study of Mathew 24, you'll come to see why I embrace this viewpoint--and then you should develop your own convictions! Until next time...

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

Two Questions for the Lord

2009-07-23T09:45:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 2 -- Matthew 24:3
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

As He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" (Matthew 24:3)

After the Lord predicted the destruction of the temple (click here to read), He went to the Mount of Olives, where some disciples approached Him. The parallel passage in Mark 13 specifies the disciples who came to Jesus privately: Peter, James, John, and Andrew. These four disciples were very perplexed. If Jerusalem and the temple were to become desolate (which Christ had prophesied in Matthew 23:37-38), and if the temple would be destroyed, which Jesus had said would happen (Matthew 24:2): then how would there be a nation of Israel over which Messiah would rule? Also, the disciples were probably trying to connect what Jesus had just prophesied with the siege of Jerusalem in Zechariah 14, because Zechariah had predicted that when Jerusalem was under siege, Christ would intervene with His second advent, and the covenant nation would turn to Christ in belief.

Now it is important to recognize the order of events of Matthew's narrative: When Jesus said, regarding the temple, that, "...not one stone here will be left upon another, which will not be torn down" (Matthew 24:2), He was coming out of the temple. It was later, on the Mount of Olives, that His disciples asked Him, "Tell us, when will these things happen, and what will be the sign of your coming, and of the end of the age?" The Mount of Olives faces the temple and was a few minutes walk from the temple. (The walking route from the Mount of Olives to the temple mount currently suggested by Google maps takes about 17 minutes.) The disciples had a few minutes to ponder on what Jesus had said about the temple and were attempting to grasp the sequence of the prophetic events recorded in the Scriptures. What Christ had predicted about the destruction of the temple, which was fulfilled in AD 70, was not within the same time frame as the events He later conveyed on the Mount of Olives.

So, the disciples asked Jesus two questions:
1. When will these things happen?
2. What will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?

The two questions that the disciples asked Jesus will be considered in the next two posts of this blog.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

Jesus Predicts the Destruction of the Temple

2009-07-20T07:03:00.000-07:00

A Study of Matthew Chapter 24, Part 1 -- Matthew 24:1-2
(Stay tuned for more posts until study of Matthew 24 is completed.)

The illustration above is a drawing of a famous relief of the triumphal procession with objects seized from the temple when Titus destroyed Jerusalem and the temple in AD 70. Forty years prior, Jesus told his disciples how the temple would be destroyed:

Jesus came out from the temple and was going away when His disciples came up to point out the temple buildings to Him. (Matthew 24:1)

Have you ever seen the movie, "Ma and Pa Kettle Go to Town?" We might call this narrative: "The Disciples of Jesus Go to Jerusalem." It wasn't often that they would get to go to Jerusalem, and the disciples were taking a little time for some sight seeing. Herod the Great had recently rebuilt the temple and had expanded the precincts surrounding it. Secondary construction was still in progress--but the buildings of the temple were very impressive--in fact, magnificent!

The words "was going away" in Matthew 24:1 are a translation of a verb in the imperfect tense. The imperfect tense indicates a continuous action in past time. Jesus was going away from the temple and would not make another appearance there in His public ministry.

And He answered them and said to them, "Do you not see all these things? Truly I say to you, not one stone here shall be left upon another, which will not be torn down." (Matthew 24:2)

Talk about raining on someone's parade! The disciples were excited about the beauty of the Temple, and the Lord's response was that it would be utterly destroyed. This statement of Jesus was fulfilled in detail in A.D. 70. The Roman army surrounded Jerusalem and after burning the temple, the soldiers ripped it apart stone by stone to retrieve the gold that had melted in the cracks and joints. This was an outward display, carried out under the sovereignty of God, of what had happened inwardly--spiritually--in the temple. The Jewish religious leaders had destroyed the purpose of the temple--so God, through a pagan army, destroyed the structure of the temple.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.http://www.lockman.org/

The Prospect of a Spiritual Revival

2009-04-27T10:23:00.000-07:00

I'm not a political activist, but I was motivated to go to the local Tax Day Tea Party here in Prescott, Arizona on April 15. I went with my son Nate (the cool dude in the sunglasses, upper left photo), and we were both glad we attended, if for no other reason than it was a blessing to be in the presence of so many people who love the USA and the principles upon which our nation was founded. A Prescott-based newspaper, The Daily Courier, estimated a crowd of about 2,000--not bad for a town the size of Prescott. With the media bias the way it is in our nation, it's easy to lose touch with the fact that there are still many people who love freedom, the free enterprise system, and the work ethic--and who appreciate the founding documents of our republic.

Another thing that encouraged us was the crowd's open expression of love for God. This has been evident in the tea parties across the nation. All of this has caused me to do a lot of thinking lately, along these lines: In a nation in which it has become so common to perversely "call evil good, and good evil" (Isaiah 5:20), is there any chance remaining for a true spiritual revival to deliver our nation from her course of self-destruction?

I am reminded of a breath of fresh air that came to the southern kingdom of Judah in the years just prior to her captivity by the invading Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. Judah had been under the reign of Hezekiah's son, Manasseh, for 55 years. Although he later acknowledged his sins and humbled himself before God (after some intense divine discipline!), Manasseh's reign had been characterized by unprecedented evil. He had promoted idolatry, the worship of the stars and planets, witchcraft, divination, sorcery and spiritism--and he had even sacrificed his own sons to Molech by burning them (2 Chronicles 33:6). So evil and bloodthirsty was Manasseh's reign that God pronounced a final cycle of judgment on Judah (Jeremiah 15:4) that would later be fulfilled by the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar.

After Manasseh died, his son Amon became king and ruled only two years. Amon followed in the evil of his father and was killed in his own house by his servants. The people then killed the conspirators and made Amon's eight year old son Josiah king. Josiah reigned for 31 years and was one of the best kings on the throne after Solomon. In the eighth year of his reign (at 16 years old), Josiah began to seek God, and four years later he began to purge Judah and Jerusalem of idolatry.

During his eighteenth year of Josiah's reign, Hilkiah the high priest, while in the temple, found the book of the Law which had been given to Moses. This was quite a discovery, because apparently the temple had become nothing more than a warehouse for odds and ends, and the Word of God had been heavily suppressed in Manasseh's reign. (Tradition holds that the prophet Isaiah was killed by being sawed in half under Manasseh's orders.) What Hilkiah found would have been a scroll with columns. Perhaps this scroll was the entire Pentateuch, but at the very least, it contained portions which delineated the five cycles of divine discipline which would be enacted against God's covenant nation should the people reject His Word. These cycles of discipline are outlined in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy. (Click here to read about The Five Cycles of Divine Discipline.)

The book of the law was given to Shaphan the scribe, who read it to Josiah--and when Josiah heard the discipline which would be administered to the covenant nation for the rejection of God's Word, Josiah became very distressed and tore his clothes (2 Kings 22:11, 19), because he perceived what would happen to Judah. This resulted in a great spiritual reformation led by Josiah: a formal renewal of the covenant and the recovery of doctrine. The upshot was that, although the judgment promised because of Manasseh's evil would be fulfilled after Josiah's death, this judgment was deferred, and Josiah led Judah into the greatest spiritual revival since the times of David and Solomon. There was vitality and prosperity in Judah again! Sadly, Josiah's reign was followed by more evil kings, and Jeremiah's pronouncement of judgment on Judah was fulfilled in 605 through 586 B.C.

As I have stated recently, when I look at the present state of the USA in the context of the global situation, I find it hard to believe that our nation has the spiritual and moral stamina to be able to survive much longer--and, of course I hope I am wrong! But even if the downward plunge cannot be reversed, a true spiritual revival could at least defer the inevitable. A grass-roots conservative or libertarian political revival would not suffice: The Bible clearly shows us the requirement is a genuine spiritual revival; a recovery of Bible doctrine in the land. Hey, if it could happen after Manasseh's reign in Judah, it could happen to us in America. I must say, I'm truly encouraged by the prospect of such a revival. It could bring families closer together--which the pressure of the economic recession is already doing to some degree. Also, think of the opportunities for evangelism! These are exciting times, to be sure.

Staggering Like a Drunken Man

2009-03-05T11:16:00.000-08:00

Have you been shocked by the bizarre and irrational behavior of our members of Congress as they hurriedly passed a so-called "stimulus" bill that they didn't have time to read even if they had wanted to? Their behavior is actually explained in the Bible:

"He makes the nations great, then destroys them; He enlarges the nations, then leads them away.
"He deprives of intelligence the chiefs of the earth's people and makes them wander in a pathless waste.
"They grope in darkness with no light, and He makes them stagger like a drunken man." (Job 12:23-25)

Deprived of intelligence; staggering like a drunken man: that sounds like Congress, doesn't it? The truth is, God is disciplining our nation through our leaders in all three branches of government in Washington. These officials are staggering around as a drunken man, groping in darkness, absolutely clueless. But it is not (in the case of most of them) that they have a low intelligence quotient. God has made them stupid, as it were, because they have, through their free volition, allowed themselves to be deceived by evil philosophies such as socialism and the notion of entitlement.

Now remember, our President and our Senators and Representatives in Congress were elected (and in many cases have continued to be reelected) by the people. The popular song going around the Internet, Born Again American, by Keith Carradine, contains the line, "The people’s will must have the upper hand." That's just the problem--the people's will has had the upper hand. The evil policies being implemented by our people in government express the evil influences which have taken hold of our naive and deceived electorate.

The people wanted change: Now we have change. When the populace of a nation is negative toward the principles related to freedom, free enterprise, marriage, family and the protection of national sovereignty, and when the believers in Jesus Christ within a nation are negative toward the doctrines contained in the Bible, God will see to it that the leaders of such a nation fail. We will no doubt be witnessing much more irrational and bizarre behavior in our leaders in the months ahead as our nation continues to self-destruct.

The good news for believers in Christ is that all of this been repeated in human history many times over, and in the midst of national crises, God is always faithful to provide for and care for those who embrace His Word. The difficulties and challenges will be great, and there will no doubt be suffering--but God will see us through as he did the people in the Bible who responded to God's Word in times of national disaster.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/

"Give Me Liberty Or Give Me Death!"

2009-02-20T19:26:00.000-08:00

In my last post, I wrote about the marriage of the Church and the State under the Emperor Constantine in the early fourth century. As a result, the Church became polluted with paganism and a worldly, rather than eternal, focus. The division between church and state had been removed, and to the shame of both the Church and the State, there has been little separation between church and state in western civilization since Constantine. Throughout most of church history, the Church has controlled the State or the State has controlled the Church. In the Middle Ages, monarchs were often puppets of the Pope, and in 1527, under Henry VIII, the Church-State was simply exchanged for a State-Church.

Now, let's move up to the colonies in America. In all of the education that we have received about the American War for Independence--even us older folks who were not taught the "revised" history the kids are receiving today--few of us have been taught the huge role that the struggle for religious freedom played in the overall struggle for independence in the colonies.

Just like in England, where the Church was controlled by the State, preachers in the colonies had to be licensed by the government. If you refused to take the king's license you were subject criminal prosecution. And as in England, jurors might typically bring back a verdict of not guilty, so preachers were often tried unlawfully.

The Citizens Rule Book is quite an interesting piece of literature. Although the book was originally published anonymously, we now know this book was written and published by Charles R. Olson, a World War II Marine veteran and printer from Boston. The book is available to read online (click here to read). The Citizens Rule Book contains an account of an important event in the life of Patrick Henry, one of our founding fathers:

Young Christian lawyer Patrick Henry saw why a JURY of PEERS is so vital to FREEDOM! It was March 1775 when he rode into a small town of Culpepper, Virginia. He was totally shocked by what he saw! There, in the middle of the town square was a minister tied to a whipping post, his back laid bare and bloody with the bones of his ribs showing. He had been scourged mercilessly like JESUS, with whips laced with metal. Patrick Henry is quoted as saying: "When they stopped beating him, I could see the bones of his rib cage. I turned to someone and asked what the man had done to deserve such a beating as this."

The reply given him was that the man being scourged was a minister who refused to take a license. He was one of twelve who were locked in jail because they refused to take a license. A license often becomes an arbitrary control by government that makes a crime out of what ordinarily would not be a crime. IT TURNS A RIGHT INTO A PRIVILEGE! Three days later they scourged him to death.

This was the incident which sparked Christian lawyer Patrick Henry to write the famous words which later became the rallying cry of the Revolution. "What is it that Gentlemen wish? What would they have? Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery? Forbid it, Almighty God! I know no what course others may take, but as for me, GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH!" Later he made this part of his famous speech at Saint John's Episcopal Church in Virginia.[1]

In his book, In Caesar's Grip, Peter Kershaw writes about Patrick Henry:

As a Common-Lawyer, Henry used his legal prowess to successfully argue the case of numerous "nonconformist" ministers. "Preaching without a license" was held to be a crime, but eager to avoid the stigma of being branded as "religious persecutors," magistrates usually charged unlicensed preachers with some other crime, such as "vagrancy" or "disturbing the peace." Henry won the release of many a preacher from prison, and even posted bail or paid their fines, sometimes anonymously.[2]

Kershaw goes on to quote from A Son of Thunder by Henry Mayer:

Henry, it was said, rode fifty miles out of his way to volunteer his services to the Baptists jailed in Spotsylvania. He walked into the courtroom on the day of the trial and, hearing the charge of disturbing the peace read aloud, asked to see the indictment.

"Did I hear it distinctly, or was it a mistake of my own?" he is supposed to have said. "Did I hear an expression, as of a crime, that those men, whom your worships are about to try for misdemeanor, are charged with,--with what,--preaching the Gospel of the Son of God?"

The lawyer paused, exploiting the silence as only he could. He held the paper high in the air and slowly waved it three times around his head. Then, with face and arms raised toward heaven, Henry simply said, "Great God!" and again, "Great God!" and once more, "Preaching the Gospel of the Son of God--Great God!" The prosecution, the story concludes, could make no rejoinder, and the case had to be dropped. The dissenters celebrated Henry as their Robin Hood."[3]

There was an important undercurrent of thought from religious leaders throughout the colonies that played a large role in the development of our founding documents. I have written previously about Roger Williams (click here to read). Williams came from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631, and he was banished from from the colony in 1636 because he criticized religious intolerance. There certainly was a lot of religious intolerance in Massachusetts Bay. Remember, it was in this colony, in Salem, that the notorious witch trials of 1692 were held.

Roger Williams insisted that the magistrates of Massachusetts had no authority over an individual's religion and he opposed a church-state. Williams' primary concern was not for the State, it was for the Church. He was convinced that the State could not touch anything regarding the Church without corrupting it. There was century upon century of history to prove this!

Among those who framed our founding documents, there were some who were primarily concerned with protecting the State from the Church, and some more concerned with protecting the Church from the State. The upshot of the whole thing was the First Amendment to the United States Constitution:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peacefully to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.

Although Dominion Theologians will try to convince you that the First Amendment does not separate the church and state, the powers of each are clearly recognized as being separate. Thank God for First Amendment!

Footnotes:
1. The Citizens Rule Book.
2. Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip, (Branson: Heal Our Land Ministries, 2000), p. 33.
3. Ibid.

"Hi, I'm From the Government and I'm Here to Help You!"

2009-02-05T07:43:00.000-08:00

In the earliest centuries, the Church, despite its many problems, did not seek to be licensed by Rome, even though religious organizations were required by law to incorporate and apply for the State's approval. The early Christians recognized that worship is not to be authorized, controlled or regulated by civil government. In the first three centuries of Christianity, many believers in Christ were persecuted. By A.D. 302, Emperor Diocletian instituted the "pinch of incense" offering. Those who would not bend the knee and offer a pinch of incense to Caesar were persecuted.

However, in A.D. 313, there was a sudden and radical change in the way that Rome did business. Emperor Constantine issued what historians have come to call "the Edict of Milan." Religious persecutions were abolished. Liberty of worship was declared for all, and Constantine himself professed faith in Christ and invited his subjects to join him.

You see, in the previous year (according to the historian Eusebius), on the afternoon of October 26, A.D. 312, Constantine claimed to have had a vision in which he saw a flaming cross in the sky accompanied by the Greek words en toutoi nika, meaning: "In this sign, conquer!" Rome was in a civil war with six different men claiming the title of Emperor. Constantine achieved victory over all of them, and in 313, he issued the Edict of Milan, which ended three centuries of the barbaric persecution of Christians.

It looked like the human race had finally recognized and endorsed the principle of freedom to obey God without interference. But, not so fast... Constantine was the quintessential politician. He seized any and every opportunity to gain the political support of both Christians and pagans throughout the Empire. Pagans were encouraged to profess faith in Christ--but concessions were made to make Christianity more appealing to the heathens. Sunday, the first day of the week (named for the sun god) had been the weekly holiday of the pagans. So, Sunday was declared to be a legal holiday ("holy day"). Work on Sunday was outlawed, with the exception of farming when necessary. The pagans throughout the Empire were happy campers!

But there were goodies for the Christians, too. By proclaiming Sunday the "Christian Sabbath," Constantine showed his favor for Christianity. More and more legislation provided privileges for Christians. The Church was provided with financial support from the State: huge financial support. The state financed lavish church buildings (which happened to resemble pagan temples). There were tax exemptions, political appointments, exemptions from military proscription and other benefits to those who converted to Christianity. According to Albert H. Newman, in A Manual of Church History, Constantine promised 20 pieces of gold to every person who converted to Christianity, plus a nice, white baptismal robe.[1] Needless to say, there were suddenly many "converts" in the Empire! By A.D. 346 the pagan temples were ordered to close, unless the pagan priests who ran them converted to Christianity. Of course many of them professed a new-found faith in Christ. The upshot of whole thing was that these priests, who "converted" because of the pressure and the money, introduced the Church to all of their idolatry and superstitions. Paganism had the last laugh: The Christian church had become thoroughly paganized! This never would have happened had the Church and State remained separate.

To make matters worse, the ancient Roman practice of persecuting those whose religions were not permitted was suddenly applied in a different way: In A.D. 380 Emperor Theodosius I issued an edict that established Christianity as the exclusive religion of the Empire. Those who deviated from the form of worship approved by the State were designated as "heretics" and punished accordingly. Perhaps this is why Peter Kershaw, in his book, In Caesar's Grip, said:

Constantine is the original and best example of the statement, "Hi, I'm from the government and I'm here to help you!"[2]

The merging of church and state under Constantine resulted in some profound changes in theology within the Church, especially in the area of eschatology. The way the 1000 year reign of Christ (mentioned six times in Revelation 20) was perceived changed drastically--a change which has continued into the Church of the present day. I'll be writing more about that in future posts to this blog.

The nation of Israel was originally established by God as a theocracy. However during the "times of the Gentiles" (Luke 21:34), the period from the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar until the Second Advent of Jesus Christ, the Bible recognizes the Church and the State as two separate entities. Jesus implied this in his reply to some of the Jews who were attempting to trap Him:

Then the Pharisees went and counseled together how they might trap Him in what He said.
And they sent their disciples to Him, along with the Herodians, saying, "Teacher, we know that You are truthful and teach the way of God in truth, and defer to no one; for You are not partial to any.
Tell us therefore, what do you think? Is it lawful to give a poll-tax to Caesar, or not?"
But Jesus perceived their malice, and said, "Why are you testing Me, you hypocrites?
"Show Me the coin used for the poll-tax." And they brought Him a denarius.
And He said to them, "Whose likeness and inscription is this?"
They said to Him, "Caesar's." Then He said to them, "Then render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's; and to God the things that are God's."
And hearing this, they marveled, and leaving Him, they went away. (Matthew 22:15-22)

The coin was especially offensive to the Jews, and rightly so, because it was engraved with the head of Emperor Tiberius and the inscription, divus et pontifex maximus: "God and Highest Priest."[3] Jesus was acknowledging that the tax was due Caesar, because Caesar and his government were in place under the sovereignty of God, fulfilling the laws of divine establishment (Daniel 2:21; Romans 13:1-7). But what was not due Caesar was the recognition of Caesar as God and highest priest! In other words, render taxes to Caesar and render worship to God. Caesar, by extension, represents human government during the "times of the Gentiles," which includes the time in which Christ spoke, as well as the present dispensation. The Church and the State are recognized as separate entities, with separate powers.

The marriage of church and state, which contradicts what God intended, has been the status quo for most of church history. The clear separation of church and state expressed by our nation's founders and the principle of religious freedom we enjoy are really quite unique to our heritage. The birth of our nation was a shocking departure from the fourteen hundred years of world history that preceded it. Few of us in the U.S.A. are really aware that the religious freedom we are blessed with, after century upon century of tyranny in western civilization, was recognized and protected in our founding documents. Few of us are aware of it, because few of us have been taught it.

Footnotes:
1. Albert H. Newman, A Manual of Church History, quoted by Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip (Branson: Heal Our Land Ministries, 2000), p. 51.
2. Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip, p. 50.
3. Robert H. Mounce, New International Biblical Commentary, Matthew (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1991), p. 208.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/

The Great Con Job

2009-02-03T16:47:00.000-08:00

In my last post, Worship Freely--With Permission, Of Course (click here to read), I suggested that the early Christians in the Roman Empire were persecuted not only because they were believers in Christ, but because they refused to apply to the state for permission to gather together and worship. While the Romans were very tolerant of diverse religious cults, one thing they would not allow was meetings of any kind that were not authorized by the State. The Christians during New Testament times recognized that to seek approval from the State to worship Christ would have been a public acknowledgement of Caesar's dominion over Christ! Did you ever wonder why the earliest Christians met in homes? A building for meetings could not be purchased, or even rented, by a group that was not incorporated and authorized by Rome.

The founding of our nation, the United States of America, was something quite unique and truly wonderful. Our founding fathers recognized that the powers of civil government are completely separate from the powers of the church. Most Christians in present-day America have not been taught how awful it has been, historically, when the church and state have been united or have been partners--and unfortunately, church and state have been affiliated with each other in western civilization for most of the centuries since Constantine joined the church to the state in the fourth century.

Although we are blessed to live in a nation whose constitution has clearly recognized the separation of church and state, most churches in the United States have eagerly accepted government control over their assemblies by incorporating and applying to the IRS for status as 501(c)3 organizations. In his excellent book, In Caesar's Grip, Peter Kershaw exposes this phenomenon, calling it "the most cunning and diabolical con job ever perpetrated on the churches of America."[1] Kershaw estimates that 90% of churches in America have incorporated, and he points out that, "By the incorporation of churches, government has become the great franchiser of religion."[2] Kershaw notes that a corporation:

Is a creature of the State.
Seeks the permission of the State for its existence.
Cannot exist without the expressed sanction of the State.
Is subordinate and under the control of the State.
Is answerable and accountable to the State.
Is a special privilege of the State.
Is a franchise of the State.[3]

Why do churches incorporate? Incorporation is necessary in order for a church to be able to apply to the IRS to be approved as a 501(c)3 organization per the IRS tax code. Church administrators think that approval as a 501(c)s will give them tax-exempt status so that contributions to the church will be tax deductible. What those conducting church business usually do not know is that, according to the IRS's own publication, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations (click here to read), churches that meet the requirements of IRC section 501(c)3, which most churches do (included are such things as not intervening in political campaigns), "are automatically considered tax-exempt and are not required to apply for and obtain recognition of tax-exempt status from the IRS."[4]

Why, then, would a church apply to a tax-exempt status that it already has? Ignorance of the law is probably the main reason. Also, church administrators think that obtaining the status of 501(c)3 somehow legitimizes them, so that they are viewed as being "official."

Given the nature of the new White house administration and Congress in Washington, I would venture to say that within a few years there may be some interesting requirements for 501(c)3 organizations. As a pastor, I'm glad I saw the handwriting on the wall before our church completed the incorporation process.

Footnotes:
1. Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip (Branson: Heal Our Land Ministries, 2000), p. V.
2. Ibid., p. 70.
3.Ibid., p. 87.
4. IRS publication 1828, Tax Guide for Churches and Religious Organizations, publication # 1828, p.3.

Worship Freely--With Permission, Of Course!

2009-02-01T15:19:00.000-08:00

In the ancient world, the Romans were very unusual in the way they conquered and subjugated nations. Each great world empire that preceded the Romans would typically impose its own language, religion, and entire political system on a nation it conquered. Rome was different. When the Romans conquered a nation, they were careful to preserve its culture: its traditions, language, trades, businesses and religions. They even left the conquered nation's political system in tact, to a degree. An example of this is the relationship Rome maintained with Judea.

Perhaps the Romans were the first "multiculturalists," because they felt that diversity of culture helped to strengthen the Empire, not weaken it. Yet the Romans were not naive! They recognized that allowing such diversity created the potential for unrest and rebellion--so, their solution was Roman law. If there is one word that best characterizes the Romans, it is law. The Romans ruled the lands they occupied with zero-tolerance for any who would break the law.

While the Romans tolerated all kinds of religions, one thing they would not tolerate is an unlicensed, unauthorized operation of anything--including a religion. Private meetings of any kind had to be authorized by the state. (The Romans recognized that plots to overthrow Roman rule and plans for rebellions and assassinations could come from private meetings.) All private associations, including religious organizations, were required to receive licet from Caesar. Licet is Latin for, "It is permitted." The present participle of licet is the word from which we get our English word, "license."

Here was the catch: Licet could only be received when Caesar was acknowledged as sovereign. The sovereignty of the emperors, beginning with Augustus Caesar, was profound. According to John Weaver:

Augustus Caesar proclaimed himself to be the sovereign God in 17 B.C. A strange star shone in the heavens, and he inaugurated a twelve day advent celebration and declared himself savior. Because of his successes militarily and economically, he was worshipped as the divine savior king, born in the historical hour ordained by the stars. Hence, he inaugurated the cosmic hour of salvation. It was proclaimed throughout the Roman Empire. "Salvation is to be found in none other name given to men in which they can be saved."[1]

I must tell you that in my opinion, the media's portrayal of our recent Presidential inauguration bore some striking resemblance to the above. In any case, God's answer to the proclamation of Augustus came through the Apostle Peter, who spoke of the name of Jesus Christ:

And there is salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men, by which we must be saved." (Acts 4:12)

The sovereignty of Caesar was not merely legal sovereignty: Caesar was the supreme deity! In fact, in later years (A.D. 302), Emperor Diocletian imposed an offering whereby Christians who refused to bend the knee to Caesar and offer a pinch of incense were persecuted.

During the times in which the New Testament was written, incorporation was mandatory for religious cults. The Romans had inherited the practice of incorporation from the Greeks, and our modern corporations are the legal descendant of the Roman corporation. In the Roman Empire, incorporation was a public acknowledgement of the Roman government's prerogative to authorize or prohibit the association of persons who incorporated. Once the charter was granted, that charter publicly declared the corporation's subservience to the authority of the State. Had the local assemblies of the early church incorporated and been approved by the State, they would probably not have been persecuted by Rome. Believers in Christ suffered martyrdom rather than ask for authorization from Caesar. Why? They recognized that to seek approval from the State to worship Christ would have been a public acknowledgement of Caesar's dominion over Christ!

Was the refusal of these believers to apply for government approval civil disobedience? Not by dictionary definition of the term. Here are definitions of "civil disobedience" from two dictionaries:

...the refusal to obey certain governmental laws or demands in order to influence legislation or policy, characterized by nonviolent methods as nonpayment of taxes and boycotting.[2]

...the refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest.[3]

I have always taught, and I continue to teach, that Christian activism and civil disobedience are wrong. Christian activism seeks to force spiritual issues upon unbelievers. Civil disobedience is wrong because we are clearly instructed to obey civil authority (Romans 13:1-7). However, the refusal of the early Christians to obey the requirement to apply for licet was not political protest and it was not disobedience to influence legislation or policy. These believers were put into a position where to obey the civil authorities would be to disobey God--and in that position, the only honorable thing to do is to obey God. Two apostles of Jesus Christ put it like this when the Sanhedrin had commanded them to stop preaching Christ:

But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge; for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:19-20)

The equivalent of seeking to receive licet in the Roman Empire is the modern church in America incorporating and applying to the IRS for status as a 501(c)3 organization. It is estimated that about 90% of the churches in the United States have bought into this.[4] The irony is that when a church applies for 501(c)3 status, it is usually applying to receive benefits that churches already have, according to the current IRS code. I will expound on this in my next post.

Footnotes:
1. John Weaver, The Sovereignty of God and Civil Government, quoted by Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip (Branson: Heal Our Land Ministries, 2000), p. 30.
2. Random House Webster's College Dictionary (New York: Random House, 1997), p. 240.
3. The Oxford American College Dictionary (New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2002), p. 254.
4. Peter Kershaw, In Caesar's Grip (Branson: Heal Our Land Ministries, 2000), p. 70.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/

Faring Well Under the Final Cycle

2008-11-12T12:14:00.000-08:00

In my most recent post, I outlined the five cycles of divine discipline to a client nation unto God. An understanding of the concept of client nations and the concept of the five cycles of discipline is necessary in order to make sense of this present post. (Click here to read about client nations and the five cycles of divine discipline.)

I’ve been teaching for almost 20 years that our client nation is under the cycles of discipline per Leviticus 26:14-39. On the morning of November 5, after the people of our nation elected Barack Obama as the next President of the United States of America, I concluded that I must now teach with the assumption that we are under the final cycle: that is to say, I will no longer teach that the final cycle is coming but rather, the final cycle is here. I may be wrong about this—and I hope and pray I am wrong—but for the sake of practical application, the perspective from which I communicate Bible doctrine will assume the final cycle is already here—unless I find reason to assume otherwise.

I did not determine we are under the final cycle because Obama was elected. (By the way, when he takes his oath of office, he will be my President, and I will pray with thanksgiving for him, per 1 Timothy 2:1-2. I will also pray that the Lord will guide our new President with wisdom as he begins the difficult task of fulfilling his office in these very troubling times.) No, it was not because Obama was elected. The change that is bringing our nation to its knees took place long before Election Day. In fact, the nomination of both candidates vividly reflects the change that has long been taking place in the thinking of our society. This change did not begin with this election, or even with the socialistic bailout eagerly rammed through by Congress and hastily signed by President Bush. My favorite historian, Clarence B. Carson, aptly entitled his final volume of the history of the United States, covering the period of 1929 through the time he completed the work in 1985, “The Welfare State.” Carson maintained that a major thrust toward the welfare state came very suddenly in 1933, in the midst of economic crisis, when Congress, urged by the President, “…asserted the authority of the federal government over the American economy in an unprecedented fashion.”[1] What was planted in 1933 has grown to fruition in 2008.

I’ve recently been teaching the congregation here at Finished Work Fellowship the principles of free enterprise indicated clearly in the Bible, and how socialism is an out-and-out defiance of biblical truth. But the present condition of the USA is not only a result of our nation becoming socialistic, but is also about our negative attitude toward the military establishment, our decline in morality, and many other factors: above all the negativity of Christians toward Bible doctrine. As Colonel Bob Thieme, Jr., used to say: “As goes the believer, so goes the nation.”

Well—what now? What do we have to look forward to as believers in Christ? Let’s consider some instructions God gave His people in the southern kingdom of Judah as to how they should operate as their nation was destroyed. When the fifth cycle hit Jerusalem, it was horrible, as the fifth cycle always is. There was murder, rape, plunder, and starvation, the likes of which even caused cannibalism (Jeremiah 19:9; Lamentations 2:20). Many of the people were rounded up and transported to Babylon. Before the destruction came, God provided instructions for those who would be exiled to Babylon:

This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon:
"Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce.
Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease.
Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper."
Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: "Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have.
They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them," declares the Lord.
This is what the Lord says: "When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.
For I know the plans I have for you," declares the Lord, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future" (Jeremiah 29:4-11)

God was saying in effect: “Move on with your lives!” In spite of the very difficult and challenging circumstances that awaited God’s people, He still had a wonderful plan for them and would provide for them even when their enemies held them captive. When the number of spiritually mature believers (and those advancing toward spiritual maturity) is no longer large enough to sustain a client nation through the principle of blessing by association (Genesis 18:23; 39:5), the Lord’s attention turns toward providing for those believers as the nation falls. Of course, those believers who are killed in the destruction go home to be with the Lord in God’s perfect timing (Hebrews 9:27). Those who survive will face the unique challenges of enslavement to a foreign power or a tyrannical regime of some sort. However, human enslavement, whether to a single master or an oppressive government, does not prevent the believer in Christ from experiencing extreme blessing from God, nor does it hinder a believer from fulfilling the wonderful spiritual life bequeathed from God. Perhaps there is no better illustration of this than in Paul’s first epistle to the believers in Corinth:

Were you called while a slave? Do not worry about it; but if you are also able to become free, rather do that. (1 Corinthians 7:21)

In the time and place in which Paul wrote, slavery was sanctioned and regulated by Roman law. In fact, slaves accounted for a very large portion of the population. When Paul suggested that bondservants should become free if they are able to do so, he did not mean to run away or to rise up against their masters and demand their freedom. That would not have been consistent with passages such as Ephesians 6:5-8; Colossians 3:22-24; 1 Timothy 6:1-2 and Titus 2:9. Futhermore, in Paul’s letter to Philemon he certainly did not defend Onesimus for running away from his master. Paul’s suggestion for slaves to become free, if possible, was an encouragement to take advantage of any opportunity to be free that was legal. There were a number of legal means of manumission. Some slaves were able to save up their wages and purchase their freedom. Sometimes a master would specify in his will that his slaves would be free upon his death. Sometimes a master would free his slaves during his own lifetime, and there was even a special ceremony involved. Also, if a slave was taken into slavery by illegal means (such as kidnapping), a legal plea, Causa Liberalis, could be brought be brought before a magistrate so that freedom might be restored. But notice what Paul said to those who might remain bondservants for the rest of their lives: “Don’t worry about it!” Why? Because from the point of spiritual regeneration until going home to be with the Lord, the issue for the Christian is not whether he or she is under human slavery—but, the issue is the fulfillment the spiritual life—and clearly, being subject to a limitation of human freedom is not an obstacle to the fulfillment of the spiritual life. In fact, the testing involved in human slavery may even be a catalyst for the fulfillment of the spiritual life—that is, it may accelerate spiritual growth. By extension, we can infer that being enslaved by a corrupt, oppressive, massive and out-of-control government, or being enslaved by a conquering nation, is not an obstacle for the execution of the spiritual life, and likewise may be a catalyst.

For he who was called in the Lord while a slave, is the Lord’s freedman; likewise he who was called while free, is Christ’s slave. (1 Corinthians 7:22)

The word “freedman” is a translation of the Greek word apeleutheros, one freed away; that is one who was a slave, but has been made free. Before receiving eternal life in Jesus Christ, you were in spiritual death and in bondage to the kingdom of darkness as well as your own sin nature—but Jesus Christ freed you the instant you believed in Him! Regardless of what your condition may be with regard to human slavery, or how limited your freedom might be because of oppressive government, you are able to walk about in the spiritual life at liberty, unhindered by anything. You are able to serve whatever human masters you are under according the principles in the Word of God that apply to your situation, and the good news is that there is no opposing force that the spiritual life cannot withstand. Although a nation can destroy its own free enterprise, as our nation has done, the free enterprise of the spiritual life goes on!

Finally, notice in verse 22 that, paradoxically, even if you might be extremely free under human conditions, you are designated as a slave—a bondservant—of Jesus Christ. As Paul goes on to say in verse 23, and as he had pointed out in 6:20, you are not your own—you were bought with a price. So, we are not only free to fulfill the spiritual life—we are obligated to fulfill it! Yet, one benefit of being a slave of Jesus Christ is that a master is responsible to take care of his bondservants and provide for them—and while many masters in the Roman Empire did not treat their slaves well, our Master is characterized by perfect integrity—and His care and provision are perfect. Furthermore, thank God that being Christ’s “slave” is only one of designations that apply to the Christain. We are also God’s children (John 1:12); and if we obey the commandments of the Lord Jesus Christ, we are His friends (John 14:15).

As the human institutions come crashing down around us, there is no reason for “gloom and doom.” It is actually a very exciting time to be alive!

Footnotes:
[1] Clarence B. Carson, A Basic History of the United States (Wadley: American Textbook Committee, 1986) Vol. V, p.1.
Scripture quotations from Jeremiah 29:4-11 taken from the NIV.
Scripture quotations from 1 Corinthians 7:21-22 taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/

The Five Cycles of Divine Discipline

2008-11-08T13:02:00.000-08:00

A client nation is a nation which is assigned to represent God on the earth through custodianship of the Gospel and Bible doctrine. Such a nation is sustained by a nucleus of mature believers on whose account the nation is preserved through the principle of blessing by association (Genesis 39:5). Israel is the unique client nation in all of human history, because she is the only nation to which God has given covenants, and also because she was the first and will be the last client nation unto God.

In Leviticus chapter 26:1-13, God promised that the people of the unique client nation would experience great blessings if they were obedient to His Word. In Leviticus 26:14-39, divine discipline is promised to the nation if the people are disobedient. The divine discipline of a client nation is parallel to the divine discipline of an individual child of God (Hebrews 12:5-11; 1 Corinthians 11:30). God disciplines each believer in Christ for disobedience as parents should discipline their children for disobedience. However, unlike human parents, who sometimes make mistakes as to when and how they discipline their children, God’s discipline is always perfect.

The discipline God specified for His covenant people in Leviticus 26:14-36 for failure to comply with divine truth involved five distinct cycles. The discipline would intensify with each cycle with the intent that the people of the nation might change their minds and return to fellowship with God.

While the specific features of these cycles were specified to one nation only (the nation of Israel), application in principle may be observed in all declining client nations throughout history. The fourth and fifth cycles are covered in detail throughout the Scriptures and are apparent in the decline of nations in both secular and biblical history. Is the Lord's discipline always administered in five distinct cycles? Not necessarily--but no client nation has ever survived a continuous rejection of God’s authority and no nation ever will.

When a client nation is under the cycles of divine discipline, adjustment is called for in two categories: the attitude of the general population toward the divine principles of establishment regarding things as freedom, morality, rule of law, the understanding of freedom through a strong military, the punishment of criminals (including capital punishment for murder (Genesis 9:6); and two, the attitude of believers in Christ in the nation toward Bible doctrine. Let’s take a look at the first cycle of discipline specified for client nation Israel:

“But if you do not obey Me and do not carry out all these commandments,
if, instead, you reject My statutes, and if your soul abhors My ordinances so as not to carry out all My commandments, and so break My covenant,
I in turn, will do this to you: I will appoint over you a sudden terror, consumption and fever that will waste away the eyes and cause the soul to pine away; also, you will sow your seed uselessly, for your enemies will eat it up.
“I will set My face against you so that you will be struck down before your enemies; and those who hate you will rule over you, and you will flee when no one is pursuing you.” (Leviticus 26:14-17)

The covenant that Israel was expected to obey included all of the legislation from the Law of Moses and the teaching of doctrine that came from the Lord during that dispensation. Believers today are not under the Mosaic Law, but are responsible for learning the whole realm of Bible doctrine and fulfilling the unique spiritual life of the present dispensation. Notice in the first cycle the deterioration of mental stability and the loss of inner peace and confidence.

As to the useless sowing of seed, we must recognize that the Bible must be understood in the time during which it was written. In our present era of industry and technology, this Bible passage may apply to all businesses and corporations even though they may not be agricultural in nature. The seed could be viewed as the capital invested in the business. Here is the second cycle:

“If also after these things you do not obey Me, then I will punish you seven times more for your sins. “I will also break down your pride of power; I will also make your sky like iron and your earth like bronze.
“Your strength will be spent uselessly, for your land will not yield its produce and the trees of the land will not yield their fruit.” (Leviticus 26:18-20)

The purpose of the first cycle was to warn the rebellious nation to make the appropriate adjustments. In verse 19, the problem is arrogance. The number “seven” in verse 18 speaks of the completeness of God’s program of discipline. He knows the perfect degree of intensity for each cycle and applies it. In verse 20, regardless of how great the ingenious any human solution may be, it will all be in vain, because of the perfection of divine chastisement!

The nation has been given the opportunity to respond between cycles, and upon failure to do so, more intense discipline is applied. Loss of national power and loss of production occur even though a great amount of human strength is expended.

“If then, you act with hostility against Me and are unwilling to obey Me, I will increase the plague on you seven times according to your sins. “I will let loose among you the beasts of the field, which will bereave you of your children and destroy your cattle and reduce your number so that your roads lie deserted.” (Leviticus 26:21-22)

The second cycle was followed by another gracious opportunity to respond, but failure to comply is followed by another cycle. The third cycle is marked by a general inability to control the earth and the beginnings of great desolation. Here is the fourth cycle:

“And if by these things you are not turned to Me, but act with hostility against Me,
then I will act with hostility against you; and I, even I, will strike you seven times for your sins.
“I will also bring upon you a sword which will execute vengeance for the covenant; and when you gather together into your cities, I will send pestilence among you, so that you shall be delivered into enemy hands.
“When I break your staff of bread, ten women will bake your bread in one oven, and they will bring back your bread in rationed amounts, so that you will eat and not be satisfied.” (Leviticus 26:23-26)

Sufferings become intensified under the fourth cycle. There are increased attacks by enemies and an influence of foreign influence. The fourth cycle is also characterized by a very severe economic crisis. National sovereignty dwindles. Before the southern kingdom of Judah went down to the fifth cycle under the Chaldeans, Judah had been controlled by the Assyrians and then for a short time by Egypt. The first two invasions of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans are understood to be under the fourth cycle. In 606 B.C., right after Nebuchadnezzar defeated Egypt, he invaded Jerusalem, but did not demolish the city. Jehoiakim, king of Juda, was allowed to remain on the throne. Daniel was taken to Babylon during this siege as a hostage, along with others. In 598 B.C. there was a second invasion and captivity of Jerusalem. It was at that time that Ezekiel was taken captive to Jerusalem.

“Yet if in spite of this you do not obey Me, but act with hostility against Me,
then I will act with wrathful hostility against you, and I, even I, will punish you seven times for your sins.
“Further, you will eat the flesh of your sons and the flesh of your daughters you will eat.
“I then will destroy your high places, and cut down your incense altars, and heap your remains on the remains of your idols, for My soul shall abhor you.
“I will lay waste your cities as well and will make your sanctuaries desolate, and I will not smell your soothing aromas.
“I will make the land desolate so that your enemies who settle in it will be appalled over it.
“You, however, I will scatter among the nations and will draw out a sword after you, as your land becomes desolate and your cities become waste.
“Then the land will enjoy its sabbaths all the days of the desolation, while you are in your enemies' land; then the land will rest and enjoy its sabbaths.
“All the days of its desolation it will observe the rest which it did not observe on your sabbaths, while you were living on it.
“As for those of you who may be left, I will also bring weakness into their hearts in the lands of their enemies. And the sound of a driven leaf will chase them, and even when no one is pursuing they will flee as though from the sword, and they will fall.
“They will therefore stumble over each other as if running from the sword, although no one is pursuing; and you will have no strength to stand up before your enemies.
“But you will perish among the nations, and your enemies' land will consume you.
“So those of you who may be left will rot away because of their iniquity in the lands of your enemies; and also because of the iniquities of their forefathers they will rot away with them.” (Leviticus 26:27-39)

Even after the fourth cycle, there is opportunity to respond, which would cause the disastrous circumstances to be reversed. Through adjustment to the Word of God, it is just as easy to go back to prosperity and blessing as it is to keep heading toward destruction. But when it is too late, the nation goes down to utter military defeat. The northern kingdom of Israel went under the fifth cycle to the Assyrians in 722 B.C. Because at times in the southern kingdom of Judah there was some positive volition toward doctrine, the southern kingdom lasted about 135 longer than the northern kingdom. Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem a third time in 586 B.C. and devastated the city. The fifth cycle includes things like cannibalism (verse 29), which occurred in the southern kingdom under the fifth cycle, and also in restored Judea under the fifth cycle again in A.D. 70 when Jerusalem was under the siege of Rome. The fifth cycle also involves the assimilation of surviving nations into other nations and cultures. The fifth cycle of discipline to a nation is parallel to the sin unto physical death of an individual believer (1 John 5:16).

When a client nation comes under the final cycle of discipline, the Lord turns His attention toward the nucleus of believers that is positive toward the Word of God. The number of these believers is no longer large enough to preserve the nation, and though they will be under very difficult and challenging circumstances, God will be faithful to them, just as He was to the exiles and survivors of client nation Judah.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/

The Angelic Conflict and the Appeal Trial of Satan

2008-11-07T18:18:00.000-08:00

A dispensation is a particular arrangement by which God regulates the way human or angelic beings relate to Him. Apparent in the Bible is the fact that history contains a divinely planned succession of unique arrangements. Through the diversity of the dispensations, angelic and human beings have been, are now, and will continue to be tested in various ways.

There is some debate on just how many dispensations there are and where they are divided on the timeline. Yet no matter how the dispensations are divided or subdivided, there are two very key dispensations which are completely overlooked by many (but certainly not all) dispensationalists. These administrations are: (1) the Dispensation of Angelic Testing, and (2) the Dispensation of Christ's Unglorified Humanity.

The Dispensation of Angelic Testing

The Dispensation of Angelic Testing explains the very reason man was created in the first place. Although this divinely appointed arrangement took place prior to the dispensations of human history, it must, nevertheless, be classified as a dispensation. At some time before the creation of the universe, God created the angelic host. The universe, including earth, was created to be inhabited by the angels. The Bible tells us that all of the sons of God (angelic beings) shouted for joy when God laid the foundation of the earth (Job 38:7), the creation described in the first verse of the Bible:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. (Genesis 1:1)

The word for "create" in Genesis 1:1 is bara. Nelson's Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament explains the importance of this word:

This verb is of profound theological significance, since it has only God as the subject. Only God can "create" in the sense implied by bara. The verb expresses creation out of nothing, an idea seen clearly in passages having to do with creation on a cosmic scale. All other verbs for "creating" allow a much broader range of meaning; they have both human and divine subjects, and are used in contexts where bringing something or someone into existence is not the issue.[1]

Bear in mind, for future reference, that bara is the word used for the creation of the heavens and the earth in Genesis 1:1, and that this word is not used again in the Genesis account until the creation of animal life in 1:21.

The first dispensation of human history, which operated from the creation of Adam to the fall, is often referred to as Innocence. But there was a very important age before the first dispensation of human history. Before the creation of the man and woman, which initiated the Dispensation of Innocence, God the Son created the original universe, including the earth. He created the material universe out from nothing. And remember, the angels had already been created when the foundation of the earth was laid (Job 38:7), so the creation of the angelic realm obviously preceded the creation of the material universe.

Angels have the ability to travel back and forth from the presence of God to various places in the universe. They were delegated the authority to rule in the universe, and they were apparently assigned various responsibilities as well. Lucifer was given territory in the original Eden (Ezekiel 28:13). There is no reason to assume that this Eden was not in the same location as the later Eden. It was during this time that Lucifer solicited a rebellion against God:

" '…I will ascend above the heights of the clouds;
I will make myself like the Most High.' " (Isaiah 14:14)

Lucifer's own immense beauty had obsessed him, and he had apparently become occupied with approbation and admiration from his fellow creatures, until he resolved to be like God Himself. This resulted in a revolt, in which approximately one third of the angels were effectively seduced by Lucifer (Revelation 12:4). The rebellion was centered upon one tiny planet in the universe: Earth, where Lucifer had been assigned and given dominion. The revolt of Lucifer brought the earth into a state of chaos. The earth was enveloped in darkness and became chaotic. This is shown in the second verse of Genesis:

And the earth was formless and void… (Genesis 1:2a)

The verse begins with a disjunctive clause. "And" would more accurately be translated as "But," followed by the verb hayah in the qal perfect, "became." "Formless" is tohu, formlessness, confusion, emptiness, a place of chaos. "Void" is bohu, emptiness, or waste. A better rendering of Genesis 1:1-2a would be:

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.
But the earth became a state of chaos and waste…

We know that in the beginning (when the heavens and the earth were originally created) the heavens and the earth were not created in a state of chaos and waste. Isaiah verifies this:

For thus says the Lord who created [bara] the heavens
(He is the God who formed the earth and made it,
He established it and did not create [bara] it a waste place [tohu],
But formed it to be inhabited),
"I am the Lord, and there is none else." (Isaiah 45:18)

It was after the original pristine creation that the earth plunged into chaos. Although there is much speculation on the nature of the earth both prior to and during the chaotic state, there is not really much Biblical information describing it. Suffice it to say that the chaos was the result of a test; that is, a failed test! The Dispensation of Angelic Testing was failed through the negative volition of Lucifer and the angels he led into conspiracy. Ever since negative volition was expressed by Lucifer, there has been a great war raging between the forces of God and the forces of Satan (a name ascribed to Lucifer since his rebellion). We refer to this warfare as the angelic conflict.

As a result of Lucifer's rebellion, Lucifer and his coconspirators have been sentenced to the Lake of Fire (Matthew 25:41). This everlasting fire has been prepared for them because of their revolt, and we know that the sentence will be executed at the very end of Christ's one thousand year reign over earth (Revelation 20:10). This will mark the end of the last dispensation of human history, which will in turn launch the beginning of a new heaven and earth.

The Appeal Trial of Satan

Now the fact that there is so long a delay in the execution of the sentence imposed upon Satan appears on the surface to be at odds with a divine standard given in the book of Ecclesiastes:

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. (Ecclesiastes 8:11)

Granted, this verse imparts a principle of establishment for the human race, but it is a divine standard nonetheless. Why, then, is there such a long delay in the carrying out of God's sentence upon the fallen angels? We would have to deduce one of two possibilities: Either God is unjust and fails to fulfill His own principles, or, an appeal was filed by Satan, and the justice of God is allowing this appeal. Since the former is unthinkable, we are really forced to conclude the latter! Human history runs concurrently with this appeal trial. We cannot possibly understand our purpose as human beings, or God's will for our lives, or why there is suffering, or a number of other things—unless we understand the nature of the angelic conflict and the appeal trial of Satan. And it is only through these doctrines that we can understand the significance of suffering for the believer in Christ.

Satan As His Own Attorney

Since his fall, Satan has been acting as his own attorney, attempting to gather enough evidence to win his case on appeal. This Hebrew word satan means "an adversary." It comes into the Koine Greek as Satanas, and carries the same meaning. Satan is God's courtroom opponent. The Greek word that is translated "the devil" is diabolos, a slanderer or false accuser. He is referred to as the adversary in 1 Peter 5:8, which is antidikos, literally, an "opponent in a lawsuit."[2] Satan's defense strategy is "the lie" (Romans 1:25). He contends that the justice of God is inconsistent and arbitrary. The case he tries to establish could be summarized in this way: "How could a loving God send His creatures into the Lake of Fire? God is not fair!" Satan is the quintessence of the victim mentality. He seeks to prove that under the right circumstances any and every created being with free volition would have made the same choices he did. He has refused to accept the responsibility for his own decisions and actions.
We have seen how the earth became a state of chaos and waste (Genesis 1:2a). Let's continue in verse 2:

...and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters. (Genesis 1:2b,c)

From Genesis 1:2a on, what the Bible describes is not the original creation, but the restoration of the earth from its chaotic state. The earth is a very insignificant part of the universe, spatially considered. But it is this tiny speck in God’s universe that is the focus of the Scriptures because of its prominence in the conflict which began long before human history. The six-day creation account in Genesis describes the restoration of planet earth. This restoration has actually provided a courtroom for Satan's appeal trial. But now, a second category of creatures has become involved: the human race. We referred to the first dispensation of human history as Innocence, because when the man and woman were created and placed in the garden, they were in a perfect environment which was established for them through the restoration of the planet (Genesis 1:2c-25).

The perfect environment of the restoration is a replication of the environment in which Lucifer originally sinned. The human race is made up of creatures who are inferior to angelic beings in terms of power and intellect—yet they resemble angels in that they have capacity for thought and choice. The dispensations of human history always involve the testing of free volition, and they make up the means through which the appeal trial of Satan is conducted. In fact, human history should be seen as an extension of the angelic conflict. Volition toward the prohibition against eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil was the issue in the Dispensation of Innocence. In the subsequent dispensations of human history, the issue is volition toward the Gospel followed by the volition of the believer toward the spiritual life. In fact, Satan's attack during his appeal trial is on human volition in those two critical areas. Angels have already made their crucial decisions, so he does not attack angelic volition. He cannot directly attack deity, or God's sovereignty, or divine volition. Satan's battle is for the mentality of the human soul.

The Dispensation of Christ's Unglorified Humanity

As we have seen, the Dispensation of Angelic Testing is one of the two dispensations that are commonly neglected by dispensationalists. The other is the Dispensation of Christ's Unglorified Humanity. The Dispensation of Christ's Unglorified Humanity was the special administration under which the humanity of Christ pioneered a unique spiritual life. At His birth, Jesus entered humanity in what theologians call the Hypostatic Union. This comes from the Greek word hupostasis, "...a taking of a thing upon one's self; an assumed position...."[3] The Hypostatic Union is the term used to describe the reality that in the person of the incarnate Christ there are two natures. These natures are inseparably united, yet there is no mixture or loss of these separate identities. In the Hypostatic Union there is no diminishing of the attributes of either nature. His deity is eternal, and from His birth into the human race Jesus has existed, and continues to exist, as both total deity (John 8:58) and total humanity (1 Timothy 2:5).

The Dispensation of Christ's Unglorified Humanity is an administration which is recorded in the four Gospels. The time period[4] involved began with the virgin birth of Christ and terminated with His death, burial, resurrection, and ascension to the Father in heaven.

Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,
who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. (Philippians 2:5-7)

"Emptied Himself" is well translated, coming from the aorist active indicative of kenoo, to empty. Arndt and Gingrich translate: "...he emptied himself, divested himself of his privileges...."[5] God was self-limited in function during the Dispensation of Christ's Unglorified Humanity. Entering the human race in true humanity, the Second Person of the Trinity limited Himself by submitting to the plan of the Father, which included undergoing grueling examination by Satan for the purpose of testimony in the appeal trial. As Jesus underwent this testing, He was required to refrain from using His own deity and to instead rely upon a system provided by the Father which included the ministry of the Holy Spirit and the intake and application of doctrine. In Luke 2:52, as Jesus grew physically, He also grew spiritually by assimilating doctrine under the continuous filling of the Holy Spirit. He accomplished this as He set aside the privileges that accompanied His deity and subjected Himself to parental authority, governmental authority, and the spiritual authority prescribed for Judaism at that time. When He reached spiritual maturity, Christ's spiritual life was vindicated by the testimony of His Father:

...and behold, a voice out of the heavens, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased." (Matthew 3:17)

Through this statement, Jesus was actually being presented as a witness for the prosecution in Satan's appeal trial. He was a credible witness because of His impeccability up to this point, under the principle of freedom. In the Hypostatic Union, Jesus was the only truly free person to be born into the devil's world. After the man and the woman had failed the test of the Dispensation of Innocence (Genesis 2:16-17; 3:6), every human being has inherited the sin nature from Adam (Romans 5:12). Christ, however, bypassed the problem of the inherited sin nature through the virgin birth. He was conceived by the Holy Spirit (Luke 1:35); therefore, unlike the rest of humanity, He had no sin nature. Jesus was thus free from the authority of the sin nature, from the authority of the devil, from the imputation of Adam's original sin, and from the condemnation of spiritual death. And He had now grown, as a human being, to spiritual maturity under the Father's care and provision, and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit to Him. Now it was time for "cross-examination."

The Cross-Examination of Jesus

Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.
And after He has fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (Matthew 4:1-2)

If this does not seem like that great a test to you, just try not eating for forty days! The hunger had to be excruciating.

And the tempter came and said to Him, "If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread." (Matthew 4:3)

Satan knew that Christ had the power to accomplish such a miracle. The deity of Christ was, in fact, sustaining the universe even as they conversed (Colossians 1:17; Hebrews 1:3). Turning the stones into bread would have been no problem. Satan was attempting to get Jesus to operate independently of the plan of the Father. This would show that Christ's humanity could not depend on the Father's provision.

But He answered and said, "It is written, 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.'” (Matthew 4:4)

Jesus was quoting from Deuteronomy 8:3. The real issue here is not simply that Satan was refuted with the Word of God; but that Jesus, under the filling of the Holy Spirit, was applying Bible doctrine which he had incorporated into His human soul. Christ's deity could have instantly changed the stones into bread, or even pepperoni pizzas, had He wished. Miracles require only divine sovereignty, but Satan's cross-examination tested Christ's human response to the plan of the Father. Instead of frantically scrambling for an independent solution, Jesus, in adherence to the Father's plan, restricted the independent use of His deity. He did not summon a miracle. He applied Bible doctrine. Instead of speaking to the stones, He addressed Satan, thereby providing crucial testimony for the prosecution in Satan's appeal trial. Further testimony was provided in the two subsequent tests (Matthew 4:5-10). With this testimony He answered any and every possible argument from Satan, including the argument that under the right circumstances any being with free volition would, like Lucifer, have chosen against God. He also answered the argument of Satan which implies that the provision and the justice of God on behalf of His created beings are insufficient and inconsistent.

The Resolution of the Angelic Conflict

The Bible clearly teaches that Christ, in hypostatic union and continuously under the filling of the Holy Spirit, completely fulfilled the plan of the Father, utilizing only what was provided by the Father through the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He accomplished this by using the system of problem solving that the Word of God creates in the human soul when it is received with humility and on a consistent basis. Bible doctrine in the soul actually creates its own system of problem solving. Christ thus fulfilled His very own spiritual life, becoming the "star witness" for the prosecution in the appeal trial of Satan.

But wait—there's more! There is another key concept in the appeal trial of Satan. The standard for this concept is found in Deuteronomy:

On the evidence of two witnesses or three witnesses, he who is to die shall be put to death; he shall not be put to death on the evidence of one witness. (Deuteronomy 17:6)

This, like Ecclesiastes 8:11, is a principle of divine establishment for man; yet if God commands it for us, He does not violate it Himself! In order to be completely fair and consistent with His own standard of justice, God has provided for additional witnesses in the appeal trial of Satan.

...fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith… (Hebrews 12:2a)

"Author" is archegos, "...founder … originator … the originating power…."[6] "Perfecter" is teleiotes, "accomplisher, finisher."[7] The noun "faith" is articular, pointing out individual identity. Jesus founded and completed the spiritual life which has been passed along to believers in union with Him. Jesus pioneered the unique spiritual life which functions on the filling of the Holy Spirit. Every believer during the present dispensation is immediately placed into union with Christ through the baptism of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13; Galatians 3:27). Through the baptism of the Holy Spirit, each believer receives the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19; Romans 8:9) and the option to be, moment by moment, under the filling of the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), which is the means of the fulfillment of the spiritual life which Jesus pioneered.

In accordance with the principle of Deuteronomy 17:6, believers who go on to fulfill the spiritual life pioneered by our Lord provide the additional witnesses for the prosecution which are required by the justice of God. Moreover, believers of the other dispensations have had, or will have, the potential to be witnesses as well, although the mechanics of their spiritual lives differ. And thus, the great question, "Why are we here?" has been answered. Man was created to resolve the angelic conflict.

Footnotes:
1. Merrill Unger and William White, Jr., eds., Nelson’s Expository Dictionary of the Old Testament, PC Study Bible (Seattle: Biblesoft, 1992).
2. William F. Arndt and F. Wilbur Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament and Other Early Christian Literature (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1979), p. 74.
3. Wesley J. Perschbacher, The New Analytical Greek Lexicon (Peabody: Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., 1990), p.422.
4. On the timeline, the Dispensation of Christ’s Unglorified Humanity ran concurrently with the later years of the Mosaic Dispensation. Christ was under the Law of Moses as were all of the Jews at that time. However, no other human being was under the dispensation Jesus was under as He was tested as to problem solving through the application of doctrine under the continuous filling of the Holy Spirit.
5. Arndt and Gingrich, op. cit., p. 428.
6. Henry George Liddell and Robert Scott, A Greek-English Lexicon (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1996), p. 252.
7. Ibid., p. 1770.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. http://www.lockman.org/

This article is a revised excerpt from Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13, by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

The Mystery Man

2008-11-07T18:15:00.000-08:00

TWO GREAT BODIES OF TRUTH

Following his conversion, Saul of Tarsus (later to be known as Paul) received, by direct communication from the ascended Christ, a continuum of revelation. This revelation came in progressive increments. (He describes these increments as "revelations"—in the plural—in 2 Corinthians 12:7.) He received them over a long period of time—perhaps thirty years or more. Paul conveyed to Agrippa that Christ had made it clear to him at his conversion that the Lord would continue to appear to him and disclose information:

"But arise and stand on your feet; for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things in which I will appear to you…" (Acts 26:16)

This continuum of revelation diverged into two basic categories, or bodies, of truth: The Gospel of the Grace of God, and the Revelation of the Mystery. The principle of these two revelations is described eloquently by Lewis Sperry Chafer:

"Unquestionably the greatest religious crisis in human history was experienced when, immediately following the death of Christ, the divine purpose was changed from the limitations of Judaism to the world-wide proclamation to Jew and Gentile alike of the infinite grace of God in and through Christ Jesus. The demand then was for a man who, under God, could receive the new divine revelation, formulate its doctrines, and contend for its claims. Saul of Tarsus was God’s chosen instrument and to him were given two distinct revelations. The first was of the gospel of the saving grace through Christ, which is stated thus: ‘But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man. For I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ’ (Gal. 1:11, 12).
"The second was of the divine age in the out-calling of the Church which, so far from being a continuation of any previous plan for Jew or Gentile, is said to be a mystery or sacred secret which was hid in past ages. This new purpose was not merely that a blessing was determined for Israel or for the Gentiles—each of which has a large place in unfulfilled prophecy—but rather that out from both Jews and Gentiles a new heavenly company was to be formed. The Scripture states, ‘For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward; how that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; … which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; that the Gentiles should be fellow-heirs, and of the same body, and partakers of his promise in Christ by the gospel’ (Eph. 3:1-6). The Ephesian letter is a revelation of God’s plan in and for the Church and is thus a development of the second revelation given to the Apostle Paul."[1]

THE GOSPEL OF THE GRACE OF GOD

The first revelation, that of Christ’s work on the cross for eternal salvation, is referred to as "the gospel of the grace of God" (Acts 20:24), "the word of the cross" (1 Corinthians 1:18), and "the word of reconciliation" (2 Corinthians 5:19). Sometimes Paul just called it "the gospel" (Romans 1:16; Philippians 1:12). At times, Paul emphasized the fact that it had been uniquely committed to him, using the first person singular personal pronoun, calling it "my gospel" (Romans 2:16; 16:25; 2 Timothy 2:8).

This gospel was a new development in the good news of salvation for man—a development which could only be proclaimed after the cross! It is all about how the human race had been expiated, and how God had been propitiated, by the work of Christ on the cross. It is about how that work is the basis by which the righteousness of God is freely imputed to the believing sinner—and how this imputation is formally declared by a divine verdict (justification).

We must recognize that, though this message is the newest and most advanced development of the saving work of Christ, it is firmly anchored to the Old Testament predictions and types. This is why Paul wrote that the gospel message that he preached was about how Christ had died for our sins, was buried, and was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). Although the ascended Christ had revealed this gospel message directly and exclusively to Paul (Galatians 1:11-12), its roots are in the Old Testament. It is the full revelation of what the Old Testament had only pointed to. But it is a revelation of the same Person—and His work—alluded to in the Hebrew Scriptures. That is why eternal salvation has always been absolutely by grace through faith; totally apart from any works whatsoever.

THE REVELATION OF THE MYSTERY

On the other hand, the great mystery which was revealed to Paul was not according to previous Scripture! It was something new and altogether different from what had previously been conveyed to man about the plan of God. Paul summarizes this mystery in the third chapter of Ephesians:

For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles--
if indeed you have heard of the stewardship of God's grace which was given to me for you; (Ephesians 3:1-2)

"Stewardship" is oikonomia, a dispensation, or administration. Paul was the one who was chosen by God to receive the details of this entirely new spiritual economy and to impart them to the members of Christ’s Body. The Apostle Paul is to this present dispensation what Moses was to the dispensation of the Law!

…that by revelation there was made known to me the mystery, as I wrote before in brief. (Ephesians 3:3)

The phrase, "…as I wrote before in brief…" refers to what he had written about this unique administration earlier in the epistle to the Ephesians, or perhaps even what he had written in earlier letters. Even Paul’s early epistles contained components of mystery doctrine (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51; Romans 11:25).

By referring to this, when you read you can understand my insight into the mystery of Christ,
which in other generations was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets in the Spirit… (Ephesians 3:4-5)

Notice that while Paul said this dispensation was given to him—and that the mystery was revealed to him—it has now (at the time Paul was writing to the Ephesians) been revealed to the apostles and other New Testament writers "…in the Spirit." "Spirit" is locative of sphere. They received the information, not by direct revelation from Jesus Christ as had Paul (Acts 26:16)—but by the time Paul wrote Ephesians, the other apostles and New Testament prophets were receiving mystery doctrine in the sphere of the Holy Spirit—that is through the teaching ministry and writings of Paul as illuminated by the holy Spirit—just like you and I receive Bible doctrine! Or, because "Spirit" is anarthrous (without the article), it is possible that Paul had the sphere of the human spirit in mind, which is also essential in the process of the illumination of God’s Word.

…to be specific, that the Gentiles are fellow heirs and fellow members of the body, and fellow partakers of the promise in Christ Jesus through the gospel… (Ephesians 3:6)

At the heart of this great revealed secret is the blessing of the Gentiles in a completely new and different way. It was never a secret that God would bless the Gentiles. That is an important feature of the prophetic Word. The Gentiles will be blessed through the overflow of blessings to Israel under the New Covenant. But that Gentiles would be blessed on an equal footing with Jews—not through Israel’s agency—that is something without precedent in the Old Testament and even in the four Gospels.

…of which I was made a minister, according to the gift of God's grace which was given to me according to the working of His power.
To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ… (Ephesians 3:7-8)

"Unfathomable" is anexichniastos, an adjective which means "untrackable" or "untraceable"—something the source of which cannot be searched out. The word is from the negative particle a, plus the preposition ex; "out from," plus ichnos; "a footprint." This mystery is "not out from footprints"—that is, it cannot be traced: There is no precedent for the mystery of Christ which Paul is describing! There is no place in the Old Testament Scriptures, or in the Gospels, where you can go to find something that points to, or even relates to, what Paul is writing about. The mystery cannot be traced to anything in the Word of God before Paul.

…and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things... (Ephesians 3:9)

Paul’s burning desire was not only that members of the human race would be saved, but that they would, after being saved, be enlightened as to the mystery which had been hid for ages and generations! Regeneration makes each believer of the present dispensation a candidate for the enlightenment of mystery doctrine—which is a radical departure from anything previously revealed by God to members of the human race. Because the great mystery is so radically different from what believers had been used to under the covenant program for hundreds of years is, perhaps, why people have such a hard time with the teaching of Paul. Since many Christians look to the Law of Moses, or the Sermon on the Mount, or Pentecost, as the basis of the spiritual life, they, quite understandably, do not see how Paul’s writings can possibly “fit in.” Brian J. Dodd illustrated this well when he wrote:

"An American bishop recently told me about a fellow bishop who proudly retired without having ever preached a single sermon from the writings of 'that Paul.'"[2]

After sharing his burden for the human race regarding the dispensation of the mystery, Paul affirms something which is quite wonderful—and which should cause every believer to pause and ponder:

…so that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known through the church to the rulers and the authorities in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 3:10)

Mystery doctrine has great impact on the angelic theatre! In past times, angels have been involved in the teaching of human beings (e.g. Daniel 8:16; 9:21-22; 10:14; Luke 1:26-28)—but during the present dispensation, mystery doctrine is taught to angels through human beings who learn it as they fulfill the spiritual life.

Footnotes:
1. Lewis Sperry Chafer, The Epistle to the Ephesians (Grand Rapids: Kregel Publications, 1991), pp. 13-14.
2. Brian J. Dodd, The Problem with Paul (Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1996), p.11.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

Evangelism Not Activism!

2008-11-07T18:04:00.000-08:00

What does the Bible say about civil disobedience? Furthermore, is Christian activism an expression of the spiritual life of the believer in Christ? Let’s consider this subject in the light of an incident involving Peter and John in the book of Acts:

And seeing the man who had been healed standing with them, they had nothing to say in reply.
But when they had ordered them to go aside out of the Council, they began to confer with one another,
saying, "What shall we do with these men? For the fact that a noteworthy miracle has taken place through them is apparent to all who live in Jerusalem, and we cannot deny it.
"But in order that it may not spread any further among the people, let us warn them to speak no more to any man in this name."
And when they had summoned them, they commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.
But Peter and John answered and said to them, "Whether it is right in the sight of God to give heed to you rather than to God, you be the judge;
for we cannot stop speaking what we have seen and heard." (Acts 4:14-20)

Peter and John would not submit to the Sanhedrin’s request to stop preaching Christ. Although the authority of the Sanhedrin was greatly diminished during the Roman occupation, the Roman government, for political purposes, allowed this council quite a bit of jurisdiction to govern the affairs of the people. This is how the Jewish leaders were able to play such a large part in the persecution of believers in Christ. How ironic it is that the very officials who should have recognized and welcomed Messiah were committed to silencing those who would speak of Him.

The leaders of Israel were certainly out of line in commanding the disciples not to speak and teach in the name of Jesus. Jesus was, in fact, the One whom the leaders should have been obeying. No government, not even a Gentile government, is justified in attempting to suppress the gospel message or Bible doctrine. Christians are to always obey God over man. In times when freedom to evangelize is limited by the tyranny of government, believers are to continue to preach Christ. This calls for discretion and wisdom, and for sensitivity to the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Because of the rejection of divine principles of establishment by the populace of the USA, and because so many believers in this nation have rejected Bible doctrine, we may soon suffer economic collapse and military defeat, finding ourselves facing fierce oppression and persecution from an occupying nation. If this happens, believers must recognize that God will provide for believers who choose to fulfill the spiritual life. The plan of God will move forward, including evangelism and the dissemination of Bible doctrine, as it did through Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah and others during the time which Judah was occupied by the Chaldeans. God will always be faithful to provide opportunities by which the lost can be saved and believers can advance in the spiritual life. And believers, regardless of what adversity there may be, must never compromise spiritual principles. All of us, at one time or another, will face a situation which will involve making a choice between what is God’s direct will and what is man’s. God never honors compromise!

On the other hand, believers in Jesus Christ are to realize that the spiritual agenda does not include Christian activism or civil disobedience for the sake of protest. Peter and John were not disobeying the instructions of the Sanhedrin to make a political statement or to cause political or social change. Nor were they lobbying to pressure the Sanhedrin into making conditions more favorable for believers in Christ. They were teaching and preaching Christ.

The ministry of Jesus as recounted in the gospels was never about political or social activism. Jesus totally rejected political clout as a means of advancing His agenda, because God’s love for the human race could not be revealed through the force of human legislation. Likewise, activism was never a part of the function of the spiritual community recorded in Acts.

THE CHRISTIAN NATION FALLACY

Today, those of the Christian right assume that Christians should be working to “take back this country.” They propose that if Christians work together, we can win back the control of the institutions that supposedly have been seized from them over the past decades. They are zealously attempting to establish (or supposedly return to) a “Christian nation.”

However, the very idea of a Christian state is ludicrous, because a genuine relationship with God can only occur through free volition with no compulsion of any kind. Only an individual can become a Christian. All attempts to establish a Christian state have reaped disastrous results. For example, when Constantine became emperor of Rome (AD 307-337), he became a self-styled advocate for the Christian faith. He bestowed many favors on the Church. The government began to provide money for the operation of the Church. The clergy became exempt from public service. By 380, Theodosius I issued an edict that established Christianity as the exclusive religion of the state. Punishment from the state was suffered by any who maintained another form of worship. As the Church became more and more politically powerful she plunged deeper and deeper into apostasy. The world seemed to be getting better and better. It looked as if Christ's kingdom had already come. Christians began to think it was the Millennium and that Christ would come back at the end of a thousand year reign of the Church to congratulate the Church for a job well done. What a contrast to the way Jesus had responded at the inauguration of His ministry, when Satan offered Him "all the kingdoms of the world, and their glory" (Matthew 4:8). The temptation to Christ's humanity was something like this: "Jesus, wouldn't Your ministry be much more effective if You have the support of human government at Your disposal?" Jesus never used human government to advance His work! The same was true of both Peter and Paul. Do you remember what Jesus said when He stood before Pilate?

Jesus answered, "My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting, that I might not be delivered up to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm." (John 18:36)

In the Koine Greek, the word translated "of" is ek, "out from." Jesus was saying, "My kingdom is not out from this world system." He was not denying that His kingdom would be a political earthly kingdom when it is established. Far from it. He was asserting that the source of its establishment will not be human agency, including human government. The Messianic Kingdom will be given to the Son by the Father. It will come in God's timing, through the destruction of human governments (Daniel 2:44). In the meantime, the Kingdom of God does not ride on the coattails of human government!

THE CHURCH AND THE CONSTITUTION

Many in the Christian right maintain that the Constitution of our nation was designed to perpetuate a Christian order. They attribute the problems of America to the separation of the intended fusion of church and state. What many people do not know is that the Christian right wants to take us "back" to a USA that never was! The "Christian state" view they are pushing is not the concept that was held by the founding fathers, but rather the view of religious groups who governed some of the colonies prior to the framing of the Constitution. It was the tyranny of such administrations that our founders vehemently resisted!

Two of the most prominent figures of the founding generation of our nation, Patrick Henry and Benjamin Franklin, were students of the teachings of the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704). Locke believed that the purpose of government is to protect life, liberty, and property, but not to propagate or defend religious truths or protect religious values. Locke's Letters Concerning Toleration had a tremendous impact on the minds of the colonists with regard to the importance of the separation of church and state. He observed that it is "necessary to distinguish exactly the business of civil government from that of religion, and to settle the just bounds that lie between the one and the other."[1]

While most of those who founded our nation were very concerned about protecting the proper role of government from religious tyranny, there were others who influenced the shaping of the Constitution, who understood the wisdom of the separation of Church and state from a different angle. There are many Americans today who, if they checked their history books, would be surprised to discover that there was actually an undercurrent of religious leaders within the colonies who were very determined to keep the church separate from the state. Perhaps the greatest influence on their thinking was the turmoil caused by a well known pastor named Roger Williams (1603-1683), the founder of the Baptist church in America and also the founder of Providence, Rhode Island.[2] Williams migrated from England to the Massachusetts Bay Colony in 1631, before John Locke was even born. Quite the radical for his day, Williams criticized religious intolerance, insisting that the magistrates had no authority over an individual's religion, and he opposed a state church. He was banished from Massachusetts Bay in 1636, which led to the founding of his own colony. Though Williams believed that unbelievers might rule in governmental positions as capably as believers, his primary concern was not for the state, but for the church. He was convinced that the state could not touch anything to do with the Church without corrupting it. The surprising thing is that in church doctrine he was in agreement, for the most part, with those who had banished him. More than a century later, when the Constitution and Bill of Rights were drafted, many religious leaders in the colonies had been persuaded by Williams' argument for the separation of church and state, and their convictions were surely known by our founders.

So, the principle of the separation of church and state, so fundamental to our Constitution, was derived not only from those who understood that a religious state would be tyrannical, but also from believers who were determined to protect the purity of Bible doctrine. Both camps were right!

And when they had threatened them further, they let them go (finding no basis on which they might punish them) on account of the people, because they were all glorifying God for what had happened;
for the man was more than forty years old on whom this miracle of healing had been performed. (Acts 4:21-22)

Peter and John were thus providentially protected from immediate danger. God will protect and provide for every believer until it is time to go home to be with the Lord (Psalm 68:19-20). His protection and provision are not always the means we would choose for ourselves, but we can be sure of this: We will be sustained until it is time to go home to be with the Lord; and when it is time to go—it is time to go!

GOD REMOVES HEROD—WITHOUT ANY HELP

There is another event in the book of Acts which should help us consider Christian activism and the spiritual life. This takes place after Peter is supernaturally delivered from prison by God:

Now when day came, there was no small disturbance among the soldiers as to what could have become of Peter.
When Herod had searched for him and had not found him, he examined the guards and ordered that they be led away to execution. Then he went down from Judea to Caesarea and was spending time there.
Now he was very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; and with one accord they came to him, and having won over Blastus the king’s chamberlain, they were asking for peace, because their country was fed by the king’s country.
On an appointed day Herod, having put on his royal apparel, took his seat on the rostrum and began delivering an address to them.
The people kept crying out, “The voice of a god and not of a man!”
And immediately an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and died. (Acts 12:18-23)

It is quite interesting how the arrogant ruler, Herod Agrippa I, died. Did it take Christian activism to bring him down? Absolutely not. In fact, there is a conspicuous absence of Christian activism in the New Testament. We don’t have to worry about changing the environment or changing society. We don’t have to worry about the resistance we will face, even from evil people in government, as we go forward with the ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). God will remove any obstacles that need to be removed, while leaving some obstacles in our path to challenge us so that we can grow to spiritual maturity and provide testimony for the prosecution in the appeal trial of Satan.[3] God’s plan will go forward. If Christian activism is not the way to go, then what is it that believers should be doing? A.R. Knapp offers the biblical solution:

“Christians may be inclined to two distorted courses of action, or inaction, as the case may be. We are prone either to attempt to 'take America for Jesus' and try to force upon the American public the Christian ethic, which they are incapable of truly fulfilling without regeneration and the power of the Holy Spirit, or we may be tempted to simply wait for some inevitable institutional persecution which, we say, is required to purify the Church. First Timothy 2:1-4 suggests another alternative. It is actively supplicating, praying, petitioning God to intervene on behalf of all men, but primarily those in office or in positions of authority (in our own case in the U.S.A., those in the executive, judicial and legislative branches of our government) so that God’s divine counsel will sovereignly prevail as He guides the mentality and decisions of those civil leaders. The result of God’s intervention in this way, at the request of His priesthood (i.e. all believers in that nation who make up His spiritual house) (1 Peter 2:5), is the strengthening of the walls of His protective and providential institutions so that local churches, and true Christianity at large, may go on quietly and peaceably—not as loud political bullies, but as progressive, effective believers in Christ, fulfilling the Christian life as God designed it—operating in spiritual integrity and anonymity.”[4]

Consider the fact that when Paul wrote the passage cited by Knapp, 1 Timothy 2:1-4, Nero was in authority over the Empire. Nero was one of the cruelest and most evil emperors. It was under the administration of Nero that Paul would eventually be executed, under the sovereignty and wisdom of God. That was God’s plan for His witness, Paul. During the years of Paul’s ministry, the Empire was under government that was very corrupt because of evil—yet Paul never suggested Christian activism as a solution—nor did Peter. As believers in Christ we have the wonderful privilege of participating in the fulfillment of God’s sovereign purpose through intercessory prayer, and through our ambassadorial function (2 Corinthians 5:20). Christian activism is the result of ignorance of what constitutes the spiritual life.

Even believers who are negative toward God’s word cannot hinder the plan of God from going forward—they only disqualify themselves from the greater blessings in both time and eternity that are received through positive volition toward His Word. Christians who are seduced into becoming Christian activists are some of the greatest losers of all time, because they are distracted from the spiritual life. Ironically, many of them go on for years thinking that their activity is fulfilling the spiritual life!

But the word of the Lord continued to grow and to be multiplied. (Acts 12:24)

The Word of God continued to go forward. Persecution did not stop the ministry of the Word of God.

Footnotes:
1. Quoted in Clarence B. Carson, Basic American Government (Wadly: American Text Book Committee, 1993), p. 149
2. The influence of Williams and his followers on the framing of our constitution is well documented in The Godless Constitution: The Case Against Religious Correctness, by Isaac Kramnick and R. Laurence Moore, published by W.W. Norton & Company.
3. See article, “The Angelic Conflict and the Appeal Trial of Satan” on this website.
4. A.R. Knapp, The Tottering Lampstand (Pittsburgh: Greater Grace Church, 1989), pp. 133-134.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

The Peril of Anti-Semitism

2008-11-07T17:51:00.000-08:00

Anti-Semitism is alive and well throughout the nations of the world today, and unfortunately, the United States of America has not been exempt from this evil form of prejudice. No nation can afford to be anti-Semitic, and the Church is culpable for much of the anti-Semitism that has abounded in western civilization during the past two thousand years. A deficiency of Bible doctrine specific to the Jew’s place in the plan of God is largely responsible for anti-Semitism, past and present, in Europe and America. R.B. Thieme hit the nail right on the head when he wrote:

“No one, especially the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, should ever participate in anti-Semitism. The believer must understand the historical and future plan of God for Israel. Keeping the divine perspective in mind guards against any form of anti-Semitism. The assimilation of divine perspective comes from hearing and believing the message of the Bible.”[1]

MARTIN LUTHER AND THE JEWS

It is widely known that Jews were severely persecuted under the Roman Catholicism that dominated Western Europe during the Dark Ages. Protestants are often less aware of the historical impact which has resulted from the anti-Semitism of the central figure of the Protestant Reformation.

It was, without question, the teachings and activity of Martin Luther that provided the impetus which launched the Reformation. Luther was used by God to recover important Biblical truths which had been abandoned for centuries. The spiritual darkness of the Dark Ages had been the direct result of the suppression of truth, and Martin Luther’s work contributed much toward the deliverance of the Church—and indeed civilization—from a long period of historical crisis. Yet, it must be recognized (and those who nearly worship the reformers would do well to recognize) that Martin Luther was a sinner, saved by grace, whose sin nature operated in him (as it does in every one of us) until the day he died and went to be with the Lord. Furthermore, the words penned by Martin Luther were not inspired by the Holy Spirit. Luther’s words—all of them—should be judged in the light of the words which are inspired by the Holy Spirit!

Martin Luther had a problem that surfaced in his later years and entered into his writings—a problem that Protestantism has often attempted to sweep under the rug. Martin Luther was terribly anti-Semitic. There are circumstances in Luther’s life which evidently shaped his anti-Semitic outlook. In his early years he had been vocally pro-Semitic in contrast to many of his contemporaries. He produced a tract in 1523 that was favorable to the Jews, entitled “That Jesus Christ Was Born a Jew.” He had been very optimistic about the Jews, expecting that in the wake of the turbulent historical changes that were transpiring, they would respond to Christ. However, after his attempts to evangelize the Jews failed, he became very disappointed and bitter—and very anti-Semitic. In 1543, Luther wrote an angry and vitriolic diatribe of considerable length entitled, “On the Jews and their Lies.” In it he bitterly lashed out at the Jews with some of the most vicious, bitter, and obscene rhetoric imaginable, including a seven point plan for dealing with Jews:

“What shall we Christians do with this rejected and condemned people, the Jews? Since they live among us, we dare not tolerate their conduct, now that we are aware of their lying and reviling and blaspheming. If we do, we become sharers in their lies, cursing and blasphemy. Thus we cannot extinguish the unquenchable fire of divine wrath, of which the prophets speak, nor can we convert the Jews. With prayer and the fear of God we must practice a sharp mercy to see whether we might save at least a few from the glowing flames. We dare not avenge ourselves. Vengeance a thousand times worse than we could wish them already has them by the throat. I shall give you my sincere advice:
“First to set fire to their synagogues or schools and to bury and cover with dirt whatever will not burn, so that no man will ever again see a stone or cinder of them. This is to be done in honor of our Lord and of Christendom, so that God might see that we are Christians, and do not condone or knowingly tolerate such public lying, cursing, and blaspheming of his Son and of his Christians. For whatever we tolerated in the past unknowingly—and I myself was unaware of it—will be pardoned by God. But if we, now that we are informed, were to protect and shield such a house for the Jews, existing right before our very nose, in which they lie about, blaspheme, curse, vilify, and defame Christ and us (as was heard above), it would be the same as if we were doing all this and even worse ourselves, as we very well know.
“Second, I advise that their houses also be razed and destroyed. For they pursue in them the same aims as in their synagogues. Instead they might be lodged under a roof or in a barn, like the gypsies. This will bring home to them that they are not masters in our country, as they boast, but that they are living in exile and in captivity, as they incessantly wail and lament about us before God.
“Third, I advise that all their prayer books and Talmudic writings, in which such idolatry, lies, cursing and blasphemy are taught, be taken from them….
“Fourth, I advise that their rabbis be forbidden to teach henceforth on pain of loss of life and limb. For they have justly forfeited the right to such an office by holding the poor Jews captive with the saying of Moses … in which he commands them to obey their teachers on penalty of death, although Moses clearly adds: 'what they teach you in accord with the law of the Lord.' Those villains ignore that. They wantonly employ the poor people's obedience contrary to the law of the Lord and infuse them with this poison, cursing, and blasphemy. In the same way the pope also held us captive with the declaration in Matthew 16:18, 'You are Peter,' etc, inducing us to believe all the lies and deceptions that issued from his devilish mind. He did not teach in accord with the word of God, and therefore he forfeited the right to teach.
“Fifth, I advise that safe-conduct on the highways be abolished completely for the Jews. For they have no business in the countryside, since they are not lords, officials, tradesmen, or the like. Let them stay at home….
“Sixth, I advise that usury be prohibited to them, and that all cash and treasure of silver and gold be taken from them and put aside for safekeeping. The reason for such a measure is that, as said above, they have no other means of earning a livelihood than usury, and by it they have stolen and robbed from us all they possess. Such money should now be used in no other way than the following: Whenever a Jew is sincerely converted, he should be handed one hundred, two hundred, or three hundred florins, as personal circumstances may suggest. With this he could set himself up in some occupation for the support of his poor wife and children, and the maintenance of the old or feeble. For such evil gains are cursed if they are not put to use with God's blessing in a good and worthy cause.
“Seventh, I commend putting a flail, an ax, a hoe, a spade, a distaff, or a spindle into the hands of young, strong Jews and Jewesses and letting them earn their bread in the sweat of their brow, as was imposed on the children of Adam (Gen 3:19). For it is not fitting that they should let us accursed Goyim toil in the sweat of our faces while they, the holy people, idle away their time behind the stove, feasting and farting, and on top of all, boasting blasphemously of their lordship over the Christians by means of our sweat. No, one should toss out these lazy rogues by the seat of their pants.”[2]

Martin Luther was a figure who is, with some good reason, revered by mainstream Protestantism. There are probably few Christians who are even aware of “On the Jews and their Lies.” Now granted, Luther was a very fiery and bombastic writer and speaker as was common in his time. There was, no doubt, some hyperbole involved in these rants. Also, it is certainly important to consider the work of an author in the context of his entire work, and in the context of the time and historical setting in which he wrote. Yet, is it any wonder that Jews might be suspicious of the motives of Christians—Protestant or otherwise?

After I had been away from my hometown for about fifteen years, I visited a Jewish friend and neighbor I had known since I was a little boy. Since I had last seen him I had believed on Jesus Christ, had graduated from a Bible college, and was involved in Christian outreach. When I told him I was now a Bible believing Christian, the first thing he asked me was, “Are you anti-Semitic?” Having learned some things since he asked me that question, I can now really understand why he would ask it.

FROM LUTHER TO HITLER

Luther’s anti-Semitism had far-reaching influence which has spanned a long period of time. Luther always remained a famous German hero, and Adolph Hitler exploited Luther’s popularity to his own advantage, quoting (though often misrepresenting) Luther’s writings to promote his own warped agenda. In his classic work, "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," William L. Shirer contends that Martin Luther had a profound influence on the German people for both good bad—and that the bad influence reached down the generations of Germany, especially among Protestants, helping to pave the way for the tyranny of Nazi Germany:

“There is not space in this book to recount adequately the immense influence that Martin Luther, the Saxon peasant who became an Augustinian monk and launched the German Reformation, had on the Germans and their subsequent history. But it may be said in passing, that this towering but erratic genius, this savage anti-Semite and hater of Rome, who combined in his tempestuous character so many of the best and the worst qualities of the German—the coarseness, the boisterousness, the fanaticism, the intolerance, the violence, but also the honesty, the simplicity, the self-scrutiny, the passion for learning and for poetry and for righteousness in the eyes of God—left a mark on the life of the Germans, for both good and bad, more indelible, more fateful, than was wrought by any other single individual before or since.”[3] Shirer also noted:

“The great founder of Protestantism was both a passionate anti-Semite and a ferocious believer in absolute obedience to political authority. He wanted Germany rid of the Jews and when they were sent away he advised that they be deprived of ‘all their cash and jewels and silver and gold’ and, furthermore, ‘that their synagogues or schools be set on fire, that their houses be broken up and destroyed … and they be put under a roof or stable, like the gypsies … in misery and captivity as they incessantly lament and complain to God about us”—advice that was literally followed four centuries later by Hitler, Goering and Himmler.’[4]

So much hatred—so much tyranny—so much suffering; and objectivity would force one to conclude that Luther’s mindset regarding the Jews, in his later years, has certainly played a role in the way history has unfolded. Even some of the staunchest admirers of Luther are forced to admit that this was Luther at his lowest. But why did Martin Luther become so disappointed and disillusioned with the failure of the Jews to respond to Christ? How did he become bitter enough to engage in his anti-Semitic attacks? I would suggest that it was because he lacked dispensational understanding of the Jew’s role in the plan of God. Had the great expositor of Paul’s epistle to the Romans recognized the future of national and spiritual glory guaranteed to the racial species established through Abraham by God (Romans 11:12-15, 26-28)—had he recognized that the Mystery Dispensation is only a temporary departure from the prophetic plan, during which many, but not all, Jews will reject Christ (Romans 11:14, 25)—he would not have become disappointed by the response to the Gospel of many of the Jews in his time. He would not have become “arrogant toward the branches” (Romans 11:18); that is arrogant toward the Jews. It is not that anyone in Luther’s time was getting it right, dispensationally—but it is important that we learn from our own failures and the failures of others. As George Santayana said, “Those who do not remember the past are condemned to relive it.”

THE GREAT CLASSIC OF RACIST AND PARANOID LITERATURE

In between the time of Luther and Hitler’s rise to power, a document surfaced that fueled, and continues to fuel anti-Semitism. This document has ignited fear and hatred of the Jew for almost a century. This document, rejected as a forgery and a fraud by serious scholars, is known as The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion. It is purported to be the confidential minutes of a secret Jewish conclave convened at the close of the nineteenth century. Naïve and gullible people, including doctrineless Christians, have been taken in by the fraud which is heralded as “proof” that Jews are involved in an ongoing plot to take over the world. The Protocols appeared in the very early years of the nineteen hundreds when a Russian monk named Serge Nilus edited several editions of the manuscript, each time providing a different account of how he discovered the document. The twenty-four sections of this booklet portray an alleged plot whereby the Jewish leaders would attain world domination by inciting revolution, by destroying Christian institutions, by disrupting education, etc. Reputable scholars, like Professor Norman Cohn, in his book, Warrant for Genocide, contend that this myth was actually invented from the inspiration of a nineteenth century political satire in France—in which the “plotters” were not even Jewish![5] The Protocols became a tool during the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 to incite anti-Semitism among the Russian people, which led to the slaughter of many Jews and even more publicity for the document. Hitler cited the Protocols in his propaganda, and the booklet has been published extensively throughout the world in many different languages. It is today used by neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and many in the Middle East who perceive an “international Jewish conspiracy.” You can find many duplications of the document from hate groups on the world-wide web.

HENRY FORD AND THE JEWS

The Protocols of the Learned Elders of Zion has become highly publicized in the United States through an interesting source: Henry Ford. Henry Ford was a very complex and controversial figure, yet most would recognize that he has made some very important contributions to America. Amid all of Henry Ford’s greatness, his genius, his ingenuity, his values, his concern for the common man—there was a very serious flaw—that flaw was anti-Semitism. Neil Baldwin, in Henry Ford and the Jews, attributes much of Ford’s anti-Semitism to the Zeitgeist of mid-nineteenth century America:

“As early as the 1840s, while Grandfather John Ford was working the land in Dearbornville, a firm conviction was already in place among small-town Americans that they were an elect and favored people, doing God’s work. As Anglo-Saxons, most thought, they had come into a new territory that was their birthright to be cultivated ‘according to the intentions of the Creator.’”[6]

Baldwin notes that Ford, like so many American children, had been instructed and indoctrinated by McGuffey’s Readers, which, along with the great ideals and principles which they imparted, included a significant amount of prejudice against the Jew in stories such as “Shylock, or the Pound of Flesh” (from Shakespeare’s The Merchant of Venice, written during the 350 year expulsion of the Jews from England) and “The Good Son.”[7] In later life, Henry often expressed his gratitude for being reared up in “McGuffeyland,” and proudly quoted from these readers. Much of the American literature of this period was replete with subtle or overt ant-Semitism:

“The gospel of progress was synonymous with the Christian (generally Protestant) way during the ‘Great Century of Christian Expansion.’ Henry Ford recalled that he and his younger siblings were raised on a daily dosage of the American Tract Society’s The Illustrated Family Christian Almanac for the United States topping off the nightly fireside McGuffey readings. The almanac’s ‘Historical Tales for Young Protestants’ were classic representations in a widespread and popular genre of evangelical publications predicting, either implicitly or explicitly, that, sooner or later, the obsolete Jewish religion would give way entirely to ‘the new Israel’ of America. Who, the little boys and girls learned catechistically, was the ultimate symbol of persecuted goodness? Christ. And who persecuted Christ and crucified our Lord—as the grand old hymn had it? The Jews…”[8]

The Protocols began to be widely publicized in the United States through the efforts of Boris Brasol, a former Czarist prosecutor.[9] Henry Ford was taken in by the far-fetched conspiracy theory, and in 1920, The Dearborn Independent, a newspaper owned by Ford, published an American version of the Protocols in a series of articles entitled The International Jew: the World’s Foremost Problem. These articles were later republished in book form. A half a million copies were circulated in the USA, and the books were also translated into several different languages. Hitler is reported to have read The International Jew while in prison, where it influenced his book, Mein Kampf.

One Dearborn Independent article lauded The Protocols as “too terribly real for fiction, too well-sustained for speculation, too deep in its knowledge of the secret springs of life for forgery.” “The only statement I care to make about the Protocols is that they fit in with what is going on,” Ford stated in 1921. “They have fitted the world situation up to this time. They fit it now.”[10]

Of course Jews and many others were outraged by these articles and put a lot of public pressure on Ford. Prominent lawyer Samuel Untermeyer described the effects of the circulation of The International Jew:

“Wherever there was a Ford car there was a Ford agency not far away, and wherever there was a Ford agency these vile libelous books in the language of the country were to be found. They, coupled with the magic name of Ford, have done more than could be undone in a century to sow, spread and ripen the poisonous seeds of anti-Semitism and race hatred. These articles are so fantastic and so naïve in their incredible fantasy that they read like the work of a lunatic, and but for the authority of the Ford name they would have never seen the light of day and would have been quite harmless if they had. With that name they spread like wildfire and became the Bible of every anti-Semite.”[11]

Despite the many complaints, The Dearborn Independent continued to attack the Jewish race. In 1927, the paper printed accusations against Jewish lawyer Aaron Sapiro and a number of Jewish bankers and merchants. They were allegedly seeking to control the nation’s wheat farming.[12] Sapiro sued for defamation, and finally, Ford publicly apologized to the Jews as a group and to individuals. Though he apologized for the articles, and even closed The Dearborn Independent, there are many who distrust his sincerity, as he later, in 1938, accepted from Hitler’s Nazi government, the Grand Cross of the German Eagle.[13] Whether or not his sentiments were genuine, it is a fact that The International Jew is still at large, especially on the web sites of hate groups on the internet, inciting anti-Semitism in a new generation.

WHY IS THIS IMPORTANT TO US?

Neither Luther’s nor Ford’s anti-Semitism represents real Christianity. The hostility these two great men had toward the Jew was not even consistent with the many principles of truth that both of them espoused. Furthermore, Ford’s anti-Semitism certainly did not represent the America he loved and greatly contributed to. What is the most important lesson of all of this to us? Anti-Semitism among Christians is spawned by the ignorance of dispensational specificity in Bible doctrine, and the results can be far-reaching. The Bible clearly delineates the important place of the Jew in the plan of God.

Footnotes:
1. R.B. Thieme, Jr., Anti-Semitism (Houston: R.B. Thieme, Jr., Bible Ministries, 1991), pp. xii-xiii.
2. Martin Luther, “On the Jews and Their Lies” in Internet Medieval Source Book, ed. Paul Halsall, 1987, http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/source/luther-jews.html
3. William L. Shirer, The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (New York: Simon and Schuster, 1960), p. 91.
4. Ibid., p. 236.
5. Anti-Defamation League, “Anti-Semitic Myths,” 2002, http://www.adl.org/special_reports/protocols/protocols_into.asp
6. Neil Baldwin, Henry Ford and the Jews: The Mass Production of Hate (New York: Public Affairs, 2003), pp. 27-28.
7. Ibid., pp. 2-3.
8. Ibid., p. 28.
9. Anti-Defamation League, op. cit., http://www.adl.org/special_reports/protocols/protocols_international.asp
10. Anti-Defamation League, “The International Jew: Anti-Semitism in the Roaring Twenties Revived on the Web,” 2000, http://www.adl.org/special_reports/ij/print.asp
11. Ibid.
12. Ibid.
13. Ibid.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

Calvinism and Spiritual (and Mental) Health

2008-11-07T17:44:00.000-08:00

When the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord; and as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed. (Acts 13:48)

The Calvinist assumes that this verse expresses the doctrine of unconditional election, which teaches that in eternity past, God the Father chose certain individuals from humanity to redeem—and His selection of these individuals was not in any way based on or related to a foreknowledge of any future faith or expression of human free human will, but rooted entirely in His sovereign will. We have already considered Calvinism, in the article “Calvinistic Confusion”[1] including the concept of unconditional election. In the doctrine of unconditional election, all of those whom God lovingly predestined to salvation will be saved through the death of Christ (which was on behalf of the elect only) and the regeneration of the Holy Spirit. Says Calvinist James White:

"Unconditional election is simply the recognition of the biblical teaching that God is free in the matter of salvation. He chooses to exercise mercy and grace toward undeserving creatures solely on the basis of 'the good pleasure of His will' (Ephesians 1:5)."[2]

Regarding Acts 13:48, White writes:

“The ‘surface meaning’ of the text is clear: When Paul announces that the message of eternal life is for all men, including the Gentiles, there is rejoicing, and on the part of some, belief in the truth. But it is Luke’s comment on who believes that makes Acts 13:48 so relevant to our discussion of unconditional election. He says that those who had been appointed to eternal life believe. This divine appointment obviously precedes and brings about the act of faith. God has appointed them to eternal life, and they believe. Obviously, this statement touches upon not only unconditional election, but upon irresistible grace as well.[3]”

While it is true that God’s appointment of the elect in eternity past precedes the act of faith, White is reading something into the verse that is not there when he tells us that the divine appointment also “brings about” the act of faith. He is reading the verse through Calvinistic glasses.

DIVINE OMNISCIENCE ANTICIPATES HUMAN VOLITION

God is omniscient; that is, He is all-knowing. Being eternal, He has always known everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. He is perfect in knowledge (Job 37:16b). He is also omnipotent; that is, all-powerful (Genesis 17:1; Job 11:6; Isaiah 9:6; Revelation 4:8). In His omnipotence, He preprogrammed free human volition into His plan. Although His foreknowledge (included in His omniscience) extends throughout all time and eternity, it does not interfere with free human volition—because free human volition is a part of His sovereign plan. God’s Son Jesus Christ suffered substitutionary spiritual death on the cross on behalf of every member of the human race. Every human being is invited to appropriate the value of His finished work by believing on Christ. Salvation is promised to whoever believes on Him (John 3:16). In Acts 13:48, the ones who had been appointed to eternal life were one in the same with those who exercised their free will in faith. In choosing His elect, God, in His omniscience, has anticipated the expression of human free will. His sovereignty has included such free will in His plan. Who are the elect? Believers in Christ. This is really not a difficult concept to grasp—we only need to allow the Scripture to speak for itself!

YOU MAY HAVE FOOLED YOURSELF

One of the most appalling things about the doctrine of unconditional election is that you can never really be sure you are one of the elect. If the free will of man has no place with regard to eternal salvation, how can anyone really know whether he is truly one of the elect? Any assurance of salvation is, at best, uncertain. Did I really become saved? Am I really one of the elect? Was my faith genuine, or did I just fool myself? And of course, because of the doctrine of the perseverance of the saints, the Calvinist will have you checking out your own performance to determine whether or not your faith in Christ was real.

DR. SPROUL'S TERRIFYING EXPERIENCE

Dr. R.C. Sproul is a well-known champion of Calvinism. In an article in a monthly publication of Ligonier Ministries’ "Tabletalk" he wrote of a chilling personal experience he had undergone:

“There are people in this world who are not saved, but who are convinced that they are. The presence of such people causes genuine Christians to doubt their salvation. After all, we wonder, suppose I am in this category? Suppose I am mistaken about my salvation and am really going to hell? How can I know that I am a real Christian?
“A while back I had one of those moments of acute self-awareness that we have from time to time, and suddenly the question hit me: ‘R.C., what if you are not one of the redeemed? What if your destiny is not heaven after all, but hell?’ Let me tell you that I was flooded in my body with a chill that went from my head to the bottom of my spine. I was terrified.
“I tried to grab hold of myself. I thought, ‘Well, it’s a good sign that I’m worried about this. Only true Christians really care about salvation.’ But then I began to take stock of my life, and I looked at my performance. My sins came pouring into my mind, and the more I looked at myself, the worse I felt. I thought, ‘Maybe it’s really true. Maybe I’m not saved after all.’
“I went to my room and began to read the Bible. On my knees I said, ‘Well, here I am. I can’t point to my obedience. There’s nothing I can offer. I can rely only on Your atonement for my sins. I can only throw myself on your mercy.’ Even then I knew that some people only flee to the Cross to escape hell, not out of a real turning to God. I could not be sure about my own heart and motivation. Then I remembered John 6:68. Jesus had been giving out hard teaching, and many of His former followers had left Him. When He asked Peter if he was also going to leave, Peter said, ‘Where else can we go? Only You have words of eternal life.’ In other words, Peter was also uncomfortable, but he realized that being uncomfortable with Jesus was better than any other option."[4]

What a way to live! We are supposedly left, until we are home with the Lord, to sometimes wonder whether or not we are really saved. There are some striking things about Sproul’s description of his experience. One is how he artfully convinces the undiscriminating reader that the resolution of the personal struggle he described actually involved reliance upon God. Read again—it did not! Sproul describes how he could not possibly stand before God based on his own performance—and then turns around and makes his own performance the issue! What the resolution to this dilemma was really all about was that R.C. reminded himself that he was still hanging in there; he was still clinging to Jesus. The editor’s note at the bottom of Sproul’s text concludes:

“Assurance grows from faith, and faith means clinging to Jesus Christ. Christians don’t always have full assurance, but Christians always hold fast to Christ when the ‘chips are down.’ Have you ever had a crisis like the one R.C. describes? How did you work through it with God?”[5]

Another remarkable thing about Sproul’s article is that it conveys the idea that struggling with whether or not one is truly one of God’s elect is actually a healthy thing for a Christian to undergo from time to time. Our heavenly Father simply would not have His children live this way—anymore than a human father would have his son wondering whether or not he was really his father’s son.

As children of God, we are not to look to our own personal experience to determine whether or not we are truly of the elect. We defer to the testimony of God concerning His Son, Jesus Christ. Have I believed on the person and work of Christ as my substitute on the cross? Therein lies my assurance of salvation.

“Truly, truly I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” (John 5:24)

1. On this web site.
2. Dave Hunt and James White, Debating Calvinism: Five Points, Two Views (Sisters, Oregon: Multnomah Publishers, 2004), p. 91.
3. Ibid., pp. 95-96.
4. R.C. Sproul, “Assurance of Salvation,” Tabletalk (November, 1989), p. 20.
5. Ibid.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

Tiptoing through the TULIP

2008-11-07T17:38:00.000-08:00

Many Bible teachers have been too kind to Calvinism. They have tried not to throw out, what is in their minds, the baby with the bath water. Some have gone so far as to refute one or two points of TULIP, letting the other points slide. Often this is because they have not fully understood what the points actually declare. Some teachers of Bible doctrine (myself included in past years) have described themselves as “moderate” Calvinists. But, regarding this system all of us should really be “teetotalers.” Do we really wish to identify in any way with a system that is not biblical at all, but which merely attempts to defend its unscriptural premise from the Scriptures? Let’s take a look at each point of TULIP.

In the article, “Calvinistic Confusion,” we saw that, at the Synod of Dort, a document known as the Canon of Dort directly responded, in five articles, to the five articles which the Arminians had developed. The articles issued in the Canon of Dort have since come to be identified with the acrostic TULIP. The letters of TULIP represent the first letters of these doctrines developed by the Calvinists:

Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints

Let’s consider each point individually!

TOTAL DEPRAVITY (IN CALVINISTIC THOUGHT)

Total Depravity can mean different things to different people. Man certainly is totally depraved in the sense that:

…as it is written,
“There is none righteous, not even one;
There is none who understands,
There is none who seeks for God;
All have turned aside, together they have become useless;
There is none who does good, There is not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

It is true that every human being enters the human race at birth in spiritual death, and that in spiritual death every human being is a helpless sinner (Romans 5:6,8) and an enemy of God ((Romans5:10). It is true that there is nothing of any human merit or effort that can be offered to God toward salvation. It is true that in spiritual death no human being is able to understand spiritual information (1 Corinthians 2:14), and that it takes the miraculous work of the Holy Spirit to convey the testimony of the Gospel to a person in spiritual death so the message can be understood and then believed or rejected.

But to the classic Calvinist, total depravity means that man, in his depravity, cannot even believe the gospel message! To the Calvinist, an individual must be regenerated before he can have faith. This is emphatically and wholly repudiated by the Word of God which constantly appeals to the sinner to believe unto eternal life.

“Therefore having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now declaring to men that all people everywhere should repent,
Because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31)

“Repent” (Acts 17:30) is metanoe,w (metanoeo), to change one’s mind. Man does have a free will by which he is able to respond to the Gospel through faith—yet, most certainly, by grace alone. God in fact commands all to change their minds, recognizing that all are able to fulfill that requirement (which substantiates the fact of the unlimited atonement which we will get to soon). In Acts 16:31, Paul instructed the Jailer to “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved…”—not “Be saved so you can believe in the Lord Jesus.”

Yet it should not surprise us that the Calvinist recognizes man’s depravity in such a way. He in fact is forced to that conclusion if he acknowledges Calvin’s doctrine of predestination. If man’s will is inconsequential to election, he can only will to believe after he is regenerated apart from anything regarding his will.

UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION

The “T” in TULIP leaves no way of escape from the “U”—the doctrine of Unconditional Election. Election in Calvinism, as we have seen, does not regard the individual’s choice to believe, but is based on God’s sovereign will to elect only certain ones. And it cannot be conditional, because after all, no one can have faith before regeneration!

Yet the Bible teaches that there is a condition with regard to election: belief on Christ. Do you wish to be included in the elect? Then simply believe on Jesus Christ! The unbeliever is invited over and over in the Bible to meet that condition. If one believes, he is one of those who has been chosen in eternity past by God. God has anticipated the faith of all who would believe, and has chosen an elect: believers! All human beings are invited to believe:

“For God so loved the world, that He gave us His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

NOW LET’S KICK THE “L” OUT OF TULIP!

Limited Atonement. How could anyone who acknowledges the authority of the Word of God believe this one? This doctrine asserts that Christ’s death on the cross had only the elect in mind; that its value was reserved for elect alone. It was designed for, and given to, only the elect. Of course, if you believe the “T” and the “U”—you’re locked into this one as well. After all, if the first two points are true, it is not reasonable to assume that Christ died for the non-elect! God would certainly not require the death of Christ for those He had not planned to save!

The problem with this notion is that the Scriptures teach emphatically that the atonement is unlimited; that Christ’s work on the cross was expiatory and propitiatory for every member of the human race. Of course, not all will be saved, but only those who appropriate the value of the atonement by believing in Jesus Christ. The unlimited atonement is declared both directly and indirectly in many verses of the Bible, including John 1:29; John 3:16; 2 Corinthians 5:14; 1 Timothy 2:6; Hebrews 2:9; and, of course:

…and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world. (1 John 2:2)

IRRESTIBLE GRACE

In Calvinism, when that special inward call is extended to the elect person that God wishes to save at that particular time, the Holy Spirit’s work is in no way dependant on the person’s cooperation for success. This is called Irresistible Grace. Though the outward call of the Gospel can be resisted, the inward call of the Spirit cannot. The very willingness of the sinner to believe is wholly a gift from God that was purchased through the cross. It goes without saying, if you have bought into the first three points, this one naturally follows.

Yet clearly, the ministry of the Holy Spirit can be, and often is, resisted. In Matthew 23:37, Jesus told how he had desired to gather the Jews unto Himself, but they were unwilling. In Acts 7:51 Stephen accused his about-to-be murderers of resisting the Holy Spirit, just like their fathers did.

PERSEVERANCE OF THE SAINTS

Do not confuse the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints with the doctrine of Eternal Security. The latter teaches that one who has believed on Jesus Christ cannot lose his salvation. The doctrine of Eternal Security is correct. Perseverance of the Saints (sometimes called Preservation of the Saints) declares not only that believers are eternally kept in their state of salvation by God, but that all who have truly believed on Jesus Christ will be conformed in their experience, more and more, to Christ; that is, they will all, without exception, go on to lead obedient Christian lives, characterized by good works and fruit. The amount of good works will vary, but the general direction of the life will always be toward obedience and holiness. When the believer falls into sin, it will only be temporary and he will (if he is truly one of the elect) always come to repentance. This would be the logical outcome of the previous four points of TULIP.
Furthermore, in the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints the believer’s election and spiritual regeneration are confirmed to him by his changed heart and fruitfulness. The believer’s assurance of salvation rests upon what is going on in his experience.

Yet the Bible is very clear that some, after they have believed unto eternal salvation, will be utter failures regarding obedience to Christ and regarding experiential fruitfulness. Considering this fact may make many believers uncomfortable; nevertheless, this is reality.

If one carefully reads the life of King Saul, it becomes apparent that he was certainly regenerate. Everything about his early career as recorded in the Bible points to his true salvation. Yet he went bad. Really bad. He spent a lot of time under divine discipline and was disobedient and under the influence of evil until the very end of his life. He departed from this world under the principle of sin unto physical death (1 Corinthians 11:30; 1 John 5:16-17). In fact, after Saul consulted a spirit medium (certainly not an act of faith or obedience), God providentially had the deceased Samuel surprise Saul by appearing to him. Samuel told Saul that because of his disobedience:

“Moreover the Lord will also give over Israel along with you into the hands of the Philistines, therefore tomorrow you and your sons will be with me. Indeed the Lord will give over the army of Israel into the hands of the Philistines.” (1 Samuel 28:19)

Samuel told Saul that the next day, Saul and his sons would be with him (Samuel). What could this mean, except that Saul (regenerate) and his sons (regenerate) would be joining Samuel (regenerate): Unless, of course, Samuel the prophet was unregenerate. Or unless Jonathan (one of Saul’s sons who died the day Saul died) was unregenerate. (Yet the Scripture portrays Jonathan as a very consistent, spiritual believer and a man of great integrity.)
But alas, Saul departed from physical life an utter failure. What could this possibly mean? It means that believers can, and do, utterly fail in their experience as God’s children. The life of Saul certainly repudiates the doctrine of the Perseverance of the Saints. So do the lives of a number of others in the Bible, including some of the Kings of Judah who were believers, yet became spiritual failures.

The Apostle Paul, in describing the judgment of Christ for believers (an event that Calvinists unfortunately lump together with the Great White Throne Judgment for unbelievers), wrote that there would be rewards conferred to some believers, and loss of rewards for other believers (1 Corinthians 3:12-15), yet even believers without rewards will enter heaven:

If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire. (1 Corinthians 3:15)

Paul even recognized the very real possibility that he himself could wind up in the category of being “saved, yet so as through fire.” In 1 Corinthans 9:24-25, he illustrates the reward concept with something with which his readers were all familiar: the Isthmian games, at the end of which the winner would receive a spruce wreath. Paul contrasted that perishable earthly reward with the imperishable reward that is the goal of the spiritual life (1 Corinthians 9:25), and he went on to give the reason that he was self-disciplined:

…but I discipline my body and make it my slave, so that, after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified. (1 Corinthians 9:27)

Disqualified; that is, from the reward. (Not “a castaway” as rendered in the King James Version.) Paul was not considering the possibility that he was not one of the elect—only the possibility that he could fail to follow through with the fulfillment of the spiritual life and be disqualified from eternal rewards bestowed on some of the elect.

THE DOMINO EFFECT

More than one Calvinist has voiced the challenge to prove any of the five points true and the rest must follow as necessary parts of the system—yet prove one point wrong and the whole system must be rejected. I would encourage every believer to follow those very instructions, using the Scriptures as the standard. The five points go down like a row of dominos in the light of the Word of God.

THE PRACTICAL PROBLEMS OF TULIP

We have seen some of the doctrinal problems of the five points of Calvinism. Now let’s consider some of the practical problems. The major experiential problem with Calvinism is that absolute assurance of salvation is impossible with this system. Where Arminianism (because it includes the belief that one can be regenerated and then become reprobate) causes the believer to fear that he can lose his salvation—Calvinism causes the believer to fear that he may not have actually been saved at the time when he thought he was.

Also, there is the problem of stimulation of the energy of the flesh. Both Arminianism and Calvinism cause believers to strive in a way that is not oriented to grace, and is therefore not the operation of the spiritual life. The Arminian strives to stay saved; the Calvinist strives to validate that his saving faith was genuine.

THE INSIDIOUSNESS OF IT ALL

Calvinism came to the colonies from Europe and is still deeply rooted in the denominations of Reformed theology. But the serious damage done by Calvinism lies not only on the conscious, but also the subconscious level. In other words, many in our nation today do not necessarily think of themselves as Calvinists. Many actually have no idea what Calvin or his successors taught. They are not indoctrinated into Calvinism per se, because there has been a general trend in the Church to downplay doctrine and doctrinal issues altogether. Yet they are subtly and subconsciously poisoned from a religious culture which has been saturated with Calvinism for centuries. So, at the Christian book store they buy commentaries, some of which are overtly Calvinistic in their approach; others of which are devotional and stay away from doctrinal issues, yet which consider it a “given” that anyone who has genuinely believed will, without exception, be living a life of fruitful obedience, characterized by good works. This notion has come from hundreds of years of Calvinism.

The entire first epistle of John is misread today by most commentators, who perceive the letter to be a series of tests whereby a professing Christian can determine whether or not he is truly saved. Yet, in actuality, John’s express purpose in writing the epistle was to promote fellowship with God (1 John 1:3-7) among those to whom he was writing. His intended readership clearly consists of those who have believed in Jesus Christ, and have thus already received the forgiveness of God (1 John 2:12); in other words those who are regenerated. Furthermore, he wants them to know that they have eternal life (1 John 5:13)—that is, to be assured of their salvation—not through validating it by their own personal experience, but by continuing to believe the testimony of God concerning His Son Jesus Christ.
On the conscious level, Calvinism has actually been enjoying quite a revival in recent years. Included in this phenomenon are many young people, many of whom read the reformers with zeal and revere them in a way that is truly cultic. You can purchase bumper stickers with Calvinistic slogans and buy t-shirts bearing portraits of the Reformers and famous Puritans. This is not to take away from the appreciation we should have for the Reformers and others who have, often with great sacrifice, recovered and defended important doctrines of the faith. But we need to keep things in perspective and be careful to test everything against the Word. And, the writings of theologians which are not even founded on Scripture—but on premises they have imposed on the Scripture, and then have attempted to defend from the Scripture—these writings should be quickly recognized and rejected by the Bible believer. A tulip is a pretty flower. TULIP is an ugly theology.

CALVINISM OR ARMINIANISM? HOW ABOUT NEITHER?

Thank God, we don’t have to be either Calvinist or Arminian in our viewpoint. Instead, we can just allow the Scriptures to speak to us themselves! Some theologians have shown the contrast between the differing views of election through various logical orders of arrangement of the divine decrees. It is not really even necessary to go there (though this can sometimes be helpful in putting things in perspective). The bottom line is this: God is sovereign. God has a sovereign purpose (Let’s not be lofty here—God’s sovereign purpose is simply what God wants to do.) God has factored the free volition of human beings into His plan, and He has chosen an elect for salvation. The elect He has chosen consists of those who will believe with free will. Divine omniscience anticipates the decisions human beings will make. It is that simple. And the fact of man’s free will is of great importance regarding the appeal trial of Satan, a subject which will be considered in detail on this web site.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

Calvinistic Confusion

2008-11-07T17:30:00.000-08:00

THE PROFOUND INFLUENCE OF CALVINISM

The Calvinist believes that God predetermined that certain people would be saved and go to heaven, and that He predetermined others for condemnation. It is important that we take some time to consider this system of thought, not only because it terribly distorts the truth of God’s Word, but also because Calvinism has been such a dominant influence in the religious culture of western civilization for so long. The Church today continues to be under the spell of this system.

Something should be made clear from the beginning. I have often heard it said by Bible teachers who are supposedly “in the know” that Calvin himself is not the one to fault regarding the error of this system. No, those who succeeded Calvin, like Theodore Beza, were the radical ones. Without really looking into this I just used to assume that they knew what they were talking about. However, several years ago, I began to do some reading in John Calvin’s monumental "Institutes of the Christian Religion." It became immediately and increasingly clear to me that the source of error in this system, even in the modern variations of Calvinism, was John Calvin himself. Although the five points of Calvinism (all of them false, as we will see) were developed after Calvin lived, all five points were the necessary outcome of Calvin’s unbiblical premise. It was John Calvin himself who wrote:

“By predestination we mean the eternal decree of God, by which he determined with himself whatever he wished to happen with regard to every man. All are not created on equal terms, but some are preordained to eternal life, others to eternal damnation. And, accordingly, as each has been created for one or other of these ends, we say that he has been predestinated to life or to death.”[1]
“We say, then, that Scripture clearly proves this much, that God by his eternal and immutable counsel determined once for all those whom it was his pleasure one day to admit to salvation, and those whom, on the other hand, it was his pleasure to doom to destruction.”[2]

Not only was Calvin’s doctrine of predestination serious error, but he also taught infant baptism and that the ritual of water baptism has now been substituted for the ritual of circumcision.[3] It also should be mentioned that he taught baptismal regeneration.[4] All of these things certainly destroy his credibility as a teacher of doctrine. But should we not cut Calvin some slack, bearing in mind the differences in the religious, social and political environment during Calvin’s time? After all, the Reformation was just beginning to take Europe out of some very dark times. Can we not take this into consideration? Absolutely. Yet, in the final analysis, the doctrine which John Calvin set forth (and which still captivates millions) must be judged in the light of the Word of God.

THE HISTORY OF CALVINISM: AUGUSTINE

To trace the history of Calvinism, we must go back to a man known as Augustine of Hippo, born in AD 354. Augustine’s father was apparently an unbeliever, but his mother was a Christian who desired to bring up her son in the teachings and values of Christianity.

Augustine was a problem child. He was lazy and he became what we might today call a “party animal.” From a young age he led a life of immoral degeneracy. When he was 17 he took a mistress and fathered a son. He pursued an education, but drifted aimlessly from one philosophy to another. In 376 he taught grammar, and he later went to Carthage to teach rhetoric. After some time in Rome, he wound up in Milan, studying under Ambrose. Ambrose was a powerful preacher, but Augustine was interested in acquiring Ambrose’s skills as a rhetorician and orator.

Augustine soon came under conviction from the truth of God’s Word, which resulted in a time of great struggle between his conscience and the lusts of the flesh. Torn by this struggle, he tried to find some calm in a garden one day in the summer of 386. He and his friend Alypius entered the garden to pray. Augustine describes something quite dramatic which unfolded:

"I was suddenly asking myself these questions, weeping all the while with the most bitter sorrow in my heart, when all at once I heard a sing-song voice of a child in a nearby house. Whether it was the voice of a boy or girl I cannot say, but again and again it repeated the refrain “Take and read, take and read.”[5]

Augustine took this to be a divine command instructing him to open his book of Scripture and read the first passage upon which his eyes fell. He did so, and the passage was:

Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy.
But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts. (Romans 13:13-14)

This was a profound turning point for Augustine. He writes:

“I had no wish to read more and no need to do so. For in an instant, as I came to the end of the sentence, it was as though the light of confidence flooded into my heart and all the darkness of doubt was dispelled.”[6]

From that point on, Augustine was determined to fully embrace his new faith. He observed rules of discipline, submitted to personal poverty and even performed manual labor. He studied, prayed, and became profoundly aware of the grace of God. His life was turned completely around. He wound up teaching doctrine to a large flock at Hippo Regius, and he produced an enormous volume of written work.

It is important for us to remember that Augustine wrote very early in Church history. The Church had not, prior to Augustine, really classified, nor considered in a systematic way, such doctrines as Adam’s fall, the depravity of man, Christ’s work for salvation, the doctrine of election, etc.

Augustine taught that God has predestinated some to salvation and others to condemnation. He taught that grace is irresistible: that is, that man cannot reject God’s call. He taught that grace only comes to those to whom God chooses to send it, and that Christ did not die on the cross for all members of the human race, only for God’s chosen. Augustine believed that man has been entirely corrupted by the fall to the point where he is unable to exercise his will with regard to salvation.

Augustine’s greatest opposition came from a Celtic monk named Pelagius. One day Pelagius rolled into Rome and was appalled that Christians there were opposed to the rigorous asceticism practiced by him and his followers. Ultimately he attributed Rome’s laxity and moral decay to the doctrine of divine grace which had been developed by Augustine.

Pelagius believed in, and emphasized, the power of human will. He denied the fact of the sin nature inherited from Adam, teaching that only Adam was affected by the fall; that human beings are born neutral and that we all have the ability to cooperate with God in the process of salvation and the attainment of holiness. He was banished from Rome in 418 and officially condemned as a heretic. Unofficially, however, his doctrine has lived on and, in less extreme forms, has been incorporated into various systems of thought within the Church.

JOHN CALVIN

John Calvin (1509-1564) was without question the doctrinal leader of the reformation. Where Martin Luther was the preacher of the reformation, Calvin was its theologian. In 1535, at age 27, Calvin wrote Institutes of the Christian Religion. This proved to be the most influential work of the Protestant Reformation. In it, Calvin was largely reviving and repackaging the teaching of Augustine. He cites and appeals to Augustine throughout. Calvin’s concept of double predestination (of the elect and the condemned) had been advanced by Augustine over a thousand years before Calvin.

THEODORE BEZA

The Swiss city of Geneva became the nerve-center of the reformation, and Calvinism quickly spread throughout Europe. In 1564 Calvin died and his leadership was picked up by Theodore Beza. Some maintain that Beza corrupted Calvin’s pure doctrine with new twists which Calvin would have repudiated. They suggest that “pure” Calvinism has been all but lost because the masses have gone the way of Beza. Others say this is nonsense, that Beza did not significantly add to or alter any of Calvin’s teachings. But, as has been pointed out, the problem with Calvinism clearly has its source in John Calvin; and even in Augustine before Calvin.

It was Beza who developed the system which came to be known as supralapsarianism. (from the Latin supra and lapsum: “before the fall”), the doctrine that God decreed both election and reprobation before the fall. Supralapsarianism teaches that in the logical order of decrees, God decreed to glorify Himself through the election of some and reprobation of others—and then He decreed to create men (both elect and non-elect)—and then He decreed to permit the fall as the means by which His purpose would be carried out. Thus, His mercy is revealed in the election of some, His justice in the reprobation of others.

JAMES ARMINIUS

Strong oppositition to Calvinism eventually came through a Dutch Reformed minister and student of Beza, James Arminius. While a young pastor in Amsterdam, Arminius was asked to write a paper to refute the teachings of Dirck Coornhert, who, in 1576, published some objections to the doctrine of predestination as taught by strict Calvinists. While studying the objections of Coornhert, Arminius became convinced that many of Coornhert’s views were correct. When Arminius was appointed professor of theology at Leiden, tension began to develop as his teachings clashed with those of Franciscus Gomarus, an ardent Calvinist and supralapsarian.

As Arminius continued to develop and set forth his convictions, hostility from Gomarus and his followers intensified. Holland became divided into two camps and the conflict had political and social as well as theological implications. Most of the middle class came to support the Arminian position, and rural classes in the lower areas of Holland adhered to the position of Gomarus. The possibility of civil war was looming. Arminius requested that a national synod be held and he defended his position before the ruling body of the Netherlands, but died in 1609 before the conference ended.
.
THE REMONSTRANCE

After Arminius died, his followers put together a formal statement declaring their beliefs. This document, known as The Remonstrance, contained five articles outlining their basic disagreements with strict Calvinism. In summary, the articles stated:

(1) That God determined in Christ Jesus to save out of sinful humanity those who believe on Christ and who shall persevere in faith and obedience; and to leave the "incorrigible and unbelieving in sin and under death."
(2) Jesus Christ died for all men and for every man, and that by his death on the cross, redemption and forgiveness of sins is obtained; "yet that no one actually enjoys this forgiveness of sins except the believer."
(3) Fallen man "has not saving grace of himself" and that apart from the Holy Spirit "can of and by himself neither think, will, nor do anything that is truly good."
(4) That, in light of article three, "all good deeds and movements [in man] must be ascribed to the grace of God in Christ", this grace, however, "...is not irresistible inasmuch as it is written concerning many, that they have resisted the Holy Ghost."
(5) Those who believe in Christ have "full power" to persevere in faith and overcome any and all temptations, but whether or not, through their own negligence or forsaking of the Gospel may become "devoid of grace" required more study of Scriptures.[7]

THE SYNOD OF DORT

In the years 1618-1619 a national conference of the Netherlands Reformed Church was held in Dordrecht (Dort), the Netherlands. The assembly was called to address three problems confronting the Church, one of which was the Arminian position declared in The Remonstrance. The Remonstrants (Arminians) expected this to be an open forum where they could express their views and where these views could be discussed. Instead, it was essentially an ambush. Thirteen of the Arminian theologians suddenly found themselves on trial for heresy before the Synod which was heavily controlled by the Calvinists. Ultimately, more than two hundred Arminian pastors were removed from their posts, and fifteen were arrested.

TULIP BEGINS TO BLOSSOM

At the Synod of Dort a document known as the Canon of Dort directly responded, in five articles, to the five articles which the Arminians had developed. The articles issued in the Canon of Dort have since come to be identified with the acrostic TULIP. The letters of TULIP represent the first letters of these doctrines developed by the Calvinists:

Total Depravity
Unconditional Election
Limited Atonement
Irresistible Grace
Perseverance of the Saints

This, then, has been a very brief history of the system of belief we call Calvinism, but every attempt has been made to not oversimplify it. The five points which came from Dort are erroneous—all of them—as we will show in another article. We will consider what they mean to the Calvinist and why they are wrong. The development of these points derives from a premise which is false: the notion of predestination as viewed by John Calvin and his predecessor Augustine. TULIP is only to be expected from such an unbiblical concept.

Footnotes:
1. John Calvin, Institutes of the Christian Religion, tr. Henry Beveridge (Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1989), III: xxi, 5.
2. Ibid., 7.
3. Ibid., IV: xvi, 4.
4. Ibid. and IV: xv, 3.
5. Augustine, Confessions, VIII, 12.
6. Ibid.
7. Jonathan D. Duttweiler, "The Synod of Dort and Moral Government Theology," http.//www.biblical-theology.com/Calvinism/syndort.htm.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

This article is a revised excerpt from “Then the Proconsul Believed: A study of the Acts of the Apostles, Volume I—Acts Chapters 1—13,” by Lee Griffith, available free of charge, upon request.

Copyright © 2006 Lee Griffith. All rights reserved.

How to be Saved

2008-11-06T12:32:00.000-08:00

“For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life,
“For God did not send the Son into the world to Judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.” (John 3:16-17)

On the cross, Jesus Christ paid for the penalty of your sins, along with the sins of the whole world. However, to have eternal life, an individual must appropriate the value of Christ’s saving work. God has made His Son the issue in salvation. Whoever believes the testimony of God about the identity of His Son instantly receives the free gift of God’s righteousness unto salvation.

Yes, it is that that simple! God has made it very easy to be saved. In fact, you can look at it this way: God has actually made it hard NOT to be saved! All one must do is believe that Jesus Christ is the Person God has claimed He is.

…but these things have been written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name. (John 20:31)

Many people think that going to heaven depends on the kind of life they have led, how good they have been, or the works they have done. However, none of this is relevant.

Therefore they said to Him, “What shall we do, so that we may do the Works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.” (John 6-28-29)

But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness. (Romans 4:5)

If you are not sure of your eternal destiny, God is inviting you to believe in His Son Jesus Christ so that you may receive the free gift of eternal life.

Scripture quotations taken from the NASB. www.lockman.org

FREE Book: Right Man-Right Woman

2008-11-06T12:18:00.000-08:00

The Doctrine of Right Man-Right Woman
By Lee Griffith

“There are only two things in my life I will never forget: One is that there is someone for everyone, even if you need a pickaxe, a compass, and night goggles to find them; and the other is, tonight, I learned that romance does exist: deep in the heart of L.A.”
—Steve Martin, in “L.A. Story”

Is there such a thing as a man and a woman PERFECTLY suited for each another? Or, is this just a romantic ideal produced from human imagination? What does the Bible have to say about it? “The Doctrine of Right Man-Right Woman” is an in-depth study of divinely appointed relationships as taught from the Scriptures, beginning with the first man and woman in the human race. Also, principles related to marriage, divorce, and remarriage are addressed by Moses, Jesus, Peter, and Paul. Included is an exposition of the entire seventh chapter of 1 Corinthians.

Lee Griffith is the pastor of Finished Work Fellowship, in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He teaches the word of God systematically and thoroughly, with orientation to the grace of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ.

If you would like a copy of this book, we’ll send it to you absolutely FREE of charge (See our financial policy on this web site). Contact us electronically through this site or write to us at:

Finished Work Fellowship
P.O. Box 27989
Prescott Valley, AZ 86312

FREE Book: Study of Acts Chapters 1-13

2008-11-06T12:13:00.000-08:00

Then the Proconsul Believed
A Study of the Acts of the Apostles—Volume I
By Lee Griffith

“Things are not always as they appear to be—or as we have been conditioned, or have conditioned ourselves, to see them.” This is the premise of this study of the historical record of the Acts of the Apostles. Travel with the author through this unique and exciting period of history—and be prepared to see things from a viewpoint you may not have ever considered! The writer’s approach to the Word of God is conservative, his theology is dispensational, and his application of doctrine to experience is practical.

Author Lee Griffith says, “I hold to the verbal plenary inspiration of the Bible, believing that every word of Scripture in the original manuscripts bears divine authorship and authority. With regard to accuracy in interpreting the Scriptures, I understand the importance of recognizing the various dispensations through which God has related to angelic and human beings. This study of Acts is not really a consideration of dispensational versus covenant theology—it is more of a discussion of the finer points of dispensationalism. For a good, overall study of the concept of dispensationalism, the covenant theologian would do well to read Charles C. Ryrie’s Dispensationalism Today. Ryrie does a great job of presenting the history of, and biblical basis for, dispensationalism, though he rejects the dispensational system I’m in agreement with—which he calls ‘ultradispensationalism.’ (I always bear in mind R.B. Shiflet’s definition of an ultradispensationalist: ‘Usually, an ultradispensationalist is one whose system of dispensational interpretation goes beyond your own.’) My dispensational point of view is very one with that of the late Charles F. Baker. Baker, a student of Lewis Sperry Chafer, was President of Grace Bible College, Grand Rapids, Michigan. I highly recommend his thorough and lucid textbook, 'A Dispensational Theology.' My overall hermeneutical approach to the Scriptures is very much influenced by the writings and lectures of R.B. Thieme, Jr., pastor of Berachah Church, Houston, Texas. Thieme stresses the importance of exegesis from the original languages of Scripture in the light of the historical context in which each passage was written. Thieme has had profound insight into some of the most important (yet most neglected) doctrines of the Word of God, such as the doctrine of the angelic conflict and resultant appeal trial of Satan. Thieme’s understanding and exposition of historical trends, viewed in the light of the Scriptures, have made an immense contribution to Christianity. Though I am definitely in some dispensational disagreement with Zane Hodges, who taught New Testament Greek at Dallas Theological Seminary for twenty-seven years, I love the emphasis in his writings on the principle, for all dispensations, of salvation by grace alone—through faith alone—in Christ alone. Joseph C. Dillow is excellent in this area as well, with his monumental work, ‘The Reign of the Servant Kings.’”

Lee Griffith is the pastor of Finished Work Fellowship, in Prescott Valley, Arizona. He teaches the word of God systematically and thoroughly, with orientation to the grace of God and the finished work of Jesus Christ.

If you would like a copy of this book, we’ll send it to you absolutely FREE of charge and we'll pay the postage (See our financial policy on this web site). Contact us at GraceBasics@hotmail.com or write to us at:

Finished Work Fellowship
P.O. Box 27989
Prescott Valley, AZ 86312

FREE MP3 Recordings

2008-11-06T12:05:00.000-08:00

If you would like to receive free MP3 recordings of the Bible studies we hold twice weekly, we’d be glad to send them to you FREE of charge (See our financial policy on this web site). We send them out at irregular intervals, but each disc will include all of the most recent messages to date. We will add you to our mailing list—all that we ask is that if you decide that you do not wish to receive them any longer, that you contact us. We do not want to send them to anyone who does not wish to receive them! Contact us by email at GraceBasics@hotmail.com or write to us at:

Finished Work Fellowship
P.O. Box 27989
Prescott Valley, AZ 86312

Our Meetings

2008-11-06T12:02:00.001-08:00

We invite you to attend our meetings in the activity room at the Prescott Valley Samaritan Center, 3380 N. Windsong Drive, Prescott Valley, AZ. Our meeting times are Sunday and Thursday evenings at 6:00.

Our studies consist of about an hour of Bible teaching in lecture form by the pastor. He teaches in a monologue, and no questions are taken during the sermon, but feel free to ask questions afterwards. Tables are available for those who wish to bring materials for taking notes. It is requested that during the sermon there be no talking or unnecessary movement, as a matter of courtesy, and so that everyone may be free to concentrate on the teaching of God’s Word without distraction.

We do not provide a Sunday school for children for this reason: We believe that it is the responsibility of parents to be under Bible doctrine themselves and to teach what they receive to their children on the level at which their children can understand. When children reach an age where they have the capacity to listen to the Bible teaching of the pastor and not be a distraction to others, they should attend the meetings of the congregation with their parents. We do not have any nursery facilities for small children at this time.

If you have any questions at all, please give us a call!

928-772-2797

Our Financial Policy

2008-11-06T11:51:00.001-08:00

To place a price on Bible doctrine is not compatible with God's grace. God provides Bible doctrine to all who desire to receive it, with no respect to financial status. Therefore, our books and recordings are not for sale. No money is requested or suggested. Biblically, the ministry of God's Word is to be totally dependent on the freewill offerings of believers when gratitude for the Word of God motivates them to give, under privacy, with no compulsion, coercion, or gimmicks of any kind. Books, as available, and MP3 recordings may be obtained by writing to:

Finished Work Fellowship
P.O. Box 27989
Prescott Valley, AZ 86312

Any offerings by check are payable to Finished Work Fellowship.

Statement of Faith

2008-11-06T11:34:00.000-08:00

The Constitution of Finished Work Fellowship requires the pastor to prepare, and update as necessary, a basic statement of his doctrinal viewpoint. The following is the pastor’s current doctrinal statement:

1. THE HOLY SCRIPTURES
I believe the Holy Scriptures to be the inspired Word of God, authoritative, inerrant, and God breathed (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Peter 1:20-21; Psalm 119:89; John 10:35)

2. THE GODHEAD
I believe in one triune God existing in three Persons—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—eternal in being, identical in nature, equal in power and glory and having the same attributes and perfections (Deuteronomy 6:4; John 8:58; II Corinthians 13:14; Hebrews 9:14).

3. THE TOTAL DEPRAVITY OF MAN
I believe that man was created in the image and likeness of God but that in Adam’s sin the race fell, inherited a sinful nature, became alienated from God, and is totally unable to retrieve his lost condition (Genesis 1:26, 27; Romans 3:22, 23; 5:12; Ephesians 2:12).

4. THE PERSON AND WORK OF CHRIST
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ, the eternal Son of God, became man without ceasing to be God, having been conceived of the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary, in order that He might reveal God and redeem sinful man; that He accomplished our redemption through His spiritual death on the Cross as a substitutionary sacrifice; that our redemption is made sure to us by His literal physical resurrection from the dead (John 1:1, 2, 14; Luke 1:35; Romans 3:24, 25; 4:25; 1 Peter 1:3-5); that the Lord Jesus Christ is now in heaven, exalted at the right hand of God, where, as the High Priest for His people, He fulfills the ministry of Representative, Intercessor, and Advocate (Hebrews 9:24; 7:25; Romans 8:34; 1 John 2:1, 2).

5. THE PERSONALITY AND WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
I believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person who convicts the world of sin, indwells all believers in the present age, baptizes them into the Body of Christ, seals them unto the day of redemption, and that it is the duty of every believer to be filled with the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:9; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14; Ephesians 1:13, 14; 5:18).

6. SALVATION
I believe that salvation in every dispensation is the gift of God brought to man by grace and received by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, whose efficacious death on the Cross provided man’s reconciliation to God (Ephesians 1:7; 2:8-10; John 1:12).

7. THE ETERNAL SECURITY OF ALL BELIEVERS
I believe that all believers are kept secure forever (Romans 8:1, 38, 39; John 10:27-30; 1 Corinthians 1:4-8).

8. THE CHURCH
I believe that the Church, which is now the Body and shall be the Bride of Christ, is a spiritual organism made up of all born-again persons of this age irrespective of their affiliation with Christian organizations (Ephesians 1:22, 23; 5:25-27; 1 Corinthians 12:12-14).

9. THE PERSONALITY OF SATAN
I believe in the personality of Satan who is the open and declared enemy of God and man (Job 1:6, 7; Matthew 4:2-11; Isaiah 14:12-17).

10. THE BLESSED HOPE
I believe that the next great event in the fulfillment of prophecy will be the coming of the Lord Jesus in the air to receive to Himself the dead in Christ and believers who are alive at His coming, otherwise known as the Rapture and Translation of the Church (1 Corinthians 15:51-57; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-14).

11. DANIEL’S SEVENTIETH WEEK
I believe that the Rapture of the Church will be followed by the fulfillment of Israel’s seventieth week, the latter half of which is the time of Jacob’s trouble, the great Tribulation (Daniel 9:27; Jeremiah 30:7; Matthew 24:15-21; Revelation 6-19).

12. THE SECOND COMING OF CHRIST
I believe that the great Tribulation will be climaxed by the (premillennial) return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth to set up His kingdom (Zechariah 14:4-11; Matthew 24:15-25; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-10; Revelation 20:6).

13. THE ETERNAL STATE
I believe that those who have believed in the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation do at death immediately pass into His presence; but the souls of unbelievers remain after death in conscious misery until the final judgment of the Great White Throne at the close of the Millennium, when soul and body reunited shall be cast into the Lake of Fire, not to be annihilated, but to be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power (Luke 16:19-26; 23:43; 2 Corinthians 5:1-8; Philippians 1:23; 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9; Jude 6, 7; Revelation 20:11-15).

14. THE RESPONSIBILITY OF BELIEVERS
To “grow in grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ,” to the end that his life is consistent with the Lord’s plan, thus bringing both blessing to the believer and honor to the Lord (2 Peter 3:18).

15. CHURCH ORDINANCE
I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ instituted the Lord’s Supper to be observed until His return (Matthew 28:19, 20: 2 Corinthians 11:23-26).

16. SOVEREIGNTY
I believe that God, existing as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, is sovereign and exercises supreme and absolute rule over all creation as a part of and consistent with the essence and attributes of Deity (1 Chronicles 29:11,12; Daniel 4:35; Psalms 24:1; Ephesians 1:11; 2 Timothy 6:15).

17. SPIRITUALITY
I believe that spirituality is an absolute condition in the life of a believer in this dispensation wherein he is filled or controlled by the Holy Spirit, walking in love and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. I believe that spirituality is distinct from maturity, that a believer becomes carnal through any act of mental, verbal, or overt sin, and that spirituality (fellowship with Christ) is restored solely by personal confession of that sin to God the Father (John 15:7,8; II Corinthians 5:6; Galatians 5:16; Ephesians 5:18; Romans 6:11-13; 1 John 1:5, 9; 2:2; 1 Corinthians 11:30, 31).

18. SPIRITUAL GIFTS
I believe that God The Holy Spirit in grace and apart from human merit sovereignly bestows spiritual gifts to believers in this dispensation. Some of the permanent spiritual gifts which exist today are pastor-teacher, evangelist. I further believe that there were temporary spiritual gifts ceased with the completion of the canon of Scripture, examples of which are apostleship, prophecy, speaking in tongues, interpreting tongues, healing, and working of miracles. (1 Corinthians 12, 13; Ephesians 4:7-12; Romans 12:4-8).

19. DISPENSATIONAL PERSPECTIVE WITH SOME EXPLANATION:
I believe that the ministry of John the Baptizer, and of Jesus and the twelve apostles, was focused on the announcement of the coming Kingdom of Messiah. For example in Matthew 3:2 and in Matthew 4:17, John, and then Jesus, called on Israel to repent (have a change of mind) because “the kingdom of heaven (literally ‘from the heavens’) is at hand” (near). Daniel’s seventieth week and the subsequent establishment of Messiah’s kingdom on earth were actually the next steps on the prophetic agenda. The Sermon on the Mount was a guide for preparation for this kingdom as well as the manifesto for the kingdom.

I believe that the twelve apostles (complete with Matthias, who was the legitimate and divinely ordained replacement for Judas in Acts 1) were going forward with the kingdom agenda during the early Acts period. It had been promised that they would sit on twelve thrones over Israel in Messiah’s kingdom (Matthew 19:28). What many refer to as “the great commission” (and it WAS a great commission--Matthew 28:19-20; Mark 16:15-18; Luke 24:47-48; Acts 1:8) was a continuation of the proclamation of the Gospel of the Kingdom after the crucifixion, death, burial, resurrection and ascension of Christ. After all, Messiah’s kingdom could only be officially offered to Israel AFTER the Cross (Luke 24:26; 1 Peter 1:11). Indeed the formal offer of Messiah’s kingdom was clearly presented through Peter in Acts 3:19-21. Had Israel, as a nation, repented and accepted the offer, the seventieth week of Daniel would have occurred, followed by the Second Advent of Christ and the establishment of His kingdom. The response of Israel to the offer, however, crystallized with the stoning of Stephen in Acts 7. It was then that God began to set Israel aside (Romans 11:25)—TEMPORARILY. God will fulfill all of the covenant promises to Israel after the rapture of the Church of the present dispensation.

Upon Israel’s rejection of Messiah’s kingdom, God, in His grace, saved one of the participants involved in the stoning of Stephen—Saul of Tarsus. It was to this man that the ascended Christ disclosed a great “mystery” (Gr. musterion: something which had been secret until it was made known). Paul writes about this in Ephesians 3:1-9 as well as a number of other places. This was a secret which had been hidden in God—an entire program which was a complete departure from the program which had been revealed though the prophets. The prophetic plan had called for the Gentiles to be blessed (through the covenants given to Israel) through Israel’s AGENCY. This newly revealed (that is, newly revealed to the apostle Paul) program involves the blessing of the Gentiles through Israel’s FALL and her temporary rejection by God. After the rapture, the prophetic plan will resume once again, and the covenant program will again move forward, and all of the covenants to Israel (except the Mosaic Covenant which has been discontinued) will be fulfilled. The other apostles became aware of this mystery after it was set forth by the Apostle Paul. The apostleship of Paul was unique and was distinct from that of the twelve. It was through what Christ had revealed to the Apostle Paul that the other apostles became enlightened as to the new economy in the plan of God.

I believe that believers today are not under the so-called “great commission,” but that we have a no less great commission which has been entrusted to us; a ministry of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18). Central to this ministry is the “word of reconciliation” (2 Corinthians 5:19) a.k.a. “the gospel of the grace of God” (Acts 20:24) a.k.a. “the word of the cross” (1 Corinthians 1:18). We are ambassadors for Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20) with a message to the lost which is not tied to the announcement of Messiah’s kingdom. The kingdom gospel will resume during Daniel’s seventieth week (Matthew 24:14).

I believe that the Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Spirit was the prophesied baptism whereby it was promised that Christ would do the baptizing (Matthew 3:11; Mark 1:8; Luke 3:16; John 1:33; Acts 1:5, 8). This was a unique manifestation of the Holy Spirit whereby Israel had the opportunity to experience a foretaste of the blessings which the New Covenant to Israel would bring; a preview of “the powers of the age to come” (Hebrews 6:5). That baptism of the Holy Spirit began to be withdrawn in the later Acts period after Israel had rejected the kingdom offer. The Pentecostal baptism of the Holy Spirit whereby CHRIST baptized must be distinguished from the baptism of the Holy Spirit whereby the HOLY SPIRIT baptizes every believer into Christ’s Body at the instant of salvation. The former was experiential in nature. The latter is positional in nature. This is why Pentecost is NOT the pattern for the Church of the present dispensation.

I believe that the ritual of water baptism was a ritual associated with the kingdom program for Israel. It was a ritual which illustrated the washing away of Israel’s sins as the people of the nation prepared their hearts to receive Messiah as King. There is no Biblical basis for the assumption that water baptism is a picture of our death, burial and resurrection with Christ, or a picture of our positional baptism. When the Apostle Paul was water baptized, it was in connection with the washing away of sins (Acts 22:16). Water baptism was clearly a part of the commission of the twelve (Matthew 28:19; Acts 2:38). The Apostle Paul was water baptized because he was saved when the kingdom agenda was ongoing. After Paul was saved, he received progressive installments of revelation directly from the ascended Christ Jesus (Acts 26:16 “…for this purpose I have appeared to you, to appoint you a minister and a witness not only to the things which you have seen, but also to the things IN WHICH I WILL APPEAR TO YOU”). (cf. 2 Corinthians 12:7.) After Paul received quite a bit of revelation about the great mystery, he became aware that his commission did not include water baptism (1 Corinthians 1:17). People try to get around the clear implication of 1 Corinthians 1:17 by saying that Paul wanted to emphasize his preaching of the gospel over and above his water baptism because the Corinthian believers were developing personality cults around those who had baptized them (which they certainly were). But think about it. Could any of the twelve during the Pentecostal era have said that they did not come to baptize? (cf. Matthew 28:19.) Water baptism is not a part of the program for God’s people during the present dispensation. Maybe that is why there is such confusion about it in the Body of Christ. There is no majority of opinion as to how it is to be done (immersion, effusion or sprinkling) to whom it is to be done (infants or professing believers) and what it means when it is done. Some denominations, to their shame, actually teach baptismal regeneration! Some teach that it replaces the ritual of circumcision. Some teach that it is a picture of the believer’s death, burial and resurrection with Christ.

I believe that salvation, in EVERY dispensation in human history, is by grace alone; through faith alone; in Christ alone (Genesis 15:6; Romans 4:5).

Lee V. Griffith

Our Pastor

2008-11-06T11:24:00.000-08:00

Lee Griffith is the pastor of Finished Work Fellowship, in Prescott Valley, Arizona, where He has taught since 1987. He teaches the word of God systematically and thoroughly, recognizing the importance of exegesis from the original languages of Scripture in the light of the historical context in which each passage was written. His verse by verse teaching presents the Word of God in the context of the various dispensations through which God has related to angelic and human beings.

About Us

2008-11-06T11:15:00.000-08:00

Finished Work Fellowship is a nondenominational, autonomous local assembly in Prescott Valley, Arizona. We believe that eternal life is a gift from God, available by grace alone, through faith in Christ alone. From a sense of gratitude for the finished work accomplished for us on the cross by God’s Son, Jesus Christ, we are committed to teaching of the whole realm of Bible doctrine. We believe God’s plan for man involves a number of dispensations, or arrangements, through which God has related to man throughout various periods in human history. We believe that the unique spiritual life prescribed by God for believers of the present dispensation can only be understood through the consistent and systematic teaching of the Word of God.