June 29, 2008

Premillennial Nuggets - Hebrews 11:10, 16

These two verses are common proof-texts used by Amillennialists who make the false assumption that the "heavenly" new Jerusalem must be understood as nonearthly. Amillennialism frequently makes this false dichotomy, and you need to be aware of this in order to respond properly and Biblically.

The following is an excerpt from Robert L. Saucy's book, The Case For Progressive Dispensationalism. pp. 53-57. (By the way, Part 4 of his book is priceless for those who are interested in solid, scholarly arguments for the Premillennial position.)

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Finally, in relation to the land promise, there is the teaching of the writer to the Hebrews concerning the hoped for destination of Abraham and the patriarchs. Of Abraham, it is said, ". . . he was looking forward to the city with foundations, whose architect and builder is God" (Heb 11:10). Likewise, the patriarchs, as "aliens and strangers on earth, . . . were longing for a better country--a heavenly one" (11:13, 16). The divine construction of the city and the heavenly nature of the country lead many scholars to understand the goal of Abraham and the other patriarchs as heaven rather than any earthly land of the Old Testament promises. For example, F. F. Bruce states,

The truth is, their true homeland was not on earth at all. The better country on which they had set their hearts was the heavenly country. The earthly Canaan and the earthly Jerusalem were but temporary object-lessons pointing to the saint's everlasting rest, the well-founded city of God [The Epistle to the Hebrews, 305].

There is no question that the writer's description of their hope involved something more than the land of Canaan of their day. But a simple dichotomy between earthly Jerusalem and Canaan on the one hand and heaven on the other, with the implication that the literal land promise of the Abrahamic hope has been transcended in the New Testament, does not seem justified in light of the total biblical evidence.

In the first place, we should note that the immediate context refers to the literal land of Canaan, where Abraham lived "like a stranger," as "the promised land" (Heb 11:9). Isaac and Jacob are described as "heirs with him of the same promise," which can only be a reference to the same "promise land." These statements surely bear some relation to the many Old Testament promises of the land given to the patriarchs. In addition, the hoped-for destination of "a country of their own" is not contrasted to earthly Canaan, but to "the country they had left," namely, Mesopotamia. Thus it seems that we should not understand the promised destination as altogether separate from the earthly land promised in the Old Testament.

However, the language clearly portrays a situation beyond the temporal and beyond the transitory nature of the land in which Abraham and his descendants lived. The question is, was this eternal dimension somehow an aspect of the promise? Did the patriarch's hope included a final, incorruptible heavenly city and country? The answers to these questions are already suggested in the Old Testament pictures of the new Jerusalem and a new earth.

As the "city of God" where he revealed his presence, the historical Jerusalem was already seen as founded by God. Thus the psalmist declared that God "built his sanctuary . . . like the earth that he established forever" (Ps 78:69). God himself "set his foundation [of Zion] on the holy mountain" (Ps 87:1; cf. Isa 14:32). But the prophets looked also to a renewed Jerusalem in the future. After the divine judgment that was to come on Jerusalem because of apostasy, God would return to bring salvation to the city (Isa 49:14f.; 41:27; 46:13; Zep 3:16-17). Into a darkness reminiscent of the first day of creation, God's light would arise to shine on Zion (Isa 60:1-2).

In the Old Testament the new, eschatological Jerusalem to be created by God's saving and redeeming action is pictured as an earthly city. But, as Georg Fohrer puts it, these predictions become "the starting point for the later idea of an upper or heavenly Jerusalem." Of the "many and varied" explanations of the Jerusalem of the last days found in the apocalyptic writings, Eduard Lohse says,

On the one hand Jerusalem at the end of the days is the city of David built again with glory and magnificence. On the other the new Jerusalem is thought of as a pre-existent city which is built by God in heaven and which comes down to earth with the dawn of a new world.

Yet the description of the new Jerusalem as "heavenly" must not be hastily understood as nonearthly. When Jesus and the disciples announced the nearness of the "kingdom of heaven" (cf. Mt 4:17), they were not referring to a nonearthly entity. Rather, they were proclaiming the coming of the reign of God on the earth (cf. Mt 6:10: "Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth..."). The writer of Hebrews already gave a clue to his meaning of "heaven" in speaking of those "who share in the heavenly calling" (Heb 3:1) and "who have tasted the heavenly gift" (6:4). These phrases describe those who are participating in divine realities that have their origin from God in heaven, but who are locally on earth.

To describe Jerusalem and the country as heavenly is simply to speak of them in their final eternal state, which is the result of God's salvation. The hope of the patriarchs and the prophets for a restored earthly Jerusalem ultimately merged into a Jerusalem of eternal, heavenly quality created anew by the final salvation of God. The final goal of such as "heavenly" land, however, does not negate the prophecies of a historical restoration of the nation of Israel to the land before that final regenerative action. Admittedly, the specific nature of the final "heavenly" fulfillment and its relation to the historical promised land is not clear. Perhaps the extension of the land promise of the Old Testament in to an inheritance of the earth may be paradigmatic of a general universalization of God's blessing in the final state.

The blending by the prophets of a future restored Jerusalem and the final eternal city corresponds with their picture of the future of the entire earth and heavens. The hope of the Old Testament was ultimately for an eternal state of things, for the prophets knew that the present "heavens will vanish like smoke, the earth will wear out like a garment" (Isa 51:6). Consequently, along with their portrayal of the rule of the Messiah over a yet imperfect world (cf. Isa 2:1-4; Zec 14:16ff.), they looked forward to the creation of "new heavens and a new earth" (Isa 65:17; 66:22).

[Footnotes: (44) The belief in a temporary kingdom of the Messiah before the final perfect Age to Come was prevalent in the Jewish apocalyptic writings, cf. D. S. Russell, The Method and Message of Jewish Apocalyptic (Philadelphia: Westminster, 1964), 291-97. (45) It is noteworthy that contexts even of the statements concerning the new heavens and earth contain references that can only refer to the yet imperfect state before eternity (cf. Isa 65:20-23). Thus th Old Testament prophetic picture does not draw as clear a line of chronological demarcation between the present history and the final perfect state as appears in Revelation 20-22.]

Even as these references to the final perfected "new heavens" and "new earth" did not cancel out the historical prophecies that were to come before the end, so the references to the final country and Jerusalem in the book of Hebrews do not negate the reality of the historical before their ultimate arrival. The writer to the Hebrews speaks of believers as already having come to the heavenly Jerusalem (Heb 12:22), but this does not negate the reality of the present earthly history of the church that is not existentially lived in the new Jerusalem. Similarly, it need not negate the reality of a future period in which the historical earthly promises about Jerusalem and the land are fulfilled in further preparation for the eternal realities.

[Footnote: (46) . . . . As illustration of the Jewish understanding of the relationship between the earthly and the heavenly is seen in the statement by Rabbi Yohanan in the third century. In contrast to Origen, he refused to separate the earthly and heavenly cities: "The Holy One . . . said: I will not enter the Jerusalem which is above until I enter the Jerusalem which is below". . .]

In this connection it is important to recognize that the purpose of the writer to the Hebrews is not to give us an interpretation of Old Testament prophecy. The book is rather a "word of exhortation" (13:22), which Bruce describes as a "form of sermon or homily." Using material not from the prophets but primarily from the Psalms, with other materials added to elaborate the argument, the writer's goal was to establish the superiority of the gospel in contrast to all that went before, particularly the levitical system. The primary evidence of the supremacy of Christianity is presented in its finality. Coming to Christ means final access to God without any barrier.

The writer's references to heavenly realities must be understood in the context of this teaching of finality. Even as Paul's teaching of present access to God does not do away with the actual historical situation of the church (cf. Eph 2:18). so our present coming to the heavenly Jerusalem must not be seen to deny the historical reality of prophecy. Abraham's hope for eternal realities, likewise, does not negate the reality of the history that, according to God's prophecy, must intervene before the actual attaining of the perfect state.

Thus the land aspect of the Abrahamic promise retains validity in the New Testament. Its link to the nation of Israel and to the coming kingdom indicates that the fulfillment of the land promise awaits the future both in this earth and in the new "heavenly" earth to come. There is no evidence that the promise of the land has been either completely fulfilled historically or reinterpreted to mean a symbol of heaven or the blessing of spiritual life in general.

June 24, 2008

Many Dutch Prepare for 2012 Apocalypse

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands, June 23 (UPI) -- Thousands of people in the Netherlands say they expect the world to end in 2012, and many say they are taking precautions to prepare for the apocalypse.... Continue Reading

(I thought these two comments made sense: "If the world's gonna end, WHAT are you preparing for?" and "What is the point of stocking up on supplies if the world is going to end in 2012?" I would think from a secular point of view, it would make much more sense to do just the opposite: eat, drink, and be merry, for tomorrow we die! )

June 18, 2008

Firefox 3 just Realesed

If you use Internet Explorer as a web browser and have wondered what all the hype was about the Firefox web browser, here is your chance to find out with their new release, here. Try it out and see how you like it -- you just might be surprised.

Firefox works better than Internet Explorer on many websites -- even a little better on Prewrath Rapture Dot Com.

June 11, 2008

Two Excellent Online Resources

The following link takes you to a site that is really on top of the latest in Biblical-Technological tools. I have this site in my RSS Reader:
Biblical Studies and Technological Tools

This second site contains a supurb, one-stop, annotated bibliography of original language tools. I would agree with just about all the most important sources he recommends:
Best Resources for Original Language Bible Study

June 9, 2008

Christianity Criminalized in Canada

My heart goes out to believers in Canada after a recent unprecedented ruling criminalizing Christian expression on the sin of homosexuality and its devious effects on society -- and folks here in America...the same criminalizing is coming very soon to this country.

This is chilling and sober.
Here is the news article.
Here is a commentary on it.
Audio commentary as well.

The fact that a single Canadian human rights commission tribunal ruling has shut down free speech is outrageous. I would hope that every Canadian evangelical pastor comes out in a unified support for Pastor Stephen Boissoin this coming Sunday. We need to pray for these pastors who are up against this godless, totalitarian evil.

How does the Canadian government allow this to happen? But I need to ask, how will Americans allow this to happen in the near future? The answer is simple: When a repulsive untold number of baby-skull crushing abortions occur on a daily basis; when Joel Osteen's heretical books make the number one slot for bestselling Christian books; and when fundamentalist secularism dominates our government and education system; and when science and sports is elevated to God-like status; and when our media complex produces smut and godless news; and when narcissistic Americans raise their rebellious fists against God every day -- those are the conditions in which Christians will lose their freedom of speech and religion.

We should not be presumptuous by saying "God bless America," but rather "God have mercy on America." We do not deserve our next breathe as a nation (and as individuals).

Very difficult times are ahead for the church. There will be those who will want to stick their heads in the sand and pretend this is not happening. And there will be those who are discerning and are realists and will go about rearranging their priorities.

The Alberta government, which created the human rights commission, has ultimate authority over the Commission and its mandate, rules and who is appointed to the commission.

To Alberta Premier Ed Stelmach:

Office of the Premier
Room 307, Legislature Building
10800 - 97th Avenue
Edmonton, Alberta
T5K 2B6
Phone: (780) 427 2251
Fax: (780) 427 1349

Unrelated to this ruling, here is a courageous Canadian standing up to the totalitarianism of the Alberta "Human Rights" Commission:

June 8, 2008

My Top Ten Convictions And Commitments as a Student of End-Times Prophecy

By Allen Hadidian who is the designer of "The Prewrath Chart"

(The following is from the closing message at the January, 2008 conference in Orlando.)

MY COMMUNICATION GOALS

10. Regarding my teaching skills: I will seek to sharpen my skills in teaching end-times prophecy.

9. Regarding the content I teach: I will not simply teach others what I have been taught. I will make sure I have done my own homework to determine whether Scripture does indeed confirm the truths I'm considering.

MY ONGOING ATTITUDE

8. Regarding my ego: I don't have the personal need to prove to others that I am right.

7. Regarding my knowledge: I don't have all the pieces of the puzzle or see all the evidence that is out there; therefore, there is always something for me to learn from someone else.

6. Regarding other positions: I will seek to understand opposing viewpoints and the rationale behind those positions.

5. Regarding critiques and hard questions asked of the position I hold:

a. I will read, and not avoid, books and articles critiquing the position I hold. I will be open to hearing and examining difficult questions regarding the position I hold.

b. When a hard question is asked and I have no clue how to answer it, I will say, "You have a good point. I really don't know how to answer that question. Give me time to think it through."

4. Regarding problems and errors in the position I hold:

a. When I discover problems in the position I hold, I will be honest with others regarding them and not feel the need to hide them.

b. When I see an error in my "system," I will say, "I was wrong."

3. Regarding the cost: I am willing to pay the price if I change my position.

MY LORD'S COMMANDMENT

2. Regarding Christ's heart: I will always keep in mind the commandment of the Lord Jesus; the one always on His heart, emphasized over and over again to His disciples. It was not, "Locate the timing of the Rapture and convince others of it," but rather, "Love one another."

MY GREATEST PURSUIT

1. Regarding God's goal: I will pursue as my greatest pleasure in life that which I will experience at the coming of Christ in the clouds -- the inexpressible joy and delight of marveling at His glory.