A FEW ENCOURAGING VERSES ABOUT OUR BLESSED HOPE

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Luke 21:36 – 36 Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man

John 14:1-3 – 1 Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.

I Corinthians 15:51-53 – 51 Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed— 52 in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. 53 For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.

Philippians 3:20-21 –  20 For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, 21 who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

Colossians 3:4 – 4 When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory.

I Thessalonians 1:10 – 10 and to wait for His Son from heaven, whom He raised from the dead, even Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.

I Thessalonians 2:19 – 19 For what is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing? Is it not even you in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ at His coming?

I Thessalonians 4:13-18 – 13 But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.

I Thessalonians 5:9 – 9 For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ

II Thessalonians 2:1 – 2 Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you

Titus 2:13 – 13 looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ

Hebrews 9:28 – 28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.

James 5:7-9 – 7 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. 8 You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand. 9 Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door!

1 Peter 1:7, 13 – 7 that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ

2 Peter 3:9 – 9 The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward [a]us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

1 John 2:28-3:2 – 2:28 And now, little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. 29 If you know that He is righteous, you 3:1 Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.

Revelations 2:25 – 25 But hold fast what you have till I come.

Revelation 3:10 – 10 Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth.

THE REALITY OF GOD’S WRATH

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Psalm 7:11-13, “God is a just judge, And God is angry with the wicked every day. If he does not turn back, He will sharpen His sword; He bends His bow and makes it ready. He also prepares for Himself instruments of death; He makes His arrows into fiery shafts.”

Many Christians are under the mistaken impression that God’s disposition toward sinful man changed when Christ came into the world. They think that God was wrathful, hateful, and judgmental in the Old Testament, but that He stopped being this way when Christ was born. This is an unbiblical view of God’s relationship to sinful humanity, and the only way to prove this is to show that God’s disposition is consistent throughout both Testaments of Scripture.

GRIEF

Can an all-sufficient and all-powerful God suffer or experience grief? While we must affirm that the God of the Scriptures is self-determining (i.e. His disposition and actions are not governed by the disposition and actions of others) and immutable in His perfections (i.e. His nature does not change), we must equally hold to the truth that He is not apathetic or unmoved by His creature’s response to Him. When the Scriptures speak about God’s grief, it is always in the context of man’s sin. God grieves over the sin and rebellion of His creatures. This grief is the result of the offensiveness of sin to His holiness and of the destruction, misery, and loss that it brings upon His creation.

Genesis 6:6, “And the Lord was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.”

Isaiah 63:10, “But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them.

Ephesians 4:30, “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

WRATH OR ANGER

When the holiness, justice, and love of God meet the depravity, injustice, and lovelessness of man, the inevitable result is divine anger and indignation, or the wrath of God. The word translated wrath in the Old Testament comes from three Hebrew words: qetsep (wrath, anger, indignation); hema (wrath, anger, disgust, displeasure, fury, rage, heat, poison); and ’aph which literally means nostril or nose. The word came to denote anger in that the flaring of the nostrils is a sign of anger. In the New Testament, the word wrath is translated from two Greek words, orge (wrath, anger) and thumos (anger, indignation, passion, rage, wrath). In the Scriptures, divine wrath refers to God’s holy displeasure and righteous indignation directed toward the sinner and his sin.

In speaking of the wrath of God, it is important to understand that His wrath is not an uncontrollable, irrational, or selfish emotion, but it is both the result of His holiness, righteousness, and love and also a necessary element of His government. Because of who God is, He must react adversely to sin. God is holy, therefore He is repulsed by evil and breaks fellowship with the wicked. God is love and zealously loves all that is good. Such intense love for righteousness manifests itself in an equally intense hatred of all that is evil. God is righteous, therefore He must judge wickedness and condemn it. In His holiness, righteousness, and love, God hates sin and comes with terrible and often violent wrath against it. If man is an object of God’s wrath, it is because he has chosen to challenge God’s sovereignty, has violated His holy will, has become a fountain of sin, and has exposed himself to judgment.

Today, many reject the doctrine of divine wrath or any similar teaching that would even suggest that a loving, merciful God could be wrathful or that He would manifest such wrath in the judgment and condemnation of the sinner.

They argue that such ideas are nothing more than the erroneous conclusions of primitive men who saw God as hostile, vengeful, and even cruel. As Christians, we should reject any doctrine that would portray God as cruel or ignore His compassion. Nevertheless, we must not forsake the Scriptures’ clear teaching on the doctrine of divine wrath and punishment—there are more references in the Scriptures with regard to the anger and wrath of God than there are to His love, kindness, and compassion. God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness, and yet He will punish the unrepentant sinner with a view to administering justice among His creatures and vindicating His holy Name.

Before we proceed any further in our study of the wrath of God, it is extremely important that we understand the holy and righteous nature of God’s wrath. Though man’s wrath is often the result of sinful passions, the wrath of God is a manifestation of His righteousness and holiness.

Romans 1:18, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness”

Exodus 15:7, “And in the greatness of Your excellence, You have overthrown those who rose against You; You sent forth Your wrath; It consumed them like stubble.”

Nahum 1:2, “God is jealous, and the Lord avenges; The Lord avenges and is furious. The Lord will take vengeance on His adversaries, And He reserves wrath for His enemies”

Romans 3:5, “But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? Is God unjust who inflicts wrath? (I speak as a man.)”

Jeremiah 10:10, “But the Lord is the true God; He is the living God and the everlasting King. At His wrath the earth will tremble, And the nations will not be able to endure His indignation.”

Colossians 3:5-6, “Therefore put to death your members which are on the earth: fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience”

It is clear from the Scriptures that God is not only a God of love and mercy, but of wrath and vengeance. In His holiness, righteousness, and love, God hates sin and comes with terrible and often violent vengeance against it. If man challenges God’s sovereignty and violates His will, then he will expose himself to His wrath.

Even though the reality of the wrath of God is undeniable, we should also understand that He is merciful. God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23), but will delay His wrath and give the sinner ample opportunity to turn away from his sin. Nevertheless, those who continue in rebellion will most certainly face the wrath of God.

HATRED

Closely related to the wrath or anger of God is His hatred. Words that are often used in association with God’s hatred are abhor, detest, loathe, etc. Many object to any teaching about the hatred of God on the false assumption that God cannot hate because “God is love” (I John 4:8). While the love of God is a reality that goes beyond comprehension, it is important to see that the love of God is the very reason for His hatred. We should not say, “God is love, and therefore He cannot hate,” but rather, “God is love, and therefore He must hate.” If a person truly loves life, acknowledges it sanctity, and cherishes all children as a gift from God, then they must hate abortion. It is impossible to passionately and purely love children and yet be neutral toward that which destroys them in the womb. In the same way, if God loves with the greatest intensity all that is upright and good, then He must with equal intensity hate all that is perverse and evil.

The Scriptures teach us that God not only hates sin, but that His hatred is directed toward those who practice sin. We have been taught that God loves the sinner and hates the sin, but such teaching is a denial of the Scriptures that clearly declare that God not only hates iniquity, but that He hates “all who do iniquity” (Psalm 5:5). We must understand that it is impossible to separate the sin from the sinner. God does not punish sin, but He punishes the sinner. It is not sin that is condemned to hell, but the man who practices it.

What does it mean when the Scriptures declare that God hates sinners? The following should be considered:

First, Webster defines hate as a feeling of extreme enmity toward someone, to regard another with active hostility, or to have a strong aversion toward another: to detest, loathe, bhor, or abominate. Although these are hard words, most, if not all, are used in the Scripture to describe God’s relationship to sin and the sinner.

Secondly, we must understand that God’s hatred exists in perfect harmony with His other attributes. Unlike man, God’s hatred is never the result of some weakness or defect in His character—there are none. Rather, God’s hatred is holy, just, and a result of His love.

Thirdly, we must understand that God’s hatred is not a denial of His love. Psalm 5:5 is not a denial of John 3:16 or Matthew 5:44-45. Although God’s wrath abides upon the sinner, although He is angry with the wicked every day, and although He hates all who do iniquity, His love is of such a nature that He is able to love those who are the very objects of His hatred and work on their behalf for their salvation.

Fourthly, although God is longsuffering toward the objects of His hatred and holds out to them the offer of salvation, there will come a time when He will withdraw His offer, and reconciliation will no longer be possible. Sinful men should consider this truth with fear and trembling.

ENMITY

We often hear about sinful man’s unceasing war against God, but little is taught about God’s unceasing war against the wicked. The hostility between God and the sinner is not one-sided, but mutual. The Scriptures clearly teach that God considers the sinner to be His enemy and has declared war upon him. The sinner’s only hope is to drop his weapon and lift the white flag of surrender before it is forever too late. This is the clear teaching of Scripture.

VENGEANCE

Closely related to the wrath of God is His vengeance. In the Scriptures, the desire for vengeance is often presented as a vice of wicked men (Leviticus 19:18; I Samuel 25:25, 30-33). Therefore, it is difficult for us to understand how a holy and loving God could be a God of Vengeance. What we must understand is that God’s vengeance is always motivated by His zeal for holiness and justice.

Today, many reject the doctrine of divine vengeance or any teaching that would even suggest that a loving and merciful God could be vengeful. They would argue that such ideas are nothing more than the erroneous conclusions of primitive men who saw God as hostile and cruel. As Christians, we should reject any doctrine that would portray God as cruel or ignore His compassion. Nevertheless, we must not forsake the Scripture’s clear teaching on the doctrine of divine vengeance either. God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness, but He is also just. He will punish the sinner with the purpose of vindicating His Name and administering justice among His creatures. In light of man’s sin, God is right to avenge Himself. Three times in the book of Jeremiah, God asks, “Shall I not punish them for these things? On a nation such as this shall I not avenge Myself ?” (5:9, 29; 9:9).

(SOURCE: THE TRUTH ABOUT MAN – PAUL WASHER)

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SIN IS …

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THE SINFULNESS OF SIN

To understand man’s personal participation in Adam’s rebellion, we must have a correct understanding of the nature or character of sin. Several prominent attributes and manifestations of sin are revealed in the Scriptures.

Sin is much more than an error in moral judgment, even much more than disobedience to some impersonal law. Sin is a crime against the person of God. We live in a world and worship in churches that, for the most part, no longer understand the heinous nature of sin, and so we must endeavor to rediscover what has been lost. Our understanding of God and of the greatness of our salvation in Christ depends upon it.

SIN IS… ALWAYS AGAINST GOD

Sin is always first and foremost against God and an affront to His person. To disobey a divine command is to clench the fist and shake it in the face the One who gives life to and rules over all men. Today, if people speak of sin at all, they speak of sin against man, or sin against society, or even sin against nature, but rarely do we hear of sin against God. A person is thought to be good because they have good relations with their fellowman, even though they live in total disregard for God and His will. People often ask how God can judge an atheist who is a good man, but they ask this because they are blind to the fact that a man cannot be good if he denies his Creator and renders nothing to the One who gives him all good things.

The Scriptures record that King David lied to his people, committed adultery, and even orchestrated the murder of an innocent man (II Samuel 11-12). And yet when confronted with his sins, he cried out to God, “Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight” (Psalm 51:4). David knew that all sin is first and foremost sin against God. Until one understands this truth, one can never understand the heinous nature of sin.

SIN IS… FAILURE TO LOVE GOD

The greatest of all sins is the violation of the greatest of all commands: “And you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:28-30). Christ declared, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” (John 14:15). Therefore, all disobedience is a demonstration of our lack of love toward God. For this reason, when the apostle Paul sought to prove the depravity of mankind in the first three chapters of the book of Romans, he referred to Adam’s race as “haters of God” (Romans 1:30). No greater indictment could be made against fallen man. Not loving God is at the very heart of all rebellion. It should also be noted that a man might be very religious and conscientious of divine law and duty and yet be a terrible sinner before God, if his obedience is prompted by anything other than love for God.

SIN IS… FAILURE TO GLORIFY GOD

The Scriptures declare that man was created for the glory of God and that all that man does, even the most menial tasks of eating and drinking, should be done for God’s glory (I Corinthians 10:31). For man to glorify God is for him to esteem the supremacy and worth of God above all things, to take joy in God and be satisfied in Him above all things, and to live before God with the reverence, gratitude, and worship that is due Him.

Sin is the very opposite of glorifying God. When man sins he becomes the opposite of what he was created to be. A sinful man is a creature who has dislocated himself and perverted the very reason for his existence. He has replaced God with self and God’s will with self-will. The apostle Paul writes that “though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God” (Romans 1:21) and that “they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen” (Romans 1:25). Sin’s roots go much deeper than what is seen on the surface: it is man’s refusal to acknowledge God’s right as God. It is man’s determination to set himself above his Creator, usurp His throne, and steal His glory. Sin is fundamentally a refusal to glorify God as God, and it manifests itself anytime that man seeks his own glory above God’s.

SIN IS… GODLESS AND UNGODLY

The word godlessness denotes a refusal to acknowledge God as God, a desire to live a ‘godless’ existence, free from His sovereignty and law. The word ungodliness denotes a refusal to be conformed to the character and will of God, a desire for moral depravity rather than likeness to God. It has been said that the greatest compliment that may be paid to another person is to desire to be with them and be like them. Sin reveals an inward desire to live without God and to be unlike God. This is a great affront to Him!

SIN IS… REBELLION AND INSUBORDINATION

In I Samuel 15:23, the Scriptures declare: “For rebellion is as the sin of divination, and insubordination is as iniquity and idolatry.” The word rebellion is translated from the Hebrew word meri, which means contentious, rebellious, or disobedient toward. The word insubordination is translated from the Hebrew word patsar, which literally means to press or to push. It denotes one that is pushy, insolent, arrogant, and presumptuous. There are no small sins, because all sin is rebellion and insubordination. According to I Samuel 15:23, to practice any form of rebellion is as evil as partaking in a pagan or demonic ritual, and to practice any form of insubordination is as evil as partaking in gross iniquity or rendering worship to a false god.

SIN IS… LAWLESSNESS

In I John 3:4, the Scriptures declare, “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.” The word lawlessness is translated from the Greek word anomia [a, without, no + nomos, law]. To practice lawlessness is to live without law or as though God had never revealed His will to mankind. A person may practice lawlessness by openly defying the rule and law of God, or by simply being unconcerned and willingly ignorant. In either case, the person is showing contempt for God and His law. The abominable nature of practicing lawlessness is seen in the fact that the Antichrist is referred to as the “man of lawlessness” (II Thessalonians 2:3).

SIN IS… TREACHERY

The word treachery denotes a deceitful and unfaithful act against another. Throughout the Scriptures, treachery is seen as an aspect belonging to all sin (Ezekiel 18:24), whether it be in rebellion (Isaiah 48:8), in forsaking the true God for idols (I Chronicles 5:25), or in any form of apostasy or turning away from God (Psalm 78:57). All sin is a betrayal of the One who created us and lovingly sustains our lives.

SIN IS… AN ABOMINATION

If only one thing could be said about sin, it should be said that above all things sin is an abomination to God. An abomination before the Lord is a foul, disgusting thing. It is detestable and loathsome to God and an object of His hatred (Proverbs 6:16). In the Scriptures, all sin is an abomination and to sin is to act abominably (Ezekiel 16:52). Proverbs 28:9 declares that “He who turns away his ear from listening to the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.” Similarly, Proverbs 15:8-9 declares that “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord” and that “The way of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord.” All idolatry (Deuteronomy 7:25) and any unjust act (Deuteronomy 25:16) is an abomination before the Lord, as well as any person who is devious (Proverbs 3:32; 15:26), a liar (Proverbs 12:22), perverse in heart (Proverbs 11:20), or proud in heart (Proverbs 16:5). In Revelation 21:8, 27, the Scriptures conclude with the warning that the abominable and those who practice abominations will suffer eternal punishment.

SIN IS… MISSING THE MARK

The most common Hebrew word for sin is chata, which means miss the mark, miss the way, or go wrong. In Judges 20:16, we read that the men of Benjamin could “sling a stone at a hair and not miss [chata],” and in Proverbs 19:2 we read, “He who hurries his footsteps errs” or “misses the way [chata].” In the New Testament, the most common Greek word for sin is hamartano, which may also be translated miss the mark, err, be mistaken, or wander from the path. According to the Scriptures, the mark or goal toward which man is to aim is the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Any thought, word, or deed that does not have the glory of God as its chief end is sin. It is important to note that sin [chata or hamartano] is never seen as an innocent mistake or honest error, rather it is always a willful act of disobedience resulting from man’s moral corruption and rebellion against God.

SIN IS… TRESPASSING THE BOUNDARY

The word transgress is translated from the Hebrew word abar which means cross, pass over, pass through, or bypass. To transgress God’s command is to go beyond what is permitted by God’s commands. It is to ignore the restrictions imposed upon us by God’s law and to run beyond its fence. In the New Testament, the word transgress is translated from the Greek word parabaino, which means go by the side of, go past, pass over, or step over. In Matthew 15:2-3 is found an excellent example of parabaino: The Pharisees asked Jesus, “Why do your disciples break [parabaino] the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.” And Jesus answered them, “Why do you yourselves transgress [parabaino] the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?”

(SOURCE: THE TRUTH ABOUT MAN – PAUL WASHER)

NOTE: Dear friends, it is the time of the year where we need to renew our WordPress subscription fees for the Heavenly Remnant blog. The annual fee amounts to USD139 and currently we are out of pocket.
In addition, we wish to expand the ministry, Lord willing, and to distribute tracts to the Zulu people in the area in South Africa where we live.
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A DISPENSATIONAL VIEW OF THE GOSPELS IN SMALL CHUNKS (11)

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0 Dispensationalism

CHAPTER III (CONTINUE)

THE EARLY JUDEAN MINISTRY (CONTINUE)

3. John’s Testimony to Jesus at Aenon
Reference: John 3:22-36

By way of review it will be remembered that Jesus went from Nazareth to the Jordan River, possibly near Bethabara to be baptized by John, then spent forty days in the wilderness of Judea in His temptation by the Devil. After that He returned to Galilee and called several disciples from the area of Bethsaida and then went to Cana where He attended the wedding and performed His first miracle. From Cana He went to Capernaum and then went to Jerusalem at the feast of Passover. There He cleansed the temple and had the discourse with Nicodemus. Then He left Jerusalem and went a little to the north in Judea with His disciples and was engaged in baptizing disciples. John the Baptist was also in this vicinity baptizing at Aenon near Salim. The first part of this section deals with the question of baptism and the latter with John’s testimony about Jesus.

A. The Question About Baptism. We read first of all that John was baptizing at Aenon because there was much water there. Those who claim that baptism means a complete submergence of the body often quote this text as proof of their teachings. However, the “much water” does not mean a lake or other large body of water. Aenon means “springs!” There were many springs there. Jewish washing ceremonies required either a large body of water, or living, running water, in order that the water would not become polluted. (Cf. Lev. 11:36. Also see Lev. 14:5,6,50,51,52; 15:13). The fact that John baptized where there were many springs in no way proves any particular mode of baptism.

We read that a question arose between John’s disciples and a Jew over purifying. We are not told what the question was, but it was probably brought about by the fact that both John and Jesus were baptizing and Jesus was baptizing more disciples than John; in fact it is stated that “all were coming to Jesus.” The question may have been about why both John and Jesus were baptizing, or whether one baptism was more efficacious than the other, or perhaps even why John was continuing to baptize after Jesus began His public ministry. All we are told is that the question was about purification. This establishes the fact that baptism was understood to effect a cleansing, or washing, or purification. This is a very important point to remember when studying the subject of water baptism. There are those who contend that baptism represents death, burial and resurrection. They get this idea from a misreading of Rom. 6:3,4. The baptism there is not a ceremony but the work of the Spirit of God in identifying the believer with Christ, so that the believer shares in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

B. John’s Testimony About Jesus. We have commented earlier on John’s witness: “He must increase, but I must decrease.” John made it very plain that he never claimed to be the Messiah, but that he had been sent before the Messiah to prepare the way for Him. He then illustrated his relation to Christ as that of the best man (friend of the bridegroom) to the bridegroom, an illustration which is just as meaningful today as it was then. The best man is usually the best friend of the groom. It is not his business to glorify himself, but to do everything possible to help the groom and give him his rightful place of honor. His joy is fulfilled in seeing the happiness of the groom. The bride and groom relationship is used in the O.T., in the Gospels, in Paul’s epistles with the Church, and in the future Kingdom with Israel (cf. Isa. 62:4,5; Rom. 7:4; 2 Cor. 11:2; Eph. 5:31,32; Rev. 21:9; 19:7-10).

Vincent remarks that the change in style between vs. 30 and 31 indicates that John the Baptist’s words end with vs. 31, and the Evangelist John’s words begin in vs. 32. The contrast between the heavenly and the earthly in vs. 31 is similar to that in 1 Cor. 15:45-49.

The expression in vs. 33: “hath set to his seal” is old English legal terminology. It means that he has solemnly attested and confirmed the statement that God is true, or that he has affixed his seal to the document.

It will be noticed in vs. 34 “unto him” is in italics, which means it is not in the Greek text. The question arises, does God give the Spirit without measure to Christ, or does Christ give the Spirit to His disciples? We know of course that the Spirit was not given to the disciples until Christ ascended, but we believe these words were written by John many years after Pentecost. It seems evident that the Spirit was given in His fulness to Christ at His baptism, but here it is stated in vs. 35 that the Father loveth the Son and hath given all things into His hand. Giving things into His hand means not only possession, but authority or disposal (cf. Heb. 10:31 ). Therefore it would seem that John means that Jesus gives the Spirit to His disciples without measure.

In vs. 36 the A.V. fails to distinguish between two verbs: “The one believing on the Son has eternal life; the one not believing (not trusting or obeying) the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains upon him.” The second verb is peitho, which is variously translated: obey, trust, persuade, yield, have confidence. The usual word for believe, pisteuo, which occurs in the first part of the verse is derived from peitho. Actually the second verb has the alpha privative, which gives it a negative meaning, disobey, untrusting, unbelieving. This is the only time the word is used in John. The word shows that faith is more than mental assent to a fact. It involved committal, trust, obedience, or a lack of these qualities in the negative. John 3:36 is one of the favorite texts on assurance of salvation.

4. The Two Day Ministry in Samaria
Reference: John 4:1-42

A. The Reason Jesus Left Judea, 1-3. The reason given is that Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that He made and baptized more disciples than John. But why would this be a reason for Him to leave? Probably because of the hatred which had been generated by His action in cleansing the temple. The Pharisees could not tolerate another religious group which threatened their power in Israel. John was a big enough cause of trouble for the Pharisees, but if Jesus was becoming more popular than John, then they would have to do something drastic to get rid of Jesus. Jesus was not fleeing from trouble because of fear, but He had to finish His ministry in other regions and it would be soon enough when He would come back to Jerusalem to endure the wrath of the Pharisees. He had taught His disciples, “when they persecute you in this city, flee ye into another” (Matt. 10:23).

A very interesting sidelight is given us here that when we read about Jesus baptizing disciples, it does not mean that Jesus Himself performed the actual baptizing, but that His disciples did this work. There may have been several reasons for this. In contrast to John or others who were baptizing with water, Jesus was to be set apart as the One who baptized with the Holy Spirit. Possibly if the same trouble developed as did at Corinth over baptism (cf. 1 Cor. 1:11-17), those who had been baptized by Jesus personally, if Jesus had done it Himself, would have thought themselves far superior to those who had been baptized by mere disciples. It would seem also from this usage that when Paul said he had baptized so few at Corinth it did not mean that he personally had baptized so few, leaving that work to his fellow-workers, but that under his preaching of the gospel he and his fellow-workers as a group baptized very few of the converted, simply because Christ had not sent him to baptize, as He had the Twelve, but to preach the Gospel.
Notice that John refers to Jesus in vs. 1 as “the Lord.” John recognized Jesus as Jehovah, the name most often translated LORD in the O.T. There is no doubt about the Deity of Christ in John’s Gospel.

B. He Must Needs Go Through Samaria, vs. 4. The most obvious reason He had to go through Samaria was that Samaria lay between Judea and Galilee, although Jews could go to the east of Jordan through Perea to avoid Samaria. However, there was another reason: to have this unusual ministry with the Samaritans. His action here may seem strange, since He forbad His disciples to minister to any city of the Samaritans or to the Gentiles (Matt. 10:5). Samaria was a splitoff from the nation of Israel, when the northern ten tribes rebelled and established their idolatrous nation under Jeroboam (1 Kgs. 12, 13). In the days of Christ it had a mixture of nationalities, since the king of Assyria had carried away many captives and had transplanted foreigners in their place.

It seems that God in His sovereignty often makes exceptions to His rules. Jesus not only ministered to these Samaritans but also to a Syrophenician woman and to a Roman centurion, but all of these were unusual circumstances. In accordance with prophecy, Israel had to be established and blessed before any blessing could go to the Gentiles. For that reason Jesus limited His earthly ministry to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. In time Samaria was to hear the Gospel of the Kingdom as well as the Gentiles (Acts. 1:8).
The Samaritans had their own copy of the five books of Moses, but apparently did not recognize any of the prophetic books. There still exists today a small community of Samaritans at Nablus and they still have their Samaritan Pentateuch.

C. The Woman At the Well, vs. 5-26. Jesus and His disciples stopped at noon at Jacob’s well, just outside the town of Sychar, where He rested while the disciples went into town to buy food. Sychar is mentioned only this once in the Bible. It is identified by some as the same as Shechem. Joseph’s tomb was in the area, and near by were the two mountains, Ebal and Gerizim, from which were pronounced the blessings and the cursings of the Law (Deut. 11:29; 27:12,13; Josh. 8: 33).

In a sense Jesus did not go to the Samaritans. He had to pass through Samaria and this woman actually came to Him. She was surprised when Jesus asked her for a drink of water, for she said the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. We get an example of the regard the Jews had for the Samaritans in John 8:48, when the Jews expressed their utter disrespect for Jesus by saying: “Say we not well that thou art a Samaritan, and hast a devil?”

Although we see the true humanity of Jesus in the fact that His body was weary from the long journey and he was thirsty, yet we see also His Deity both in His claims of being able to give living water resulting in everlasting life, and in His knowledge about this woman, so that she had to say to the people of the city: “Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?”

There is a parallel between this woman and Nicodemus. Both show the inability of the natural mind to understand spiritual truth. Nicodemus asked, “How can a man enter the second time into his mother’s womb and be born again?” The woman asked: “Give me this living water so I won’t have to come in the heat of the day to draw water out of this deep well and carry it back to the village.”

When a person gets under conviction it is natural for him to change the subject. After Jesus had revealed her true character by telling her about her many husbands and her adultery, she changes the subject to where is the right place to worship God. Jesus did not exactly answer her question, but pointed out that true worship of God was not so much a matter of place but of heart. God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth. Jerusalem at the time was God’s appointed place: salvation is of the Jews. The Samaritans had departed so far from true worship that they didn’t really know what they were worshipping. Jesus said, “We know what we worship.”

The woman did possess a vital bit of knowledge. She said she knew that when Messiah comes, who is called the Christ, He will tell us all things. Whereupon Jesus confessed: “I that speak unto thee am he.” She must have believed at this point, for she left her waterpots and rushed back into town to tell everyone the good news.

D. The Reaction of the Disciples, vs. 27-38. The disciples were amazed to find Jesus talking to a woman, and a Samaritan at that, but they were afraid to ask Him why He was talking to her. So they set out the food they had bought and said, “Let’s eat.” But Jesus said, “I have food to eat that you don’t know about.” Again we see the insensibility on the part of the disciples to spiritual truth. Their minds were always on the level of the material. “Did someone bring Him food while we were gone to buy food?” Jesus then explained that His meat was to do the will of the Father and to finish the work He had given Him to do.

Jesus, as so often He did, pointed to something in nature at hand to illustrate His point. Looking over the green fields of grain, He said, “You will say, in four months it will be harvest time.” (This statement dates the season at which this event occurred.) And no doubt just about this time there could be seen streaming down the road the crowd of Samaritans coming to see this Man who had told the woman everything she ever did, who she said was the Christ. Jesus told the disciples to lift up their eyes and behold the fields which were already ripe for the harvest. But fields are not ripe for harvest unless the seed has been sown. Vs. 37 is a truth every servant of the Lord should remember:

“One soweth and another reapeth.” When souls are won to Christ it is because someone first sowed the seed. We may take credit for winning so many to Christ, but our efforts would have been in vain had not someone witnessed before. God often sends us to reap that whereon we bestowed no labor: others labored and we entered into their labors. These principles of seed sowing are inter-dispensational in nature. Whether it is the Gospel of the Kingdom or the Gospel of the Grace of God: one sows and another reaps (1 Cor. 3:6-8).

E. The Samaritans Come to Jesus, vs. 39-42. The Samaritan woman was probably the first woman preacher, and an unordained one at that. She got the whole city to turn out to hear Jesus. Many believed in Jesus because of her testimony and others said, “Now we believe, not because of your testimony; for we have heard him ourselves, and know this is indeed the Christ, the Savior of the world.” This story should be compared with Acts 8:5-25, where Philip went down to the city of Samaria and preached. This, of course, was after the death and resurrection of Christ, while the Kingdom Gospel was still being preached. The unusual thing about this experience is that many of the Samaritans believed and were baptized but did not receive the Spirit until Apostles came down from Jerusalem and prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit. At this point we need to turn back to Ezek. 37:15-28, to the sign of the two sticks. Samaria, or Ephraim as it was called in the O.T., had seceded from Judah and the true religion at Jerusalem in the days of Rehoboam and Jeroboam and from that time to the then present the nation was divided into two parts, represented by the two sticks. God had the prophet bind the two sticks together to make one stick, showing that God would some day bring the twelve tribes back into one nation. Doubtless, if Israel had been obedient and acknowledged Jesus as their Messiah and King, this union would have taken place. In Acts 8 Samaria is reached with the Kingdom Gospel, but it required the presence and authority of the Apostles to seal this ministry, and make the reception of the Samaritans official.

(Main Source: Understanding The Gospels – A Different Approach – Charles F. Baker)

QUESTIONS ABOUT THE FALL OF ADAM

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BACKGROUND

The Scriptural account of the fall provides an adequate explanation of man’s present fallen state and the evil that surrounds us. It is also upon this dark background that the bright glories of God’s mercy and grace appear. Only to the degree that we understand the tragedy of Adam and his condemnation can we comprehend something of the glories of Christ and His Gospel.

In any study of the fall, we are faced with some of the most important and complex theological questions in all of Scripture: the origin of evil, the nature of human freedom, the sovereignty of God, and His eternal purpose. Although what we know about these issues will always be mingled with a certain degree of mystery, it is necessary that we endeavour to know what we can. We will address the following questions below:

Did God ordain the fall?

What is God’s eternal purpose in the fall?

The Scriptures affirm that the fall was not due to any fault of the Creator. All God’s works are perfect (Deuteronomy 32:4), He cannot be tempted by sin (James 1:13), nor does He tempt others with sin (James 1:13). The blame for the fall rests squarely upon the shoulders of Adam. As Ecclesiastes 7:29 declares, “Behold, I have found only this, that God made men upright, but they have sought out many devices.”

This truth presents one of the greatest theological problems in all the Scriptures: how is it possible that a creature created in the image of God came to choose evil and sin? Adam and Eve had a true inclination toward good, and there was nothing corrupt or evil in them to which temptation might appeal. How such righteous beings could choose evil over good, and choose the words of a serpent over the commands of their Creator, is beyond human comprehension.

There have been numerous attempts throughout history to explain the fall of Adam, but none of them is without its limitations. We must therefore be content with the simple truth of Scripture that although God made man righteous and holy, he was finite and mutable (i.e. subject to change) and capable of making a choice contrary to the will of God.

DID GOD ORDAIN THE FALL?

The word ordain means to put in order, arrange, or appoint. To ask if God ordained the fall is to ask if He put it in order, arranged it, or appointed that it to occur. Other words that carry similar meaning are: “decree,” “predetermine,” and “predestine.” Did God determine beforehand or decree that the fall should occur? The answer to this question is “yes,” but we must be very careful that we understand what this does and does not mean.

God’s ordaining of the fall does not mean that He forced Satan to tempt our first parents, or that He coerced them to disregard His command. What God’s creatures did, they did willingly. God is holy, just, and good. He does not sin, cannot be tempted by sin, and He does not tempt anyone to sin.

God’s ordaining of the fall does mean that it was certain to happen. It was God’s will that Adam be tested, and it was God’s will to let Adam both stand and fall alone without the divine aid which could have kept him from falling. God could have hindered Satan from laying the temptation before Eve, or in the face of such temptation He could have given Adam special sustaining grace to enable him to triumph over it. From the testimony of the Scriptures, we understand that He did not.

God’s ordaining of the fall also means that it was a part of His eternal plan. Before the foundation of the world, before the creation of Adam and Eve and the serpent that tempted them, before the existence of any garden or tree, God ordained the fall for His glory and the greater good of His creation. He did not merely permit our first parents to be tempted and then wait to react to whatever choice they made. He did not merely look through the corridors of time and see the fall. Rather, the fall was a part of God’s eternal plan and He predetermined or predestined that it should and would happen.

At this point a very important question arises:

“Is God the author of sin?”

This question can and should be answered with a strong negative. God is not the author of sin, nor does He coerce men to sin against Him. Although He predetermined that the fall should and would happen, He also predetermined that it should happen through the willing actions of Satan, Adam, and Eve. Although our finite minds cannot fully comprehend how God can be absolutely sovereign over every event of history and over every individual act without destroying individual freedom, the Scriptures abound with examples that demonstrate this to be true. Joseph was sold into slavery as a result of the willful sin of his brothers, and yet when the final story was told, Joseph declared, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good in order to bring about this present result, to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20). The Son of God was crucified as a result of man’s willful sin and hostility toward God, and yet God had ordained or predetermined the death of Christ before the foundation of the world. In the Scriptures we read:

“… this Man, delivered over by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put Him to death.” -Acts 2:23

“For truly in this city there were gathered together against Your holy servant Jesus, whom You anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever Your hand and Your purpose predestined to occur.” -Acts 4:27-28

From the Scriptures, we see that God does ordain or predetermine an event to occur and yet brings it to pass through the willful sin of men. He does this without being the author of their sin or coercing them to do that which is against their will. Godless men willfully nailed Jesus Christ to the cross and were responsible for their actions, but the entire event was according to the predetermined plan of God. The fall of Satan, and the later fall of the human race through Adam and Eve, were the results of their own sin for which they alone were responsible, and yet the events came to pass according to the ordained, predetermined, predestined plan of God. God has decreed a great eternal purpose for His creation and has ordained every event of history by which that purpose is being fulfilled. Nothing, not even the fall of man or the death of God’s Son, occurs apart from the sovereign decree of God.

“Oh, the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgments and unfathomable His ways! For “who has known the mind of the Lord, or who became His counselor?” Or “who has first given to Him that it might be paid back to Him again?” For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen.” -Romans 11:33-36

“… In Him also we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to His purpose who works all things after the counsel of His will….” -Ephesians 1:10-11

WHAT IS GOD’S ETERNAL PURPOSE IN THE FALL?

Having demonstrated that the fall was the result of the creature’s willful disobedience and yet also according to the eternal purpose of God, it is now necessary that we endeavor to know that eternal purpose. In light of the evil and suffering that has resulted from the fall, it may seem difficult to accept that there can be any good purpose in it. Nevertheless, God’s Word assures us that there is such a purpose.

We know from the Scriptures that the creation of the universe, the fall of man, the nation of Israel, the cross of Christ, the Church, and the judgment of the nations have one great and final purpose. It is that the fullness of God’s attributes be revealed to His creation and that all creation know Him, glorify Him, and fully enjoy Him as God.

 THE FULL REVELATION OF GOD ’S ATTRIBUTES

God created the universe to be a theatre upon which He might display the infinite glory and worth of His being and attributes, that He might be fully known, worshipped, and enjoyed by His creation. It has been said by many that the fall of man is the pitch-black sky upon which the stars of God’s attributes shine with the greatest intensity of glory. It is only through the fall and the advent of evil that the fullness of God’s character may truly be known.

When the Christian worships God, what are the attributes that seem most dear to him? Are they not God’s mercy, grace, and unconditional love? Are these not the divine attributes most exalted in all the great hymns of the Church? Yet how could these attributes be known except through the fall of man?

Unconditional love can only be manifest upon men who do not meet the conditions. Mercy can only be poured forth from the throne of God upon men who deserve condemnation. Grace can only be granted to men who have done nothing to earn it. Our fallenness is our doing, for which we are obliged to take full responsibility. Yet it is through the dark theatre of our fallenness that the grace and mercy of God takes the centre stage and shine forth upon an audience of both men and angels. It is in the salvation of fallen man that the wisdom, grace, and mercy of God are revealed, not only to man but also to every created being in heaven, earth, and hell.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” -Ephesians 2:4-7

“To me, the very least of all saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unfathomable riches of Christ, and to bring to light what is the administration of the mystery which for ages has been hidden in God who created all things; 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 3:8-10

THE FULL REVELATION OF THE GLORIES OF CHRIST

The greatest work of God is the death and resurrection of the Son of God for the salvation of God’s people. However, if man had not fallen there would have been no Calvary and no Savior. The very thing that most explains God (John 1:18), draws us to Him (John 12:32), and causes us to love Him (I John 4:10, 19) would be gone.

What would take its place? What other means could have been used to demonstrate the immeasurable mercies of God? Christ crucified is the great theme of every worthy Christian hymn, sermon, conversation, and thought. Without the fall, redemption would be unknown to us. We would be like the angels, longing to look upon something that we would never and could never experience (I Peter 1:12).

It is wrong, and near blasphemy, to even hint that the cross of Christ was a mere Plan “B” that was employed only because of Adam’s wrong choice in the garden. The cross is the main event to which every other work of God’s providence points. All things stand in its shadow. In one sense, the cross was necessary because of the fall, but in another sense, the fall was necessary so that the glories of God in the cross of Christ might be made fully known.

THE FULL REVELATION OF THE CREATURE’S DEPENDENCE

One of the most awe-inspiring and humbling truths about God is that He is absolutely free from any need or dependence (Acts 17:24-25). His existence, the fulfillment of His will, and His happiness or good pleasure do not depend upon anyone or anything outside of Himself. He is the only being who is truly self-existent, self-sustaining, self-sufficient, independent, and free. All other beings derive their life and blessedness from God, but God finds all that is necessary for His own existence and perfect happiness in Himself (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 36:9).

The existence of the universe requires not only the initial act of creation but also the continued power of God to sustain it (Hebrews 1:3). If He were to withdraw His power for even one moment, all would turn to chaos and destruction. This same truth may be applied to the character of moral beings, whether angels or men. Adam in paradise and Satan in heaven, although created righteous and holy, could not stand apart from the sustaining grace of an Almighty God. How much less are we able to stand and how much more quickly would we fall apart from the same sustaining grace? The fall, therefore, provides the greatest example of our constant need for God. If we cannot continue our existence beyond our next breath except for God’s preservation, how much less are we able to maintain any semblance of righteousness before Him apart from His grace (John 15:4-5; Philippians 2:12-13)?

(SOURCE: THE TRUTH ABOUT MAN – PAUL WASHER)

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A PLEA FOR HELP

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URGENT DONATIONS NEEDED
 
Dear friends, it is the time of the year where we need to renew our WordPress subscription fees for the Heavenly Remnant blog. The annual fee amounts to USD139 and currently we are out of pocket.
 
In addition, we wish to expand the ministry, Lord willing, and to distribute tracts to the Zulu people in the area where we live.
 
We humbly ask for any donations, no matter how small. Should you feel led to donate, donations can be made to our PayPal account.

THE GREAT COMMISSION OF JESUS CHRIST

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INTRODUCTION

The mission of the Christian church for the entire period between Christ’s first and second comings comprises of an assurance, three commands and a promise.

“And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20).

A FIXED ASSURANCE OF CHRIST’S POWER

The mission command is a task that is far greater than human capabilities and cannot be carried out in our own strength. It is not within the abilities of man to stand against the kingdom of Satan and to overcome it. You cannot save yourself or any other lost soul that is under Satan’s power, but the Lord Jesus gives his disciples the fixed assurance: “All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” He came to seek and to save that which is lost (Luke 19:10) and our task is to lead lost souls to Him. His saving power is through the Holy Spirit that is working to give those that are lost salvation and to break the bonds of sin.

Have you in your own life experienced the fact that Jesus Christ came to destroy the works of the devil? (1 John 3:8). It is the only name that is given to man through which we can be saved (Acts 4:12). Through Jesus Christ’s death on the cross He destroyed him that had the power of death, that is, the devil (Hebrews 4:12). There is no other religion or saviour through whom a person can be freed from Satan’s power! The Lord Jesus Christ’s instruction to Paul and every other disciple is: “Delivering thee from the people, and from the Gentiles, unto whom now I send thee, To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” (Acts 26:17-18).

The power of Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, is not only at work in the saving of sinners, but is also given to empower all disciples to proclaim the gospel to agnostic and even hostile people:

  • “[Jesus] said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. And ye are witnesses to these things. And behold, I send the promise of my Father upon you: But tarry ye in Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high.” (Luke 24:46-49).
  • “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” (Acts 1:8).
  • “And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost” (Acts 2:4).

It is not enough that a disciple should only know that Jesus Christ has all power in heaven and in earth – he also needs to be clothed with this power through being filled with the Holy Spirit. Only then can you be a successful disciple who can help others to make peace with God and to be clothed in His power. This power gives you the boldness to preach the Gospel (Acts 4:31) and equips you for the struggle against evil (Ephesians 6:10). However, many believers do not know the scriptures or the power of God (Matthew 22:29).

THE FIRST COMMAND: PREACH THE GOSPEL OF SALVATION

The first command is that we are to preach the gospel and make disciples in all the nations. People are to hear the gospel so that they can repent and be saved. Paul’s message to the unsaved Greeks was: “And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now cammandeth all men every where to repent” (Acts 17:30).

The saving grace of Jesus Christ is to be preached to all people. By doing this we let the light of the gospel shine in a dark world, so that everyone that is living in the darkness of sin and are lost, can realise that they must come over to the wonderful light of the Lord Jesus through repentance and salvation (1 Peter 2:9).

The Holy Spirit convinces people of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgement through the preaching or reading of the gospel (John 16:8). Those that deny that they are lost sinners resist the calling voice of God through the Holy Spirit, to their own destruction.

“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8-10).

Those however, that are lost, and that acknowledge and confess their sins with regret, will be saved. Paul says that godly sorrow of this nature brings about “repentance to salvation” (2 Corinthians 7:10). Such a person appeals to the righteousness of God that was made possible by Jesus Christ on the cross, where the price was paid for everyone’s sins. Someone that has made peace with God on the grounds of the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross “shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death into life” (John 5:24).

THE SECOND COMMAND: BAPTIZE THOSE THAT REPENT

Someone that is saved is already spiritually baptised into the body of Christ by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:13). Water baptism is an outward symbol of the abovementioned baptism, the same way that communion is a symbol of the Lord Jesus Christ’s death on the cross. The command is clear: “He that believeth and is baptised shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). Water baptism therefore does not have the power to save, as a person can only be saved through faith in Jesus Christ. The Ethiopian eunuch asked Philip: “See, here is water; what doth hinder me to be baptised?” And the answer was: “If thou believest with all thine heart, thou mayest.” And his reaction was: “I believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God.” (Acts 8:36-37). He was baptised on the grounds of his confession of faith.

What is the purpose of the water baptism, as it obviously does not have the power to save? It is an outward testimony, a confession in public by the person concerned that Jesus Christ is his or her Saviour. The Bible also links a verbal testimony to salvation as proof that it is genuine: “That thou salt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou salt be saved. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10). At the baptism the one concerned confesses Jesus Christ with his or her mouth and doing this fulfils the Lord Jesus Christ’s command to be baptised.

Christianity is a public matter that is carried out and confirmed in the open in various ways through the testimonies of believers.

THE THIRD COMMAND: INTENSIVE INSTRUCTION

Following a person’s salvation is a phase of intensive schooling in the Word: “Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you.” Why must those that have received salvation be schooled in the Word? So that they can live a holy life and be of service in Christ’s kingdom. In Psalm 119:11 the psalmist says: “ Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee.” Jesus said: “Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you” (John 15:3). There are so many clear commands on sanctification in the Bible that any earnest Bible student can do nothing other than to give them serious consideration.

  • “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification… He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 4:3,8).
  • “But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation” (1 Peter 1:15).
  • “Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

Sanctification means “purified and set apart for Gods service.” A life of sanctification must necessarily lead to a person being willing and available for service. We have already indicated that a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit, will be a witness for Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). He will not be able to remain silent about the great and wonderful things that the Lord has done for him. It is a spiritual truth that real faith leads to works and serviceability as faith without works is dead (James 2:26).

A convert that is well schooled in the Word of God and has accepted the requirement of a total commitment to sanctification, will under the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit accept the task of spreading the gospel further. Paul has this to say to the young Timothy: “Preach the word, be instant in season, out of season” (2 Timothy 4:2).

Here is where the mission command has completed its full circle: The disciple that has guided other people to the Lord and given them a thorough schooling in the Word of God, has now trained disciples that have received the power of the Holy Spirit and also have built up a working knowledge of the Bible. They can then spread the Word further and also make disciples. The work of the Lord must continue on earth in this way until He comes.

THE PROMISE: JESUS CHRIST IS ALWAYS WITH US

A distinct promise accompanies the mission command: “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world.” We are never alone in this work. Jesus Christ is always with us through the Holy Spirit while we are carrying out his great commission.

The fact that Jesus Christ made this promise until the end of the world reality means “until the end of this age” because the Greek word aeon is used, that means, a long period. The New King James version correctly says: “Lo I am with you always, even until the end of the age”.

We have the assurance in these dark days of the nearing end of the church age, that the Lord Jesus is still with His faithful witnesses to empower them, to encourage them, to open doors for them and to provide their every need from the riches of His grace. He does not promise them moonshine and roses, wealth and a problem-free life but survival in the midst of difficult circumstances and victory in the struggle: “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you” (John 15:18,19). The servant that perseveres with the Lord’s work will be richly rewarded (Matthew 24:45-47).

Jesus Christ will come when all nations (not all individuals) have been reached with the gospel. In this spiritually dead and morally decaying world you can hasten Christ’s coming by taking part in extending His kingdom: “Seeing then that all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness, looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of God…” (2 Peter 3:11,12).

ONGOING OUTREACHES

The command for world evangelisation is still as binding as when it was given almost 2000 years ago, therefore every Christian must be actively involved in some way. Besides the fact that we should be supporting missionaries and evangelists with prayer and money, we should also be doing something to spread the gospel in our own areas. Conversations can be conducted with people and pamphlets or booklets containing good messages on repentance and spiritual growth can be distributed.

Come let us make a great effort in this time so near to the end of the church age, to win unsaved family members, friends, colleagues and other people for the kingdom of heaven.

This great task cannot be left in the hands of the church alone, for the following two reasons: (1) Many people do not go to church any more, and (2) In an increasing number of churches people are no longer clearly enlightened as to the biblical demands for rebirth and sanctification. The power of the Holy Spirit is still at our deposal to spread the news of Jesus Christ’s saving grace: “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be my witnesses…” (Acts 1:8).

(SOURCE: Prof. Johan Malan)

A DISPENSATIONAL VIEW OF THE GOSPELS IN SMALL CHUNKS (10)

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0 Dispensationalism

CHAPTER III
THE EARLY JUDEAN MINISTRY

RESUME

John alone gives us the record of this period of our Lord’s ministry. After His brief stay in Capernaum Jesus went to Jerusalem for the feast of Passover. When He entered the Temple He found stalls set up for selling sheep and oxen and doves and money changers doing business. Making a whip out of rope, He drove them all out of the temple, the animals as well as the dealers, and overturned the tables of the money changers along with their coins, and cried out to them: “Take these things hence; make not my Father’s house a house of merchandise.” Whereupon the Jews asked Jesus for a sign which would give Him authority to do such things. The sign He gave was: “Destroy this temple and in three days I will raise it up.” The Jews reasoned that it had taken 46 years to build the temple: how then could He raise it up in three days. After the death and resurrection of Jesus the disciples remembered this saying of Jesus and understood that He was talking about the raising up of His body from the dead: not the temple of Herod.

Beholding the signs which Jesus did, many in Jerusalem believed on His name, but He did not trust Himself unto them, for He knew all men and what was in man. There was a particular man by the name of Nicodemus, a Pharisee and a ruler of the Jews who came to Jesus by night, confessing that Jesus was a teacher coming from God, since no man could do the signs that Jesus did except God be with Him. Jesus immediately got down to basics and told him he had to be born again of the Spirit of God in order to enter the Kingdom of God. Nicodemus seemed incapable of understanding spiritual truths. He replied: “How can these things be?” The discourse ended with a reference to the brazen serpent which Moses set up, and the familiar John 3:16, “God so loved the world,” and the conflict between light and darkness.

After this Jesus left Jerusalem and went to the northern area of Judea with His disciples, where John was baptizing at Aenon, near Salim. A discussion arose about baptism, during which a man came with a report that Jesus was baptizing more disciples than John, which gave John the opportunity to give another witness about Jesus.

When Jesus knew that the Pharisees had heard that He was making more disciples than John He left Judea and headed north for Galilee. To get to Galilee He had to go through Samaria and there He encountered the woman at the well. Through her conversion the whole city of Sychar turned out and many believed on His name, not because of the woman’s words, but because they heard Him personally and were persuaded that this is indeed the Savior of the world.

EXPOSITION

1. The First Passover and Cleansing of the Temple
(Reference: John 2:13-23)

The First Passover of His Ministry. As far as the Biblical record goes, this is the first Passover Jesus attended since He was 12 years old. We are certain that He must have attended others, since Joseph and Mary are said to have gone to Jerusalem every year for the Passover. All Jews everywhere tried to get back to Jerusalem for this important feast. Jesus, however, did not assert His authority until He became of age and began His public ministry. The Passover is mentioned 9 times in John (2:13,23; 6:4; 11:55; 12:1; 13:1; 18:28,39; 19:14). Thus, Jesus observed three Passovers during His ministry: this one, one in the middle; and one at the very end of His ministry. It is significant that He began and ended with the Passover, for He was to fulfill the Passover type, and thus become our Passover (cf. 1 Cor. 5:7).

A. Cleansing the Temple. In spite of the fact that the Jews had made the Temple a den of thieves, Jesus still recognized it as His Father’s house. The original temple built by Solomon had been utterly destroyed by the Babylonians. It was rebuilt under Ezra and Nehemiah, but with much less grandeur (Hag. 2:3). Finally, Herod became King in Jerusalem in 37 B.C. He decided to rebuild the temple, and first collected all of the materials before dismantling the old one. The new building was started 20 – 19 B.C. The disciples later on must have been impressed by the grandeur of the temple, for they undertook to show off the buildings of the temple to Jesus (Matt. 24:1,2), but He foretold how this beautiful structure would also be destroyed and left desolate because Jerusalem did not know the time of her visitation.

This action of Jesus of driving out the merchants and money changers and overturning their tables seems out of character for those who think only of Jesus as “meek and mild.” What will they think when they see Him coming in flaming fire to take vengeance upon those that know not God and obey not the Gospel? God’s attributes of love and mercy are balanced against His attributes of holiness and justice.

B. The Sign of His Resurrection. When the Jews asked for a sign of His authority He replied, “Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.” There were many things which Jesus said which the disciples did not at the time understand, but later, after they had received the Holy Spirit they remembered the sayings and understood. Here they understood He was speaking of His human body. The Jews remembered this saying too and perverted it and tried to use it against Him at His trial (Matt. 26:61). The disciples remembered it and were profited by it: they believed the Scripture, and the word which Jesus had said.

C. Incomplete Faith. The people believed in His name when they saw the miracles He did. This kind of belief is inadequate and does not result in salvation. The word “believe” has in it the idea of commitment. The statement in vs. 24, “Jesus did not commit himself unto these believers,” contains the same Greek word used in vs. 23 and translated “believed” but here translated “commit.” Scriptural belief involves the element of committal, entrusting one’s self to God. To see a miracle worker and believe he has divine powers involved no sense of acknowledging one’s own sin and no element of committal. This fact is born out in the next section which deals with one of these men who had seen Jesus’ miracles and believed because of the miracles. Belief even caused him to seek out Jesus by night, apparently to avoid detection by other Jews, but Nicodemus was not saved by this kind of believing.

2. Discourse With Nicodemus
(Reference: John 2:23-3:21)

A. What Was in Man. Jesus knew what was in man. We can tell that from the way He dealt with Nicodemus. We don’t know why Nicodemus came to Jesus that night. As a ruler of the Jews he was surely interested in any religious developments. Perhaps he just wanted to check up on Jesus. Perhaps he had some questions. Perhaps he wanted to know how Jesus performed His miracles. Or perhaps it was just plain curiosity. It does not seem he was driven to Jesus by a sense of lostness, or by a desire to improve his relationship with God. As a Pharisee he would boast of being better than other men, of keeping the law in a blameless fashion. He was probably much like Saul of Tarsus, as Paul describes his situation before he met Christ (cf. Phil. 3:4-6). But Jesus knew what was in Nicodemus. Later on in some of His teaching He tells us what is in man. He knew that within every man is a nature of sin. “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies; these are the things that defile a man; but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man” (Matt. 15:19,20). Nicodemus got something that night he was not looking for.

B. What Christ Came to Put In Man. Jesus knew that Nicodemus needed not more religion but a new birth, which would give him a new nature. He needed to be born again. This was something that he couldn’t understand, for this was foreign to his way of thinking. What ridiculous ideas this Jesus had. How could a man enter into his mother’s womb and be born again? Jesus has to explain the most elementary truths to this one who was a notable teacher in Israel.

The flesh and the Spirit are two separate realms. That which is born of flesh is flesh and that which is born of Spirit is Spirit. The flesh cannot evolve into spirit any more than a rock can evolve into an animal. A man must have spiritual life to enter God’s kingdom; therefore, Nicodemus, you must be born of the Spirit. But Nicodemus wants to know how can these things be? Jesus used an illustration from the wind. The word wind and the word spirit are identical. When the wind blows, you can hear the sound it makes but you can’t tell where it came from and where it is going because it is invisible. So also is the Spirit. You can’t see how the Spirit operates any more than you can see how the wind blows. But you can see the effects of both the wind and the Spirit. The Spirit imparts new life and brings forth fruit of God. The song writer probably had this passage in mind when he wrote: “I know not how the Spirit moves, convincing men of sin, revealing Jesus through the Word, creating faith in Him; but I know Whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I’ve committed unto Him against that day.”

Three times Jesus told Nicodemus he must be born again, but the second time He added something. He said, “Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit.. .” What does He mean by being born of water? Is this something different from just being born of the Spirit? Sacramentarians argue from this verse baptismal regeneration. Inserting such an argument in this context seems strange indeed, for if Jesus is saying anything at all He is saying that the physical, material world cannot in any way produce this new birth. How then could material water which can be seen, felt, and analyzed produce spiritual life?
Others take the water to be the water in which the fetus lives in its mother’s womb and therefore being born of water refers to our natural birth. The Living New Testament gives this as an alternate reading: “Physical birth is not enough. You must also be born spiritually.” We seriously doubt that Scripture ever uses water with this meaning. But the Scripture, and especially the Gospel of John, does often use water in a figurative sense. What did Christ mean when He told the woman at the well He would give her living water (John 4:10-14)? Or what did He mean by the rivers of living water which would flow out of man (ch. 7:38)?

In the very next verse John plainly states what He meant by water: “But this he spake of the Spirit.” Water and Spirit are both without the definite article and are connected by the conjunction “kai” (and). If this figure is used here the sense would be: Except a man be born of water, even spiritual water.

Water is also used to represent the operation of the Word of God, as in Eph. 5:26: “cleanse it with the washing of water by the Word.” And Peter speaks of being born again, not of corruptible seed, but by the Word of God (1 Pet. 1:23). Therefore, we prefer to believe this is the correct meaning of this passage. It is true that water baptism was being preached and practiced both by John and Jesus, and that baptism was required, just as animal sacrifices were, but water is never presented as a procuring cause of regeneration in Scripture. If the blood of bulls and goats could not take away sin and make one a member of God’s family, surely water could not do so.

Nicodemus started out by telling Jesus what he knew, and Jesus ended up telling Nicodemus he was ignorant: “Are you a master teacher in Israel and knowest not these things?” If Nicodemus didn’t believe the earthly things Jesus told him, how could he believe the heavenly things? Jesus knew whereof He spoke, for He had come down from heaven. (Some ancient Greek texts omit the last clause of vs. 13, “which is in heaven .”) Jesus at that time as the Son of man was not in heaven but on earth. As God, of course, He is omnipresent.

Not only was it necessary for Nicodemus to be born again, it was necessary for the Son of man to be lifted up on the Cross to make it possible for man to be born again. The Lord had sent fiery serpents into the camp of Israel because of their murmurings and many died from being bitten (Num. 21:6-9). Moses was commanded to make a serpent of brass and place it upon a pole. Every one that looked upon it was healed of his bite. In like manner Jesus had to be lifted up on the Cross, to be made the condemned serpent in our stead, that condemned sinners might be made the righteousness of God in Him.

From the illustration of the brazen serpent it is certain that the expression in the next verse, “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son,” refers to giving Him in the sense of the Cross, and not merely in incarnation as a Teacher. Because the verb here is in the past tense, indicating a finished past action, it appears that the discourse with Nicodemus ends with vs. 15, if not sooner. Not only are “loved” and “gave” in the past tense, but there are a couple of phrases in vs. 16 that are never used by Christ Himself, “only begotten Son,” and “believe on the name of.” John has a way of injecting explanatory words of his own, so that it is sometimes difficult to know where a break should be made. For example, see ch. 1:16-18 and 12:37-41.

The words “condemn” and “condemned” in vs. 17 and 18, and “condemnation” in vs. 19, should be rendered “judge, judged, and judgment.” The unbeliever has been judged already: judged by virtue of his unbelief. Their judgment resides in the fact that light has come into the world, and men as a class loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were (imperfect tense) habitually evil.

We are beginning to see several of the most important and most often used words’ in John: “believe” – 99 times, “world” – 79 times, “Father” – 156 times, “know” – 107 times, “abide” – 41 times.

(Main Source: Understanding The Gospels – A Different Approach – Charles F. Baker)

AMILLENNIALISM – A MAN-MADE THEOLOGY (PART 3 OF 3)

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AMILLENNIALISM

D. The Advocates of Amillennialism.

If the doctrine of Amillennialism is contrary to Scripture, as we believe it to be, we must ask the question, “How did it come about?” How did the teaching manage to gain such popularity? Thus, it will be interesting to briefly trace the history of Amillennialism, and we shall see that the evangelicals who hold it today are in a very “unholy alliance” with others both from history and the present day.

We previously looked at the scriptural evidence and did not find Amillennialism in Scripture. But what about those who lived shortly after the completion of Scripture, some of whom knew the apostles like Peter and John personally? Many of the writings of the so-called “church fathers” unequivocally show that they expected literal fulfilment of the prophecies concerning Christ’s return and the establishment of His earthly kingdom. They include Papias, Justin Martyr, Irenaeus and Tertullian. Even many sympathisers of Amillennialism admit that for the first 3 centuries or so of the church’s history, the Pre-Millennial view was widespread.

The opponents of the literal interpretation in the very early years were the well-known heretical groups such as the gnostics, Platonists, and Montanists, for all of whom non-literal interpretation went far beyond future events. This is hardly illustrious company for the present-day evangelical Amillennialists, but at least they were consistent: they took their non-literalness to its logical conclusion, while present-day evangelicals prefer to pick and choose which parts of scripture they accept and which they try to explain away!

It is very widely accepted that the first advocate of Amillennialism to lay down a formal theory of interpretation was Origen (185-254 AD). He refused to accept Scripture references to the Millennium literally, instead propounding the allegorical method of interpretation. He and others at the “Alexandrian School” used his method of interpretation to explain away not only the doctrine of the Millennium, but also many other teachings of Scripture. Instead of bringing out the sense of Scripture, he introduced all sorts of fanciful ideas. He would, had he been alive today, not be regarded as a “sound” evangelical by any stretch of the imagination, and would be denounced as a heretic by many who accept his view of the Millennium, yet the growth of Amillennialism in those days perhaps owed more to him than to any other person. His work was carried on by men such as Dionysius and Augustine, and his allegorical methods of interpretation gradually gained the upper hand.

It is not difficult to see why it gained popularity in those days. Up until then the church had been a persecuted minority, and the hope of the Lord’s coming burned brightly. It was clear that the church was distinct from all the systems of the world. But with the so-called unification of the church and the state by Constantine, the distinction became blurred. Increasingly the Church of Rome saw itself as the fulfilment of the promises of the earthly kingdom and therefore, the hope of a future literal kingdom at Christ’s return was in a great measure lost. To teach that the present kingdom of Rome would be replaced by a future coming King, would not exactly please the Roman rulers! Thus, the Amillennial doctrine, (which did away with the teaching of a future earthly kingdom) flourished. The rise of Amillennialism is therefore indissolubly associated with the rise of ecclesiasticism and the papal system (again, not very good company for our evangelical Amillennialists of today!)

Amillennialism was the accepted doctrine of the Church of Rome throughout the Dark Ages and remains so to this day. With the Reformation much Scriptural truth was “rediscovered”, but most of the reformers continued to hold to the Amillennial doctrine. This was not necessarily because they had studied prophecy in great detail and came to the Amillennial conclusion, but rather because their major studies were not in the field of future events. It has thus been true that in Protestantism in general, the Amillennial view has continued to be held, not so much because it has been extensively studied, but by default, from Rome.

Throughout the ages the pre-Millennial truth was however never completely lost, but burned dimly for many years. During the last century and to the present day more Christians returned to the literal interpretation of Scripture and became the most faithful and consistent in teaching it.

Amillennialism is widely held, but for very different reasons:

For Roman Catholics, because their system views itself as the fulfilment of the kingdom prophecies and will not countenance the thought that it could be superseded or done away with.
For Protestant Denominations, by default from Rome. The bulk of Protestantism has never seriously questioned Roman teaching on future events.
For Reformed teachers, because “it’s what the early Reformers believed”. Constantly, reformed teachers will state that in holding their views, they are “standing foursquare with those who defended the faith in the days of the Reformation”. They claim that Amillennialism has been the historical view of the church for about 1700 years. But shouldn’t it rather be a matter of what Scripture teaches, rather than what the church of Rome taught? It is highly ironic that those who regard themselves as most opposed to Rome obtain their eschatology from Rome and still hang on to it.
For Liberals and Modernists, because they simply do not accept the full verbal inspiration of Scripture. They spiritualise all sorts of truths, or else flatly deny them, and so they have no compunction at denying the literal fulfilment of prophecy.
For Charismatics, because they come from all areas above, and have taken their own systems’ teaching on future events along with them. Moreover, the charismatic’s tendency to substitute supposed experience and fanciful interpretation of Scripture for sound exposition finds a ready ally in the allegorical view of future events.
It is an unholy alliance indeed: Roman Catholic, Protestant churchman, Reformed teacher, Modernist, and Charismatic, all united by very little, other than their allegiance to Amillennialism. May the Lord preserve us from such a group.

E. The Anomalies of Amillennialism.

It may be helpful to list some of the contradictions involved for an evangelical who holds to the teaching of Amillennialism. This section is really a drawing together of points already made in previous sections, so a detailed discussion will not be given.

For a true believer who is an Amillennialist, he is in an anomalous position for many reasons, including:

1. He claims to believe that every word in Scripture is inspired by God, and that Scripture is totally infallible. Yet in holding on to Amillennialism, he is accepting a system which effectively says that not every part of Scripture is to be accepted as literally true.

2. He claims to believe that Scripture is the only authority on all matters of doctrine and practice. But to introduce allegorical interpretation, is to leave the decision as to the meaning of Scripture open to the whims of men. Unless one accepts literal interpretation of prophecy, one can make it mean whatever one wants. There is nothing with which to control one’s whims. One is effectively introducing an authority outside God’s Word, and that “authority” is oneself, or whoever else one wants to believe!

3. He claims to believe that it is impossible for God to lie. Yet Amillennialism effectively teaches that when God made certain promises, He never had it in His mind to fulfil them in the way in which the hearers understood them.

4. He claims to believe that God is omnipotent, yet he effectively denies that God has the ability to perform what He has said. He raises all sorts of “practical difficulties” with literal fulfilment, forgetting that “with God nothing shall be impossible”.

5. He uses literal interpretation to study the Scriptures in general, but when it comes to prophecy, he changes his rules and uses allegorical interpretation. He thus abandons consistency of interpretation of Scripture.

6. Even within prophecy, he is not consistent in his interpretation. With some prophecies (e.g. those concerning the Lord’s birth) he is happy to adopt the literal method, but with others (e.g. the coming kingdom) he rejects the literal method.

7. In holding his view, he is holding doctrine which can be directly traced back, not to Scripture, but to heretics in the early days of the church age.

8. He is in alliance with all sorts of present-day groups with which he would disagree on other major doctrines, such as Roman Catholics and Liberals.

9. He is holding on to a system which, although it tries hard, fails, even by its own standards, to consistently explain away the prophetic passages. There are numerous examples of such inconsistencies, but we will confine ourselves to one:

Consider 3 facts taught in Revelation 20:
 Christ and His people reigning 1000 years (v.4,6).
 Satan being put in a bottomless pit for 1000 years and being able to deceive the nations no more (v.2,3).
 Satan being loosed after the 1000 years and deceiving the nations (v.7,8).

It is clear that the above 3 statements all refer to the same period of time. Even if the Amillennialist does not accept that it is literally 1000 years, he has to accept that it is the same period of time to which reference is made. He claims that the period of time is the present age, and the reigning being referred to is Christ at present reigning spiritually with His people. If this is true, then it must follow that:

• at present, Satan is bound, and is not deceiving the nations, and
• at the end of the age, Satan will be loosed again and will deceive the nations again.

But this reveals big flaws in the Amillennialist’s argument:
• If Satan is bound, in what sense is he bound at present? The Amillennialist simply has no satisfactory answer to this question. Revelation states that during his binding he will deceive the nations no more. Has this been the case, in any sense, during the past 2000 years? On the contrary, the whole course of the history of this age is a catalogue of Satan’s deception of the nations. The Amillennial line here is self-contradictory.
• If Satan is bound now, what is the meaning of the statement that he will be released again and deceive the nations again? This, no matter how it is taken, cannot be satisfactorily explained. The Amillennialist believes that the present age will continue as at present right to the end of the world, when Christ will return, raise the dead, judge everyone, consign some to glory and others to damnation, and then the eternal state will begin. Thus, in his own scheme, there is no place for anything corresponding to the releasing of Satan.

This is only one of numerous examples of the self-contradictions found in the Amillennial system. The Amillennialist is therefore really in a very anomalous position. For a true believer to hold on to Amillennialism is to put him in an inconsistent position.

F. The Attacks of Amillennialism.

From what we considered in these articles it should be clear that Amillennialism is an attack on many things that we hold dear, and so in this final section we will look at some of the attacks that it makes. As previously, this section will be doing little more than summarising material in previous sections, so points made will not be enlarged.
Some of the objects of the attack of Amillennialism are:

(a) God’s character:
Amillennialism implies that God says certain things that He does not really mean; that He makes promises that He does not intend to fully fulfil; that He uses language which He knows people will take in a different way to what He intends, yet He chooses to keep them in the dark about it; and that He does not have the ability to deliver that which He has promised. Such a view of God must be rejected in its entirety.

(b) Scripture:
Amillennialism states that there are many passages of Scripture which do not really mean what they say; and that we can either spiritualise these away, or else ignore them altogether.

(c) Sound interpretation:
Amillennialism teaches that sound interpretation of Scripture, taking into account the grammar, context, literal meaning of the words, and comparing Scripture with Scripture, can in certain circumstances be set aside; thus leaving us without any yardstick with which to test interpretation, leaving it open to whatever ideas we wish to introduce. The logical conclusion of Amillennialism is to lead to Liberalism. Once we introduce the possibility of allegorical interpretation, there is no telling where it can lead. Why stop with prophecy? Why not go all the way? Amillennialism and Modernism are natural allies; pre-millennialism and Modernism are incompatible.

(d) The created world:
It follows from the teaching of Amillennialism that there is no hope for the present creation, which is “groaning and travailing” in pain at present, to have fulfilled the promises given in Scripture to be delivered and restored to its former glory.

(e) Israel:
Amillennialism categorically states that the nation has been permanently set aside; that there is no future for it; that the myriad promises made to the nation have no hope of fulfilment Amillennialists is a form of being anti-Semitic. Taken to its extreme, we see the persecution of Jews by the Roman Church during the Inquisition and by Hitler (who was also a Roman Catholic) this century. Of course, it would be going too far to blame this totally on Amillennialism. However, had the belief of the Roman Church been Pre-Millennial, with its promise of the restoration of Israel, it is certain that they would never have carried out these atrocities. Amillennialism was undoubtedly a major factor in the build-up of anti-Semitic forces which have been released with such satanic ferocity at various times in the history of Christendom.

(f) The Church, Christ’s Body:
Amillennialism teaches that many promises which God made in the OT will never be literally fulfilled. If this is true, then what right have we to assume that what He has promised to us as the Church will be literally fulfilled either? If Israel is not to be given all that it was promised, are we likely to fare any better? If Amillennialism is true, then we have difficulty in taking any of the promises to us at face value.

(Source: Amillennialism Examined – by David McAllister (Zambia))