2 Peter 3:1-9

2 Peter 3:1-9

“This second epistle, beloved I now write unto you; in both which I stir up your pure minds by way of remembrance: That ye may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets, and of the commandment of us the apostles of the Lord and Saviour: Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers walking after their own lusts, and saying, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.’ For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water: Whereby the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: But the heavens and the earth which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire against the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men. But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slack concerning His promise as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to usward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”

Peter now takes the occasion to remind his readers of the words of Old Testament prophets, especially of the second coming of the Lord. He reminds them of what the prophets from aforetime spoke of concerning the Lord’s coming because of many scoffers that had arisen at this point in the history of the Church. These scoffers walk after their own lusts, then even as they do in this generation. 

They have forgotten the promise Christ gave to his disciples at the Last Supper where he said to them: “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 not have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to 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) They reason among themselves nothing has changed, since the time of creation, “all [natural] things continue”. Because they are led about by their lusts, they soon rationalize that if the Lord is slack on His promise to return, then they may as well live as lasciviously as they please. 

Peter uses the great flood of Genesis 7 as an example to show that God judges on His clock, not ours. It was by the power of God speaking that the earth was destroyed so long ago. It is by this same power that the earth is reserved and “kept in store” until the day of judgment which will come not by water but by fire. 

Men of old were ignorant of this fact, as Peter says. I believe it was not the flood itself that they were ignorant of, but their ignorance was in the fact that it was entirely by God’s mouth, that determined whether judgment came or not. Peter cannot stop men from being ignorant of that truth, but he was inspired to write and tell his readers not to be ignorant of another fact: that one day with the Lord is like a thousand years, and a thousand years is like one day. 

What does this mean? Why is it important? That statement, a thousand years being like one day and vice versa, shows forth the eternal nature of God. For God, a thousand days might as well be a million years. But on the other hand, if you are a believer who like myself, considers the earth to be no more than six thousand years old, then God we could just as easily say that the past six thousand years of human history have been less than a week for God. So it is easy for God to be long suffering, and He is– especially to His most beloved creation.

Long suffering is one of the characteristics of agape love (1 Cor. 13:4). Let us remember this when faced with those who scoff at the Lord’s return and examine ourselves to see if we are prepared for His coming. 

2 Peter 2:15-22

2 Peter 2:15-22

“Forsaking the right way, they went astray, having followed the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the hire of wrong-doing; But he was rebuked for his own transgression: a dumb ass spake with man’s voice and stayed the madness of the prophet. These are springs without water, and mists driven by a storm; for whom the blackness of darkness hath been reserved. For, uttering great swelling words of vanity, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by lasciviousness, those who are just escaping from them that live in error; Promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondservants of corruption; For whom a man is overcome, of the same is he also brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state is become worse than the first. For it were better for them to not known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered unto them. It has happened unto them according to the true proverb, The dog turning to his own vomit again, and the sow that had washed to wallowing in the mire.”(ASV)

The false teachers that were mentioned back in the beginning of the chapter are shown in these last verses that they knew the true way of salvation, but never accepted it because they saw monetary profit in leading God’s people astray. They would be less likely to lead anyone astray if they believed and accepted the offer of salvation as the people they deceived had. 

They have followed the path of Balaam, who so desired to sell out Israel with his prophecies. The story of Balaam and the Moabite king Balak is found in Numbers 22-24. In the account, Balak seeks out Balaam, a hireling prophet to curse Israel. Balaam makes it clear on more than one occasion with Balak that he could not go beyond the word of God. Numbers 22:1-22 show Balaam’s character and where his heart truly was. The Lord instructed Balaam to go with the men of Balak only if they invited him a second time to come with them. They did not, and Balaam saddled his ass and went with them nevertheless. 

False prophets, in the manner of Balaam, come to realize that they cannot separate Christ from His people. They know they can however, separate His people from Him. And so with extravagant words devoid of any truth, they entice the flesh with what it longs after. 

Peter uses three references three things in describing false teachers: wells or springs, clouds, and mist or fog. In scripture, wells are often a picture of a source of spiritual truth. They are  Proverbs 16:22 states: “Understanding is a wellspring of life...”. Proverbs 18:4 says: “The words of a man’s mouth are as deep waters, and the wellspring of wisdom as a flowing brook.” There are many other verses found in the Bible that pertain to wells with spiritual truth connected to it. Wells that provide no water would be deceptive towards anyone who thirsts. It is just the same spiritually as it is physically. False prophets present themselves as having refreshing words of wisdom for earnest students of God’s word. But in reality, they give no satisfaction.

They are also clouds carried by a tempest. Clouds usually indicate rain, and rain usually symbolizes blessing in scripture. But tempests, or storms are not generally symbols of blessing. In the OT it is generally associated with visitations by God upon the wicked (Psa. 11:6; Psa. 83:15; Isa. 29:6). In the NT, the word for tempest in 2 Peter 2:17– transliterated lailaps– is found only in two other places. Mark 4:37 and Luke 8:23 give the same account of the Lord calming the sea while He and His disciples are crossing the sea of Galilee when a might storm comes upon them. His disciples fearing death, wake the Lord. The Lord rebuked the wind and calmed the sea to be still, and the positive results were immediate. 

When false teachers come into your assembly or Bible study seeking to cause division and lead some astray, this passage in 2 Peter is a good one to remember about their character and intention. Another good passage with similar use of words is in Jude 12-13. Together, the passages show that false teachers only appear to bring blessing but really bring discord. Then, remember the account of Christ calming the sea in Mark or Luke’s gospel. Christ has the power to rebuke these tempests that come our way. We shall not fear when we gather together, for wherever two or three are gathered together in the name of Christ, He will be there also. And if He is there, then we can take courage in knowing that our Lord has not given us a spirit of fear but of power, and love and of sound mind.(2 Tim. 2:1:7).

The judgment for false teachers is spelled out in the final clause of verse 17: “the mist of darkness is reserved forever.”(emphasis mine) These false prophets who have gone in the way of Balaam may ask as he did to die the death of righteousness. But it will not be granted unto them. 

Peter gives a description of what manner in which they speak that causes so many believers to be led astray. There were many heretical sects when this epistle was written, and Peter’s audience would have come in contact with a great number of teachers of these sects. There were the Cerinthians, Nicolaitans, and the Gnostics, just to name a few of the groups that produced apostate teachers. Verses 18-19 could easily be applied to those three heretical sects as well as many others. Each of those groups were known for advocating sinfulness in its followers. They were also known for having teachers who were great orators. 

The false teachers of these sects offered liberty apart from Christ, that one can claim Christ as Savior, even Lord, but continue in a life of sin. While these groups do not exist today, many popular groups today have adopted the teachings and practices. The Emergent/Emerging Church, the Charismatic movement and others advocate a lax attitude towards sin and unbelief in the name of tolerance. 

The great danger in promising liberty to sin to believers is that they suffer a loss of reward, but Peter directs the warning towards unbelievers who have not experienced salvation. If a professing believer who is not a true believer receives and accepts the teaching from a false teacher that there is liberty to sin while keeping a relationship with Christ, their end will be worse than when they first professed faith in Christ. For a true believer to be convinced that they can practice sin and have a license to do so as a result of their standing with God is sad enough. At least they are truly saved, they may lose out on rewards and a fellowship with Christ for a temporal amount of time. 

The second chapter concludes with Peter citing a part of a “true proverb”. The verse in its entirety reads from Proverbs 26:11: “As a dog returneth to his vomit, so a fool returneth to his folly.” This verse brings to mind the familiar story of Moses and Pharoah. Most of us probably know the account from our youth. Moses is sent by God to lead the Israelites out of Egypt. Pharoah withstands Moses, thereby withstanding God. In the eighth chapter of Exodus however, we read that Pharoah appeared to have a change of heart for here in Ex. 8:8 says: “Then Pharoah called for Moses and Aaron, and said, Intreat the LORD, that He may take away the frogs from me, and from my people; And I will let the people go, that they may do sacrifice unto the LORD.” So it sounds like he repented, he was going to submit to the Lord. The verses that follow reveal that Moses and Aaron went unto the Lord and cried out to Him over the matter. The Lord did according to the word of Moses and the plague of frogs was stayed. Now here’s the kicker: “But when Pharoah saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.” (vv.15)

Pharoah, like a dog in the very true and applicable proverb quoted by Peter, returned to his folly, his vomit. This verse has often been used as a pretext to prove that it is possible to lose one’s salvation. But considering the context, nothing could be further from the truth. The very beginning of the chapter starts out with Peter warning of false teachers who deny the Lord and are currently awaiting judgment. So these are not true believers who have sinned greatly and lost their salvation; That would be impossible. The subjects here are professing believers whose true colors are finally being shown. Albert Barnes writes: “These professing believers never were saved. Whatever external reformation might have occurred, their nature remained the same; When they apostasized from their outward profession, they merely acted out their nature, and showed that in fact there had been no real change.” (4) Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible 

2 Peter 2:10-14

2 Peter 2:10-14

“But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, self-willed, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries. Whereas angels, which are greater in power and might, bring not railing accusation against them before the Lord. But these, as natural brute beasts, made to be taken and destroyed, speak evil of the things that they understand not; and shall utterly perish in their own corruption; And shall receive the reward of unrighteousness, as they count it pleasure to riot in the day time. Spots they are and blemishes, sporting themselves with their own deceiving while they feast with you; Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:”

After Peter gives a word of comfort to those who practice righteousness, he turns to those who walk after the flesh. He assures his readers that they will receive payment for their unrighteous deeds. Verse nine ends with Peter saying that God knows how to reserve the unjust for judgement and many translations, the KJV for example, punctuate the end of the verse with a colon. One of the correct ways to use the colon in the English written language is between independent clauses when the second clause explains or summarizes the first. This appears to be what Peter was doing with verses 10 through 14 in relation to verse 9. 

These five verses summarize and explain who the unjust are that are that God reserves to the day of judgement. They are morally contaminated, despising the dominion that God has placed over them. This could apply to political government, and church government such as the shepherds of the local flock, but probably, it refers to the government of Christ. If one walks after the flesh as Peter says, then they would not take joy in the Lordship of Christ. They are very presumptuous, or daring, in their actions. The word for presumptuous is transliterated as tolmetes, and is very similar in meaning to the Greek word which is transliterated as tolmao. Tolmao appears in a passage I went over in Jude 1:9. Tolmao appears in that verse as the word ‘durst’ where we read: “Yet Michael the archangel, when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of Moses, durst not bring against him a railing accusation, but said the Lord rebuke thee.”(emphasis mine) Michael was not presumptuous, he was not daring as some brothers and sisters in Christ count these things as qualities to strive towards. They are self-willed, in Greek, the base of the word is hedone, which is where we get the word ‘hedonism’. 

The dignities that these false teachers speak evil of probably refers to the majesty of Christ’s dignity. The way the word that is translated for ‘dignities’ occurs over 170 times in the new testament, 147 times as the word ‘glory’. Of course, if anyone despises the dignity and glory of Christ, then they would surely despise the varied types of authority placed in our lives be it in the home, or in the workplace, or in the assembly, or in the Oval Office. False teachers have a way hating authority of any kind. Westboro Baptist Church of Kansas for example, has spoken out vehemently against the U.S. government– to the point of preaching no gospel at all. This author freely admits that the U.S. government is not perfect; like all governments founded and run by fallen men, ours is imperfect and even corrupt. But as 1 Timothy 2:1-2 says: “I exhort therefore, that, first of all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for all men; For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a peaceable life in all godliness and honesty.” We should not despise or protest against those who have authority over us but pray for our leaders. Instead of protesting at funerals of soldiers fallen in the line of duty, we should see this as an opportunity to pray for the families and preach the gospel. 

The eleventh verse refers to something that I spoke of in a recent paragraph: the angels who are not so presumptuous as to bring accusation against them before the Lord. This verse also points out that angels are greater in power and might, and yet, they bring no accusation against false teachers when most people would. 

Their demise speaks of them as wild animals, born for corruption and to perish. Their lifestyle shall be for them a means to a destructive end. God is no man’s debtor as the thirteenth verse points out. They who walk after uncleanness shall surely be rewarded for their acts. Their acts are known to all as they consider it a delight to indulge in their lusts in broad daylight. When an assembly has one of these kinds of professing believers in their midst, it puts a blemish on the whole flock. This shows a powerful example of what happens when discipline is neglected. Many elders have said that exercising discipline on a member of an assembly is the hardest part of their work as under-shepherds.

The apostate can not look on something or someone without lusting after it. Like the people that lived in Noah’s day, they can never stop sinning. They are quite good at enticing unstable souls. It is important for a believer then, to be stable, or steadfast, so they are not allured into sinful living. What should a believer be stable in? They should be stable in the word of God. Many believers are stable in performing good works and evangelism to the extent that they have no time for time in the word. It is not wrong for christians to be steadfast in evangelistic efforts and doing good. Our walk before the Lord if it is in love, is a sweet smelling savour to Christ. But if we are not studying the word, our feet are not on stable land. We can get enticed to engage in lascivious, questionable living. 

2 Peter 2:4-9

2 Peter 2:4-9

"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved for judgment; And spared not the old world but saved Noah, the eighth person, a preacher of righteousness, bringing the flood upon the world of the ungodly; And turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly; and delivered just Lot, vexed with the filthy conversation of the wicked; (For that righteous man dwelling among them, in seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:"

In the last post, I mentioned a false teacher in the Church today with a very popular book that promotes a denial of eternal punishment. Rob Bell denies the eternality of hell in his latest book, "Love Wins", while also proclaiming a universalist gospel. His message of "good news" is that eventually everyone will be accepted into heaven even if they do not repent of their sin. My last post inluded the impending judgment of these false prophets who deny the Lord Jesus Christ. Their judgment and damnation will not tarry long, but it will last for eternity. There are many false prophets in the vein of Bell who deny the existence of hell altogether, so they don't see any form of judgment in their future. 2 Peter 2:4-9 shows how these false prophets are in serious error and if in error, then trouble as well. 

God did not spare the angels from judgment for their lies and contempt, and He did not spare the old world for their wicked imagination but brought a flood of judgment upon them for their imagination which never ceased to conjure up wicked ideas. Nor did God spare Sodom and Gomorrah, but made an example out of them, to anyone desiring to live offensively towards God.

But in both the example of the judgment of the antediluvian world and the cities Sodom and Gomorrah, there were righteous men who found grace and mercy in the sight of the Lord. The apostle here is pointing out the great truth that the Lord knows just how to deliver the godly and save the righteous out of temptation. 

For the antediluvian world God spared Noah, who for one hundred and twenty years preached the good news that there was room in the Ark for anyone who repented of their sin and came to God seeking forgiveness. 

The same treatment was given for Lot who Peter graciously describes as godly. The story of Lot’s life is characterized by worldliness and yet he was preserved from judgment. As a result of yielding to his carnal nature, Lot’s righteous soul was vexed daily in sight and sound of the perverse acts of his neighbors the dwellers of Sodom and Gomorrah. For many christians today rather than seperating from the world like Abraham, they set their eyes on the plain of the world and it reminds them of their own sinful past. 

The abiding principle that the apostle is presenting here in the ninth verse is that the Lord knows and will reserve the godly out of judgment while at the same time reserving the unjust for judgment. The rapture of the Church is the primary doctrine taught today among those who believe that the Lord will deliver His heavenly people out of the path of judgment as He did with Noah, Lot, and countless others. 

There is, I believe, a practical, temporal application to this passage as well. If the Lord knows how to deliver the just out of temptation, why should that not include earthly trials as well as the wrath of the Lamb? For 1 Corinthians 10:13 says: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; But will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Now, the Greek word for “temptation” in both 2 Peter 2:9 as well as 1 Corinthians 10:13 are the same. So when Paul was writing this letter to the Corinthians, he wanted them to know that first, the temptations they were experiencing were common and secondly, God would be faithful to not allow them to suffer more than they had the strength to. On the contrary, He will provide a way of escape for those in temptation. The major difference in the two verses is that Paul was talking about something earthly, temporal and Peter was referring to the final judgment that would envelope all inhabitants of the world who call not Christ their Savior. 

Issues in Dispensationalism and Covenant/Reformed theology continued

Millenial and Eschatological views

When it comes to any verse pertaining to prophecy, Reformed and Dispensational christians are split on the issue. Reformed scholars tend to be either Amillenial or Postmillenial, while Dispensationalists are unequivocally Premillenial. This is no mere difference of opinion. It affects a believer's involvement in politics, missions, and also outlook for the future. An amillenialist or postmillenialist believes that it is their job to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven. In order to do this, they must make the world look as much like it will when Messiah comes to establish His kingdom. This includes many social outreach programs such as feeding the hungry, clothing the poor, and caring for the enviroment. While each of these things are nice in and of themselves, they do not save souls. For the Premillenialist, especially the one who believes in an imminent rapture, sharing the gospel with the destitute along with a meal and clothing to show them the love of Christ, is our priority. The premillenialist does not do it to usher in the Kingdom of Heaven, only the King Jesus Christ has the ability to bring down His kingdom. The premillenialist goes out preaching the gospel because Christ could come back any second-- perhaps while you are reading this sentence. 

To help the reader remember the three prevalent millenial views better, let us look at the prefixes and suffixes of each one. The suffix for each one is the same: "-millenial". This comes from the latin word "mille" which means thousand and is used in other words such as millisecond, millimeter, millipede, etc. The prefix "a" means "without, lacking". So an amillenialist is someone who believes that there is no literal, earthly millenium. The prefix "post" means "after, later" and is where we get terms such as posthumous, or in sports, "post-game coverage". Postmillenialists believe that there is an earthly millenial reign, but that Christ will come after the millenial reign is through. The prefix is "pre" is means "before, prior" and is the reason why it is used in the term prefix to connotote that some words have an attachment to them that goes in front of the word itself. Premillenialists believe that there will be a literal, thousand-year reign of Christ on earth and that Christ must come down from heaven and establish it in order for the millenium to begin. 

Amillenialists and Postmillenialists while in disagreement on the literality of the millenium hold vital thing in common: they both either blur the line that seperates Israel and the Church, or they deny that such ever existed. It is of utmost importance to recognize the distinction of Israel and the Church that if one does not, then they could not possibly be a premillenialist. The reason why is because the millenium is a time for Israel, not the Church. The Church will reign at Christ's side yes, but they will reign in Jerusalem which will be the seat of Christ's earthly empire in the millenium (Isaiah 24:23; Joel 3:16,17). The millenium will bring in the complete fulfillment of the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic and New covenants as they relate to Israel, its chief benefactor. If a believer sees no distinction between Israel and the Church, then the above covenants would be fulfilled in the Church which Covenant theologians see as one with Israel. 

Some of the teachings of amillenialism is that any verse referring to the earthly reign of Christ refers to this present age. The belief is that in this present age Christ is ruling from Heaven through His Church on earth. Verses in Revelation that refer to Satan being bound and thrown in the Abyss, the bottomless pit, are spiritualized to mean that at Calvary Christ's vicarious sacrifice caused Satan to be imprisoned. If Satan is bound in this present age through Christ's sacrifice, why did Peter warn in his first epistle that "your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour." (1Peter 5:8)? As one pastor comically put it, "if Satan is bound and imprisoned today, then he certainly has a long leash." What is meant by this is that Satan's influence today is apparent and widespread. So widespread in fact, that in 2 Corinthians 4:4 he is called the "god of this age", and Ephesians 2:2 calls Satan "the prince of the power of the air". A prince has a certain degree of authority; If a prince be bound, they have no power. The belief that Christ's kingdom is today and that He is ruling it from Heaven through His Church is where we get the false teaching that the Church is the Kingdom and also what is called Dominion Theology. 

The other view that stands in contrast to Dispensational premillenialism is postmillenialism. Unlike amillenialism, postmillenialists do believe in a literal thousand-year reign of Christ, but they believe that He will not return until after the millenium is finished. Many postmillenialists also believe in Dominion Theology and reject the belief of the rapture in favor of the Church enduring the Tribulation. According to postmillenialism, Jesus will return in His glorious Second Coming at the very end of this present earth's history after the Theocratic Kingdom (i.e. the Millenium) has been restored to earth through human effort. This teaching makes up the bulk of what Dominion Theology is; It is Postmillenial in nature and outlook. 

The premillenial view is not a novel view. Early Church fathers such as Justin the Martyr, Ireneaus, Polycarp, Tertullian, et. al held a premillenial view. It was not until sometime in the 3rd-century that the theologian Origen developed a new system of theology called Alexandrian theology. Greek philosophy, especially the gnostic Greek philosophy such as Neo-Platonism, played an important part in Alexandrian theology. Much of Greek philosophy advocated that anything which is physical or material is inherently evil, and only the totally spiritual is good. Through this influence the Alexandrian scholars developed the idea that an earthly, political Kingdom would be an evil thing, and that only a spiritual, nonphysical Kingdom would be good. This idea prompted Alexandrian theology to reject premillenialism and its physical, political precepts in favor of amillenialism.6

Along the lines of Premillenialism, another distinguishing feature of Dispensationalism that stands in contrast with Reformed eschatology is the teaching of the Rapture followed by a 7-year period called the Tribulation. The term "rapture" is not found anywhere in scripture as it is Latin in origin. The Greek version is "harpazo", meaning "to snatch out of the way" and appears in 1 Thessalonians 4:17 which reads: "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." The phrase "caught up" translates as "harpazo" in the Greek, which in turn translates into "raptura" in Latin where we get the term "rapture" today. Now it should be noted in the Dispensational camp there is some disagreement about the timing and/or extent of the Rapture. Some postulate that the Rapture will occur after the Tribulation but before the Second Coming of Christ and the installment of the Millenium. Adherents to this theory are called Post-Tribulationists. Another view is that the Rapture will take place sometime in the middle of the Tribulation, and those who hold to this view are called Mid-Tribulationists. A lesser held view is the Partial Rapture, the belief that when Christ comes for His Church, He will only take the faithful, devoted ones leaving the carnal, immature believers on earth to face the Tribulation. The view that is held by this author as well as the majority of believers that identify with Dispensationalism is known as the Pre-Tribulation Rapture view.

In order to understand the nature of the Rapture and thus, have an understanding of when it shall occur, and to whom, one needs to understand the nature of the Tribulation and the subjects of it. The Tribulation is referred to in the Old Testament in Jeremiah 30:7 as "the time of Jacob's trouble", a reference to Israel. Daniel 12:1-2 makes reference to the Tribulation calling it "a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time". Revelation 3:10-- often cited as a verse which gives strong support for a Pre-Trib Rapture-- states: "Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." From these references and others, we can deduce who the subjects of the Tribulation are and other important details. According to Jeremiah 30:7, Israel is a main subject of the Tribulation. This passage and the one in Daniel show that the primary purpose of the Tribulation is to prepare Israel for her Messiah. God's purpose for Israel in the Tribulation is to bring about the conversion of a multitude of Jews, who will enter into the blessings of the kingdom and experience the fulfillment of all of Israel's covenants. And according to Revelation 3:10, the second main purpose of the Tribulation is to pour out judgment on unbelieving man and nations. The verse in its entirety reads : "Because you have kept the word of my patience, I also will keep you from the hour of temptation which will come upon the habitable world, to try those who dwell on the earth." (MKJV) By studying these significant passages that deal with this period of time known simply as the Tribulation, we can understand more fully its purpose and scope. 

Because the scope of the Tribulation is clearly towards Israel and the nations, one has to recognize that there is a distinction between Israel and the Church in order to accept the doctrine of the Rapture. One cannot hold to Covenant Theology and believe that the Church is going to be taken in the twinkle of an eye. The Rapture is for the Church and it is our hope that our Lord Jesus Christ will return someday in His physical Person for His Bride. It is not a mere escape plan the christians invented as Reformed theologians charge; It is our hope that we will see our Savior face to face as He picks us up to take us to His Father's mansion. It is a Heavenly blessing for a Heavenly people, whereas Israel is God's earthly people and God has not by any means cast Israel off (Rom. 11:1-5). Israel must endure a time of affliction to be brought to their knees in repentance. The Church (the true Church that is), on the other hand is made up of those who have put their faith in Christ for forgiveness of sins. They accept Christ's payment He made on their behalf at Calvary. For believers who make up the true Church, judgment has passed over them.

mostly spiritual musings: Dispensationalism and Covenant/Reformed Theology

mostly spiritual musings: Dispensationalism and Covenant/Reformed Theology: (So I am suffering from a case of writer's block on having anything meaningful to say about 2 Peter or Jude. I wrote this article for a br...

Dispensationalism and Covenant/Reformed Theology

(So I am suffering from a case of writer's block on having anything meaningful to say about 2 Peter or Jude. I wrote this article for a brother at the assembly I go to, Northwest Bible Fellowship in Omaha, Nebraska)

Dispensationalism and Covenant/Reformed Theology

Theologically speaking, christians tend to fall into one of two categories: They either identify with and interpret scripture according to the Dispensational method, or according to the Reformed method. On the surface, one might not be able to tell the difference between a dispensational believer and a reformed believer. There are believers from both camps who love the Lord and have a zeal for the gospel and witnessing to others. Dispensational christians as well as Reformed ones name Christ as their Savior. So what's the difference between the two? Does it matter how you interpret the word of God? And, perhaps most importantly, can believers who adhere to one method of interpretation work alongside believers who adhere to a polar opposite method in proclaiming the gospel? The group of christians I meet with interpret scripture according to the Dispensational view, so in answering these and other questions in this article, I will be promoting Dispensational theology and its method of interpretation of scripture. 

One of the primary differences between Dispensational and Reformed theology is how scripture is to be interpreted. Dispensationalists interpret scripture in the literal sense or the more accurate term, the normal sense. Reformed theologians on the other hand, interpret scripture in the allegorical sense, spiritualizing the text. The result of a normal interpretation versus allegorical can be enormous. First, let us consider the allegorical method. Charles T. Fritsch summarizes the allegorical method thus: "According to this method the literal and historical sense of Scripture is completely ignored, and every word and event is made an allegory of some kind either to escape theological difficulties or to maintian certain peculiar religious views...".1 In regards to the creation account, the traditional Reformed view was a literal, chronological view. However, in recent years, many Reformed pastors and theologians have been interpreting even the creation account in an allegorical way. Now, this does not mean that some truth of an allegorical nature can not be gleaned from the creation account. For in that account we have Adam, a type of Christ being given a bride, Eve, a type of the Church from out of his side. From this perspective, the creation account presents a very beautiful truth about Christ and His Church. But this is only a secondary interpretation. The primary interpretation is that God put Adam into a deep sleep, and formed a woman out of his rib, and this woman would be called Eve. In order for the secondary allegorical interpretation to be true, the primary literal interpretation must be true. If the primary interpretation is not true in its literal sense, then the secondary interpretation can not be true in its allegorical sense. It is very important for all serious students of the Bible to not make an allegorical interpretation the primary interpretation unless scripture dictates otherwise. For example, the wisdom and poetry books of the Bible (Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon, Job) employ many similes and metaphors. These grammatical devices are allegorical by their very nature, so the primary interpretation ought to be understood in an allegorical context. Although the majority of Reformers do interpret the creation account in its proper literal context as its primary meaning, they are not consistent when it comes to their understanding of passages addressed to Israel. 

All or most Reformed theologians are in agreement about Israel and the Church in that the Church either replaced Israel ( a type of Reformed theology called replacement theology), or that the Church existed in Old Testament times as Israel. The latter view is the more common view, and as such, Reformed theologians disregard Acts 2 as being the start of the Church. Instead, they look in the OT to Genesis 15 where God establishes a covenant with Abraham as being the birth of the Church. The great danger to interpreting the word of God this way is clear: there is no way to test whether the conclusion makes sense. The authority of scripture is removed from itself and placed upon man and his often times fanciful interpretations. Take for example, the verse Isaiah 65:25: "The wolf and the lamb shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the bullock: and dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountain, saith the LORD." The entire chapter of Isaiah 65 is prophetic of the Millenium yet to come. There is no reason to spiritualize the meaning or try to give this verse some mystical, meaning that is not apparent in the text. Now, consider John Wesley's interpretation of Isaiah 65:25: "The wolf, &c. - God here promises to take off the fierceness of the spirits of his peoples enemies, so that they shall live quietly and peaceably together. And dust - God promises a time of tranquility to his church under the metaphor of serpents eating the dust, their proper meat, Gen_3:14, instead of flying upon men: it signifies such a time, when wicked men shall no more eat up the people of God."2 Here, Wesley applies metaphors to the subjects of the verse, isolating the verse from the rest of scripture thus making it impossible to validate his interpretation.

Now, we will take up the literal, normal method of interpretation. David Dunlap says this of the literal method of interpretation: 

"The literal method of interpretation is often called the historical-grammatical method because it gives to words their normal meaning according to accepted grammatical rules and historical usage. It will be immediately recognized that this tends to lead to simplicity and clarity. In the grammatical sense, we read the Bible the same way as we do any other book. The literal method does not rule out the use of type, allegory, and symbol, but it does not make these the basis for interpretation."3 In other words, the literal method makes room for an allegorical interpretation, or the use of a type, shadow, or illustration, whereas the allegorical method does not make any room whatsoever for a literal method of understanding the text. Even when the literal method applies a metaphor in understanding a passage of Scripture, the meaning of the metaphor is to be taken literally. An example of this would be John 1:29 where John the Baptist cries out: "...Behold the Lamb of God who taketh away the sin of the world." John the Baptist was not referring to an actual, literal lamb-- he was referring to Christ who, like a sacrificial lamb would literally bear the sins of the world. Finally, Scripture itself asserts the plain, normal interpretation for in 2 Peter 1:20: "Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation." 

In both Reformed and Dispensational theology, there is a ultimate goal, or program, of history; A goal God from eternity past designed and planned. With both theological systems the chief end of the program is the glory of God. However, in the Reformed system, God acheives this goal only through the redemption of the elect who He sovereignly chose for salvation from before the foundation of the world ( Note: this belief is not only Reformed but also Calvinistic, which the two share a close relation and we will address that down the road). In Dispensationalism, God acheives His goal of attaining glory for Himself not only through the redemption of repentant sinners, but in many other aspects. Renald Showers writes: "Although the redemption of elect human beings is a very important part of God's purpose for history, God not only has a program for the elect but also a program for the nonelect (Rom. 9:10-23). In addition, God has different programs for nations (Job 12:23; Isa. 14:24-27; Jer. 10:7; Dan. 2:36-45), rulers (Isa. 44:28-45:7; Dan. 4:17), Satan (Jn. 12:31; Rom. 16:20; Rev. 12:7-10; 20:1-3), and nature (Mt. 19:28; Acts 3:19-21; Rom. 8:19-22). Since God has many different programs which He is operating during the course of history, all of them must be contributing something to His ultimate purpose for history. Thus, the ultimate goal of history has to be large enough to incorporate all of God's programs, not just one of them."4 Covenant theology is a branch of Reformed theology, so throughout this article the two terms will be used interchangeably. Because Covenant theology places such a large focus on the redemption of the elect, it only sees two, or at most three covenants that God made with mankind throughout history. Dispensationalism with its broader scope, sees eight covenants in all. The covenants that are given according to the Reformed tradition are: the covenant of works, the covenant of grace, and the covenant of redemption ( the covenant of redemption is the covenant that most Covenant Theologians differ on). When one follows the literal method of interpretation, these covenants do not manifest themselves so clearly which is why Dispensationalists see eight covenants, all of which can be seen when the text is interpreted clearly and plainly. 

The covenants given by Dispensationalists are as follows: 1.) The Edenic Covenant (Gen. 2:16) conditions the life of the man in innocence. 2.)The Adamic Covenant (Gen. 3:15) conditions the life of fallen man and gives promise of a Redeemer. 3.) The Noahic Covenant (Gen. 9:16) establishes the principle of human government. 4.) The Abrahamic Covenant (Gen. 12:2) founds the nation of Israel and confirms, the Adamic promise of redemption. 5.) The Mosaic Covenant (Ex. 19:5) condemns all men "for all have sinned." 6.) The Palestinian Covenant (Dt. 30:3) secures the final restoration and conversion of Israel. 7.) The Davidic Covenant (2 Samuel 7:16) establishes the perpetuity of the Davidic family and of the Davidic Kingdom over Israel and over the whole earth, to be fulfilled in and by Christ. 8.) The New Covenant (Heb. 8:8) rests upon the sacrifice of Christ and secures the blessedness, under the Abrahamic Covenant of those who believe.5

Of these eight covenants, there are four that are hotly debated amongst Dispensationalists and Reformers. They are the Abrahamic, Palestinian, Davidic, and New Covenants-- all of which are directly and primarily related to Israel. For the Reformer, these four covenants are conditional and allegorical. The Dispensationalist on the other hand, sees them as unconditional and literal, which makes all the difference in the world. In the Abrahamic Covenant, God promised Abraham that through his seed, all the nations of the world would be blessed. Now if this promise was conditional, then we Gentiles can forget about receiving any kind of blessing because Abraham and his sons as well as the whole nation of Israel disobeyed God multiple times. If it were allegorical, then it is impossible to reconcile the fact that there are other promises God made with Abraham and his seed that literally came true. If the fulfilled promises and prophecies of scripture have come true in a literal sense, then it proceeds that the unfulfilled promises and prophecies of scripture will come true in a literal sense.