CHRISTIAN RESPONSIBILITY
BY D. M. PANTON
[PART ONE]
IT is in the nature of a
trust that a day must come for a report of the trust to be put in; and so,
after a prolonged period during which His servants trade with the talents he
had entrusted to them, Jesus says that the lord of those servants cometh, and maketh a reckoning with them (Matthew 25: 19).
The parable covers the entire period from the Noblemans departure to his
return - that is, from our Lords Ascension to the Second Advent; and so
embraces all who have conducted His business on earth for nearly two thousand
years: it covers the period, and the only period, in which the Church of Christ
exists, and so is a comprehensive history of the work and judgment of the
Church. The goods entrusted are small, but the returns possible on the outlay
are enormous. To the very highest servant, who turns one pound into ten, our
Lord says, Thou wast found faithful in a very little (Luke 19: 17); obscure,
nameless, often landless, sometimes homeless, even friendless, without rank or
power, nevertheless we hold in our hands a trust which, rightly used, can
change into incalculable wealth and power in the day of Messiahs Kingdom.
Now our
Lord casts the main emphasis on the third servant - seven verses are devoted to the servant who was a failure, and only
three each to the successful servants:
therefore, on this servants identity depends Christs main teaching in the
parable; and unless we understand that he may be ourselves, ours will be a
concealed peril, like a man-trap hidden under forest leaves. For every truth,
appropriated, falls on the soul like an electric shock; whereas it is obvious
that the believer who denies the application of the passage to himself, while
he may be committing every offence of which the third servant can be guilty, so
encases himself in a coat of steel that Gods sword falls on him blunted and
harmless. It is of vital import to know the spiritual standing of the third servant.
Now this servant is proved a
child of God by the following facts. (1)
Equally with the other servants he is entrusted with our Lords goods on His
ascension; but Christ has never entrusted, and never does entrust, His work on
earth to the unsaved: therefore this is a saved soul equally with the rest.
Jesus calls them all His own servants; literally, slaves,
bought with their Masters money, and owned by Him. About
to take a journey, the Nobleman is obliged to hand over this property of his,
which he is unable to manage personally as before, to other faithful hands
during the time of his absence. He therefore calls, not strange labourers, but
his own servants, belonging to him as his servants; and as their master, since
he may expect that they will regard his interest as their own, entrusts to them
and their hands the property he leaves behind (Goebel). The servants
differ greatly in capacity - in the extremes, as five to one; but they differ
not at all in the possession of a common trust. (2) The three servants are judged together, at one spot and at one
time; but the wicked dead are not judged until the Great White Throne (Revelation 20: 5,
12) a thousand years after the judgment of
the redeemed. So also the slothful servant is judged last of the three, as last risen and last rapt; for he is the servant which knew his Lords will, and made not ready, nor did
according to his will (Luke 12: 47). As judged together, all three servants are the
redeemed, judged in the one and only judgment in which the Church, and the
Church alone, appears (2 Corinthians 5: 10); and as this judgment is in the Parousia, the
only access to which is by rapture, all the unsaved are of necessity physically
excluded. None can reach the
Judgment Seat except the saved. (3) All three are judged, like the Seven Churches, solely on the
ground of their works: their
faith in, and love for, the absent King are implied and assumed: their standing is never challenged. If
the third servant were an unsaved soul, his works could in no way, and on no
ground, be accepted: between the two Advents, it is the redeemed alone who are
judged according to their works; for only those who have received from Christ can work for Him. Every
servant of God has a personal service for Christ in the world, a sacred trust
to fulfil; it is that mission, that trust, which constitutes him a servant - the title by
which the Apostles most loved to describe themselves (Romans
1: 1; 2
Peter 1: 1; James
1: 1; Jude
1) : the salvation a believer receives is the sole ground on which he
can trade at all, and it is the Church alone which is the market where Gods
trade is for ever going on. It is evident that the
design is not to describe a man entirely fallen from faith, an apostate; but
one who, although he has not dissolved his connexion as a servant, or
squandered his talent, yet has not used it to his Lords advantage, one who has
not done his duty (Olshausen). (4)
Overwhelming is the final proof. In the twin parable of the Pounds, the unsaved
are placed in careful contrast with the saved, as Citizens and as Servants, the
only two classes in the world, sharply sundering mankind: the Servants our Lord
entrusts with His all on earth, the Citizens send the message after the
ascended Christ, - We will not have this Man to reign
over us; a message which, as Archbishop Trench says, will have its full
and final fulfilment in the great apostasy of the last days. All three Servants
have accepted Jesus as Lord, and have entered vitally into the service of God;
His own Servants, i.e * who have become His in faith, in
contradistinction to the Citizens who would not (Steir),
and who are slain without mercy before His face (Luke
19: 27). Whilst the one Servant represents an
inactive member of the body of Christ, the Church, who failed to perform his
duty, these Citizens are open rebels, and hence their Lord orders them to be
killed: it is evident that this penal proceeding is essentially distinguished
from the reproof administered to the one Servant (Olshausen).
*At a
meeting in
Now therefore we see the danger
to us all which our Lord flashes out like a red light upon the line - a danger
which, remarkably enough, is greatest to the lowliest disciple. What is the
peril? Undervaluing what God
has given us. Christ gives to each servant what He sees he can wisely use; as
much as he can handle and profit by: no servant can say, Lord, Thou gavest me nothing: no servant is expected
by Christ to produce results greater than his abilities or his opportunities:
the poorest, the most unlettered, the most obscure have the very little which yet can coin enormous future
wealth. A talent is entrusted also to the idle
servant according to his own ability: he is therefore just as able, and for this reason just as
bound, to work spontaneously with his gifts, as all other servants with theirs
(Goebel). But he so undervalues his opportunity as to bury it in the earth - in
earthliness; his carnality is his shame because he is a child of God, and as such betrays his trust: the circumstance rendering him guilty is, that he to whom
the money belonged was no stranger to him, but his master, to whom he was bound
as a servant (Goebel). For it is not the possession of the talents that
determines our reward, but solely our use of them: it is the second five and the second two, not the
first five and the first two, on which reward alone is given. So Jesus
describes the third servant as the exact opposite of the first two: instead of
good and faithful,
He says he is wicked and slothful: not good in the general sense, but a good servant; and so not bad (or
wicked) in a general sense, but a bad servant: the goodness of the one consisted in his faithfulness, the
badness of the other in his sloth. This distinctive
name comprehends all his guilt, Thou slothful
servant (Steir); unprofitable (Matthew 25: 30),
but not unregenerate, or apostate; he did not misemploy, nor embezzle, nor
squander, but simply hid his
money. So what exactly does our Lord charge him with? Unbelief, unregeneration,
rebellion, apostasy, adultery, theft, murder? Nay: it is simply a servant of God who has made nothing of his life; all he
has done wrong is merely to withhold his powers from serving God; he hoarded,
when he ought to have expended; he had no sacred sense of responsibility. The parable is not for gross minors: the warning is for
those who, being equipped of God for a sphere of activity in His kingdom, hide
their talent (Trench). He says, As I cannot be so holy as God requires,
I give up the attempt to satisfy such Strictness: I object profoundly to the
doctrine of reward according to works, and deny all responsibility in a servant
of Christ beyond his responsibility to maintain the gift of grace with which he
was entrusted at his conversion. But his answer (as his Lord says) implies that
he knew the truth. Thereby must the evil servant bear
testimony with his own mouth to the innermost truth, and the most perfect
right, according to which the Lord requires fruit from what He sows or gives - that
God demands fruits and works (Steir). For the believer to have at his judgement
only what he had at his conversion will be his condemnation. As his
life had been negative, so is his punishment: he is cast into the darkness
outside the brilliantly lit festal hall*: nothing is
said here of any further punishment of the servant; enough that he has no part
in the kingdom of the Lord (Goebel). Over lost opportunities, wasted
graces, slighted privileges, a sold birthright, there is weeping and gnashing of teeth.
* Since the Parousia is a
place of thick darkness (Psalm 18: 9), indwelt by the Shekinah Glory. (Matthew 16: 27),
to be cast forth from the inner ring of light on the threshold of the Kingdom
is to be expelled into the external dark of the Pavilion of Cloud (Psalm 18: 11).
Both the faithful servants are
remarkable examples of boldness in the day of Judgment
(1 John 4: 17):
both come joyfully forward, for they have facts in their hands - the talents
doubled; and both are invited at once into the joy of their Lord - our Lords
joy in His Kingdom, for which He endured the cross, despising the shame, the authority God will confer on Him on His second coming
from heaven in kingly power and glory to establish the Messianic Kingdom
(Goebel).* So also would the third
servant had he been found faithful. He has no
share in the kingdom of his lord, and therefore he who is like him will have no
share in the
* It must be the
So the
Coming One remains the Lord of all these servants, of the unfaithful as well as
the faithful; and in the case of the latter will shew Himself as Lord in the
reckoning (Steir). For as profound the
punishment of sloth, so magnificent is the reward of fidedity:
it cuts both ways: in exact proportion as we accept the promised enormous premium
on fidelity, so we are compelled to acknowledge the gravity of the consequences
of unfaithfulness. In the times between the departure
of their Lord and His second coming His disciples are to work with what He
committed to them on His departure for Him and His cause with faithful
diligence, because the most glorious
reward awaits such fidelity at the hour of Christs return, while the heaviest punishment threatens
the selfish indolence that would decline active employment of what it has
received (Goebel).
* * *
* * *
*
[PART 2]
COVID-19
PANDEMIC
OR SCARE-DEMIC
SOME THOUGHTS ABOUT THE COVID-19 CRISIS
By SAM & ANNA BELL
-------
[THE BOOK-COVER WRITING]
In this booklet,
Sam and Anna Bell have amassed a considerable amount of information and data
over the past year concerning the current covid-10
Crisis. Their research has demonstrated disturbing facts that in what the
government is telling us and the statements being made even by specialists are not all what they claim to be - and
in fact their research shows there are other malevolent
forces with undemocratic interests and sinister
motives who are at work, perhaps with the blessing
of those in authority.
What
makes this booklet by Sam and Anna Bell better than perhaps some others, is
that they give Biblical reasons as to why this is occurring in our society and
has caused one theologian to comment that this work is carefully written, meticulously researched
-------
[Page 4]
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION Page 5
OUR THINKING Page 6
CONCLUSION
Page 19
WHAT THE MOTIVATIONS COULD BE? PAGE 21
HOW COULD SUCH A MASS DECEPTION HAVE BEEN
CARRIED OFF SUCCESSFULLY? PAGE 23
SOME RELEVANT BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES PAGE 24
APPENDICES
PAGE 27
NOTES Page 44
* *
*
[Page 5]
INTRODUCTION
Something altogether extraordinary
is happening in the world. We have been struggling to comprehend what is going
on and what it might mean. We have come to some conclusions that we want to
explain to our immediate family and friends. We are doing this, not to impose
our ideas on others, but to be open and clear about what we think. We
understand and respect the views of others on this subject as we hope that
others will respect ours. If we are wrong, then perhaps others will have the
opportunity to correct us.
We recognise that Covid-19 is a
disease that poses dangers for vulnerable persons. It seems to produce effects
in some sufferers that are more serious and debilitating than other
corona-viruses. It can be particularly serious for very elderly people, and for
people with prior health conditions. It also appears to have unpredictable
implications for some individuals, and to cause prolonged post-viral conditions
in a proportion of sufferers.
On the other hand, we believe
something is seriously wrong in the public narrative surrounding Covid-19. In
these notes we try to explain what we mean by this. Our observations arise from
months of exploration of a range of sources, and we believe our conclusions are
supported by published Statistics, compelling evidence, and renowned scientists,
some of which are listed in Appendix 1. We have tried to ensure
our conclusions are stated accurately and fairly, and that our sources are
fairly reported, but we are ready to stand corrected if we have made any
errors.
What we write is written in full
awareness of a number of people known to us who have become very ill, or who
have died with Covid-19, and in full awareness also that we could at any time
become ill ourselves, or die from complications of the virus.
In light of headlines in recent
weeks announcing new, more infectious and deadly, strains of Covid-19, cases
spiralling out of control, and hospitals
overwhelmed, please persevere with the following discussion to appreciate
how these reports might bear a different interpretation.
* *
*
[Page 6]
OUR THINKING AND CONCLUSIONS
(1) The threat posed to life by
Covid-19, although it is real and significant for vulnerable people, is
substantially less than we have been led to believe.
We have been led to believe by government
briefings, and by the great majority of mainstream media outlets, that Covid-19
is much more dangerous and deadly than previous coronaviruses, so that it is
necessary to enact national lockdowns and impose severe social restrictions in
order to halt its course, save thousands of lives, and protect health services
from being overwhelmed.
It has been known for some time,
however, that the mortality rate of Covid-19, though higher than average for
respiratory viruses, is likely to be less than 0.2%, not much greater than some
influenzas, and has been equalled or exceeded by some influenza seasons in the
relatively recent past (e.g. 1957 and 1968).
In the
When rates of death per 100,000
are considered (which adjusts for population rises), it transpires that the
death rate in the
The age profile for Covid-19
risk follows the age profile for mortality in general. In other words, the risk
of death from Covid-19 at a particular age is closely correlated with the risk
of death from all causes at that age.
[Page 7]
Consequently the threat posed to
life by Covid-19 is only significant for the very elderly and those already
vulnerable from significant underlying health problems, in other words, the
same people who have always been at risk from respiratory viruses and other
infections.
See Appendix 2: Some Analysis of
(2) The threat posed to life by Covid-19 has been statistically
exaggerated.
The spread of Covid-19 early in 2020
was classed as a pandemic because the World
Health Organisations (WHO) criteria for a pandemic were altered in 2009 to
remove the need for a disease to cause enormous
numbers of deaths and illness.
Very early in the pandemic, conventions
for recording the causes of deaths were altered. This alteration was by virtue
of the declaration of a pandemic by WHO, which made Covid-19 a notifiable
disease, and by the introduction of emergency measures. As a result, deaths
were statistically recorded as Covid-19 deaths if Covid-19 was suspected to be
present, irrespective of other conditions that may have contributed to or been
the main cause of death. This meant that Covid-19 mortality rates appeared to
be much higher than mortality rates from influenza in previous years. For
example, someone dying from an advanced cancer, who contracted flu in the last
days of their life, would not in the past have been counted in flu mortality
figures, but someone in 2020 in the same end-of-life situation, who contracted
Covid-19 in the last days of their life, was counted in the Covid-19 mortality
statistics. Very many of those who died with Covid-19 died with one or more
comorbidities that were in process of taking their lives within a relatively
short time frame.
Early in the pandemic, when
testing was not being widely carried out, the criteria for recording Covid-19
on a death certificate included any suspicion that Covid-19 was present. Later
a positive test (see next section), within 28 days of the date of death,
irrespective of the final cause of death, was sufficient to include the
deceased in the Covid-19 statistics. Consequently, the numbers constantly
quoted in the media as having died from Covid-19
are misleading and inflated.
[Page 8]
(3) The PCR test used to diagnose the great majority of cases of Covid-19 has greatly exaggerated the
levels of meaningful infection and the danger posed to the general population.
The PCR method multiplies very
small quantities of genetic material so as to create enough of it to enable
experimentation to be carried out. It multiplies the material in cycles,
doubling the quantity of material on each cycle. It is thus capable of
producing a vast quantity of copies from a single fragment.
The PCR test for Covid-19 looks
for a small number of short genetic sequences thought to be specific to
Covid-19. The process cannot tell whether the genetic fragments found are newly
acquired, or left over from an old infection; whether they are part of a live
virus, or are inert; whether they are present in sufficient quantity to cause
illness; or whether are capable of infecting others.
Any test for any condition will
produce a certain percentage of false positives. Normally the false positive
rate for a new test is determined and published, and is taken into account in
subsequent scientific procedures and analyses. The false positive rate for the
PCR test for Covid-19 is either unknown or has not been made public. Figures
between 1% and 8% have been suggested. Even a very low false positive rate for
a test, such as 1%, will produce large numbers of false positive test results
in situations where the prevalence of the disease is actually low but very
large numbers of people are tested. So, for example, in a population where the
virus is completely absent, if a test with a false positive rate of 1% is used
to test 1,000,000 people, then there will be 10,000 positive test results, and
all of them will be false.
The mass testing of people in
Liverpool from 6-18th November with the Lateral Flow test, which
does not use the PCR method, found only a fraction (one fifth) of the level of
positive test results compared with the PCR testing also carried out in
The public policy decisions
based on numbers of cases and the R number, are therefore based on
completely unreliable assumptions and data,
5 and it
is highly likely that the number of real infections (that is, those that pose
any danger to the host or to other
people) is a fraction of those that are quoted. 6
[Page 9]
See Appendix 3: PCR Testing for
more evidence of serious flaws in the PCR testing methodology.
(4) The widespread assumption that
Covid-19 is readily spread asymptomatically is not supported by scientific
studies.
The notion that people can
easily spread Covid-19 long before they suffer symptoms, and whether or not
they ever suffer symptoms, has been a major plank in the justification for
lockdown restrictions, social distancing, mask-wearing, testing, isolation, etc.
It is a principle that lies at the heart of the entire [present-day Governments] strategy to date.
Respected scientists who are
specialists in the field say that, if asymptomatic infection happens at all, it
is rare. Studies have shown that asymptomatic
transmission cannot be considered a significant cause of transmission of the
disease. 8
The assumption of asymptomatic
transmission means, however, that we have been brought to fear that a perfectly
healthy person may infect us by their breath, or that we may acquire an
infection and pass it on to vulnerable people without knowing. And so healthy
people are made to fear all social contact. This concept is socially very
damaging, and is likely to have long-term psychological effects, especially on
the young.
From personal experience a few
years ago we can testify that people whose immune systems were severely
compromised by chemotherapy were advised to lead as normal lives as possible,
and only to avoid contact with infectious persons (that is, demonstrably
symptomatic persons).
Yet now, everyone is being
persuaded to think they may be a mortal risk to others, and all others to them.
We have never before conducted our lives on such an assumption.
From time to time we hear
reports alleging that many people have been infected as a result of being in
the vicinity of an individual who was infected but asymptomatic at the time. We
are willing to be better informed, but we find ourselves asking the following
questions about such situations.
[1] How many of the people infected became ill?
[Page 10]
[2] How many of them were deemed infected as a
result of a positive PCR test that might have detected virus fragments from an
old infection? 9
[3] How has it been determined that the asymptomatic
individual was the individual with the prior infection who infected all the
others?
[4] How has it been determined that those
deemed infected were infected at the time of being in the vicinity of the
asymptomatic person, and not as a result of undeclared contacts of a more
significant kind with that individual (or others) around the same time, perhaps
through family or personal relationships?
[5] How has it been determined that being at
the particular venue was the exclusive means of acquiring virus particles that
showed up in positive PCR tests, and that they were not acquired at any other
place over the previous weeks and months?
So far as we are aware the
situations so presented to us have not been subjected to any scientifically rigorous
investigation, and so a number of the questions above have never been resolved.
(5) The reasons given by government
to reinforce the need for and compliance with lockdowns changed through the
course of 2020.
[1] Early in 2020, the apparently high death
rate associated with Covid-19 was being published and used to encourage people
to comply with severe restrictions and accept dire economic consequences. At
this time, only those admitted to hospital with respiratory symptoms and too
ill to be at home were tested, and so thousands of cases were never the subject
of testing, and the infection mortality rate appeared to be high.
[2] Later in 2020 the high rate of positive
test results was used to justify restrictions and encourage conformity, even though
these cases; include many people that
experienced mild symptoms or no symptoms at all; whereas the death rate was
within the normal range for the time of year.
[Page 11]
[3] This observation is connected with the previous
one. The return to near normal levels of mortality subsequent to the Spring of
2020 makes sense if the number of cases is greatly exaggerated by mass PCR
testing.
[4] Early in 2020, only those very seriously
ill with Covid-19 were hospitalised. Later in 2020, the criteria for
hospitalisation changed, and many more people were hospitalised with Covid-19
symptoms.
[5] Early in 2020 hospitalisations for
conditions other than Covid-19 were reduced to a small fraction of normal, but
later in the year other conditions were more regularly hospitalised, and many
Covid-19 infections were acquired in hospital.
[6] This higher level of hospitalisation and
hospital-acquired infection in the Winter of 2020/21 is being used to suggest
there is a large second wave when in fact the
underlying realities may not be exceptional for the time of year. PCR testing
in hospitals contributes to the statistical exaggeration of Covid-19 deaths
(see section (2) above) because it
results in normal seasonal deaths being attributed to Covid-19.
Of course, many people are very
ill with Covid-19, and some are dying. But many of them are people who would
have been made very ill with colds or flus on account
of vulnerabilities that make them susceptible.
(6) It is widely acknowledged that
the measures introduced to combat Covid-19 and to protect the health service
have drastically reduced the health services response to serious health
conditions such as heart attacks, strokes and cancer diagnoses, and that this
is very likely already to have caused, and yet to be the cause of many
premature deaths. 10
Despite this, there has not been
any meaningful debate about the current strategy, which has continued
regardless. It is inexplicable that extreme measures are being taken, supposedly
to save lives that might otherwise be lost to Covid-19, while no account is
taken of the potentially much greater number of (mainly younger) lives likely
to be lost over the longer term to other diseases as a result of these
measures. [Page 12] The
governments vaunted desire to save lives and
protect the National Health Service (NHS) can be seen to be hollow, for its measures
will surely cost many more lives than it will save, and the NHSs
ability to care for many that are morbidly ill has been greatly reduced.
Meanwhile, perversely, the Covid-19 crisis has been used as a pretext to
promote and facilitate the deliberate taking of human life, by legislating to
allow self-induced home abortions.
(7) The
Measures taken to combat Covid-19 are unreasonable and out of all proportion to
the real threat.
There is no clear evidence that
lives have been saved from Covid-19 by the measures that have been taken, but
the measures taken are widely acknowledged to have caused, or will yet cause,
thousands of deaths from untreated morbidities, addictions, and suicides.
Loneliness and isolation have been caused on a widespread basis, especially
among the vulnerable. Life opportunities have been denied that can never be recovered.
The confidence and mental health of many have been affected, including the
young. Livelihoods have been taken away in enormous numbers. Economic ruin has
been inflicted on the nation. 11
There are infectious diseases in
this world taking away many more lives than Covid-19 (such as tuberculosis and
malaria), and for them, no such costly measures are being taken. 12 By any
standard, the measures cannot be justified.
13
(8) The
very damaging measures taken to combat Covid-19 have not been demonstrated to
be effective, yet they continue to be applied.
We are not aware of any analysis
of evidence anywhere in the world that shows that national lockdowns, or
measures such as enforcing social distancing or mask wearing, has any
appreciable impact on the spread of the virus, or the death tolls that result.
On the contrary, there is much evidence that countries that have not imposed
severe lockdowns or enforced mask-wearing, such as Sweden, Belarus and Japan,
have not experienced significantly worse outcomes. To the best of our
knowledge, no-one has established any correlation between the severity of
lockdowns (or the timing of their introduction), and the course of the pandemic
or its mortality. On the [Page 13]
contrary, it has been demonstrated that there is no such correlation when the
course of the disease is considered across many countries with very different
strategies. 14
(9) Some hospitals have been reported to be overwhelmed by Covid-19 admissions.
Yet it has been clear that they were not being overwhelmed by the disease
itself, but by the reduction in the capacity of the health service brought
about by recent government policies and the measures brought in to combat the
disease.
Bed numbers have been reduced
steadily in recent years, 15 and acute facilities have been
closed. 16 Significant numbers of staff are unavailable for work because
they are isolating at home under the regulations, many of them experiencing no
symptoms and fully fit to work. Procedures introduced to protect staff and the
general public within the health services have greatly reduced the capacity and
efficiency of the system. 17
(10) The strategy has become a self-fulfilling prophecy and a self-perpetuating
crisis.
As things stand, there will
always be a reason to continue severe social restrictions.
[1] The health service will be overwhelmed for
as long as it is required to follow contact tracing and isolation rules, which
means healthy staff are unavailable for work.
[2] The health service will be
overwhelmed for as long as it is required to isolate patients in hospital who
have tested positive for Covid-19, but are otherwise fit to return home.
[3] Cases, will be found in large numbers for as long as the PCR
test is in use.
[4] Outbreaks, will take place for
as long as mass testing of healthy people is used as the measure of the
prevalence of the disease.
[5] The R
number will be above 1 for as long as positive test results with high numbers
of PCR cycles are counted as cases.
[Page 14]
[6] Anyone who gets a common cold or a flu, and
has a PCR test that produces a false positive, will become evidence of an
outbreak or the spreading of the virus.
[7] Anyone who had a Covid-19 infection some
months earlier, and has a PCR test that picks up inert fragments of the virus
will become evidence of an outbreak or the spreading of the virus.
[8] On the basis of some of these
factors, and according to warnings from official sources, we will never be sure
that vaccines will be effective for more than a short time.
[9] There will always be another
strain of the virus that we are told must be defeated, and for which a new
vaccine will need to be developed.
(11) Government policy and the public
narrative about Covid-19 proceed as if we do not possess capable immune systems
which have multiple lines of defence and miraculously sophisticated mechanisms to
combat disease; and meanwhile false assumptions about the operation of our
immune systems are propagated.
The need for our immune systems
continually to be exposed to threats, especially early in life, so that they
become proficient in fighting disease, and maintain that capacity, is
neglected.
The ability of our systems to
recognise, remember for decades, and fight off threats similar to others once
encountered is overlooked.
The likelihood (held by
respected experts in the field) that a significant proportion of the population
were immune to Covid-19 on the basis of immunity to other coronaviruses before
Covid-19 ever reached the population, has been suppressed. 18
The likelihood that many people
easily fought off infection and became immune very early in the pandemic is
treated similarly. The fact that our immune systems remember and maintain the
ability to combat disease, whether or not antibodies to the disease persist in
our bodies, has been obscured.
[Page 15]
(12) Government policy and the public
narrative about Covid-19 proceed as though the fields of epidemiology, virology
and immunology had never acquired understanding of how viruses generally
behave.
[1] The fact that naturally acquired immunity
is superior to vaccine-stimulated immunity 19 was at
first repressed and later explicitly denied. 20
[2] The probability that immunity from one
coronavirus gives some people protection against others is ignored. 21
[3] The well-established principle of herd immunity
as a necessary basis for whole-population protection has been denied without
justification, and scorned as if it were a wicked idea. 22
[4] Public policy and
pronouncements have been made in the face of the established principle that
virus epidemics follow a classical pattern, weaken, and do not exhibit second
or third waves in the same populations, but instead become endemic, leading to
seasonal resurgences. 23
[5] The fact that viruses generally
become weaker, not stronger, as they mutate and become endemic, so that
mutations are not generally a cause for alarm, is misrepresented and denied.
[6] Public policy proceeds,
contrary to all scientific indications, as if lock-down strategies are effective.
(13) Vaccines that are presented as
the saviour that will eventually allow
normality to return (in six months time or a years time, or
perhaps two years time), have been rushed into service in a fraction
of the usual time.
None of them is licensed for
use, 24 and they are being deployed under emergency regulations. The
companies that produce them were funded to produce them, or were given
guaranteed contracts, before the vaccines were even developed. The same
companies are identified by governments against any ill-effects their vaccines
may produce. They will also make billions of dollars from them. Meanwhile, the
UK Government has limited damages for serious side-effects of vaccines to a
maximum of $120,000 per individual, to be borne by the [Page 16] government and not the
pharmaceutical industry. Given the propensity of pharmaceutical companies to
suppress evidence of serious side-effects, and the billions of dollars that
have been paid out by them over the years in damages, these facts do not
inspire confidence.
In addition to this, two of the
three main vaccine contenders utilise mRNA technology, which carries mRNA into
the bodys immune cells and uses the cells DNA to create proteins for the
coronavirus spike, which in turn prompts the immune system to create antibodies
for the spike proteins. mRNA vaccines have never before been approved for use
in humans. Women who are pregnant, or hope to become pregnant soon, are advised
not to be vaccinated, as there are concerns about the vaccines inhibiting
formation of a placenta.
Several of the Covid-19 vaccines
are produced on foetal cell line cultures derived from two aborted babies, one
in 1972 (HEK-293, a kidney cell line), and one in 1985 (PER.C6, a retinal cell
line), and those that are not manufactured in this way have been developed or
tested using foetal cell lines. 25
There are reports that the
efficacy of the vaccines has in some cases been established with low threshold
criteria (e.g. reduction in severity of symptoms, rather than prevention of
infection, and any symptom consistent with Covid-19
rather than Covid-19 specifically 26). It has also been suggested
that efficacy has been established using inferior methodologies (comparison
with other vaccines rather than a placebo 27). The
efficacy percentages publicised have also been questioned, especially where the
data that would confirm efficacy has not been published. 28
Concerns have arisen in early 2021 in
See Appendix 5: Some Details about Vaccines for more information.
(14) The wearing of non-surgical
masks by the general population has not been established to have any
significant effect on the spread of Covid-19, and there is much evidence from
studies, and much testimony from medical experts, that confirms this.
In the Spring of 2020 the
government discouraged the use of masks precisely on the grounds that they were
not effective and had not [Page 17] been
shown to be beneficial. Yet by the summer, when the spring crisis was past, the
wearing of masks was mandated by law in many situations, with severe penalties
for breaches, without any scientific evidence being advanced to support the
change.
A recent study In Denmark failed
to find any statistically significant relationship between mask-wearing by the
general public and the risk of acquiring Covid-19. 30
See Appendix 6: Effectiveness of Masks for more information.
(15) The
news has become propaganda.
Most mainstream media outlets
carry and promote only the narrative provided by government. They present no
challenge to it, and they suppress or caricature contrary views.
The subjects raised in this
document, though shared by many eminent scientists and commentators, are absent
from most mainstream media outlets. The BBC
and most other news services mention them only as theories to be dismissed or
fact checked.
Statistics that cry out for
explanation and challenge, such as the PCR/Lateral Flow anomaly in
The news thus resembles
government propaganda, and the public are denied access to serious debate from
alternative positions.
(16) Essential freedoms,
including freedom of speech, are being systematically removed.
By means of the crisis, core
freedoms, such as are necessary to care adequately for family members and
support vulnerable people, have been removed. Many people have been isolated to
an intolerable degree, including many elderly people that the measures are
supposed to be designed to protect. Those in care homes have been subjected to
cruel separations from their family members, and have contact only through
inhuman barriers. The dying have had to face death alone, and the bereaved have
had to suffer without the comfort of community fellowship and care.
[Page 18]
Facebook, Youtube,
Twitter and Google systematically flag, remove or demote content deemed to
contain false information, and they are under pressure from governments to do
this more and more. They are doing it regularly with material that comes from
authoritative sources, and is demonstrably not false, but simply challenges the
governments narrative.
See Appendix 7: Removal of
Freedom of Speech and Suppression of Public Debate for some examples.
Doctors who have developed
effective treatments for Covid-19 using readily available drugs combined with
nutritional supplements have had their attempts to publicise their findings
censored by government health agencies and by the media. 31
During the crisis, legislation
has been introduced that effectively makes it illegal to engage in public
protest against the measures. This is done on the grounds of health protection,
but it has the effect nonetheless of making any protest against government
policy illegal.
Also during the crisis,
legislation has been proposed that gives license to a wide range of public
bodies to break the law with impunity. 32
* *
*
[Page 19]
CONCLUSION
The effects of the current
policies pursued by the U K government, and many other governments around the
world, have had a profound impact on individuals, families, businesses,
livelihoods, education, health, mental health, and national economies. What has been experienced to date may only be the first fruits; the
full implications may yet be very much more serious.
All this suffering has been
inflicted in order, it is said, to save lives that would otherwise be lost to a
disease with a mortality rate not much above a severe influenza. Another
principle reason given is to save the
National Health Service from being overwhelmed. Yet the capacity and
effectiveness of the NHS has been deeply compromised by the policies and
measures imposed upon it to protect its staff and patients ... from a disease
with a mortality rate not much above a severe influenza.
National and regional lockdowns
have been imposed, travel severely limited, people isolated to an extraordinary
degree, natural freedoms removed, and life opportunities taken away that can
never be recovered. All this has been done on the assumption that such measures
can prevent the spread of a disease that shows every indication of having
spread in early 2020 in a textbook fashion despite the draconian measures
taken.
The assumption of asymptomatic
transmission, and the imposition of mass testing (producing in all likelihood a
high percentage of false positive test results), combine to reinforce the
narrative that the spread of Covid-19 is out of control, and that even more
severe lockdowns are required to halt it. But if the PCR test is greatly
exaggerating the level of infection, and asymptomatic transmission is as rare
as many experts believe, then there is in fact little danger to the majority of
the population, and all the suffering and loss that has been endured has been
futile, even counterproductive.
Meanwhile, fear is propagated on
a daily basis, and people are conditioned to believe a lie. Freedoms that have
defined our civilisation for generations have been eroded, enormous power has
been concentrated in the hands of a very [Page 20] few, the media have become servile to the ruling class, and
freedom of speech and debate have been gravely undermined. As the majority
suffers, vested interests are making enormous sums of money on personal
protective equipment, testing, vaccinations, all the while immune from the
consequences if anything serious should go amiss.
If the foregoing analysis should
prove to be true, we suggest that it is better to be aware of it than to remain
ignorant of it.
* *
*
[Page 21]
WHAT COULD THE MOTIVE BE?
It is difficult
to comprehend what could be motivating world governments to follow a path so
irrational and destructive.
Perhaps
it is ignorance and incompetence. Perhaps initial fear caused precipitate
reactions that have been carried forward by their own momentum, a kind of mass
hysteria, in which everyone is acting in good faith, but are nonetheless
terribly wrong. Perhaps politicians have taken a course that cannot be reversed
without admitting to serious errors, and so the present policies must be
perpetuated until plausible grounds can be found to escape from them.
Perhaps
some people with global influence have been waiting for an opportunity to
pursue certain agendas and it is convenient for the present conditions to
continue until their goals are fulfilled. This may sound like a conspiracy
theory, but it is more than a theory. The World Economic Forum (led by Klaus
Schwab, vocally supported by many world leaders and influences) explicitly
advocates using the [so called] pandemic to restructure global societies in fundamental ways
to address inequality and climate change. They have called the change they
envisage, The Great Reset. 33
Perhaps
Perhaps
it was recognised that international finance was on the brink of a catastrophic
collapse, and the emergence of a global pandemic was deemed a suitable
opportunity to effect a controlled demolition and secure a financial and
economic Reset. 34
We are
not in a position to know to what extent there is an agenda that is consciously
planned and perpetuated by individuals, agencies or nations, and [Page 22] to what extent it is carried on
as a result of ignorance and incompetence. Nor can we tell to what extent human
agencies are party to a conspiracy, and to what extent they are themselves but
pawns of principalities and powers and
spiritual wickedness in high places (Ephesians
6: 12).
Whatever
the reasons, something, we believe, is seriously [evil and] amiss. It seems
increasingly evident that a major shift has taken place in world affairs, in
which hitherto free and democratic nations have rapidly become totalitarian and
oppressive. A recovery does not seem likely in the foreseeable
future. On the contrary, the trend towards ever tighter controls is gathering
momentum.
* *
*
[Page 23]
HOW COULD SUCH A MASS DECEPTION
HAVE BEEN CARRIED OFF SUCCESSFULLY?
It is likewise
difficult to comprehend how it is possible for so many nations of the earth to
have deceived and misled their peoples do effectively, but it seems plausible
that some of the factors have been:
[1] Creating, propagating and
maintaining fear. 36
[2] Claiming that the narrative and
decisions are based on science, while ignoring the testimony and experience of
many eminent scientists.
[3] Ensuring comprehensive media
support for the official narrative.
See
COVID-19: The Great Reset by Klaus Schwab, Forum Publishing, July 2020,
available in Suppression of dissent and protest.
[4] Purchasing influence. 37
* *
*
[Page 24]
SOME RELEVANT BIBLICAL PRINCIPLES
We are
not without biblical guidance as to how to view these issues.
[1] Natural and national calamities
may be judgments on a wicked nation or an unfaithful [and apostate] church (Deuteronomy 28).
[2] Credulity and being deceived is
also a form of [divine] judgment (2 Thessalonians 2:
10-11)
and even (if it were possible) [eventhe elect, and]* the righteous may become prey to it (Matthew
24: 24). 38
[* See also Matthew 6:
23, 24,
R.V.]
[3] It is not unreasonable to
imagine that the nations of the world could be deceived (Revelation 20: 3,
8, John 8:
44).
[4] It is a characteristic of rulers that they will conspire to
cast off divine restraint (Psalm 2: 2, 3).
[5] Gods judgments may lead men to think and do what is
unnatural and unreasonable, and to be without
understanding (Romans 1: 18-32).
[6] The Bible suggests that the way
to deal with serious infections is by quarantining those that are sick, and not
by quarantining the healthy (Leviticus chapters 13
& 14). Separation from the healthy is
commanded only on the basis of ceremonial uncleanness, or moral delinquency.
[7] Apart from people who have
symptoms of plague (Leviticus 13: 45), and angels in the presence of God (Isaiah 6: 2),
there are principles that are counter-indicative to face-covering (Numbers 14: 14,
1 Kings 19: 13,
Psalm 102: 2,
Song of Solomon 2:
14, Proverbs 27:
17, 19, 2 Corinthians 3: 18).
Also, men should not pray or prophesy with their head covered (1 Corinthians 11: 1-16); how incongruous then for men, especially in religious
contexts, to cover their mouth, by which they express their [Page 25] natural authority (1 Timothy 2: 12,
1 Corinthians 14: 29,
34), and by which they preach the truth (Acts 20: 18-27, Micah 3: 5-7)?
[8] There is a Biblical balance to be sought between (a) doing
all that is reasonable to protect and preserve life (Exodus
20: 13). (b) not clinging to life to
an unwholesome degree (Philippians 1: 21), (c) submitting to divine providence in the
timing and manner of our death (Ecclesiastes 3:
2), and (d) obeying the many commands and
exhortations in Scripture not to fear (Genesis 15:
1, Psalm 91,
Luke 12: 7,
etc.).
[9] God is in control in all the affairs of mankind, and nothing
that is imagined against Him can prosper (Isaiah 54:
17).
Thus we summarise
our thinking hitherto. In the appendices we give some further indication of the
basis on which we arrived at these conclusions.
* *
*
[Page 26]
APPENDICES
[Page 27]
APPENDIX 1
SOME SUPPORTING AUTHORITIES
People of
Impeccable Scientific Credentials who Share Similar Conclusions.
The views of the following
sample of experts are easily obtainable by searching on line.
[1] Dr Sucharit Bhakdi
is retired professor at the
[2] Dr Jay Bhattacharya, MD, teaches at Stanford University School of
Medicine, California. He is a research associate at the National Bureau of
Economics Research, and directs Stanfords Centre for Demography and Economics
of Health and Aging.
[3] Dr Clare Craig, FRCPath, is a consultant
pathologist who has worked for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
[4] Dr Sunetra Gupta,
[5] Professor Carl Heneghan is Professor of
Evidence-Based Medicine at the Department of Primary Care Health Sciences at
the
[6] Dr Roger Hodkinson is CEO of Western
Medical Assessments, where he has been the Companys Medical Director for over
20 years. He [Page 28] became
a
[7] Dr John
Loannidis is professor in the departments
of Medicine, of Epidemiology and Population Health, of Biomedical Data Science,
and of Statistics, and
[8] Dr
Martin Kulldorff is a Professor of Medicine at
[9] Dr John
Lee is a former professor of pathology and an NHS consultant
pathologist.
[10] Dr
Michael Levitt is professor of structural biology
at
[11] Professor
David Livermore is Professor of Medical Microbiology,
[12] Kevin
McKernan, B.S. has expertise in DNA, cloning and
genome sequencing. He managed the R&D for the Human Genome Project at Whitehead Institute/MIT. In 2000, Kevin co-founded Agencourt Biosciences Corporation and acted as the Chief
Scientific Officer (CSO). Kevin was the President and CSO of Agencourt Personal Genomics, which co-founded in 2005 to
invent revolutionary sequencing technologies that dropped the cost of
sequencing a human genome from $300 million to $3,000. Kevin was the CSO of Courtagen Life Sciences, and was Vice-President and
Director of R&D of Life Technologies. Kevin is presently the founder and
CSO of Medicinal Genomics.
[Page 29]
[13] Professor
Karol Sikora is Dean of Medicine at the
[14] Professor
Beda M Stadier is the
former Director of the institute for Immunology at the
[15] Dr Mike Yeadon has a degree in
biochemistry and toxicology and a research-based PhD in respiratory
pharmacology. He spent over 30 years leading new medicines research in some of
the worlds largest pharmaceutical companies, leaving Pfizer in 2011 as Vice
President & Chief Scientist for Allergy & Respiratory, the most senior
research position in this field in Pfizer. Since leaving Pfizer, Dr Yeadon has founded his own biotech company, Ziarco, which was sold to the worlds biggest drug company,
Novartis, in 2017.
Other Sources of Credible Opinion
[1] The
Great
[2] Open
letter from medical doctors and health professionals to all Belgian
authorities and all Belgian media, signed by hundreds of doctors and health
professionals. https://docs4opendebate.be/en/open-letter/
[3] Swiss
Policy Research, which has tracked the progress of Covid-19 and is updated
monthly with the latest world-wide
research and expert comment. https://swprs.org/facts-about-covid-19
[Page 30]
[4] PANDA
(Pandemics & Data and Analytics)
is a collective of leading scientists, actuaries, economists, data scientists,
statisticians, medical professionals, lawyers, engineers and businesspeople
working as a collective to replace bad science with good science. https://www.pandata.org/
[5]
Collateral Global is an organisation created to publish research on the detrimental
effects of lockdown. It is advised by four of the scientists listed in the
previous section. https://collateralglobal.org/
[6] The
American Institute for Economic Research (AIER), founded in 1933, describes itself as one of the oldest and most respected non-partisan economic
research and advocacy organizations in the
[7] Frontline
COVID-19 Critical Care
[8]
[9] The
Spectator has carried a minority of articles questioning the official
narrative. Several talk RADIO
presenters have interviewed some of the above-named scientists.
Anecdotal Sources
Personal testimony by
eye-witnesses has contributed to our thinking.
People we have spoken to
directly:
[1] General Practitioners
[2] Junior Doctor
[3] Covid
Nurse
[4] Care home manager
[5] Funeral officiant
[Page 31]
People whose testimony has been directly reported to us:
[1] Consultant heart specialist
[2] Statistician working for
government
[3] NHS administrator responsible for
allocating beds in a hospital
[4] Ward sister in charge of a Covid ward in hospital
[5] Nurses
[6] Care home nurses
The testimony of these people is as follows:
[1] The presentation of data by government
does not faithfully convey what the underlying data would indicate.
[2] Media reports consist of misleading
propaganda rather than a true reflection of the reality in hospitals.
[3] Early in the pandemic, deaths were
regularly written down as Covid-related without any
supporting evidence, even some following a negative test result.
[4] Of twelve Covid funerals taken by an officiant in 2020, all the deceased were already in an
end-of-life situation.
[5] Hospitals said to be overwhelmed were and
are under-utilised in many of their departments.
[6] Staff shortages resulting from Covid-19
isolation requirements is the main reason for hospitals being overwhelmed.
[7] There have often been low numbers of
patients in Covid-19 wards.
[8] One Intensive Care Unit had quite a number
of Covid-19 occupants but every one of them was morbidly
obese. 39
[9] It is not possible to provide proper care
for patients while operating under Covid-19 procedures and so standards of care
have deteriorated badly.
[10] Many people are currently under hospital
care whose cancer has become more advanced than otherwise would have been the
case on account of lockdown policies, and some of them will die prematurely as
a result.
[Page 32]
[11] Hospital beds are occupied by people who
are well but have tested positive for Covid-19 and must be kept in hospital
until their quarantine period expires.
[12] In one
hospital, record numbers of children have been hospitalised because of mental
health issues related to Covid-19.
[13] Psychological pressure has been used to
persuade care home staff of the safety and effectiveness of Covid-19 vaccines
and their responsibility to take them.
[14] There is
pressure on medical staff to take vaccines despite serious concerns some of them
have about the risks vaccines may pose, especially to the fertility of young
women.
* *
*
[Page 33]
APPENDIX 2
SOME ANALYSIS OF
MORTALITY TRENDS
The following statistics were derived
(January 2021) from monthly mortality data provided by the Office of National
Statistics (England and Wales) and its equivalents in Scotland (NRS) and
Northern Ireland (NISRA), to show that while 2020 was an exceptional year for
mortality when compared with very recent years, it is not quite so exceptional
when considered in a broader context.
Total Deaths
In the month of April 2020 the
total number of
Death Rates per 100,000 Population
In
[Page 34]
In
The death rate in the U K fell
steeply from 1978. It fell continuously from 1192 per 100,000 in 1978 to 904
per 100,000 in 2013. Since then it has been rising continuously each year,
reaching 940 per 100,000 in 2019. It thus transpires that the total deaths per
100,000 of population in
Projected Death Rates
Prior to the 2020 pandemic the
United Nations projected the death rate in the
It thus transpires that U K
death rate was projected to be higher than the 2020 rate (1038) for every year
from 2043 for the rest of the century.
The following graph [not shown] (United
Nations - World Population Prospects) does not include data for 2020 and so
does not take account of the impact of Covid-19. 41
A number of factors further
moderate the implications of the above data:
[1] The rising population means that absolute mortality totals
imply higher death rates than are really taking place. Deaths per 100,000 provide
a clearer picture.
[2] It may be that there were a
number of aged and vulnerable people whose lives had been extended in the years
prior to 2020 who were likely to be carried away by any serious respiratory
infection in 2020.
[3] The effects of lockdowns in making people afraid to report
health concerns and in curtailing medical services for diagnosis and treatment
means it is likely a proportion of excess deaths in 2020.
(See also Appendix 4: Media
Misrepresentation below.)
* *
*
[Page 36]
APPENDIX 3
PCR TESTING
The PCR method was invented by Kary Mullis, who won a Nobel Prize for it. It is a method
that multiplies very small quantities of genetic material so as to create
enough of it for viable experimentation to be carried out. Kary
Mullis said, PCR is just a process that allows you to
make a whole lot of something out of something. It doesnt tell you that you
are sick, or that the thing that you ended up with was going to hurt you or
anything like that. He also said, with PCR,
if you do it well, you can find almost anything in anybody.
On 11th November 2020
a Portugese Appeals Court ruled that a single
positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection, and
therefore that enforced quarantine based on the PCR test is
unlawful. The ruling concluded on the basis of scientific evidence
that any PCR test using more than 25 cycles is unreliable. It is reported that
PCR tests for Covid-19 often employ 30-45 cycles. 38 cycles would mean that a
single virus fragment would be multiplied to produce 275,000,000,000 copies,
which is of the order of the number of stars estimated to be in the Milky Way
galaxy!
A mass testing exercise for
Covid-19 was carried out in
An external peer review of the
PCR test published in November 2020 highlighted ten major molecular and
methodological flaws in the test and described the implications for false positive tests. 43 In
* *
*
[Page 37]
APPENDIX 4
MEDIA MISREPRESENTATION
The following is an example of
prejudicial reporting that occurs virtually on a daily basis.
Associated Press News is an
American news outlet recommended as an impartial service comparable with the
BBC in the
This is
the deadliest year in
The following facts drawn from
macrotrends.net (see graph below [not
shown]) and data.cdc.gov shed a rather
different light on a number of statements in the Associated Press article:
[1] The death rate in the
[2] The death rate in the
[3] Had the death total of 3. 2 million
suggested in the Associated Press Article proved correct, then, based on a
population of 331m, the death rate for 2020 would be about 967 per 100,000, the
same death rate that pertained in the USA prior to 1950, and the death rate
that, prior to the pandemic, was projected by the UN to be reached by 2035 and
to rise every year thereafter until 2054. Indeed the death rate was not
projected to fall below 1025 per 100,000 for the rest of the century.
[3] Had the writer made the conservative
assumption that the death rate in the remainder of 2020 might be equivalent to
that in the same months of 2019, he might have arrived at a total death rate
for 2020 of around 3.038 million, or 918 per 100,000 (based on a population of
331m), a rate that pertained to every year prior to 1975 and was (prior to the
pandemic) projected by the UN to be exceeded every year after 2023 for the rest
of the century.
[4] In the event, it is now apparent that the
death toll for the twelve months to 5th December 2020 was 3.124m,
which, based on a population of 331m, means a mortality rate around 944 per
100,000, a rate that pertained in the USA prior to 1972, and is projected by
the UN to be exceeded every year after 2028 for the rest of the century.
The following graph [not shown] (United
Nations - World Population Prospects) does not include data for 2020 and so
does not take account of the impact of Covid-19. 44
[Page 39]
The BBC seems to have taken a lead
from Associated Press when in January 2021 it published a piece with a similar
emotive headline: Covid: 2020 saw most excess deaths since World War Two. 45 The
article stated, however, that the death rate in the
* *
*
[Page 40]
APPENDIX 5
SOME DETAILS ABOUT VACCINES
Pfizer utilises mRNA technology
which injects mRNA into cells and uses the cells DNA to create proteins for
the coronavirus spike that prompts the immune system to create antibodies for
the spike proteins. It does not require the use of any foetal cell cultures in
order to manufacture the vaccine, although early in development, foetal cells
were used for proof of concept.
Johnson & Johnson utilises viral vector immunisation using an
inactive cold virus with coronavirus spike proteins that prompts the immune
system to create antibodies for the spike proteins. The manufacture of this
vaccine uses foetal cell cultures.
Moderna
utilises mRNA technology which injects mRNA into cells and uses the cells DNA
to create proteins for the coronavirus spike that prompts the immune system to
create antibodies for the spike proteins. It does not require the use of any
foetal cell cultures in order to manufacture the vaccine, although early in
development, foetal cells were used for proof of
concept.
AstraZeneca
utilises viral vector immunisation using an inactive cold virus from a
Chimpanzee. The manufacture of this vaccine uses foetal cell cultures.
Novavax utilises
viral vector immunisation. A manufactured version of the viruss spike proteins
is reproduced in insect cells, then purified and injected into the human body,
prompting antibody production. Lab tests of this vaccine used foetal cell
cultures.
Merck utilises a modified measles virus as a Trojan horse to
smuggle a tiny bit of the coronavirus into the body so that antibodies can be
developed against it. 46
* *
*
[Page 41]
APPENDIX 6
EFFECTIVENESS OF MASKS
The comprehensive community study
carried out in
Surgeons who use surgical masks
in theatre say that even surgical-standard mask-wearing is not done primarily
to protect patients from the spread of viruses. The way to stop patients
acquiring viruses is for surgeons who are sick not to operate.
Dr Roger W. Koops
(American Institute for Economic Research), who worked in the Pharmaceutical
and Biotechnology industry for over 25 years writes: I
understand the psychological crutch that people feel with something covering
their mouth/nose. I am sorry, but that is a false sense of security. Perception
is NOT reality ... The mind says that you have some solid thing covering your
mouth and nose but that is not really the case, it is porous; things get
through (or go around) ... I will say that
there has been only ONE type of
mask, the SURGICAL mask, which has
shown any ability to reduce, not eliminate, virus transmission because it is
actually rated to a 100 nanometer pore size AND it is rated for ingress and egress.
But, the SURGICAL mask is not
intended for use outside of a controlled, sterile hospital surgical field where
its use and function can be controlled. 47
* *
*
[Page 42]
APPENDIX 7
REMOVAL OF FREEDOM OF SPEECH &
SUPPRESSION OF PUBLIC DEBATE
Dr Michael Levitt had a video
removed from YouTube in early Summer 2020 in which he detailed his projections
of the infection Fatality Rate based on observations of the
Dr Sucharit Bhakdi had an
interview, in which he challenged the public narrative about Covid-19 (posted
11th November 2020), removed by YouTube for violating YouTubes Terms of Service.
Professor Carl Heneghan,
Professor of Evidence-Based Medicine at the Department of Primary Care Health
Sciences at the University of Oxford (see above), posted on Facebook a link to
an article he co-wrote in The Spectator on 19th November 2020 which
commented on the Danish study carried out on the effectiveness of mask-wearing
by the general public in limiting the spread of Covid-19. It was flagged by
Facebook as False Information, Checked by independent
fact-checkers.
Dr Mike Yeadon had a video taken down
from YouTube within hours of publication on 18/19th November 2020 in
which he outlined his views against Pillar2
PCR testing.
On 11th July 2020,
the Daily Telegraph published an Opinion
piece by Toby Young in which he
presented opinions regarding natural immunity and herd immunity that ran
counter to the official narrative about Covid-19. A complaint was made to the Independent Press Standards Association which ruled (23rd
December 2020) that the Daily Telegraph had failed to
take care not to publish inaccurate and misleading information, and
required the newspaper [Page 43] to
publish a correction. Prior to this complaint and ruling the Daily Telegraph
had published a minority of articles questioning the official narrative, but
there has been an absence of such articles since.
TalkRADIO (owned
by Rupert Murdoch) had their live
broadcast service terminated by YouTube on
the 5th January 2021, for violating YouTubes community guidelines. Nineteen hours
later it was reinstated, with YouTube commenting, We
quickly remove flagged content that violate our Community Guidelines, including
COVID-19 content that explicitly contradict expert consensus from local health
authorities or the World Health Organisation. Recordings of the
offending interviews posted on YouTube have not been reinstated.
* * *
[Page 44]
END-NOTES
1 This
figure was derived by Dr John P A Loannidis,
2 Excess
deaths from causes other than Covid-19 may be due to a number of factors. It is
widely recognised that early in the pandemic, fear of Covid-19 prevented many
people from seeking medical help. Medical services that might have provided
early diagnosis and treatment of serious health conditions were severely
curtailed.
3 A
British Medical Journal article states, The only test
for live virus is viral culture. PCR
and lateral flow tests [for Covid-19] do not distinguish live virus. No test of infection or infectiousness is currently
available for routine use. As things stand, a person who tests positive with
any kind of test may or may not have an active infection with live virus, and
may or may not be infectious. (Asymptomatic transmission of covid-19,
the BMJ, 21 December 2020, https://www.bmj.com/content/371/bmj.m4851.)
A study published in Nature in
November 2020, reported on 9. 9 million
4 The
World Health Organisation updated its advice on interpretation of PCR test
results in December 2020 and January 2021 to warn that tests results must be
considered in combination with clinical observations and other criteria; and
that false positive results become significant where disease prevalence is low.
https://www.who.int/news/iteM/20-01-2021-who-information-notice-for-vd-users-2020-05
[Page 45]
5 A
Portuguese Appeals Court ruled (11th November 2020) that a single
positive PCR test cannot be used as an effective diagnosis of infection, and therefore
that enforced quarantine based on the PCR test is unlawful. The ruling
concluded on the basis of scientific evidence that any PCR test using more than
25 cycles is unreliable. (Typically PCR tests use 30-45 cycles.)
6 The
following interview of Kevin McKernan, Chief Scientific Officer of Medicinal
Genomics, by Jeffrey Peel, though fairly long and quite technical, powerfully
highlights the serious scientific and ethical concerns that call the PCR test
into question: https://vimeo.com/495978770.
7 On 28th
January 2020, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy
and Infectious Diseases, member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, and
recently appointed Chief Medical Officer to the President of the United States,
stated, in all the history of respiratory-borne
viruses of any type, asymptomatic transmission has never been the driver of
outbreaks ... Even if theres a rare
asymptomatic person that might transmit, an epidemic is not driven by
asymptomatic carriers.
On 7th June 2020, Dr Maria Van Kerkhove,
head of the World Health Organisations emerging diseases and zoonosis unit, described the occurrence of asymptomatic
transmission as very rare, but sought to minimise the significance of what
she said when she was later challenged about this.
8 A study
published in Global Health, 14th December 2020, reviewed data from
four earlier studies of asymptomatic or pre-symptomatic transmission of
Covid-19 in households, and found the transmission rate to be 0 .7%. (That is,
there is a 1 in 142 chance of being infected by an asymptomatic person with
which one is living in the same household.) The study concluded, These findings are consistent with other household studies
reporting asymptomatic ... cases as having
limited role in household transmission.
(https://Jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2774102).
A study published in Nature in
November 2020 reported on 9. 9 million
(https://www.nature.com/articles/s4l467-020-19802-w).
Professor Beda M Stadler, former
Director of the Institute for Immunology at the
[Page 46]
Bear in mind that the risk of
transmission is relatively low, even when an infected person living in the same
household is symptomatic, and the risk of transmission is much lower again when
one has close contact with a symptomatic person outside ones household. The
study referenced above, published in Global Health, 14th December
2020, reviewed data from 54 earlier studies of symptomatic transmission of
Covid-19 in households, and found the transmission rate to be 16. 4% (1 in 6
chance of infection) in general, and 37. 8% for spouses. A review of studies
that examined close contacts outside the family or household found the risk of
symptomatic transmission to be 4. 8% (1 in 20).
9 See the
previous section and Appendix 3 for discussion of the
unreliability of PCR tests.
10 In July
and August 2020, the Office of National
Statistics estimated that tens of thousands of deaths would result from the
social, economic and medical consequences of lockdown.
https://www.ons.gov.uk/news/statementsandletters/estimatingtheimpactsofcoronavirusonenglandsmortality
and morbidity In January 2021 a District Judge in
http://enformtk.u-aizu.ac.jp/howard/weimar_ruling
11 For an
attempt to measure the impact of lockdowns using only official sources, see Cost
of Lockdowns: A Preliminary Report, American Institute for Economic Research,
18th November 2020,
https://www.aier.org/article/cost-of-us-lockdowns-a-preliminary-report.
12 The
World Health Organisation reports that in 2017, some 11 million sepsis-related
deaths world-wide.
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/sepsis
13 The District Judge in
14 A study
of case growth in ten countries, compared to severity of non-pharmaceutical
interventions (NPIs) in those countries, states, While small benefits cannot be excluded, we do not find
significant benefits on case growth of more restrictive NPIs
[lockdowns]. Similar reductions in case growth may be achievable with less
restrictive interventions (Assessing [Page 47] Mandatory Stay-At-Home and Business Closure Effects on the
Spread of Covid-19, Eran Bendavid et
al, Wiley Online Library, 5th January 2021,
https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/eci.13484).
A study of 188 countries found
correlations between mortality rates and a number of factors, but stated, Stringency of the measures settled to fight pandemia, including lockdown, did not appear to be linked
with death rate. (Covid-19 Mortality: A Matter of Vulnerability Among
Nations Facing Limited Margins of Adaptation, Frontiers in Public Health, 19th
November 2020,
https://www.frontiersin.org/articies/10.3389/fpubh.2020.604339/full.)
World Health Organisation envoy,
Dr. David Nabarro,
speaking to Andrew Neil on SpectatorTV, 8th.October 2020, said, We in the World Health Organization do not advocate lockdowns
as the primary means of control of this virus... The only time we believe a lockdown is justified is to buy
you time to reorganize, regroup, rebalance your resources, protect your health
workers who are exhausted, but by and large, wed rather not do it... Lockdowns just have one consequence that you must never,
ever belittle, and that is making poor people an awful lot poorer. (WHO
warns against COVID-19 lockdowns due to economic damage, Jackie Salo, New York Post, 11th
October 2020.)
15 The Guardian
reported (25th November 2019) that NHS bed capacity in
(www.theguardian.com/politics/2009/nov/25/hospital-beds-at-record-low-in-England-as-nhs-struggles-with-demand).
During this period the
population of
Dr Clare Craig, speaking to Julia
Hartley-Brewer on talkRADIO (7th January
2020, 57 minutes), stated that the bed capacity of the NHS in the whole of the
UK in 2000 was 240,000 beds, but by 2020 had reduced to 165,000, and was
further reduced to 155,000 to allow for social distancing of patients. The
population of the
(Population figures taken from:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunitylpopulationandmigrationlpopulationestirnatesltirneserieslukpoplpop.)
See also Covid:
How busy are hospitals in
https://www.bbc.co.uk/newslaMP/55536762.
[Page 48]
16 It has
been reported several times during the winter of 2020/21 that hospitals in
17 A
retired senior doctor in the NHS, writing anonymously, states that bed capacity
had been reduced by 9% by Covid-19 procedures, and he quotes Dr Mike Yeadon,
who in turn quotes an impeccable NHS source that fully 10% of staff
are missing. (Update from the Senior Doctor..., Lockdown Sceptics, 23rd
December 2020, https://lockdownsceptics.org.)
A
freedom of information request to NHS England revealed that on December 22,
three days after Boris Johnson introduced tier four for millions, more than
13,000 fewer beds were occupied than the same date in 2019. The new data
suggest a key reason hospitals are struggling is this lack of capacity. The NHS
is meant to keep a tenth of its beds free to create flexibility to admit
patients and cope with sudden surges in demand - usually seen in winter. Over
the years this spare capacity has been used each winter and the NHS has been
forced to treat patients in trolleys and in ambulances as ward beds have
filled. This year hospitals have been significantly reconfigured to allow for
social distancing and infection control. The FOI data gleaned by the Covid Data Dashboard reveals there are 10,000 fewer
hospital beds compared to 2019. (Express, 3 January 2021,
Hospitals have 13k FEWER patients taking up beds - so why are millions more in
Tier 4?
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk//379012/covid-cases-uk-tier-4-areas-hospital-beds-NHS)
18 Professor Beda M Stadler, former Director of the Institute for
Immunology at the University of Bern, writes: it was
wrong to claim that this virus was novel ... It
was even more wrong to claim that the population would not already have some
immunity against this virus. (Why everyone was wrong, The Plant Strong
Club, 1 July 2020, https://theplantstrongclub.org/2020/09/01/coronavirus-why-everyone-was-wrong-beda-m-stadler/.)
19 Vaccine
manufacturer Merck abandoned
development of two Covid-19 vaccines in January 2021 on the basis that natural
immunity was superior to the immunity offered by its vaccines.
https://summit.news/2021/01/26/merck-scraps-covid-vaccines-says-its-more-effective-to-get-the-virus-and-recover.
20 See,
for example, A vaccine can provide better immunity
than an actual infection, CNN, 12th October 2020.
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/10/02/health/vaccine-better-immunity-than-infection-weliness-partner/index.html
[Page 49]
21 Although all studies so far are small, they indicate that a significant
proportion of individuals globally entered the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic with some
pre-existing immunity. This is true of studies of IgG
antibodies, memory B cells and T cells. (COVID-19 and pre-existing
immunity, Rachel F Nicoll,
Researcher, Umea University, Sweden, thebmj, 10th. January 2021, https://www.bmj.com/content/354/bmj.i5191/rr-15.)
22 At
least until mid-2020, the World Health Organisations website defined herd immunity as the
indirect protection from an infectious disease that happens when a population
is immune either through vaccination or immunity developed through previous
infection. Its definition of herd immunity
has now been changed to, a concept used for vaccination in which a population can be
protected from a certain virus if a threshold of vaccination is reached. Herd
immunity is achieved by protecting people from a virus, not by exposing them to
it. This is a highly prejudicial change that denies
both the utility and superiority of natural immunity, as well as the scientific
underpinnings of immunology.
23 One thing that Public Health England has been world beating
for before and during this pandemic has been the sharing of data. Data is
collected from every aspect of the healthcare system and we now have the full
dataset for 2020. ... This data tells the story
of a Spring pandemic. However, what this data reveals about Autumn and Winter
does not fit the hypothesis that there has been a second wave. PCR tests are an
outlier in the data and only data related to PCR test results has led to the
impression that there is currently a Covid problem.
(Dr Clare Graig
FRCPath, All the Syndromic
Data in one Place, 5 January 2021,
https://lockdownsceptics.org/all-the-syndromic-data-in-one-place)
Ivor Cummins, a Biochemical Engineer with an interest in statistics, has
provided regular statistical analyses that demonstrate how data from official
sources does not support the public narrative. The following is an example:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p_vAQyVIXzU.
24 The two
mRNA vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna have at
best completed only the first phase of the normal three-phase trial process.
Statements have been made by the media and by Pfizer that imply Phase three
trials are complete, but the end dates
of phase three trials are in 2023, which means that the general population being vaccinated will
provide the bulk of the data for the second and third phases. (What
Vaccine Trials?, In This Together, Iain
Davis, 23 December 2020, https://in-this-together.com/vaccine-trials.)
25 This
information leads some people to reject such vaccines on principle (see
https://www.cbruk.org/covid-19-vaccine). Others suggest that it does not
morally preclude use of such vaccines because in many situations in life we
lawfully take benefits despite prior wrongs committed in the procurement of
them [Page 50]
(see https://www.christianityinsociety.org/post/covid-19-vaccines-a
Christian perspective).
26 See,
for example: Did The Oxford Covid Vaccine Work In
Monkeys? Not Really, Williarn A. Haseitine,
Forbes, 16th May 2020,
https://www.forbes.com/sites/williamhaseltine/2020/05/16/did-the-oxford-covid-vaccine-work-in-monkeys-not-really/?sh=1b71a393c71.
27 The
World Health Organisation permits the comparator in a vaccine trial to be an inert placebo (e.g. saline solution or the vehicle of the
vaccine), or an antigenically different vaccine.
(Guidelines on clinical evaluation of vaccines: regulatory expectations, World
Health Organisation, 2004.)
28 Peter Doshi:
Pfizer and Modernas 95%
effective vaccines - lets be cautious and first see the full data, 26th
November 2020, thebmjopinion.
29 See https://nypost.com/2021/01/15/23-die-in-norway-after-receiving-pfizer-covid-19-vaccine.
30
Effectiveness of Adding a Mask Recommendation to Other Public Health Measures
to Prevent SARS-CoV-2 Infection in Danish Mask Wearers, Henning Bundgaard et al, Annals of Internal Medicine, 18 November
2020,
https://www.acpjournals.org/doi/10.7326/M20-6817.
31 [T]he medical establishment and many science writers and
editors refuse to acknowledge the groups collective expertise, rationale, and
early treatment success and refuse to report information about the [MATH+]
protocol. (The FLCCC Alliance Story, https://covid19criticalcare.com/about/the-flccc-alliance-story/.)
32 The Covert Human Intelligence Sources Bill 2020 proposes to empower a wide range of government agencies to break the
law without limit or impunity on grounds of: national security;
preventing or detecting crime or preventing disorder; or the economic
well-being of the country. Those given such a license include: any police
force; the National Crime Agency; any of the intelligence services; any of Her
Majestys Forces; HMRC; the Department of Health and Social Care; the Home
Office; the Ministry of Justice; the
Competition and Markets Authority; the Environment Agency; the Financial
Conduct Authority; the Food Standards Agency; the Gambling Commission; and the
Serious Fraud Office.
33 See
COVID-19: The Great Reset by Klaus
Schwab, Forum Publishing, July 2020, available in PDF on-line.
34 Request
for Expedited Federal Investigation Into Scientific Fraud in Public Health
Policies, 10th January 2021, https://www.scribd.com/document/490274322/Request-for-Expedited-Federal
[Page51] in
vestigation-Into-Scientific-Fraud-in-COVID-19-Public-Health-Policies
35 The Old
Lady Who Swallowed a Fly, Off-Guardian, January 22nd 2021.
https://off-guardion.org/2O2l/0l/22/the-old-lady-who-swallowed-a-fly
36 A substantial number of people still do not feel
sufficiently personally threatened ... The
perceived level of personal threat needs
to be increased among those who are complacent, using hard-hitting emotional
messaging. From a paper prepared for the UK Scientific Advisory Group for
Emergencies (SAGE), 22nd March 2020.
37 It is
concerning that global institutions (e.g. the World Health Organisation) receive
substantial funding from foundations with vested interests in vaccination, that national governments (like Belarus)
claim to have been promised funding from the international Monetary Fund in
order to follow World Health Organisation guidance, and many organisations that
ought to be independent (such as Imperial
College London, the BBC and the Guardian newspaper) receive funds from foreign governments (e.g. China) and foundations
with vested interests in vaccination.
38 Even
the pagan appreciates this: Whom the gods would
destroy, they first make mad.
39 This is
not to imply that those with serious health conditions do not count, but rather
that the government and media do not report the proportions of
those in intensive care or dying that are very aged or have serious health
conditions, thus perpetuating fear throughout the population and denying the
public the opportunity to make informed decisions about the balance of risks.
From an early stage in the pandemic, obesity has been recognised as a significant
factor that increases the risk of severity of the illness and mortality from
Covid-19.
40 The
data for the foregoing analysis was taken from:
https://www.nisra.gov.uk/pubiications/monthly-deaths,
https://www.nrscotland.gov.uk/statistics-and-data/statistics-by-theme/vital-events/general-ublications/weekly-and-mothly-data-on-births-and-deaths/monthly-data-on-births-
and-deaths-registered-in-scotland.
41 Data
and graph from:
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/GBR/united-kingdom/death-rate.
42 The test cannot discriminate between the whole virus and
viral fragments. Therefore, the test cannot be used as a diagnostic for intact
(infectious) viruses, making the test unsuitable as a specific diagnostic tool
to identity the SARS-CoV-2 virus and make inferences about the presence of an
infection.
The PCR test contains neither a unique positive control to
evaluate its [Page 52] specificity for SARS-CoV-2 virus nor a negative control to exclude the presence
of other corona-viruses, making the test unsuitable as a specific diagnostic
tool to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus... The test design in the Corman-Drosten paper is so vague and flowed that one con go
in dozens of different directions; nothing is standardized and there is no SOP.
This highly questions the scientific validity of the test and makes it
unsuitable as a specific diagnostic tool to identify the SARS-CoV-2 virus.
(Review report Corman-Drosten et al. Eurosurveillance 2020, 27 November 2020,
https://cormandrostenreview.com/report/?fbclid=lwAR2CO,xPzDZJmH52mws
Qj9aer6AZt5.)
43 After the governments refer to this, from my point of view,
disastrous paper of the National Academy of Sciences when imposing a renewed
hard lockdown, as well as because of the points listed above, I have decided
after careful consideration to take the certainly unusual step of resigning
from the Academy of Sciences in Mainz as an expression of my personal protest.
I cannot reconcile it with my conscience to be a part of this kind of science.
I want to serve a science that is committed to fact-based honesty, balanced
transparency, and comprehensive humanity.
(https://docs.google.com/document/u/o/d/1a5j2bC7jbVoSbOedfkcYzOWbCgj
LHTKGtZbijoyjls/mobilebasic)
44 Data
and graph from:
https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/vsus/vsrates1940_ 60.pdf
https://www.cdc.gov/coronovirus/2019-ncov/covid-dato/covidview/1211202o/nchs-mortality-report.html
https://www.macrotrends.net/countries/USA/united-states/death-rate.
45 See https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-55631693, 12th
January 2020.
4. Sources:
https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/which-covid-19-vaccines-are-connected-to-abortion,
http://sS27589.pcdn.content/uploadS/2020/12/COVID-19-Vaccine-Candidates-and-Abortion-Derived-Cell-Lines.pdf
47 https://www.aier.org/article/the-year-of-disguises
* * *
* *
* *
[PART 3]
A QUESTION AND ANSWER
By G. H. LANG
QUESTION - Are not all true Christians caught up when Jesus comes? If not, who will be left behind? Jesus said, Pray that you might be counted worthy to escape..: What does that mean?
ANSWER -
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye
may be accounted worthy to escape ail these things that shall come to pass and
to stand before the Son of man. Luke
21: 36.
The two preceding verses (Luke 21: 34, 35) clarify this admonition. The people of God
are cautioned against being careless in their Christian experience. The
inference is that conditions will be such that many will grow careless and
drift along with the spirit of the times.
Money is plentiful. Drink, drug
abuse, gambling, gluttony and smoking by both sexes make these evils popular.
Self-indulgence of every description is practised. Thousands of Christians have
been swept from their moorings during the past few years. Prayer is neglected,
consequently there is a general decline in spirituality. We are told to pray
that we may be fully strengthened to escape all these evil things and be able
to take our place in the presence of the Son of Man.
The foolish virgins, and all
those who have grown careless in their Christian experience, are in a declining
spiritual condition and will be left behind. Moffatt
states that those who fail to keep awake and pray, that day will catch them
suddenly as a trap. How contrary is this teaching of our Lord to his disciples,
from that of those who expect all will to be caught up before the end days; and
from those who expect all will have
to endure them!
There are two principal views on
the Rapture and the Tribulation: one, that the Parousia will commence prior to the Times of the End, and that at its
inception all believers of the heavenly calling, dead and living, will be taken
to the presence of the Lord in the air; the other, that the Parousia will occur
at the close of the Great Tribulation, until when no believers will be raised
or changed. The one view says that no believers will go into the End Times the
other that none then living will escape them.
The one involves that the utmost
measure of unfaithfulness or carnality in a believer puts him in no peril of
forfeiting the supreme honour of rapture or of having to endure the dread End
Days: the other view involves that no degree of faithfulness or of holiness
will enable a saint to escape those Days. As regards this matter, godliness and
unfaithfulness seem immaterial on either view; which raises a doubt of both
views.
1. Our Lord Jesus Christ has declared distinctly that escape is
possible. In Luke 21 is a record of instruction
given by Him to four apostles on the
These things are to be preceded by a general persecution of His followers (verse 12), which will be the
first indication that the End Days are at hand. Then
Then He mentions the disturbances in nature and the fears of mankind that are
grouped under seal 6 in Revelation 6: 12-17, and adds explicitly that then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with
power and great glory, and that when these things
begin His disciples may know that their redemption draweth nigh (ver. 27,
28).
In concluding this outline of the period of the Beast the Lord then
uttered this exhortation and promise: But
take heed to yourselves, lest haply your hearts
be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness, and
cares of this life, and that day come on you
suddenly as a snare: for so shall it come upon
all them that dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye at every season, making
supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man.
This
declares distinctly:
1. That escape is possible from
all those things of which Christ had been speaking, that is, from the whole
End-times.
2. That, that day of testing will
be universal, and unavoidable by any then on the earth, which involves the
removal from the earth of any who are to escape it.
3.That there is a fearful peril
of disciples becoming worldly of heart and so being, enmeshed in that last
period.
4.That hence it is needful to
watch and to pray ceaselessly, that so we may prevail over all obstacles and
dangers and thus escape that era.
This most important and
unequivocal statement by our Lord sets aside the opinion that all
Christians will escape irrespective of their moral
state, and also negatives the notion
that no escape is possible. There is a door of escape; but as with
all doors, only those who are awake will see it, and only those who are in earnest
will reach it ere the storm bursts. In every place in the New Testament the
word escape has its
natural force - to flee out of a place of trouble and be quite clear thereof.
It never means to endure the trial successfully. In this very discourse of the
Lord it is in contrast with the statement, He that
endureth to the end (of these things) the same
shall be saved (Matthew 24: 13). One escapes, another endures.
The attempt to evade the
application of this passage to Christians on the plea that it refers to Jewish disciples of Christ is baseless:
a. No Jewish
disciples of Christ are known to the Scriptures (Galations 3: 28: Ephesians. 2: 74-78).
b. The
God-fearing remnant of
c. Nor
will they believe on Jesus as their Messiah until they see Him coming in glory
(Zechariah 12: 9, 10; 13: 6; Matthew 23: 39).
d. The
assertion that the title Son of Man is Jewish is
equally unwarranted, for the term man is
necessarily universal to the race, and does not belong peculiarly to any one
nation. (Compare John 13: 14, 15: 5: 25-29: whosoever and all).
2. In harmony with this utterance
of our Lord is His further statement to the church at Philadelphia (Revelation 3: 10):
Because thou didst keep the word of My patience, I also will keep thee from (ek) the hour of
trial, that hour which is to come upon the whole
inhabited earth, to try them that dwell upon the
earth. Here also are declared:
a. The universality of that hour of trial, so
that any escape from it must involve removal;
b. the
promise of being kept from it;
c. the intimation
that such preservation is the consequence of a certain moral condition: Because thou didst keep ... I
also will keep.
As this is addressed to a
church, no question of a Jewish application
can arise. Nor do known facts or the Scriptures allow of the supposition that
every Christian keeps the word of Christs patience (Matthew 24: 12; Revelation 2: 5;
Galatians 6: 12;
Colossians 4:
14 with 2 Timothy 4: 10 concerning Demas); so that this promise cannot be stretched to
mean all believers.
In The Bible Treasury, 1865, p.
380, there is an instructive note by J. N. Darby (see also Coil. Writings, vol.
13, Critical 1, 581) on the difference between (apo)
and (ek). The former regards hostile persons and
being delivered from them, the latter refers to a state and being kept from
getting into it. On Revelation 3: 10 he
wrote: So Revelation
3 the faithful are kept from getting into this
state, preserved from getting into it, or, as we say kept out of it. For the
words here answer fully to the English out of or from. That the
thought is not being kept from being injured in soul by the trials is implied
in the expression Keep thee out of that hour; it is
from the period of time itself that the faithful are to be kept, not merely
from its spiritual perils.
* * *
* * *
*
[PART 4]
The Aravah in Scripture with Views
Relative to History and Prophecy*
(In this article, Aravah
has been spelt throughout with a v instead of
a b help the reader with pronunciation).
[* From Watching and Waiting April-June, 2021.]
By John Douglas
-------
Early in the morning of 17th
July, 2019, the coach we were travelling in pulled away from our Dead Sea
resort en route for Eilat on the shores of the
To the Israeli that
well-travelled road is recognised as Route 90, the longest road in
Everyone in our party had come
because of their interest in searching the Scriptures.
Given the role I had on board
the bus, I turned the attention of the folks (at least those who were
wide-awake) to some features of the journey they could link in with Scripture.
Among my subjects was the Aravah
itself, the Aravah in Scripture. The Aravah is a natural depression, part of
the Great Rift Valley, and our road ran through the
We were able to look at some
details about the Aravah and a number of the Scripture references I used are
given below.
First of all, the Aravah, as it is referred to in the Word of God, is a specific part of the
A Topographical Study of
the Promised Land, for Military
Purposes,
Delineates the Aravah as a Definite Place (Deuteronomy
1: 7)
Nine place names feature
distinct areas of the
This talk was given by Moses
before he sent out the spies to view the land God had promised.
The mount, (generally the
whole land may be called the
Mount of the Amorites, but specifically this
is the mountainous region lying before the host of
The plain in verse 7, is the ARAVAH, (Hebrew Bible), clearly a recognisable
area. A single entity.
THE HILLS form the
rugged backbone of the country, immediately to the north and south of
The vale in Hebrew is distinctive also, in that this is a reference to
the Shephelah, (rendered vale in our
translation). The vale is the sloping valley between
The word used here for the SOUTH is
The sea-side is the
Mediterranean coast. I say this to indicate these are not random titles. They are
definite geographical areas in the make-up of the
The ARAVAH is one of those regions clearly mentioned in verse 7. It is an identifiable part of the Land. The spies were
called on to make a survey of all the places detailed in this way.
Read the verse yourself. Turn you, and take your
journey, and go to the mount of the Amorites,
and unto all the places nigh thereunto, in the plain (the aravah), in the hills, and in the vale, and in the
south, and by the sea side, to the land of the Canaanites, and unto Lebanon, unto the great river,
the river Euphrates (Deuteronomy
1: 7).*
[* NOTE: the A.V. English translation is
used throughout.]
The employment of the term ARAVAH in this regional study
underscores the point. The Aravah is a recognised section of the land.
The Children of
We Know Moses Took This Road When They Departed from
the
Neither
said they, Where is the LORD that
brought us up out of the land of Egypt, that led us through the wilderness, through a land of deserts and of pits, through
a land of drought, and of the shadow of death, through a land that no man
passed through, and where no man dwelt?
Through a land of deserts in Hebrew is, through the Land of the Aravah.
The children of
Solomon, Jehoshaphat too, among
them.
For
Other Scriptures could be added:
Joshua 3: 16 - That the waters
which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city
Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, (the ARAVAH) even the salt sea,
failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
The
Deuteronomy 2: 8 - And
when we passed by from our brethren the children of Esau, which dwelt in Seir, through the way of the plain (the
Aravah) from Elath (Eilat), and from Ezion-gaber,
we turned and passed by the way of the wilderness of
Moab.
The Aravah carried the road down
from the
While the word aravah may be
regarded as having a general application in our English version at times, yet
there is reason to give a summary.
A Summary
The Aravah is not any desert but
a distinct part of the desert in
There is reason to add, that in
earlier times, the word aravah described the whole
It carries a road which in its
ancient setting, was frequently travelled even in Bible times. As I have said,
nowadays this road is named Route 90, the longest road in
It is a road where for a number of
reasons in the days of Moses, the soul of the people was much discouraged
because of the way (Numbers 21: 4). It
meant arduous travel, so the going was tough.
Historically, The Aravah Features
in Various Incidents.
I list some of them.
Beth-abara, (by metathesis, from BETH
ARAVAH) where John baptised, takes its name from the region (John 1: 28).
David, fleeing from Absalom, thought to stay for safety in the
aravah. Then later the message came instructing him to depart at once, for he
was certain to be captured, if he remained (2 Samuel 15: 28. Cf. 17: 16).
The murderers of Ishbosheth, Sauls son who had sought to be king, beheaded him and carried
their grisly trophy all night through the Aravah, until they took the road through
the mountain pass not far from Masada to
King Zedekiah realising
he had no hope of defeating Nebuchadnezzar in the final days of the siege at
All this makes for interesting
reading. Though there is more which can be said of events pertaining to this
distinct part of the land.
The Aravah is mentioned in English in Joshua 18: 18.
Joshua 18: 18 refers to the border of Benjamins
inheritance, to the part which touches on the
But the Aravah is not only
featured Historically in the Scriptures.
The Word of God has the most
remarkable things to say of the Aravah in the Days to come. The Prophetic
Scriptures not only challenge faith but they lead us to believe that the coming
Prophetically: The Aravah Figures in the Prophetic
Scriptures
STUNNING THINGS WILL BE SEEN IN THE ARAVAH, AND MEN WILL SEE THE GLORY AND EXCELLENCY OF OUR GOD IN IT. Consider Isaiah 35: 1, 2 and 6, 8.
The
wilderness and the solitary place shall he glad for them; and the desert (Hebrew, ARAVAH) shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose (verse
1).
It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice
even with joy and singing: the glory of
Then
shall the lame man leap as an hart,
and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness
shall waters break out, (BAQA) and streams
in the desert. - the ARAVAH)
verse 6).
And an
highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for
those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein (verse 8).
Isaiah 35: 1-6. Read the words again.
The
wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall
rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly ... for in the wilderness shall waters break out (baqa), and streams in the desert (the aravah).
This excerpt taken from Isaiah 35: 1-6 is well known, for these words have been frequently quoted in
some quarters. The desert blossoming and the streams in the desert pertain
particularly to the Aravah. This Hebrew word occurs twice in the paragraph.
Some among the Lords people
seem to treat Isaiah 35 as if it is a sudden passionate
and poetic outburst of the prophet - a passage which makes for beautiful
reading, but has little real sense.
They are mistaken. Chapter 35 is not even a stand-alone prophecy but it is closely and
vitally connected to the chapters preceding it. It especially stands in
contrast to Chapter 34 where the theme includes
mention of the judgments which are to fall upon the Gentile nations hostile to
This part of Isaiah foreshadows apocalyptic events set to be
enacted at the end of the age.
The little bit of history
inserted in chapters 36-39
highlights a very distressing period during the siege of Jerusalem in
Hezekiahs lifetime, but it also leads the believer to reflect on the assault
of the nations upon Jerusalem, to take place at the time of the end.
These ungodly hosts will be
wholly determined, like their ungodly counterparts from the past, to do away
with the nation of
These chapters in Isaiah lead on to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40 with double Comfort for
He will be revealed in the Day of His return, in
all His divine Glory. He will be revealed and all
flesh will see Him - they will see Him together, in one unit,
as the worlds population.
All
flesh did not see Him at His first coming. Those who did, did not
see Him together.
The treble behold in verses 9-10, which follows
in this connection, must be kept in mind as well. Behold the Lord GOD
will come (verse 10). He
will be revealed and we will indeed behold His Glory in the fullest sense.
Read the verses from Isaiah 40:
5. And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall
see it together: for the mouth of the LORD
bath spoken it.
... the word of our God shall stand for ever . ...
9. O Jerusalem, that bringest
good tidings, lift up thy voice with strength;
lift it up,
be not afraid; say unto
the cities of
10. Behold, the Lord GOD will
come with strong hand, and His arm shall rule
for Him: behold, His reward is with Him, and
His work before Him (See the whole passage in verses 1-10).
STREAMS IN THE DESERT then, is a reference to THE ARAVAH, in Hebrew (Isaiah 35: 1, 2 and 6.). The
word aravah occurs twice in this passage from Isaiah 35, and
appears as desert.
The radical transformation of
the aravah is only a part of the stunning things God will do at the time of the
Lords return.
One of the things thought impossible which God will do, is this
remarkable and overwhelming renewal of the aravah.
The ARAVAH is specifically identified in the passage above, and in both
occurrences is translated desert. This
desert will undergo a truly marvellous change. It will become a fragrant
garden, blossoming as the rose.
Moreover it will blossom
abundantly. These streams will break out, making the desert a super-abundantly fruitful
place. Look out for the word there in this
and in the previous chapter.
That there should be a breaking
forth of waters in the Aravah, should not be thought preposterous, for every
Bible believer already holds that something very similar has been done before,
only this bursting forth of the waters in the Aravah is going to be permanent
and in addition will cover a much wider area than the prototype in the desert
where Moses called on God, back there at the beginning of Israels history.
Psalm 78: 15, 16: He clave the
rocks in the wilderness, and gave them drink as out of the great depths. He brought
streams also out of the rock, and caused waters
to run down like rivers.
The Lord clave the rocks. There is the history
of the same sort of thing. This is undoubtedly what God did in the past.
This word baqa
appears in Scripture, to describe the splitting of a piece of wood, and also
the dividing of the
However, verse 15 in the Psalm provides not only an important
detail of the past, in the record of
Psalm 78: 15 draws attention to the same word (BAQA, as
in Isaiah 35: 6.) used
in the record given of the supernatural supply of water in the desert in the
days of Moses. God let Moses have the miracle supply of water, to preserve the
nation in that hostile desert terrain. He did so also, in order to give them a
preview of something even greater still, and more marvellous, and this in the
coming
I am persuaded every Christian
already believes that wonderful thing has already been done in the days
following the Exodus, and the words of Moses were literally
fulfilled back then. A
spiritual message is conveyed by it all, but not without the literal
fulfilment. The spiritual message is not intended to displace the literal fact.
A Christian may insist the Bible
is true historically, while he has great hesitation, even difficulty, in
believing this same word to be equally true prophetically. (Is there a danger that in a coming day they may be troubled
by Luke 24: 5?).
So many features of the coming
Kingdom have undeniable links with the past, like this one, where God surely
obliges the Christian to accept His word in regard to the future without
hesitation. He is virtually saying to the hesitating believer, Look there, I have already done this in the past and you
believe it. Be persuaded therefore, I will do it again, in that coming day.
That there is a highway there,
leads one to think of that major road which in the past and then again in the
present, runs from the Red Sea to (eventually)
It is to
be Noticed in the Prophecies for the Aravah, God has a Liking for Detail,
Detail
Which Some Will Have to Work Hard to Ignore
Isaiah 41: 18-20. In verse 19, the word desert is Aravah:
18. I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
19. will plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil
tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine,
and the box tree together:
20. That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand
together, that the
hand of the LORD bath done this, and the
Holy One of Israel hath created it.
After the LORDs
Return
Great changes will occur when
the Lord returns to this earth.
An incredible change is to occur
in the Aravah. I think the Lord anticipates our reluctance to take Him at His
word, in this reference. Hence: The point is, seven types of tree will grow
naturally, besides all the other kinds of produce in this desert, when it
begins to blossom abundantly.
Out of the seven, three types of
tree especially will flourish there - the Pine, the Fir and the Box tree -
trees, which need a lot of water. The Lord knows that. He created them that
way. These trees cannot grow there at all unless they have plenty of water all
the time. The Lord has deliberately chosen trees which MUST have an abundance of water. Needless to say, this kind of
forest has never grown there in the way described, IN THE DESERTS OF
It is so staggering certain of
the saints will not take it in. They insist that all this must be spiritually
understood, but, I make the point, even spiritually, the like of this has never
taken place.
You are back at square one. The
like has never been, no matter what way you take it, that the aravah should
blossom, naturally, and abundantly, like the rose - beautiful, fragrant, and
fruit-full.
GOD, WITH WHOM NOTHING IS
IMPOSSIBLE, WILL CAUSE THESE TREES
TO GROW IN THE ARAVAH. THE DAY WILL
COME, COINCIDING WITH THE DAY OF
CHRIST. MEN WILL SEE IN THE ARAVAH, THE GLORY OF THE LORD AND THE EXCELLENCY
OF OUR GOD.
In verse 20 a combination of four verbs
appears. This is
most important.
Mark them, each one. See, Know, Consider and Understand. There is a progression in these
terms, which should be noted. A distinct order is followed. A growing
comprehension is perceived.
All these verbs of discovery are being used for the reader to recognise, and indeed for the people alive at the
time, to recognise what has been
done is spectacularly Gods own work, and nothing short of a stupendous and mighty miracle. The
inescapable conclusion is, the hand of the Lord has done this. They have now a
wonderful comprehension of what the hand of the Lord can do.
First of all, people will see this. Secondly, having seen
this marvellous event for themselves, they of all people will know of its reality, the aravah has
blossomed abundantly like the rose. Thirdly, they have then some considerations to make. One of these is, God
Himself has done this mighty work. Another is, God can do the things thought
impossible. And yet another, He has so changed the aravah, and other deserts,
as to make them each one a beautiful garden. This too is how the gospel will
work in the heart of man. God has fulfilled His word. The glory of the Lord is
revealed in this way also. Fourthly, having carefully considered these things,
they will come to understand what God has done. They will
understand how precious the Word of God is, how sure of fulfilment it is. They
will understand as to be wholly committed, wholly reliant on the Lord, in a way
which before could never have been achieved.
The inescapable conclusion is, the
hand of the Lord has done this. They have a wonderful comprehension of what the
hand of the Lord has done.
The Aravah to be Like
Note further, in Isaiah 51:
3 this desert, the Aravah in particular, is to be like the Garden of the Lord.
THE LORD HAS SURELY SAID SOME WONDERFUL THINGS ABOUT THE ARAVAH.
The saints who travelled on the
bus that day, through those three hours could begin to take in, as few others,
the sheer immensity of this statement about the aravah, and the grandeur of
what God Himself will yet do there (Cf. Ezekiel 36: 35-37).
3 For the LORD shall
comfort Zion: He will comfort all her waste
places; and He will make her wilderness like
Eden, and her desert like the garden of the LORD; joy and gladness shall be
found therein, thanksgiving, and the voice of melody.
In verse 3, desert is the
translation of ARAVAH, once more.
The Aravah will become like the Garden of the Lord. These things are so clearly
taught in Scripture. It is with joy we anticipate their fulfilment.
The Waters Which are to Irrigate and Renew
the Dead Sea Valley, Will Do the Same for
The Aravah, in Addition to the Other
Waters Which Flow There (Ezekiel 47: 8-10)
8. Then said he unto me, These
waters issue out toward the east country, and go
down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being
brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be
healed.
9. And it shall come to pass, that every
thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be
a very great multitude of fish, because these
waters shall come thither: for they shall be
healed; and every thing shall live whither the
river cometh.
10. And it shall come to pass, that the
fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim;
they shall be a place
to spread forth nets; their fish shall be
according to their kinds, as the fish of the
great sea, exceeding many.
The waters from
Thus the whole Country including
the
Verses 9 and 10 both begin with the strongest emphasis, in a reference to the
Aravah and the
There is the required
reiteration in regard to both of these details, AND IT SHALL COME TO PASS, whether you
can yield to believing it or not - It shall come to pass! ... In the mouth of
the two witnesses let every word be established.
IT SHALL COME TO PASS - THIS IS SAID IN REFERENCE TO THE RIVERS OF
WATER IN THE ARAVAH (verses 8-9)
IT SHALL COME TO PASS - THIS IS SAID IN RELATION TO THE
MULTITUDE OF FISH IN THE SEA OF THE ARAVAH, THE DEAD SEA (verse 10).
By mentioning the Aravah as well
as the
Even in the face of that
reiterated voice of certainty, good men still falter and hang back, and cannot
see anything of that kind coming to pass. What does the Lord have to say to us,
on top of all this, to persuade us?
Thankfully - Praise the Lord,
the Day shall declare it.
* * *
* * *
*
[PART 5]
ESCAPE FROM THE
COMING TRIBULATION
HOW TO BE PREPARED FOR THE
LAST GREAT CRISIS OF HISTORY
GUY DUTY
Dedicated to Arthur E. Bloomfield,
Prophecy teacher extraordinary,
For whom I learned much
-------
CONTENTS
1. Statement of Purpose [Page 9]
2. Definition of Terms [Page 13]
3. The Thief Illustration and the
Escape [Page 20]
4. Salvation and the Escape [Page29]
5. The World Temptation and the Escape [Page 43]
6. Signs That Precede the Tribulation [Page 43]
7. A Thousand Years As One Day [Page 58]
8. What It Means to Be Worthy to Escape [Page 64]
9. Fine Linen and the Bride of Christ [Page 76]
10. Replies to Objections [Page 88]
11. Summary of Conclusions [Page 119]
12. Nine Rules of Interpretation [Page 114]
Notes
[Page 151]
Bibliography [Page 154]
* * *
CHAPTER 1
Statement of Purpose
[Page 9]
During the past generation
there has been a revival of interest in the biblical doctrine of Christs
second coming. And like other doctrines, there has been much controversy among
teachers about the meaning of various scriptures that deal with His coming. One
of the most disputed questions today is: Will the
Church go through the tribulation?
The literature on this subject
is abundant and confusing to the average reader. Peter wrote, We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto ye do well that ye take heed, as unto a light that
shineth in a dark place, until the day dawn, and the day star arise in your
hearts. God has given us a sure word of prophecy to shine in the
present darkness and to guide us in times of perplexity and deception.
But we cannot have a sure word
of prophecy unless we have a sure method of interpretation. The conflicts and
differences between teachers of prophecy are due mainly to the differences in
their methods of interpretation.
Paul told us to prove all things, and nothing [Page 10] is more
important to prove than our doctrines. But how are we to prove them? We
certainly cannot do it if each interpreter is allowed to have his own ideas
about what the Scriptures mean. Rules of interpretation are necessary. Jesus and
the apostles used established rules of interpretation to refute their
opponents.
At the end of this book we have
included nine rules which the reader should read carefully before he proceeds.
These rules have been universally accepted by the countries of the free world
where they are used in courts of evidence as bases of proof. No fair
interpreter will refuse to accept them. Biblical language does not change, and
we must judge it by the same laws that apply to other books.
Dean Farrar spent twenty years
on his masterly work, History of Interpretation, in which he wrote about the distortions and errors of
interpreters. He concluded that the misinterpretation
of Scripture must be reckoned among the gravest calamities of Christendom
(p. 39).
Will the Church go through the
tribulation? Teachers on this question fall into three classes.
(1) Those who claim there will
be a pretribulational translation (rapture) of the Church before the
tribulation begins. They hold that the true Church will be caught away to be
with the Lord during the entire tribulation period. These are called Pre-tribulationists.
(2) Others contend that the
Church must endure the first part of the tribulation, and that the translation
or rapture of the Church will be at the middle of the tribulation. These are
called Mid-tribulationists.
[Page 11]
(3) The third class believe that
the Church must pass through the entire period of tribulation and that it will
be translated at the end, which is the time of the Second Coming of Christ.
These are known as Post-tribulationists.
In presenting our case of escape
from the tribulation, it will be seen from various texts that we distinguish
between the Church before the
tribulation begins and after it begins. This before-
and-after point is important.
Jesus specified events that
occurred in the days before the Flood: For as
in the days that were before the flood
, so also shall it be before His
coming (Matt. 24:
37-38). Our case
then will deal much with events that precede the beginning of the tribulation.
The question naturally arises: Well, if the Church escapes the tribulation, how will
it escape? But it shall be our purpose only to show that it will
escape, not how. We shall see later that Peter said, The Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptation (judgment),
as He knew how to deliver Noah and Lot out of judgment (2 Pet. 2: 9). God has not yet revealed all His secrets.
World events have brought a revival
of interest in biblical prophecy; but, as always, sensationalists have appeared
who stir up people with excitement and speculation. The Lord has not left this
subject in obscurity, and people would be wise to avoid the emotional guesswork
by calmly studying the Scriptures.
The texts are quoted from the
King James Version except where otherwise specified. We acknowledge our
appreciation to various copyright owners who [Page 12] kindly gave
us permission to quote from their sources. News items were gathered from
various sources, especially from the U.S. News & World Report.
The italics in
Bible quotations represent my emphasis; they do not represent words that the
original translators supplied to complete the meaning.
* * *
[Page 13]
CHAPTER 2
Definition of Terms
Our Lords most important
prophetic message is generally considered to be the Olivet Discourse, found in Matthew 24: 1-51, Mark 13: 1-37, and Luke 21: 5-36.
Jesus had a marvellous ability
to sum up His purpose in a discourse with one or two sentences at the end, and Luke 21: 34-36 is an example of this.
And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares.
For as a snare shall
it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth.
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come
to pass, and to stand before the Son of man.
Jesus here, as on other
occasions, sounded a warning to the Church about the particular dangers at the end of the age. There have
always been dangerous times for the Church, but those of the end time will be
special and crucial - such as no other generation ever saw. For example, Satan
has always set [Page 14] snares
for the Church, but at no time in history has the Church seen the snare that
Jesus warned about here. At no time did the Church see the approach of that day as we see it today.
No one was ever more precise
with the use of words than was Jesus, and in the above verses He used three
important terms: that day, snare, and escape. What did the greatest of teachers
intend to convey to our minds with His use of these words? We must first get
the definitions of these terms because we cannot know what He meant until we
know the biblical meanings. As R. B. Girdlestone has well said in his book, The Grammar of Prophecy, There is no royal road to the
scientific study of prophecy. We have to begin with words and sentences before
we launch into ideas (p. 104).
The Jews were familiar with the
term that
day because it appears
frequently in the Old Testament relating to the tribulation judgments. Similar
terms also appear in the prophets. We often see the terms day of wrath, the
day, day of God, day of judgment, the
great day, and others. Their precise meaning is determined by the
contexts in which they appear.
In the prophets, that day is a day of judgment, and the
day of judgment is the day of God, and day of God is a day of wrath, and so on. Often in the Old
Testament, day and days are connected with judgment and are
synonyms for judgment.
Isaiah says, In that day ... the Lord shall punish ... the
kings of the earth (24: 21). And Zephaniah says, That day is a day
of wrath, a day of trouble and distress
(1: 15). Joel wrote about the great and terrible day of the Lord (2: 31). The
prophet Amos described the day of
the Lord with the [Page 15]
distinct detail of a day of darkness (5: 18-20). According to Amos, the main
characteristic of this period is darkness. Pauls use of the word agrees with
this (1 Thess.
5: 5-9).
That day is a chief prophetic term in both Testaments. It will be a period of
tribulation for the whole earth. It will have a beginning - the beginning of sorrows; and it
will have an end - and then shall the end come (Matt. 24: 8, 14).
After a thorough study of that day and
similar terms, we conclude that there is little difficulty in deciding their
meanings. When the various uses of these terms are considered, it is clear that
they can have a general or specific sense according to the contexts in which
they appear.
We now consider the definition
of snare. From
standard sources we quote the following:
Snare
(pagis), a trap to ensnare, is used metaphorically of the
allurements to evil by which Satan ensnares one, 1 Tim. 3: 7; 2 Tim. 2: 26. It is
also used of the sudden judgments of God to come upon
those whose hearts are overcharged
with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, Luke 21:34.1
Snare (pagis)
... it was a noose of hair for small birds, of wire for larger birds and
animals. The snares were set in a favorable location
and grain scattered to attract the attention of feathered creatures. They
accepted the bribe of good feeding and walked into the snare, not suspecting
danger. For this reason the snare became particularly applicable in describing
a tempting bribe offered to men to lead their fellows into trouble. 2
Snare (pagis),
a trap which holds fast ... in which birds are entangled and caught ... unexpectedly,
suddenly, because birds and
beasts are caught unawares, Luke 21: 35. A snare, i.e., whatever [Page 16] brings peril, loss,
destruction: of a sudden and deadly peril. 3
Isaiah 42: 22 shows
that a concealed hole in the ground was a snare. Jeremiah 18: 22 indicates that the digging of a pit was a
common device to ensnare. Amos 3: 5 mentions a gin, which was a trap springing
up from the ground to catch birds by the feet. Other traps caught animals by
the neck.
Solomon warned us about the snares
of love. And we learn from 1 Samuel 18: 21 that women were used to ensnare men.
Nations throughout history have often used this trap to steal military secrets.
Paul warned us that the love of
money is a snare (1 Tim. 6:
9). And the cares [anxieties] of this life are
snares to many professing Christians. The snare of drugs is one of the worst.
The list of snares is indeed a long one.
The word escape is ekpheugo in the Greek New Testament. It
signifies to get free from, to flee out of, to evade
a captor, to get safely away from danger.
This can be verified from
standard sources which also specify escape from the tribulation of Luke 21: 6. 4
Three examples of this
definition will illustrate it. In Psalm 124: 7, we read:
Our soul is escaped as a bird out of the snare of the fowlers: the snare is broken,
and we are
escaped.
In Psalm 141: 9-10:
Keep me from the snares which they have laid for me, and the gins
[traps] of the
workers of iniquity.
Let the wicked fall into their own nets, whilst that I
withal escape.
[Page 17]
The apostle Paul wrote about his
escape from a trap in 2 Corinthians 11:
32-33:
In Damascus the governor under Aretas
the king kept the city of the Damascenes with a garrison, desirous to
apprehend me:
And through a window in a basket was I let down by the wall, and escaped his
hands.
Pauls enemies had set a trap
for him at the gates of the city, and they watched the gates day and night to kill
him (Acts 9: 24), but the disciples let him down
by night over the wall in a basket. So Paul evaded his intended killers and got
safely away from the danger.
In view of these facts there
should be no doubt about our Lords meaning when He told us to watch and pray
that we may be worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass. Many
translators support our view of escape in this text. We quote from two
well-known translations (Other
translators give similar meanings.).
From hour to hour keep awake, praying that you may succeed in escaping all
these dangers to come ... (Moffatt)
Beware of slumbering: at all times pray that you may be fully
strengthened to escape from all these coming evils ... (
Observe that it is from all, not
part of, these impending dangers, from all these imminent disasters, that we
escape. And Jesus specified that day and the snare as these things that
shall come to pass. And it is from these things that we are to pray to escape.
There are some texts that refer
to part of the tribulation
period, and other texts that refer to all of it. When Jesus used the term that day, He [Page 18] included the entire judgmental
period because He specified all these things that shall come to pass. Some
teachers argue that the Church must go through the first part of the
tribulation, but this is in conflict with the meaning of the words that Jesus
used.
Another point of proof is this:
When Jesus told us to watch and pray that ye may be accounted worthy to escape, the word
that (hina) has reference to purpose and it means in order that. 5
So, when Jesus admonished us to
watch and pray, it was for the purpose of - in order that - we shall escape all
the dangers and disasters that begin with that
day.
We should also see the biblical
meaning of the word tribulation. The
Greek word is thlipsis, and it signifies pressing together,
pressure, distress, afflictions ... [it is used]
of the distress of a woman in childbirth, Jn. 16: 21. 6
We now see the word tribulation
for the birth-pangs of a pregnant woman in John 16: 21:
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is
come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no
more the anguish [tribulation].
Jesus used the same word when
speaking of the tribulation judgments, All these are the beginning of sorrows
[birthpangs] (Matt.
24: 8). Paul
used the same illustration in 1 Thessalonians 5: 2-4:
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety;
then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape.
The
entire period of the tribulation judgment is [Page 19] illustrated by the birthpangs of a
pregnant woman. The afflictions and anguish at the close of the age are the
pains preceding the birth of the coming [Messianic (see Isa.
56: 7, 8; Ps. 110: 1-3; Luke 22:
28;
Rev. 3: 21,
R.V.] kingdom. Jesus referred to this new birth when He
told about there regeneration [new birth] when the Son of man
shall sit in the throne of his glory (Matt.
19: 28).
The period of the judgments will
be tribulation in the sense that it will be anguish, distress, and affliction,
from beginning to end. The birthpains continue until
the new kingdom is born when Christ returns.
* * *
[Page 20]
CHAPTER 3
The Thief Illustration and the Escape
The thief illustration was
a favourite with Jesus. He spoke three times about thieves and robbers in the
parable of the Good Shepherd (John 10: 1-14). The
religious thief uses the sheep for his own selfish purpose and he steals and
destroys their souls. The thief cometh not but for to steal,
and to kill, and to
destroy.
The thief often conceals his
character and seeks to avoid detection. He moves slowly and silently through
the darkness and springs suddenly upon the unwary victim who thinks he is safe
and secure. A thief is one that comes without warning, and
this is the chief characteristic stressed by Jesus and Paul and Peter in their
admonitions about the need for vigilance to be ready for Christs coming.
We now see how Jesus used this
illustration as a warning to be ready for His coming. And observe that He used
it in a context about the [divine]
judgment that came upon the world in the time of Noah:
But as
the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the son of man be.
For as in the days that were before the flood they [Page 21] were eating and drinking, marrying and giving
in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark,
And knew not until the flood came, and took them all
away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be ...
Watch therefore: for ye know not what hour your Lord doth come.
But know this,
that if the goodman of the house had known in what watch the thief
would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be
broken up. (Matt. 24: 37-43)
Jesus here spoke about what the
people were doing before the Flood. They were living in excessive
self-indulgence (surfeiting), and did not believe the warnings of Noah about
the coming judgment. Noah was a preacher
of righteousness (2 Pet. 2: 5), but
all his preaching fell on deaf ears. And as righteousness was the issue
in the apostasy before the Flood, so also it is
today. Jesus admonished us not to be overcharged (overpowered) with
the indulgences and anxieties of this life.
As the world was living in
unrighteousness before the Flood, so also shall it be at the time of Christs
coming. And so also shall it be before His coming, as revealed in Luke 17: 26, And as it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be in the days of the Son of man. Notice the use of the plural days because it is important. The tribulation
period is here described as the days of the Son
of man. 1
After telling about the flood
judgment, Jesus added, But know this, that if the goodman [house-holder] of the house had known in what watch the thief would come,
he would have watched, and
would not have suffered his house to be broken up (Matt. 24: 43).
[Page 22]
Jesus used the words but know
this to get
their attention to what He was going to say about the thief - which was a truth
they knew. If the house-holder had been alert, his house would not have been
broken into. The thief comes only to steal, to kill, and to destroy. And the
point of the thief story is that the
owner could have prevented the loss and destruction.
Paul taught the thief lesson to
the Thessalonians as we see in chapter 5:1-9 of the
first epistle:
But of the times and seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh
as a thief in the night.
For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden
destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not
escape.
But ye, brethren, are not in darkness, that that
day should overtake you as a thief.
Ye are all the children of light, and the children of
the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.
Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober.
For they that sleep sleep in the
night: and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love;
and for an
helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath,
but to obtain
salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.
Paul told the Thessalonians it
wasnt necessary for him to write to them about prophetic times and seasons
because he had previously taught them that the day of the Lord cometh as a
thief in the night. And from all the signs about the day, Paul specified two - peace and safety.
These
times and seasons denote periods during [Page 23] which prophetic events appear that could not happen at any
other time. Each age has its own characteristics and opportunities. The
Judas-mob had their time and opportunity: This is
your hour and the power of darkness. So also today Satan has his
season to set the world stage for the coming of Antichrist. Critical times are
useful to Satan and he takes full advantage of them.
During these time periods there
are successive stages of growth in prophetic signs, and there is a continual
movement in the development of them until they reach final fulfilment. Consider
the fast-developing Middle East sign, and the
For many years world leaders
have been promoting world peace. Catholic and Protestant world organizations
have joined in the crusade. Thousands of ministers in
The favourite theme of the Old
Testament false prophets was peace, peace, but it never came. It was their
greatest delusion, and they deceived the people with it when war and slavery
were imminent. They only prophesied things that were popular with the people,
and they offered the people the promises
of God without obedience to the commandments. [Page 24] The true prophets told
them the truth and were persecuted.
Peace and prosperity will be the
most tempting bribe Satan has ever offered the nations. It will be the perfect
bait, and desperate nations will go for it, as a
bird hasteth to the snare, and knoweth not that
it is for his life (Prov.
7: 23).
From all the signs preceding the
tribulation, Paul put the stress on two - peace and safety. It may be because
these are the two most important. Some experts think that most of the worlds
problems are largely related to these two things.
It will be to a troubled world
that Antichrist will flash his peace-prosperity lure. Antichrist will be a
world sensation, and his supernatural solutions for the worlds problems will be
something the nations have never seen before.
Compare this with the fact that
recent polls show that in
Some countries that are members
of the United Nations have stated publicly that they have no confidence in its
peace efforts. But they will say of Antichrist, Who
is like him? Who can make war with him?
We do not know how long
Antichrist will be here before the day begins,
but it could be a considerable season while he is setting his trap. Daniel revealed that he will have
a small beginning with a gradual rise to world domination. He shall come up, and shall become strong with a small people [Page 25] (Dan.
11: 23).
Operating by the energies of a mysterious power, he will cast a hypnotic spell
over the entire inhabited earth, and they will express their awe with two
questions: Who is like the beast? Who can make war with him? (Rev.
13: 4). He
will bring peace to the world because no nation - not even with nuclear
weapons- will be able to make war with him. No military genius in history has
been or can be his equal.
The world will be settled down
in the ease and comfort of their peace-safety delusions when the sudden
destruction strikes. (The idea of prosperity is included in the word safety. Before it was used in the New
Testament it had the meaning of all is well.)
One of the first [divine] judgments of the day will be
to take peace from the earth (Rev. 6: 4), so the peace plan is in operation before
the time of tribulation begins.
Paul said they shall not escape this
sudden catastrophe. But ye, brethren, are
not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief
(1 Thess. 5: 4).
There is a distinct contrast
here between they and but ye. The English but has the identical meaning of the Greek and
signifies on the other hand. This means that
two ideas are brought sharply into contrast by placing them side by side, and
that the second idea should be compared and contrasted with the first.2
So, in the contrast of the two
ideas, what Paul said was this: On the one hand, sudden destruction will come
upon them and they shall not escape. On the other hand, the sudden destruction
shall not come upon you, and you shall escape.
[Page 26]
On the one hand, they are the
sons of darkness; on the other hand, you are the sons of light. The destruction
falls upon them because they are of
darkness. It does not fall upon you because you are of light.
The genitive of
darkness, points to
nature and origin. To belong to
darkness is more than to be in darkness.3 [Darkness is the element in which they exist.]
Another point of contrast is
that the thief will overtake them
but will not overtake you. This word (katalambano) signifies to take possession of by
seizure - to seize with hostile intent - to lay hold of so as to possess as ones own. 4 Jesus used this word in John 12: 35-6:
Walk while ye have the
light, lest darkness come upon [overtake, RV you] for he that walketh
in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.
While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye
may be the children of light.
If therefore the light
that is in thee be darkness, how great [intense] is that darkness! (Matt.
6: 23)
Jesus, in
This word is also found in the
story of the boy seized by a demon spirit:
And one of the
multitude answered and said, Master, I have brought unto thee my son, which hath a dumb spirit;
[Page 27]
And wheresoever he taketh [overtakes] him, he teareth him: and he foameth, and gnasheth
with his teeth, and pineth away. (Mark 9: 17-18)
Can you imagine what it will be
when these hordes of evil spirits are turned loose in that day to take possession of the
worlds masses who loved darkness rather than light?
Darkness they loved, and darkness they shall get. As the plagues continue to come
in the tribulation, Antichrists kingdom
was full of darkness; and they gnawed their
tongues for pain (Rev. 16: 10).
Paul made another contrast when
he wrote about those who sleep and those who watch. Therefore let us not sleep as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night (1 Thess. 5: 6, 7). In this sleep-watch comparison,
Paul said they sleep
but we must
watch and be sober. One of the Lords judgments will be to cause them to sleep a perpetual sleep, and
not wake, saith the Lord (Jer. 51: 39). They sink down ... into an
eternal sleep of death. 5
Paul also wrote about these
perpetual sleepers, and said that God
hath given them the spirit of slumber. The result of this
judgment follows in the verse: eyes that they
should not see, and ears that they should not
hear (
We are sorry to say that after a
long ministry, we have seen many of these sleepers in the
churches. Nothing awakens them out of their indifference to the
things of God, not even the truth about the coming of the Lord. Having wilfully
and persistently refused to awaken to spiritual things, they have been given
over to their slumber.
Long indulgence in worldly
pleasures has dulled [Page 28] their spiritual
senses until they are sunk in a moral stupor. They continue to sleep because
darkness is the element in which they exist. May the terrors of that day awaken them.
We conclude that Jesus and Paul
taught the same truth with the thief illustration. The Church will excape that day, the snare, and the sudden destruction of
the world of peace and prosperity that men will have built.
* * *
CHAPTER 4
Salvation and the Escape
[Page 29]
We shall quote again a part
of the passage we saw in the last chapter and observe the word salvation that is used twice.
But let us, who are of the day, be sober,
putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. (1 Thess. 5: 8, 9)
We have seen that escape means to
get safely out of danger, and that we shall
get safely out of the danger of the sudden
destruction, and that we shall get safely away from that day - the tribulation.
We see now that salvation here signifies that we shall be saved from the sudden destruction and the
tribulation. Escape and salvation here have similar meanings. Both these
words signify deliverance or safety from the judgments of that day, or the day of the Lord. In these verses (1 Thess. 5: 2-4) we see another example of how these day terms interchange.
Paul
again in I Thessalonians 5: 8 said that we [Page 30] are of the day. In verse 5 he said that we are not of the night nor of darkness. We
showed from the Greek text that this means belonging to the day, and not
belonging to the
tribulation night. 1
Paul then illustrated his
thought with the likeness of the armed soldier - the breastplate of faith and
love, and the helmet of salvation. This is a symbol of victorious warfare. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds
(2 Cor. 10: 4). They
are also mighty through God in resisting the thief.
Pauls soldier is more than
conqueror in the conflict. He is not seized and taken captive by the thief into
the darkness. We saw that overtake means to seize and take possession of with hostile intent.
But Pauls symbolic soldier is saved in the battle because he is
protected with the helmet of salvation.
The vigilant and armed soldier
was one of Pauls favourite illustrations. He used it again in Ephesians 6: 13-17:
Wherefore take unto
you the whole armour of God, that ye may be
able to withstand in the evil day, and having
done all, to stand.
Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of
peace;
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith
ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which
is the word of God.
The spiritual warrior will be
victorious in the evil day
because he is strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. The breastplate
of righteousness, faith, love, and the helmet of salvation are his protective armour. He resists the enemy,
and [Page 31] having
done all - having conquered all - he leaves the field of battle in the victory
of salvation.
As Paul twice used the word salvation in the sense of deliverance from the tribulation judgments it is
important to establish the precise definition
of this word.
Salvation (soteria) is a comprehensive or generic word, and
it has wide meaning in Scripture as
it also had among ancient Greeks. It
means much more than the saving from sin.
In the New Testament the word salvation ... is sometimes applied to
temporal benefits ... to expound fully the contents of this term ... would be
to expound the contents of the Gospel. 2
The words save and salvation appear about 150 times in the
New Testament.
Nearly a third of the New
Testament references to salvation (and its verbal forms) denote, as so
frequently in the Old Testament, deliverance
from specific ills, such as captivity,
disease, and devil possession. 3
Salvation (soteria) signifies to
bring out safely
from a situation fraught with mortal danger. It is used, of the evil days
of the last tribulation. 4
Other standard sources give
similar meanings. Moulton and Milligans The Vocabulary of
the Greek New Testament is
the highest authority of all:
Salvation is common in the
papyri in the general sense of bodily health, well-being, safety. 5
A few
examples will illustrate these meanings.
Peter wrote that God spared not the old world, but saved Noah, ... a preacher of
righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the world of the ungodly (2 Pet. 2: 5).
[Page 32]
Genesis 19:16-22: In this account the word escape is used five times in connection with Lots
getting safely out of Sodom, and in verse 19
Lot spoke of the angel as saving my life.
And as it was in the days of
Noah and
Exodus 14: 8-13: When it appeared that Pharaoh had
Acts 27: 20-44: During the voyage to
They refused Pauls warning
which proved true when they were caught in the tempestuous storm.
And when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared, and no small tempest lay on us, and all hope that we should be saved was taken away. (v. 20)
When they were driven close to shore
some of the shipmen were about to flee out of the ship, but Paul said to the
centurion, Except these abide in the ship,
ye cannot be saved.
It was the soldiers counsel to
kill the prisoners, lest any of them should swim out,
and escape [flee away safely] (v.
42). But the centurion, willing to save Paul, kept them from their purpose
(v. 43).
All got safely to land by
swimming or on boards [Page 33] and
broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to
pass, that they escaped all safe to land
(v. 44).
We conclude from these facts
that when Paul twice used the word salvation in a
passage about the tribulation judgments, he meant that we shall be delivered in
safety out of these judgments.
We arrive at the same conclusion
from his words in the passage, For God hath not
appointed us to wrath, but
to obtain salvation by our Lord
Jesus Christ (1 Thess.
5: 9).
This wrath is the sudden destruction which they
shall not escape. They are appointed to it but we are appointed to salvation.
The word appoint signifies to put or place, and it was not Gods purpose in
choosing us to put us in this tribulation wrath. Other translations agree:
For God has not destined
us to the terrors of judgment. (The New English Bible)
For God did not choose
us to condemn us. (Phillips)
For God has not
destined us to incur His anger. (
* * *
CHAPTER 5
The World Temptation and the Escape
[Page 34]
Because thou hast kept the word of
my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation which shall
come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. 3: 10)
This text is prophetic and
Christ here speaks of the final world trial preceding His coming that will test
the nations. He warned before about this world-test in Luke 21: 35, For as a snare shall it come on all them that
dwell on the face of the whole earth.
The standard lexicons,
revisions, and many translations agree that this will be a special temptation
(test) for the inhabited earth, and those who keep the word of Christ will be
kept safely from it. We quote a few sources to show the meaning:
Here it has the article, as if the temptation were to
be of no ordinary kind.
The
hour of trial seems to be that which Christ had foretold should precede his
coming, especially the triumph of Antichrist. Hence the declaration in the next
verse, Behold I come quickly. 1
Rev. 3: 10: The great time of trouble which [Page 35] shall be before the
Lords second coming. As such, it is immediately connected with I come quickly. 2
Rev. 3: 10: The hour of [the] temptation
- the appointed season of affliction (Deut. 4: 34, the plagues are called the temptations of
In this text Christ promised
believers that He would keep them in safety from the coming judgment, and that He
would keep them from the time (hour) of the temptation.
It may be helpful to look at
another passage which shows Gods protection of Noah and
For if God spared not
the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell [Tartarus R.V.], and delivered them
into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment;
And spared not the old
world, but saved Noah a preacher of
righteousness, bringing in the flood upon the
world of the ungodly;
And turning the cities
of
And delivered [rescued] just
(For
that righteous man dwelling among them, in
seeing and hearing, vexed his righteous soul
from day to day with their unlawful deeds;) The
Lord knoweth how to deliver [rescue] the godly out of temptations [Gk. trial], and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be
punished. (2 Pet. 2: 4-9)
Here
again we see a contrast between the godly [Page 36] and
ungodly in times of judgment when God
put nations on trial. Noah and
Noah was a preacher of
righteousness, and the pre-flood world was put on
trial by his message of righteousness. They rejected
this and perished. But Noah was safely in the ark before a drop of
the destructive waters fell. He was sealed against the judgment because the Lord shut him in (Gen.
7: 16).
Likewise in
We cited above in Deuteronomy 4: 34 that
the demand for the freedom of the Israelites was a temptation to Pharaoh. This word is not
always used in a bad sense but sometimes means to test or prove. An
example is in Genesis 22: 1,
God did tempt Abraham.
Pharaoh hardened his heart under
the trial, and the divine plagues afflicted his land. But in the punishments
the Lord put a difference between the
Egyptians and
After telling about the
deliverances of Noah and
From these facts we think the meaning
is evident that the Lord knows how to deliver, and that He will deliver the godly out of the worldwide
temptation referred to in Revelation 3: 10; and also in this text, Christ promised not
only to keep the faithful out of this judgment but to keep them from the time
of it.
Peter said the destructions in
the times of Noah and
The word ensample, or example, signifies a copy, model, pattern, object-lesson. And in
Peters context it is an illustrative case to warn the ungodly - those that after should live ungodly - what
they could expect in the future judgment. God condemned [Page 38]
It was a complete salvation for
Noah and
We have seen the meaning of
Gods saving Noah and delivering
Our Lords promise here reminds
us that He taught us to pray, And lead us not into temptation, but deliver [rescue] us from evil (Matt. 6: 13). And
our question here is this: Can we pray that we shall not enter into this world
trial? If not, why?
We cannot escape all temptation,
but Jesus taught that we can avoid many temptations that Christians fall into,
and we are to pray that we shall not enter
into these. The Old Testament Hebrew scholar, R. B. Girdleston, wrote:
When we ask God not to lead us into temptation, we mean, Lead us not into
that position, and put us not into those circumstances in which we should be in
danger of falling an easy pray to the assaults of Satan. 4
Also, what did our Lord mean
when He warned, Watch and pray, that ye
enter not into temptation? (Matt. 26: 41). We know that we cannot escape [Page 39] all temptations because the
purpose of God for us is accomplished in them. This is taught in James 1: 2-3:
My brethren, count it all joy when ye fall into divers
temptations;
Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.
But Christ clearly indicates it
is His will that we do not enter into the temptation of Revelation 3: 10. Why then cannot we pray that we shall not be
led into this temptation? Why cannot we pray that we shall not enter into it? This temptation is
another name for the snare of Luke 21: 36. And as Jesus told us to pray to escape the
snare, then we can also pray that we shall not enter into this temptation.
God put
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power and
signs and lying wonders,
And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them
that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be
saved.
And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie:
That they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in
unrighteousness.
The miracle working power of
Antichrist will amaze the world. His signs and wonders will be something the
nations never saw before, and they will be [Page 40] powerful temptations for them to accept his claim to deity.
We should note here that Antichrist sits in the temple, not as Christ, but as
God, shewing himself that he is God
(2 Thess. 2: 4).
His lying wonders support his
claim that he is God. This, with his peace-security solution for the worlds
troubles, is the lie. The lying wonders doesnt mean that the wonders are not real (as many think) because the same Greek words used for the
signs and wonders of Christ are used for those of Antichrist. God allows this
power to be given to
him to deceive the nations (Rev. 13: 1-5). A sign is intended
to appeal to the understanding, a wonder appeals to the imagination, a power indicates its source is supernatural. 5
This worldwide temptation will
be a snare, and the snare will be baited. Theres an interesting point in James 1: 14, But every man is tempted, when
he is drawn away [baited] of his own lust, and enticed. The nations will
be baited with the peace-security lure. The satanic
appeal will be to their lusts for material things, and a desperate and chaotic world will take the bait. All we have heard during the past few years
about peace and security is only the beginning of a deceptive strategy to
prepare the world mind for its acceptance.*
[* Could this present world-wide deception by Government
lies, restrictions, freedom of speech and movement by (because of Covid-19), be
the beginning
of the season of
the Antichrist? We must wait and see how world events development!
There are prophetic bible-students today, who believe and we are now
at the beginning of that season
- i.e., the first forty-two months of the
Great Tribulation!
Keep in mind: This can only take
place (1) after the Jews have a temple constructed in Jerusalem; (2) after animal sacrifices take place
there; (3) when the Antichrist will break
his
covenant of peace with the Jews, and his identity is known world-wide;
(4) and after the death of Gods
Two Witnesses and the Antichrists persecutions
are and administered throughout the entire world and upon all who refuse to take his
mark! 2 Thess.
2: 1-12; Rev. 11: 3-12. Cf.
For the Revelation of the Kingdom see Matt. 16: 28-17: 1-8; Mark 9: 2-8; Luke 9: 28-36: and after
its establishment (when the millennial temple will be built by The Branch) see Luke 22:
28 and compare Jeremiah 33: 14-21; Ezekiel 43:
1-9; Zechariah 6: 12,
13, R.V. etc. ]
This temptation is the
forerunner of the tribulation (thlipsis), and this word has an interesting
history. It signifies pressure, affliction, difficult circumstances, or extreme
distress. In ancient
[Page 41]
The prophets saw the nations in
distress and perplexity at the end time, and the pressure will increase until they
are forced into the jaws of the baited trap.
Jesus was a disappointment to
Jewish hopes. He was not the spectacular Messiah they expected. They desired a
sensational deliverer to restore the kingdom to
The Jews desired that Christ would show them a sign from heaven (Matt. 16: 1). But He refused and replied that as
sign-seekers they were an evil and adulterous generation
(Matt. 12:
39). They believed that only God
could show supernatural signs from heaven, and they would believe on Christ if
He would show them flashing rays of kingdom splendour from the heavens. But
Jesus rejected requests for the spectacular as He did when He refused to cast
himself down from the temple or to come down from the cross.
But Antichrist will
fully satisfy the worlds lust for the sensational. He will dazzle
the eyes of an evil and adulterous generation with displays of the supernatural
from heaven. Antichrist and his false prophet will perform mighty miracles,
even making fire come down from heaven on the
earth in the sight of men (Rev. 13: 13). But
Christs promise is that He will keep
the faithful out of Antichrists miraculous temptations.
In Peters verses we see a
repetition of truths about Noah and
We also observe points of similarity between Luke 21:
35-36 and
Revelation 3: 10.
[Page 42]
In Luke, the world test is a snare; in Revelation, it is a temptation.
In Luke, the world test comes on all
them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. In Revelation, it shall come upon all the world, to
try them that dwell upon the earth.
In Luke, we are told to pray to
escape the snare. In Revelation,
Christ promised to keep us from the hour of the temptation.
We conclude that the worldwide
snare of Luke 21: 35
and the worldwide temptation of Revelation 3:10 are the same event because there
are not two such world events in the prophecies. And to escape the trap does not mean to be kept safe while caught in it.
* *
*
CHAPTER 6
Signs That Precede the Tribulation
[Page 43]
Things appear to be coming
to a head practically everywhere in the world. 1
Prophetic signs appear at
certain times and seasons, and there is a time for the tribulation to begin.
Jesus told about the beginning of sorrows and about events which must first come to pass (Matt.
24: 8; Luke 21: 9).
Some signs will appear before the tribulation begins and others will appear
after it begins. We are primarily interested in the first-signs or preliminary
events which Jesus said would indicate that the day is near.
Dates cannot be set, but we can know the nearness of the day. We can see the day approaching (Heb. 10: 25).
Jesus told the Pharisees about the weather signs which they could
discern (Matt. 16:
1-3). And
as events can be predicted by observation in the natural sphere, so also events
are discernible in the spiritual sphere.
Thousands now save their lives by fleeing from hurricanes and tornados
predicted by the weather man; and those who watch and pray will escape the
tribulation. In both cases, the warnings provide escape from approaching
danger.
[Page 44]
Paul said there are times and
seasons for these events (1 Thess.
5: 1-3). Times refer to the duration of
periods and seasons refer to
shorter periods. Seasons are parts of times. In our time and season Satan has
the opportunity to prepare the nations for Antichrist. The world stage must
first be set for his appearance. We saw before that Jesus told the [apostate and]
Judas-mob, This is your hour and power of
darkness.
There are successive periods to
these prophetic seasons during which events happen that could not happen at any
other time. And when one season ends, another opens, and the nations move from
crisis to crisis with ever-increasing danger. In the Bible, the prophecies are
represented as continually coming to pass until the ultimate realization [of wickedness] is attained.
There will be preliminary events
before the tribulation begins, as there are indications of springtime before it
arrives. Jesus said we know when summer is near. And Jesus also said, For as in the days before the flood ... so shall also the
coming of the Son of man be (Matt. 24: 38-39). Certain signs and conditions will appear
first.
There will be sensational signs
after the day of the Lord begins, but these will be after-signs. If there
should be signs in the sun, moon, and stars before the day begins, then it would defeat
the purpose of secrecy, and the day could
not come unawares, or as a
thief in the night.
As there were pre-flood
conditions before that judgment came, so also shall there be pre-tribulation
conditions. It will be helpful and we will avoid confusion if we keep the
first-signs and after-signs in their proper places. And this is not difficult
to do if we observe indications of this in the texts and contexts of the
prophecies.
[Page 45]
Jesus spoke about first-signs in
Luke 21: 9, But when ye shall hear of wars and commotions, be not terrified, for these
things must first come to pass; but the end is
not by and by [immediate].
From this we learn that
terrifying commotions will first be present in the world. This was true during
the days before the Flood when the earth also was
corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with
violence (Gen. 6: 11). The wickedness of man was great in the earth; they
corrupted marriage and glutted themselves with eating, drinking, and sex until
they were morally hopeless. They
rejected Noahs message of righteousness and did not believe his warning about things not seen as
yet. Lawless, violent, and persistently wicked, they sank to the depths of apostasy and unbelief. The [Holy] Spirit
of the Lord withdrew His striving, and they were given up to their doom. All that God cannot redeem He
will destroy.
As Jesus connected the word terrified with commotions, it will be helpful to amplify
the meaning of commotions. From leading Greek sources we gather these
definitions: Disorder, confusion, tumults, riots,
upheavals, unruly, restless, uproar, anarchy, lawlessness, turbulence,
conditions that terrorize, dreadful events that cause panic. The reader
can judge whether these definitions describe what he sees in the world news
reports.
As we are primarily interested
in these first-signs, we shall note a few items of interest recently taken from
news sources that deal with these commotions. Heres an item clipped from U.S. News & World Report March 12,1973:
In
These problems take many forms.
In the
Another commotion in
The World Health Organization
reports about the worldwide suicide crisis,
and says there are about 15,000 suicide attempts per day. Stress and depression
are given as chief causes of suicide. One specialist wrote, Every depressed person is a potential suicide. Two
national magazines published a report about a high rate of suicide among
psychiatrists. A specialist at Boston University School of Medicine, after
observing 2,000 student patients, wrote: The students I have seen are, in
nearly 100 percent of the cases, in a state of depression.
A neurotic world is cracking
under the stress of fear, disappointment, and pressure. One report on crime
says that fear has become a part of life for millions of Americans, and that
crime is spreading fast and is increasingly vicious. There were more that 600
riots in
[Page 47]
Jesus, in describing the
terrifying pre-tribulation events, specified wars and commotions, with nation against
nation. There have always been wars and commotions, but events preceding the
day of the Lord will be worse. The prophecies stress the fact that the end-time
world situation will be the most dangerous of all. Wars, commotions, and nation
against nation all occurring together will be a frightful situation. Satan will frighten the world into
accepting his peace-prosperity plan, and a frantic world will take it.
There has never been a world
nuclear war, but military leaders envision the horrible possibility with
hundreds of millions killed in the first attack. Scientists have repeatedly
warned that mankind is sitting on the edge of disaster. The worlds superpowers
are engaged in a nuclear arms race, and the number of nations with nuclear
weapons is increasing. The staggering cost of this arms race puts the nations
under enormous financial pressure, and oppressive taxation follows.
The most crucial question
confronting the United Nations today is this: Can
nuclear war be averted?
The competitive superpowers are
building huge war machines with thousands of nuclear bombs stockpiled.
Military reports say that
Among the first-signs we also
include the worlds economic crisis. Satans end-time
plan is peace and prosperity. Most of the worlds problems are related to these
two things, and Antichrist will work with the old political slogan: Give the people what they want. Nations have various
security plans because their people are restless with a deep yearning for
security.
The prosperity of the European
Common Market has influenced other nations to apply for membership. Promoters
of the Market believe that a unified
The expanding European Market
has enormous power, and experts predict it may soon control 40 percent of world
trade. It could then become a dominant political and world power. It was a
significant shift when
The world-trade sign described
in Revelation 18 appears on the horizon.
This chapter is a graphic picture of great
riches spread over the earth by international shipping. The major
powers are in a race to build super cargo ships and tankers.
A new era with startling changes
has come. For example,
[Page 50] No doubt
about it, coming world transformations will stagger the nations - like a drunkard (Isa. 24:
20).
The uniworld sign is also in the making. The
one-world idea is not new but it is now moving closer to reality. The United
Nations in its 1973 session almost accomplished its universal purpose to bring
all nations into their membership. The United Nations now has 135 members, and
with such a union, few nations desire to stay out. There are serious
differences among members of the United Nations and changes may come, but the
present universality appears to indicate a trend toward the end.
The unichurch sign is also developing with the
uniworld sign. Both grow together and operate
together until they become universal. In the end-time prophecies one does not
appear without the other. About ten years ago I heard Bishop Sheen say it is
the Roman Catholic purpose to bring all the world religions into one fold. And
it was about the same time I heard a Protestant ecumenical leader say, Most Protestants are now ready to accept the Pope as their
spiritual leader. There has been an enlargement of all the signs since
that time.
By unichurch
we mean the
This world religious system is
represented in the Bible under the symbol of a harlot. She represents the
unfaithful or prostitute church. The prophets often used the words harlot, whoredom, adultery, and fornication to
describe her. In [Page 51] Revelation, chapters 17-18, her entire religious character is summed
up in the word fornication.
But the true and faithful Church
is represented with the symbol of a bride, and her whole spiritual character is
summed up in the word righteousness (Rev. 19: 8). The difference between the
The harlot is married to the
world and world rulers and she reigneth over the kings
of the earth (Rev. 17: 18). Proud
and boastful, she dominates kings and princes who have lived deliciously with her. The offence of the Cross and the reproach of Christ have no part in
her apostate theology. She has the inhabited earth intoxicated with
the wine of her fornication. She
finds lovers in all nations, and she adapts herself to all classes and kinds.
She is attractive and powerful and fascinates every tongue, tribe, and nation
with her mystical charms. She has a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication
(Rev. 17:
4), and this cup is filled with
the wine of her fornication, which is the spirit of whoredoms (Hos. 4: 12). All drink from this one cup
because this is the universal spirit.
Many
churches considered fundamental have not escaped the harlots defiling spirit
and teaching. They tolerate a spirit of worldly pleasures and
have made concessions to the prevailing spirit of the times that is not
conducive to spiritual fidelity. They have
yielded to the pressures of popular opinion.
Even in
apostolic times the churches were tempted with these dangers. Paul warned the
Corinthians not to be seduced from the
simplicity that is in [Page 52] Christ (2 Cor.
11: 3). He reminded
them that Eve was deceived by the serpents cunning and she was beguiled, which means she was deceived
with a false reasoning. The word
simplicity signifies single-hearted
faithfulness, so Paul admonished them not to be led astray from single-hearted
faithfulness to Christ by false reasoning. False
doctrines are false reasonings, and
this takes many forms in intellectual deception. It will reach its climax at
the end time. The world has never seen the full force of Satans deceptive
power as it will be manifested in the
In considering the first-signs
that precede the escape of the Church before the tribulation begins, we should
also point out the name-sign or number-sign of Antichrist which will be
revealed to the true Church before Antichrist becomes a world power. The
identity of Antichrist will be concealed in his name. This is described in Revelation 13: 18:
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count
the number of the beast: for it is the number of
a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore
and six.
Antichrist will come as a
saviour to the world, and he will work in deep secrecy so as not to reveal his
real character; his identity will be mysteriously hidden in his name. It will
be more than a word puzzle or numerical riddle, and beyond the sphere of human
intelligence to discern. To date all attempts to connect the number 666 with
historical characters have failed.
As the harlot-woman has upon her
forehead a name written, MYSTERY
(Rev. 17:
5-9), so
also there is a mystery to the name of Antichrist. And [Page 53] as only
the mind which hath wisdom can
discern the harlot, so also only the wisdom and understanding given by the Holy
Spirit will expose Antichrist.
Revelation 13: 18 seems to suggest something like a satanic
secret code. Dr. George Lamsa in his The New Testament According to the Eastern Text,
which is a translation from the ancient Aramaic texts, used the words code number in this verse.
The end-time operations of Satan
are summed up in the prophecies with two words - deception and mystery. And the latest world
revival of the occult will be useful to Satan in his deceptive operations. There has never been a time when the Church needed the gifts of the
Holy Spirit more than today, especially to detect the counterfeit
working of Satan through extraordinary phenomena of the psychic mind. As the end
approaches, God and Satan will fight the greatest battle of all, and it will be
warfare in the realm of the supernatural.
The
The Mideast sign moves with the
World events since World War II
have been gathering momentum. Coercive systems are developing. Pressure tactics
are used everywhere. The Arab oil embargo showed how other nations can be
pressured into conformity to the will of a few nations.
Happening together with the
other signs is the Joelic sign. Peter, on the day of
Pentecost, quoted from the prophet Joel, And it
shall come to pass in the last days, saith God,
I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh
(Acts 2: 17). This
prophecy had a small fulfilment at Pentecost Day, but it is being accomplished
today on a global scale as never seen before, and it will increase more and
more as the end of the age approaches. The prophetic scope widens and the
picture continues to enlarge.
The present worldwide outpouring
of the Holy [Page 55] Spirit
is in preparation for the end-time harvest in all nations. Even in the worst
part of the tribulation there will be the reaping of a great multitude, which no
man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues... In all church history
there has never been such a world sweep of the Holy Spirit (Rev. 7: 9-14).
Our Lords command to His church
is to take the gospel [of the kingdom (Matt. 4:
23; 24: 14, R.V.)] everywhere and to make
disciples of all nations until the end of the age (Matt.
28:19-20). And He instructed us, Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest. As the field is the world, His command is still in
effect for us to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send labourers to the
nations. And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a
witness unto all nations; and then shall
the end come (Matt. 24: 14).
What the former rain did for the beginning of the
church age, the latter rain will do
for the end of it. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth,
and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain (James 5: 7). As the
farmer works his fields with patience until the rains come, so also we work and
pray in the Lords harvest fields until He pours out the latter rain for
another reaping.
Another reason for the worldwide
Joelic diffusion of the Spirit is to impart prophetic
knowledge among the nations. As John the Baptist was the fore-runner of Christ
to prepare the way of the Lord, and as His
disciples preceded Him to the towns and cities of
[Page 56]
This profusion of knowledge was
indicated when Joel wrote, I will pour out of
my spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your
daughters shall prophesy, and your young men
shall see visions, and your old men shall dream
dreams. And on my servants and on my handmaidens
I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and
they shall prophesy. When Christ promised to send the Holy
Spirit, He said, And he will show you things to come.
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to reveal prophetic
truth and to show us future events. An angel told John that he was
the fellow-servant of John and of those that
have the testimony of Jesus ... for the
testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy (Rev.
19: 10). This
means that those who have the [Holy Spirits] anointed testimony of Jesus possess the
spirit of prophetic inspiration. For the truth
revealed by Jesus is the inspiration of all prophecy (
As God prepares to close the
Gentile age, the Holy Spirit is moving with a special visitation to the Gentile
nations, and the central truth of prophetic inspiration is that the coming of the Lord draweth nigh.
We conclude from our brief look
at the signs that there are important fulfilments on the world scene today. The
The uni-world
and uni-church signs show important gains, and
likewise the world-trade sign; also, the
All parts of the prophetic
Picture will be prepared and ready to fit into the final and total plan.
* * *
CHAPTER 7
A Thousand Years As One Day
[Page 58]
The apostle Peter wrote
about scoffers who object to Gods delay in fulfilling the prophecies. They can
see no outward signs of Christs coming, and in unbelief they say that all
things have continued in the usual order from the beginning of creation. Peter
quoted their unbelieving statement and answered them in his second epistle (3: 3-9):
Knowing this first, that there shall come in the last days scoffers, walking after their own lusts,
And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the
creation....
But, beloved, be not ignorant of
this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as
a thousand years, and a thousand years as one
day.
The Lord is not slack
concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should
come to repentance.
But the day of the
Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the
which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned
up...
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look
[Page 59] for new
heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth
righteousness.
To the scoffing complaint that
God is slow in accomplishing His purpose, Peter replied that one day is with
the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. God does not
always need long periods of time to fulfil His prophetic word because He can do
in one day what He has not done in a thousand years.
It isnt necessary for God to
hurry nor tarry. He does not need to speed up nor slow down because He has
appointed a time and season for every purpose under the sun. Gods apparent
delay does not mean that He is slack concerning His promises, but He is
longsuffering to us, not willing that any should perish but that all
should come to repentance.
The scoffers say that all things
continue as they were from the beginning of creation, and this indicates they
are looking for spectacular events that will signalize Christs coming. But the
signs of His coming are not such as they expect to see. If there should be
alarming outward cosmic upheavals or sensational events such as they expect,
then the Lord could not come unawares or as a thief in the night. The signs of the day of the Lord will not be recognized
by the world but by the Church. The spirit of prophetic
discernment is given only to the overcoming Church.
Peter answered the scoffers with
the historical illustration of the flood judgment (vv. 5-6). The longsuffering of
God waited in the days of Noah, while me ark was
a preparing (1 Pet. 3: 20). But when the judgment came, it came quickly. The suddenness of the
destructive judgment was stressed by [Page 60] our Lord in Luke 17: 26-29, They did eat, they drank, they
married wives, they were given in marriage,
until the day [the very day] that Noah entered
into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.
The same emphasis is given to
the fiery judgment upon
As the end approaches, God must
accomplish much in a short time because of the large number of prophecies to be
fulfilled. This prophetic project will be carried out and terminated by such a
rapid succession of events that Jesus said it would all be done in the lifetime
of the generation living at the time of final fulfilment. Verily I say unto you, This
generation shall not pass away, till all be
fulfilled (Luke 21: 32). The severity and rapidity of
the final judgments would destroy all flesh if God did not shorten the judgment
period. And except those days should be
shortened, there should no flesh be saved
(Matt. 24:
22).
[Page 61]
Paul, writing about Gods
dealings with Jews and Gentiles, also told about the short work that God will
do in the end time. For he will finish the work, and cut it short in righteousness: because a short work will the Lord make upon the earth
(Rom. 9: 22-30).
God will terminate His dealings
with the nations without delay, and bring His purpose in the earth to a speedy
completion. He is putting the nations
and the churches to the test of righteousness. God puts the
masses to the righteousness test and thus separates the remnants from the apostates
and unbelievers.
A remnant is a spiritual
minority or what is left remaining after a time of testing. In one sense a
remnant can be a considerable number, but when compared with a nation or
denomination it is small. Many are called but few are chosen. God selects the comparative
few because they choose Gods Word as
the standard of righteousness* and live accordingly, by faith in Christ. The many do not obtain this [undisclosed standard of personal] righteousness because
they do not seek it through faith in Christ (Rom. 9: 30-32).
[* See Matt. 5: 20; 7: 21; Eph. 5: 5, R.V. etc.]
Paul, apostle to the Gentiles,
drew illustrations of remnants from Jewish history and used them as warnings to
his Gentile churches.
[Page 62]
Our time is a special season for
Gods visitation and preparation of the Gentiles into the
This word fulness signifies
full number, full
measure, sum total, that which makes
something full or complete. 1 God is working among the Gentiles and pouring out His Spirit
upon them to obtain this sum-total result. And it will continue until it
includes all nations, and kindreds, and people,
and tongues (Rev.
7: 9-14). This agrees with our Lords
command that we take the gospel [of the kingdom (Matthew 4: 28, 9: 35, Mark 1: 14)] to all nations - unto the uttermost part of
the earth - until the end of the age (Matt. 28: 19-20; Acts 1: 8).
We have seen that this global outpouring of the [Holy] Spirit is a fulfilment of covenant
prophecy. And the central point of the Abrahamic Covenant was that God
would give Abraham a worldwide family of spiritual children. This is being done
today [through the Internet] as it has never been done before. No other generation could
say as we can today about the fulfilment of covenant prophecy, This is that (Acts 2:
16). This covenant purpose will accelerate until the end of the age.
When God destroys the dream
world of peace and prosperity that apostate men will build, they will be
overwhelmed at the speed with which the judgments come. In their lamentation over
the sudden destruction of their fabulous empire they cry out again and again, Alas, alas, that great city
Peters statement about a
thousand years as one day reminds us of Psalm 90: 4:
[Page 63]
For a thousand years
in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
Considering the fast-moving
tempo of world events today and the staggering changes out of which a new world
is emerging as a setup for Antichrist, we should give all the more heed to our
Lords command in Mark 13: 35-37:
Watch ye therefore: for ye know not when the master of the house
cometh, at even, or at midnight, or at the cockcrowing, or in the morning.
Lest coming suddenly he find you sleeping.
And what I say unto you I say unto all, Watch.
It is only by our loving obedience
to this command that we shall be accounted worthy to escape all these things
that shall come to pass.
* * *
[Page 64]
CHAPTER 8
What It Means to Be Worthy to Escape
Watch
ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be
accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass,
and to stand before the Son of man. (Luke 21: 36)
Various versions have different
translations of this verse. Instead of accounted
worthy to escape, some have, that ye may prevail
to escape, or a similar rendering. Greek authorities say that either translation
gives a good sense, and the Amplified New Testament combines both thoughts in its
translation: Keep awake then and watch at all
times ... praying that you may have the full
strength and ability and be accounted worthy to escape all these things [taken
together]* that will take place, and to stand in the presence of the Son of man.
*[Their bracket.]
This word worthy is significant in the New Testament, and Jesus
gave it considerable stress. The Greek word is axios, and the standard lexicons give it
similar definitions. When used of persons, the word has the meaning of value or worth.
Axios, worthy,
fit.
He is not worthy of me, - [Page 65] does not
deserve to belong to me, Mt. 10: 37. 1
Axios. The sense of worth, value. (Professor Deissmann
is cited on this meaning from the inscriptions.) 2
Axios, of
weight, worth, worthy, is said of persons and their deeds: (a) in a good sense,
e.g., Matt. 10:
10, 11, 13 (twice), 37 (twice),
38; 22: 8 ... 3
We now look at a few of many
references to see how this word is used in the New Testament. John told the
Jews who came to be baptized of him, Bring
forth therefore fruits meet [worthy, axios]
for repentance (Matt. 3: 8).
John demands proof from these
men of the new life before he administers baptism to them. The fruit is not the
change of heart, but the acts which result from it.
Jesus, John, and the apostles
were united on the teaching that only those who bear the fruits of
righteousness in their lives are [obedient
and] genuine Christians, as the
Greek text proves. We look now at the emphasis Jesus gave to worthy:
And
into whatsoever city or town ye shall enter,
inquire who in it is worthy; and there abide
till ye go thence
And if the house be
worthy, let your peace come upon it: but if it be not worthy, let
your peace return to you.
He that
loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy
of me.
And he that taketh not
his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. (Matt.
10: 11, 13, 37, 38)
Jesus told about others who were
not worthy because when they received an invitation to the marriage of the
Kings son, they made light of it, and [Page 66] went their ways, one to his farm, another to his merchandise.
Then
saith he to his servants, The wedding is ready,
but they which were bidden were not worthy: (Matt. 22: 5-8).
In Luke 10: 7 we get
another view,
the labourer is worthy of his hire.
Paul continued this truth about
worthiness in his epistles. I ... beseech you that ye walk worthy [live lives worthy] of the vocation wherewith ye are called (Eph. 4: 1).
That ye
might walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing,
being fruitful in every good work, and
increasing in the knowledge of God. (Col.
1: 10.)
We are
bound to thank God always for you, brethren,
... so that we ourselves glory in you in the churches
of God for your patience and faith in all your
persecutions and tribulations that ye endure: which
is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of the kingdom of God, for which ye also suffer: (2
Thess. 1: 5).
Paul told the Thessalonians that
God had a righteous purpose in proving them with the persecutions. For it was
by their endurance in these afflictions that they showed themselves worthy of
the
Paul did not mean they were
earning their salvation by their endurance in the trials. To be worthy of the
kingdom does not mean self-salvation. We reject any worthiness apart from the
merits of Christ and believe that no sinner can save himself, no matter how
many religious works he may do or how much he may suffer. If sinners could earn
or merit [Page 67] salvation without Christ, then Christ died in vain.
But it is clear from Pauls
epistles that he, like Christ, was
absolute in his requirements for discipleship. He demanded a love for
Christ that was above all other considerations and evidence of salvation was required.
To get the right view of Paul on
salvation, we must look at all that he
wrote on this subject. We shall fall into error if we pick and choose from his
statements, as some do. Paul wrote about Gods predestinating purpose in Ephesians 2: 8-10: For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of
God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.
For we are his
workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good
works, which God ordained that we should walk
[live] in them.
There is a connecting link in
the good works here
with what Paul wrote about the patience,
faith, and endurance of the Thessalonians. These good works are a life of
righteous actions toward God and men, and by them we prove ourselves worthy of
the [coming messianic- Ed.]
kingdom. They are not the mere performance of religious duties that
Paul described as the works of the law (Gal. 2: 16). An example of this is the
story Jesus told about the self-righteous Pharisee praying in the temple (Luke 18: 9-14).
The works of the law and the
works of faith are extreme opposites. The works of faith are created in Christ Jesus, and are the results of Gods workmanship in the heart and
life. They are the effects produced by
the Holy Spirit and are called the fruit of the
Spirit, as seen in Ephesians 5: 8-10:
For ye
were sometimes darkness, but now are
ye light in the Lord: walk as children of light:
[Page 68]
For the fruit of the
Spirit is [consists] in all goodness and
righteousness and truth.
Proving what is
acceptable unto the Lord.
The sum of all that is
acceptable to God is here summed up in three words: goodness, righteousness,
truth. The word proving contains the idea of testing and trial.
Those who continue to walk with God, in testing and trial, with the evidence of
goodness, righteousness, and truth, are living proofs of what is acceptable to
God. God proves that He might
approve, and what is approved is accepted by Him. Those who do not qualify under His rules of
proof are not accepted.
Trials are the means by which God proves faith, and it
is proven faith that is more precious than of gold that perisheth. And it
is such faith that will be to the honour and glory of Christ and His saints at His appearing (1 Pet. 1: 7).
Paul again wrote of the
spiritual worth of the Thessalonians in relation to Christs coming:
Wherefore
also we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power: (2 Thess. 1: 11).
The Thessalonians were qualifying to be worthy by the test of
Christ-created works. This work of faith
was required, and through the proving God was fulfilling the good pleasure of
His goodness. It is Gods good pleasure to produce this spiritual fruit in
human lives. They cannot do it without
Christ. The branch cannot bear fruit of
itself: (John 15: 4).
Throughout the New Testament there is a worth-worthless contrast that
underlies all that Jesus and the apostles taught. Paul
takes this truth all the way to the judgment seat, when, at - [or immediately before the First Resurrection and] - Christs
coming, He [Page 69] will accept the worthy and reject the
worthless. Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 3: 11-13: For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid,
which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build
upon this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
Every mans work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare [disclose] it, because it shall be
revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every mans work of what sort it is.
In the Bible, gold, silver, and
precious stones are used to typify valuable and non-flammable materials. But
wood, hay, and stubble typify worthless and flammable materials. The apostolic
thought of a spiritual house or temple runs through all the New Testament; and
we see various expositions of this idea, especially in Ephesians
and Hebrews. We also see representations of
the selection and preparation of the valuable materials used to build the
spiritual structure.
Paul, in the verses above,
represents persons with no spiritual value as being worthless for use in the
eternal spiritual temple. They do not
possess the eternal [essential] qualities to pass the
fiery test at the judgment seat, and they will be unfit for the [Messianic] kingdom purpose.
As every mans work shall be
revealed in that day, Paul expressed concern for the final result of his
labour. He told the Corinthians, Are not
ye my work in the Lord? (1 Cor. 9: 1). To be sure that all who were
his work possessed
the necessary qualities to survive the fire-test at Christs coming, he
urged the Corinthians to:
Examine
yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your
own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you,* except ye be
reprobates? [counterfeits] (2 Cor. 13: 5.)
[* See Acts
5: 32; 1 John
3: 21-24,
R.V.]
There
are three big words here: examine, prove, reprobates. Examine signifies to try or test, and prove [Page 70]
reprobates. Examine
signifies to try or test, and prove relates
to the result of the examination. Examine [trial] implies a definite intent to ascertain their
spiritual condition (Vincent).
Examine, try, make trial of, put
to the test, to discover what
kind of a person someone is, 2 Cor. 13: 5. 6
The word reprobate had an interesting history even
before it came into New Testament language. It was used to indicate what was counterfeit after the testing of money and metals.
Job said, When he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold (23:
10). After God tested
The testing determined what was
counterfeit and what was genuine. And what was found to be counterfeit was
disapproved or rejected as worthless. Paul required proof of genuine [and acceptable] character from the Corinthians. An analysis of Pauls epistles
shows him to have been always thinking about the fiery examination at the end.
And he stressed again and again that the
final result of every mans life and work can only be what the judgment seat
will prove it to be.
There is much in popular Christendom today that is cheap and worthless.
There is much spiritual devaluation by leaders and laity who reject the whole counsel
of God.* Being tolerant and permissive of sin and
worldliness, they have substituted tinkling brass for gold and silver. And they think it is negative to insist on the
same demands for discipleship as did Jesus and Paul. It was to such a
church that Christ sent this message: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the
fire, that [Page 71] thou mayest be rich; and white raiment,
that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame
of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest
see. (Rev. 3: 18)
[* Acts 20: 27.]
This Laodicean church was
spiritually poor (v. 17), and
the Counsellor advised them to buy His proven gold of righteousness and
spiritual purity. He said they would be rich if they did.
But Paul said that salvation is the gift of God. Why then must we buy a free
gift? Was Paul at variance with Christ? Or was he at variance with himself?
After telling the Ephesians that salvation is Gods free gift, and not of
works, he told the Philippians that he had suffered
the loss of all things ... that I may win Christ (3: 8).
By suffering the loss of highly valued things to win Christ, Paul was obeying Christ who required such
loss from all who desired to follow Him. He
that loseth his life for my sake shall find it. He that loveth his life shall lose it: (Matt. 10: 39; John 12: 25). No one can earn [eternal] salvation with his works, but
we buy the [reward
of the
inheritance and many other future] - things of God in the sense that we must pay the price of self-denial and forsaking all that He requires
in order to serve Him.
The biblical writers gave one
view of a subject in one text. And we must gather these views and bring them
together. No method of interpretation is a safe guide if it does not obey this
rule. The calamities of doctrinal
history in the Christian church were caused by interpreters who looked only at
one side of a subject.
The truth about spiritual
worthiness that Paul taught the Thessalonians was repeated to others, and the repetition
he gave to this indicates the importance he attached to it. Paul, the inspired
apostle, who wrote to the Ephesians, For by
grace are ye saved [Page 72]
it is the gift of
God: not of works lest any man should boast, also
wrote this to Titus:
They
profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient,
and unto every
good work reprobate: (1: 16).
We have seen that reprobate relates to testing or proving, and here the test is that of good works.
Paul wrote about those who professed to
know God but their works were a denial and contradiction of their profession,
in their actions they disown him (
Words and works must agree, but
the works of these people proved them to be [apostate] frauds and counterfeits; and Paul said they
were worthless to Gods purpose. In the Bible God has given tests by which we
can know who are true and false prophets,
by which we can distinguish between truth and error, and by which we can
recognize true and false [prophetic]
believers. Whatever we are, our character will manifest itself in visible
actions. Can you imagine what the result would be if we had no way to recognise the difference between truth and error?
Sometimes we are asked questions
like these: With so many different religions in the
world, how can I know which is true? (They all claim to be true.) How can I know that I will be saved? How can I know that I was predestinated to salvation?
How would you answer these
questions? I dont know of a better answer than to quote 2 Peter 1: 4-10:
Whereby
are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye
might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in
the world through lust.
And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your [Page 73] faith virtue [moral
character]; and
to virtue knowledge;
And to knowledge
temperance; and to temperance patience; and to patience godliness;
And to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity [love].
For if these things be in you - [conditional], and abound, they make you that ye
shall neither be barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus
Christ.
But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar
off, and
hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins.
Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to
make your calling and election sure:
for if [conditional] ye do these things,* ye shall
never fall.
[* Bold type and underlining is mine - Ed.]
Peter here agrees with Jesus,
John the Baptist, and Paul on the required fruits as evidence of a genuine
profession of salvation. What they taught about moral fruits and being worthy of the [coming Messianic] kingdom is similar to what Peter said here: Give diligence to make
your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall.
In writing about our calling and
election to [our future (1
Pet. 1: 5,
9, ff.]
salvation, Peter said we must be diligently adding moral character, knowledge,
temperance, patience, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love. Three times he
referred to these things as
Gods means of making our calling and election sure. God predestinated His
elect people to be conformed to the image of his Son (Rom. 8: 29), and conformed here signifies to be made into the moral and spiritual likeness
of Christ. Peter said that those who lack these things that form the
likeness of Christ are barren, unfruitful, blind, and cannot see afar off. They
cannot see [the importance of obedience to Christs commands and
His accountability
teachings (see Matt. 5: 20; 7: 12-13, 21, 24; Luke
22: 28. etc.), or fully understand] heavenly things, only the things of earth. Gods calling and election is related to
the doing of these things.
[Page 74]
The fact is stressed in Peters
text that it is by the doing of these
things that one puts his calling and election beyond all doubt, If ye do these
things, ye shall never fall. God has
provided a means of certainty for [a future] salvation that leaves one in a state of
assurance. Christ is the surety of our
salvation (Heb. 7:
22), and He said, If
ye continue [conditional] in my word, then
are ye MY disciples indeed (John 8: 31). He
confirms and guarantees His promise as
we live and abide in His Word.
The Greek text supports our
interpretation of Peters words, If ye do these things, ye shall never fall. A. T. Robertson, the
renowned Greek scholar, wrote concerning these words: If Ye do (poiountes). Present
active circumstantial (conditional)
participle of poieo, doing.
7
This can be verified from other
leading sources: Doing these things - because these
things are done. And the participle is conditional...
8
There are many other texts
associated with this subject that teach the same truth. One example is James 1: 12: Blessed is the man that
endureth temptation [trial]: for when he is tried [approved], he shall
receive the crown of life, which the Lord
hath promised to them that love him.
We should note here that all
Gods provings are not for the purpose of exposing the counterfeit, but they
are also used for the refining of the
saints. The following quotation from Archbishop
Trench explains this:
The
ore is not thrown into the refining pot - and this is the image which
continually underlies the use of the word [proving] in the O.T., except in the expectation and belief that,
whatever of dross [Page 75] may be found mingled with it, yet it is not all dross, but that some good metal, and better now than before, will come forth from the fiery trial.
It is ever so with the proofs to which
He who sits as a Refiner in his Church submits his own; his intention in
these being ever, not indeed to find his saints pure gold (for that He knows
they are not), but to make them such;
to purge out their dross, never to make evident that they are all
dross.
From these facts we conclude
what Christ meant when He told us to watch
and pray that we be accounted worthy to escape the tribulation judgments.
Those are worthy who are rich toward God
... rich in good works, rich in faith, and possess spiritual wealth, which
is in the sight of God of great price (Luke
12: 21; 1
Tim. 6: 18;
James 2: 5;
1 Pet. 3: 4).
These are the people who shall
be Gods [age-lasting and] eternal
treasure. They are His predestinated ones, elected to salvation, and they shall never perish. The Lords inheritance [see Ps. 2: 8 and Eph. 5: 5-6, R.V.] is His [chosen] people.
* *
*
[Page 76]
CHAPTER 9
Fine Linen and the Bride of Christ
Thou hast a few names even in
We now further consider the moral worthiness of the saints, and
we shall see this truth from another angle. Those who have not defiled their garments shall
not only escape the day of the Lord but shall be worthy to walk with Christ in white.
But the opposite of this is also true: those
who have defiled their garments are unworthy and they shall not escape that day, nor shall they walk with Him in white.
The garment symbol is one of the
most prominent representations in the Bible. The wedding robe is the
Bridegrooms gift to His Bride, but she has to put it on.
It will be of much profit to us if we look at this wedding symbol in detail and
learn the deep spiritual meaning that it represents.
From the prophets onward, Gods
relation to His people is expressed in terms of marriage, and this relation
provides the most intimate basis of His dealings with the bridal church. Christ
pictured the [coming messianic] kingdom
as a marriage feast - for which one must
be [Page 77] properly attired. He told about one
guest who was not dressed in the wedding robe at the marriage of a kings son.
When the king entered the wedding chamber in his palace for the ceremony, his
searching eye spotted the unrobed guest. He was speechless when asked by the
king how he could be so disrespectful of the marriage custom, Friend, how camest thou in
hither not having a wedding garment? The king was angered by the
affront, for which there was no excuse, and commanded the servants to bind him
and to cast him into outer darkness (Matt.
22: 11-13).
Paul gave symbolic expression to
the undefiled character of the Bride when he said the Church will be presented as a chaste virgin to Christ (2 Cor. 11:
2). Undefiled by other lovers, and her
virgin character preserved, she is admired by all heaven on her wedding day as
a marvel of holiness. Standing beside her eternal Lover for the wedding
ceremony, she is a miracle of righteousness. All heaven is interested in the
beauty of her wedding robe and how she
had prepared herself for the marriage. Angels and archangels gaze in wonder
at the bridal scene in Revelation 19: 6-9:
And I heard as it were
the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice
of many waters, and as the voice of mighty
thunderings, saying, Alleluia: for the Lord
omnipotent reigneth.
Let us be glad and
rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself rehdy.
And to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.
And he saith unto me,
Write, Blessed are they which are called
unto the marriage supper of the [Page 78] Lamb. And he saith unto me, These are the true sayings of God.
The New Testament purpose was
revealed before the birth of John the Baptist who was to go before the Lord and
make ready a people prepared for the Lord
(Luke 1: 17). This
was the keynote, the main idea, the guiding principle, the central truth of all
New Testament teaching and preaching. This was the message of John, Jesus, and
the apostles. An analysis of all that
Jesus taught about His coming shows that preparation for it was the point most
emphasized. He condensed an entire discourse about His coming into two
words- be ready. A
people, ready and prepared - this is the heart and centre of it all.
In two other places in Revelation Jesus used the garment symbol to represent godly character:
I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be
rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear;
and anoint thine
eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see.
Behold, I come as a
thief. Blessed is he that watcheth, and keepeth his
garments, lest he walk naked, and they see his shame. (3: 18; 16: 15)
The virgin character of the
[Page 79]
The authoritative Arndt &
Gingrich says, The basic text for the New Testament
is Eberhard Nestles
edition, 1952. 1 In the Literal English Translation (Alfred Marshall, translator) of this basic
text, we read in Revelation 19: 8:
And to her was granted
that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean
and white; for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of
the saints.
This translation is supported by
Thayer, Abbot-Smith, Cremer, Vincent, Vine,
The righteousness of
the saints, i.e., their pure and holy state. ... Observe that here and
everywhere, the white robe is not Christs righteousness imputed or put on, but the
saint's righteousness, by virtue
of being washed in His blood. It is their own; inherent, not [a Christians righteousness] imputed; but their own by their part
in and union to Him. 2
Alford makes a sharp distinction
here, but he was careful to say that the saints righteousness is by virtue of being washed in His blood, etc.
Paul said the bridal union
between Christ and the Church is a great
mystery (Eph. 5: 32), and
the divine enigma by which two become one is left unexplained. In the
miraculous fusion, our will is united in oneness of spirit with His will, and
our love is wedded to His love. Christ is our life, and that which constitutes
His divine existence becomes the substance of our existence. In the creation of
His eternal purpose within us His divine energy continually exerts itself. This
life manifests itself by bringing us into conformity to what He is and all that
He requires, and this results in righteous deeds and actions. Without such
deeds and actions one is [Page 80] not
righteous. The apostle John explained it like this:
If ye know that he
[Christ] is righteous, ye
know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of him.
Little children, let
no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous
In this the children
of God are manifest, and the children of the devil:
whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God,
neither he that loveth not his brother. (1
John 2: 29;
3: 7, 10)
As righteousness is the test by
which we distinguish children of God from children of the devil, and as this
life of righteous deeds and actions is represented by fine linen, we now take a
closer look into the subject of fine linen.
From all the fabrics in the
world, why did the Lord select fine
linen to represent His Bride? Why not silk or some other fibre? Linen is the
better symbol because it more aptly illustrates the spiritual preparation
necessary to be worthy to escape the day of the Lord and to walk
with Christ.
Linen
was made from flax, and there are about ninety kinds of flax plants. They are
small herbs or shrubs with various coloured leaves and flowers, and the plants usually
grow from one to four feet high. They grow best in rich soil and in a cool,
moist climate. In the ancient method of processing, from eighteen months to two
years were required from harvesting to marketing.
Fine
linen was the clothing of kings and queens. Their coronation robes were made
with it. It was used in the hangings of the tabernacle, and the high priest was
attired with it on the Day of Atonement. Vestments worn for special occasions
were made with it, and it was the clothing of the wealthy.
[Page 81]
When honours were bestowed upon
persons, they were given robes of fine linen to wear at the ceremonies
honouring them. Wedding robes for both bride and bridegroom were made with it.
The Levitical choirs were robed in fine linen, and with it garments of glory and beauty were
made for the Aaronic priests. The white-robed throngs in Revelation are dressed in linen. It was an
expensive fabric of high quality, and as an article of merchandise it ranked
with gold, silver, and precious gems.
In the ancient method of
preparing the flax for the weaver, the stalks were soaked in water and then put
through a process called breaking. This crushed the stalk to separate the fibres from the course,
woody bark. Tools called beaters with flat
wooden blades were used to hit and scrape the crushed stalks.
After the soaking, beating, and
crushing, a further process of separation was called combing because a comb-like tool was
used to remove other coarse parts. This combing was repeated again and again. A
thorough preparation was necessary to produce fine linen. The finished product that
came from the loom would only be as good as the preparation made for it.
The spiritual truth drawn from
this emphasizes our separation or consecration to the Lord, which is a major Bible doctrine much neglected today in the churches.
And this wilful neglect has caused the
Holy Spirit to depart from many of them.*
Paul applied this truth to the Corinthian church: Wherefore come out
from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing; and I will receive
you (2 Cor.
6: 17).
[* See Acts 5: 32; 1 John 3: 24, R.V.)]
There is a vivid description of
the
After combing, the flax was put
through repeated washings. If the washings were not thorough, spots and
blemishes would show up later and mar the quality of the linen. It was not
allowed to go to the next process until all impurity had been washed out.
At each point of our spiritual preparation we must yield to the Holy
Spirits efforts to create in us the righteousness of Christ. A
defective preparation of the flax produced a defective result. Old carnal
habits and the former self-life continually reappear if there is not a thorough
cleansing of the soul.
James wrote, Let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing (1:
4). The word perfect here signifies complete. We are to obey the Lord as He works out His will in our lives unto the
completed end.
Paul had this final completion
in view when he wrote that Christ died for the Church, that he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of
water by the word, that he might present it to
himself a glorious church, not having spot,
or wrinkle, or any such
thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Eph. 5: 26-27).
Jesus told Peter, If I wash thee not, thou hast
no part with me (John 13: 8). We can
have no part with Christ, no part in the Bride, and no part in His [millennial] kingdom
without this washing of the water [Page 83] by the word. This
sanctification or holiness is another forgotten truth in the churches, but the
Lord will revive it again as He prepares the Bride for His coming. This washing
and cleansing produces the righteousness of saints.
The next
process was sun-bleaching. The washed flax was exposed to the sun for curing
and bleaching. The suns fiery heat and penetrating rays gave it the bright
lustre and snowy whiteness emphasized in Scripture. Sun-bleached linens were
best because! artificial bleaching oxidized and destroyed the natural. Gum -
and thus weakened the fibres.
Flax was one of the strongest
and most durable natural fibres known, and it had many industrial uses. But if
not properly processed, flax was weak.
We see much spiritual weakness in
churches to-day. Jesus taught that some believers are weak and temporary (Matt. 13: 21). But when we move in the divine
progression, we go from strength to strength and are made strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might.
Fine linen also had special
quality as a preservative. Egyptian mummies 4,000 years old have been found
wrapped in linen. Jesus was buried in linen clothes [strips of linen]. We
read that the Dead Sea Scrolls were found wrapped in linen. Paul prayed that our
whole spirit and soul and body be preserved
blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Thess. 5: 23).
Pure linen was not only clean
and white but unmixed with other fibres.
God gave
In all church history Satan has
succeeded in enticing many into a mixed
religious life. The history [Page 84] of reformations
and revivals is a record of conflicts with these mixtures to keep the gospel
pure. Those who will not accept the pure gospel will take a mixture - a
mingling of truth and error, the carnal and spiritual, the pure and impure, the
righteous and unrighteous, the Christ-life and the self-life, the natural mind
and the spiritual mind.
Paul admonished the Corinthians
against such mixture when he wrote, Ye
cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of devils. Those
who tried to mix these two would provoke the Lord to
jealousy (1 Cor.
10: 21-22).
In our permissive age, many
churches allow such a mixture of God and the world; but God will not accept a
divided worship. The
Some textile manufacturers tried
to deceive buyers by mixing adulterants with fine linen. Cotton was a chief
adulterant, and this cheapened and weakened the fabric. But buyers used
infallible tests to detect adulteration. Two such tests were to boil a sample
of the fabric in water, or to set the fabric in the sun. Either test exposed
the inferior material.
Jesus said, Blessed are the pure
in heart; for they shall see God. And the
apostles wrote of pure [Page 85] minds,
pure conscience, and pure religion. The biblical sense of spiritual purity is
not only that we must be cleansed from sin but also that in our hearts there
must be no polluting mixture. Some have a mingling of two minds, and to them
James wrote, Purify your hearts, ye double-minded (4:
8).
The final work with the flax was
spinning and weaving. The care in preparing it was evident in the finished
product, but much depended on the skill of the weaver. Proper threading of the
loom was important; also it was necessary to keep the threads at the right
tension so as not to get a loose weave, and for this proper weights were
attached to the loom. Density and texture were necessary to the quality of the
linen, and the weaver used beaters to accomplish this.
The workmanship of the weaver
was so evident in the finished product that buyers in the textile markets could
sometimes recognize from which country the linen came.
In Gods
textile mill the specifications for fine linen are exact and the standards
high. No detail is ever compromised. The workmanship of the divine Weaver is evident
in His products. Satan imitates and counterfeits but he cannot duplicate the
righteousness of Christ in His saints. All other world religions cannot compare
with this.
After final inspection and
approval, the linen was sent to the textile markets. Jesus taught that there
will be a final inspection of all who enter the
It is often of deep interest to
me to observe that biblical truths, spread over a wide area of Scripture, are
sometimes summed up in one or two simple words. Example: All the qualifications
for Christs Bride are expressed in one comprehensive word - righteousness. It was given to the Bride to be
attired in fine linen, but she made herself ready Who will be in
the Bride? Those who have proved
themselves righteous.
The wedding robe is the
Bridegrooms gift to the Bride, but she
has to put it on. Paul used the illustration of dressing and undressing
when he wrote: Put off ... the old man ... and put on the new man, which after God is
created in righteousness and true holiness (Eph. 4: 22-24). Put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ (Rom.
13: 14).
Those who obey the Bridegrooms command to be ready when He comes will share
the privilege of reigning with Him forever in His kingdom wherein
dwelleth righteousness.
In view of all that this truth teaches about our preparation for Christs coming, why is it so much neglected in the
churches today? I heard recently about a minister who told his people, You dont have to do anything to be ready for the coming of
the Lord. Many will not see that they have been deceived until it is
too late.
[Page 87]
On a recently nationally
televised program, the best-known Roman Catholic dignitary in
When Christ said there were a
few [limited number] in
* * *
[Page 88]
CHAPTER 10
Replies to Objections
Those who have fully
studied this subject about the Church and the tribulation will know that many
leading Bible expositors teach that the Church must pass through the entire
length of the tribulation period. Others teach that it will only pass through
part of it, and both sides have submitted various arguments in their books to
sustain their positions. We shall reply to what we think are the strongest of
their arguments.
Objection 1. The early church fathers of the first four centuries did not
believe in a pre-tribulation Rapture. Nor did the great Reformation preachers,
nor did the outstanding church leaders - Luther, Calvin, Edwards, Wesley, and
many others. Can YOU prove a
pre-tribulation Rapture?
We reply that we respect the
church fathers and the reformation leaders, but they are not the final
authorities on a Bible doctrine. They did not agree among themselves on many
important doctrines.
It is not necessary to our
position to prove a pre-tribulation Rapture. Our Lord told us to pray that we
shall escape all these things. And
this escape [Page 89] is the same word used by Paul
on the same subject. It has not been our purpose to prove a pre-tribulation
Rapture but pre-tribulation escape. So, the issue is not rapture but escape. We shall hold to the words that
Jesus and the apostles used and not substitute other words in their places.
Objection 2. From Acts 2: 34-5, it is clear that Christ will remain at the
Fathers right hand until Armageddon; therefore, the Rapture cannot take place
until after Armageddon which is after the great tribulation (1 Thess. 4: 16-17).
These texts in no way conflict
with our view of pre-tribulation escape. Other texts state a similar fact about
Christ, as in Acts 3: 20-21, Whom the heavens must
receive until the restitution of all things ... but
these texts prove nothing against the overcoming Church escaping the snare of
the day of the Lord.
Objection 3. At His second coming, Christ will come with clouds (Matt. 24: 30). This will be the visible appearing of Christ
after the great tribulation. And this is the coming with clouds when we shall
be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air (1 Thess. 4: 17). Therefore, the Church must
endure the entire tribulation period.
This objection is similar to the
last two. There is nothing in the references in this objection to refute the
facts contained in the definition of escape that we
quoted from leading lexical sources.
Our objectors seem to think
there can be no escape of pre-tribulation believers until the Second Coming of
Christ. Some quote Matthew 24: 13-14, But he that shall
endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. But
they fail to distinguish between those who are overcomers before the day of the Lord begins, and
those who are overcomers after it begins.
[Page 90]
Escape means to get safely out of danger, and as
pre-tribulation overcomers, get safely out of the tribulation danger, how do
they endure it unto the end? Escape and endure are two very different words, and escape all these things does not mean to endure them to the end of the judgment
period.
Another point to notice here is
that those who endure unto the end of the judgment period are saved - the same shall be saved. Their
salvation will be after endurance unto
the end. But we saw in 1 Thessalonians 5: 9 that the salvation of the pre-tribulation
believers is at the beginning of the day
of wrath, For God hath not appointed us to
wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus
Christ.
Objection 4. Christians have suffered persecution and tribulation through
19 centuries of church history. Why then should they be exempt from the
tribulation of the day of the Lord?
All
Christians did not suffer persecution and tribulation in church history. Some
had remarkable deliverances. This was also true in Old Testament times. Some
were burned to death, others quenched the
violence of fire. Some were slain with the
sword, others escaped the edge of the sword. The
apostles James and Peter were imprisoned. James was killed with the sword, but
Peter was saved from the sword by an angel (Heb.
11: 32-37; Acts 12: 1-10). Why?
Nobody can explain this because it is one of the mysteries of Gods will.
When Jesus wept over
And when he was come near, he beheld the city,
and wept over it, Saying,
If thou hadst known, even
thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.
[Page 91]
For the days shall
come upon thee, that thine enemies shall cast a
trench about thee, and compass thee round,
and keep thee in on every side,
And shall lay thee
even with the ground, and thy children within thee;
and they shall not leave in thee one stone upon another;
because thou knewest not the time of thy visitation.
(Luke 19: 41-44)
Christ here predicted the
strategy of the Roman General Titus when he besieged the city before its destruction
in A.D. 70. He encircled the city with trenches and the inhabitants were
surrounded and shut in on every side. But the Christians fled during the early
part of the long siege and escaped safely to
Its twofold dangers would
be - outwardly, the difficulties and perils which at that time would
necessarily beset men, and especially the members of the infant church; and,
religiously, the pretensions and claims of false Christs or prophets at a
period when all Jewish thinking and expectancy would lead men to anticipate the
near Advent of the Messiah. [A false prophet appeared during the siege
and predicted Messiah would come and bring them deliverance. - GD] There can be no question, that from both these dangers the
warning of the Lord delivered the Church. As directed by him, the members of
the Christian Church fled at an early period of the siege of Jerusalem to
Pella, while the words in which He had told that His Coming would not be in
secret, but with the brightness of that lightning which shot across the sky,
prevented not only their being deceived, but perhaps even the record, if not
the rise of many who otherwise would have deceived them. 1
Dr.
Edersheim also cites the historians Eusebius [Page 92] and Josephus in support of his statement about the escape of
the Christians.
So Eusebius (Hist. Eccl. iii. 5) relates that the Christians of Judaea
fled to
Dr. Philip Schaff, one of the
most respected church historians, wrote about the destruction of
Clinging
with a last convulsive grasp to their Messianic hopes, [they] rested in the
declaration of a false prophet, that God in the midst of the conflagration of
the
The Christians of
Jerusalem, remembering the Lords admonition, forsook the doomed city in good
time and fled to the town of
The purpose of
Christ in giving the signs about the destruction was that the Christians might
escape the horrible calamity that befell the others. [Page 93] And it appears to me that the
signs and warnings that Christ gave about the end-time tribulation are fuller
and more specific than the sign He gave about the destruction of
Dr. A. T. Robertson was known in
the world of Greek scholarship as the foremost Greek scholar of modern times,
and he wrote concerning the meaning of the words in Luke 21: 36:
Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things
that shall come to pass ...
But watch ye ... keep awake and be
ready is the pith of Christs warning. That ye
may prevail to escape ... First aorist active subjunctive with hina of purpose. The verb katischuo means to
have strength against (cf. Matt. 16: 18)... Ekphugein is second aorist active infinitive, to escape
out. 4
Objection 5. Christians will not escape the tribulation period. They will
escape the wrath of God but not the wrath of man. And as they will not escape
the wrath of man they must endure unto the end.
In the Olivet Discourse, Jesus
taught that the entire period of apocalyptic judgment would be a time of wrath
- both the wrath of God and the wrath of man. This time period extends from the
beginning of sorrows until
the end of the
sorrows. The Greek word for sorrow here, and travail in 1 Thessalonians 5: 3, is odin, or birthpang. Jesus
and Paul both used the illustration of the birthpangs
of the pregnant woman. Jesus said the entire period of the judgments would be
sorrows, or birthpangs. When Jesus told us to pray to
escape all these things. He meant the [Page 94] entire period of wrath, both of God and man.
Multitudes of believers will be
killed by the wrath of man during the time of sorrows. John saw the souls of
those that had been martyred during the first part of the sorrows. I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held ... and it was said unto them that they should rest yet for a
little season, until their fellowservants also
and their brethren, that should be killed as
they were, should be fulfilled (Rev. 6: 9-11). And in Revelation 13: 7, it is
stated concerning Antichrist, And it was given unto him to make
war with the saints and to overcome them: and
power was given him over all kindreds, and
tongues, and nations.
But there are some from the
kindreds and nations who escape all or part of the judgments - after the
judgments begin.
During the first part of the sorrows
John wrote about the sealing of the 144,000:
And I saw another
angel ascending from the east, having the seal of
the living God: and he cried with a loud voice
to the four angels to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea.
Saying, Hurt not the
earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have
sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand
of all the tribes of the children of
This number are sealed from the impending calamity.
They do not endure it. They are called the servants of God, and
we know nothing more about them until they appear with Christ on
[Page 95]
But the point we notice here is
that they are sealed against both the wrath of God and the wrath of Antichrist.
They escape with the seal of the living God. So, we
cannot see why it should be unreasonable to believe that others shall escape the day before it begins, especially since our Lord admonished us to watch
and pray for the purpose of escaping it.
In Revelation 12: 13-17, we read of others who will escape the tribulation
wrath. Here the
And when the dragon
saw that he was cast unto the earth, he
persecuted the woman which brought forth the manchild.
And to the woman were
given two wings of a great eagle that she might fly into the wilderness, into her place, where she is
nourished for a time, and times, and half a time, from the
face of the serpent.
And the serpent cast
out of his mouth water as a flood after the woman, that he might cause her to be carried away of the flood. And the earth helped the woman, and the earth opened her mouth, and swallowed up the flood which the dragon cast out of his
mouth.
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
Frustrated by the earths help
to the woman, and unable to penetrate her place of safety, the enraged
Adversary goes to make war with the remnant of the womans seed (the rest of
her children).
There are other groups in the
New Testament prophecies who escape both the wrath of God and the wrath of
Satan and man during the tribulation judgments, but the two cases we have described
should be sufficient.
Objection 6. Paul placed the rapture of the Church at the time of the last trump; for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead
shall be raised... (1 Cor. 15: 52). Paul also wrote in 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17:
For the Lord himself
shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first.
Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the
clouds, to meet the Lord in the air.
So, as
the time of the rapture is at the coming of the Lord, which is the Second Coming, and the Second Coming is after the
last trump, a pre-tribulation Rapture is impossible.
It is not our purpose to enter into
the complicated debate about a pre-tribulation Rapture. The burden of our
thesis is to prove a pre-tribulation escape for those who satisfy the conditions of Luke
21: 36:
Watch and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape
all these things that shall come to pass [the
things about to happen].
There is nothing in our escape
texts that is inconsistent with the rapture texts quoted by our [Page 97] opponents. But the meaning they
argue from their texts is inconsistent with the meaning of our texts. They
violate an important rule of interpretation which says, An interpretation must not only be consistent with one text;
it must not be inconsistent with other texts. What we claim for escape is in no way inconsistent with what they claim for the time of the
Rapture.
Objection 7 When
Jesus taught about the separation of the wheat and tares at the end of the age,
He said:
Let both grow together
until the harvest: and in the time of harvest I will
say to the reapers, Gather ye together first the tares, and bind them in bundles to burn them: but gather the wheat into my barn ...
As therefore the tares
are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world. (Matt. 13: 30-40)
Again, we reply to this
objection as to the previous one. Our view of the escape texts is not in
conflict with the facts of the texts quoted in this objection. Also, we
previously showed there are groups of believers who escape the tribulation
judgments before the end when the tares are gathered to be burned and the wheat
is gathered into the barn.
Objection 8. It is denied by opponents that the tribulation or day of the
Lord begins when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape (1 Thess. 5: 2-3). It is argued that the day of
the Lord begins at the Second Coming of Christ, and the battle of Armageddon
will be the sudden destruction.
But if this be true, when shall
there be the time of peace and safety? The tribulation is the [Page 98] beginning
of sorrows, and after the beginning there are increasing sorrows all the
way to the end. The tribulation is a day of
wrath, and the divine wrath increases in intensity unto the great tribulation. And His anger is so
severe all the way to the end that except
those days be shortened, there should no flesh
be saved (Matt. 24: 21-22). When shall there be the period
of peace and safety if not before the beginning of the sorrows?
Paul said the sudden destruction
cometh upon them as a
thief and they shall not escape. But ye are
not seized (overtaken) by the thief and shall escape.
The beginning of the sorrows and
judgments is described in Revelation 6: 1-4, and we
read in verse 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.
It is twice stated here that
power and a great sword were given to the red-horse rider to take peace from the earth. The
word given
indicates that the source of power given to the rider to take away the peace
was supernatural.
It is argued by some that the peace
here is not actual but only a wish or desire for peace because it will be when they shall say, Peace and
safety. Paul did not write when there shall be peace and safety. The form of
Pauls statement indicates that peace and safety will not be the actual
condition of the world but only a wish or expectation of men. 5
With the rapid succession of the
judgments, and the increasing intensity of them to the end, there [Page 99] is no time for the period of
peace and safety after the plagues begin. It will be a time of Gods anger, not
a time of peace.
Also, it seems unreasonable to
us that God would give the red-horse rider supernatural power to take peace
from the earth if it were not an actual condition of the world. Would God send
sudden destruction upon a mere wish or expectation of peace?
Paul wrote about the coming of
Antichrist in 2 Thessalonians 2: 7-11:
For the mystery of
iniquity doth already work: only he who now letteth [hinders] will let, until he be taken out of the way.
And then shall that
Wicked be revealed, whom the Lord shall consume with the
spirit of his mouth, and shall destroy with the
brightness of his coming.
Even him, whose coming is after the working of Satan with all power
and signs and lying wonders,
And with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved.
And for this cause God
shall send them strong delusion, that they should
believe a lie:
That they all might be
damned who believed not the truth, but
had pleasure in unrighteousness.
Paul said the mystery of
lawlessness was already operating in his day. And the spirit of it has been
accumulating through the centuries, and it will continue until it produces
Antichrist who will be the embodiment of all that the mystery is. The
antichrist sign is now larger than ever.
The Apostle John also wrote
about the appearance of the antichrist spirit:
Little children, it is the last time; and as ye
have heard that anti-christ shall come, even now
are there many anti-christs; whereby we know it is the last time. (1 John 2: 18)
[Page 100]
When John observed the
antichrist-sign nineteen centuries ago he connected the sign with prophetic
time - whereby we know it is the last time. And in
our day this sign is developing into its final stage. John said that he who
denies that Jesus is the Christ is both a liar and an anti-christ (v. 22).
There are millions more
antichrists in the world today than ever. They are everywhere,
even in large segments of Christendom, biblical seminaries, and popular churches. Some of the larger denominations are
swarming with antichrists. * This is a part of the total mystery
which is having a gradual manifestation in our day.
[* An
antichrist is one who denies that Jesus is the Christ.
Early Christians associate Anti-christ with false
teachers and disciples and with apostasies and impious denials of God.
Christians identify antichrists with rulers who are opposed to the promises
of God; and the inheritance promised to our
Lord Jesus Christ/Messiah. See Ps. 2: 8. Cf.
Pss. 72, 110: 1-3; Isa. 26: 9 and Luke 24: 25-27, R.V.).]
Satan adapts himself to times and
conditions, and he will have the world
scene ready*
for the appearance of his
Antichrist who will have a gradual rise to world domination.
[* We are seeing this process is happening throughout the world today
by all the lies and propaganda spoken by certain Scientific Advisers,
Politicians World-media programmes and others, who are wilfully deceiving the
public by denying known facts surrounding what they call the Covid-19 virus pandemic!]
Paul said that [the] Antichrists coming would be with all the
strength of Satans energy - with all power and signs of lying wonders and with all
deceivableness of unrighteousness. Paul could hardly have given a
more inclusive description of the supernatural character of Antichrist than
when he said that this mystery man will deceive the world with all kinds of
miracles, signs, and marvels. The nations will be in desperate
need of supernatural solutions to their problems, but instead of turning to
Christ, they will turn to Antichrist.
The inhabited earth will be
hypnotized with this satanic superman. They follow him in amazement, saying, Who is like unto the beast? Who
can make war with him? (Rev. 13: 4). The
people worship him because of his superior military might. No nation will be
able to make War with him - not even nuclear nations. And as no one can make
war with him, [Page 101] then
only he can enforce peace. He will satisfy the worlds need for peace and
prosperity.
A war-weary world yearns for peace.
While I write these pages (January, 1974), there comes a national news report
that our secretary of state, in a national poll, has been voted The most admired man in
It is further objected that the
day of the Lord will come at the time of the battle of Armageddon, not at the
beginning of the tribulation judgments. And this view is defended with the
argument that the day of the Lord so cometh as a
thief in the night (1 Thess.
5: 1-2).
But of the times and seasons, brethren,
ye have no need that I write unto you.
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief
in the night.
This argument says that the
thief-in-the-night illustration appears in post-tribulation contexts in Matthew 24: 37-44; and in Revelation 16: 15. So, it will be at the Second Coming that
Christ will come as a thief in the night. Lets cheek this argument with a few
facts to see if it is true or false, and we must remember that the important
idea of the thief metaphor is surprise - secrecy - without warning
- unawares.
In the Olivet Discourse Christ
told about frightful events that would be warnings of His approaching second
coming. He said there would be ...
... fearful sights and great signs shall there be [Page 102] from heaven ... And there shall be signs in
the sun, and in the moon,
and in the stars;
and upon the
earth distress of nations [not peace and safety], with perplexity;
the sea and the
waves roaring;
Mens hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth:
for the powers of heaven shall be shaken.
And then shall they see the Son of man coming
in a cloud with power and great glory. (Luke
21: 11, 25-28)
In Revelation 6: 13-17, preceding
the Second Coming, we read:
And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth ... and the heaven
departed as a scroll ... and the kings of the earth, and the great men
... and every
bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
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:
For the great day of
his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
Also in Revelation 14: 6-10, Every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and
people will know that the Second Coming is near when the angel
flying in mid-heaven warns them not to accept the mark of the beast.
When the heavens are shaken
during the judgments and Satan is cast down to the earth, he will have great wrath, because he
knoweth that he hath but a short time until the Second Coming (Rev. 12: 12).
How will Satan know that he has
only a short time until
the Second Coming? How will he know when to gather his world armies at Armageddon
to oppose Christ at His coming? He will not know the day nor the hour but he
will know when it is near.
[Page 103]
It isnt necessary to enter into
a full explanation of the subject here, but there are specified periods of
days, months, and times (Dan. 7: 25; 12: 5-12; Rev. 11: 2; 13: 5). From these periods the time of the
Second Coming can be closely figured, but not the day nor the hour. Also, Satan
can know from the various prophetic fulfilments and heavenly signs when he has
a short time left.
How then could the Second Coming
or the day of the Lord come as a thief in surprise and secrecy when Satan and
his mobilized world armies are waiting and ready to enter into battle with
Christ? (The battle will be fought at
No such
signs or time periods like those above are given to warn about the beginning of
sorrows. This is when the day of the Lord will come without warning, in
surprise and secrecy - as a snare. The
peace-and-safety sign that Paul gave the Thessalonians is a sign that the world
will not recognize. And when a pleasure-loving and materialistic world is
making merry with their false peace and prosperity, Gods lightning flash of
destruction strikes their dream world, and they shall not escape. But ye, brethren,
are not in darkness, that
that day should overtake you as a thief (Note that the day of the Lord and that day have the same meaning here in
the context of 1 Thess. 5: 1-4.)
From these and other
considerations we conclude that the beginning of sorrows is the starting point
of the day of the Lord, and that it is from this starting point that the above
time periods in Daniel and Revelation can be figured - and in the same way, [Page 104] Satan and others will know when
there is but a short time to the end. They will not be surprised when Christ
appears.
There is a long and sad history
to date setting for the return of Christ. Even honourable names in biblical
scholarship have devised ingenious chronologies for the time of Christs
coming, but time proved them wrong. They went wrong because they did not have
the right starting point. They could have avoided their errors if they had
taken heed to the signs that Jesus and Paul gave us.
Objection 9. When Jesus told about the days of Noah and Lot, He made a
distinction between days (plural) and the day (singular) when the Son of man shall be revealed.
The point of this objection is
that the eating and drinking, buying and selling, marrying and giving in
marriage, will be a world condition immediately preceding His coming, and not a
pre=tribulation condition. We look now at the reference in Luke 17: 26-30:
And as it was in the days of
Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.
They did eat, they drank, they married
wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, and the flood came, and
destroyed them all.
Likewise also as it
was in the days of
But the same day that
Lot went out of
Even thus shall it be
in the day when the Son of
man is revealed.
Considering the varied uses of days and day, we do not think the distinction between
the plural and singular is sufficient here to conclusively settle the [Page 105] question
at issue, not even when both appear in the same context. We must consider other
facts in the context and other passages bearing on the question. This we shall
do and let the reader be the judge.
Our reply to this objection is
similar to our reply to the last objection. After the beginning of the
tribulation judgments the woeful plagues come in rapid succession and there
will be no long periods of relief for the world to enjoy the lusts of life and
the peace-prosperity boom described by Jesus. In Revelation
11: 7-14, during a time of woe, the
people make merry because Antichrist will kill the two prophets who had
previously tormented them. But
their rejoicing is short-lived because after three and a half days the prophets
are resurrected and the thunderous judgments come crashing upon their heads
again. Long periods of time would be required for the events described by Jesus
in the above texts.
We should give careful study to
the Noah-Lot comparisons that Jesus made with our day. As it was in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son
of man. As it was in the days of
We now look at Matthews record
of the Noab comparison.
For as in the days
that were before the flood they
were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage,
until the day that Noah entered into the ark.
And knew
not until the flood came, and took them all away; so
shall also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matt.
24: 37-38)
Jesus
seems to stress the point that the people [Page 106] were glutting themselves in their indulgences up until the day that Noah entered into the ark. His
warning was about what they were doing before the flood, not after it. Noah was safely in the ark
and then the
flood came (Luke 17: 26-27).
Likewise
as it was in the days of
Jesus added a significant detail
to the comparison between
Remember
Whosoever shall seek to save his life shall lose it; and whosoever shall lose his life shall preserve it. (Luke 17: 32-33)
What was it about this woman
that Jesus wants us to remember? She was not involved in the sodomitical sins. She was not a mocker about the impending
destruction like her sons-in-law. She held the hand of the delivering angel as
she was escaping the doomed city, and she got part way to the place of safety.
Then, she was lost while she was being saved. And the sin and unbelief of her
heart that brought Gods punishment upon her is expressed in two words: she looked back (Gen. 19).
In remembering her, did Jesus
mean that if we dont look back, the coming judgment will not fall on us as
condemnation fell upon her? Did He mean that she would have escaped with her
husband before any part of the fiery condemnation fell upon
In
After telling us to remember
From the above considerations
the evidence is decisive for the view that when our Lord used the Noah-Lot -
Some prominent expositors
believe that Isaiah [Page 108] 26: 20-21 is a
prophecy about the escape of the Church from tribulation wrath. And they use
the Noah-Lot escapes as illustrations of this. We shall first quote this
prophecy with comments on it by the Hebrew commentators Keil & Delitzsch in
their Old Testament Commentaries.
Come, my people, enter
thou into thy chambers, and shut thy doors about thee:
hide thyself as it were for a little moment, until the indignation be overpast.
For, behold, the Lord cometh out
of his place to punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity ...
It is thoroughly
characteristic of Isaiah, that the commencement of this prophecy, like chapter 19: 1, places us at once in the very midst of the catastrophe, and condenses the
contents of the subsequent picture of judgment into a few rapid, vigorous,
vivid, and comprehensive clauses ...
(The)
standpoint of prophecy is incessantly oscillating backwards and forwards in
these four chapters (24-27). Go in, my people, into thy chambers, and shut the door behind thee; hide thyself a little moment, till the judgment of wrath passes by. For, behold, Jehovah goeth out from His place to visit the
iniquity of the inhabitants of the earth upon them.
The judgment only
lasts a little while ... a short time which is shortened for the elects sake
(not
Just as Noah, behind
whom Jehovah shut the door of the ark, was hidden in the ark while the water-floods
of the judgment poured down without, so should the church be shut off from the
world without in its life of prayer, because a judgment of Jehovah was at hand.
We see the following in the
Jamieson, Fausset and Brown Commentary on the Whole Bible:
[Page 109]
Come, my people, enter into thy chambers. When God is about to take
vengeance on the ungodly, the saints will be shut in by Him in a place of
safety, as Noah and his family were in the days of the flood (Gen. 7: 16), and as Israel was commanded not to go
out of doors on the night of the slaying of the Egyptian firstborn (Exodus 12: 22-23; The Lord will pass over the door, and will not suffer the destroyer to come into your
houses to smite you) Ps. 31: 20; 83: 3 (Thy hidden ones).
The saints are calmly
and confidently to await the issue (Exodus 14: 13-14). There was a Zoar for Lot in the destruction of
We saw previously that 2 Peter 2: 4-9 contains the same truth about Noah and
We also saw that the word for temptations here is the same word in Revelation 3: 10, Because thou hast kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try [test] them that dwell
upon the earth.
The Lord knoweth how. We can
rest and be satisfied with that. He knew how to make
Our Lord admonished us to watch and pray, lest ye enter
into temptation. With
these facts before us, the will of God is clearly discerned. In loving
obedience, we kneel before Him, and pray:
Our Father which art
in heaven ...
Lead us not into
temptation;
But deliver us from
evil.
Objection 10. The
apostle Paul said in 2 Thessalonians 2: 1-3 that our gathering together unto Christ will not be until the
coming [parousia] of our Lord Jesus Christ. As this gathering together
[Rapture] will not occur until the Second Coming of Christ, there will be no
removal of the Church until that time. Also, Paul gave two signs before this
can happen: For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.
We shall quote the verses of
this objection in a parallel column with 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-9, and point
out a few facts to the ordinary reader who may not be able to understand all
the technical arguments from the Greek text used by some authors. We doubt that
Jesus and the apostles taught in such a manner that only scholars could
understand what they meant.
1 Thess. 5: 1-9
2 Thess. 2:1-4
But of the times and
Now we beseech you,
seasons, brethren, ye brethren, by the coming
have no need that I write
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
unto you.
and by our gathering
[Page 111]
together unto him,
For yourselves know
That ye be not soon
perfectly that the day of shaken
in mind, or be
the Lord so cometh as
troubled, neither by spirit,
a thief in the night.
nor by word, nor
by
letter as from us, as that
For when they
shall
the day of Christ is at hand.
say, Peace and safety;
then sudden
destruction
Let no man deceive you
cometh upon them, as
by any means; for
that
travail upon a
woman
day shall not come, except
with child; and they shall
there come a falling
not escape. away first, and that man
of sin be revealed, the son
But ye, brethren, are of perdition;
Not in darkness, that that
day should overtake
you
Who opposeth and exalteth
as a thief ...
himself above all that is
worshipped; so
that he
For God hath not
as God, shewing himself
appointed us to wrath, but
that he is God.
to obtain salvation by our
Lord Jesus Christ.
We observe first that the two
columns describe two different events which occur at different periods. The first
tells about the beginning of sorrows when that
day shall come as a thief in the night. The second tells about
the end of the sorrows at the time of the Second Coming of Christ.
This should be evident from the
fact that there are two different sets of signs in the two passages. In the
first, we see the peace-and-safety signs that precede the sudden destruction at
the beginning of sorrows. But in the second, we see the falling-away
(apostasia) and man-of-sin-revealed signs that do not appear until years have
passed and the sorrows are well advanced.
If Paul had said that the
falling-away and the Antichrist-revealed signs would appear before the
beginning of sorrows, then the whole picture would [Page 112] change. It is of crucial importance to understand the signs
and to keep them in the proper periods for their appearances. Unless this is
done confusion will result, and there is a great deal of it everywhere about
the Church and the tribulation.
There isnt anything in column
one about salvation from the day of wrath that is inconsistent with what Paul
said in column two. Pauls meaning lies deep in the context of column one. God
hath appointed us to be saved from the wrath, the sudden destruction, from the
birth pangs, and hostile seizure by the thief. Johann Bengel, German scholar of
renown, defined the meaning of salvation in
this verse with these words:
Hath appointed ... to obtain salvation - Salvation
of that kind is intended, by which they who are
saved are excepted from the multitude of those that perish [his
emphasis]. 6
We submit that this
interpretation is further justified from the fact that Paul said the
destruction cometh upon them ... and they shall not escape. Jesus
and Paul used the same words and illustrations in describing this event: unawares - thief - snare - travail - [birth
pangs] - escape, etc. (Matt. 24: 8; Luke 21: 34-36).
In column two Paul said the
revelation (disclosure) of Antichrist will be when he sits in the temple - enthrones
himself in the temple with the proclamation that he is God. His satanic
character will then be known to all - to the
Daniel 9: 27 gives further details about the seven-year
period:
And he shall confirm the
covenant with many for one week: and in the midst
of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it
desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.
We learn from this that
Antichrist shall confirm a covenant with many in
We must also observe that there
will be another revelation of Antichrist before he deifies himself in the [soon to be built] temple.
We read about this in Revelation 13: 18:
Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the
beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.
All attempts to connect the
number 666 with historical characters have failed - from Nero to Adolph Hitler.
The usual fallacy has been to attach to each letter of certain names a
numerical value in the Greek alphabet. But the mystery of Antichrists name [Page 114] will be more than a word puzzle
or numerical riddle. The angel indicated to John that the mystery of his name
will be discerned only by the wisdom and understanding of the Holy Spirit.
As Antichrist will be operating
in deception and secrecy, it will be necessary for him to keep his identity
concealed in his name. But the Holy Spirit will keep the Church alerted and
informed. The harlot in Revelation 17: 5 also
has on her forehead a name of Mystery. With this symbolic title she represents
a worldwide system of religion which professes to serve God but is unfaithful to Him. Her entire character is
summed tip in two words: fornication and deception (Rev. 17 and 18).
In Antichrists name there may
be the idea of a secret code number. Dr. George Lamsa
also has this idea in his Aramaic translation of Revelation
13: 18. 8 Great
is the need for the gifts of the Holy
Spirit in the end-time Church to
guard it against delusions. Wars have been won because of military
intelligence, or lost for the lack of it.
Antichrist will need time for
his build-up as a world figure before the judgments begin. His preliminary work
with signs and wonders will be important to his purpose. Then, this mystery man
will convince the nations that only he has the remedy for their dilemma. And all nations, kindreds, and
tongues, feeling insecure under shaky governments and fed up with the
failures of political systems [and
decisions], will take him as the
fulfilment of their dreams of peace and prosperity. But
the Church will be protected against his deception by the unveiling of his
name.
We know there will be a prior
revelation of Antichrist by discernment of his name because when he enthrones
himself in the temple, that act alone [Page 116] will be sufficient to identify him. The earlier identification
will be crucial to the [Holy Spirit filled and gifted] Church.
When Satan is working his
mystery to a climax, God will also be working His. But in the days of the voice of the seventh angel, when he shall begin to sound, the
mystery of God should be finished, as he hath
declared to his servants the prophets (Rev.
10: 7). Gods mystery
is hidden in the mass of Old Testament covenant prophecies.
R. B. Girdlestone, Old Testament
Hebrew authority, wrote the following in his The
Grammar of Prophecy:
There are about 600
quotations from the Old Testament to the New, besides constant allusive
references. These have been examined and discussed from various points of view,
but the question now before us is simply this: Is there a definite and
consistent view of Old Testament prediction taken by the teachers and writers
of the New Testament? 9
Girdlestones answer to this
question is yes. And he adds, The historical events
narrated in the Old Testament are regarded as facts, not as myths, in the New.
Also, we argue that those parts of Old Testament prophecies fulfilled by Jesus
and the apostles were fulfilled literally; therefore, the remaining parts shall
likewise be accomplished consistently and literally. There is a harmonious wholeness to the sense-content of the
prophecies in both Testaments.
As the end approaches, God must work
on a greater scale because of the large number of prophecies to be fulfilled.
His purpose in our time widens to worldwide proportions as we see in the
present-day outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
The New
Testament Church was launched at [Page 116] Pentecost
with amazing acts of the supernatural, and to fully accomplish its appointed
mission to the nations during the end time it must never lose its supernatural
character because, as never before, Satan is also operating in the realm of the
supernatural.
After a brief digression from
the above objection, we conclude that Pauls signs about the falling away, and
the man of sin revealed, do not conflict with what he said about the salvation
of believers from the destruction that shall overtake the unbelievers.
Objection 11. The Church will escape the wrath of God but not the wrath of
man during the tribulation. The day of the Lord, which is the wrath of God,
does not begin until chapter 8 of Revelation. The day of wrath does not begin before the time of Rev. 6: 17, For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to
stand?
This objection is similar to Objection
5, so some repetition may be necessary in replying to it.
Revelation 6: 17, For the great day of
his wrath is come, does not mean there were not previous
judgments, as seen in chapter 6: 1-8. After the Lord
has exhausted all his ordinary judgments - the sword, famine, pestilence, and
wild beasts - and still sinners are impenitent, the last great day of the Lord itself shall come. 10
Gods wrath will be in the
judgments from the beginning to the end, increasing in severity and intensity
over the entire period until the final fall of
[Page 117]
When Paul wrote about times and
seasons in 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-3, he
clearly stated the period before the sudden destruction when he said, For when they shall say, Peace and safety,
then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child, and they shall not escape. The
time when they say
peace and safety is before the time of then sudden
destruction cometh. The when-time is before the then-time when the thief
comes and the woman is seized with travail.
Also, Jesus and Paul used the
same idea and likeness of birth pangs to represent the beginning of the day of
the Lord. Jesus said, beginning of birth pangs
[sorrows]. and Paul said, as birth pangs
[travail] upon a woman with child. So,
Jesus and Paul had the day of the Lord starting at the same time.
Mid-tribulationists have the day of the Lord starting during the middle of the
judgment calamities, and the Post-tribulationists have it at the end of them.
But both views are inconsistent with the metaphors of the thief and the
pregnant woman.
We need to take a closer look into
the meaning of the travail of the pregnant woman because it connects with the
rebirth of the earth at the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus, greatest of the
prophets, often made astonishing statements about His return to earth. In Matthew 19: 28, we
read:
And Jesus said unto them, Verily I say unto
you, That ye which have followed me, in the regeneration [new birth] when the Son of man shall sit in the throne of his glory, ye also shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of
This regeneration signifies new
creation. new world, born-again earth. It will be the new age when Messiah
establishes His kingdom. The messianic [Page 118]
kingdom was the theme of the prophets and the hope of
Professor A. T. Robertson, in
his comment on the meaning of Matthew 24: 8, wrote:
The beginning of travail... the word means birth-pangs ... These woes, says Jesus,
are not a proof of the end, but of the beginning. 11
When Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-9 about times and seasons and about the approaching thief and
the destruction, he wrote concerning the times and seasons for the day of the Lord. This thought follows through in the context. And when he said
in verse 9 that God hath not appointed us to
wrath, he was still thinking about the wrath of verses 2-3. If he meant that God has appointed us to
part of the wrath, then Paul, master teacher and inspired apostle, would have
carefully specified this fact in his statement.
We conclude that our
mid-tribulation friends have no support for their view that the day of wrath
does not begin until the time of Revelation 6: 17. The terrors and torments described in verses 1-8 of the
same chapter clearly show it is the wrath of that day. Isnt
sudden destruction wrath? Isaiah described the entire period of the judgmental
punishments with the word indignation, and
there is no difference between wrath and indignation. As used in Old Testament
Hebrew and New Testament Greek, there is no difference of meaning between birth
woes and wrath in the relevant prophetic texts.
* *
*
[Page 119]
CHAPTER 11
Summary of Conclusions
1. We began with definitions of the terms, that day, tribulation, snare, and escape. That
day was a familiar Old Testament term and it appears frequently
in the prophecies, and in these passages day and days are connected with judgment and are
synonyms for judgment. That day is a
main prophetic term in the Old Testament denoting a period of tribulation for
the earth, and this meaning is brought into the New Testament. These terms do
not have one meaning in the Old Testament and another in the New. We must see
the total meaning, and when all the parts are seen in relation to the whole,
the collective sense will be a consistent sense. The difference of meaning that
some give to these terms is not supported by the historical usage.
When Jesus warned us to take
heed lest that day come upon us unawares, He then said, For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the
face of the whole earth. So that day and snare refer to the same period of prophetic time.
The time will come when the snare will be set and catch its unwary victims. That day is a specific term for a
definite period of time.
[Page 120]
2. For the meaning of tribulation
(thlipsis),
we cited the authoritative Arndt & Gingrich lexicon. It signifies pressure, oppression, distress, afflictions ... (it is used)
of a womans birth pangs, John 16: 21.
Jesus said the travailing woman
knows that her hour is come. And in Matthew 24: 8
He spoke of the beginning of birth pangs. Paul
used the same word when he wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5: 3, For
when they say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as birthpangs upon a woman with
child; and they shall not escape.
In problems of interpretation,
it sometimes helps if we can find a unifying factor. There is unity and harmony in the use that Jesus and
Paul made with birth pangs. Both spoke about the same event and had it
occurring at the same time. Jesus connected the beginning of travail with that
day, and Paul likewise. So, the beginning of the travail is the beginning of
the tribulation.
3. The word snare was defined by the lexicons as a trap used by Satan to allure
and ensnare. It is used of the sudden judgments to come upon the world in that
day (Luke 21: 34-36). It is also a tempting bribe offered by
Satan to lead men into unsuspecting danger. Thayer, citing Luke 21: 35, said a
snare is whatever brings peril, loss, destruction: of
a sudden and unexpected deadly peril.
There are many references to
snares in the Old Testament, and Jesus used the word as being familiar to His
hearers. The term that day also
seems to have been familiar to them. In both Testaments, the words unawares and deception are sometimes associated with
snares.
[Page 121]
4. We saw that the Greek word for escape is ekpheugo, and that it signifies: to get free
from; to flee out of, to evade a captor; to get safely away from danger.
This meaning can be verified from standard sources which also specify escape
from the tribulation of Luke 21: 36. We
gave references for three sources.
Several texts were also used to
illustrate the above definition. In Psalm 124: 7, Our soul is escaped as
a bird out of the snare of the fowlers; the
snare is broken, and we are escaped. In 2 Corinthians 11: 32-33, Paul told about the trap set for him at
the gates of
Jesus used the word escape in a context about the dangers of
the snare in that day, and admonished us to pray that we be worthy to get safely out of those snares.
5. Paul used our Lords favourite illustration about the thief,
and like Jesus, he taught that the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the
night. If we could know when the thief would come, we could know when the day
of the Lord will begin. Paul taught that we could watch for the approaching
thief when the world is saying, Peace
and safety. From all the signs about the day of the Lord, Paul specified
two.
A world peace plan that works
will be a temporary reality before the day begins, because one of the first
judgments of that day will be to take peace from
the earth (Rev. 6: 4).
In 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-9, Paul used a set of contrasts. Two ideas are brought into
sharp contrast [Page 122] by
placing them side by side. They shall
be overtaken by the thief, and, sudden
destruction cometh upon them
... and they shall not escape [ekphugosin]. But ye, brethren, are not in darkness,
that that day should overtake you as a thief. And, as
we are not overtaken by the thief, then we shall escape the destruction that
comes as a thief. We shall escape all that the others do not escape.
We showed that the Greek word
for overtake (katalambano) signifies to take possession of by
seizure - to seize with hostile intent; to lay hold
of so as to possess as ones own. Jesus used the same word in John 12: 35-36, Walk while you have
the light, lest darkness come upon
[overtake] you. Overtake emphasizes taking hold suddenly and with force.
Paul added that God hath not
appointed us to the wrath of that day when the destruction cometh, but that we
are appointed to salvation - to be saved from the wrath.
Salvation (soteria) is a generic or
comprehensive word with wide meaning in the Scriptures. It signifies much more
than the saving from sin. In about one-third of the New Testament references it
signifies deliverance from danger, disease, and demon possession. It expresses
physical safety and well-being. We quoted the authoritative Arndt &
Gingrich lexicon:
Salvation
[soteria] signifies to bring out safely from a
situation fraught with mortal danger. It is used, of the evil days of the last tribulation.
Paul used salvation twice with
the meaning of deliverance from the tribulation wrath. He illustrated this with
the armed soldier having on the [Page 123]
breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of salvation. These were symbols
of protection and victorious warfare.
Salvation and escape sometimes have similar meanings
in the New Testament. In Acts 27: 44, after
the shipwreck, they were saved with boards and broken pieces of the ship. And so it came to pass, that
they escaped all safe to land. The word escaped here means to be saved by getting
safely out of danger. In escape the
idea of danger is to be emphasized.
In 2 Peter 2: 5, God saved Noah from the flood. The word here
means to preserve alive. And in verse 7, Peter said God delivered Lot
from
In the conversation between
In commenting on the meaning of
salvation in 1 Thessalonians 5: 9, Johann Bengel, highly respected by Greek scholars, wrote:
To obtain salvation -
Salvation of that
kind is intended by which they who are saved are excepted from the multitude of
those that perish. 1
Various translators also give
similar meanings to verse 9 in their translations.
For God has not destined us to
incur His anger. (
[Page 124]
For God did not choose us to condemn us. (Phillips)
For God has not destined us to the terrors of judgment. (New
English Bible)
From the meaning of the Greek text,
and by fair rules of interpretation, we conclude there is a connection of
thought in verses 1-9;
therefore, Paul clearly stated that we shall be saved from the wrath of the day of the Lord; saved from the sudden
destruction of that day; saved from
the birthpangs; and saved from hostile seizure by the
thief (vv. 2-4).
6. We saw in Revelation 3: 10 that Christ promised those who keep His
word that He also will keep them from the
hour of temptation which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. This is
similar to Christs statement in Luke 21: 35, For as a snare shall
it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. In both
places Jesus spoke about the final world trial that will test the nations.
We quoted New Testament
authorities who said that this all-nations trial shall be of no ordinary kind, that it will precede the coming of
Christ, and that it is immediately connected with I come quickly.
Jesus and the apostles drew
warnings from history. In Deuteronomy 4: 34 the plagues are called the temptations of
We connected the word temptation in
Revelation 3: 10 with
Peters use of the word in 2 Peter 2: 4-9 and saw
that in both places it has a prophetic meaning: The
Lord knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations ...
[Page 125]
Peters sentences (4-9) are another
unit-of-thought passage. Peter, like Jesus, used the Noah-Lot comparisons. He
began his thought in verse 4 and ended it in
verse 9. And he said the judgments in the
times of Noah and
We have been repetitious on
several points. This could not be avoided. Jesus repeated some truths again and
again. And Peter said he was purposely repetitious (1
Pet. 1: 12;
3: 1). We
shall now see that our main line of argument runs through the five passages
that we have considered, and that there is repetition and unity of thought in
them.
(1) Luke 21: 34-36: We must take heed lest our hearts be
overcharged with the pleasures and cares of this life, and that day come upon
us unawares.
We must watch and pray always
that we shall be worthy to escape
all the things about to come to pass in that day upon the entire earth.
(2) 1 Thessalonians 5: 1-9: Paul
taught that God has not appointed us to the wrath of that day. But we are
appointed [on condition] to be
saved from it.
(3) 2 Peter 2: 1-9: Peter drew
warnings from past judgments in the days of Noah and
(4) Revelation 3: 10: Christ again spoke about an event that will be
a special trial for the inhabited earth. And to all who keep His word, He promised to keep them out of it.
(5) Luke 17: 28-33: Remember
On the meaning of the word temptation in Revelation 3: 10, we
have seen an interesting development in our time with the Arab oil embargo. A
few small Arab countries have caused international upheaval and economic havoc
with their embargo. And they have used it with much effect to force European
and Asian nations to their side against
The time hasnt yet come for the
mark of the beast, but we wonder what the result would have been if the Arabs
had insisted that the crippled nations, desperate for oil, must first accept a
certain mark or stamp before they could buy it? The Arab world is an
Antichrist-world. Could the embargo be a preview of bigger things to come?
7. In the chapter on the signs that precede the tribulation,
when Jesus illustrated this with the trees, He said that when they put forth
leaves, ye know that summer is nigh. The point
here is that we can know when the summer is near. So also shall it be before
the day begins. It is important to [Page 127]
distinguish between the signs that appear before the day begins and after it begins. It is in these
first-signs or preliminary events that we are primarily interested.
Hebrews 10: 25 also
says that we can see the day approaching. Many
New Testament scholars agree that this text speaks of the signs of the times
that will appear before the day of the Lord. 3
The day drawing nigh ... the Second Coming of
Christ. (Robertson)
Ye see ... from the signs of the
times. (Bengel)
It appeals at once to
the watchfulness and discernment of the readers as regards the signs of the
times. (Alford)
Before the destruction of
Jesus said as there were
pre-flood signs in Noahs day, so also there shall be pre-tribulation signs.
This was also true in the days of
There have always been
commotions but never like those that will precede that day. Commotions [Page 128] signify disorders, tumults,
riots, anarchy, and conditions that cause panic. Add all this to the
possibility of nuclear war and we understand why Jesus told us to be not terrified. The nations have intelligence
experts on the alert, prepared to push the panic button. It surely would be
terrifying if we did not escape it. There isnt anything in the past comparable
to the dangerous world situation that is being set up today for Antichrist.
The apostles wrote about the
mystery of Antichrist and the mystery of the
Crucial times are especially
dangerous because Satan has special devices to take advantage of them. In the last days perilous times shall come. There
have always been perilous times, but the final seasons will be the worse, and
Satan will have special forces working that are adapted to the end of the age.
Jesus gave greater stress to the end-time deceptions than to any other.
The European Common Market [
The world-trade sign is taking
shape. International trade is important to world prosperity because it is
related to the economic and monetary problems of the nations. Even the
Dramatic changes are in the
making. A unified
From all the signs, Paul
specified two - peace and prosperity.
Peace is the most pressing problem confronting the United Nations. For years there
have been peace talks by world leaders, the Pope, and ecumenical leaders. At
this writing there seems to be hope of peace in the Mid East. But news reports
say thousands of soldiers and thousands of civilians have been killed in the
No other generation has seen the
signs developing together as we see them today. No other generation has seen
the restored
8. After the chapter on signs we then considered Peters
statement that one day is with the Lord as a
thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. And
this was said in a context about the last
days.
We saw previously that there are
about 600 Old Testament quotations in the New Testament besides numerous
allusive references. Some of these were [Page 130] literally fulfilled by Christ at His first coming but they
were partial fulfilments. The completed fulfilments at His second coming shall
likewise be literal. How could the first part be literal and the second
non-literal?
In examining the forms of prophetic
thought in Scripture we find none so common as the expression of the future in
terms borrowed from the historic past.
Literal, if possible,
is, I believe, the only maxim that will carry you right through the Word of God
from Genesis to Revelation. 4
Girdlestone also said (page 69)
that future events are clothed in language borrowed
from the past
The future is expressed in terms of the past as seen in
the Old Testament.
With so
much prophecy to be literally fulfilled as the end of the age draws near, we
may think that long periods of time will be necessary to accomplish this. But
Peter said that God can do in one day what He has not done for a thousand
years.
When God
let Isaiah see one of His future projects, and the rapidity by which it should
be done, the prophet was astonished and exclaimed in amazement:
Who hath heard such a
thing? who hath seen such things? Shall the earth be made to bring forth in one day? or a nation born at once? (Isa. 66:
8)
This is one of the many events
in Gods prophetic plan as the end approaches: things unheard of, things never
seen before, and the speed by which it shall be done will stagger the nations.
We suggested before that if anyone thinks our statements about world changes are farfetched and
exaggerated, let him read Dr. Tofflers non-religious book, Future
Shock.
[Page 131]
With such a large number of
prophecies to be fulfilled in a short space of time, this project must be
carried out and terminated by a rapid succession of events. Our Lord said it
would all be done in the lifetime of the generation living at the time of final
fulfilment. The severity and rapidity of the judgments would destroy all flesh
unless God shortens the judgment period.
Paul, also writing about the
speedy completion of Gods dealings with the nations, said, For he will finish the work, and cut it short in
righteousness: because a short work will the
Lord make upon the earth.
Jesus stressed the swiftness of
the ancient judgments when the merrymakers were surprised with the sudden
catastrophes. So also shall it be in that day. When God destroys the
dream-world of peace and plenty that apostate nations shall build, they will be
overwhelmed by the suddenness of it. Alas, alas, that great city
9. On the meaning of worthy
to escape, we learned that worthy signifies to have worth or value. It
does not mean that we are saved by works or that we can earn our salvation. We
are not worthy in the sense that Christ is worthy. If we could save ourselves,
then Christ died in vain.
John the Baptist told his
converts to prove their repentance with
fruits worthy of repentance. Evidence of sincerity was also required by
Jesus and the apostles. These fruit works are not the change of heart but the righteous acts which result ftom it, and by proving our love for Christ we have
spiritual worth.
[Page 132]
True faith will manifest itself
in righteous, visible actions. Let your light so shine
before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your Father which is in heaven (Matt. 5: 16). Jesus and the apostles were united on the truth
that only those who produce fruits of righteousness are genuine believers. This
truth runs throughout the New Testament. People can claim what they will, but
the Bible requires proof.
Jesus was severe in His requirements
for discipleship, and with strong emphasis He said that if anyone loved
anything more than Him, he was not worthy of Him. This is repeated three times
in two verses (Matt. 10: 37-38).
Paul told the Thessalonians that
the persecutions they endured were a manifest token of
the righteous judgment of God, that ye
may be counted worthy of the
Paul wrote about faith and works
in Ephesians 2: 8-10.
For by grace are ye saved through faith; and
that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God.
(v. 8)
Not of works, lest any man should boast. (v. 9)
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them. (v.
10)
All our lifetime we have heard
many quote verses [Page 133] 8-9, but not
once did they quote verse 10. And verse 10 is part of Pauls thought in verses
8-9. To quote 8-9 and omit 10 is to quote unfairly because for (gar) is a connective and it is explanatory
of what follows in verse 10. We do not express Pauls
complete thought unless we quote the three verses together. These verses are
another unit of thought.
Gods greatest miracle was not
the creation of the physical universe but His creating children of wrath (Eph.
2: 3) into
sons of God. Salvation does not originate in ourselves but in Gods divine
decree, and it is therefore His free gift. But good works or righteous acts
were also part of the creative decree to be fulfilled in us, and that we should walk [live] in them.
To create a people without this
righteousness was not the predestined [ordained] purpose, and without righteous
acts Gods purpose is not accomplished in us. The Greek word for workmanship is
poiema, and it denotes a product or that which is
made. It is grammatically correct to say that God purposed to make
spiritual products in whom He could create righteous acts. Christ gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto
himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works. My
Greek Testament reads: ... and might cleanse for himself a
people [of] his own possession, zealous of good works (Titus
2: 14 Nestles text).
The Lords inheritance is His
people. We quoted from three texts to show that genuine [and obedient] believers are rich in faith, rich in good works, and rich
towards God, and these virtues are in the
sight of God of great price. These worthies are Gods
predestinated ones, elected to salvation, and they shall never [Page 134] perish. Worthy is the Lamb who
was crucified on Skull Hill to make it possible.
10. Fine linen is the righteousness of the saints. We cited
Nestle, Thayer, Cremer, Abbott-Smith, Vincent,
Robertson, and others to show that righteousness in this
text signifies righteous deeds.
From all the fabrics in the
world the Lord selected fine linen to represent His bridal church.
The garment symbol is prominent in the Bible, and it has deep spiritual
meaning. Gods relation to His people is expressed in terms of marriage, and
this provides the most intimate basis of union with them.
Paul gave symbolic expression to
the undefiled character of the Church when he said it will be presented to
Christ as a chaste virgin. Undefiled by other lovers, she is a model of
holiness.
His
wife hath made herself ready. This is
the central truth of all New Testament teaching - to make ready a people prepared
for the Lord. An analysis of all that Jesus taught about His coming shows
that preparation for it was the point most emphasized. The wedding robe is the Bridegrooms gift to the Bride, but she has to put it on.
The beating, soaking, washing,
and separation of the flax is a picture of continuous and thorough preparation.
The weaver gives it his workmanship, and then passes it on for final
inspection.
Paul said the bridal union of
Christ and the Church is a great mystery in which the two become one. Christs
divine life operates in the Church and combines with faith and love of the
Bride, and this results in righteous deeds and actions. And the apostle John
said that without such deeds and actions one is not righteous.
All the attributes of God are
summed up in one [Page 135] word: righteous. This word comprehends all His moral
excellence. The moral character of the espoused Church is also summed up in one
word: righteousness. Why is
it that this truth, so much emphasized in Scripture, is so much neglected in the churches today?
Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth
righteousness is righteous, even as he is
righteous.
He that committeth sin is of the devil. (1
John 3: 7-8)
In reply to various objections,
we have stated that our position of pre-tribulation escape
does not conflict with the post-tribulation rapture of our opponents. In other words, our escape
texts are not inconsistent with their rapture texts. And this applies to the texts used by
both mid-tribulation and post-tribulation exponents.
But on the other hand, the interpretation they put on the rapture texts is inconsistent with
the escape texts. And their interpretation violates the rule of consistency which says: An interpretation must not
only be consistent with one text; it must
not be inconsistent with other texts.
Our Lord told
us [His regenerate believers] to
pray that we shall be accounted worthy to escape the
tribulation events He described in the Olivet Discourse. It has
been our purpose to prove what this escape means. We have not entered into the
question about how we shall escape, but only that we [are accounted worthy
by Him] shall.
Peter said, that the Lord knew
how to deliver the godly out of judgment, as He knew how to deliver Noah and
We also replied to another
objection: Christians have suffered tribulation
through nineteen centuries of church history. Why then should they be exempted
from the tribulation of the day of the Lord?
Our reply to the previous
objection will also cover this one. Various groups will escape Gods day of
tribulation. There is tribulation that all must endure. Jesus said, In the world ye shall have tribulation, and
Paul said that we must through much tribulation
enter into the
We ... sent Timotheus, our brother,
and minister of God, and
our fellow-labourer in the gospel of Christ, to
establish you, and to comfort you concerning
your faith:
That no man should be
moved by these afflictions [Gk. tribulations]: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto.
All are appointed to these tribulations, but a little later in the same epistle when Paul wrote
about the tribulation of Gods day of wrath, he said:
For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ. (5: 9).
So there is tribulation to which
we are appointed and that to which we are not appointed. Could Paul [Page 137] have been more specific in the
difference between the two?
We have also replied to an
objection by mid-tribulation exponents who argue that the Church will not
escape the wrath of man but will escape the wrath of God. They argue that the first
part of the judgments is the wrath of man and the Church must endure this; but
the wrath of God does not begin until Revelation 6: 17, For the great day of
his wrath is come, and who shall be able to
stand? It is at this time that the Church will be raptured, they
say, and not at the beginning of the tribulation period.
To this we argue that the entire
judgment period is a day of God's wrath. When Jesus spoke about the beginning
of sorrows, He meant the beginning of Gods wrath. The beginning, middle, and
end of the judgments is Gods anger or wrath. The day begins when sudden destruction cometh upon them, and
this destruction is Gods wrath.
Gods anger increases over the
entire judgment period until the fall of
Another objection stated that we
are not to watch and pray for signs in order to escape the tribulation because
the Lord said He would come as a thief in the night. And the thief illustration
in Revelation 16: 15
indicates it will be at the Second Coming that Christ will come as a thief.
[Page 138]
In answer to this we showed that
the Lord will not come as a thief at His second coming because after the day of
the Lord begins, the time of His second coming can be closely calculated. When
Satan is cast down to earth before the Second Coming, he knows that he has but
a short time. Satan then
mobilizes the world armies at Armageddon to oppose Christ at His coming in
Also, Jesus said frightful signs
would precede His appearance at
Jesus specified the fact there
will be no secrecy about His second coming:
Wherefore,
if they shall say unto you ... behold, he is in the secret chambers; believe it
not.
For as the lightning cometh out of the east, and shineth even unto the west; so shall
also the coming of the Son of man be. (Matt.
24: 26-27)
He will not come as a thief in
the darkness but as the lightning flash from east to west - to be seen and
recognized by all the world.
For our last point in this summary
we refer to the post-tribulation argument from Matthew 24: 13. In this text Jesus was speaking about the
tribulation judgments, and said, But he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall
be saved. It is argued from this that none escape the tribulation, but
that all must endure unto the end of it.
If Jesus had said in Luke 21: 36, Watch and pray,
[Page 139] that ye
may be accounted worthy to endure all these things unto the end, then this would have
been strong evidence against our position. But He did not say that. He said the very opposite. Escape and endure are two different words.
In reply to a previous objection we showed that others escape
the judgments after the day of the Lord
begins. But endurance unto the end
will be necessary for some, and many
will be martyred.*
[* See Rev. 6: 9-11, R.V.).]
We conclude by asking the reader
to consider three texts in which Jesus used the same word for temptation (peirasmos).
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from
evil. (Matt. 6: 13)
Watch ye and pray, lest ye enter into
temptation. (Mark 14: 38)
(The word lest here signifies that not. So what Jesus said was, Watch ye and pray, that ye not enter into temptation.)
Because thou hast kept
the word of MY patience, I also will keep thee from
the hour of temptation, which shall come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth. (Rev. 3: 10)
In this text Christ spoke of the
time of the world temptation. And Paul, in 1 Thessalonians 5:
1‑3, wrote about the time of the sudden destruction, illustrating this with the pregnant
woman whose time has come when she is seized with birth-pangs. Jesus and Paul were not speaking about tribulation in the general sense
but in a special and future sense.
The day of the Lord is the total
tribulation period with specific points of time indicated by Jesus with beginning of sorrows and the end of the sorrows. That day embraces
the total period of the final tribulation. In the last days perilous [dangerous] times [Page 140] shall
come. It will be a time of terror and danger for which there are no
precedents in history.
In support of these views we
previously cited standard Greek authorities, and we add another, the Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, edited by Kittel and Friedrich. 15
An interpreter must not only be
concerned with definition and usage but also with the theological meanings of the
prophecies. But definition and usage are important because the theological must
be derived from the grammatical. There is much about God as revealed in the
prophecies that we have not dealt with because our subject deals primarily with
the escape of the - [Divine Judgment of accounted worthy
members of His] -Church
from the tribulation period.
We conclude that Gods will is revealed in the prophecies,
and that He has put in His word a power
that shall one day bring it to pass, every jot and tittle. Many unbelievers
look on the earth mission of Jesus as a failure. When asked why Jews do not
accept Jesus as Messiah, our Jewish guide in
* *
*
[Page 141]
APPENDIX
Nine Rules of Interpretation
Interpretation has been
defined as the science of meaning. Over a
period of many years I searched the worlds foremost authorities on this
science, both in theology and law, and found these nine basic rules universally
accepted in the arena of logic and evidence during the past 2500 years.
They are found in the reasonings
of Socrates and Aristotle who have profoundly influenced interpretation to the
present day. They are also found in the writings of the church fathers, from Irenaeus in the second century, to the Reformation theologians. They were used
in the great doctrinal debates of the theologians from the Council of Nice (324
A.D.) to the Council of Trent (1545-1563). But in many of these
councils a clear definition of terms was avoided and the rules often violated.
The result was confusion, and Paul said that God is not the author of confusion.
The doctrinal calamities of
nineteen centuries of church history were violations of these rules, and the
same is true of all false doctrines in Christendom [Page 142] today.
Professor John Wigmore, a foremost legal authority, called some
interpreters word magicians because of their
attempts to make words mean what they wanted them to mean. Many false doctrines
could not stand without the support of word-magic. Many Bible doctrines are
expressed in a single word or term, and if we do not get the definition right,
we do not get the doctrine right. A false start will surely lead to a false
conclusion. In theology as in law, you can win or lose on the meaning of a
single word.
Exact rules are needed for an
exact result. Paul told us to prove all things, and he
used these rules of interpretation. So also did Jesus and the other apostles,
and they confounded their opponents with them. Every interpreter
thinks he is right, but not every interpreter can prove he is right.
A false interpretation will inevitably betray itself
(Trench).
When conflicting interpretations
are claimed for a scripture, the one that best satisfies the rules will be the
safest to adopt. Evidence must be based on rational grounds of everyday logic,
and logic is defined as reasonable argument.
But there can be no reasonable argument without compliance to universally
accepted rules of interpretation.
All of the rules listed below
are actual quotations from works of scholars of the past and of the present.
1. Rule of Definition
Any
study of Scripture ... must begin with a study
of words. (Protestant Biblical Interpretation, Ramm, Bernard, p.
129. W. A. Wilde Co.,
[Page 143]
Define
your terms and then keep to the terms defined. (The
Structural Principles of the Bible, Marsh, F. E., p. 1, Kregel
Publications.)
In the
last analysis, our theology finds its solid foundation only in the grammatical
sense of Scripture. The interpreter should ... conscientiously
abide by the plain meaning of the words. (Principles
of Biblical Interpretation,
Berkhof, pp. 7475, Baker Book House, 1960.)
The
Bible writers could not coin new words since they would not be understood, and
were therefore forced to use those already in use. The content of meaning in
these words is not to be determined by each individual expositor ... to do so would be a method of interpretation [that
is] a most vicious thing. (Studies in the Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, Wuest,
Kenneth, pp. 30-37, Eerdmans Pub.
[The author] confines the definitions strictly to their literal or
idiomatic force; which, after all, will be found to form the best, and indeed
the only safe and solid basis for theological deductions of any kind.
(Youngs Analytical Concordance to the Bible, Prefatory Note.)
2. Rule of Usage
The
whole Bible may be regarded as written for 'the Jew first,' and its words and
idioms ought to be rendered according to Hebrew usage. (Synonyms of the Old Testament, Girdlestone, R. B., P. 14.)
Christ then accepted the usage
He found existing. He did not alter it. (Pulpit Commentary, Matthew,
V. 1, xxv, old edition.)
[Page 144]
Jesus of Nazareth was a Jew, spoke to and moved among Jews
in
In interpreting very many phrases and histories of the New
Testament, it is not so much worth what we think of them from notions of our
own . . . as in what sense these things were understood by the hearers and
lookers on, according to the usual custom and vulgar dialect of the nation.
(Bishop
Lightfoot, quoted in The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, xii. Moulton & Mulligan, Eerdmans
Pub.
3. Rule of Context
Many a passage of Scripture will not be understood at all
without the help afforded by the context; for many a sentence derives all its
point and force from the connection in which it stands. (Biblical
Hermeneutics, Terry, M. S., p. 117,1896.)
[Bible
words] must be understood according to the
requirements of the context. (Thayer's A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament, p. 97.)
Every word you read must be understood in the light of the
words that come before and after it. (How To
Make Sense, Flesch, Rudolph, p. 51, Harper & Brothers, 1954.)
[Page 145]
[Bible words] when used out of context ... can
prove almost anything. [Some interpreters] twist
them ... from a natural to a non-natural sense.
(Irenaeus, second-century church father, quoted in Inspiration
and Interpretation, p. 50,
Eerdmans Pub.
The meaning must be gathered
from the context. (Encyclopaedia Britannica, Interpretation
of Documents, V. 8, P. 912, 1959.)
4. Rule of Historical Background
Even
the general reader must be aware that some knowledge of Jewish life and society
at the time is requisite for the understanding of the Gospel history. (The Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, Edersheim, Alfred, V. 1, xiii,
Eerdmans Pub.
The
moment the student has in his mind what was in the mind of the author or
authors of the Biblical books when these were written, he has interpreted the
thought of Scripture. ... If he adds anything
of his own, it is not exegesis. (International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia,
V. 3, p. 1489, 1952.)
Theological
interpretation and historical investigation can never be separated from each
other. ... The strictest historical ... scrutiny is an indispensable discipline to all Biblical
theology. (A Theological Word
Book of the Bible, 30 scholars,
Preface, Macmillan Co., 1958.)
I have
said enough to show the part which the study of history necessarily plays in
the intelligent study of the law as it is today. ... Our only interest in the past is for the light it throws
upon the present. (U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, [Page 146] Jr.,
1902-1932, quoted in The World of Law, V. 2, p. 630,
Simon & Schuster, 1960.)
5. Rule of Logic
Interpretation
is merely logical reasoning. (Encyclopedia
Americana, V. 15, p.
261, 1953.)
The use
of reason in the interpretation of Scripture is everywhere to be assumed. The
Bible comes to us in the forms of human language, and appeals to our reason ... it invites investigation and it is to be interpreted as we
interpret any other volume by a rigid application of the same laws of language,
and the same grammatical analysis. (Biblical
Hermeneutics, Terry,
M. S., p. 25,1895.)
What
is the control we use to weed out false theological speculation? Certainly the
control is logic and evidence ... interpreters who have not had the sharpening
experience of logic ... may have improper notions of implication and evidence.
Too frequently such a person uses a basis of appeal that is a notorious
violation of the laws of logic and evidence. (Protestant
Biblical Interpretation, Ramm, Bernard, pp. 151‑153, W. A. Wilde Co., 1956.)
It is
one of the most firmly established principles of law in
Charles G. Finney, lawyer and
theologian, is widely considered the greatest theologian and most successful
revivalist since apostolic times. He was often [Page 147] in sharp conflict with the theologians of his day because
they violated these rules of interpretation. Finney said he interpreted a Bible
passage as he would have understood the same or like
passage in a law book. (Autobiography,
pp. 42-43.)
Finney stressed the need for
definition and logic in theology and said the Bible must be understood on fair principles of interpretation such as would be admitted
in a court of justice. (Systematic Theology, Preface, ix.)
6. Rule of Precedent
We
must not violate the known usage of a word and invent another for which there
is no precedent. (The Greek New
Testament for English Readers, Alford, Henry, P. 1098, Moody Press.)
The
professional ability of lawyers in arguing a question of law, and the judges in
deciding it, is thus chiefly occupied with a critical study of previous cases,
in order to determine whether the previous cases really support some alleged
doctrine. (Introduction to the Study of Law, P.
40, Woodruff, E. H., 1898.)
The
first thing he [the judge] does is to compare
the case before him with precedents. ... Back
of precedents are the basic judicial conceptions which are postulates of
judicial reasoning, and farther back are the habits of life, the institutions
of society, in which those conceptions had their origin. ... Precedents have so
covered the ground that they fix the point of departure from which the labour
of the judge begins. Almost invariably, his first step is to examine and
compare them. It is a process of search, comparison, and little more.
(U.S. Supreme Court [Page 148] Justice
Benjamin Cardozo, 1932-1938, The
Nature of the Judicial Process, quoted in The World of Law, V. 2, P. 671, Simon & Schuster, 1960.)
7. Rule of Unity
[It is] fundamental to a true interpretation of the Scripture, viz., that the
parts of a document, law, or instrument are to be construed with reference to
the significance of the whole. (Dean Abbot, Commentary
on Mathew, Interpretation,
p. 3l.)
Where
a transaction is carried out by means of several documents so that together
they form part of a single whole, these documents are read together as one.
... [They are to be so read] that, that construction
is to be preferred which will render them consistent. (Interpretation of Documents, Sir Roland Burrows. p. 49, Butterworth
& Co., London, 1946.)
8. Rule of Inference
In the law of evidence, an
inference is a fact reasonably implied from another fact. It is a logical
consequence. It is a process of reasoning. It derives a conclusion from a given
fact or premise. It is the deduction of one proposition from another
proposition. It is a conclusion drawn from evidence. An inferential fact or
proposition, although not expressly stated, is sufficient to bind. This
principle of interpretation is upheld by law courts. (Jesus proved the [future]
resurrection of the dead to the unbelieving Sadducees by this rule (Matt. 22: 31, 32). See Encyclopaedia Britannica, V. 6, p. 615 (1952) and Black's
Law Dictionary, p. 436,
Fourth Edition, West Pub.
9. Rule of Consistency
An
interpretation must not only be consistent with one text; it must not be
inconsistent with other texts. (Quoted by Chairman Samuel Ervin at the
Biblical prophecy is one and the
same subject in the Bible, although it is divided into two parts - the Old and
New Testaments. But both parts have one consistent sense throughout. There is
unity of definition and meaning in prophetic terms and symbols.
We must read the total meaning
in the light of the total revelation in both Testaments. The meaning of a
particular part or expression will agree with the total sense. Each part is
harmoniously related to other parts, and a true interpretation will not set one
text at variance with other texts. The collective sense will be a consistent
sense. The whole Bible is a context.
A page
of history is worth a volume of logic, said Mr. Justice Oliver Wendell
Holmes. Jesus and the apostles quoted the Old Testament prophecies in their
historical sense, and it is evident throughout the New Testament that their
hearers understood those prophecies in the same historical sense. An
interpretation that changes this meaning is a distortion.
A proposition of fact is proved when its truth is established by competent
and satisfactory evidence. By competent evidence is meant such evidence as the
nature of the thing to be proved admits. By satisfactory evidence is meant that
amount of proof which ordinarily satisfies an unprejudiced mind beyond
reasonable doubt.
Scripture facts are
therefore proved when they are established by that kind and degree of evidence which
would in the affairs of ordinary life satisfy the mind and conscience of a
common man. When we have this kind and degree of evidence it is unreasonable to
require more. (Systematic Theology, Augustus H. Strong, P. 142, Judson
Press, 18993
A recent book with the title, A Lawyer Among the Theologians, stresses the need for established
rules of interpretation and laws of evidence in biblical studies, which we have
long advocated. The author is Norman Anderson who is director of the
In his book, Professor Anderson
says it is astonishing to see how many biblical interpreters impose their
preconceived ideas on the Scriptures rather than to evaluate the evidence as it
stands. The fundamental problem of correct interpretation is to properly
evaluate the evidence and to follow it to whatever conclusion it may lead us.
He deplores the method some
interpreters use of quoting a passage which agrees with a thesis, and ignoring
other passages which disagree with the interpreters argument. Those who use inspired guesswork do not know the difference
between fact and opinion.
The author also says that some
theologians make dogmatic statements about points on which other competent
authorities take a very different view and submit proofs for their beliefs,
while the former do not. The proper evaluation of evidence is the basis of
correct interpretation, legal or biblical. (Eerdmans Publishing Company, Grand
Rapids, 1974, pp. 9-28.)
* *
*
[Page 151]
Notes
NOTES TO CHAPTER 2
1. Vines An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words (hereafter referred to as Vines Dictionary) (Westwood, N. J.: Fleming H. Revell Co., 1948), 43: 4.
2. The
International Standard Bible Encyclopaedia (Grand
Rapids: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1939), 4:2819.
3.
Thayers A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (hereafter referred to as Thayers Lexicon),
p. 472.
4. Arndt
and Gingrichs A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament (hereafter referred to as Arndt and
Gingrichs Lexicon), P. 246; Vines Dictionary, 2:40; Thayers Lexicon,
P. 200.
5. Moulton
and Milligans The Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament, P. 304 (hereafter referred to as
Moulton and Milligans Vocabulary).
6. Arndt
and Gingrichs Lexicon, pp. 362-3.,
Thayers Lexicon. P. 291.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 3
1.
Thayers Lexicon, p. 279.
2. Dana
and Manteys A Manual Grammar of
the Greek New Testament (hereafter
referred to as Dana and Manteys Grammar), P. 244.
3.
Vincents Word Studies in the New Testament (hereafter referred to as Vincents
Word Studies),
4:45.
[Page 152]
4. Vines
Dictionary.
5. Keil
and Delitzschs Old Testament Commentaries.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 4
1. See
Alfords The Greek New Testament for English Readers (hereafter referred to as Alfords New Testament), p. 1332.
2.
3.
4. Arndt
and Gingrichs Lexicon, pp. 805-6.
5. Page
622.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 5
1. The Pulpit
Commentary.
2.
Alfords New Testament.
3.
Jamieson, Fausset and Browns commentary.
4.
Girdlestones Synonyms of the Old Testament,
p. 295.
5. Vines Dictionary.
6.
Trenchs Synonyms of the New Testament,
p. 203.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 6
1.
Headline in the Worldgram section of U.S. News and World Report, April 1, 1974, p. 55.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 7
1. Arndt
and Gingrichs Lexicon, p. 678.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 8
1. Arndt
and Gingrichs Lexicon, p. 77.
2. Moulton
and Milligans Vocabulary, p. 51.
3. Vines Dictionary, 4:237.
4.
Robertsons Word Pictures in the New Testament (hereafter referred to as Robertsons Word Pictures), 1: 27.
5. Dana
and Manteys Grammar,
p. 261.
6. Arndt
and Gingrichs Lexicon, p. 646.
7.
Robertsons Word Pictures, 6:153.
8. Alfords New Testament,
p. 1674. Other Greek authorities
support this interpretation. See especially the [Page 153] Expositors Greek Testament and The New Testament
from 26 Translations.
9. Trenchs Synonyms of the New
Testament, p. 279.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 9
1. Arndt
and Gingrichs Lexicon, p. xxvii.
2.
Alfords New Testament (italics his), p. 1922.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 10
1. Edersheims The Life and Times
of Jesus the Messiah, 2:448.
2. Ibid.,
2:448 (footnote).
3. Schaffs History of the Christian Church, 1:
186.
4.
Robertsons Word Pictures, 2:262.
5. Gundrys The Church and the
Tribulation, p. 92.
6. Bengels New Testament Word Studies, 2:485.
7. Nestles Novum Testamentum Graece.
8. Lamsas The New Testament
According to the Eastern Text.
9. Page 84.
10.
Jamieson, Fausset and Browns commentary.
11.
Robertsons Word Pictures, 1:189.
NOTES TO CHAPTER 11
1. Bengels New Testament Word
Studies, 2:485.
2. Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament, 6:30.
3. In
addition to the three quoted examples, see also The
Pulpit Commentary: Jamieson,
Fausset and Browns commentary; the Expositors Greek
New Testament, Vincents
Word Studies, and others.
4. Girdlestones The Grammar of
Prophecy, pp. 66,179.
5. See 2:
947-953; 3: 139-146; 6: 30.
[Page 154]
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Kittel, G.
and G. Friedrich. Editors. Theological
Dictionary of the New Testament.
Lamsa, George
M. The New Testament According to the Eastern Text. Translated from Original Aramaic
Sources.
Marsh, F. E. The Structural
Principles of the Bible.
Moffat, James. The Holy Bible, A
New Translation by James Moffat.
Moulton,
James Hope, and Milligan, George. The Vocabulary of
the Greek New Testament.
Nestle,
D. Eberhard and Nestle, D. Ervin. Novum Testamentum Graece. Privileg. Wurtt. Bibelanstalt Stuttgart,
1960.
Orr,
James, Ed. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia.
Pulpit Commentary. Matthew, V. 1, xxv, old
edition.
Ramm, Bernard. Protestant
Biblical Interpretation.
Richardson,
Alan. Ed. Theological Word Book of the Bible.
Robertson,
A. T. Word Pictures in the New Testament.
[Page 157]
Strong, Augustus. Systematic Theology.
Terry, M. S. Biblical
Hermeneutics.
Thayer, J. H. A Greek-English
Lexicon of the New Testament.
Toffler, Alvin. Future Shock.
Torrey, R. A.
The Importance
and Value of Proper Bible Study.
Trench, R. C. Synonyms of the New
Testament.
Vaughan, Curtis. Ed. New Testament from
26 Translations.
Vincent,
M. R. Word Studies in the New Testament.
Vine, W. E. An Expository
Dictionary of New Testament Words.
Walvoord, John F. Ed. Inspiration and Interpretation.
Weymouth, R. F. The New Testament
in Modern Speech.
Woodruff. Edwin H. Introduction to the
Study of Law.
Wuest, Kenneth. Studies
in the Vocabulary of the Greek New Testament.
Young,
Robert. Analytical Concordance to the Bible. Twentieth American edition.
* * *
* * *
*
[PART 6]
The Pre-Tribulation Rapture*
By G. H. Lang
[*From the authors book: FIRSTFRUITS AND
HARVEST (pp. 41-50).]
------
[Page 41]
There are
two principal views upon the matters here considered: one, that the Parousia
will commence prior to the Times of the End,
and that at its inception all believers of the heavenly calling, dead and
living, will be taken to the presence of the Lord in the air; the other, that
the Parousia will occur at the close of the Great Tribulation, until when no
believers will he raised or changed. The one view says that no believers will
go into the End Times, the other that none then living will escape them. The
one involves that the utmost measure of unfaithfulness or carnality in a
believer puts him in no peril of forfeiting the supreme honour of rapture or of
having to endure the dread End Days: the
other view involves that no degree of faithfulness or of holiness will enable a
saint to escape those Days. As regards this matter
godliness and unfaithfulness seem immaterial on either view; which raises a
doubt of both views.
Our
study thus far has shown that the former view is unfounded: we have now to see that
the latter is partly right and partly wrong. It is right in asserting that the
Parousia will commence at the close of the Great Tribulation, but wrong in
declaring that no saints living as the End Times near will escape that awful
period.
1. For
our Lord Jesus Christ has declared distinctly that escape is possible. In Luke 21 is a record of instruction given by Him to four apostles on
the
Then He
mentions the disturbances in nature and the fears of mankind that are grouped
under seal 6 in Rev. 6: 12-17, and
adds explicitly that then shall they
see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory, and
that when these things begin His disciples may know that their redemption
draweth nigh (ver.
27, 28).
In concluding
this outline of the period of the Beast the Lord then uttered this exhortation
and promise: But take heed to your selves,
lest haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of
this life, and that day come on you suddenly as
a snare: for so shall it come upon all them that
dwell on the face of all the earth. But watch ye
at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape all these things that shall
come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.
This
declares distinctly: (1) That escape
is possible from all those things of which Christ had been speaking, that is,
from the whole End-times. (2) That
that day of testing will be universal, and inevadable by any then on the earth,
which involves the removal from the earth of any who are to escape it. (3) That those who are to escape will be
taken to where He, the Son of Man, will then be, that is, at the throne of the
Father in the heavens. They will stand before Him there. (4) That
there is a fearful peril of disciples becoming worldly of heart and so being
enmeshed in that last period. (5)
That hence it is needful to watch, and to pray ceaselessly, that so we may
prevail over all obstacles and dangers and thus escape that era.
This
most important and unequivocal statement by our Lord sets aside the opinion
that all Christians will escape irrespective of their moral state, and also
negatives the notion that no escape is possible. There is a door of escape; but
as with all doors, only those who are awake will see it, and only those who are
in earnest will reach [Page 43] it ere
the storm bursts. In every place in the New Testament the word escape has its natural force - ekpheugo, to flee
out of a place of trouble and be quite clear thereof. 1. It
never means to endure the trial successfully. In this very discourse of the
Lord it is in contrast with the statement, He that
endureth (bupomeno)
to the end [of these things] the same shall be saved (Matt. 24: 13). One
escapes, another endures.
1. It comes
only at Luke 21:
36; Acts 16:
27; 19: 16; Rom. 2: 3; 2 Cor. 11: 33; 1Thess. 5: 3; Heb. 2: 3; 12: 25. In comparison with Rom. 12: 13 ), see
its use in the interpolated passage after Esth. 8:
13: they suppose that
they shall escape the sin-hating vengeance of the ever-seeing God; also
Judg. 6: 11; Job. 15: 30; Prov. 10: 19; 12: 13.The
sense is invariably as stated above.
The attempt to evade the application
of this passage to Christians on the plea that it refers to Jewish disciples of Christ, is baseless: (a) No Jewish
disciples of Christ are known to the Scriptures (Gal. 3: 28; Eph.
2: 14-18). (b) The God-fearing remnant of
2. In harmony with
this utterance of our Lord is His further statement to the church at
Philadelphia (Rev. 3: 10): Because
thou didst keep the word of My patience, I also
will keep thee from (ek) the hour of trial, that hour which
is to come upon the whole inhabited earth, to
try them that dwell upon the earth. Here also are declared: (a) The universality of that hour of
trial, so that any escape from it must involve removal; (b) the promise of being kept from it; (c) the intimation that such preservation is the consequence of a
certain moral condition: Because thou didst keep ... I also will keep. As this is addressed to a
church, no question of a Jewish application
can arise. Nor do known facts or the Scriptures allow of the supposition that
every Christian keeps the word of Christs patience (Matt. 24: 12;
Rev. 2: 5: Gal. 6: 12; Col. 4: 14 with 2 Tim. 4: 10 concerning
Demas); so that this promise cannot be stretched to mean all believers.
In The
Bible Treasury, 1865, p.
380, there is an instructive note by
J. N. Darby (see also Coll. Writings, vol. 13, Critical 1, 581) on the
difference between apo and ek. The former regards hostile persons and being delivered from
them; the latter refers to a state and being kept from getting into it. On Rev. 3: 10 he wrote: So in Rev. 3 the faithful are kept
from getting into this state, preserved from getting into it. Or, as we say,
kept out of it. For the words here answer fully to the English out of or from. That the
thought is not being kept from being injured in soul by the trials is implied
in the expression Keep thee out of that hour; it is
from the period of time itself that the faithful are to be kept, not merely
from its spiritual perils.
3. Of this escape and
preservation there are two pictures as there are two promises.
In Rev.
12 is a Vision of (a) a woman; (b) a
man-child whom she bears; (c) the
rest of her family. Light on this complex figure may be gained from Hosea 4 and Isa. 49: 17-21; 50: 1.
As to this woman the dominant fact is that at one and the same time she is
seen in heaven arrayed with heavenly glory and on earth in sorrow and pain.
This simultaneous and contradictory experience is true of the
As to the Man-child, his birth
and rapture, as with the whole of this book from c.
4: 1,
pointed to events which the angel distinctly said were future to the time of
the visions. There is no exception to this, and therefore there is no possible
reference to the resurrection and ascension of Christ. Nor, in the fact, did
our Lord at His birth escape from Satan by rapture to the throne of God: on the
[Page 45] contrary, the Dragon slew Him
in manhood and only thereafter did He ascend to heaven. Nor at the ascension of
Christ was Satan cast out of heaven. Thirty years later, when Paul wrote to the
Ephesians, he and his servants were still there (Eph. 6: 12), and
another thirty years later again, when John saw the visions, his ejection was
still future (Rev. 12).
The identity of this Man-child
is indicated by the statement that he is to
rule all the nations with a rod of iron, for this is a repetition
of the promise (Rev. 2:
26-27), And he that overcometh, and he
that keepeth My works unto the end [comp. the keeping the word of
My patience, as above], to him will 1 give authority over the nations, and he shall rule them with a rod of iron. This
promise is given only to Christ and the overcomers of the churches. As it
cannot here (Rev. 12) apply
to Him it can only apply to them.
This removal of the Man-child
cannot be the event foretold in Thess. 4: 15-17, for
those there in view will be taken up only as far as to the air around this
earth when the Lord descends thereto from heaven, but this removal takes the
Man-child to the throne of God, which is where Christ now is, in the upper
heavens. This fulfils the promise that such as prevail to escape shall stand before the Son of Man.
As we have seen, the Lord does
not descend from heaven till the close of the Great Tribulation, not before
Satan is cast down. Moreover, this one child can be only a part of the whole
family, not the completed church in view in 1 Thess. 4 2 and 1 Cor. 15. The woman out of whom he is born remains on earth,
and after his ascent the rest of her seed are
persecuted by the Beast; but his removal is before the Beast is even on the
scene or Satan is cast [Page 46] out of
heaven. Thus those who will form this company escape all things that will occur
in the End-times, as Christ promised; and the identification with the
overcomers declares that they had lived that watchful, prayerful, victorious life,
upon which, as the Lord said, that escape will depend.
2. In 1 Thess. 4: 15, 17 the word perileipo, that are left, deserves notice. It is not found
elsewhere in the New Testament, but the force may he seen in the LXX of Amos. 5: 15, and of the verb (in some editions) at 2 Chron. 34: 21; Hag. 2: 3. In each
case it means, to be left after others are gone. So the lexicons also, and they
are confirmed by The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament.
In this place it seems redundant save on our view that the rapture there in
question is at the close of the Tribulation and that some saints will not have
been left on earth until that event, but will have been removed alive earlier;
for to have marked the contrast with those that had died it would have been
enough to have said we that are alive, without
twice repeating this unusual word.
Consequent upon this removal of
the watchful, Satan is cast out of heaven, and presently brings up the Beast,
who persecutes the rest of the womans family (12: 17, 18; 13: 7-10). So that one section of the family escapes
the End-times by being rapt to heaven, and the rest, the more numerous portion,
as the term indicates, go into the Great Tribulation. These latter are such as
keep the commandments of God and hold the testimony of Jesus (ver. 17). In Rev. 14: 12, such
are termed the saints, which in New Testament times,
was the term regularly used by Christians of one another; and among their
number John had already included himself (1: 2, 9). It
covers therefore the
4. The second picture of this pre-Tribulation rapture is given
in Rev. 14. In
this chapter there are six scenes:
i. Firstfruits with the Lamb
on the
ii. The
hour of judgment commences (6, 7).
iii.
iv. The
Beast period is present and persecution is in progress (9-13).
v. The
Son of Man on a white cloud reaps His harvest (14-16).
vi. The
vintage of the earth is gathered, and is trodden in the winepress on
earth (17-20).
The agricultural figure wrought
into this chapter by the Holy Spirit is the key to its teaching. In the early
summer the Jew was to gather a sheaf of corn as soon as enough was ripe, and
this was to be presented to God in the temple at
Thus the firstfruits are shown as on Mount Zion with the Lamb,
the harvest is taken only as far as to the
clouds, which accords with 1 Thess. 4; and the vintage is trodden outside the
city of Jerusalem, where the armies of Antichrist are camped.
The last scene is the
destruction of the Beast by the Lord at His descent to
The Firstfruits cannot be a picture of the whole of the
redeemed as they will finally appear at the end of the drama of those days, for
firstfruits cannot be more than a portion of the whole harvest, neither can
firstfruits describe the final ingathering. It were a contradiction to speak
thus. Firstfruits must be gathered first, before the reaping of the remainder. The
number 144,000 need not be taken literally. In the Apocalypse numbers are sometimes
literal, but sometimes figurative.
As has been noted above, these
had been purchased out of the earth, which shows that they were not then on earth, and
they learn the song of the heavenly choir. Nor can this
The 144,000 of ch. 7 are a
different company. They are the godly Remnant of Israel seen on earth after the
Appearing and the gathering of the elect to the clouds, and are sealed (comp. Ezek. 9) so as
to be untouched by the wrath of the Lamb now to be poured upon the godless (Zeph. 2:
3; Isa. 26: 20, 21).
The identity of these
Firstfruits is revealed by a similar means to that which reveals the identity
of the Man-child. These persons [Page 48] are
shown as connected with the Father, the Lamb, and the Mount Zion, which also
refers back to the promises to the overcomers, and shows that the Firstfruits
will be a portion of the company of the victors, who, it is promised, will be
marked as connected with the Father, the Son, and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 3: 12). These three marks of identification come
together in these two passages only. Now the moral features attributed
to these Firstfruits show that they had lived just that pure, faithful
Christian life which necessarily results from watchfulness, prayerfulness, and patient
obedience to the words of Christ, as
inculcated in the corresponding passages quoted.
As the Man-child and the rest of
the womans seed were but one family, only removed in two portions, one before
the Beast and the other after his persecutions, so firstfruits and harvest were
grown from one sowing in one field, only they were reaped in two portions, one
before the hour of judgment and the other after the Beast had persecuted. We
have remarked above that these latter are termed saints, and that this was the regular title that Christians gave to
one another; that it is amplified by the double description they that keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus, and
that in this description John had before twice included himself; so that the
terms mean that company in which John had membership, the church of God.
Moreover, as the Jewish remnant will not have owned Jesus during the period in
view the terms can apply only to Christians.
Finally, as between the
gathering of the sheaf of firstfruits and the ingathering of the harvest there
came the intensest summer heat, so between the removal of the Firstfruits and
the reaping of the Harvest there is placed (ver. 9-13) the Great Tribulation, that final persecution which while,
like all persecution, it will wither the unrooted stalk (Matt. 13: 21), ripens the matured grain. It
is ripeness, not the calendar or the clock, that determines the time of reaping
(Mk. 4: 29). The Heavenly Husbandman reaps no unripe
grain: hence, the hour to reap is come when
the harvest is dried up (Rev. 14: 15), for the dryness of the kernel
in the husk is its fitness for the gamer and for use. Thus the Great
Tribulation will be a true mercy to [Page 49] the
Lords people by fully developing and sanctifying them for their heavenly
destiny and glory.
It thus appears that the
foretold order of events will be:
1. The removal of such as prevail to escape the Times of the
End. These will be taken up to God and to His throne on the
2. The Beast arises and persecutes.
3. The Lord descends to the clouds and gathers together His
elect (Matt. 24: 29-31; 1 Cor. 15: 51, 52; 1 Thess. 4: 15-17; Tit. 2: 13; Rev. 14: 14-16). At this time there will be the first
resurrection. Each who shall be accounted worthy of the coming
age will arise into his lot - [or inheritance,
see 2 Cor. 6: 9; Gal. 5: 16-21; 1 Thess. 1: 4, 5, etc., :
Cf. Heb. 12: 17,
R.V.] - at the end of the days, not sooner, certainly not before the End days have commenced
(Dan. 12:
13). Nor may we assume of the Firstfruits
that they will have priority in the Kingdom over equally faithful saints of
earlier times.
4. After an interval the Lord descends to the
It is therefore our wisdom to
give earnest, unremitting attention to our Lords most solemn exhortation take heed to yourselves, lest
haply your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting and drunkenness [that
is, fleshly indulgence], and cares of this life [that is, its burdens
through either poverty or riches], and that day come on
you suddenly as a snare: for so shall it come on all them
that dwell on the face of all the earth. But
watch ye at every season, making supplication, that ye may prevail to escape
all these things that shall come to pass, and to
stand before the Son of Man (Lk. 21: 34-36).
Oh, dare
and suffer all things!
Yet but
a stretch of road,
Then
wondrous words of welcome,
And then
- the FACE OF GOD!
[Page 50]
Many of the perplexities felt as
to these themes are caused by misconceptions upon three subjects - the
constitution of man, the
place and state of the dead, the judgment of the Lord upon His people.
Some discussion of these matters follows.
* * *
* * *
*
[PART 7]
HADES: SOME OBJECTIONS
By J. C.
HULL (
Doubtless many will take
exception to some of the views offered in the foregoing pages; and, while we
regret this, yet we must make it clear that we write not of what we have been taught by our fellowmen, but from a close
personal study, of Gods Word. We are
convinced that we have set forth nothing other than the Scriptural doctrine of Hades and allied themes, brief,
concise, and to the point; this we are prepared to offer to God, to His glory,
knowing that there is no duplicity in our heart.
Probably the chief objection
will be that the saints do not go to Hades at death, but direct to heaven and
we shall be asked: Have you never read 2 Corinthians 5: 8 where Paul says that to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord or Philippians 1: 23 - having a desire to depart and be with Christ which is far
better? To this we answer that we are aware of the many Scriptures used
to support the view that the departed saints are now in heaven, but - we cannot accept these as they are texts in
isolation and as such they may support that particular view, thy do not
harmonise with the rest of the Scriptures on this teaching, and in fact even
contradict it, this we hope to show in this section. Let us now look at these mainstays of this view and examine them a little
closer and see if they say what they
are supposed to say.
If we were to read 2 Corinthians 5: 8 in the
R.V. or a good literal translation, we will note that there is a singularly
different rendering, but never-the-less an important one. There it reads: absent from the body, and to
be at home with the Lord. To be present with the Lord
DEMANDS that the person should always be before the Lords presence. To be at
home demands only that the person be required to dwell in the abode suppled by the Lord - let it be where it will. Take an
example from daily life: one can be living at home with ones father yet the
father be seldom there because he is a travelling man. On the other hand, to be
present with ones father demands that he should be accompanied on his travels.
Pauls yearning to be at home
with the Lord requires nothing more than what was the desire of the Old Testament
saints when they spoke in a similar strain.
Job speaks thus: I know
that Thou wilt bring me to death, and to the
house (BAYITH - HOME) appointed for ALL living (Job. 30: 23). The word BAYITH is rendered some 25 times in the Old Testament as home. The word used in the New Testament is ENDEMEO and the translators render it as home in verse 6: whilst we are at HOME in the body, we are absent from the Lord. As we have seen in our study,
the saints of the old economy looked forward to going to this abode of the Lord at death - it was our
equivalent to going home to be with the Lord, although nowadays WE have changed
its sense to going to heaven. To the saint
that is that little bit older in the Lord than others. we ask. Does it not seem a pleasant prospect at times to be finished
with this sinful world and to depart to be at home with the Lord?
Before we leave this, let it be recalled that in the 23rd
Psalm, it speaks of the Old Testament saint going through the valley of the shadow of death ... FOR THOU ART WITH ME. Now the destination of the saint in this passage will not he
doubted - it was Sheol, yet he was assured of the presence of the Lord. In Psalm 116: 15
we read. Precious in the sight of the Lord is
the death of His saints. Is the saints death any more
precious today than it was 3000 years ago when this was written? Christ the
Lord confirmed in every instance the customs of death as laid down by the
Father, who are we that we should set these aside and MAKE OUR
OWN WAY THROUGH DEATHS DARK VALE?
Ephesians 4: 8: Wherefore he saith,
When he ascended up on high, he led captivity captive,
and gave gifts unto men.
It is held that this verse
teaches that when Christ ascended to the Father, He led captivity captive -
meaning the captive saints of Sheol were loosed from their bondage, and ever
since have (and do) dwell in heaven with the Lord. There is no doubt that in
isolation this text can be made to say this; but if it is to read harmoniously
with the rest of' the scriptures then it cannot mean what has been stated
above. The expression led captivity captive is used twice in the Old
Testament. The first occurs in Judges 5: 12, and is
the cry of Deborah to Barak who had returned victorious from a battle with Sisera.
She was instructing him as the victorious commander to lead forth in a victory
parade in which he would go in front of his chained ENEMY CAPTIVES. Deborah certainly did not mean that he was to
gather his own soldiers who may, have been prisoners of Sisera and whom had
been released at victory.
The second mention is found in Psalm 68: 18, and it has the same thought. The Psalm
records a military operation - when God arises His enemies are dispersed and those
that hate Him flee. Then after a mighty victory, we read in verse 18, which Norlic translates as, You have emerged victorious carrying off captives and
receiving tribute from men, EVEN FROM REBELS. The same translator renders Ephesians 4: 8 as, When he went on high, He took
many captives with Him, and He gave gifts to men.
We ask a simple straightforward
question at this point: did Paul when he quoted this verse from Psalm 68, mean to reverse the interpretation from the original? This
reversal of the meaning seems to us more like the work of man - especially in
the light of Colossians 2: 15 where
Paul distinctly tells us that Christ, having spoiled (gained the victory) over
principalities and powers. He made a show of them openly (a public spectacle)
in which He triumphed over them in it. These then are the captives which the
Lord led forth in triumph, and this harmonises with the tenor of Scripture
rather than clashing even to the point of contradiction.
Further, if the general interpretation of Ephesians 4: 8 is correct, can it be explained why, when
these captive saints were led out of Sheol and into heaven, was king David left
behind? Peter, speaking under inspiration of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2: 29, 34, concerning David says, Men [and] brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David,
that he is both dead and buried, and his
sepulchre is with us unto this day.
... For
David is not ascended into heaven. The time factor is very important here, for Peter speaks on
the Day of Pentecost which was ten days AFTER the Lord ascended into heaven. We are told by those who see in Ephesians 4: 8
the saints being led aloft, that Sheol - or at least that part of Abrahams
bosom and Paradise - is now empty: but how can this be if even one saint were
left behind and most certainly David is still there? We have shown by quoting
the early, church writers that none of them believed that saints to be anywhere
other than that place called Abrahams bosom.
Then, it is objected, Paul in Philippians 1: 23 had a
desire to depart and be with Christ which is far better - does not this carry
the import that the saint goes to heaven at death? To isolate this verse on its
own, it could be made to say so; but we do not believe that it does - this is
reading into it what one WANTS to
see there. We have shown that it is GAIN for the saint to die, and he who is living in the fullness of the Lord actually looks forward to being with Christ but whether he wants to believe it or not, he will go to that home spoken of by Job (30:
23) and Paul (2
Corinthians 5: 8). These saints are not tucked away in a corner
and forgotten about until the [first] resurrection - no, far
from it for they are alive unto God (Luke 20: 38) and can commune with the Lord (Revelation 6:
9-11,
[See also Psalm 139: 8b]). They - being unhindered by the body of
sin and being in nature, spirit - can appreciate the presence of the Lord to a
degree far beyond that which we can comprehend. This is the thought behind the
words of Philippians 1: 6, where
the good work of Christ CONTINUES in the [obedient] believer
until the [millennia] day of
Christ, which will be the day of his perfection. Let us acknowledge that even in
this body of sin, we can still appreciate to some degree the presence of the
Lord - for has He not promised this to His people (Matthew 18: 20)?
If we had read further in Ephesians 4 and had gone to verse 10, we
would have had the answer concerning the presence of the Lord. There we read, -
He that descended is the same that ascended far above all
heavens THAT HE MIGHT FILL ALL THINGS. That is, that He might fill the universe with His presence, and, must
not this be so for the fulfilment of Matthew 18: 20? The Psalmist had this thought in mind when
he wrote, Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend into heaven, thou
art there: if I make my bed in hell [sheol], behold, thou [art there]. No matter where the saint goes
in life or death, he is assured of the presence of the Lord.
Let us not forget the
circumstances in which Paul wrote the words of Philippians
1: 23. He was languishing in prison,
chained night and day to a Roman soldier, and the treatment of prisoners in
those days left a lot to be desired. Remember also that he was now an old man
with a hard physical life behind him (2 Corinthians
11: 23-29). Under such circumstances can we be
surprised that he yearned to be with Christ which is far better? But, if we say
heaven then we are reading into the Scriptures something that we
ASSUME to be there, and this can be
a dangerous course in the study of the Word of God. We say then that there is
insufficient evidence in these words of Paul to substantiate a premise that his
departure would mean his going to heaven. Our answer is that there is nothing
in these Scriptures that are not satisfied in our remarks of Philippians 1: 23: but, however, we are of the opinion that these
scriptures refer to a yet future event when the resurrected saint shall be
caught up to be with the Lord (1 Thessalonians 4: 17).
What is probably the final and
most important objection is found in Pauls words of 2 Corinthians 12: 1-14. He
speaks of an experience which doubtless he had himself, although, whether it
was himself or someone else is immaterial. The fact of the matter was that he
was caught away, to the third heaven (verse 2) and caught away to
If we read the text aright, we
see that Paul speaks of visions and revelations (plural), so we must expect him to speak of more than one experience, and
when we continue to read we see that he does. It says in our version that he
was caught up to the third heaven - it does
not say so in the Greek. The word
rendered Caught up is HARPAZO and
literally means to catch away BUT DOES NOT CONVEY
THE SENSE OF DIRECTION. This can
only be gained by adding the appropriate word and thus indicating direction.
The translators in this case have added up
and, no doubt, rightly. There are far too many references in scripture as to
the direction of heaven to cause doubt on this point.
When we come to the second
experience, we see that they assume it was the same one he had already spoken
of, and again they add the word up. This
however. is quite wrong, for nowhere in scripture do we get the impression that
paradise is up in heaven. (The word is
mentioned three times in the New Testament: Luke 23: 43; Revelation 2: 7; and in our text).
There can be no doubt at all as
to the meaning of paradise in Luke 23: 43, or its location - for the thief received
the promise that he would be there that same day with the Lord Jesus. If we
read in the scripture that three days later the Lord had not yet ascended into
heaven, and also that when He died He descended into the lower parts of the
earth, we must conclude with the Jewish belief that paradise was part of Sheol,
which, by the way, the Lord condoned in Luke 16. (Compare Luke 23: 43; John 20: 17; Matthew 12: 40; Romans 12: 7; Ephesians 4: 9).
The
mention of paradise in Revelation 2: 7
on its own is incomplete, for then it is only part of a term which in its
fulness is the paradise of God; and this we believe to be part of the future (Revelation 22: 2).
Whereas the paradise of Luke and 2 Corinthians has to do with the believer in
the spirit or unclothed state (2 Corinthians 5: 14) BEFORE resurrection. The paradise of God will be enjoyed by
the believer in his clothed state i.e. in the spiritual body - [with flesh and bones (Luke 24: 39ff)] - AFTER the
resurrection (1 Corinthians 15: 51-54).
These, we would hazard, are the
chief objections that could be raised to what has been written and they, are
not really objections, except of course if they are read with a view to
supporting a theory.
In our study, we have dealt with
the theme of Hades and have tried to keep
within the limits of what the scriptures reveal concerning it. We have not
brought in any other topics other than the lake of fire which we touched on lightly, because it
is the ultimate of Hades (Revelation 20: 14) and
therefore closely connected. We trust that this short treatise will be used of
the Lord to exercise His people to a more diligent study of His own precious
Word, wherein alone is to be found truth. Oh, that we are more like the Bereans
of old, who searched the Scriptures daily whether these things were so (Acts 17: 10-11). Unfortunately, we are not: for if a thing
is said from the pulpit or something is read in a book of a sound author, these are accepted without question or
investigation. In closing, let the Word of God as spoken through David have the
last word: It is better to trust in the Lord,
than to put confidence in man (Psalm 118: 8).
* * *
* * *
*
CONCLUDING SCRIPTURAL REMARKS
Hear,
O heavens, and give ear,
O earth, for the LORD
hath spoken: I have nourished and brought up
children, and they have rebelled against me. (Isaiah
2: 2, R.V.).
And as
John was fulfilling his course, he said, What suppose ye that I am? I
am not he, But behold, there cometh one
after me, the shoes of whose feet I am not
worthy to unloose. Brethren, children of the stock of Abraham, and those among you that fear God, to us is the word of
this salvation sent forth. For they that
dwell in
And he
[i.e. the Antichrist] opened his mouth for blasphemies against God, to blaspheme his name, and his
tabernacle, even them that dwell in
the heaven. And it was given unto him to make war with the saints, and to overcome
them: and there was given to him authority
over every tribe and people and tongue and nation. And all that dwell on
the earth shall worship him, every one whose name hath
not been written in the book of life of the Lamb that hath been slain from
before the foundation of the world. If any man
hath an ear, let him hear. If any man is for captivity, into
captivity he goeth: if any man shall kill with
the sword, with the sword must he be killed.
Here is the
patience and faith of the saints. (Revelation
13: 6-9,
R.V.).
He that
hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith to the churches.
To him that
overcometh, to him will I give to eat
of the tree if life, which is in the
THE END