William F. Albright, the father of American Biblical archeology, made the sweeping observation in 1968 that “only the Hebrews, so far as we know, made covenants with their . . . God.” The fact that God deals with man by means of covenants is incredibly significant and immensely practical. The ancient pagan lived a life of fear and uncertainty, never sure of how to please his gods or how they would react to his actions; his gods were by their nature capricious and, therefore, unpredictable (e.g., this continues to be true today for the Hindu gods, the Allah of Islam, and even the god of Mormonism). In contrast, the Biblical Covenants establish a stable and predictable relationship between men and Jehovah. By infallibly recording the terms of the covenant in writing, which is supernaturally preserved throughout all of history (Psalm 12:6-7; Isaiah 40:8; Matthew 24:35; 1 Peter 1:24-25), the performance of both parties (i.e., Jehovah and men) with regard to the terms of the covenants can be objectively measured. The Biblical Covenants allow Jehovah to demonstrate His attributes of faithfulness and immutability to His creation, and the stable foundation they provide for man allow him to live a life free of fear and uncertainty regarding the future.
Tag Archives: Theology
The Name of Jesus in the O.T.
“Be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom ye crucified, whom God raised from the dead … neither is there salvation in any other; for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.” (Acts 4:10,12)
The name of Jesus, as we have it in the New Testament by way of the Greek language, or Joshua (i.e., Yeshua) in Hebrew, means “Jehovah [i.e., the Lord] is salvation”. As the angel told Joseph, the child to be born of the virgin Mary was to be named “JESUS, for He shall save His people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). The child was also to be called “Immanuel, which, being interpreted, is God with us” (Matthew 1:23); that Jesus would be known as Immanuel (i.e., a manifestation of God Himself) is not uniquely a New Testament notion, but comes directly from the Old Testament (Isaiah 7:14).
In a similar way, the name JESUS also comes from the Old Testament. Isaiah 62:11 reveals:
“Behold, the Lord hath proclaimed unto the end of the earth, Say ye to the daughter of Zion, Behold, thy salvation cometh; behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”
In this verse given through the prophet Isaiah, “salvation” (Heb., Yesha) is a Person (note the masculine pronouns “his” and “him” used in the clauses that follow). A Person who will be known as “salvation” is said to be coming, bringing both his “reward” and his “work”; clearly, this is the Person of JESUS. Compare this verse with Isaiah 40:10, which reads:
“Behold, the Lord God will come … behold, his reward is with him, and his work before him.”
Isaiah 40:10 asserts exactly the same truth, using exactly the same words, as Isaiah 62:11, but in this instance the Person known as “salvation” is identified as “the Lord God”. Thus, the Person known as “salvation”, that is Jesus, is equated with Divinity; Jesus and Jehovah are one (cf. John 10:30). Such equations of “Jesus” and “Jehovah”, which are implicit assertions of the Deity of Jesus Christ, are common between the New and Old Testaments (Cp., Hebrews 1:8; Psalm 45:6).
Finally, consider the words of Jesus Himself, spoken in the closing chapter of the Bible. Revelation 22:12 records Jesus as saying:
“… behold, I come quickly, and my reward is with me …”
Jesus takes the words of “the Lord God” spoken in Isaiah 40:10, the very same words that in Isaiah 62:11 are ascribed to a Person known as “salvation”, for Himself. Jesus connects the dots for us. The name of “Jesus”, by which alone comes salvation, just like “Immanuel” comes straight out of the Old Testament!
Signs of the Second Coming
“And what I say unto you, I say unto all, Watch.” (Mark 13:32-37)
The Lord Jesus rebuked the Pharisees and Sadducees for failing to recognize the signs of His First Coming (Matthew 16:1-3). Obvious signs they should have recognized included: 1) the virgin birth in Bethlehem (Isaiah 7:14; Micah 5:2; Matthew 2:1-12; Luke 1:26-35; 2:1-14), 2) prophesied Messianic miracles (Isaiah 61:1-2; Luke 4:16-21), and 3) Daniel’s prophecy of the 69 Weeks which gave the very day Messiah would present himself to Israel (Daniel 9:25; Luke 19:41-44).
During His ministry at His First Coming, Jesus taught there would also be signs that precede His Second Coming (Matthew 24:3ff; Luke 21:25-28). For these signs (Mark 13:4), Jesus commanded us all to “Watch” (Mark 13:32-37).
A new study titled Signs of the Second Coming has been added under Biblical Studies.
Kept by the Power of God
“. . . God . . . hath begotten us again . . . who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)
The Bible reveals that a person is saved by the grace of God, through personal faith in Jesus Christ, entirely without any works on his part (Ephesians 2:8-9; John 20:31; Romans 4:5), and that the saved believer is given by God the gift of eternal life (Romans 6:23; 1 John 5:13). This is part and parcel of the gospel itself. The teaching of the Bible on this issue is clear and unequivocal, against which no Christian would argue.
Argument arises among Christians, however, over the question of whether a genuine believer can ever lose his salvation, which (at least at a particular time) he actually possessed. Arminians answer this question, “Yes”. They argue that salvation is conditioned on personal faith, and that once a person ceases to believe he is no longer saved, nor is he in possession of eternal life, though at one time he may have been in actual possession of it [1]. In their view, a “believer” who commits heinous and/or habitual sin is one who has ceased believing and has, as a consequence, lost his salvation. Thus, in Arminian theology, the maintenance of a believer’s salvation is the responsibility of the believer.
Calvinists answer the question, “No”. They argue that the salvation of an individual is a sovereign work of God that is unconditional and immutable. God even supplies as a sovereign gift the personal faith upon which salvation would appear to be conditioned. In Calvinistic theology, there is no possibility of ever reversing God’s sovereign work that bestows upon an individual the entire package of personal faith, regeneration, salvation, and eternal life. In their view, since personal faith is part of an unconditional and immutable work of God on behalf of an elect person, a genuine believer will necessarily persevere in faith to the very end of his life. Any “believer” who commits heinous and/or habitual sin is one who was never actually in possession of salvation, even though at one time he may have professed personal faith and even appeared to manifest behaviors associated with salvation.
Both of these theological positions result in scenarios in which a genuine believer can never find rest, having an unshakeable confidence that he is saved and can never lose his salvation. The Arminian believes he can, through a lapse in faith or temptation into sin, lose his salvation and the eternal life he once possessed. The Calvinist believes that, in order to be assured he is one of God’s elect who has been sovereignly regenerated, saved, and granted eternal life, he must persevere in his faith and good works without significant lapse until death or the rapture [2]. In practice, neither Arminianism nor Calvinism afford a believer the confidence one finds revealed in the New Testament (John 10:27-29; 20:31; 1 John 5:13).
The New Testament answers the question, “No”. A genuine believer who has been born again and received from God the gift of eternal life can never lose his salvation. The reason for this conclusion, however, is different than that offered by Calvinism, and it undergirds the basis of a believer’s assurance, peace, and rest. The security of the believer in his salvation is a gracious and certain work of God. This is clearly seen in 1 Peter 1:3-5. The “who” of the relative clause in 1 Peter 1:5 hearkens back to the “us” in 1 Peter 3:3 (i.e., believers, recipients of the new birth). Believers are said to be “kept” (a present passive participle, ‘[are] continually being guarded’), that is preserved. The believer’s preservation is “by the power of God” (the efficient agency), “through faith” (the secondary cause), “unto salvation” (the result); for this reason it is sure, depending on the promised work of God alone. This is perhaps the strongest assertion of the eternal security of the believer in his salvation to be found in the New Testament.
Endnotes:
[1] One does have to wonder how something described in the New Testament as eternal life could endure for only a finite, and perhaps very short, period of time.
[2] Most Reformed theologians, of course, would not make a distinction between the rapture and the second coming of Christ.
Issues in Calvinism
“To the law and to the testimony; if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.” (Isaiah 8:20)
The Five Points of Calvinism (i.e., TULIP) are a logically consistent soteriological system. Beginning from the first point, Total Depravity[1], the subsequent points of Unconditional Election, Limited Atonement, Irresistible Grace, and Perseverance of the Saints seem to necessarily follow. It is this elegant and logical consistency that can be very intellectually satisfying, accounting for Calvinism’s power of attraction for many thinking believers. Logical consistency alone, however, is not the standard of truth. Rather, “[God’s] word is truth” (John 17:17), and it is against the absolute standard of “the law and the testimony” (Isaiah 8:20) that every claim must be measured.
The deviancy of Calvinism from the plumb line of Scripture begins with its understanding of Total Depravity. Scripture asserts that the unregenerate man is “dead in trespasses and sins” (Ephesians 2:1). Calvinists understand this assertion to mean that “the sinner is so spiritually bankrupt that he can do nothing pertaining to his salvation”[2]; he cannot even respond to God by exercising the personal faith required for salvation (Acts 16:30-31) without first being sovereignly regenerated by God[3]. From Paul’s use of the word “dead” in Ephesians 2:1, Calvinists construct the metaphor of the unregenerate man as a corpse (R. C. Sproul) or a cadaver (John F. MacArthur); since a literal corpse would not be able to respond to God in any way, the unregenerate man cannot either. Many Calvinists prefer the term Total Inability over Total Depravity to better express this concept, but based on their own analogy of corpse/cadaver the most accurate expression would be utter inability.
Metaphors (by definition) are partial, incomplete representations of reality; they inevitably break down when pressed too far. The Calvinist’s metaphorical construct of a physical corpse for the unregenerate man goes too far. For example, a physical corpse, in addition to being unable to believe, is also unable to sin, and yet the unregenerate man has no impediment to such an activity whatsoever. Scripture clearly presents a picture in which all men are commanded by God to believe in order to be saved (e.g., Isaiah 45:22; Mark 1:15; Acts 16:30-31), along with the implication that it is possible for unregenerate men to do so (e.g., John 3:16; 6:40; 7:37; 20:31; Revelation 22:17). The Calvinistic construct of the unregenerate man’s abilities/inabilities clearly lies beyond the true picture one sees in Scripture. Thus, although the subsequent four points may logically follow from the first, they suffer from an unbiblical understanding of Total Depravity that proves fatal for the system as a whole.
For additional analyses of Calvinistic teaching compared to Scripture, see:
Who and How Does the Father Draw?
Endnotes:
[1] “The view one takes concerning salvation will be determined, to a large extent, by the view one takes concerning sin and its effects on human nature. It is not surprising, therefore, that the first article dealt with in the Calvinistic system is the biblical doctrine of total inability or total depravity.” David N. Steele and Curtis C. Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism (Presbyterian & Reformed Publishing Company, Phillipsburg, NJ, 1963) 24.
[2] Steele and Thomas, The Five Points of Calvinism, 25.
[3] An axiom of Calvinism is that regeneration precedes faith.
The Authority of the Bible
“The Bible is authoritative on everything of which it speaks. Moreover, it speaks of everything.”
Cornelius Van Til
The Gospel vs. Doctrine
“Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel . . . by which also ye are saved . . . (unless ye have believed in vain) . . . how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the Scriptures; and that He was seen . . . ” (1 Corinthians 15:1-8)
Today, we hear many say ‘doctrine divides’, so let’s not emphasize ‘doctrine’. “God is love, not doctrine”. Let’s just preach “the gospel”, so that people get saved, and not over-emphasize doctrine. But this is a false dichotomy. It’s not the gospel vs. doctrine. In point of fact, an immense amount of doctrine is included in “the gospel”. Let’s unpack the text of 1 Corinthians 15:1-8 and get a glimpse of all that is involved in this ‘simple’ Bible passage that defines “the gospel”.
To begin with, the gospel is not a fable (cf. 2 Peter 1:16; a “fable” is a fictitious story invented to teach a moral lesson). The gospel involves historical events. Admittedly, it is the correct understanding/interpretation of those events that is critical, but that does not diminish the fact that the historicity of these events is necessary and indispensable. They must be real events that really happened: Christ died, He was buried, He rose again, He was seen in His resurrection body by many people. That Christ was buried is evidence to substantiate that fact that He really died; that Christ was seen is evidence to substantiate the fact that He really rose again! You do not include ‘evidences’ for a fable, only a real, historical event. In fact, Paul says that if the resurrection of Christ did not really and literally happen, our faith is “vain” (i.e., it accomplishes nothing!; 1 Corinthians 15:14). Since “the gospel” is based on an historical event, the Bible must be an infallible record of historical events, which demands that it be the inspired Word of God. Thus, the doctrine of the inspiration of Scripture is involved in “the gospel”.
All have sinned, and there is a penalty for our sin. Furthermore, there is nothing we ourselves can do about it, which is why “Christ died for our sins”. The penalty required for our sin is an infinite penalty, because we have sinned against God, Who is an infinite Being [1]. The only way a finite being (i.e., a creature) can pay an infinite penalty is for that penalty to be enforced over an infinite period of time (i.e., eternal judgment). Thus, the doctrines of the nature of man and the nature of God are involved in “the gospel”.
The historical fact that “Christ died for our sins” has to actually accomplish something. This is where the various theories of the atonement come into play. Christ’s death on the cross was not just an expression of love, or an example for us to emulate. 1 John 2:2 makes clear that the death of Christ was a propitiation (i.e., substitutionary atonement) for the sins of the world. Propitiation means a payment that satisfies the debt. Thus, the doctrine of the substitutionary atonement is involved in “the gospel”.
Continuing on, the hypostatic union is necessary. Christ must be a Man in order to die (God cannot die!). Christ must also be a Man to redeem mankind (i.e., qualification of a Kinsman Redeemer; cf. Hebrews 2:14-16). He must be a perfect, sinless Man to “die for our sins”, else He would have to die for His own sins. However, if Christ is merely a Man, even a Perfect Man, for Him to pay the penalty for my sins, which involves an infinite penalty, He would have to suffer for an infinite period of time (forever); but in such a case, the penalty for my sins would never be paid (i.e., only in eternity), so it is no help. For me to be saved, I need Christ to be able to pay for my sins in a finite period of time. The only way for an infinite penalty to be paid in a finite period of time is for the One paying it to be infinite; an infinite Being can pay an infinite penalty in a finite period of time. For Christ to be an infinite Being, He must be God. Christ must be both a Perfect, sinless Man and God, at the same time. A corollary to this is that the only way to produce a God-Man is by a supernatural, virgin-birth. Thus, the doctrine of the nature of Christ (including the virgin-birth and the hypostatic union) is involved in “the gospel” (cf. 2 John 1:9).
Many professing Christians think the doctrine of the Trinity is irrelevant or unimportant. Many are even embarrassed by it. Admittedly, it is hard to understand, and it is even harder to explain to an unbeliever. Without the Trinity, however, “the gospel” unravels. On the cross, Christ (who is God) was paying the penalty for our sins. To whom was He making this payment? God. So, God was suffering for human sin, and at the same time God was judging human sin. Jesus cried, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken Me?” If God is one Person, then He cannot be suffering for sin and judging sin at the same time. For this reason (among others), there must be a plurality of Persons within the Godhead. God the Son was suffering for human sin, and God the Father was judging human sin. Thus, the doctrine of the Trinity is involved in “the gospel”.
Finally, even some eschatological doctrine is relevant to “the gospel”. The Bible teaches clearly that the resurrected Jesus Christ will come again to judge the world (2 Timothy 4:1). Thus, a denial of the bodily return of Christ is a denial of coming judgment. It is this coming judgment from which “the gospel” saves us. Thus, even the doctrine of the return of Christ is involved in “the gospel”.
Doctrine is important. The gospel cannot be separated from sound, Biblical doctrine. Implicitly loaded into “the gospel” is an immense amount doctrine which, if denied, renders one’s faith vain.
Doctrines that are essential to “the gospel” have come to be called “the fundamentals”. Historically, those who have sought to define and defend these fundamental doctrines have been known as ‘Fundamentalists’. To compromise on a fundamental doctrine is to jeopardize “the gospel”, and to deny a fundamental doctrine is to deny “the gospel”. Fundamentalists refuse to extend Christian fellowship with those who deny a fundamental doctrine on the basis that they do not share the same understanding of “the gospel” (i.e., they are not Christians).
As this article has demonstrated, fundamental doctrines include the inspiration of Scripture; the virgin-birth, true humanity and undiminished deity of the Lord Jesus Christ; the substitutionary atonement of Christ; the bodily resurrection of Christ; and the bodily return of Christ to judge the world. These are not the only fundamental doctrines. However, every attempt to exhaustively enumerate the fundamental doctrines has failed, and today no one believes such an exhaustive list can be compiled. The reason for this is that our doctrinal understanding (i.e., clarification and articulation of doctrine) is constantly progressing, and it is doing so generally in response to new heresies that arise [2]. As new heresies continue to arise today, our doctrinal understanding/clarification continues to be refined . . .
Endnotes:
[1] As an illustration, consider the consequences if someone kills a mosquito, a dog, a baby—even we recognize there ought to be different penalties for these crimes. What makes the difference? The value of the person against which one commits the crime determines the just penalty.
[2] If you think of the historic creeds (e.g., Apostles, Nicean, Chalcedonian), they were continually revised and expanded with time in order to clarify points that were being challenged by heretics.
The Essence of Idolatry
In the opening three chapters of Romans, Paul reasons his way to the conclusion that, “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Roman 3:23), thus rendering all men everywhere and at all times justly condemned before God—whether they have heard the gospel or not; this sets up the need for all men to hear and respond to the gospel (Romans 1:16). Paul reaches his conclusion based on the witness of general revelation alone, which is and always has been available to all men (and which is consistently rejected by the natural man). This witness of general revelation comes in two forms: the creation (Romans 1) and human conscience (Romans 2). Consider Paul’s argument relative to the witness of creation in Romans 1:18-25.
The Universal and Sufficient Witness of Creation
In Romans 1:18, God asserts that the “ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” manifests itself as a “[suppression] of the truth in unrighteousness”. Note that it is not the case that some men do not have access to the truth, but that all men suppress the truth that they have. Furthermore, there is an agenda behind man’s suppression of truth; it is so that he can pursue “unrighteousness”.
In Romans 1:19, God asserts that He has supplied all men with a knowledge of Himself. God has not relied on men seeking Him, as He knows none will (Romans 3:11); rather, on His own initiative, God “hath shown it unto them”.
Romans 1:20 indicates this universal knowledge of God comes “from the creation” (i.e., the natural world all around us). Further, God asserts that this knowledge of Him is “clearly seen” and “understood”. The ramifications of this assertion are awesome. No one can legitimately claim they didn’t know or understand that their Creator God, to whom they are accountable, exists. Certainly many make this claim, but this is a “suppression of the truth” which they possess in their heart of hearts. It isn’t a matter of not knowing or understanding, but rather a case of “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge” (cf. Romans 1:28). This leads to the conclusion of the universal and just condemnation of all men.
Paul’s conclusion is that from the witness of creation alone, all men “are without excuse”. The Greek word apologia, rendered “excuse” in our English translation, means ‘a formal, reasoned, and logical defense’ (as in a legal, courtroom proceeding). Thus, there is no acceptable defense that can be offered for man’s rejection of the knowledge of God from creation. This alone renders all men under the just condemnation of God. Whereas no one can be saved apart from hearing and believing the gospel (Romans 1:16-17), all can be justly condemned whether they have heard the gospel or not. Put theologically, men can be condemned on the basis of general revelation (available to all), but men can only be saved on the basis of special revelation (available only to some).
Suppression of the Truth Necessarily Leads to Idolatry
Notice in Romans 1:21 how Paul’s reasoning proceeds from the preceding assertion (i.e., “they knew God” is now a presupposition from which he reasons). It is not the case that men don’t know God, they definitely do. Rather, the issue is that men who know God do not glorify or thank (i.e., acknowledge) Him.
It has often been observed that Scripture offers no formal proof for the existence of God, and the so-called philosophical proofs (i.e., the teleological, cosmological, ontological arguments) for the existence of God are not fruitful in leading men to believe in God (and even if they were valid, they only purport to prove the existence of ‘a god’, not the God of the Bible); it is not a matter of men lacking adequate information, but a suppression of the clear and sufficient information they have already. This has serious implications relative to evangelism and apologetics (which can never really be de-coupled). An evangelist/apologist ought never to accept an unbeliever’s demand for a proof for God’s existence before he will consider the claims of the Bible. The evangelist/apologist ought to begin with the presupposition that the unbeliever already knows God exists, but has willfully suppressed that truth in unrighteousness.
Furthermore, suppression of the truth (i.e., rejection of God’s clear revelation) always and necessarily leads to idolatry, introduced here as “vain . . . imaginations”. It is interesting that in the Greek text, the word translated “imaginations” comes from dialogismos, which connotes ‘reasoning with oneself’; it is not someone else that the unbeliever is trying to persuade that his unbelief is rational/logical, but above all it is himself that he is trying to persuade (i.e., he must rationalize his unbelief in his own mind). Realizing this helps us understand the essence of idolatry.
In both the Old and New Testaments, God’s priority in communicating His standard for man is always on the prohibition of idolatry (cf. Exodus 20:3; Deuteronomy 5:7; 1 John 5:21), even above immorality (per se). The reason behind this is that idolatry always (logically) takes place first, with immorality inevitably following (cf. Romans 1:18-32). Romans 1:18-20 indicates that God’s revelation of Himself in the creation (i.e., general revelation) is clearly seen by all men, everywhere. The unbelieving mind must re-engineer its perception of reality in order to suppress the implications of this clear revelation, which is his personal accountability to his Creator. This philosophical re-engineering of reality to suppress God’s clear revelation of Himself is the essence of idolatry [1]. Once the creature’s accountability to his Creator has been rationalized away in his own mind, he becomes free to engage in any form of immorality ‘with a clear conscience’ (so to speak). This is why idolatry always comes first (even in our modern world), and this is why God’s prohibition of it always takes priority. In a certain sense, it is idolatry that intellectually enables immorality.
But this is foolishness (Romans 1:22). According to Scripture, the greatest possible folly is to deny the existence of the God of the Bible; “the fool hath said in his heart, there is no God” (Ps14:1; 53:1). Mark Twain, legendary for his skepticism toward Christianity and the Bible, offered the following definition: “faith is believing in what you know isn’t true”. By this he intended to imply that Christians know the Bible isn’t really true, but choose to believe it anyway; the Word of God asserts the opposite, that unbelievers know that their unbelief is foolishness, but pursue it anyway.
The unbeliever is compelled (being a rational creature since he has been created in the image of God) to rationalize his unbelief, and his construction of an alternate reality (Romans 1:23) to explain the basic questions of life is idolatry. In ancient times, this rationalization manifested itself as belief in pagan deities [2]; in modern times, it tends to manifest itself as so-called scientific theories purporting to explain the origin of the universe and all life in it by purely naturalistic mechanisms [3]. Either way, once idolatry has rationalized away accountability to the God of the Bible, immorality emanating from “the lusts of their own hearts” quickly follows (Romans 1:24).
Finally, Romans 1:25 summarizes idolatry as the “[exchange of] the truth of God” (i.e., the revelation of God in the creation, in the human conscience, in Scripture, and in Christ) for “a lie”. The particulars of the “lie” have changed down through history. Today, they are most notably present in the wide-spread acceptance of the Big Bang cosmogony, evolution as the explanation of all life, and (as a result) secular humanism as the guiding ethic. But whether the rationalization is a pantheon of pagan gods or the godless assertions of modern science, it’s idolatry none the less.
Endnotes:
[1] Even if man’s idolatry gives lip service to other ‘gods’, they are always gods made by men, fashioned after men’s likeness, acceptable to men, manageable by men (i.e., safe for sinners).
[2] No pagan belief system recognizes the Creator-creature distinction revealed in the Bible. Pagan deities may be quantitatively superior to ordinary men (i.e., smarter, stronger, faster, etc.), but they are never qualitatively different than men (Cp., Numbers 23:19).
[3] Richard Dawkins, arguably today’s most prominent apologist for atheism, has confessed that, “Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist”.
A Picture of Imminence
“Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord . . . for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh . . . behold [He] standeth before the door.” (James 5:7-9).
The Merriam-Webster online dictionary defines imminent as “ready to take place; especially [as] hanging threateningly over one’s head”. An imminent event is one that could occur at any moment; it is not, however, an event that is necessarily near, nor one that must occur soon. In the New Testament, the coming of the Lord is an event that is portrayed as being imminent. Such a portrayal has led to the recognition that the Rapture of the Church, in which the Lord comes in the clouds to gather believers to Himself and return to heaven (John 14:2-3; 1 Thessalonians 4:15-17), is to be distinguished from the 2nd Coming and must take place before the start of the Tribulation period (i.e., Daniel’s 70th Week, the seven-year period that immediately precedes the 2nd Coming). The coming of the Lord to rapture the Church is an imminent event; the coming of the Lord to establish His millennial kingdom on earth is not.
Because the New Testament teaches that the coming of the Lord is imminent, the rapture must take place before the Tribulation begins. The New Testament teaches that the day of the Lord’s coming cannot be predicted (Matthew 24:36; Mark 13:32) and may happen at any moment (Philippians 4:5; James 5:7-9); for this reason believers are exhorted to be ready and watching for it at all times (Matthew 24:44; Mark 13:33; Luke 12:40; 21:36; 1 Thessalonians 5:6; 1 Peter 4:7; Revelation 22:20). This is the precious doctrine of the imminent return of Christ. Imminency does not mean that the return of the Lord will occur soon, but that it can occur at any time. Even the Apostle Paul in the first century, when teaching on the rapture, always counted himself as one who would be included in it—he taught (and believed) it could occur during his own lifetime (cf. 1 Corinthians 15:51-52; 1 Thessalonians 4:17).
For imminency to be true, there can be no event prophesied in Scripture that must occur before the coming of the Lord. For this reason, when the New Testament speaks of the imminent coming of the Lord, it cannot have the 2nd Coming of Christ (which happens at the end of the 7-year Tribulation period) in mind. We are at least seven years away from the 2nd Coming (Daniel 9:27), so there is no sense in which it can be imminent. Thus, when the New Testament speaks of the imminent coming of the Lord, it must refer to the Lord’s coming to rapture the Church (John 14:3; 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17); but the rapture is only imminent if it is to take place before the Tribulation begins.
The picture of the Lord’s coming used by James is that of the Lord standing at the door (James 5:9). Such a word picture very effectively communicates an important aspect of the rapture; namely, that the event is imminent in the sense that no preceding event has to happen before the rapture can occur. If I were standing at your door, I could knock on it at any time. The fact that I am at your doorstep does not mean I will immediately knock on your door, or that I will knock on your door in the next seven seconds, or seven minutes, or seven hours, or seven years, or even during your lifetime, but I could and I might; there is nothing else that has to happen before the conditions are in place for me to knock on your door. If you know I am on your doorstep, you must live in constant expectation that I might knock on your door at any moment. Contrast this with your expectation if you (who live in America) knew/believed that I was presently on vacation in Australia. There is no way I can immediately knock on your door, nor can I do so in the next seven seconds, or seven minutes, or seven hours. A non-trivial series of events would have to happen first, which takes a finite amount of time, before I can be standing on your doorstep with the possibility of knocking. This is how believers should understand the coming of the Lord to rapture the Church. It is an event that is imminent, but not necessarily near.
Many Christians today believe the return of the Lord is drawing near. Of course, there have been many times in the past when Christians believed the coming of the Lord (i.e., the 2nd Coming) was near, and they were wrong. As we look back on those times, we realize that it was not correct to say that the Lord’s 2nd Coming was near, since the geopolitical conditions necessary to initiate the Tribulation were not in place. Nevertheless, the coming of the Lord in the event of the rapture could have taken place at any of those times, since the pre-tribulational view of the rapture recognizes there to be an undefined period of time between the rapture and the start of the seven-year Tribulation period (during which time God could have rapidly moved things into place).
What we observe today is God moving things into place in a more gradual way. As we see the geopolitical landscape developing precisely as the Bible speaks of the time of the Tribulation period, we have objective reasons to believe that the return of the Lord may indeed be drawing near. But Daniel’s 70th Week has not yet begun (Daniel 9:27; 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3), so the 2nd Coming of Christ cannot take place for at least seven years. That being said, the conditions appear ripe for the Tribulation countdown to begin. Knowing that the rapture of the Church will take place before the Tribulation begins, we also realize that the time of the rapture may be very near. Regardless, the rapture of the Church has always been imminent!
Why the Law Cannot Save
“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law… for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” (Galatians 2:16)
Many Christians fall into the error of believing that the reason the Law cannot save is because no one can keep it perfectly. Scripture asserts, however, that even if one kept the Law (i.e., any system of works) perfectly, it cannot justify a fallen creature before God.
All men since Adam are born (even conceived; cf. Psalm 51:5) under the condemnation of God. This is because, in the Garden, all men sinned in Adam (Genesis 3:6; Romans 5:12). Adam was not merely our representative or federal head, he was our seminal head (Cp., Hebrews 7:9-10); this is even true for Eve because of the way God took her from the “rib” of Adam (Genesis 2:21-23), which is why all men are condemned “in Adam”, not “in Eve”. It is for this reason that it is impossible that fallen man could be justified by keeping the Law (Romans 3:20); even if he refrained from sin perfectly from the moment of his birth until the time of his death, he would still stand condemned before God for his participation in the primeval sin of Adam (Romans 5:18). No system of works or law-keeping can ever erase this past event of history, in which all descendants of Adam participated, and for this reason salvation must be by grace (Ephesians 2:8-9; Galatians 1:6-9).
Consequently, any denial that the Fall was a real, historical event must be rejected as anti-Biblical. Such a view is not merely error, but heresy—it strikes at the very heart of the Gospel of Grace. By denying that the sin of Adam was a real, historical event in which all men participated, the basis of the universal need for a Savior is destroyed, and works-based righteousness (in contrast to salvation by grace) becomes a theoretical possibility. BUT THIS SCRIPTURE CATEGORICALLY REJECTS (Galatians 2:16; Romans 3:20)!
Man’s need is for a new Head. Just as “in Adam” all men are sinners and stand condemned before God, “in Christ” we can be seen by God as being just as righteous as He is (1 Corinthians 15:22; Romans 5:19). We are born “in Adam”; being placed “in Christ” as our new Head is accomplished by the new birth (John 3:7; 2 Corinthians 5:17), appropriated by faith in Christ (Romans 2:24-25). Have you put your faith in Christ and been born again? If not, you stand condemned in Adam, for “in Adam all die” (1 Corinthians 15:22).
Continue in My Word 