December 26, 2005

Biblical Robe

After much hard work and research, the Techelet (azure blue) robe of the High Priest has been completed by the Temple Institute. The project was researched and undertaken by skilled artisans over the past three years. It will join the already completed ephod and choshen (breastplate), featuring the 12 precious stones associated with the 12 tribes of Israel. They are located at the Temple Institute in Jerusalem's Old City.

The members of the Temple Institute hope they will be found fit to be used by the High Priest in the third temple. "This is the first robe woven entirely out of techelet in nearly 2,000 years," Rabbi Chaim Richman of the Temple Institute is reported to have said. Richman adds, “The completion of this sacred garment marks a great step forward towards the renewal of the Divine service in the Holy Temple,".

In the near future, the Institute plans to embark on another major project: the production and supplying of the Torah-specified white garments of the ordinary priests for every male Jewish descendant of Aaron. "Every Kohen from all over the world, will be given the opportunity to register and order his own uniform so that he can be ready to serve in the rebuilt Holy Temple," Richman said.

If you are not a regular visitor to the website of the Temple Institute, here is the web address: http://www.templeinstitute.org, which is a must for those who want to keep abreast of events that are clearly going to influence events in the near future. Given the recent re-establishment of the Sanhedrin, the discovery that the ancient temple site is not occupied by the Dome of the Rock, and the completion of the necessary temple furnishings Daniel’s prophetic clock can begin at any moment. Daniel 9:24-27 indicate that a temple will play a critical role in the last seven years of his prophecy.

December 13, 2005

The Consistent Word - The Inconsistent Interpretation

by Roger Best

One of the beauties of the study of God’s Word is its consistency and yet among those who read and study it there are many glaring inconsistencies. Why so much disagreement of doctrinal issues within the evangelical Church when all claim belief in the same Bible? Let’s briefly examine this problem.

As the Word of God is studied one will quickly notice the confirming evidence of it’s consistency on whatever subject matter. For example, the four gospels harmonize completely as one may give more or less detail. An example would be Matthew 24:3 where it says “the disciples” went to the Mount of Olives to question Jesus. Well, was it all the disciples or just a few? Mark 13:3 tells us it was Peter, James, John, and Andrew. Matthew is correct in saying disciples because of course all four were, but Mark gives the details and names the four who went. In the Epistles, Paul is consistent in his writings; Peter is consistent in his writings; John is consistent is his writings; and all are consistent with each other. There are no contradictions!

In the area of prophecy this becomes an obvious factor and yet there are so many different opinions on so many important points. It is important to understand that the Old Testament prophecies are as true as are the New Testament ones and they fit together perfectly. One must always look at the Word of God as one book. We have a tendency to want to divide it into sections. It is important to recognize the consistency of the New Testament passages as well. The events of Matthew 24:3-31 harmonize beautifully with Revelation 6. If you take Scripture at face value you don’t have to make Matthew 24 Armageddon, just read it for what it says and it fits with all of Scripture.

Early in our days of teaching the Prewarth rapture position, we came up with a premise and a set of simple rules to help in the important area of interpreting prophetic Scripture. Of all that I have taught over the years, this is certainly one of the most important helps that any believer can have. In fact, I am of the opinion that the subject of hermeneutics, how to interpret the Bible, ought to have a more prominent place in our Bible colleges and seminaries. It is only reasonable to believe that if we all took a proper approach to Scripture, there would be fewer inconsistencies in our doctrinal positions.

The premise is simply this: “It is not our purpose to define truth, but rather to discover truth.” The Word of God is truth, it is bound to God Himself who is truth, if He is truth and He is, then His Word is truth. John 17:17, “Sanctify them in the truth, thy word is truth.” The Word of God is truth; therefore if two of us disagree on any passage of Scripture at least one is wrong. There may be more than one application of the passage but only one meaning and our purpose is to discover that meaning. The following five simple rules are a good place to begin:

1. Always take Scripture in its natural, normal, customary sense whenever possible.
2. Scripture must always be taken in context.
3. Compare Scripture with Scripture.
4. Recognize that there are no contradictions in Scripture.
5. Recognize the near/far implications and applications in prophetic passages. (This rule applies to the study of prophetic Scripture.)

A face value approach to Scripture is so important in the discovery of truth. In 2 Corinthians 1:13 the apostle Paul writes, “For we write nothing else to you than what you read and understand, and I hope you will understand until the end.” The Bible is given to us for our understanding and the believer indwelt by the Holy Spirit has the ability to understand it if he will just spend some time in study.

Let us look for a moment at how this plays out in a practical way. I have never had a person who holds to the pretribulation rapture view sit down with me and show me from the Word of God why they believe it. The most common answer to the question, “Why do you believe in the pretrib rapture?” is “That’s what I have always been taught.” In fact in my many discussions with people on this subject, more often than not the approach is to attempt to discredit the prewrath view rather than substantiate the pretrib view. There is a reason for that approach and it is because if one takes a face value (literal) approach to Scripture there is no substantiation for the pretrib view in Scripture.

Yet many hold to the pretrib view tenaciously while they practice glaring inconsistencies in other areas of doctrine. I recently heard of a Bible college that no longer takes a stand for six literal days of creation. In fact they now have a theistic evolutionist teaching in the theology department and yet they dismissed a professor for no longer holding to the pretrib rapture position. Another pastor who is adamantly pretrib said he questioned whether the first two chapters of Genesis can be taken literally. What happened to standing for the truth? We seem to be so influenced today by political correctness, to the point that rather than taking a stand for truth we are willing to water it down so it is acceptable to the general public. Certainly we wouldn’t want anyone to be offended!

One of the beauties of the prewrath position on the timing of the rapture of the church is that the Old Testament prophecies fit with the New Testament prophecies. Matthew 24, 2 Thessalonians 2, Revelation 6-7 all fit together with great consistency. There is no need for assuming or manipulating, but rather we can just take these great passages for what they say. Remember truth is consistent!

December 6, 2005

Natural Disasters: Is the End Near?

by Charles Cooper

The prophetic signs the Lord indicate in Matthew 24 are familiar even to novice students of the Bible. Wars, famines, and earthquakes, along with other disasters in nature, will plague the earth in the days that immediately precede the Lord’s return. Even those who are not particularly religious are aware of the Lord’s predictions in the Olivet Discourse. Therefore, it is not surprising in our presently charged atmosphere that many people are wondering what’s going on. The hurricanes, earthquakes, the tsunami of southeast Asia and the tightening noose upon Israel are driving people's desire to know if the Lord’s return is near.

It is understandable that people would associate modern, phenomenal events with biblical predictions about the future. However, similarity alone is insufficient to conclude that the biblical fulfillment of Matthew 24 is occurring; rather, that fulfillment is a package deal. The Lord indicates that the events that will precede His return are not spread out over decades or centuries, but are in fact limited to no more than seven years.

By referring to Daniel 9:27 and 12:11 in Matthew 24:15, the Lord limits the time frame of the events that follows Matthew 24:15. Daniel specifically limits the time following the Abomination of Desolation to three and a half years plus a few months. Less precise is Daniel’s time frame for the first half of his week. However, the Lord gives several clues to the time period that will govern the fulfillment of Matthew 24:4-14. The primary indicator concerns the birth analogy He uses to build His prophetic scenario. Particularly, the Lord speaks of the beginning birth pangs, hard labor and the ultimate deliverance that will characterize this period.

Matthew 24:8 states, “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs (NASB).” It refers to the events connected with the first indications that nine months of pregnancy are about to come to an end. “These things” define “the beginning birth pangs.” “All these things” refer specifically to the things mentioned in Matthew 24:5-7, i.e., false christs, wars, rumors of wars, national conflicts, famines and earthquakes. These things are said to be “beginning birth pangs.” “Beginning birth pangs” only refer to events connected with the imminent birth of the baby. No woman experiences “beginning birth pangs” for nine months. Thus, the Lord is not referring to the length of the pregnancy, but those events connected with its termination.

That the birth analogy is controlling the Lord’s directive is confirmed by His second reference to the birth process. Matthew 24:9a states, “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation….” Matthew 24:9-12 describe the events that follow “the beginning birth pangs” as elements of “tribulation.” The Greek term Thlipsis is variously translated in the New Testament. “Tribulation,” “travail” and “persecution” are three possible translations depending on the context. In John 16:21, Jesus indicates that a woman does experience “travail” in the birthing process. In both John 16:21 and Matthew 24:9, the Lord uses the same term to describe the second aspect of birthing a baby. Consequently, the elements of hard labor that will characterize the days just prior to the Lord’s return include: (1) death; (2) external hatred; (3) a falling away; (4) internal hatred; (5) false prophets; and (6) loveless society.

The final element of the Lord’s analogy concerns the actual deliverance. Just as the baby comes after hard labor, so the Lord promises deliverance of those who survive the intense persecution just prior to His return. Matthew 24:13 states, “But the one who endures to the end, it is he who shall be saved.“ Since salvation is the promised outcome of physical survival, it is clear that Jesus is emphasizing physical deliverance. The time frame between the onset of beginning birth pangs and the final delivery of a baby is a matter of hours in a normal pregnancy. Therefore to suggest that Matthew 24:4-14 signals events that will transpire over decades or centuries totally misses the analogy the Lord utilized.

Natural disasters are a part of human experience. What is unusual in our present context is the media’s ability to make local events a world-wide phenomenon. The apostle Paul writes in Romans 8:22, “For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers together until now.” Creation longs to be released from the sin that has corrupted it. It “groans” to be released. What is groaning? Groaning is a deep, inward response to suffering. It is both personal and intense, an agony so deep it cannot be put into words. Could it be that natural disasters are the groans of creation? As with anyone in deep suffering, the groans wax and wane depending on the moment. Nature’s disasters wax and wane with time. Some seasons are worse than others. However, that final season just days before creation is released from corruption will not require CNN’s announcement. All will know it.