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Archive for the category “Prophecy”

23 May 2012

ESCHATOLOGY TODAY

ESCHATOLOGY TODAY. <Read full article at Eschatology Today.

Update 15 May 2012: New details are emerging from the 32nd GCC Summit. What is taking place is actually the creation of a federation among the Gulf Arab countries, modeled more or less on the European Union but with the Sunni Islamic model of the United Arab Emirates. It will most realistically be brought into existence as a federation of tribal monarchies founded upon the “creed of Islam.”

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23 May 2012

Articles: The Realization of Osama bin Laden’s Dream

Articles: The Realization of Osama bin Laden’s Dream.

Posted in Bible Prophecy, Prophecy and tagged , ,
17 May 2012

A Gracious Home

A Gracious Home.

Posted in Prophecy
06 May 2012

Lesson #2 The “Gap” Theory and the Timing of Satan’s Fall

A Daily Bible Study.
The Appeal Trial of Satan
The Basis for A Biblical Philosophy of Human History
Presented To
Arlington Community Church
Arlington, Texas
Lesson #2
The “Gap” Theory and the Timing of Satan’s Fall
In the next several lessons in this series, we will examine some of the significant events
in the Biblical narrative in light of our introductory lesson. The purpose of these next lessons is to
allow you to see how the spiritual war has been waged between Satan’s kingdom (as it is first
established and expands) and God’s kingdom. Satan desires to retain his independence from
God and that portion of the celestial, angelic creation that opted to become part of his competing
kingdom in eternity past.
To do so, Satan must successfully thwart God’s argument – God’s evidentiary matter in
Satan’s appeal trial. Humanity and God’s plan for human history is God’s evidentiary matter.1
Satan follows a two-fold strategy: 1) neutralization and 2) elimination of the evidentiary
matter. We shall see how his strategy unfolds in human history in the next few lessons. But first,
we shall examine the first two verses in the Bible in light of our understanding of the connection
between the pre-historic appeal trial of Satan and the purpose of human history.
The “Traditional” Gap Theory
Many well-known published theologians of the 20th century interpreted Genesis 1:1-2
based upon what is commonly referred to as The “gap” theory (hereinafter referred to as the
“traditional” gap theory). Many of the arguments used to support the traditional gap theory have
since been questioned by many theologians, if not rejected due to disagreements over certain
grammatical and syntactical patterns found in these verses. So, what’s new and surprising about
theologians disagreeing on the interpretation of a passage of Scripture? Nothing really.
Regardless of the controversial nature of the traditional gap theory, there is still much
validity to A gap theory that allows for a reconciliation of the events of Genesis 1 and the fact of
Satan’s moral fall to which Isaiah and Ezekiel allude (see Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12b-19
and the notes from lesson #1 in this series).2
1 God is omniscient and knew that Adam and Eve would fall in the garden. Today, we
see God’s plan for human history from the perspective of a post-fall state of affairs. However,
should we consider human history prior to the fall of Adam and Eve, Adam and Eve had the
potential to continue to experience perfect fellowship with the Lord in a perfect environment
indefinitely (i.e. eternally). Thus, Adam and Eve had the potential to have been the sole
evidentiary matter in Satan’s appeal trial had they obeyed God and not succumbed to Satan’s
luring tactic – to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
2 Actually, these two passages have references to Satan’s moral fall as well as prophetic
references to his future ouster from heaven during the Tribulation. In addition, there are
references to the ultimate execution of his sentence when he is cast into the Lake of Fire, which
we know to occur at the end of human history.
The Church of the Servant King
www.cotsk.org
2
The traditional gap theory (a.k.a. as the “Restitution” theory) holds that a gap of unknown
time exists between Genesis 1:1 & 1:2.3 According to the traditional gap theory, in verse 1, the
earth was originally created perfect as a part of God’s creation of the entire universe. However,
in verse 2, the earth had become desolate and a wasteland due to God’s judgment as a result of
Satan’s rebellion documented in Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28. Theologians such as Lewis S. Chafer
held to the traditional gap theory as did Donald Grey Barnhouse, just to name a couple.4
According to the “gap” theory, this necessitated a restorative act on God’s part that is
documented in the following verses of Genesis 1. The traditional gap or restitution theory gained
wide acceptance largely as a result of the Scofield Bible notes. The proponents of the traditional
gap theory generally translate Genesis 1:1-2: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the
earth, and then the earth became…” (The word “was” can be translated “became.”)
This view is supported by logic, i.e. since the heavens and the earth in verse 1 means the
organized universe and verse 2 speaks of the earth in chaos, and verses 3-31 speak of the
organization of the universe again, it would be plausible to interpret verses 1-3 as describing
three successive stages in the history of the earth. Furthermore, the Hebrew verb hyh in verse 2
translated “was” in the NASV can sometimes be translated “became” as in Genesis 3:20, “…for
she became the mother of all the living.” Also, the only other passages where the phrase “waste
and void” or “formless and void” (tohu wa bohu) occurs is found in Jeremiah 4:23 and Isaiah
34:11. The Hebrew phrase tohu wa bohu describes a state effected by God’s judgment.
However, there are interpretive difficulties with these verses involving the Hebrew waw
conjunction at the beginning of verses 2 and 3 translated “and” and “then”, respectively –
depending upon the translation of the Bible the reader references. After summarizing the
traditional gap theory including supporting arguments for it, Bruce Waltke introduces his analysis
of the grammatical difficulties associated with Genesis 1:1-3 with the following summarization of
the objections to the theory.
But this understanding [the traditional gap theory] has not been accepted by the
overwhelming majority of exegetes because it cannot stand the test of close
grammatical analysis. For example, the theory assumes that the “and’ which
introduces verses 2 and 3 are different in the original text. The waw introducing
verse 3 does in fact denote sequence and is called by grammarians the “waw
consecutive.” But the waw introducing verse 2 is different in both form and
function, grammarians refer to this waw as the “waw conjunctive.” The waw
conjunctive may introduce various types of clauses (to be discussed below) but it
does not introduce an independent sequential clause [leading some to view it as
non-sequential]. It is inconceivable that Moses would have used a construction
which does not indicate sequence in contrast to other constructions open to him,
if this had been his intent.5
3 Bruce K. Waltke explains three theories of the Genesis 1 account as the restitution
theory, the initial chaos theory, and the precreation chaos theory in his book Creation and Chaos
(Portland, Oregon: Western Conservative Baptist Seminary, 1974), 18. Waltke distinguishes
these theories as follows – “According to the first mode of thought, chaos occurred after the
original creation; according to the second mode of thought, chaos occurred in connection with the
original creation; and in the third mode of thought, chaos occurred before the original creation.”
4 Lewis S. Chafer, Satan: His Motives and Methods (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Kregel
Publications, 1990), 15 and Donald Grey Barnhouse, The Invisible War (Grand Rapids, Michigan:
Zondervan Publishing House, 1965), 15-20.
5 Bruce Waltke, “The Creation Account in Genesis 1:1-3: Part II: The Restitution
Theory,” Bibliotheca Sacra 132 (April, 1975): 139-140.
The Church of the Servant King
www.cotsk.org
3
[Notes in brackets and underlining have been inserted for emphasis].
So, essentially, Waltke is indicating that there are grammatical difficulties associated with
the conjunctions that connect verses 1-3 and those difficulties impact our understanding of the
relationship between the three verses. Waltke challenges the traditional gap theorist’s
interpretation of the relationship between verses 1-3 to be a sequential relationship, i.e. the
activity in verse 1 is followed by that of verse 2 and the activity of verse 2 is followed in sequence
by the activity in verse 3. He admits that verses 2 and 3 are sequential in nature, but the real
difficulty is in determining the proper interpretation of the waw conjunction in verse 2 so that a
correct understanding of the relationship between verses 1 and 2 can be ascertained. Does
verse 2 sequentially follow verse 1 or is verse 2 related to verse 1 in some other way, e.g. is
verse 2 circumstantial to verse 1 – an elaboration of the circumstances described in verse 1?
In Hebrew syntax, a sequential construction is expressed by a waw + verb + noun word
order. A disjunctive or contrastive construction is expressed by a waw + noun + verb word order.
In Genesis 1:2, we find the latter syntactical arrangement – a disjunctive or contrastive
construction.6 This would mean that verse 2 is a contrast to verse 1 and the waw conjunction is
translated “but.” The traditional gap theorists translate the waw conjunction “but.” Furthermore,
the fact that the waw construction of verse 2 introduces a disjunctive clause means that the
clause must be circumstantial to verse 1 or verse 3.7 Some of those who reject the traditional
gap theory contend that verse 2 is circumstantial to verse 1 (i.e. verse 1 and verse 2 should be
viewed as coterminous); whereas, those who accept the traditional gap theory contend that
verses 2 and 3 should be seen as coterminous – the earth in a chaotic state is related to the
restoration account that begins in verse 3.
Some interpret the waw conjunction in verse 2, as non-sequential and thereby connected
to verse 1. This would mean that verses 1 and 2 are to be seen as coterminous and the waw
conjunction is translated “and.” (For example, Joseph Dillow, a proponent of an alternate gap
theory explained below, interprets the waw conjunction in this manner). Another theologian
(Merrill F. Unger) reaches a similar conclusion.8
However, the waw introducing verse 3 does in fact denote sequence and is called by
grammarians the “waw consecutive.” Accordingly, it denotes sequence and can be translated by
the word “then.”
The fact that there are differences among theologians about the translation of the waw
conjunction in verses 2 and 3 does not invalidate the theory and is not to say that I believe that
theologians like Chafer and Barnhouse who taught the traditional gap theory were necessarily
6 Bruce K. Waltke and M. O’Connor, An Introduction to Biblical Hebrew Syntax (Winona
Lake, Indiana: Eisenbrauns, 1990), 650-51.
7 Mark F. Rooker, “Genesis 1:1-3: Creation or Re-Creation?” Bibliotheca Sacra 149
(July, 1992): 317. Note: Rooker represents a theologian who argues for the initial chaos theory
(chaos in connection with the original creation) in contrast to Waltke’s argument for the
precreation chaos theory (chaos prior to the initial creation as described in verse 2).
8 Merrill F. Unger, “Rethinking the Genesis Account of Creation,” Bibliotheca Sacra 115
(January-March, 1958): 115-28. “[This] interpretation…runs into grammatical and etymological
problems. In the original language, Genesis 1:2 consists of three circumstantial clauses, all
describing conditions or circumstances existing at the time of the principal action indicated in
verse 1, or giving a reason for that action.” Thus, Unger’s view of the relationship between
verses 1-3 is a non-sequential relationship.
The Church of the Servant King
www.cotsk.org
4
wrong or far off base in their position.9 Our understanding of the Biblical account of Satan’s fall
(Isaiah 14:12-15 and Ezekiel 28:12b-19) certainly allows for there to have been a period of
unspecified duration between the creation of the universe, including the earth, and the moral fall
of Lucifer. (See Job 38:7 where we find “all” angels present and rejoicing at the creation of the
material universe thereby a likely indication that the universe pre-existed the moral fall of Satan).
An interpretive translation of Genesis 1:1-3 based upon the traditional gap theory could
read as follows:
(V. 1) In the beginning [when God first created the universe at a point in eternity
past – see Job 38:7] God created the heavens and the earth. (V. 2) But
[“waw” conjunctive interpreted to indicate contrast] the earth became [same
Hebrew word “hyh” (was) is translated “became” in Gen. 3:20] formless and
void [“tohu wa bohu” in association with Satan’s moral fall at a point in eternity
past], and darkness was over the surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God
was moving over the surface of the waters. (V. 3) Then [“waw” consecutive
indicating sequence in action and introducing the restorative acts of the
remainder of Genesis 1] God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
[Note: phrases in brackets are inserted for interpretive purposes]
An Alternate Gap Theory
Some theologians have adopted an interpretation that may be called an “alternate’ gap
theory. These theologians have concluded that the “gap” that exists is a gap between the initial
creation of the material universe and the restoration process that begins in Genesis 1:1. In other
words, an alternate gap theory holds that the gap is between a point in eternity past and Genesis
1:1 versus a gap between the original creation (v. 1) and judgment of the earth (v. 2) as espoused
by the traditional gap theory.
For instance, Joseph Dillow sees the “gap” to exist between the initial creation of the
earth at some point in eternity past and the restoration process that begins in Genesis 1:1. 10 In
particular, he states the following:
The writer is assuming a widely held view that Gen. 1:1 refers not to the absolute
but to a relative beginning. The entire known universe, including the sun and
stars and atmosphere, etc., came into existence out of nothing in Gen.1:1ff. The
earth itself, however, apparently already existed at this time. The angels were
9 In fact, I believe that Waltke’s conclusions regarding the interpretation of this passage
which he summarizes at the end of the last of three articles on the subject allows for a gap theory
to be a plausible explanation of the relationship between the verses. Waltke reaches a
conclusion that verse 1 is a summary statement and verse 2 describes the situation prior to the
creation. Verses 3 and following are the narrative of creation. While Waltke doesn’t accept the
traditional gap theory, it seems to me that the interpretation he proffers has many parallels to the
two gap theories discussed in these notes. He even states that it is not possible to conclusively
disprove the interpretation of verse 2 – “But the earth had become.” See Bruce K. Waltke, “The
Creation Account in Genesis 1:1-3: Part III: The Initial Chaos Theory and the Precreation Chaos
Theory,” Bibliotheca Sacra 132 (July-Sept, 1975): 227-28.
10 Joseph C. Dillow, The Reign of the Servant Kings (Hayesville, North Carolina:
Schoettle Publishing Company, 1992), 1-2. Merrill Unger espoused this view. See Merrill F.
Unger, Unger’s Commentary on the Old Testament, 2 Vols (Chicago: Moody Press, 1981), 1:5.
Also, see Allen P. Ross, “Genesis” in John Walvoord & Roy Zuck, editors, The Bible Knowledge
Commentary (Wheaton, Illinois: Victor Press, 1985), 28.
The Church of the Servant King
www.cotsk.org
5
created and some of them fell in the pre-Gen. 1:1 universe. When God begins
His creative work, the earth is already in a judged condition. This is not to be
confused with the [traditional] “gap theory” which teaches a gap between Gen.
1:1 and 1:2. Rather, the gap is between the original creation in eternity past (Jn
1:1-2) and the re-creation [restoration] of Gen 1:1 which occurred about six
thousand to twelve thousand years ago. In the pre-Gen 1:1 universe an entirely
different set of natural laws prevailed.11
[Note: Bracketed phrases are added for clarification and are not a part of the
original quotation]
I believe that the view presented by Jody Dillow in the Prologue to his book The Reign of
the Servant Kings provides an acceptable alternative to the traditional gap theory. At a minimum,
it negates some of the arguments of the critics of the traditional gap theory.
So an interpretive translation of Genesis 1:1-3 according to the alternate gap theory
might read:
(V.1) In the beginning [beginning of man related history, not a pre-historic event
in eternity past] God created the heavens and the earth. (V.2) And [“waw”
conjunctive indicates a concurrent event, not sequential activity] the earth was
[Hebrew word “hyh” is translated “was” ] formless and void [“tohu wa bohu”
alludes to the process associated with creation], and darkness was over the
surface of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of
the waters. (V. 3) Then [“waw” consecutive indicating sequence in action] God
said, “Let there be light”; and there was light.
At this time, I believe either the “gap” theory that Chafer presents or the alternative theory
that Dillow presents pose the best potential for understanding the sequence of events leading up
to the creation of man.
• Both recognize a “gap” between the original creation of the earth and the restoration
process that began in Genesis 1. The traditional “gap” theory recognizes this
judgment to have occurred between Gen. 1:1 & 2; whereas the alternate gap theory
recognizes this judgment to have occurred between some point in eternity past and
Gen. 1:1.
• Both allow for some catastrophic event resulting from God’s judgment to have
occurred between the original creation and the restoration that is described in
Genesis 1.
• We have seen that the catastrophic event that occurred is Satan’s sin and the
resulting judgment upon the universe brought about by God’s justice.
As we progress in this study, it is important to keep in mind the effect of and analogy
between Satan’s fall and man’s fall. When Adam fell, he acquired a sin nature that originated
from an attitude of independence from God. The increasing confusion and darkness that has
continued since Adam’s fall will reach its maximum level in the Tribulation and will stand in stark
contrast to the Kingdom of Christ on earth during the Millennium during which the “light of men”
(John 1:4), the resurrected Christ will rule in all His glory and splendor.
11 Ibid. (See footnote 1 at the bottom of page 1 of Dillow’s book). See also Bruce
Waltke, Creation and Chaos (Portland: Western Conservative Baptist Seminary Press, 1974), 31-
36.
Related articles

Gap Theory and Pre-Adamic Civilization Dialogue (oneway2day.wordpress.com)
Gap Theory (seriousbrasstacks.wordpress.com)
Genesis Interpretations: Satan fell before end of creation week? (bibleopia.wordpress.com)
Genesis Interpretations: Satan fell before end of creation week? (creationopia.wordpress.com)
Where Does the Bible Teach Millions of Years? (siriusknotts.wordpress.com)
Alien Intervention throughout Human History (wiredcosmos.com)
L’affaire Waltke (slacktivist.typepad.com)
4 Creative Miracles (manvsarchaeology.wordpress.com)
Genesis Interpretations: Death before Sin? (bibleopia.wordpress.com)
Genesis Interpretations: Death before Sin? (creationopia.wordpress.com)

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Posted in The “Gap” Theory and tagged Adam, Adam & Eve, Bible, Bible Study, Bruce Waltke, Christianity, Eve, Faith, Genesis creation narrative, God, Israel, Jesus, Life, Lifestyle, Literature, Miscellaneous, Musings, News, Prophecy, Religion, Research, Satan, Systematic Theology, The “Gap” Theory, Theology, Work, World, Writing

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01 May 2012

Israel mustn’t forget Iran is committed to its destruction – Telegraph Blogs

Israel mustn’t forget Iran is committed to its destruction – Telegraph Blogs.

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01 May 2012

The Wars of the End Times

How many and when will they happen?
by Dr. David R. Reagan

The Valley of Armageddon
[read in Lamplighter (pdf)]

Every time a war breaks out in the Middle East, I receive a flurry of phone calls and email messages asking if it could be the War of Armageddon. This question is prompted by the fact that most people are familiar with only one end time war — the one that has been popularized in movies and novels as the “Battle of Armageddon.”

The concept comes from the book of Revelation where it says that armies will gather in the end times at a place “which in Hebrew is called Har-Magedon” (Revelation 16:16). This term literally means the Mount of Megiddo and refers to the ancient fortress of Megiddo that controlled the Valley of Jezreel. In English the word was transliterated as Armageddon, and the term came to be applied to the Valley of Jezreel which lies in front of Har-Magedon, running diagonally across Israel from Haifa to the Jordan River.

The Valley of Armageddon

Most people are surprised to discover that there is no reference in the book of Revelation, or any other place in the Bible to the “Valley of Armageddon,” nor is there any reference to the “Battle of Armageddon” — but more about that later. People are even more surprised to learn that Bible prophecy reveals nine wars in the end times and that Armageddon relates to only one of these.
The Next Prophetic War

Most prophetic scholars have long believed that the next great end time war will be the War of Gog & Magog that is described in Ezekiel 38 and 39. This, for example is the stated position of Joel Rosenberg in his popular book, Epicenter. This war will start when Russia invades Israel with certain specified allies, all of whom are Muslim nations today.

But I seriously doubt that the conflict described in Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next war of end time Bible prophecy. There are two reasons why I feel this way.

First, there is a condition for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 that has not been met. Three times in Ezekiel 38 — in verses 8, 11, and 14 — it states that the war described in that chapter will not occur until the people of Israel are living “securely” in “unwalled villages.”

Israel is not living in security today. It is bombarded daily by missiles from Gaza, and it is constantly under the threat of missile attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon. There is also the ever present threat of terrorist attacks, a threat that has forced Israel to construct a 400 mile long wall down the center of the country. In short, it is laughable today to even think of the Jewish people of Israel as living “securely” in “unwalled villages.”

The second reason I doubt that the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39 will be the next end time war of Bible prophecy is because the nations mentioned in Ezekiel 38:5-6 as the allies of Russia do not include a single Arab state with a border adjacent to Israel. The nations identified are Persia (Iran), Cush (most likely modern day Sudan), Put (Libya and possibly Algeria and Tunisia), and two regions that lie within modern day Turkey (Gomer and Bethtogarmah). There is no mention of the nations that share a common border with Israel — namely, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, and Gaza.

Valley of Jezreel Map

Why are the nations located next to Israel not mentioned as allies of Russia? I believe the best explanation of this mystery is the one supplied by Bill Salus in his book, Isralestine. He proposes that the next end time prophetic war will be the one described in Psalm 83, a war between Israel and its neighbors. He believes this war will produce the conditions that are necessary for the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39, and I agree with that conclusion.

With that point clarified, let’s now take an overview of the end time prophetic wars in their likely chronological sequence.
1) The War of Extermination — Psalm 83

The psalm states that the immediate neighbors of Israel will launch a war for the purpose of “wiping out Israel as a nation” (verse 4). The nations described as being a part of this nefarious effort are those with a common border with Israel today (verses 6-8). The rest of the psalm is a prayer for the victory of Israel (verses 9-18).

The outcome of the war is not stated, but we know from other scriptures that Israel will be victorious. For example, in Zechariah 12:6 we are told that in the end times Israel will be like “a firepot among pieces of wood and a flaming torch among sheaves, so they will consume on the right hand and on the left all the surrounding peoples…” Also, in Amos 9:15 we are told that once the Jews are re-established in their land, “they will not again be rooted out from their land.”

Bill Salus believes this war will result in an overwhelming victory for Israel, resulting in great territorial expansion and enhanced national resources. It will also produce the security spoken of in Ezekiel 38.
2) The First War of Gog & Magog — Ezekiel 38 and 39

But the security provided by the Psalm 83 war will not last long. The Arab nations will turn to their natural ally, Russia, and cry out for help.

And the Russians will be very happy to respond, for they have always dreamed of taking the oil fields of the Middle East. They will, therefore, launch an invasion for the stated purpose of helping the Muslims destroy Israel, but their unstated agenda will be to use the Arab invitation as an excuse to expand their sovereignty over all the Middle East. This ulterior motive is described in Ezekiel 38:12 where it says the Russians will come “to capture spoil and to seize plunder.”

The invading armies will be supernaturally destroyed by God “on the mountains of Israel” (Ezekiel 39:4). The Lord will accomplish this destruction through earthquakes, pestilence, hail storms, fire, brimstone, and battlefield confusion (Ezekiel 38:19-22). Even the Jewish people will recognize that the victory belongs to the Lord, and many will open their hearts to the Lord (Ezekiel 38:23). In fact, this event could mark the occasion when the 144,000 Jews of Revelation 7:1-8 accept Yeshua as their Messiah and are sealed by the Lord for special service throughout the seven year period of the Tribulation.

The greatest mystery concerning this war is its timing. Most have placed it at the beginning of the Tribulation. Others delay its start to the middle of the Tribulation. Increasingly in recent years, the tendency has been to place it before the beginning of the Tribulation.

The best discussion of timing that has yet been written can be found in Ron Rhodes’ book, Northern Storm Rising. He concludes that it is most likely to occur 3 1/2 years prior to the Tribulation. One of his most important reasons for this conclusion is that Ezekiel 39:9 says the Jews will spend seven years burning the weapons captured in the war, and the book of Revelation says they will be run out of the land in the middle of the Tribulation (Revelation 12:13-17). Since the middle of the Tribulation will occur 3 1/2 years into that seven year period, that means the only way the Jews could spend seven years burning the weapons is for the war to start at least 3 1/2 years before the Tribulation begins. (Note: The “burning of weapons” could refer to captured nuclear fuel.)

Does this mean the wars of Psalm 83 and Ezekiel 38 and 39 must occur before the Rapture? Not at all. The Rapture could occur anytime before, during, or after these wars. Keep in mind that the Rapture is not what marks the beginning of the Tribulation. The Tribulation will begin when the Antichrist signs a security treaty with Israel (Daniel 9:27). There could be a period of several years between the Rapture and the beginning of the Tribulation.
3) The Conventional War of the Tribulation — Revelation 6

The book of Revelation states that a major world war will break out soon after the Tribulation begins. This war is described in Revelation 6.

Four Horsemen
© Pat Marvenko Smith
(www.revelationillustrated.com)

Although the Antichrist will rise to world power in Europe through cunning, deception, and intrigue (Daniel 8:23), he will have to resort to military power to conquer the world. Asia, Africa, and South America have spent too long casting off the shackles of European colonialism for them to suddenly surrender their sovereignty peacefully to a new European dictator — regardless of how brilliant and charismatic he may be.

We are told in Revelation 13:7 that the Antichrist will ultimately achieve “authority over every tribe and people and tongue and nation.” This authority will be achieved through war. Revelation 6 records the outbreak of this world war. It results in the death of one-fourth of humanity, or 1.5 billion in today’s terms (Revelation 6:8).

The War of Psalm 83 results in the destruction of the inner ring of Muslim states around Israel. The War of Ezekiel 38 and 39 produces the defeat of the immediate outer ring of Muslim states.

But the vast majority of all Muslims live outside the Middle East, the largest Muslim nations being Indonesia (201 million), India (144 million), Pakistan (140 million), and Bangladesh (115 million). These nations are the ones who are most likely to produce the strongest resistance to a Western, non-Muslim dictator, and they will be destroyed either in this war or the one that follows it.

In other words, I believe God is going to use the Antichrist as His hammer of wrath to destroy Islam.

But many other nations in the world will also have to be subdued, and that leads us to the next war of the end times.
4) The Nuclear War of the Tribulation — Revelation 8 & 9

At some point, the book of Revelation indicates that the conventional war will morph into a nuclear holocaust, resulting in the deaths of another one-third of Mankind, or another 1.5 billion people (Revelation 9:15). This means that in the first two wars of the Tribulation, more than one half of humanity will die.

A hint that the conventional war will become a nuclear one is found in Revelation 8:7 where it states that the escalation of the war will result in one-third of the earth being burned up. Another hint is found in Revelation 16:2-11 where we are told that “loathsome and malignant” sores will afflict people at the end of the Tribulation, something that would be a natural consequence of radiation from the use of nuclear weapons.

It could very well be that this nuclear holocaust could be what Jesus had in mind when He stated that in the end times men will faint from fear over the expectation of the things coming upon the world, “for the powers of the heavens will be shaken” (Luke 21:26).

This war is portrayed in the book of Revelation in chapters 8-9 as a series of “Trumpet Judgments.”
5) The War in the Heavens — Revelation 12

The next end time war is totally different in nature from all the rest. It is a supernatural one that will occur in the heavens in the middle of the Tribulation. It is most likely prompted by an attempt of Satan to once again take the throne of God.

War in Heaven

Satan and his angels are opposed in this war by Michael and his angels. Michael is an archangel who is pictured in the Hebrew Scriptures as the commander-in-chief of the armies of God (Daniel 10:13, 21 and 12:1). Michael and his angels prevail in this war, and Satan is cast down to earth. His access to God’s throne is cut off (Revelation 12:9-10).

When this happens, Satan realizes that his time is short because he knows Bible prophecy (Revelation 12:12). In his rage, Satan decides to destroy the Jewish people, and this decision leads to the next war.
6) The War Against the Jews and the Saints — Revelation 12

Satan hates the Jews with a passion for several reasons:

They are the Chosen People of God.
God used them to provide the Scriptures to the world.
It was through them that the Messiah came.
God has promised that He will bring a great remnant of them to faith in His Son at the end of the Tribulation.

There is going to be another holocaust during the latter half of the Tribulation. When Satan is cast down to earth, he will possess the Antichrist (Revelation 13:2) and inspire him to annihilate all the Jews. This is the reason that Jesus referred to the last half of the Tribulation as “the great tribulation” (Matthew 24:21) — not because this half will be worse than the first half, but because the wrath of Satan will be focused on the Jews.

Some of the Jews of Israel will flee to a place in the “wilderness” where they will be supernaturally protected by God (Revelation 12:13-14). Many believe this hiding place will be the ancient city of Petra, located inside a box canyon in modern Jordan. There is good reason for this assumption because Daniel 11:41 says the Antichrist will be prevented from conquering Jordan when it is part of an end time rebellion.

But Zechariah 13:8 indicates that two-thirds of the Jewish people will be killed by the Antichrist during this time, and Revelation 12:17 says the Antichrist will also war against the “offspring” of Israel — namely, those “who keep the commandments of God and hold to the testimony of Jesus.” I believe this is a reference to all those who accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior during the Tribulation, both Jews and Gentiles.

It is no wonder that Revelation 7:9-14 pictures a great multitude of martyrs in Heaven, so great that it cannot be counted. They are identified as “the ones who are coming out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb” (Revelation 7:14).

So the Antichrist will be very successful in his war against the Jews and the Saints, but he will fail in his ultimate goal of annihilating all the Jews. For we are told repeatedly throughout the Scriptures that a great remnant of the Jews will live to the end of the Tribulation at which time they will receive Yeshua as their Messiah. (See: Isaiah 10:20-23; Zechariah 12:10; Romans 9:27-28; and Romans 11:25-26.)
7) The Middle East Campaign of the Antichrist — Daniel 11

Daniel 11:40-45 describes a military campaign of the Antichrist in the Middle East that occurs at the end of the Tribulation.

These verses and related verses in Revelation could very well indicate that when the Antichrist becomes insanely obsessed with destroying the Jews and the Saints, the nations of the world will see an opportunity to rebel against him. The nations in the Middle East will be led by the “king of the North” (most likely Syria) and the “king of the South” (Egypt). The Antichrist responds by invading “the Beautiful Land” and subduing all the area except Jordan.

But just as he seems to be completely victorious, he hears “rumors from the East and from the North” that deeply disturb him. He retreats with his armies to the area “between the seas” where “he will come to his end.” The geographical description here of a location between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee corresponds to the Valley of Armageddon.

I believe the rumors that frighten him are, in part, the news that “the kings from the East” (Revelation 16:12) who are bringing huge armies from Asia have arrived at the Euphrates River and are ready to cross into Israel to challenge him. The rumors from the North could relate to a reconstituted rebellious army from Russia.
8) The Battle of Armageddon — Joel 3, Zechariah 14, and Revelation 19

It appears that just as the armies from the East and the North start arriving in the Valley of Armageddon to challenge the Antichrist, the Lord breaks from the heavens, returns to the Mount of Olives, speaks a supernatural word, and all the armies are instantly destroyed.

In other words, there really is no such thing as the “Battle of Armageddon.” The armies are assembled to do battle, but the Lord annihilates all of them in a microsecond “with the breath of His mouth” (2 Thessalonians 2:8).

Joel 3:16 says the Lord will “roar from Zion” and “utter His voice from Jerusalem.” Isaiah 10:16 says the result will be “a wasting disease.” Zechariah 14:12 says it will be a plague that will cause the flesh of the soldiers “to rot while they stand on their feet.” Their eyes will rot in their sockets and their tongues will rot in their mouths. It will be like the explosion of a neutron bomb.
9) The Second Battle of Gog & Magog — Revelation 20

Mercifully and joyfully, the “battle” of Armageddon will be followed by one thousand years of peace as the reign of Jesus from Jerusalem results in the world being filled with righteousness and justice (Isaiah 11:4-5,9). Swords will be beat into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, and “nation will not lift up sword against nation…” (Isaiah 2:4). All the money that is spent today on armaments will be spent on agricultural implements. The world will be flooded with agricultural abundance (Amos 9:13). There will be no homeless or hungry people. Every man will have his own vineyard and orchard (Micah 4:4).

Satan will be bound (Revelation 20:1-3). Sin and crime will be greatly reduced. But there will be seething rebellion in the hearts of many, if not most, that are born during that time.

This is hard for most people to understand. Why would there be resentment in the hearts of people in the midst of such a perfect reign of Jesus?

The initial population of the Millennium will be all those, both Jew and Gentile, who live to the end of the Tribulation and who have accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior. All others will be consigned to death when the Lord returns. So, the Millennium will begin with only believers. But they will begin to propagate, and since death will be curtailed and life spans will be greatly extended (Isaiah 65:20), the population of the world will grow exponentially.

Those born during this time will still have the old sin nature. They will desire all the things of the flesh — booze, drugs, gambling, and promiscuous sex. But they will see that any violation of the Law of God results in swift and certain justice. Immediate arrest will be followed by an immediate trial and an immediate judgment. There will be no appeal, for all judges will be Saints in glorified bodies who will make perfect decisions. So, the average person in the flesh will say, “I love you Jesus!” but he or she will do so with clinched teeth.

The Bible states repeatedly that Jesus will rule with “a rod of iron” (Psalm 2:9 and Revelation 2:26-27). And despite the fact that His reign will produce righteousness, fairness, and perfect justice (Isaiah 11:4-5), most of those living in the flesh will deeply resent the fact that they cannot freely pursue their worldly lusts.

It is no wonder that when Satan is released at the end of the Lord’s millennial reign (Revelation 20:7), the majority of those in the flesh will unite in one last rebellion against God that is pictured in Revelation 20:7-9. Led once again by Gog & Magog, this war is often confused with the war of Ezekiel 38 and 39. But the two are very different. The Ezekiel war pictures Russia coming against the nation of Israel with certain specified allies. In Revelation 20 Russia is portrayed as leading all the nations of the world against Jesus Christ.

History is going to end as it began. It started out with two people living in a perfect society, but deciding to rebel against their Creator. It ends with all of humanity living in a perfect society, and the majority making the same decision to rebel against God.

One of the many purposes of the Millennium is for God to prove that Mankind’s inherent sin defect can be remedied only by the Holy Spirit through faith in Jesus as Lord and Savior.

The religion of Satan has always been Humanism — the belief in Man. This philosophy teaches that Man is inherently good and is capable of perfection through education and social justice. Humanists therefore believe that if society can be perfected by supplying each person with a guaranteed job and income, Mankind will be transformed.

But the Bible teaches that Mankind is fatally flawed with a sin nature that makes people naturally evil (Jeremiah 17:9). And the Bible teaches that the only solution to the problem is the transformation of the Holy Spirit that begins when a person accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.

God will prove this beyond doubt when He puts all of Mankind into a perfect society for one thousand years and Mankind responds in rebellion.
The Abolition of War

The Second War of Gog & Magog will be the final war of history. Following it, God will take the Redeemed off the earth and place them in the New Jerusalem He is now preparing. He will then consume the earth with fire to burn away the pollution of Satan’s last revolt. Out of that fiery inferno will come new heavens and a new earth — this earth redeemed and perfected (2 Peter 3:10-13). He will then lower the Redeemed down to this earth inside the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:2-7), and He will come to earth to live in their presence eternally (Revelation 22:1-4).

Eternal peace is coming. War is going to be gone forever. This hope of Mankind will not be achieved by diplomats. It will be a gift of God through Jesus Christ who died to redeem Mankind and all the Cosmos.

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26 Apr 2012

The Doctrine of Blackout and Scar Tissue of the Soul. – Doctrines for download – Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries / Grace Bible Church – bible doctrine truth in Christ

The Doctrine of Blackout and Scar Tissue of the Soul. – Doctrines for download – Robert McLaughlin Bible Ministries / Grace Bible Church – bible doctrine truth in Christ.

Posted in Prophecy
20 Apr 2012

THE FIVE JUDGMENTS

The expression “general judgment,” of such frequent occurrence in religious literature, is not found in the Scriptures, and, what is of more importance, the idea intended to be conveyed by that expression is not found in the Scriptures.

Dr. Pentecost well says: “It is a mischievous habit that has led the Christian world to speak of the judgment as being one great event taking place at the end of the world, when all human beings, saints, sinners, Jews and Gentiles, the living and the dead, shall stand up before the great white throne and there be judged. Nothing can be more wide of the teaching of the Scriptures.”

The Scriptures speak of five judgments, and they differ in four general respects: as to who are the subjects of judgment; as to the place of judgment; as to the time of judgment; as to the result of the judgment.
THE JUDGMENT AS TO BELIEVERS

Their sins have been judged.

Time: A. D. 30.

Place: the cross.

Result: death for Christ: justification for the believer.

‘And he bearing his cross went forth into a place called the place of a skull, which is called in the Hebrew, Golgotha: Where they crucified him” (John 19:17-18).

“Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree” I Pet. 2:24).

“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God” (I Pet. 3: 18).

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree” (Gal. 3:13).

“For he [God] hath made him [Christ] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Cor. 5:21).

“But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared, to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself’ (Heb. 9:26).

“When he had by himself purged our sins” (Heb. 1:3).

“There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” (Rom. 8:1).
THE JUDGMENT OF SIN IN THE BELIEVER

Time: any time.

Place: anywhere.

Result: chastisement by the Lord, if we judge not ourselves.

“For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the world” (I Cor. 11:31-32).

“If ye endure chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not?” (Heb. 12:7).

(See also I Pet. 4:17; 1 Cor. 5:5; 2 Sam. 7:14-15; 2 Sam. 12:13-14; 1 Tim. 1:20.)
THE CONDUCT, OR WORKS OF BELIEVERS ARE TO BE JUDGED

Time: when Christ comes.

Place: “in the air.”

Result to the believer: “reward” or “loss.” “But he himself shall be saved.”

It is a solemn thought that though Christ bore our sins in Hi own body on the tree and God has entered into covenant with us to “remember them no more” (Heb. 10: 17), every work must corn into judgment. The life, the works of the believer must be reviewed by the Lord.

“Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.” (2 Cor. 5:9-10).

“But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost thou set a naught thy brother? for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ” (Rom. 14: 10).

It will be observed that both of these passages are limited by the context to believers. In the first, the apostle speaks of us as in one of two states: either we are at home in the body and absen from the Lord, or absent from the body and present with the Lord-language which could not he used of unbelievers. “Where fore we make it our aim” to be well-pleasing unto the Lord, ‘fio we must all be made manifest” (2 Cor. 5:8-9).

In the other passage the words “we” and “brother” again limi it to believers. The Holy Spirit never comingles the saved and the unsaved. Then, lest it should seem incredible that a blood-cleansed saint could come into any judgment whatever, he quotes from Isaiah to prove that “every knee shall bow,” and adds, “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.”

The following passage gives the basis of the judgment of works: “For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is. If any man’s work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire” (I Cor. 3:11-15).

The following passages fix the time of this judgment: “For the Son of man shall come in the glory of his Father, with his angels: and then he shall reward every man according to his works” (Matt. 16:27). “And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:14). (See I Cor. 15:22-23.) “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God” (I Cor. 4:5).

But how comforting it is, in view of that inevitable scrutiny of our poor works, to learn that in His patient love He is so leading us and working in us now that He can then find something in it all for which to praise us.

“Behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev. 22:12).

“Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give me at that day” (2 Tim. 4:9).

For the place of this judgment, see I Thessalonians 4:17 and Matthew 25:24-30.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE NATIONS

Time: the glorious appearing of Christ (Matt. 25:31-32; Matt. 13:40-41).

Place: the valley of Jehoshaphat (Joel 3:1-2,12-14).

Result: some saved, some lost (Matt. 25:46).

Basis: The treatment of those whom Christ there calls, “my brethren” (Matt. 25:40-45; Joel 3:3,6- 7). These “brethren” we believe are the Jewish remnant who shall turn to Jesus as their Messiah during “the great tribulation” which follows the taking away of the church and is terminated by the glorious appearing of our Lord (Matt. 24:21-22; Rev. 7:14; 2 Thess. 2:3-9). The proof is too extensive to be put forth here. It is evident, however, that these “brethren” cannot be believers of this dispensation, for it would be impossible to find any considerable number of Christians who are so ignorant that they do not know that offices of kindness to believers are really ministries to Jesus Himself.

As this judgment of the living nations is sometimes confounded with that of the great white throne in Revelation 20:11, it may be well to note the following contrasts between the two scenes.

The living nations will be characterized by the following: no resurrection; living nations judged; on the earth; no books; three classes-sheep, goats, “brethren”; time, when Christ appears. The great white throne will be characterized by the following: a resurrection; “the dead” judged; heavens and earth fled away; “books were opened”; one class: “the dead”; after He has reigned one thousand years.

The saints will be associated with Christ in this judgment and hence cannot be the subjects of it. (See I Cor. 6:2; Dan. 7:22; Jude verses 14-15.)

In truth, the judgment of the great white throne and the judgment of the living nations have but one thing in common: the Judge.
THE JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED DEAD

Time: a determined day, after the millennium (Acts 17:31; Rev.
20:5,7).

Place: before the great white throne (Rev. 20: 11

Result: Rev. 20:15.

Some may be troubled by the word “day” in such passages as Acts 17:31 and in Romans 2:16. See the following passages, where “day” means a lengthened period: 2 Pet. 3:8; 2 Cor. 6:2; John 8:56. The “hour” of John 5:25 has now lasted more than eighteen hundred years.

The Scriptures speak, also, of a judgment of angels (I Cor. 6:3; Jude verse 6; 2 Pet. 2:4). Luke 22:30 probably refers to judges as under the theocracy – an administrative office, rather than judicial. (See Isaiah 1:26.)

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20 Apr 2012

THE TWO RESURRECTIONS

By C I Scofield

The Word of truth teaches in the clearest and most positive terms that all of the dead will be raised. No doctrine of the faith rests upon a more literal and emphatic body of Scripture authority than this, nor is any more vital to Christianity. “But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen. And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain” (I Cor. 15:13-14.)

But it is important to observe that the Scriptures do not teach that all the dead are raised at one time. A partial resurrection of saints has already occurred. “And the graves were opened; and many bodies of the saints which slept arose, and came out of the graves after his resurrection, and went into the holy city, and appeared unto many” (Matt. 27:52-53).

Two resurrections, differing in respect of time and of those who are the subjects of the resurrection, are yet future. These are variously distinguished as “the resurrection of life,” and “the resurrection of damnation,” “the resurrection of the just and the unjust,” etc. The following Scriptures refer to this important subject.

“Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation” (John 5:28-29.) If it be objected that the word “hour” would indicate a simultaneous resurrection of these two classes, it is answered that the “hour” of verse 25 has already lasted eighteen hundred years. (See also “day,” in 2 Pet. 3:8; 2 Cor. 6:2; John 8:56).

“But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: and thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just” (Luke 14:13-14). In this passage our Lord speaks of the first resurrection only. In I Corinthians 15 the distinction still further appears: “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming” (I Cor. 15:22-23).

“But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not prevent (precede] them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first” (I Thess. 4:13-16).

If the apostle had in mind a resurrection of all the dead, how could he speak of attaining it “by any means,” since he could not possibly escape it?

In Revelation 20:4-6 the two resurrections are again mentioned together, with the important addition of the time which intervenes between the resurrection of the saved and of the unsaved. “And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the Beast neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.” Verses 12 and 13 describe the second resurrection-that “unto damnation.”

The testimony of Scripture, then, is clear that believers’ bodies are raised from among the bodies of unbelievers and caught up to meet the Lord in the air a thousand years before the resurrection of the latter. It should be firmly held that the doctrine of the resurrection concerns only the bodies of the dead. Their disembodied spirits are instantly in conscious bliss or woe (Phil. 1:23 2 Con 5.8; Luke 16:22-23).

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20 Apr 2012

THE TWO ADVENTS Of Christs

By C I Scofield

When it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow I Peter 1: 11

Whoever carefully considers Old Testament prophecies must be struck by two contrasting and seemingly contradictory lines of prediction concerning the coming Messiah. One body of prediction speaks of Him as coming in weakness and humiliation, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, as a root out of dry ground, having no form nor comeliness, nor beauty that He should be desired. His visage is to be marred, His hands and feet pierced, He is to be forsaken of man and of God, and to make His grave with the wicked. (See Ps. 22:1-18; Isa. 7:14; Isa. 53; Dan. 9:26; Zech. 13:6-7; Mark 14:27.)

The other line of prophecy foretells a splendid and resistless Sovereign, purging the earth with awful judgments, regathering dispersed Israel, restoring the throne of David in more than Solomon’s splendor, and introducing a reign of profound peace and perfect righteousness. (See Deut. 30:1-7; Isa. 11:1-2, 10-12; Isa. 9:6-7; Isa. 24:21-23; Isa. 40:9-11; Jer. 23:5-8; Dan. 7:13-14; Mic. 5:2; Matt. 1: 1; Matt. 2:2; Luke 1:31-33.)

In due time the fulfillment of messianic prophecy began with the birth of the virgin’s Son according to Isaiah, in Bethlehem according to Micah, and proceeded with perfect literalness unto the full accomplishment of every prediction of Messiah’s humiliation; for sin must first be put away, before the kingdom could be established. But the Jews would not receive their King in the form in which He was presented, “meek and sitting upon an ass and a colt the foal of an ass,” and they crucified Him. (See Zech. 9:9 with Matt. 21:1-5; John 19:15-16.)

But we must not conclude that the wickedness of man has baffled the deliberate purpose of God, for His counsels include a second advent of His Son, when the predictions concerning Messiah’s earthly glory will receive the same precise and literal fulfillment as did those which concerned His earthly sufferings. (See Hos. 3:4-5; Matt. 24:27-30; Luke 1:31-33; Acts 1:6-7; Acts 15:14-17.)

The Jews were slow of heart to believe all that the prophets had spoken concerning the sufferings of their Messiah; we are slow of heart to believe all that they have spoken concerning His glory. Surely the greater reproach is ours, for it ought to be easier to believe that the Son of God would come “in the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory” than that He would come as the babe of Bethlehem and the carpenter of Nazareth. Indeed, we believe the latter because it has happened, not because the prophets foretold it, and it is time we ceased to reproach the Jews for their unbelief. If it be asked how they could possibly be blinded to the evident meaning of so many and such unequivocal predictions, the answer is that they were blinded in exactly the same way that many Christians are blinded to the equally evident meaning of a far greater number of predictions of His earthly glory, namely, by the process of “spiritualizing” Scripture. In other words, the ancient scribes told the people that the prophecies of Messiah’s sufferings were not to be interpreted literally, just as some modern scribes are telling the people that the prophecies of Messiah’s earthly glory are not to be literally interpreted.

The second advent is a promise to the church as well as to the Jew. Among the last words of comfort and exhortation addressed by our Lord to His perplexed and sorrowing disciples before He accomplished the sacrifice of the cross were these: “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also” (John 14:1-3).

Here the Lord speaks of His coming again in precisely the same terms as of His departure. The latter was, we know, personal and bodily. If we say that the former is impersonal and “spiritual,” surely to such a forced interpretation of simple language we ought to be constrained only by the most imperative and unqualified Scripture elsewhere. But no such passages exist. But we are not left to doubt upon this vital point, nor to draw conclusions of reason, however irresistible.

In the very moment of our Lord’s disappearance from the sight of His disciples, “Two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? This same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven” (Acts 1:10-11).

To the same purport is I Thess. 4:16-17: “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air; and so shall we ever be with the Lord.” “Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13).

“For our citizenship is in heaven; from whence also we wait for a Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: who shall fashion anew the body of our humiliation, that it may be cFor our conversation is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ: Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body, according to the working whereby he is able even to subdue all things unto himself.” (Phil. 3:20-21).

“Beloved, now are we the sons of God; and it doth not yet appear what we shall be: but we know that, when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall see him as he is” (I John 3:2). “And behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be” (Rev. 22:12).

For this “blessed hope” we are taught to “watch” (Mark 13:33, 35, 37; Matt. 24:42; 25:13), “wait” (I Thess. 1: 10), and be “ready” (Matt. 24:44). The last prayer in the Bible is one for Christ’s speedy return (Rev. 22:20).

By these Scriptures it abundantly appears that the second advent will be personal and bodily. Therefore it does not mean the death of the believer, nor the destruction of Jerusalem, nor the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, nor the gradual diffusion of Christianity, but that it is the “blessed hope” of the church, the time when sleeping saints will be raised, and, together with saints then living, who will be “changed” (I Cor. 15:51-52), caught up to meet the Lord-the time when we who are now the sons of God will be like Him and when faithful saints will be rewarded for works of faith, for His name’s sake, after they have been saved.

The following Scriptures will further bring into view the contrast between the two advents of our Lord. Compare the first advent with the second.
FIRST ADVENT

And she brought forth her first-born son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn (Luke 2:7).

But now once in the end of the world hath he appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself (Heb. 9:26).

For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost (Luke 19:10).

For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved (John 3:17).

And if any man hear my words, and believe not, I judge him not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world (John 12:47).
SECOND ADVENT

And then shall appear the sign of the Son of man, in heaven: and then shall all the tribes of the earth mourn, and they shall see the Son of man coming in the clouds of heaven with power and great glory (Matt. 24:30).

So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time, without sin, unto salvation (Heb. 9:28).

And to you who are troubled, rest with us: when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels, in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ (2 Thess. 1:7-8).

Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness, by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead (Acts 17:31).

The student may multiply these contrasts almost indefinitely. Enough, however, has been put forth that both the promises to Israel and to the church imperatively require a return of our Lord to the earth.

It may be helpful to beginning Bible students to consider, briefly, the various theories which are put forward to oppose the scriptural doctrine of the personal and corporeal return, or second advent, of Christ.

It will, of course, be clearly understood that the Scriptures which speak of His visible and bodily appearing at the close of this dispensation must be distinguished from those which refer to His divine attributes of omniscience and omnipresence, by virtue of which He knows all things and is always present everywhere and of which such passages as Matthew 18:20 and Matthew 28:20 are examples. It is blessedly true that, in this sense, He is with us always, even unto the end of the age.

But the man Christ Jesus is now personally and corporeally at the right hand of God, as Acts 1:9-11 plainly declares: “And when he had spoken these things, while they beheld, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. And while they looked steadfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.”

Stephen saw Him there: “But he, being full of the Holy Ghost looked up steadfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, and said, Behold, I see the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56). “When he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:3). “If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God” (Col. 3: 1).

During the Franco-Prussian war Von MoItke, by his genius and skill and by a network of telegraph wires, was really present on every battlefield, though visibly and personally present in his office in Berlin. Later in the war he joined the army before Paris, after which his actual and visible presence was there. So our Lord, by virtue of His divine attributes, is really present with His church now, but He will be visibly and personally upon the earth at His second coming.
1. The prophecies concerning the return of the Lord were not fulfilled by the descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost, nor by His manifestation in powerful revivals and happy prayer meetings.

a. This interpretation practically nullifies the doctrine of the Trinity, making the Holy Spirit only a manifestation of Christ.

b. In Christ’s promise of the descent of the Spirit He distinctly speaks of Him as “another Comforter” (John 14:16), and in John 16:7 Christ says: “If I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart I will send him unto you.”

c. The inspired writers of Acts, the Epistles, and of Revelation, mention the return of the Lord more than one hundred and fifty times after Pentecost, and always as yet future.

d. None of the events predicted to accompany the second advent of Christ occurred at Pentecost. These are: the resurrection of sleeping saints (I Cor. 15:22-23; 1 Thess. 4:13-16), the “change” of living believers, by which they “put on incorruption”, their vile bodies” being “fashioned like unto His glorious body,” and their being caught up to meet the Lord in the air (I Cor. 15:51-53; 1 Thess. 4:17; Phil. 3:20-21), and the mourning of all the tribes of the earth because of the visible coming of the Son of man in power and great glory (Matt. 24:29-30; Rev. 1:7).

These are the phenomena associated with the event of our Lord’s return. When He comes, these phenomena will be present. Not one of these things occurred at Pentecost, nor in any other manifestation of the Holy Spirit.

2. The conversion of a sinner is not the coming of the Lord.

One would think this theory too puerile to be seriously put forth as a sufficient explanation of prophecies so numerous and circumstantial.

a. According to Scripture this is exactly reversed. Conversion is the coming of a sinner to Christ, not the coming of Christ to a sinner (Matt. 11:28; John 5:40; John 7:37; John 6:37).

b. None of the events enumerated above, predicted to occur when the Lord returns, accompany the conversion of a sinner.

3. The death of a Christian is not the coming of Christ.

a. When the disciples understood the Lord to say that one of their number should tarry till He came, the saying went abroad among them that “that disciple should not die” (John 21:22-24).

b. The inspired writers always refer to a believer’s death as his departure. In not one instance is the coming of the Lord connected with a Christian’s death. (See Phil. 1:23; 2 Tim. 4:6; 2 Cor. 5:8.) Dying Stephen saw the heavens opened, and the Son of man, not coming but “standing on the right hand of God” (Acts 7:55-56).

c. None of the events predicted to occur when the Lord returns accompany the death of a Christian.

4. The destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans was not the second coming of Christ.

a. In Matthew 24 and Luke 21 three events are foretold: the destruction of the temple, the coming of the Lord, and the end of the world (age). (See Matt. 24:3.) It was the needless confusion of these perfectly distinct things which gave rise to the notion that the fulfillment of one was the fulfillment of all.

b. The apostle John wrote the book of Revelation after the destruction of Jerusalem, but still speaks of the coming of the Lord as a future event (Rev. 1:4,7; 2:25; 3:11; 22:7,12,20). The last promise of the Bible is, “Surely, I come quickly”; the last prayer, “Even so, come Lord Jesus.”

c. None of the events predicted to occur when the Lord returns occurred when Jerusalem was destroyed. (See I Thess. 4:14-17 Matt. 24:29-31; Matt. 25:31-32.)

5. The diffusion of Christianity is not the second coming of Christ.

a. The diffusion of Christianity is gradual, whereas the Scriptures refer to the return of the Lord as sudden and unexpected (Matt. 24:27, 36-42, 44, 50; 2 Pet. 3:10; Rev. 3:3).

b. The diffusion of Christianity is a process; Scripture invariably speaks of the return of the Lord as an event.

c. The diffusion of Christianity brings salvation to the wicked, whereas the coming of Christ is said to bring not salvation to them but “sudden destruction” (I Thess. 5:2, 3; 2 Thess. 1:7-10; Matt. 25:31- 46).

6. These alleged explanations and theories, though widespread, do not appear in the books of reputable theologians of any school or denomination, nor are they maintained by a single exegete of universally recognized eminence. These all maintain the bodily and visible second coming of Christ.

It is, however, sometimes said that this coming cannot occur until after the world has been converted by the preaching of the gospel and has submitted to the spiritual reign of Christ for one thousand years. It is submitted that this view is wholly erroneous for the following reasons.

a. Scripture clearly describes the condition of the earth at the second coming of Christ to be one of awful wickedness, not of millennial blessedness (Luke 17:26-32, with Gen. 6:5-7 and Gen. 13:13; Luke 18:8; Luke 21:25-27).

b. Scripture describes the whole course of this dispensation from the beginning to the end in such terms as to exclude the possibility of a converted world in any part of it (Matt. 13:36-43, 47-50; Matt. 25: 1 – 10; 1 Tim. 4: 1; 2 Tim. 3:1-9; 4:3-4; 2 Pet. 3:3-4; Jude 17-19).

c. The purpose of God in this dispensation is declared to be to “gather out of the Gentiles a people for his name,” not the conversion of the world. After this He “will return,” and then, and not before, will the world be converted. (See Acts 15:14-17; Matt. 24:14 ["for a witness"]; Rom. 1:5 ["among" not "of' all nations]; Rom. 11:14 ["some," not "all"]; I Cor. 9:22; Rev. 5:9 ["out of" not "all" of].)

d. It would be impossible to “watch” and “wait” for an event which we knew could not occur for more than one thousand years.

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