Is God's Wrath in the Tribulation?

 

This is a Scriptural study of some of the main arguments of pre-tribulationists.

For background, pre-tribulationists believe that all the true Christians will be raptured (caught up to be with the Lord) just before (pre-) the 7-year tribulation. They believe that the tribulation is God’s wrath, and since Scripture says we won’t suffer God’s wrath, therefore we must be raptured before the tribulation. So let’s start by defining terms.

The 7-year tribulation can be defined by looking at Daniel 9:27 (from the King James edition, as with others):

And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate...

Since I cannot cover everything in this small summary, let me say this: The “he” in the first sentence is the Antichrist. He confirms a covenant with “many,” which is Israel (and possibly others), to grant her safety, and to allow her to once again carry on her ancient sacrifices. The “week” only makes sense as the real definition of the Greek word, “seven,” is seen as seven years. The last sentence above has the word abominations, which is tied in to what Jesus said in Matthew 24 just below—please read it. Matthew, as you can see, says these actions ties in to tribulation. So it’s reasonable to say that Daniel 9 and Matthew 24 tie in to the same subject, the tribulation, and results in the greatest persecution the world has seen, even greater than the holocaust. Now here is part of Matthew 24:

¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains... ²⁰ But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the sabbath day: ²¹ For then shall be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this time, no, nor ever shall be. ²² And except those days should be shortened, there should no flesh be saved: but for the elect's sake those days shall be shortened.

Finally, the word “elect” (all God’s chosen) suggests these are not Jews-only prophecies—they also combine us Gentiles, who have the chance to have eternal life too. I will be assuming so throughout this paper; so this paper is relevant to everybody.

Now let me admit that my putting the word Antichrist and the Jews in Daniel are speculative, but reading the verse, plugging in those words, certainly fits the current situation, doesn’t it? But saying that, asserts we are in the Last Days, which is speculative too. But none of those speculations has anything to do with my problems with the doctrines of the pre-tribulationists.

First, they believe that when the Scripture uses the term “wrath of God,” they assume the tribulation is the wrath of God. But the wrath of God is not mentioned in either of those verses above, even though both were on the subject of tribulation. But the pre-tribulationists argue that it is anyhow. And, they argue, since God wouldn’t subject us to His wrath, we must be raptured BEFORE the Tribulation—which is why they are “pre-tribulationists.”  That way we escape all that wrath. But I maintain the tribulation is not the wrath of God. In fact, it is the wrath of Satan. The wrath of God comes later. Therefore we might be here and NOT miss Satan’s wrath. Here’s what I want to prove:

Many Jews and true Christians in the tribulation will be killed by the Antichrist. The focus is on him, and his hatred of us. That doesn’t sound like the wrath of God.

And God’s vengeance (or the wrath of God) has not started in the entire tribulation.

Tribulation is even called the wrath of Satan.

Together, this defeats the main argument for “rapture before the tribulation,” since their doctrine wholly depends on the tribulation being the wrath of God, and “we don’t have to suffer from God’s wrath, so we would have to be raptured before the tribulation.” Or so the pre-tribulationists say it.

My proof is based on the fact that the first nine chapters of Revelation are chronological. For our brief study, we need to skip ahead to Revelation 6, where Jesus is opening the scrolls. The scrolls reveal the same cycle of events as Jesus says in Matthew 24, and since Matthew 24 is on the tribulation (see above), we have to consider that Revelation 6 is also the tribulation. For proof that they are the same point in time, we begin with Revelation 6:2-6:

And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer. (This is DECEPTION—see below). ³ And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, Come and see. ⁴ And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword. (WAR) ⁵ And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand. ⁶ And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine. (FAMINE).

Deception, followed by war, and famine. Now here is the same chronology in Matthew 24:4, 6-7,15-16:

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you...⁶ And ye shall hear of wars and rumors of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.⁷ For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in diverse places...¹⁵ When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place…¹⁶ Then let them which be in Judea flee into the mountains…

As you can see that so far, their events follow the same path. This portion (seals 1-3 in Revelation) is called the “beginning of sorrows” by Jesus in Matt. 24:8. This is just before Antichrist reveals himself as a hater of Jews and Christians in the middle of the 7 years (See Daniel 9:27), and attacks Jews in Jerusalem by performing the abomination (that would be insolence against Jewish religion, such as sacrificing a pig in the holy of holies), and begins to kill them. So they are told to flee. (Remember, his covenant made him their friend. But his turnabout made them see who he really was—a Jew-hater. He revealed himself.)

Back to Rev. 6:7-11:

⁷ And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, Come and see. ⁸ And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth. And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held: ¹⁰ And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth? ¹¹ And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.

 

At the fourth seal, note the emphasis on death—it says that ¼ of the people shall die—God help us. It has to be a nuclear assault. In the fifth seal, note the souls slain for the word of God (both true Christians and converted Jews, if you look up the meaning of the terms “fellow servants” and “brethren”). They are asking, How long before You judge and avenge our enemies? To me, vengeance and judgment represent the wrath of God. In all these Scriptures on the tribulation, Matthew and Revelation, Not One Time is the wrath of God mentioned—except in the fifth seal, when the souls are asking, basically, “when will it begin?” And His answer is, not yet—soon. Thus, the wrath of God hasn’t begun until after the fifth seal of the tribulation. This could well be in the sixth year of the 7-year tribulation—so it’s obviously not before the tribulation. That’s Proof #1.

Luke 21 has some added comments, talking about the same subject:

¹² … they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake…¹⁶ And ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.¹⁷ And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake.

The subject of being betrayed by family is really dark. I suspect the Antichrist will pay a handsome reward for those who rat on their families as Christians. This has happened in the Dark Ages. I suspect the economy is in dire straits, and jobs and money are hard to get. “Death and Hell” says that people will possibly be asked, perhaps at the point of a gun, “Do you worship the Antichrist?” If you answer “No, I worship the real God,” you will experience Death at the hand of the Antichrist. But you will also experience an eternity in heaven with Jesus, for your love of Him is greater than your love of life in this world.  If you answer “yes,” you will keep your life—for a while—but you will also experience Hell. So your choice is Death or Hell. An angel will be announcing the choice; these are the only two choices in Revelation 14:9-11:

⁹ And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, ¹⁰ The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: ¹¹ And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night, who worship the beast and his image, and whosoever receiveth the mark of his name.

Truly a frightening description of Hell, and how severe is God’s judgment. Further proof of the multitudes which shall die in the tribulation are in Revelation 7:

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes... ¹⁰ And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God… ¹³ And one of the elders answered, saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes? and whence came they? ¹⁴ … And he said to me, These are they which came out of great tribulation, and have washed their robes, and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

That means that that great multitude of those children of His had been murdered; supposedly that’s what happened in God’s Wrath (?). I ask you, you’re saying the wrath of God will be this murder of Christians? This made no sense. But there is an alternative: Scripture proves, I believe, that it’s not God’s wrath, it’s Satan’s wrath. Here we go to prove this:

In Rev. 12:7:

And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels…

To explain: In II Corinthians 12:2, Paul alludes to a person caught up in the third heaven. So, maybe the first heaven is what we can visibly see in the universe; the second heaven is where God’s angels fight against the fallen angels under Satan’s command; and the third heaven is where God and His throne are.

Further verses in Revelation 12:

⁸ And he (Satan) prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. ⁹ And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him…¹² Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time…

Note the phrase that he “deceiveth the whole world.” No one has ever deceived the whole world. But the Antichrist can, with communication technology. So this is during the future, the tribulation, when he also will use technology for the mark of the beast (see Rev. 14:9 above), providing him a way to control each and everyone’s banking; and it will be useful for speaking his deceptive words to the whole world. Note that he has “great wrath.” And note that he knows he has a “short time”—only seven years, I believe.

Yet more in Rev 12:13,17:

Now when the dragon saw that he had been cast to the earth, he persecuted the woman who gave birth to the male Child…. And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.

The “woman” is Israel. Many times in the Old Testament, God refers to His taking her as bride, and how she turned to worshiping other gods, and “played the harlot.” The dragon is Satan. The male Child is Jesus Christ. Note that Satan and his thousands of fallen angels were kicked out of heaven in vv. 9, 12, and 13. So his new base for evil activity is on earth—so every one of his powers will be intensified during the tribulation. Especially note what he felt in v.17, the word “wroth,” which was immediately followed by the intense persecution of Christians and converted Jews. This is further detail on the tribulation. It is reasonable to conclude this is Satan’s wrath during tribulation, not God’s wrath. Proof #2a

So here is my question for the pretribulationists: Is this God’s wrath, since it is Not Ever mentioned in tribulation verses, and since God’s children are murdered and persecuted by Satan, who is doing whatever he wants? Does that sound like God’s wrath? Is “God’s wrath” just allowing chaos, letting Satan strut his stuff, killing God’s children and Jews right and left? Do you see God’s vengeance upon all them that kill His children—at all?

Now focus on Rev. 12:12, 15-17, for a single, convincing proof of when is the wrath of God:

¹² And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair...¹⁵ And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains; ¹⁶ And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb: ¹⁷FOR THE GREAT DAY OF HIS WRATH HAS COME (“has come” means ready to begin); and who shall be able to stand?

This places the wrath of God definitely after the 6^th seal. That’s nearly the End of the 7 year tribulation. Proof #2b

In the Tribulation, the focus is on the activities of the Antichrist. But in the wrath of God, it’s the reverse; all men shall see and be humbled by His power and destruction. This is proved in Isaiah 2, even mentioning again the “holes of the rocks” that prophesies how the ungodly want to hide when Christ comes (see Rev. 12:15 above, under events in the sixth seal)

Isaiah 2:2, 11b-12, 19 ² And it shall come to pass in the last days … the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day ¹² For the Day of the Lord of hosts shall be upon every one that is proud and lofty, and upon every one that is lifted up; and he shall be brought low…¹⁹ And they shall go into the holes of the rocks, and into the caves of the earth, for fear of the Lord, and for the glory of his majesty, when he ariseth to shake terribly the earth.

Let me give an example of God’s wrath in Revelation 8 so you can see the flavor:

8 And when he had opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven about the space of half an hour… ⁴ And the smoke of the incense, which came with the prayers of the saints, ascended up before God out of the angel's hand. ⁵ And the angel took the censer, and filled it with fire of the altar, and cast it into the earth: and there were voices, and thunderings, and lightnings, and an earthquake. ⁶ And the seven angels which had the seven trumpets prepared themselves to sound. ⁷ The first angel sounded, and there followed hail and fire mingled with blood, and they were cast upon the earth: and the third part of trees was burnt up, and all green grass was burnt up.

I don’t read anywhere in these verses about the Antichrist. All I see is God’s power, and His vengeance on the people and the earth. (It would be a good idea to assume that the Christians and saved Jews were not there. So I’m assuming, at this stage of my paper that Christians and saved Jews will be raptured between the 6^th seal (the great day of His wrath has come) and the 7^th seal in Ch  8, where God is pouring out His wrath.) Because the Lord alone shall be exalted in that Day. We have proved that the main argument of pretribulationists, that it must be before tribulation, or “God’s wrath,” is gone.

Now let’s focus on the rapture. When is it, now that we’ve blown away the pretribulation assumption about the wrath? I Thessalonians 5:9 says the rapture must happen before the wrath of God. Making the wrath happen later simply says it’s not required that the rapture is before the tribulation. But all it says that it’s before the wrath. We’ve proved our point on the timing of the wrath, but everyone wants to know, when is the rapture? We haven’t addressed that.

See next week for that.

Are Speaking in Tongues and Word of Prophecy Real?

 

 Are Speaking in Tongues and Word of Prophecy Real?

None of what I say below has anything to do with the disreputable Charles Fox Parham or Williaam Seymour, or the false prophets, or the tongues as the “initial evidence of the Holy Spirit” (a false, or non-Biblical doctrine of Pentacostalism) or the false sign of “writing in tongues.”

Nevertheless, let’s look at what the Bible says.

The Holy Spirit gives each of His children at least one of nine gifts, listed in I Corinthians 12:7-11:

But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: 8 for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, 10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. 11 But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.

Let’s discuss two of the most controversial ones: tongues and prophecy, so-called “sign” gifts. When the charismatic wave hit the U.S. in the early 1980s, much ink was spilled back and forth in controversy. You could say I’m 40 years too late on this, but the subject was raised in an excellent book I read: The Supernatural Worldview, by Cris Putnam, published 2014. So let’s have a go at it.

The biggest outcry against the use of the sign gifts was by conservative, Bible-believing churches. In the 1980s, I broke away from my Baptist roots and joined a charismatic church. My former pastor didn’t have a kind word for me after that, saying that what I was hearing in interpretation of tongues-speaking was from the devil. I must say, though, I learned much in the new church—particularly in small groups, where we were encouraged to be accountable, and to listen to what people in the group were saying to us.  They did actually encourage and admonish us--gently, but they actually did it.  I learned about my weaknesses, my strengths, my gifts--and found mine. I used it a couple times there, and was respected. We also had a strong educational emphasis as well. That was unexpected, since I knew that the charismatic churches have been accused of emphasizing emotion instead of intellect. But from what I observed, tongues were followed by interpretation, prophecies were judged to see if they were Scriptural; it seemed to be an orderly setting.

The theology that the non-believers in sign-gifts came up with to support their view is called “cessationism.” They maintain that (1) the Holy Spirit’s purpose for the sign gifts was finished in the first century, with an influx of new believers for a “starter” church; (2) the sign gifts were given to the twelve apostles; and (3) the gift of apostleship no longer exists. One of their favorite proof texts is I Corinthians 13:8-11:

Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part. 10 But when that which is perfect has come, then that which is in part will be done away. 11 When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child; but when I became a man, I put away childish things. 12 For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.

The cessationists believe tongues and prophecy are ways “progressive” churches want to hear “new” doctrines from the Lord, but then any new ideas they get opens these churches to deception and manipulation. My personal experience wasn’t that way—although it’s certainly possible it did happen elsewhere that way. I heard of extremes, and saw some on TV--and was embarrassed and concerned by it. 

Cessationists also loved to say, the tongues they heard about are “gibberish” and we need to “put away childish things.” That's condescension playing as intellect.  They should be concerned about what they are saying: did God give the gift, only to hear it called a “childish thing?” But getting down to theology, their real Scriptural “proof” in how the gifts in “cessation” are based on insisting the word “perfect” in the above verse refers to the arrival of the New Testament canon. Once that happened, they say, all these sign gifts were “done away,” and what happens in “sign gifts” now is not from the Holy Spirit, since there is no new “hearing from the Lord.” They say the Lord is heard from in Scripture, and no more—not through tongues or prophecy, they say.

But these verses above are not saying what they assume. Let’s hear from John Piper, conservative theologian and author, speaking about the word “perfect” in verse 12:

“It says ‘Now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face.’ Is it more likely that Paul is saying, ‘Now before the New Testament is written, we see in a mirror dimly; but then when the New Testament is written, we shall see face to face’? Or is it more likely he is saying, ‘Now in this age we see Him in a mirror dimly; but then when the Lord returns, we shall see Him face-to-face’?”

The latter version, as Piper implies, is much more likely correct--especially since there are several references in the Old Testament, and at least two in the New (Revelation 22:4, I John 3:2), that our desire is to see Jesus face to face, and know Him better. So Jesus is more likely what the Bible means when it says “that which is perfect." Thus, cessationists have probably lost their main "proof" verse as support.  So it’s likely that all the gifts are still active, still Spirit-inspired, until Jesus has His second advent. Then we (or they) will no longer need the gifts.

Besides, if God wanted us to know that the nine gifts are to be split up, some we keep, but others we don’t keep, wouldn’t He have said so in the I Corinthians listing of them?

The non-believers give this further argument: The arrival of New Testament canon, and its modern publishing, meant “hearing from the Lord” through miraculous signs is not necessary any more--so we “don’t need” the sign gifts; we should just read Scripture to get general guidance, and rely on feelings and our rational mind (and the Holy Spirit guides us, too). They’re assuming that charismatics, looking for prophecies and tongue interpretations, are easily deluded into swallowing an anti-Christian idea that might creep up. Well, it's true that there are tongue-speakers or charlatans trying to delude. That kind of deception Satan lives off of. But think of this:  is it possible that those who rely on feelings or rational thought that they think to Holy Spirit is guiding them to, the results are better rather than listening to someone with a gift of discernment?  Is it possible that relying on our own interpretation of events could ever be deluded by someone, or something, besides God?  Satan's emissaries are around to put a thought in your head too.  One answer for all that--that many cessationists default to--is to assume that if God seems silent after prayer on an issue--they are to then rely on their own logic, figuring their Scriptural knowledge will keep them from deviating from God's overall will.  But I have found that if God is silent, say on a question of “should we buy that house?” it could be that He is disapproving. If our feelings are leading us, even if we call them “rational,”  we are in trouble. Many Christians are not mature enough to figure on how to get the Holy Spirit’s guidance.

But I've seen many cessationists eventually doing something that they wanted to do in the first place anyway.  They say that "my positive feeling are ‘from the Lord.’"  Or, some will cite some set of circumstances as God's answer.  True, I've heard of this line of thought working for the good with missionaries.  But for most people, they just stumble across a set of events and capitalize on it, though I can't agree about their connection like they do. It's easy to twist all this to get what you wanted—because you wanted it too much. Cessationists can be deluded too.

Some who rely totally on their logic also reject Spirit-led circumstances because their brain does not allow for supernatural in these times, so they never really try all this—but they say, "God's Scripture is all we got.  We decide the rest based on the moral guardrails that are there."  Sounds great, but how many people really know that Scripture has often more than one way of looking at a subject?  I've proven in other blogs how people like to "cherry pick" Scripture that agrees with them.  Face it, we are really obtuse about looking objectively about ourselves, our feelings.  Our logic can be warped by sin.  We fail to "look outside the box" for a solution, or we hate to let a decision wait for "God's timing."  We want it Now!

Well, for believers in all gifts, how do you rely on the sign gifts when there could be deception?  One answer is, rely on the most spiritual men who believe this way and are seriously overseeing, and ask them to apply discernment and advise you.  This is better than doing a sweeping dismissal of the entire gift. Throwing out all of it—baby and bath water—is the lazy choice, and not the best one.

Now let’s talk about Scripture for gifts. I believe we still need them. Look at Mark 16:17:

And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons; they will speak with new tongues;

Those who believe in sign gifts argue that the power herein is God's gift for His children.  This power is also for the purpose of globalizing the gospel to “the end of the earth" (Acts 1:8). Well, that goal hasn’t quite happened yet, so we still need the gift. To argue that the purpose of sign gifts expired in the first century's apostles (or in the fourth century, when the canon was completed) is less likely.

Plus, the argument that it was "limited to the apostles" doesn’t hold water. Stephen had it, Acts 6:8—but he was not an apostle:

And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people..

And then there are Paul’s detailed instructions on these gifts. In I Corinthians, three chapters are devoted off-and-on to this difficult subject of gifts—three chapters means it’s important.  But pastors still stay away from this rather than figuring it all out. In all those chapters, he says nothing about these gifts ceasing.

Read his words in I Corinthians 1:7:

…so that you come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ

That clearly indicates that he wants to see everyone possessing the gifts, all the way up to the last days, “the revelation of our Lord.” So he was teaching the opposite of cessation. Consider, too, what he "bragged" in I Corinthians 14:18:

I thank my God I speak with tongues more than you all

Well, that speaks a good word for tongues, does it not? Now in all honesty, Paul has restrictions on tongues—and he figures another gift, prophecy, is more important. (Of course, love is the most important of all—if we understand what the word “love” means). He wants an interpretation to each tongue, because otherwise no one could understand it (I Cor. 14:2). By the way, this by itself dismisses a frequent cessationist argument that tongues, if they operate, should all be like Acts 2, in a known language. But here, Paul is flat-out saying, if you don’t have an interpreter, no one will understand your tongue. And he's not talking about mission work in I Corinthians 14.  So he’s definitely saying that it covers unknown tongues as well. But with an interpretation, it becomes useful. That idea is further confirmed in I Corinthians 14:15:

What is the conclusion then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding. I will sing with the spirit, and I will also sing with the understanding.

To give this contrasting statement “I will pray with the spirit, and I will also pray with the understanding,” suggests they sang or prayed in an unknown tongue. Perhaps privately, perhaps in church with an interpreter. Having a gift of tongues, even operated quietly by oneself, is still a spiritual uplift.  So there seems room in Scripture for a private unknown tongue as well as in public, or a church meeting.

Pastors nowadays hang on to cessationism, I fear, because all this “chaos,” as they figure it, in public would turn most of the congregation off (especially the older ones, who are the biggest givers in offerings).  But in those days, the church still grew even with these strange gifts. Are people that much different today? I say, no; for that matter, the pastor should not fear a reduced congregation when this happens; he will be left with people who love Scripture more than man’s tradition.  And he should educate his congregation so they will be open to something new like tongues.   The church should still grow because of its love and openness to something new.

Lastly, many pastors fear the loss of control. The service “has” to end after one hour and fifteen minutes—to allow for the next service. (Too many pastors have to preach two or three times in succession, especially in Florida in fall or winter).

A couple serious words of warning: Do not try to force yourself to speak in tongues through an altered state of consciousness, brought on by chanting, breathing irregularly, “emptying your mind,” drugs, or any other way. There is no Scripture backing you up, and you may indeed be inviting demons to come in for residence.

I must confess, though I am in favor of all gifts, from Scripture, I have never spoken in tongues.

Paul also said that tongues in a church service were for the unbelievers; i.e., to have them see that God is at work in this service. I Corinthians 14:22:

...tongues are for a sign, not to those who believe but to unbelievers

But don’t get the idea that tongues have to be limited to a crusade tent in Africa where the "unbelievers" are. We showed their further usefulness above; it could still be in the U.S. And here’s a short testimony by a noted church father, Irenaeus, in 202 AD. “..we do also hear many brethren in the Church, who possess prophetic gifts, and who through the Spirit speak all kinds of languages, and bring to light for the general benefit the hidden things of men, and declare the mysteries of God…they being spiritual because they partake of the Spirit.” This says, first of all, that tongues and prophecies didn’t die with the apostles—since Irenaeus was 100 years later. (Augustine, a great (but controversial) theologian around 400 AD, had kept a record of a long list of miracles in his day as well, from special gifts). Secondly, this implies that tongues, when interpreted, are also useful in church in revealing a sin that became a convicting rebuke to some unbelievers. (Rebuking people in their sin: there’s a concept.)

Finally, Paul writes, not just for the church at Corinth, but for everybody, I Corinthians 14:39:

Therefore, brethren, desire earnestly to prophesy, and do not forbid to speak with tongues.

The second half of the verse is exactly what many “Bible-believing” pastors are doing, forbidding it, breaking this command from God.

Speaking of miracles: Miracles go on today, but hardly ever in the U.S. There are constant mission reports of many miracles in South America, India, in Muslim countries, in Asia, and Africa. Many involve healing. Where demonic activity is visible, God steps up the supernatural and makes His power more visible. But not much of this happens in the U.S. My suspicion? Satan can see that the U.S. churches are weak because they can’t overcome people’s materialism. We are lukewarm. (Are we the modern church of Laodicea in Revelation 3:14-18?) So why should he “rock the boat” that is swinging us to sleep? The author, Cris Putnam, quotes a Barna poll that indicates that 59% of the U.S. “Christians” do NOT believe there is a real Satan! Satan is fine with this; he hopes we all lull ourselves into hell. Shades of C.S. Lewis’s Screwtape Letters! We must remember that Jesus would not work miracles when faced with stubborn unbelief (Matthew 13:58). We cannot let this lack of miracles be a self-fulfilling prophecy—in other words, if the lack of miracles increases our cynicism—this would lead to even fewer miracles yet.

It’s possible people are using gifts without knowing in advance about them. There is a story about the great preacher Charles Spurgeon—a Calvinist and cessationist, by the way, who stumbled into miracles of his own. In his autobiography he tells how he interrupted a sermon to point at a young man in the audience, telling him that the gloves he was wearing were stolen from his employer! (A bold move, considering the time period). Later in his office, the dumbfounded and convicted young man confessed his sin. Spurgeon further wrote, “I could tell as many as a dozen similar cases in which I pointed at somebody in the hall without having the slightest knowledge of the person .…except I believed I was moved by the Spirit to say it.” Whether he knew it or not, that’s the gift of knowledge in operation. We’re often ignorant of our gift, or don’t want to use it, or afraid to use it. Mr. Spurgeon’s faith door must have been opened a little more after that supernatural event.

And this gets to the reason for the author Mr. Putnam mentioning this subject. His book is about the supernatural. But cessationism is a refusal to believe in certain kinds of supernatural. Putnam calls this cessationist doctrine a “sanctified form of unbelief,” and believes we are dangerously discounting the supernatural in American churches. Even our sermons are not exposing or attacking Satan, or educating people on demons, for instance. They are also dismissing the power of the Holy Spirit by marginalizing three of His nine divine gifts--that is not a good thing. Mr. Putnam calls it “demythologizing the Holy Spirit.” Since the Holy Spirit is God, denying His power may lead to His judgment on the cessationist.

According to Joel 2:28-31:

“And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. 29 And also on My menservants and on My maidservants will pour out My Spirit in those days…And the moon into blood, Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the LORD.

What if many pastors of churches, dismissing the supernatural, then dismisses these prophecies, visions, and dreams that may happen in their church to warn of the end-time days are coming?  When God wants to warn them that new, terrible things will be happening and they need to get ready?  Isn’t it possible that God wants to warn us of the upcoming End Times tribulation, and provides these signs. If we react stone-faced to information God wants us to know, if He presented it to us in this "distasteful" way, and we ignore it, we won’t be ready for the antichrist—and could then be easily manipulated and even fall into apostasy. That "falling away" danger will be greatest among those who believe in a pre-tribulation rapture—what happens when they see that that belief was wrong? (I have other blogs on that subject). Unfortunately, many of the “pre-trib” churches are also cessationists. A double-punch is coming to their faith. When they don't get a rapture, per their pastor's “timing” of end-time chronology, then if they also don’t believe the warnings, they will be blindsided by Satan. The resulting demoralization and confusion--is God's Word reliable? they might ask--will mean they are not ready in the face of persecution. So it's possible to conclude that many people could fall into apostasy simply because they walled off God’s use of supernatural gifts (Matthew 24:24).

Finally, let’s read about the church in Acts 2:40-47:

And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying, “Be saved from this perverse generation.” 41 Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them. 42 And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 Then fear came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles. 44 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, 45 and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. 46 So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, 47 praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

Or, how about I Corinthians 14:26:

How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification

This was a church that had great power, so we should desire to copy it as much as possible, right? But I’ve never heard anybody express any desire to follow that simple “copy the best” idea. Our churches are lacking in many of the areas you read in those two verses above, are we not? The fact is, young people are abandoning their parent’s churches—perhaps because the services seem to be just “going through the motions.” Not much evidence that God is there. Young people see this as hypocrisy.

I want it alive like it was in the early church. Maybe we won’t get this feeling of participation and togetherness that they had until we get persecuted like they were. But cessationism won’t get us into those blessings, that’s for sure.

Acknowledgements: Cris Putnam, The Supernatural Worldview

 

Dr. MacArthur vs. Easy Believism

 

Dr. MacArthur vs. Easy Believism

 

There is nothing more important than soteriology—the doctrine of salvation, or how we can know from Scripture if we’re going to heaven.  As anybody who reads my blogs know, I am a long-time foot-stomper on how the doctrine of salvation has been weakened.  But I dug up a book where Dr. John MacArthur, one of my favorite blunt-edge guys, feels the same way, and expresses his agitation much better than I could.  After all, he was pastor of a church for 50 years, chancellor emeritus of The Master’s University, and editor and author of 150 books.  You will find, as I did, that much of this battle we outline below is a battle of words.  If you can change the meaning of a word that expresses a necessity for salvation, or if you can eliminate that expression entirely, then you have won half the battle.  So Satan—and his followers—have found.  So let’s get into just the first chapter of his book, prophetically written from 1988, “The Gospel According to Jesus.” 

 

His introduction bemoans the frequent gospel presentations today (“ask Jesus into your heart,” etc). None of them is Biblical—the gospel Jesus proclaimed was a call to discipleship, a call to follow Him in submissive obedience.  In truth, the cost to follow Him is high, the way is narrow—and few find it (Matthew 7:13). Sadly, the verse points out that the majority of people are headed for hell, whether they know it or not. The verse is a warning call.  As he puts it, “present day evangelicalism ignores those warnings.”

 

The first serious break from Scripture was from an alleged evangelist, Lewis Sperry Chafer in his book in 1918 (note:  Chafer was a founder and the first president of Dallas Theological Seminary, where it can be easily proved that this heretical doctrine has been taught there).  The theory goes like this:  there are two classes of Christians, carnal and spiritual.  As he wrote in his book, “the ‘carnal’ Christian is characterized by a walk that is on the same plane as that of the ‘natural’ (i.e. unsaved) man.”  Dr. MacArthur points out that “that was a foreign concept to most Christians in Dr. Chafer’s generation, but it has become a central premise for a large segment of the church today.”  He argues that Scripture clearly has the opposite view.  For instance, I John 3:10:

 

 In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.

 

Of course, a Christian cannot be perfectly righteous, and will stumble, but as the great theologian B.B. Warfield put it, “the remainders of the flesh in the Christian do not constitute his characteristic.  He is in the Spirit and is walking, with however halting steps, by the Spirit.”  The Christian wants to come back to God when he sins. He wants to confess.  Such is abiding (a requirement to remain Christian, in John 15:1-6).  It is to ALL Christians that Scripture says, “sin shall not have dominion over you.”  (Romans 6:14).  But the easy doctrine (“I can still be carnal”) won the people’s love. Many people think they are Christians but have no interest in holiness, in abiding in Christ.  The carnal life is good enough for them.  What do we learn from this alleged dotrine?  That false prophecies move fastest into acceptance, through the pastors who were taught this heresy, to the people. 

 

Another crack in the surface of soteriology was forwarded by dispensationalists (who believe that God acts differently in different ages).  They assert that the Old Testament was the “age of law.”  The New Testament is the “age of grace.”  God is kinder, He is different, now.  Chafer wrote, “the age before the cross…represent the exercise of law.” God’s judgement was based on law, “while the (current) period represents the exercise of pure grace.”  Grace, of course, has a new meaning:  it means “God is kinder” to them.  That’s not the meaning of the word at all, but who cares?  Sounds better.  To attack this malign heresy is easy:  first, God doesn’t change.   Salvation has always been, whether Old or New time periods, by grace through faith, not by the works of the law.  Galatians 2:16:

 

a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified

 

Well, what saved them in the Old Testament, without Christ yet?  It was faith in God.  Let’s consider Abraham, who lived in what they call the law-period. In Genesis 15, God promises him many descendants—but he was 85 years old.  But he believed God for a miracle. He doubted, but he always came back to God. Note Genesis 15:6:

 

And he believed in the Lord, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

 

Abraham was righteous with God because of his faith. So it wasn’t any different in the Old Testament than in the New.  It’s all the same—belief by faith in Yahweh, or belief in Jesus Who also was God.  But these clear verses haven’t stopped those of the “two age systems” to warp it into believing that God was harsh in the Old, but changes the rules and becomes only compassionate in the New. A problem for them, though, was faith was evidenced by works in Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, where He set a higher bar than the Law had set for God’s judgement.  The false dispensationalists had to discount that Sermon, or else God’s judgement of sin would be harsher than the Law.  In the Law, a sex act outside of marriage was adultery:  But Jesus said, to look on a woman to lust after her was adultery in our heart (Matthew 5:28).  And Jesus said, murderous thoughts in our mind, such as being angry with our brother without a cause, would be judged as murder.  And He gave more of the same in that Sermon.  The point is, the dispensationalists considered these as not in accord with their doctrine—so they announced that the whole Sermon on the Mount was a doctrine for the future Kingdom age (yay, another age), where Jesus will rule for 1000 years. I guess we should say, “Whew!  I guess carnal living is still OK.”  But it could send you to hell. Dr. MacDonald saw through their fog, and called this a “lamentable hermeneutic.”  He said it “emasculates the message of the gospels.”

 

Further weakening of salvation theology continued on with those arguing the “dangers” of “Lordship salvation.”  That’s where obedience to His commands is required, as Lord of our lives. Yes, I guess that could be dangerous—especially if you want to continue serious sin. Even as early as Luke 2:11, Jesus is called Savior and Lord. Along with many other Scriptures in the same vein, these two (salvation and accepting His Lordship) clearly go together. We must do honor to Him on both counts to be saved.  He not only saved us from hell, He saved us from sin’s power.  He is to be Lord of our lives, and we are to read His Word and listen to the Spirit to make decisions to be in His perfect will. We can never be perfect in this life, but He knows what our intentions are.

 

Again, those who believe in this false doctrine are fighting for weakness here: They claim it is possible to receive Christ as Savior, yet reject Him as Lord.  You have an option to say “maybe later” on Lordship when you are “saved.”  As if.  To some reputed “theologians,” that is the norm for salvation:  to add such a requirement as Lordship is to “add works.”  So I guess, then, that professing obedience in behavior for Christ in our life is “adding works.”  But get real.  James has a whole chapter on how faith, without works, is dead.  Such a thing is not faith at all.  Remember our brief discussion of the narrow gate above, and few getting into heaven?  Let’s look at Luke 13:24:

 

“Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able.

 

Now if there were ever a dirty “works” word, “strive” would be it.  Yet Jesus quotes it in connection of salvation. There are many other verses that echo the same theme. The problem is, when Protestant theology was first formed, the Reformers (Luther and Calvin) hated all the sacraments, all the works, that Catholics put on salvation. The Catholics had martyred thousands of them, so the hate was real.  But they put a new definition of “works” that is man-made, and ignored a huge body of Scripture (such as in James) that points out the importance of works, for fruits.  Luther hated the book of James, calling it “a book of straw,” so he ignored it. But you cannot ignore one book, or thirty other verses, to “get what you want” soteriology to be. So they went too far to expunge what they call “works.”  With some churches, if you reveal that you have rules in your family about limiting TV watching, or requiring prayer before every meal, they will call you “legalistic.”  Let us not run so far from the Catholics, all you Protestants, that we swing the pendulum away so far from works so as to enter a fuzzy, non-existent world of complacency—do anything you want, pay no attention to laws (they are all Old T stuff, right?  Uh, no, Jesus had a few clarification commands refining Law).  No, with the help of the Holy Spirit, we must strive.  We must say “no” a lot—to the temptations of the world.  We must abide in Christ.  When Paul says, “by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified,” he is simply saying, we aren’t saved by works.  God looks to our faith.  Good works follow faith, though. We will have an urge to follow Christ in our actions.  Such good works are called “fruit.”  Without fruit, we are NOT ON the VINE (John 15:1-6).  A.W. Tozer put it well: “The Lord will not save those He cannot command.”

 

Talking about the necessity of fruits, there was also a fight over the word “repentance.”  The “weaker salvation” theologians have argued that repentance is not necessary in salvation because it stresses “works.”  A dirty word to them.  But the Greek root of repent is metanoia, defined as “to perceive afterwards, implying a change in mind.”  (Vine’s Expository Dictionary of N.T. Words).  He adds that in Scripture, it is almost always used as an exhortation, and a change for the better. Also note that the word repent is the first word used by John the Baptist, by Jesus and by Peter at the start of their ministries (Matthew 3:2, 4:17, and Acts 2:38).  They wanted a change in heart about sin, (and of course they tied it to the sacrifice of Jesus). Or you’re not saved.  By placing the word at the very beginning of their preachment, the concept was important in the gospel. And note what John the Baptist says as proof that you really repented in Matthew 3:8:

 

 Therefore bear fruits worthy of repentance

 

 This clearly shows that repentance is tied to equally important fruits in salvation.

 

Yet another battle arose on the word “discipleship.”  Again, it so goes that there are two classes of Christians: ‘believers’ and ‘true disciples.’  Dr. MacArthur, in attacking yet another split, quotes the Great Commission, Matthew 28:19-20.  Note that His disciples were not asked to go out and “bring everyone to salvation”:

 

Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰ teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

 

Dr. MacArthur quotes appropriately from James M. Boice (by the way, if these names are all unknown to you, it just proves that I’m older.  You can read up on them in Wikipedia). Boice wrote:

 

“In days of persecution, those who are in the process of becoming Christians have to count the cost of discipleship carefully before taking up the Cross…But in good times, the cost (of following Christ) does not seem so high, and people take the name of Christ without undergoing the radical transformation of life that true conversion implies.”

 

Boice bluntly called this two classes idea “defective theology.”

 

I trust you might have noticed a trend in the heretical theologies that have weakened salvation doctrine.  All of them want to give you a choice of one of two ways to go, after being “saved”:  you can have the option to carry on the same life as before, just with the added “fire insurance” policy of salvation for heaven through mental assent that, yeah, Jesus died for my sins.  Thanks, Jesus. They then give you the other option, the tough life, which is rejected by most people.  It says:  Leave it to the zealots to claim to follow moral law, or Lordship, or discipleship, or the saintly life.  Most “saved” people choose the easy way; they still like the carnal life, not trying for the impossible like the Sermon on the Mount.  The choice is to their destruction.

 

The Catholics have a similar theme in their doctrine.  If you are a true disciple, or saint, you go directly to heaven.  The rest of us, who want to enjoy the dung of carnality, as long as we commit no mortal sin, we can go to purgatory, and get purged of all of that scum later, and then maybe we can eventually go to heaven.  So you see, the “two-way” soteriology is in there too.

 

Well, Jesus had a Word for that.  Note the danger in His words:  Matthew 7:21-23:

 

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

 

In “lawlessness,” there’s the final word that Jesus still pays attention to moral law.  Doing things for the Lord is important, but NOT doing certain things is also important. And in the phrase “does the will of My Father,” you have the final word that there is an element of works in final salvation:  we must “do the will” of God.

 

Holiness, obeying the moral Law, the morals in the Old Testament or New, is essential.  This is giving your whole life to Christ. It’s not really asking too much, since Scripture shows how much He loved you (He died to get your sin out of the way so you can get reconciled to God). Discipleship is essential.  Lordship is essential.  Repentance from sin is essential.

 

Got it?  More than you thought?  Well, as Jesus said, count the cost. Luke 14:28:

 

 For which of you, intending to build a tower, does not sit down first and count the cost, whether he has enough to finish it

 

The parable is for those who realize, from Scripture, that it’s truly a narrow way to final salvation. But the choice, as the verses point out, is...heaven or hell.  I can’t overstate how important THAT decision is.  Well, you read it here, straight from Scripture.  And crusty Dr. MacDonald.  God awaits your decision.