ABOUT THIS BOOK
“Pastor Faust has scoured the entire
Bible to answer a question seldom asked or faced. Will there be a judgment of believers at the
Bema Seat of Christ as Paul points out in 2
Cor. Five?
He has come to the conclusion there will be a judgment and some will be
rewarded with millennial blessings.
Others will be rejected. He has
also scoured the works of many devout Bible scholars and found that they have
come to the same conclusion and provided us with their names, works and actual
quotations to substantiate their views. Many pastors will reject this book for
they do not expect their ministries to be tried. They will not recommend the book, for so long
they have pampered their members into continuing lethargy and laxity in
Christian living. A few will awake and get ready for the Bema Seat.”
- Professor George W. Dollar, Ph.D.,
author of A History of fundamentalism in
“In this day and age I see many people who claim to be born again, washed in
the blood, and serving Jesus spending a great deal of their time living the way
they want to because, after all, they are ‘once saved always saved’ etc. I know that in its simple form the Bible says
born again, and you cannot be unborn, therefore I know the Bible teaches the
security of the believer. It just so
happens that my Southern Baptist denomination believes in the security of the
believer, and I am proud of them.
I know at this point many of my brothers and
sisters will feel I have left the bus, but I agree with the teaching that
Brother Faust has brought to the surface, after it was left in the dust. His book brings together what has been in the
history of the church for years.
If this teaching is wrong, it could possibly bring
some minor blips of argument. But if on
the other hand it is right, and I believe it is, then those who will be under
the Rod will wish that they had read this book more closely.
In short, I believe if this truth is taught, God’s
people will wake up and start living like Jesus wants them to live. I for one will do everything I can to apply
this truth to my life, my ministry, and with anyone who will listen. I am reminded when the people of
old in Scripture were building great buildings, the Word pointed out that the
Word of God had been lost in the dust.
Only after this truth comes forth will we see real Revival.
Praise God for a young man like Brother Faust, who
has brought us back to the roots of the true teachings of the Bible, even if it
runs against ‘church’ tradition. Notice
the little c, real ‘Church’
history is what this book is pointing out to each of us. My conclusion after searching the Bible with
this book in hand is, God will not spare the Rod, and to do so would be
contrary to His Holy nature.”
- Dr. Wiley S. Drake, pastor of First Southern Baptist Church
of Buena Park, California; Author, Disney Boycott by Southern Baptist
Convention; Vice President, Pastoral Congressional Prayer Conference; “A” Team leader,
Presidential Prayer Team.
“Joey Faust has done a remarkable job of researching a crucial doctrine for
the church-rewards and their loss. Too many believers have, unfortunately,
never been taught that [eternal] salvation is by grace, but that rewards are earned. In this well researched book Joey reminds us
of this doctrine and the pastors and theologians who have challenged believers
throughout the centuries with these truths.
The truths of the judgment seat of Christ are often
ignored, but in these pages we face the reality of rewards for winner believers
and the loss for those who fail to live the Christian life.”
Pastor Robert Dean, Jr., ThM. M.A.,
“The Rod: Will God Spare it? is not a fresh challenge to contemporary liberal theology, but
a historical and Biblical approach to doctrine that is too often ignored. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God has been torn from too many Bibles by Christians that refuse
the truth. Yet the day is fast
approaching [when] Christians will come face to face with the terror of the
Lord. Today’s Christianity tries to
teach that all Christians will receive great reward just for the obedience of
the cross. That reward belongs to the
one that was obedient, the Lord Jesus Christ.
If we come to Christ but go no further, we will stand in judgment before
Him at the judgment seat of Christ. It
clearly states that the white raiment given to the bride of Christ is the righteousness of
the saints
- not the righteousness of Christ. Too many have been lured into complacency
and even sleep by liberal theology and believe heresies that there is no coming
judgment for the Christian. Yet judgment has always begun at the house of
God. Pastor Faust has presented a viewpoint well
researched historically and supported with Scripture to show there is a coming
judgment for [all] Christians. Each and every one that names the name of
Christ would do well to take heed of what has been written in Pastor Faust’s
book and make themselves ready.”
- John Melancon, ThM, Missionary to
“Time does not permit the amount of
study that it would require to agree to all of the conclusions of the book The Rod.. Will God Spare it? by Pastor
Joey Faust. However this well written
and meticulously researched book will no doubt become one of the most
controversial works in this generation.
If it does nothing else but to elevate the near forgotten doctrine of
the Judgment Seat of Christ to a worldly church that has ‘no fear of God before their eyes,’ then it no doubt will serve an important purpose.”
- Dr. Greg Dixon,
“Joey Faust clearly lays out Biblical
truths which are so vital for an overcoming Christian life but which are not
being taught in churches today. As a
result, people wrongly believe that these truths have never been taught in the
church. Faust not only lets the Bible
speak for itself, but through an incredible amount of research, he also
substantiates that these truths have been held and taught throughout church
history. The research in this book is
without equal and an invaluable tool for setting the record straight so that
Christians will not be walking blindly into the judgment seat of Christ.”
Pastor Donald W.
Gilmour III, ThM.,
-------
FOREWORD
Before we get into the meat of this study, it is
interesting to note that Charles H. Spurgeon had kind things to say about Robert
Govett, whom Joey Faust often quotes.
While not making any public defence of kingdom-accountability, he felt
that Robert Govett’s teaching “will be more appreciated by future generations than by this
frivolous age.” It is hard to define the present age as being
less frivolous than Victorian England but even in these days the Holy Spirit is
moving among God’s people to have a serious re-think about some Bible warnings
that have not been popular.
The Rod: Will
God Spare it? was not written to win a popularity contest. Absorbing the truths written will often cause
a ripping away of old ideas which have become iron-clad interpretations of
scripture. It is my prayer that a serious
study of this book will help many Christians to fully understand that rewards
for some [regenerate believers] means loss of rewards for
others, and the result will be more overcoming Christian lives in this needy
century.
I trust there will be those who are spiritual
enough to desire the truth, astute enough to grasp the truth
and brave enough to proclaim the truth. Teachers must be warned,
however, that these truths require a great deal of foundational teaching to be
done so that Christians will be able to understand what Pastor Faust is saying.
One early criticism I received was that
accountability teaching uses the same Scriptures and tactics as do those who do
not believe in eternal security. For
this reason, I am glad that throughout the book, and especially in the early
chapters, the truth of justification [by faith]
and eternal life based only on the merit
of Jesus Christ is emphasized.
Another brother thought the teaching sounded like
Roman Catholic Purgatory, but Pastor Faust has dealt with this problem
thoroughly.
Almost every Christian has some idea of the fact
that he will appear before the Judgment Seat of Christ to receive rewards. Few
Christians realize that “wood, hay and stubble” Christians will not only lose a reward,
they may lose the glorious inheritance of millennial reign with Christ. Pastor Faust introduces much scripture
concerning this, and the book abounds in quotes from outstanding men of
God. Many Fundamental Bible teachers of
the nineteenth and early twentieth century taught this.
It will no doubt be that some will shudder when
they think of how dreadful the punishment might be because they have been
taught that all the warning passages of the New Testament apply only to
unbelievers. They have, for instance,
thought that the ten talent servant and the five talent servant were both
Christians, but the one talent servant must be an unbeliever because of his
punishment. The Judgment Seat of Christ
is coupled with “the terror of the Lord” in Second Corinthians 5, even though Scofield has helped
us to classify the Hebrews 6 partakers (Gr: associates) of the Holy Ghost as unbelievers
because “their end is to be burned.”
Few studies have been able to accept such a
Biblically-mandated punishment and still maintain the essential doctrine of the
security of the believer. Pastor Faust
presents a solution, which may not be popular or ear-tickling, but is thoroughly grounded in Bible truth.
21st century Christianity should be thankful that
God has raised up a man to write of these things. You may not be able to grasp or believe all
that is written, immediately, but you are asked to act like true Bereans, and
search the Scriptures to see if these things be so.
Having heard these truths, you will be accosted by
them at the Bema Judgment Seat (Luke 12: 47).
May we all be true overcomers and partake of the pure joy that will come
to us and to our Saviour when He says, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant.”
- Dr. Bill Jackson, Founder and Director of Christians
Evangelizing Catholics
-------
TABLE OF CONTENTS
CHAPTER 1
Page 1
THE ACCOUNTABILITY AWAKENING Page 1
Awake in the Dark Page 6
CHAPTER 2 Page 11
THE FOUNDATION Page 11
The Antinomian Controversy Page 12
CHAPTER 3
Page 19
TWO HISTORIC ERRORS Page 19
The Importance of Assurance in Practical Sanctification Page 25
CHAPTER 4
Page 29
POSITIVE REWARDS Page 29
Duty as the Sole Motivation? Page 30
Loving Gratitude as the Sole Motivation? Page 32
A False Humility Page 34
CHAPTER 5 Page 39
NEGATIVE REWARDS IN THIS LIFE
CHAPTER 6 Page 45
NEGATIVE REWARDS AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT Page 45
The Proper View of God Page 47
The Principle of Chastisement Page 51
CHAPTER 7
Page 57
MILLENNIAL COUNTERFEITS Page 57
The Premillennial Truth Page 59
The Amillennial Error Page 60
The Postmillennial Error Page 61
How the Lights Went Out Page 62
Revelation 20 Does Not Refer to the
Revelation 20 Does Not Refer to the New Birth Page 64
Is the
CHAPTER 8
Page 71
THE CHRISTIAN’S DANGER
OF KINGDOM EXCLUSION
........Page 71
Proof That the Kingdom Can Be Missed
Page 78
To Not Inherit Necessarily Implies to Not Enter Page 81
CHAPTER 9 Page 87
A PROTESTANT PURGATORY?
Page 87
CHAPTER 10
Page 95
WHERE DO THE UNFAITHFUL CHRISTIANS Go? Page 95
When Out is Down Page 98
CHAPTER 11
Page 103
THE UNDERWORLD Page 103
The Controversial Word ‘Hell’ Page 107
Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus Page 108
CHAPTER12 Page 115
THE TEMPORARY ABODES OF THE DEAD Page 115
The Lowest Hell Page 116
Death and Hell Are Literal Places
Page 118
CHAPTER 13
Page 121
DEATH AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT Page 121
The Same Warning in Romans Page 130
CHAPTER 14 Page 135
TEMPORARY SOUL DEATH Page 135
CHAPTER 15
Page 143
HURT OF THE SECOND DEATH Page 143
Erroneous Interpretations of Revelation
2:11 Page 148
Not a Loss of Eternal Salvation
Page 152
CHAPTER 16
Page 155
TRIAL BY FIRE Page 155
Hurt by Falling In Page 162
Some Early Christian Testimonies Concerning Trial by Fire Page 164
CHAPTER17 Page 169
TWO STAGES AT THE JUDGMENT SEAT Page 169
Two Stages of Judgment Page 171
Fire from Outer Space Page 180
Falling from Heaven Page 181
CHAPTER 18 Page
185
THE PRIZE OF THE FIRST RESURRECTION Page 185
The First Resurrection to Immortality Page 190
CHAPTER 19 Page 197
SAFEGUARDING LITERAL INTERPRETATION Page 197
CHAPTER 20 Page 207
MILLENNIAL INCARCERATION 207
A Warning to Peter About Millennial Prison
Page 208
CHAPTER 21 Page 211
BLOTTED OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE
Page 211
CHAPTER 22 Page 217
THE UNQUENCHABLE FIRE Page 217
Jonah in Hell
“Forever” Page 223
CHAPTER 23
Page 225
THE REWARD OF ETERNAL LIFE Page 225
Another Possibility Page 230
CHAPTER 24
Page 233
BELIEVERS SHOULD BELIEVE Page 233
CHAPTER 25
Page 239
OBJECTIONS AND QUESTIONS ANSWERED Page 239
Is This a Dreadful, Terrible Doctrine? Page 240
How Good Does the Christian Have to Be? Page 242
Isn’t It Wrong to Fear God? Page 244
What About the Promises That Believers Will Not Be Condemned? Page 247
What About 1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17?
Page 249
What About 1 Corinthians 15: 51-58?
Page 257
Is This Legalism? Page 263
Doesn’t the Old Testament Teach That the Kingdom is Endless? Page 263
Do the Warnings Apply Solely to Jews or Tribulation Saints? Page 265
What About the Popular Christians That
Never Believed This Doctrine? Page 276
Doesn't the Bible Teach That Our
“Works” (and Not Our “Sins”) Will Be Judged? Page 279
Doesn’t the Bible Teach That Every Man
Shall Have Praise of God? Page 280
If Paul Was Not Sure of Millennial
Entrance, How Can Anyone Be Sure? Page 281
What About James Chapter 2? Page 282
How Can Christ;s Body Be Punished at the Judgment
Seat and During the Millennium? Page 283
How Can the Holy Spirit That Indwells Believers Be Present in Hell During
the Millennium? Page 283
Did Not Jesus Pay for Our Sins at
How Can a Person with a New Nature Be Punished at the Judgment Seat? Page 284
How Do We Know If We Have Confessed Our Sins Enough? Page 285
Many of the Warnings Cited Do Not Directly Mention the Judgment Seat of
Christ Page 286
Is This a Jehovah’s Witness or Seventh Day Adventist Teaching? Page 286
Are Not the Warning Passages in the Gospels Tribulation, Second Coming
Passages? Page 286
Shouldn’t We Follow the Majority?
Page 287
CHAPTER 26
Page 289
ACCOUNTABILITY TRUTH IN HISTORY (PART 1) Page 289
Selective-Resurrection at the Forefront of Premillennialism Page 292
Dispensational Premillennialism
Page 300
CHAPTER 27 Page 303
ACCOUNTABILITY TRUTH IN HISTORY (PART 2) Page 303
A Sample of Premillennialists Who Believed in Kingdom Exclusion and/or
Corporal Chastisement at the Judgment Seat of Christ: Page 305
Watchman Nee (1903-1972): Page 305
A. Edwin Wilson (1901-1986): Page 306
Albert George Tilney (1891-1976):
Page 307
0swald Jeffrey Smith (1889-1986):
Page 308
Robert Thomas Ketcham (1889-1978):
Page 310
Charles G.A. Gibson-Smith (1882-1949): Page 311
Daniel Paul Rader (1878-1938):
Page 312
William Frederick Roadhouse (1875-1951): Page 313
George Henry Lang (1874-1958): Page 315
Robert Edward Neighbour (1872-1945):
Page 316
Samuel Fennell Hurnard (1871-1949):
Page 320
David Morrieson Panton (1870-1955):
Page 320
William Powell Clark (1864-1953):
Page 324
Frank Victor Mildred Page 325
Mary Ardine: Page 325
Jesse Sayer: Page 326
H. S. Gallimore: Page 326
William Henry Griffith Thomas (1861-1924): Page 326
Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861-1927):
Page 328
Charles Spelman Utting (1859-1951):
Page 328
Philip Mauro (1859-1952): Page 329
Thomas Mitchell Chalmers (1858-1937):
Page 331
Stephen Speers Craig (1855-1936?):
Page 331
Lt. Col. George Frederick Poynder (1851-1942): Page 333
Dr. Alfred Taylor Schofield (1846-929): Page 334
Henry William Fry: Page 336
Isaac Massey Haldeman (1845-933):
Page 337
Alexander Patterson (1844-1912): Page 338
Siegfried Abraham Goebel (b. 1844):
Page 339
Lt. Col. Joseph Sladen (1841-1930):
Page 339
George Hawkins Pember (1837-1910):
Page 341
J
Elijah Richardson Craven (1824-1908):
Page 344
Joseph Augustus Seiss (1823-1904):
Page 345
James Robinson Graves (1820-1893):
Page 347
Johannes Van Oosterzee
(1817-1882):.
Page 349
Robert Govett
(1813-1901): Page 350
Philip Henry Gosse (1810-1888): Page 354
Robert Cleaver Chapman (1803-1902):
Page 355
William Nathaniel Tilson Marsh: Page 357
William Burgh (1800-1866): Page
358
Theodosia A. Powerscourt (1800-1836):
Page 360
CHAPTER 28 Page
363
ACCOUNTABILITY TRUTH IN HISTORY (PART 3) Page 363
Anthony Norris Groves
(1795-1853):
Joshua William Brooks
(1790-1882): Page 366
Thomas Newton (1703-1784): Page 367
Charles Daubuz (1670-1740): Page 368
RobertFleming. Jr. (1660-1716): Page 369
Thomas Burnett (1635-1715): Page 370
Henry More
(1614-1687): Page 371
Johann H. Alsted
(1568-1638): Page 371
Joseph Mede (1586-1638): Page 272
James Usher
(1580-1656): Page 375
William Twiss
(1575-1649): Page 376
John Piscator
(1546-1625): Page 377
Tertullian (160-240): Page 377
Barnabus (A.D. 100): Page 378
Polycarp (69-155): Page 379
Testimonies Concerning the Early
Martyrs: Page 380
CHAPTER 29 ........Page 385
BELIEVERS MUST CONFESS Page 385
APPENDIX A
Page 389
EVERLASTING, FOREVER AND ETERNAL Page 389
Quotes from Christian Scholars
Page 389
Examples in Scripture Page 392
“Everlasting” and “Forever”
According to English and Bible Dictionaries Page 393
“Eternal” According to English
Dictionaries Page 396
“Eternal” According to Bible
Dictionaries Page 397
APPENDIX B Page 401
REFUTING UNIVERSALISM Page
401
GLOSSARY Page
405
BIBLIOGRAPHY, GENERAL INDEX AND SCRIPTURE INDEX Pages 415-441
ARE NOT INCLUDED
[This book can be purchased from:]
Schoettle Publishing Co., Inc.
First Printing 2002
2007 Edition
[Page 1]
Chapter 1
The Accountability Awakening
“The native magnitude of this [kingdom‑accountability] truth must speedily redeem it from all
obscurity ... This doctrine so potently contends against the selfishness
and laxity of believers in this latter day, that no one who considers the
matter can expect that its career will be otherwise than stormy ... those who
have the single eye will perceive its amplitude of evidence, and embrace it, in
spite of the solemn awe of God which it produces, and the depth of our own personal responsibility which it discloses.”*
* Robert Govett, Entrance
Into The Kingdom (Norwich: Fletcher and Sons, 1867; reprint, Hayesville:
Schoettle, 2001), second Preface.
- Robert Govett (1813-1902)
“... a host of living expositors of Scripture [are
embracing kingdom-accountability truth], a host which is increasing all the time.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (London:
Thynne & Co. LTD., July 1947).
- William P. Clark (1864-1953)
“We are glad to be counted amongst the rapidly growing number of
writers who are doing pioneer work in teaching the Scriptural,
searching message of a deeper Personal Responsibility ...
Forever suppressed these truths will not [Page 2] be - The Holy Ghost is pressing them even now upon believers
everywhere.”*
* W.F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation (Toronto:
The Overcomer Publishers, 1936),15-16.
- W.F. Roadhouse (1875-1951)
“[Christians are] slowly
waking to
the immense importance of responsibility truth.* It is tragic how many evangelicals abhor
responsibility truth. ... What will such evangelicals feel when they discover
the truth at the Judgment Seat of Christ?”**
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (September
1947).
** D.M. Panton, The Dawn (March 1949).
- D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
The writers of the above quotes were premillennial
fundamentalists who were strong defenders of eternal security. These men also preached that disobedient
Christians (who do not repent before they die) will be briefly punished at the
judgment seat and then excluded from Christ’s future one-thousand year
kingdom. This book will document that
multitudes of other fundamental Christian leaders throughout history embraced
the same teaching. These men were glad
to see the powerful, motivating fires of this accountability truth beginning
to glow among the saints. Yet, these
fires were later largely extinguished; the consequences have been
devastating. This precious
accountability truth must be restored!
Believers who lack the full truth concerning their promises
and warnings are in constant danger of becoming spiritually anaemic. The Bible teaches that Noah moved
with fear when he heard the
holy warning about the impending flood (Hebrews 11:
7). Saints in this perilous age
also need the Lord’s warnings to keep them running in holiness:
“The denial of these solemn truths paralyses and destroys some of the most powerful stimulants God has
supplied ... it empties of all horror the dread [Page 3] warnings to the backslider,
and leaves him, if it does not put him, in a drugged
sleep; and it drives privilege over the precipice of
responsibility. ...”*
* D.M. Panton, The
Judgment Seat Of Christ (London: Chas. J. Thynne & Jarvis; reprint,
Hayesville, N.C: Schoettle, 1984), 77.
- D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
The Bible exhorts Christians to race for the prize of reigning with Jesus in His future kingdom:
1 Corinthians 9:24 Know
ye not that they which run in a race run all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now
they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an
incorruptible.
26 I therefore
so run...
27 But I keep under my body, and bring
it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should be a CASTAWAY.
The context of this Bible passage is winning a crown at the judgment
seat. What does it mean to be a “castaway” at the future judgment seat? Paul is certainly not worried about losing
salvation in eternity. However,
many advocates of the Biblical doctrine of eternal security do not interpret
such warnings in their fullness. Paul is
striving to have a place in the future
2 Timothy
2:12 If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
Philippians 3:14 I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
2 Thessalonians 1: 5 ... that ye may be counted
worthy of the
Matthew 6: 33 But seek ye first the
[Page 4
Colossians
3: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not
unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the
Lord Christ.
25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is no
respect of persons.
Galatians 5: 21 Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which 1 tell you
before, as 1 have also told you in time past, that they which do such things
shall not inherit the
The above Scriptures reveal that the future millennial kingdom
is a reward for faithfulness. All
Christians will spend eternity with God.
This is the inheritance that every child of God will enjoy. Yet, the millennial reign is a double
portion. It is the inheritance that
firstborn sons will receive (Deuteronomy 21: 15-17, Romans 8: 29; Hebrews 12: 23). This privileged position is only granted to
those who suffer with Christ against sin and the world (Romans 8: 17, Acts 14: 22; 2 Thessalonians 1: 5, etc.).
Christians who will not seek the prize of the kingdom will be
held accountable for their negligence.
While their brethren are enjoying a double portion of glory, the
disobedient Christians will receive for the wrong which they have done (Colossians 3: 25).
Unfortunately, many modem Christians increasingly disparage the whole
idea of such accountability. They have
been seduced by the blind world of humanism through the influence of agnostics,
liberals and psychologists that continually drink from the cesspool of
unbelief. Einstein once stated that he
could not understand how there could possibly be a God who would reward or
punish his subjects!* John S. Spong (a
liberal Episcopal Bishop) likewise presumptuously mocks the teaching that God
the Father will judge His saints. To
Spong, the Biblical doctrine [Page 5] of God keeping records in order to
reward or punish on a future judgment day is similar to “Santa Claus.”**
* Peter
A. Bucky and Alien G. Weakland, The
Private Albert Einstein (Kansas City: Andrews McMeel Publishing, 1992),
85-87.
** John Shelby Spong, Rescuing
the Bible from Fundamentalism (San Francisco: HarperSanFrancisco, 1991),
14.
God is not influenced by such humanism. In true love, He will certainly reward and
punish His [redeemed]
children according to their
deserts:
Proverbs 13: 24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
Hebrews
12: 6 For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth...
Revelation 3: 19 As many as
I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and
repent.
This chapter is only an introduction to the accountability
truth taught in the
Bible. Many objections are answered in
detail in future chapters. This truth
runs deeper than many realize. Our
rebellious emotions will clamour against it.
To grow in understanding concerning this motivating truth, we must
diligently thirst for everything that God has to teach us concerning it:
Proverbs 2: 3 Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for
understanding;
5 THEN shalt thou
understand THE FEAR OF THE LORD...
Many will not understand the deep truth concerning the
fear of the Lord because they
do not desire to know it! Instead of diligently seeking the sobering
accountability truths abundantly revealed in Scripture, many Christians
actually flee them. In the 1920’s,
Williarn Powell Clark (Resident Magistrate) identified one reason for this increasing
rebellion among God’s children:
[Page 6]
“The real reason underlying the
refusal of some dear children of God to accept belief in the punishment of
unfruitful believers ‑ not eternal, but during the Millennial reign of
Christ ‑ is an inadequate sense of the Justice of God. Acceptance of the belief in the temporary
punishment of such Christians during the Millennial reign safeguards the
eternal merits of Christ’s atonement on the cross, and at the same time,
preserves the absolute Justice of God.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Dec.
15, 1925).
Awake in the Dark
“As for the black time to be expected ... God grant we may be of the number of those that suffer,
that ... we may be raised and reign with
Christ at his coming.”*
* The Works Of The
Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
- William Twiss (1575-1649)
“God shake us
up. When Revival comes we
shall see this [kingdom-accountability] truth
again!”*
* W.F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation (Toronto:
The Overcomer Publishers, 1936), 231.
- W. F. Roadhouse (1875-1951)
Many Christians throughout history expected a revival of
accountability truth in the last days.
The world is growing increasingly hostile toward Biblical
Christianity. Earlier writers knew that
these accountability truths would be beneficial in helping a remnant of God’s
seeking people to face the temptations that will surely increase as the days
grow darker (2 Timothy 3: 13):
“...the millennial crown and the
first resurrection are a REWARD -
the reward of suffering for and with Christ; as I have just said, a special
glory and special hope over and above the redemption hope and glory, designed to comfort and support believers under persecution: a need and
use which I have little doubt the church will before long be called on
collectively to experience. ...”*
- William Burgh (1800-1866)
* William
Burgh, The Apocalypse Unfulfilled (Dublin:
Richard M. Tims, 1833), 225.
[Page 7]
“The throne for the overcomers! Is it possible? Are they to share the throne of the Son of
God? We can see now why, as we pass
through the closing days of the age, there must be
such terrible conflict, and why the prince of darkness will challenge every
child of God who wants to ‘overcome’. ... What is in the balance, therefore,
for every believer in the present warfare with Satan, which must
intensify as the age closes, is the millennial crown
and throne. ...”*
* Jessie Penn-Lewis, The
Overcomer (Oct. 1934).
- Jessie Penn-Lewis (1861-1927)
“Only now is this royal [accountability] truth emerging, and general coming persecution
is likely to prove its powerful forcing-bed, for believers will see the Coming Age more clearly when they have lost this.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn, vol. 11, (1934-35).
- D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
“Now, I do believe, there never was a
time that this doctrine (the connection between reigning and suffering) would bear less to be overlooked, or required more to be
brought forward. ...”*
* Robert
Daly, Letters And Papers Of The Late
Viscountess Powerscourt (
- Theodosia Powerscourt (1800-1836)
“...The expectation of a
Millennium may then be the belief to which they will fly for refuge against the
violence of the storm which assails them; and which will serve as an anchor,
sure and steadfast to buoy upon and confirm their souls. Whatsoever tends to weaken their confidence in this belief
so far weakens and impairs the passive resources of the Church in the days of the great apostasy when she will want every
resource that she can command.”*
* Edward
Greswell, “The Millennium And Eternal Life,” The Dawn (Sept. 1932).
- Edward Greswell (1797-1869)
The truth concerning the future kingdom as a reward according
to works will certainly revive in the tribulation period (Matthew 24: 14).
However, as we continue to see an increase in stage-setting and
preliminary signs in these last days before the tribulation period, it is
reasonable to expect that this [Page 8] kingdom-accountability truth will
also begin to be revived before the rapture.
The renowned Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon (1834-1892)
also (though indirectly) predicted a revival of kingdom-accountability truth in
latter times. Robert Govett (1813-1901)
was one of the foremost defenders of this motivating, sobering truth in the
days of Spurgeon. In response to the Downgrade
Controversy, Spurgeon signed
a premillennial doctrinal statement with men who shared many of Govett’s
accountability views (i.e. G.D. Hooper, Fuller Gooch). Govett stood boldly for the precious truth of
eternal security; yet he refused to water-down the Biblical warnings to
disobedient Christians. He publicly
defended his views in books and periodical debates, causing quite a stir. In regard to Govett’s writings, C.H. Spurgeon
predicted:
“We only express our heart when we
say that we venerate and admire this author and preacher, whose works
will be more appreciated by future generations than
by this frivolous age.”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1883), 512.
On another occasion, he predicted:
“The day will come when the idols of the hour will perish,
and the writings of such a man as R. Govett will
be prized as the much fine gold.”*
* Charles Spurgeon, The
Sword and the Trowel (1881), 480.
Such a day has arrived!
The accountability truths that Govett stood for (and so many other
premillennial fundamentalists such as Pember, Panton, Craig, Tilney, Nee, etc.)
are presently being revived
in varying degrees throughout fundamentalist and conservative evangelical
circles. The rotten fruit of
rebellion (that fully manifested itself in the 1950’s and 60’s) has ironically [Page 9] triggered a refreshing counter-reaction among a remnant of God’s
people! We desperately need to get back
to the full teaching concerning
the judgment seat of Christ.
The words of Ernest Baker are a fitting conclusion to this
introductory chapter. Baker (b. 1869) is
best known for his book, The Revivals of the Bible (1906). It is called the most comprehensive book ever
written on the revivals in the Bible.*
Baker was a Baptist pastor in
* See http://www.revival-library.org/catalogues/biblical/baker/
“How does Revival come? It comes in many ways. But one way I want to especially emphasize:
And that is, that it comes by Truth that is preached with freshness ...
whenever any new truth comes to light, or is recovered ... it displaces no
truth. ... What I want to get at is this: Is there any truth not yet grasped,
but yet plainly taught in God’s Word, that, if fearlessly and plainly preached,
would bring quickening to the children of God, and set them on fire with a new
zeal? I believe there is. ... The truth awaiting to be taught, and which will set God’s people on
fire, is that the Prize of our High Calling is a Share in the Millennial Reign
with the Lord Jesus. ... This new light broke on me some three and a
half years ago. I began to preach it with
both lip and pen. But I found that many very good
people and good workers were not prepared to hear ... that [our Lord] would for
a time exclude a believer from a share in the Millennial glory, was something
that should never be said. The
opposition I encountered made me go quietly for a time. But I have been digging and digging into
the Word, and I now know where I am, and am praying that never again may I
allow the testimony of the Word to be quenched in me. This truth is possessing and kindling me, and
the conviction is growing that if this is fearlessly taught it will prove the
truth that will stir believers out of their ease and smugness. ...
Those who came out of
* Ernest Baker, “A Gripping Truth For
Today,” The Dawn (April 1925).
[Page 10]
May the Holy Spirit grant the seeking reader greater
understanding concerning the fear of the Lord (Proverbs
15) and the word of the kingdom (Matthew
13:19-20)!
* *
*
[Page 11]
Chapter 2
The Foundation
“The sinner’s legal position must be set right before his moral position can be touched. ... The judicial must precede the moral
... the question of pardon must be settled before we proceed to others ...
first peace, then holiness; peace as the FOUNDATION of
holiness, even in the case of the chief of sinners.”*
* Horatius
Bonar, God’s Way Of Holiness (
- Horatius Bonar
(1808-1889)
“Was not the holiness of the first
Protestants eminent and shining? and yet they generally put assurance in the definition of their faith.”*
* Robert
Traill, the younger, A Vindication Of The
Protestant Doctrine Of Justification (1692).
- Robert Traill (1642-1716)
“...the Lord revealeth only to them
the righteousness of himself given freely to the soul; if men have revealed to
them some work of righteousness in themselves, as love to the brethren and the
like, and hereupon they come to be assured they are in a good estate: this is
not the assurance of faith, for
faith has CHRIST revealed for the
object. ...”*
- John Wheelwright (1592-1679)
* John
Wheelwright, “A Sermon Preached At
[Page 12]
To fully grasp the motivating truth of reward according to works,
the underlying Gospel of salvation must be clearly understood. Jesus Christ is the foundation. All
who receive Him through faith will be saved in eternity:
John 1:12
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even
to them that believe on his name:
1 Corinthians 3:11 For other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
The old hymn says it well:
“...I dare
not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’
name.
On Christ the Solid Rock I
stand,
All other ground is sinking
sand.”
Any teaching that confuses the superstructure with the
foundation is erroneous. It is
Legalism. True Legalism is seeking to
gain [eternal] salvation assurance from good deeds instead of from
trusting fully in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the Cross (John 19:30, 1 Corinthians 3:11).
The Antinomian Controversy
Legalists apply all the warnings in the Bible that are
addressed to Christians to false Christians.
They are ironically Antinomians (in a bad sense of the term) in regard
to the judgment seat of Christ (i.e. they do not believe in literal, temporary
punishment of believers at the judgment seat).
Yet, they must then live their whole lives in fear of one day proving to
be only one of these false professors.
The warnings to Christians concern sins that many Christians [wilfully]
commit. The Legalist must therefore
attempt to define how long a Christian can commit such sins (contrary to [Page 13] the warnings). Assurance is easily
compromised in such a system. It
actually becomes logically impossible.
This dreadful yoke of the Legalists is derived from the fact that they
interpret such warnings as referring to absolute eternal damnation. Since true Christians cannot lose [initial] salvation (John 6: 39, 1 Corinthians 3: 15), most Legalists
are logically forced by their system of interpretation to apply such warnings
to false professors. Yet, this error
removes the crucial “helmet of salvation” (i.e. [eternal] salvation
assurance) from the head of Christian soldiers (Ephesians
6: 17).
To better understand modem Legalism, let us travel to an
earlier age and examine a controversy that once raged in
In 1638, John Wheelwright (a fiery, premillennial preacher who
founded
[Page 14]
“...let us have a care that we do
show ourselves holy in all manner of good conversation ... both in private and
in public, and in all our carriages and conversations, let us have a care to
endeavour to be holy as the Lord is ... let us have a care that we give not occasion to others to say we are libertines, or Antinomians. …”*
* Ibid.
Wheelwright taught that disobedience in the Christian life could
result in a temporary loss of privilege and fellowship with the Lord:
“...Christ cannot be wholly taken
away firom us, yet may be taken away in some degree, therefore let us have a
care to keep the Lord Jesus Christ ... we must all appear before the
Judgment Seat of Christ.”*
* Ibid.
In spite of his strong preaching on holiness and
accountability, Wheelwright was wrongly accused of encouraging lasciviousness
by his free grace doctrine.
Nevertheless, in his persecution, Wheelwright was in good company! Roger Williams (who boldly contended for
freedom of conscience) was banished by these same Puritans two years
earlier. (Anne Hutchinson’s sister
converted Williams to Baptist beliefs.)
John Clarke (1609-1676) associated himself with Wheelwright and the
Hutchinsons upon his arrival in
* John
Clarke, “Ill-Newes From
**
“Sir, I acknowledge only free grace...”*
* John Clarke, “Ill-Newes From
It can be seen from this brief history alone that Legalism and
religious persecution indeed often go hand in hand as the Bible teaches (Galatians 4: 29).
After John Clarke fled into the wilderness with the banished
so-called “Antinomians,” he later warned the
Puritans that they would have to stand before Christ and receive judgment from
Him for daring to persecute their fellow servants. Based on Clarke’s words, there is no way one
could have justly accused him of true Antinomianism. Like Wheelwright, he taught reward
according to works:
“In the third place is declared the exceeding great countenance, and rich reward
which this Lord will bestow upon a faithful servant that hath thus improved his
Talent, when he shall have received the Kingdom, and shall return the rich
reward appears in these, Enter in the joy of thy Lord, or have authority (in my
Kingdom) over ten cities ... I testify that no servant of Christ Jesus hath any
liberty, much less authority, from his Lord, to smite his fellow-servant ...
That no servant hath such authority from his Lord to smite his fellows, doth
plainly appear in that Parable Matt. 18:34, where it is said, The Lord was so wroth that he will have
that wicked servant delivered to the tormentors, that did take his fellow by
the throat; and him that fell to smiting his fellows in his Lord’s absence, Matt. 24: 51, it is said, The Lord shall come upon, in
a day when he looked not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware [Page 16] of, and shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his
portion with the hypocrites, where shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”*
* John
Clarke, “Ill-Newes From
One rarely hears such strong preaching
to Christians in modern pulpits!
Centuries before these Baptists and separatists were
persecuted, the great apostle Paul was likewise unjustly accused and slandered
by his enemies:
Romans 3:8 And
not rather, (as we be slanderously
reported, and as some affirm that we say,) Let us do evil, that good may come? whose
damnation is just.
Paul was accused of teaching Antinomianism. In regard to the good news of salvation in
eternity by grace, it appears that the old words quoted by Traill (1642-1716)
are ever true:
“... the fire is kindled. So that it is come to that, as Mr.
Christopher Fowler said, ‘that he that
will not be Antichristian must be called an Antinomian.’”*
* Robert
Traill, the younger, A Vindication Of The
Protestant Doctrine Of Justification (1692).
Paul met his accusers head-on without diminishing or
perverting the freeness of eternal salvation.
He preached grace and accountability:
Romans 6: 1 What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may
abound?
15 What then? shall we sin, because we
are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
In regard to these inspired words of the apostle Paul, Robert
Govett (1813-1901) observes:
[Page 17]
“The doctrine of justification, not
by our own good works, but by the righteousness of another in full perfection
made over to us in grace, at once suggests the objection, ‘But that opens the
door to all sorts of sin!’ The objection
was made in Paul’s day; it is made in ours.
That shows that, in the doctrine of faith, we have a true view of what
Paul himself held and taught.”*
* Robert
Govett, Govett On Romans (London:
1891; reprint, Miami Springs: Conley & Schoettle, 1981), 179-180.
Paul did not condone lawlessness. He preached strongly against walking in sin
after salvation:
Titus 3: 8 This
is a faithful saying, and these things I will that thou affirm constantly, that they which have believed in God might be careful to maintain good
works. These things are good
and profitable unto men.
However, instead of diminishing the freeness of salvation (and
compromising assurance) in an attempt to discourage Christians from a life of
disobedience, Paul preached the full truth concerning reward according to works:
Colossians 3: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to
the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve
the Lord Christ.
25 But he that doeth
wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there is
no respect of persons.
Although disobedient believers (who do not repent) can
experience punishment and loss, the foundation of eternal salvation remains
secure (1 Corinthians 3: 12-15):
How firm a FOUNDATION,
Ye saints of the Lord,
Is laid for your faith
In His excellent Word!
- Author Unknown
* *
*
[ Page 18 blank: Page 19]
Chapter 3
Two Historic Errors
“The two schools of thought
[Calvinism and Arminianism], both composed of deeply
spiritual saints, has run riot for many years.
Each school is antagonistic to the other; each claims to found its
contentions on Scripture ... Frankly, we feel that both schools have failed to
catch the Holy Spirit’s message…”*
* Neighbour,
If They Shall Fall Away (Cleveland:
Union Gospel Press, 1940’s; reprint, Miami Springs: Conley & Schoettle,
1984), Introduction
- R. E. Neighbour (1872‑1945)
“It has surely been a lamentably
successful wile of the enemy of truth to persuade Christians to hurl these classes
of passages at one another from opposing camps, instead of them being seen as
complementary and in full harmony with the facts concerning both God and man.”*
*The Dawn (August
1944), 677
- G.H. Lang (1874-1958)
“The fact is that only when opposing
Scriptures have been joined and balanced do we find the truth…”*
* The Dawn (August 1944), 677.
- D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
[Page 20]
Many wrongly interpret the many warnings to Christians in the Bible
to teach that God’s true children can ultimately lose salvation in
eternity. This view has traditionally
been referred to as Arminianism. To counter
this claim, many attempt to argue that the warnings are not really addressed to true Christians. This is the doctrine usually taught by the Hyper-Calvinist or Reformed advocates.
Unfortunately, both views miss the mark. The first view raises the entire foundation
and makes [eternal] salvation dependent on works. It obscures the salvation message for the
lost and steals precious salvation assurance from multitudes of those already
born again. The second view is forced to
likewise turn [this]
salvation into a mere hope. Under this system,
salvation assurance is obtained ultimately only through endlessly attempting to
somehow prove through works that one is saved.
According to this view, if a person is continuing in sin, he is not a real Christian. Ironically, since there is no objective
standard for what continuing in sin absolutely
means (i.e. exactly how long), this often results in a certain degree of
lawlessness, leaving professed Christians without accountability and without
anything to really fear (Jude 1: 4)! The truly humble will doubt they have enough
fruit to qualify; the prideful will be inclined to rest self-assured (Luke 18: 12, Romans 10: 3).
Standing between these two extremes is found the sublime truth
that is able to unify all the Scriptures addressed to Christians. When rightly interpreted in the light of this
truth, the warning passages to the saints are seen to be parental in nature. God is simply warning His children about the bitter rod of discipline that
they are in danger of receiving if they do not behave and do as He
commands. The fact that these warnings
might appear to be extreme is no argument against their application to real
Christians. There is a considerable
margin between actually losing salvation and not being punished at all. Therefore, there is plenty [Page 21] of room to apply the warnings at face value without teaching a loss of
eternal salvation.
There have been many Calvinists and Arminians who have
momentarily caught glimpses of the truth in the middle of the two
extremes. Ironically, James Arminius
himself (of whom conditional security is named) almost stumbled onto the
truth. He wrote:
“I here
openly and ingenuously affirm, I never taught that a true believer can, either
totally or finally fall away from the faith, and perish; yet I will not
conceal, that there are passages of scripture which seem to me to wear this
aspect; and those answers to them which I have been permitted to see, are not
of such a kind as to approve themselves on all points to my understanding. On the other hand, certain passages are produced
for the contrary doctrine which are worthy of much consideration.”*
* The Works of James Arminius, Vol. 1, 664-667 [book on-line]; available from
Christian Classics Ethereal Library,
The answer lies between the two errors. The warnings are literal and real; yet, they
do not threaten a loss of eternal salvation.
These warnings will be examined in detail in later chapters.
The Reality of the Carnal Christian
This truth of Christian accountability is the golden mean
between prodigal lawlessness on one side, and a Romish hope of salvation through fruitbearing on the other. It can only
rest upon the holy foundation of salvation by grace through faith alone in
Jesus Christ:
1 Corinthians 3:12 Now if any man build upon this foundation
gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he
shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved;
yet so as by fire.
[Page 22]
It can be seen from 1 Corinthians
3: 15 that if a Christian accomplishes nothing at all worthy of reward
in his life (the highest degree of unfruitfulness that can possibly be
imagined) he is still ultimately saved. He will “suffer loss” for his
irresponsible stewardship; but God will not take His lovingkindness from His
child (Psalms 89: 30-33). Salvation in eternity cannot be lost (John 6: 39-40).
It can also be seen from 1
Corinthians 3: 15 that it is an error to teach that there is no such
thing as a carnal Christian. The
sad reality of carnal believers is also taught in 2
Timothy:
2 Timothy 2: 20 But in a great house there
are not only vessels of gold and of silver, but also of wood and of earth;
and some to honour, and some to dishonour.
21 If a man therefore purge himself from these, he shall be a
vessel unto honour, sanctified, and meet for the master’s use, and prepared
unto every good work.
In general, there are two types of Christians. There are many other Scriptures that
demonstrate that true saints may walk in such a way as to be absolutely
unworthy of reward in all that they do (Titus 3:
14, 1 Peter 4: 15, 1 John 2: 28, etc.).
If Hyper-Calvinists will not blame God for their own sins,
then they must confess that they freely choose to rebel against Him at times. If they can choose to rebel against Him, then
they can choose to rebel against Him enough to merit the punishments of which the Bible warns!
Christians are to watch to make sure they do not fail of the
gracious, sanctifying power of God in their lives. They are to strive to walk
in all its fullness:
[Page 23]
Hebrews 12: 15 Looking diligently lest any man FAIL of the grace of
God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble
you, and thereby many be defiled;
16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who
for one morsel of meat sold his birthright.
The Bible teaches that believers can receive the sanctifying
grace of God (in regard to the Christian walk) “in vain” (Psalms 78: 41, 1 Corinthians 15: 10, 2 Corinthians 6: 1,
2 Timothy 2: 1). If a Christian
can resist sanctifying grace once, he can resist it twice. A Christian may stay in a state of rebellion
and refuse to repent to his own hurt. To
do so would not be wise or comfortable; and it certainly should not be the
norm! Yet, it is possible:
2 Corinthians 12:20 For I fear, lest, when I come, I shall not find you such as I
would, and that I shall be found unto you such as ye would not: lest there be debates, envyings, wraths, strifes, backbitings,
whisperings, swellings, tumults:
21 And lest, when I come again, my God will humble me
among you, and that I shall bewail many which have sinned
already, and have not repented of the uncleanness and fornication and
lasciviousness which they have committed.
Who is Paul addressing (the “you”)
in these verses? The answer is given at
the start of the same Epistle:
2 Corinthians 1: 1 Paul,
an apostle of Jesus Christ by the will of God, and Timothy our
brother, unto the church of God which is at Corinth, with all the saints which
are in all Achaia:
2 Grace be to you and
peace from God our Father, and from the Lord Jesus
Christ.
Paul is addressing true saints, the children of God; he
considers it possible for real Christians to fall into great sins and not
repent. The same sad reality may be
gleaned elsewhere in 1 Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 1: 1 Paul, called to be an
apostle of Jesus Christ through the will of God, and Sosthenes our brother,
[Page 24]
2 Unto the
3 Grace be unto you, and peace, from God our Father,
and from the Lord Jesus Christ.
Again, these Corinthians are said to be children of God “our Father.”
They are “sanctified.” This must refer to positional sanctification (i.e. the forgiveness of
sins that makes one a Christian) since we learn later in the same Epistle that
the Corinthians are not walking sanctified. Instead, they
are walking just like the lost:
1 Corinthians 3: 1
And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.
2 I have fed you with milk, and not with meat: for hitherto ye were not able
to bear it, neither yet now are ye able.
3 For ye are yet carnal:
for whereas there is among you envying, and strife, and divisions, are ye
not carnal, and walk as men?
1 Corinthians 6: 7 Now therefore there is utterly a
fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye
not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?
8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your
brethren.
Many point to the fact that Paul teaches that the Christian is
a “new creature.” They interpret this to mean that no Christian
can walk the way he or she did before salvation:
2 Corinthians 5: 17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things
are become new.
This verse refers to position and provision; it is not
absolute in regard to practice. It would be nice if all
saints were like the holy Thessalonians (1
Thessalonians 1: 7, 9, 10). This should be the normal state of the
Christian. However, unfortunately, this is not always the case (Revelation 3: 1-3, etc.). Positionally, every Christian is washed and
perfectly sanctified in Christ.
Provisionally, every Christian [if indwelt
with the Holy Spirit (Acts 5: 32)] has the power of a new man available. Jesus [Page 25] has purchased all the good works
needed for the saint to “put on” as a child of
God. Jesus has not only paid for the adoption,
He has paid for the fine clothes to wear in the household of God. Christians have the indwelling Spirit
convicting them of sin. There is
therefore no excuse for any Christian to live a defeated life! This is the reason the warnings addressed to
such Christians are so severe.
The Importance of Assurance in
Practical Sanctification
If a person does not have absolute assurance that he is saved, he cannot have absolute assurance that the Holy Spirit is
positionally dwelling within him. If he
does not know for sure that he possesses the Holy Spirit, he cannot know for
sure that he possesses the power to truly please God and fight sin as a
Christian:
Romans 6: 11 Likewise reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord.
12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, that ye
should obey it in the lusts thereof.
Lost people are not “dead indeed unto
sin.” Positionally they are “dead in sin” (Ephesians 2: 1).
Therefore, absolute assurance of salvation is a prerequisite to
Christian maturity. A person cannot
absolutely “reckon” himself to be “dead unto sin”
(i.e. possessing the power to overcome it) if he is using his abstinence from
sin as a proof he is “dead unto sin” in the
first place! Notice how Paul argues
contrary to the illogical doublespeak of both the Hyper-Calvinist and Arminian
systems:
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the
17 If any man defile the
[Page 26]
1 Corinthians 6: 15 Know ye not that your bodies are
the members of Christ? shall I then take the members of Christ, and
make them the members of an harlot? God
forbid.
18 Flee fornication, Every sin that a man
doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against
his own body.
19 What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which
ye have of God, and ye are not your own?
Paul does not argue backwards like many theologians. He does not tell the Corinthian saints to
look at their works to see if they are temples of the Holy Ghost. He instead argues that since they are temples of the Holy Ghost, they had better
not fornicate or defile their
holy temples! Unbelievers are not
temples of the Holy Ghost (2 Corinthians 6: 14-16). Contrary to the teaching of the apostle Paul,
both the Hyper-Calvinist and Arminian doctrines leave believers with no absolute assurance the Holy Spirit indwells them
positionally. How can they? Without an
absolute knowledge of where the line is for losing salvation or the point of
disobedience that constitutes continuing in sin, there is no way to know for sure whether or not one is
still or in reality a child of God.
Even if one presumptuously professed to know such standards,
the Bible warns against arriving at absolute assurance based on fruitbearing (see Psalms
139: 23-24):
1 Corinthians 4: 4 For I know nothing by myself, yet am I not
hereby justified: but he that judgeth me is the Lord.
1 Corinthians 10:11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples:
and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are
come.
12 Wherefore let
him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.
Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 is
telling Christians not to be too confident that they are practically standing in God’s approval. This has to do with sanctification in the
Christian walk, not salvation [Page 27] in eternity. Christians are to continually examine
themselves to gain confidence that they
are walking a life of manifested faith (1 John 3:
21, 2 Corinthians 13: 5). This
faith has to do with the judgment seat of Christ and the great doctrine of
reward. Every Christian is therefore warned against absolute assurance in
regard to reward. However, it is assumed that every
Christian possesses absolute assurance in regard to eternal salvation, since [that] salvation in
eternity is not given through works but by grace through faith alone.
* *
*
[Page 28
blank; Page 29]
Chapter 4
Positive Rewards
“Now what an unreasonable conceit is
it to think that where wages is promised for the encouragement of the labourer,
the labourer should be bound to work without having any eye or respect to his
wages?”*
* The Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 85.
- Joseph Mede (1586-1638)
“… the betterment and ennoblement of
life does not need the idea of a law-giver, especially a law-giver who works on
the basis of reward...”*
* Albert
Einstein in a letter to M. Berkowitz, October 25, 1950; Einstein Archive 59-215;
from Alice Cataprice, ed., The Expanded
Quotable Einstein (
- Albert Einstein (1879-1955)
“Some little time ago I was turning
over the pages of the New Testament, and looking up this subject of the
Christian’s rewards, and I was perfectly amazed to see how many times the
subject was mentioned.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (Nov. 14, 1925).
- Wilbur Chapman (1859-1918)
[Page 30]
Once a person is saved and anchored in Jesus Christ with true
assurance, it is time to learn about the important subject of rewards. Holy works and sacrifices should have reward
as one of the primary motives:
Ephesians 6: 7 With good will doing service,
as to the Lord, and not to men: 8 Knowing that
whatsoever good thing any man doeth, the same shall he receive of the Lord, whether he be bond or free.
The “knowing” in the above
Scripture is a command, not a flippant suggestion. Christians are to do service to God knowing that
He rewards every holy sacrifice.
Christians are therefore to have a mind that hopes in confident
expectation of God’s mercy and goodness in all their good deeds.
Duty as the Sole Motivation?
Some Christians claim that it is not proper to obey God for
any other motive than the fact that it is our duty to do so. It is indeed the duty of every believer to
obey God:
Ecclesiastes 12: 13
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter:
Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man.
Serving God out of a sense of duty is compatible with seeking
reward from God. It is our duty to seek
holy rewards from our Lord. It was the
agnostic philosopher Immanuel Kant (1724-1804) that taught that it is wrong to
obey the dictates of conscience for any other motive than duty. Pantheists such as Spinoza and Starhawk (i.e.
New Age’s outspoken witch) likewise vilify the Biblical concept of reward. Christians who reason in the same manner
obviously think that it is somehow virtuous or dutiful to disobey God’s commandments concerning how
to perform our duty! What is the duty of
every child of God? Is it to serve God
with no hope of reward as Kant teaches?
The Bible teaches that Kant and the pantheists are in error. It is therefore [Page 31] the duty of every Christian
to reject their view in regard to the matter:
Colossians
3: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the
Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the
Lord ye shall receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve the Lord Christ.
No Christian is properly performing his duty while he is at
the same time disobeying the inspired apostle in regard to it! Christians are to serve God “knowing” that the Lord will more than repay any
sacrifice.
As we seek rewards from the Lord, we are called to understand
that we will be rewarded in the strictest sense, only out of God’s mercy and
grace:
“... it is true, the merits and
satisfaction of Christ are the foundation of our reward, namely, that alone
which makes our works capable thereof, without which they were not:
nevertheless it is true also that our works are the subject of reward; and the
same merit of Christ makes differing works capable of a different reward.”*
* The Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 85.
- Joseph Mede (1586-1638)
Along this line, Hugh McNeile (1795-1879) has wisely stated:
“You will observe, my brethren, that in
every case the reward is proclaimed to be a gift, not a debt; a free grant, a
gracious promise from God. It is a
fundamental principle of sound reason, no less than the authoritative
declaration of holy Scripture, that no creature can have merit, properly so
called: that no creature can make God his debtor, on the ground of retributive
justice, for what has he, that he has not received? ... even when perfectly
obedient, is he not still an unprofitable servant? ... But God can make Himself
His own debtor, by uttering a promise.
He has spoken. ... And now, if God were not to reward works of faith,
and love, and hope; it would be unrighteous in Him, not because they deserve, but because He hath promised; not because there is a [Page 32] title in
them, because there is truth in Him. ... Faithful is He who promised, who also
will do!...”*
* Rev. Hugh McNeile, Sermons
On The Second Advent Of The Lord Jesus Christ (1842).
Christians that receive crowns to reign with Christ will
acknowledge that the Lord is abundantly merciful.
Loving Gratitude as the Sole Motivation?
It is certainly the duty of every Christian to express loving
gratitude to God and Christ (Luke 7: 47). However, notice the following Bible verses:
Ephesians
5: 2 And walk in love, as Christ
also hath loved us, and hath given himself for
us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling savour.
5 For this ye know, that no
whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the
How can the motivation of loving gratitude be reconciled with
the motivation of not losing inheritance in the future kingdom? It is simple.
Jesus told His disciples, “If ye love me, keep
my commandments” (John 14: 15). And Christ commanded His disciples to seek rewards:
Matthew 6:
1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of
them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which
is in heaven.
20 But lay up for
yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth
corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal:
33 But SEEK ye first the
This is why Paul could put hoping for the reward of the [millennial] kingdom
in the same context as striving to please the Lord in love. The rest of the New Testament echoes with
this same teaching:
[Page 33]
Hebrews 11: 6
But without faith it is impossible to please
him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is,
and that he is a REWARDER of them that diligently seek
him.
Notice again that both motivations are
seen knit together in the preceding verse.
It is impossible to please God without an eye on His rewards:
“... It may
sound pious for someone to say: ‘I am not interested in
rewards! I serve God out of love and
gratitude alone!’ But such a
person is claiming to be more loftily motivated than even the apostle Paul
himself, ... Those who disparage rewards as a powerful Christian motivation
ought to read their N.T. again - this time, with their eyes open..”*
* Zane Hodges, “The Doctrine Of Rewards,”
Part 2, quoted in The Journal of the
Grace Evangelical Society (Autumn 1991), “We
Believe in Rewards,” 6,-8, 11.
- Zane Hodges
“ ... that
over-refinement of an anxious but too systematic scrupulosity, which, in its
spiritual zeal for free grace, would go far towards erasing from the Bible the
oft-recurring word reward: And so would confine the believer to
the impulses of gratitude, and deprive him of attractions of hope.”*
- Hugh McNeile (1795-1879)
* Rev.
Hugh McNeile, Sermons On The Second
Advent Of The Lord Jesus Christ (1842).
Robert Govett (1813-1901) also understood the importance of
reward in the believer’s life:
“Some Christians are opposed to the
doctrine of reward. They think that we
ought to be led to do good works solely on the principle of love to God. In entertaining this opinion, many are no
doubt quite unaware how much Scripture testifies on this subject, both in the
Old Testament and the New.”*
* Robert
Govett, ‘The Millennial Kingdom One Of Reward,’
Tracts On The Kingdom No.3,” Kingdom
Studies (Schoettle).
The Word of God commands believers to seek godly rewards by which they are to show they
love Him in obedience:
[Page 34]
2 John 1: 8 Look
to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward.
Christ rebuked the Pharisees because they laboured for worldly rewards in this life (e.g. such as being praised by men for serving God). The Lord did not rebuke the fact that they
laboured for rewards. He rebuked the
fact that they were labouring for rewards that were fleeting, corruptible and
devilishly of this world. They sought
the wrong
rewards. Christ commanded His
disciples to seek true, holy treasure in the next world (John 12: 25, Luke 20: 35). To obey Christ is to love Him. All those who truly love Him will be found
seeking the rewards He has so graciously set before His saints:
“We cannot serve the Lord, so as to
please Him, without thought of His rewards (Heb.
11: 6).
All the rewards are love-gifts from the Lord Christ, and these will be
valued most by those who love Him best.”*
* J.H.
Lowe, “The Entrance Into The
- J.H. Lowe
A False Humility
Many Christians also claim that seeking rewards is against the
spirit of Christian humility. They have not
realized the simple fact that it is not true humility at all to disobey
God! Decades ago, an article in the Prophetic Digest stated:
“To take such promises of reward and
glory as are given to special labour and make them the portion of all believers,
however unfaithful to the Lord, is to destroy the power of the promised
recompense. ... Satan knows its practical power when fully realized, and has
therefore struggled to blind the eyes of the children of God to this doctrine
altogether; either mixing it up with salvation or filling the
mind with mock humility that counts it presumption to strive for the offered
crown.”*
* The Prophetic Digest (Feb. 1952).
[Page 35]
Zane Hodges writes:
“Selfishness ought not to be defined simply
as the pursuit of our own self-interest.
Instead, it should be defined as the pursuit of our self-interest in
our own way rather than in
God’s way.”*
* Zane Hodges, “The Doctrine Of Rewards,
Part 2,” quoted in The Journal of the
Grace Evangelical Society (Autumn 1991), “We
Believe in Rewards,”, 6-8, 11.
The Lord gently reproved Peter’s false humility when he lost
sight of reward according to works. Jesus plainly revealed that God is
honoured most when His saints humbly realize that they can give nothing to Him without receiving a
hundredfold more in return:
Mark 10: 28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I
say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or
father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the
gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive
an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and
mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world [age] to come eternal life.
In this passage Jesus will not suffer any pride, self-pity or
false humility in His disciples.
Ironically, the very doctrine of reward proves that Christians are “unprofitable” in themselves. God will be glorified as the great Giver, even in the very sacrifices of His
saints!
This misunderstanding concerning future rewards is similar to
the same misunderstanding concerning pleasure itself. Many do not realize that Christians are
commanded to seek godly pleasure, especially in the world to come. C.S. Lewis (1898-1963) was blessed by
God to discover this truth in his own life:
“If there lurks in most modem minds the notion that to desire our own
good and earnestly to hope for the enjoyment of it is a bad thing, I submit
that this notion has crept in from Kant and the Stoics and is no part of the
Christian faith. Indeed, if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering
nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that our Lord
finds our desires, not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling
about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an
ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot
imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased. We must not be troubled by
unbelievers when they say that this promise of reward makes the Christian life
a mercenary affair. There are different
kinds of reward.”*
* C S. Lewis, The Weight
Of Glory (1942), 1-2.
The sin of unholy selfishness is not seeking the godly
pleasure of rewards in obedience to Christ; it is seeking the wrong things at
the wrong time:
“Yes! God who made us knows that the
desire of distinction, of prizes and rewards, is one innate in man. As stimulated by hopes of the present world
’tis an evil desire. But as the spur of
a faith that rests on God’s promise, ’tis good.
We cannot be too ambitious of the glory that comes from God.”*
* Robert
Govett, Entrance Into The Millennial
Kingdom, Four Letters To J T Molesworth (
- Robert Govett (1813-1901)
Finally, holy rewards will ultimately
bring glory to the Lord Himself.
Revelation 4: 9-11 And when those beasts give glory and honour
and thanks to him that sat on the throne, who liveth for ever and ever,
10 The four and twenty elders fall down
before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and
ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying,
11 Thou art worthy, 0
Lord, to
receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for
thy pleasure they are and were created.
[Page 37]
The Bible reveals that these Elders symbolize overcoming
saints (Revelation 5: 8-10).* Every Christian that is likewise crowned will
bring glory and honour to the King Of Kings:
* These Elders and Beasts
represent some Christians who will be translated alive before the tribulation
period as “firstfruits” (Luke 21:36, Revelation 3: 10, etc.). They will have to await the completion of the
First Resurrection at the end of the tribulation age before they will reign on
earth with Christ (Revelation 20: 4).
“The more reward you get at the
Judgment Seat, the more glory and honour you will bring to Him.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Oct.
1947).
- Frederick E. Marsh (1858-1919)
“The more
reward, the more praise and glory to His matchless name.”*
* G.P.
Raud, The Prophetic News and Israel’s
Watchman (London: March 1945), 64.
- Gans P. Raud (1882)
In light of this fact, should not every Christian be
diligently seeking the Lord’s rewards?
How sad it is that many saints are in the dark concerning the whole subject
of rewards:
“With many disciples, the eyes are
yet blinded to this mystery of rewards, which is an open mystery of the Word.”*
* Light on Prophecy ... The Proceedings and Addresses at the
- A.T. Pierson (1837-1911)
[Page 38]
“Those who
believe that from the evangelical position one cannot
properly speak of
punishment in the judicial sense, but only
affectionate chastisements
for the moral amendment of
the misled, can hardly
measure aright the fearful
earnestness of declarations
[such as in Luke
12:47, etc.].”
- John P. Lange (1802-1884)
* * *
[Page 39]
Chapter 5
Negative Rewards in This Life
“As it is possible there may be some
lofty‑minded Christians who think the whole question of rewards for life
and service is not worthy of their highest thoughts, and that the love of
virtue itself and of God is the sole consideration that should be entertained,
it may be necessary to point out that it is very dangerous round
indeed to affect to despise what is so plainly taught in Scripture.”*
* A.T.
Schofield, The Life That Pleases God (
- A.T. Schofield (1846-1929)
* “... Mine thou art to guide and
guard; mine to punish and reward…”
- John Burton, Holy
Bible, Book Divine
The Blood of Jesus does more than simply provide the basis for
salvation in eternity (Colossians 1: 14).
There is power in the Blood to live holy (Hebrews
13: 20-21, Revelation 12: 11).
Every [Page 40] believer is called to receive this
gracious power by acting on God’s promises in faith:
“...it is only through grace received and acted on, which can enable us to stand before
the judgment seat at the commencement of the Millennial day without blame...”*
* Joseph
Sladen, “The Letters To The Seven Churches,” Prophecy ‑Investigation Society Papers
(April 12, 1912), 25.
- Joseph Sladen (1841‑1930)
The power that Jesus has purchased for every Christian to
obtain rewards is a serious subject. It
is by no means a light matter. God will
punish every Christian who
spurns this gracious, sanctifying power.
Notice that there is another, darker side of reward revealed in Scripture:
Hebrews 2: 1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest
heed to the things which we have heard, lest at any time we should let them
slip.
2 For if the word spoken by angels was
stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompence
of reward;
3 How shall we escape, if we neglect so
great salvation; which at the first began to be
spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him;
The “salvation” in Hebrews 2: 3 refers to [a
future] salvation at the future judgment seat
of Christ. Paul (the writer of Hebrews)
is already saved in eternity. He is seeking the salvation the Lord has
provided for His [obedient] people:
“Salvation then refers to the gift
of eternal life, and also to the coming Kingdom of glory
... It is clear ... that the heirs of God have an unconditional promise of
eternal life, and an heritage in the City of
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn,
vol.VI, no.9 (Dec. 16, 1929), 567.
- Joseph Sladen
[Page 41]
No Christian can afford to neglect all that the Lord has
provided to run the race and win the crown.
During the Old Testament age, disobedience was rewarded with a proper, just punishment. The argument in Hebrews is that wilful sin in
God’s people brings a greater temporal penalty under the New Testament since Christ is
so much greater than Moses:
Hebrews 10: 28 He that despised
Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer PUNISHMENT,
suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son
of God, and hath counted the blood of
the covenant, wherewith he was
sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
Many object and take offence at this word “punishment” in Hebrews 10:
29. Their argument is that since
Christ has already died for our sins there is no way true [regenerate] believers can ever be “punished” for sin in
the Christian life. This greatly
confuses the distinction between salvation in eternity and the Christian’s daily walk as a child of God. God
loves His children; He therefore will not spare the rod when they are rebellious:
Proverbs 13: 24 He that spareth his rod hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
All must therefore admit that Christians may be “chastened.”
God’s holy love demands it.
Webster defines “chastise” as:
“1. To correct by punishing; to
punish; to inflict pain by stripes, or in some other manner, for the purpose of
punishing an offender and recalling him to his duty.”*
* Noah Webster’s First Edition of An
American Dictionary Of The English Language,
1828 (Foundation For
American Christian Education, 1989).
He defines “punish”
as:
[Page 42]
“2. To chastise; as a father punishes
his child for disobedience.”
The Bible therefore uses both words in regard to Christians:
Revelation 3: 19 As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be
zealous therefore, and repent.
When the Corinthians had to discipline a member of their
church by dis-fellowshipping [excommunicating] him, Paul later wrote to them to restore him in his
repentance. Paul uses the word “punishment” to describe the discipline he underwent:
2 Corinthians 2: 6 Sufficient to such a man is this punishment,
which was inflicted of many.
One purpose of the punishment of this man was to bring him to
repentance. The word “punishment” is therefore a proper English word to use
when discussing the chastisement that a child of God may receive for his sins
in the Christian life.
Actually, the Bible uses an even stronger word than “punish” to describe how God deals with His children:
Hebrews 12: 6
For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth,
and SCOURGETH every son whom he receiveth.
To “scourge” means to whip or
punish severely! It must therefore be admitted that God
often punishes disobedient Christians severely.
But how often is this truth preached in modem churches? Christian leaders who maintain that
Christians can never experience punitive judgments greatly confuse
the issue. It is true that Christians
may never be punished with absolute, eternal judgment; Jesus has fully
purchased eternal salvation for every believer.
However, Hebrews 12: 6 reveals that
God’s dear children may indeed experience severe (though temporary), punitive
consequences!
[Page 43]
The following Scriptures illustrate the truth of Hebrews 12: 6 as it elates to this life:
Acts 5: 1
But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira
his wife, sold a possession,
2 And kept back part of the price, his
wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles’
feet.
3 But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine
heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?
5 And Ananias hearing
these words fell down, and gave up the ghost: and great fear came on
all them that heard these things.
11 And great fear came upon all the
church, and upon as many as heard these things.
Verse 11 reveals that the early Christians considered Ananias and
Sapphira to be real believers. This Christian couple was slain for lying [‘to the Holy Spirit’], not for failing to believe the Gospel.
Notice some other Scriptures that prove Christians may be
punished severely:
1 Corinthians 10: 1 Moreover, BRETHREN, I
would not that YE should be ignorant, how that all our
fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea;
2 And were all baptized unto Moses in
the cloud and in the sea;
3 And did all eat the same spiritual meat;
4 And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they
drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.
5 But with many of them God was not
well pleased: for they were overthrown in the wilderness.
6 Now these things were
OUR examples, to the intent WE should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
8 Neither let US commit
fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day
three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let US tempt
Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed of serpents.
10 Neither murmur YE, as some of them also
murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
[Page 44]
The above passage teaches that privilege (either in the O.T.
or the N.T. age) will not protect God’s disobedient people from being scourged
by Him! In chapter eleven, Paul continues to teach that
believers may be severely punished, even with sickness and death:
1 Corinthians 11: 29
For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily,
eateth and drinketh damnation to himself,
not discerning the Lord’s body.
30 For this cause many are weak and sickly among you, and many
sleep.
31 For if we would judge ourselves, we
should not be judged.
32 But when we are judged, we are chastened of the Lord, that we should not be condemned with the
world.
33 Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another.
The word “damnation”
(1 Corinthians 11: 29) means condemnation or
punishment. It is a strong word
that brings healthy fear. It does not
always refer to condemnation in eternity. These Christians were not
partaking of the Lord’s Supper in an orderly manner. They were not remembering the Lord’s broken
Body and shed Blood. Paul therefore
warned them that the Lord had already made many saints sick, and some had even
been physically slain (i.e. “sleep”). This has nothing to do with losing salvation
in eternity. Nevertheless, it does
establish the fact that Christians should fear God as a rewarder of both good and
bad conduct.
In summary, disobedient Christians may certainly be punished
severely in this life. Even this basic fact is often denied
today as Christians increasingly replace the Bible with the psychological
theories of man. There was a time when
practically every Christian teacher embraced this much accountability
truth. But we now live in the perilous
times the Bible predicted. Many will no
longer endure sound doctrine (2 Timothy 4:
3).
* *
*
[Page 45]
Chapter 6
Negative Rewards at the
Judgment Seat
Proverbs 26: 10
The great God that formed all things both rewardeth the fool, and rewardeth transgressors.
“This Bema (translated ‘judgment seat’) is to
dispense not only happy rewardings but also the opposite.”*
* W.F. Roadhouse, Believer’s
Sharing - Or Forfeiting Christ’s Glorious Reign! (
- W.F. Roadhouse (1875-1951)
“I was there
but one night, and stressed the solemn
side of the judgment seat of Christ, saying the very things that dear brethren
in this land so often resent.”*
* G.H. Lang, The Rights Of
The Holy Spirit In The House Of God (1938), 11.
- G.H. Lang (1874-1958)
Many believers (especially in this
age) do not realize that the future judgment seat of Christ will also administer severe [Page 46] chastisement for unholy conduct.
Most agree that carnal Christians will be ashamed before the Lord as
they stand before Him:
1 John 2:
28 And now, little children,
abide in him; that, when he shall appear, we
may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his
coming.
These Christians will be ashamed for having neglected to bring
forth fruit unto God. The Lord has
provided abundant promises and warnings to provoke His children to
holiness. D.M. Panton (1870-1955) warned
about the danger of disregarding this motivating body of truth:
“Three facts are of importance: -
that Sadoc, the founder of the Sadducees, started his career of unbelief by
denying the doctrine of reward: also, that this principle took full effect even
upon our Lord – ‘who for the joy that was set before
Him endured’ (Heb.
12: 2): moreover, that no wise disciple
can afford or neglect so great a mass of Scripture, or to throw away so mighty
an incentive to holiness. Our discovery of this truth at the Judgment Seat will
be too late.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Judgment Seat Of Christ (Schoettle),
7.
The judgment seat of Christ will not be for the purpose of
judging whether or not the Christian is saved in eternity. Salvation in eternity cannot be lost. The judgment seat will be for revealing and rewarding
the kind of Christian life the believer has lived.
The Bible places the timing of the judgment seat in the future
when Jesus returns and the bodies of Christians are resurrected or translated
to meet Him in the air.* Indeed, both
positive and negative rewards
will then be administered:
* Faithful
Christians living at the time of
the pre-trib rapture will escape the earth (Luke
21: 36, Rev. 3: 10, 22:18, Heb. 9: 28, 2 Thess. 2: 7), and will
automatically be found worthy of Kingdom reign (Revelation
5: 8-10).
[Page 47]
1 Peter 5: 4
And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that
fadeth not away.
2 Timothy 4: 8 Henceforth there
is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which
the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and
not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.
Matthew 25: 19 After a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth with them.
Romans 14: 10
But why dost thou judge thy brother? or why dost
thou set at nought thy brother? for we shall ALL stand before the judgment seat of Christ.
12 So then every
one of us shall give account of himself to God.
The Proper View of God
Too often, many Christians neglect to see the solemn side of
God. This is no doubt one reason that
many hold such a shallow, deficient view of the judgment seat of Christ. The merciful, comfortable side of God is
often presented in modem pulpits. Yet, seldom
is the Bible’s teaching concerning God’s great holiness, justice and terror
adequately presented to believers:
Isaiah 8:13 Sanctify the LORD of hosts himself., and let him be your fear, and let him he your dread.
Tertullian (160-240) once reproved some false teachers in his
day for holding to a shallow view of God:
“...a better god has been discovered, one who is neither offended
nor angry nor inflicts punishment, who has no fire warming up in hell, and no
outer darkness wherein there is shuddering and gnashing of teeth: he is merely
kind ... And in fact the Marcionites
make it their boast that they do not at all fear their god: for, they say, a
bad god needs to be feared, but a good one loved. Fool: you call him lord, but deny he is to be
feared, though this is a term suggesting authority, and with it fear. Yet how shall you love, unless you fear not
to love? Evidently he is not even your
father, to whom would be due [Page 48] both love for affection’s
sake, and fear for the sake of authority: nor is he your lawful lord, for you
to love for human kindness’ sake and fear for the sake of discipline. ... So
then, you who decline to fear your god because he is good, what keeps you from
bubbling over into all manner of vice ... ?
Why absent yourself from those popular pleasures, the excitement of the
race-course, the savagery of the wild beast show, the lechery of the
stage? Why also during persecution do
you not at once offer your incense, and so gain your life by denial?”*
* Ernest
Evans, Tertullian Adversus Marcionem, (Oxford
University Press, 1972),1:27.
Modem Christians too often use the unconditional promises of
grace to neutralize the many warnings against walking in sin. This confuses eternal salvation with temporal
reward and responsibility. This
confusion blossomed in the 1960’s. The
words of Frederick A. Tatford (b.
1901) are a good example of this error that has become so ingrained in the new
Evangelicalism of the present:
“Just over a century ago, in Entrance
into the Kingdom, Robert
Govett propounded the theory that the future blessing of Christians was not
unconditional, but was dependent upon their vigilance and fidelity ... The
relationship of the believer to Christ is based from the beginning
to the end on grace ... By the work of Christ, as Pentecost points out in Things
to Come, the sinner is
justified, made acceptable to God, placed in Christ positionally to be received
by God as though he were the Son Himself.
The individual who has this perfect standing of Christ can never be less than completely acceptable to God.”*
* Frederick
A. Tatford, God’s Program of the Ages (Kregel
Publications, 1967).
In regard to “future blessing,”
Govett (and multitudes of other Christians) rightly divided between eternity
and the judgment seat of Christ/millennial reign. Absolute eternal life is guaranteed as a free
gift. Nevertheless, there are many future
blessings that are not free to
Christians. Tatford (like so many others
today) failed to distinguish between how God accepts a lost sinner by [Page 49] grace through faith alone (i.e.
positional righteousness) and how He accepts His own children through faith and works at the future
judgment seat (i.e. practical righteousness).
Notice how Tatford’s teaching contradicts the following Bible passage:
2 Corinthians 5: 9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we MAY be ACCEPTED of him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every
one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he bath done, whether it be good or BAD.
11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men;
If Bible words mean anything, then there was some sense in which
Paul laboured to be accepted. Notice the
phrase “the terror of the Lord.” Paul knew it.
Yet, it appears that modern Christendom’s view of God is severely
deficient. The Bible’s numerous warnings
to the saints are therefore denied at all costs.
On this passage in 2 Corinthians 5,
Samuel L. Hoyt writes:
“The question this verse raises is
how one ‘receives back’ what Paul calls ‘bad.’ The things a
believer receives back for his good works are obviously rewards, but how can one receive back for sinful works
without some sort of punishment involved?
The answer rests in the fact that unworthy, sinful deeds merit no reward
... Reward will be granted only for righteous deeds.”*
* Samuel L. Hoyt, Bibliotheca
Sacra (April-June 1980), 128.
Hoyt has failed to realize that the Bible teaches that “rewards” are often given in the form of punishments!
Reward can be either positive or NEGATIVE:
Romans 11: 22 Behold therefore the
goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity;
but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue in his
goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
Hebrews
10:30 For we know
him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the
Lord. And again, The Lord shall
judge his people.
[Page 50]
Matthew
16: 24 Then said Jesus unto his
disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his
cross, and follow me.
27 For the Son of man shall come in the
glory of his Father with his angels; and then
he shall REWARD every man according to his works.
When defining the word “reward,”
Noah Webster comments on Matthew 16: 27:
“In the
latter passage, reward signifies to
render both good and evil.”*
* Noah Webster’s First Edition Of An American
Dictionary Of The English Language, 1828 (Foundation For American Christian Education, 1989).
Christians that deny these negative rewards at the
judgment seat are denying more than just the holy terror of God (2
Corinthians 5: 11); they are also denying some things about the mercy of God.
If there is no danger or possible loss to believers at the judgment
seat, then there is no reason to hope in future mercy for practical sin
committed after salvation (Matthew 6: 12). One doubts the king of
James 5: 9 Grudge not
one against another, brethren, lest ye be condemned:
behold, the judge standeth before the door.
10 Take, my brethren, the prophets, who have spoken in
the name of the Lord, for an example of suffering affliction, and of patience.
11 Behold, we count them happy which
endure. Ye have heard of the patience of
Job, and have seen the end of the Lord; that the Lord is very pitiful,
and of tender mercy.
Many gladly embrace James 5: 11
and make it the only view of God a
real Christian ever needs to be concerned about. However, the same James that wrote verse 11 also wrote verse
9. Christians [Page 51] should see God in His revealed fullness.
Some Christians will meet the Lord at the judgment seat as an avenger
of evil:
1 Thessalonians 4: 6
That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger
of all such, as we also have forewarned YOU and testified.
To whom does the Lord grant mercy at the judgment seat of
Christ? Surely it is not to Christians
that deny that they have any real need for future mercy. The
Lord grants mercy and forgiveness to those Christians who believe His warnings:
Luke 1: 50
And his mercy is on them that FEAR
him from generation to generation.
In light of so many warnings, can a Christian be said to fear
the Lord who doubts there is any danger or possibility of true punishment at
the future judgment seat? If there is
something to fear after we are saved, then it makes sense to flee to God’s
throne as fast as possible and obtain mercy before the judgment day arrives:
Hebrews 4: 1
Let us therefore fear...
16 Let us therefore come boldly unto the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.
1 John 1: 9 If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
The Principle of Chastisement
Many modem Christian teachers understand the principle of
chastisement as it relates to this life. Yet, in spite of
multitudes of plain Scriptures, many are unwilling to allow this principle to extend
onward to the future judgment seat. But
on what Scriptural basis is the motivating principle of chastisement regulated
to this life alone? The New Testament
abounds with warnings [Page 52] that carnal Christians will receive
chastisement when they stand before their Lord. Notice just a few of these
warnings in Paul’s inspired writings alone (Romans
2: 6-11; 6: 16; 8: 1, 6, 11, 13; 11: 20, 21; 14: 12; 1 Corinthians 3: 15-18; 6:
9, 10, 13; 9: 27; 11: 32; 15: 2; 16: 22; 2 Corinthians. 5: 9-11; Galatians
5: 21; 6: 7, 8, Ephesians 5: 5-7;
Colossians 3: 25; 1 Thessalonians 4: 6; 2 Timothy 2: 12; 4: 14; Hebrews 2: 3;
3:14; 4: 1; 6: 3-8; 10: 26-31, 39; 12:
14, 25, 29). These passages do
not teach a loss of salvation in eternity.
Yet, they do teach temporary chastisement at the judgment
seat. These Scriptures are usually
ignored or ducked by every twist and turn imaginable. Nevertheless, they form a united testimony
that cannot be denied by any honest seeker of God’s truth. It is impossible to escape the testimony of
them all. And these are only a sample of
the warnings to true believers in the New Testament.
But where are the Scriptures that teach that carnal Christians
will not be chastised at the future judgment seat? They cannot be found. There is only heated emotion and
tradition. Notice the words of the great
fundamental Baptist leader Robert T. Ketcham (1889-1978) concerning this
absence of Scripture:
“The general attitudes concerning the
matters discussed in this chapter are: First: There will be rewards for faithfulness in various lines of
Christian living. Second. The believer does sin, and, as a
consequence, receives chastisement, but it is confined to this life only. Third. Some believers will have no reward at the Judgment Seat of Christ,
but because chastisement ends
with this life, there will be none there. The difference between this common conception
and the view set forth in this chapter is simply this: The principle of chastisement
remains the same; the difference is in the extent to which it is carried. One halts the process at the Judgment Seat of
Christ; the other allows its continuance for those who did not submit to its
benefactions here. I have searched in
vain for a single Scripture to prove the discontinuance of this principle at
the Lord’s return. On the other hand a
great mass of Scripture ... seems to
indicate the awful and soul-searching truth that there is such a thing as
corrective discipline when we see Him face to [Page 53] face. We have been surprised to discover that many teachers have had a
conviction that this was the teaching of Scripture...”*
* Robert
T. Ketcham, Sermons by Ketcham, Vol.
2: Why Was Christ a Carpenter? And Other
Sermons (Des Plaines, III.: Regular Baptist Press, 1966), 144-147; as
quoted in Carl G. Johson, The Account
Which We Must Give (Schaumburg: Regular Baptist Press, 1990), 46-47.
The final chapters of this book will reveal that Ketcham was
not exaggerating when he said “many teachers”
extended chastisement to the future judgment seat. Ketcham testifies that he could not find one
Scripture that teaches the discontinuance of the principle of chastisement at
the judgment seat (after death). Robert
Govett (1813-1901), years earlier, likewise challenged his Christian readers
with the same argumentation:
“Most then will take up the ground -
‘Chastisement, but only in this life.’ Your proofs, friend? ‘The blood of
Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin: 1 John 1: 7. Ours is no half-Saviour.’ But you admit, that in spite of Jesus’
atonement, the chastisements of God descend on the offending believer in this
life. It is no bar then to their falling
on him in the next age. What Scriptures are there which assert, that chastisements shall not
befall an offending disciple when our Lord appears? No such passages are forthcoming. Proofs to the contrary are many and plain. Take those from a single Gospel: Matt.5: 22-30; 7: 21-27; 10: 32, 33, 39; 16: 25; 18: 7-9,
21-35; 24: 45-51; 25: 1-30 ... The reasons why chastisement must end with this life, will be very hard to find, very hard to
establish.”*
* D.M. Panton, The
Judgment Seat of Christ (Schoettle), 78-79.
Many object to words such as “punishment”
in regard to the future judgment seat.
They maintain that believers will never experience punitive judgments. The problem is simply that these teachers
have not made a distinction between the eternal punishment of unbelievers and
the temporary punishment of God’s people (whether experienced in this life or
at the future judgment seat).
Nevertheless, in spite of semantics, one thing is for certain: whatever one wishes to call the judgment of some
erring believers in this life (1 Corinthians 11:
30-31, etc.), Scripture plainly [Page 54] teaches that the same type of severe chastisements (and worse) may
also be experienced at the future judgment seat! The future judgment seat will indeed be a
throne of judgment.
The majority of objections to corrective chastisement (i.e.
negative reward) at the judgment seat lie in the realm of emotion, not Scripture. The
flesh of man (saved and lost) is naturally against the truth of future accountability. This is why Paul continually exhorts
believers not to be deceived in regard to
the danger of future chastisement and loss of the millennium (1 Corinthians 3: 17-18; 6: 9):
Galatians 6: 7
Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for
whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
Ephesians 5: 6
Let no man deceive you with vain words: for because of these
things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye
therefore partakers with them.
There are great blessings that come from understanding this
truth. Not only does it give the
Christian the additional motivation that is often needed to resist the lusts of the world, but it also guards the
assurance of the believer. If there is
no temporary punishment at the judgment seat, then multitudes of Bible warnings addressed to saints must
then be viewed as threatening a loss of eternal
salvation. Yet, this would contradict
other clear passages that teach eternal security (1
Corinthians 3:15; John 4:14; 6: 35, 39, etc.).
At this point in the book, the reader should understand that
salvation in eternity is by grace through faith alone. It cannot be lost and
every believer should be sure of it.
Furthermore, Christians should seek holy rewards and strive to avoid
negative “rewards” (i.e. temporary
punishment). This temporary punishment
can extend to the judgment seat of Christ (1
Timothy 5: 24). The particular
nature of this temporary punishment at the judgment seat [Page 55] has not yet been explained. In the
next few chapters, we will examine some important facts and warnings concerning
the future millennial kingdom. After
this, we will return to the subject of the judgment seat and explore in some
detail what “the terror of the Lord” means in
regard to the disobedient Christian.
[Page 56]
“You that are Christians, and believe in the security of the
believer, it
will do you a great deal of
good if you will read a little bit more
about the Judgment Scat of
Christ and
the rewards of Christians,
and the awful sorrow to the heart of God on the part of the man
who is saved who gets out of His will.”
- Paul Rader (1878-1938)
* *
*
[Page 57]
Chapter 7
Millennial Counterfeits
“All hopes built on this present
world are destined to be quenched and disappointed ... heathenism, so far from
being ready to expire, is reproducing itself on Christian soil, under Christian
names, even in professedly Christian pulpits and in the spirit and temper of
professedly Christian nations. ... No: the millennium is not yet. That is to be
a time of holiness; but these are the days of evil.”*
*Joseph A. Seiss, Some
Occasional Discourses (Philadelphia: Smith, English & Co., 1874),
112-113.
- Joseph Seiss (1823-1904)
To understand temporary chastisement at the judgment seat of Christ
for disobedient Christians, it is necessary to understand the millennial
Many interpret the future millennium figuratively. Such spiritualizing has a strong tendency to
turn the believer’s hopes and affections from the next world [or age] where they
belong, to this evil age.
[Page 58]
Christians are called to turn their affections from this world
to wait for the future kingdom when Jesus Christ will literally reign on this earth. When the Devil successfully entices
professing Christians to live for this world, the doctrine of Christ’s future kingdom-reward is ignored or polluted:
“I never yet met with a Popish Doctor
that held the Millennium. ... It never pleased, but always gave offence to the
church of Rome; because it did not suit that scheme of Christianity which they
have drawn ... the Millennium being properly a reward and triumph for those
that come out of persecution, (i.e. the martyrs,) such as have lived always in
pomp and prosperity can pretend to no share in it, or be benefited by it. This has made the church of Rome have always
an ill eye upon this doctrine, because it seemed to have an ill eye upon her; and
as she grew in splendour and greatness, she eclipsed and obscured it more and
more: so that it would have been lost out of the world, as an obsolete error,
if it had not been revived by some at the Reformation. …”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church (H.L. Hastings, 1855),119.
- Thomas Burnett (1635-1715)
The future millennium is the key to understanding the doctrine
of
reward according to works that has confused so many throughout history:
“The interposition of the Millenary
scheme, with its peculiar economy of retribution, is necessary to reconcile the
doctrine of scripture, that we are justified and saved by faith, and by faith
alone, with the promise of scripture, nevertheless, of a reward proportioned to
works. ...”*
* Edward
Greswell, “The Millennium And Eternal Life,” The Dawn, (Sept. 1932).
- Edward Greswell (1797-1869)
Therefore, when the millennium is spiritualized (or confused
with the “church” or the eternal age) the crucial
distinctions between the free gift of salvation and the prize according to
works are blurred.
[Page 59]
The Premillennial Truth
According to pre-millennialism (i.e. the correct interpretation of Bible
prophecy), the future millennial kingdom arrives only when Jesus Christ returns
(Revelation 19). He will renew this present earth and reign
with His faithful, resurrected saints who will then be as glorious “as the angels” (Mark 12:
24-25).
Before the future, renewed state of the earth is brought forth
by Christ’s literal coming, things will continue to grow from bad to
worse. Things will grow increasingly
sour until the Antichrist (the “Beast”) takes
over and unleashes his reign of terror.
Yet, Jesus Christ will defeat him at His second coming and will usher in
the glorious age of the millennial kingdom.
After the millennial reign of Christ on earth with His
glorified saints, there will be the Great White Throne (Revelation 20: 11) where there will be a general resurrection
and judgment. After this judgment the
glorified age of eternity will begin.
This is the general framework of Biblical pre-millennialism.
Premillennialists maintain that the 1000-year reign in Revelation 20: 4 is literal. We certainly believe that it is a spiritual
reign (i.e. it is holy and pure); yet it is not a figurative reign. In interpreting the 1000-year reign,
pre-millennialists obey the golden rule of Biblical interpretation:
“...
‘If the literal sense of a passage gives simple common
sense, seek no other sense. Take each
word in its original, common, simple sense, unless plain facts from the context
demand another sense.’ Neglect of this
law leads to uncertainty, confusion, and arbitrariness. But if this law be observed and rightly
applied God’s Word unfolds itself as a harmonious and connected whole.”*
* Erich Sauer, From
Eternity To Eternity (
- Erich Sauer (1898-1959)
[Page 60]
This rule is derived from observing how the Bible interprets
its own prophecies (Jeremiah 29: 10; 2 Chronicles
36: 21-22, etc.). Others have
wisely answered some objections that are often made to this important rule of
interpretation:
“The Literalist (so called) is not
one who denies that figurative language, that symbols, are used in prophecy,
nor does he deny that great spiritual truths are set forth therein; his
position is, simply, that the prophecies are to be normally interpreted (i.e.
according to the received laws of language) as any other utterances are
interpreted - that which is manifestly literal being regarded as literal, and
that which is manifestly figurative being so regarded. ... The terms properly
expressive of the schools are normal and mystical.”*
* E.R. Craven, Lange’s
Apocalypse (
- E.R. Craven (1824-1908)
“When, too, it is said that the Bible
is thus to be interpreted like any other book, governed by the laws which alone
can protect us against a wrong imposition of meaning, reference is solely made
to its grammatical construction, and not, as Liberals and others employ this
idea in behalf of unbelief, that it is merely a human production.”*
* George N.H. Peters, The
Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 1 (Grand Rapids: Kregel, 1957), 48.
- George N.H. Peters (1825-1909)
The Amillennial Error
Amillennialism (being the official Roman Catholic teaching for centuries)
refers to the belief that there will never be a literal, earthly, thousand-year
reign of Christ in the future. It
actually means “no millennium.” Amillennialists
spiritualize most of Revelation 20, which
teaches the great hope of the “First Resurrection.”
They therefore believe that Christians are in the millennium presently. Since there has now been more than 1000 years
since the time of Christ, it therefore follows that this cannot be a literal
millennium.
[Page 61]
To the a-millennialist, there is only this present age (which
gets most of the attention in such a view), followed by eternity. Most
a-millennialists place Christians in Heaven after this present age, thereby totally deleting Christ’s literal
reign on this earth with His saints.
Yet, Jesus Christ must literally sit upon the throne of David (which is on
earth in
[* Has the author made a mistake here?
We must not fail to compare this present galaxy and earth with “a new heaven and a new earth” (Rev. 21: 1) - after Messiah’s Kingdom-Age has
ended, Hades emptied of all the souls of the dead, and God’s
Great White Throne Judgment has decreed the eternal place of those
judged at this time.]
The Postmillennial Error
Post-millennialism is similar to a-millennialism in many
ways. It teaches that there will be a
golden age of Christian triumph on this earth.
This golden age continues without Jesus physically present until He comes to bring in the eternal
state and the final judgment. It
therefore places Christ’s literal second coming after the millennium. It is no
wonder, then, that this millennium of the post-millennialist is also
spiritualized into a long, indefinite time, usually much longer than a thousand
years.
Some premillennial writers in the 1950’s expressed the
soberness that came upon many Christians in those days by predicting the soon,
total death of postmillennialism.
However, ear-tickling, positive views such as postmillennialism are not
easy to kill:
“Refuted a thousand times since
Bengel’s day, it dies hard, the world loves it so! ... Let us dismiss, forever,
this ‘Idol of the Theatre,’ this human invention of a Church Millennium, 1000
years before Christ comes! it is a false conception.”*
* Nathaniel West, The
Thousand Years (
- Nathaniel West (1826-1906)
These prophetic systems usually offer a present, outward
kingdom with no coming deception or reign of a personal, literal Antichrist
before the millennium. Amidst the wars,
earthquakes, [Page 62] Christian persecution and other
frightful signs, such popular, soothing dreams will always have mass appeal.
How the Lights Went Out
The majority of Christians in the first few centuries believed
in the premillennial coming of Christ:
“The most striking point in the
eschatology of the ante-Nicene age is the prominent chiliasm, or millenarianism.”*
* Philip Schaff, History
of the Christian Church, vol. 2,
614.
- Philip Schaff
They believed the world would go through seven prophetic days of 1000 years each. They believed the Antichrist would be slain
by Christ at the end of the sixth millennium.
They looked for this coming of Christ to bring in the great Seventh-Day
Sabbath of the world’s history (Isaiah 11: 10;
Hebrews 4: 1, 4-5). Soon,
however, this hope was replaced in the mainstream with a nonliteral interpretation of the 1000 years. The future prophecies were mostly spiritualized
and made to refer to the present age. The foundation for the
Roman Catholic Church and the infamous Dark Ages was laid. The London
Quarterly Journal of Prophecy describes how the precious premillennial
truth of earlier ages was later lost in the mainstream:
“We find that, to carry out the worship of the ‘Mother of the Gods,’ it
became necessary to expel the orthodox from the church. Hence, we find Jerome,
* London’s Quarterly Journal Of Prophecy, vol. IV, 332; as quoted in Rev. David Bosworth, The Millennium and Related Events (Chicago:
Revell, 1889).
Revelation 20 Does Not Refer to the
Let us examine some of these erroneous views concerning the
millennium. Some teach that the 1000-year reign in Revelation chapter 20 refers to a reign of disembodied saints in Heaven (i.e. between death and the resurrection). Postmillennialist Loraine Boettner
(1901-1990) defends this figurative view:
“The Millennium of verses 4-6, during which
time the souls of ‘them that were beheaded for
the testimony of Jesus and for the word of God’
are living and reigning with Christ, relates to the intermediate state, and for each individual soul it covers
that period between death and the resurrection.”*
*Loraine
Boettner, The Millennium (The Presbyterian
And Reformed Publishing Co., 1964), 65-66.
Boettner denies a literal resurrection into a literal kingdom
in Revelation 20: 4-5. Premillennialists on the other hand would
interpret the passage to teach that the souls “lived again” in bodily resurrection
out of the intermediate state.
They are resurrected into
glorified [and immortal]
bodies to reign on earth with Christ
during the literal thousand years:
Revelation 20: 4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and
judgment was given unto them: and I saw
the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. 5 But the rest of the dead lived not again
until the thousand years were finished.
This is the first resurrection.
“And they lived” certainly
means they are no longer in [the place or] the state of disembodied death. They are resurrected
[out] from the dead, never [Page 64] to die again. Evidence that this is
true is found in the fact that the Lord at the beginning of the Book of
Revelation speaks of His own literal resurrection from death in the
same manner:
Revelation
1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have
the keys of hell and of death.
Revelation 20 Does Not Refer to the New Birth
Another postmillennialist, David Chilton (1952-1997),
spiritualizes Revelation 20 in another
manner:
“The Bible is clear: we have been
resurrected to eternal life and rule with Christ now, in this age. The First Resurrection is taking place
now. And this means, of
necessity, that the Millennium is taking place now as well ... we
should see that the ‘1,000 years’ of Revelation 20 represent a vast, undefined period of time.”*
* David
Chilton,
According to Chilton, Satan has already been bound at Christ’s
first coming. This is certainly an
incredible idea! In 1948,
a-millennialist George L. Murray (b. 1896) was honest enough to confess:
“There are many people who find it
difficult to believe that Satan is bound today when there is such widespread
evidence of his influence ... There are nations being deceived by Satan, living
in superstition and antagonistic to the Gospel, even passing legislation to
prohibit its propagation. One wonders if
this does not suggest the possibility that Satan is now being loosed for a
little while to go out deceiving the nations which are in the four corners of
the earth.”*
* George
L
If the state of things suggested such gloom to
If the “First Resurrection” of Revelation 20 actually pictures the new birth,
then such would force the persecution of the saints (the manner in which they died) to be likewise
figurative:
Revelation 20: 4 ... I saw the
souls of them that were beheaded for the
witness of Jesus ... and they lived ...
Yet, this would make the death, not martyrdom for Jesus, but
dying in sin! This would be absurd. The death is literal martyrdom. But if the death is literal, then so is the
resurrection.
Allegorical interpretations of Revelation
20 are riddled with many unsolvable problems. Perhaps this is one reason why C.H. Spurgeon
(1834-1892) once grew quite irritated at hearing a figurative interpretation of
Revelation 20 in his day:
“I once had the misfortune to listen
to an excellent friend of mine who was preaching upon this text, and I must
confess, I did not attend with very great patience to his exposition. He said it meant blessed and holy is he who
has been born again, who has been regenerated, and so has had a resurrection
from dead works by the resurrection of Jesus Christ.”*
* Charles Haddon Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s
Sermons, vol. 7 (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1983), 364.
Is the
Scripture reveals that prophetic subjects are not limited to
only one application. Secondary,
figurative applications of the [Page 66] prophecies can exist alongside the
primary, literal applications. For
example, Malachi predicts a future, literal coming of Elijah (Malachi 4: 5).
Jesus affirms the literal interpretation of this prophecy:
Matthew 17: 10 And his disciples asked him, saying, Why then
say the scribes that Elias must first come?
11 And Jesus answered
and said unto them, Elias truly shall first come,
and restore all things.
Mark 9: 11 And they asked him, saying, Why say the scribes that Elias must first come?
12 And he answered and told them, Elias verily cometh first, and restoreth all things; and how
it is written of the Son of man, that he must suffer many things, and be set at
nought.
13 But I say unto you, That Elias is indeed come, and they have done unto him
whatsoever they listed, as it is written of him.
Luke 1:13 But the angel said unto him, Fear not, Zacharias:
for thy prayer is heard; and thy wife Elisabeth shall bear thee a son, and thou shalt call his name John.
17 And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the
fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make
ready a people prepared for the Lord.
Nonliteral, specialized fulfilments do not over-rule the
basic, literal fulfilments of the Scriptures.
Christ said Elijah “shall first come” in Matthew 17:11.
John the Baptist was already dead when Christ said those words (Matthew 14: 10).
When John was alive he denied he was Elijah (John
1: 21). Therefore, before Christ
comes again, the literal Elijah must have a restoration ministry in
[Page 67]
“But it would be precipitate [rash]
if from the fact that the New Testament speaks of a spiritual fulfillment of
the Old Testament kingdom prophecies the conclusion were drawn that this is the
complete fulfiliment and no other further fulfilment is to be expected. ... According to the Scripture both the literal
and symbolic spiritual explanations are justified in principle.”*
* Erich
Sauer, From Eternity To Eternity (
- Erich Sauer (1898-1959)
Along this line, Robert Govett (1813-1901) interpreted the
Bible to hold two different facets of the kingdom:
“... there are two states of the kingdom:
(1) The Kingdom in Mystery; and (2) The Kingdom in Manifestation. ... But
Christians usually seize upon the exceptional passages, which treat of the
kingdom in mystery, and make them the key to
interpret the others, to the production of great confusion on the
subject. The interpreting concerning the
kingdom of grace what God has spoken of the kingdom of glory, introduces great
darkness into the clear teachings of our Saviour.”*
* Robert
Govett,
George N.H. Peters (1825-1909) provides us with another
interpretation. He maintains in his
Genesis 17: 4
As for me, behold, my covenant is with thee, and
thou shalt be a father of many nations.
5 Neither shall thy name any more be called Abram, but
thy name shall be Abraham; for a father of many nations have
I made thee.
[Page 68]
Romans 4: 17 (As it
is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he
believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those
things which be not as though they were.
Numbers
33: 53 And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell
therein: for I have given you the land to
possess it.
Romans 8:30 Moreover
whom he did predestinate, them he also called:
and whom he called, them he also justified: and whom he justified, them he also glorified.
Whether conditional or unconditional, God’s promises often
call things in the future “as though they were” in the present (Genesis 20: 3).
Notice the similar language in the following Scriptures:
Colossians 1: 13 Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated us
into the kingdom of his dear Son:
Revelation 1: 6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be glory and dominion for ever
and ever. Amen.
According to Peters, there is no reason to refer these verses
to a present, spiritual kingdom. They
simply refer to what is potentially and provisionally true for every saint.
It should also be mentioned that the Bible sometimes speaks of
the future, literal kingdom as being allegorically present in word form.
In other words, it is present only through the eye of faith. It is present in promissory, seed form in
everyone that has heard it preached:
Matthew 13: 19 When any one heareth the word
of the kingdom, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked
one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way
side.
Perhaps this is why Jesus could say that the
Luke 17: 20 And when he was demanded of the Pharisees, when the kingdom of God
should come, he answered them and said, The kingdom of God cometh not with
observation:
21 Neither shall they say, Lo here! or,
lo there! for, behold, the
Matthew 13: 13 Therefore speak I to them in parables:
because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not,
neither do they understand.
The future
Matthew 11: 12 And from the days of John the Baptist until
now the kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent
take it by force.
Luke 16:16 The law and the
prophets were until John: since that time the
Notice Christ said the
In conclusion, whatever spiritual or present kingdoms may be found in Scripture, there
is no ground at all for
ignoring or [Page 70] misapplying the many Scriptures that
speak of a literal 1000-year kingdom to come.
This future kingdom is the reward for faithful service set before every
Christian. '
* *
*
[Page 71]
Chapter 8
The Christian’s Danger of Kingdom
Exclusion
“For forty years I have glossed over every passage which refers to exclusion,
and have refused to apply it to the Christian man. But, on the face of them, these passages do apply to Christians everywhere. They are in Epistles written to Christians.
... I feel that when an Apostle says, ‘Be not deceived,’ there may be great danger that
some will be deceived, in applying Scriptures to other people and carefully
shielding the application from ourselves ... does it not issue a
solemn warning to every Christian man, that the practice of a certain course of
conduct which the Apostle Paul reluctantly deals with, will exclude from
the Millennial reign of Christ?”*
* Dr.
A.T. Schofield, “The Entrance Into The
- Dr. A.T. Schofield (1846-1929)
“Why will not Christians listen to an
argument on this point wholly drawn from Scripture? Because they do not like it. They
wish to assume ... that every believer will without fail enter the millennial
bliss. In this I behold the commencing
fulfilment of 2 Tim. 4: 3, 4.”*
* Robert
Govett, Entrance Into The Millennial
Kingdom, Four Letters To J. T. Molesworth (Norwich, Fletcher & Son,
1883), 1.
- Robert Govett (1813 -1901)
[Page 72]
At the judgment seat of Christ, unfaithful Christians will
lose entrance into the millennial kingdom and will be banished for 1000
years. They will then be
resurrected at the Great White Throne after the millennium:
Revelation 20: 12
And I saw the dead, small and great, stand
before God...
15 And whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The lost (who never believed the Gospel) will not be found
written in the Book of Life. Yet, many Christians (who had missed the millennial kingdom) will be
found written in the Book of Life.
They will spend eternity with God.
Unfaithful Christians do not lose salvation in eternity; they only lose
entrance into the millennial kingdom.
The Bible teaches that the millennial reign is only given to
the faithful saints who suffer with Christ:
2 Thessalonians 1:5 ... that ye
may be counted worthy of the
2 Timothy 2:12
If we suffer, we shall
also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will
deny us:
Romans 8:17 ... and
joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him,
that we may be also glorified together.
Revelation 3: 21 To him that
overcometh will I grant to sit with me in my throne,
even as I also overcame, and am set down with my Father in his throne.
We suffer for Jesus through resisting the flesh and the Devil
and despising the persecutions of the world.
The millennial kingdom is therefore a reward.
[Page 73]
Colosslans 3: 23 And whatsoever ye do, do it
heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;
24 Knowing that of the Lord ye shall
receive the reward of the inheritance: for ye serve
the Lord Christ.
25 But he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong
which he hath done: and there is no respect of persons.
1 Peter
3:9 Not rendering evil for evil,
or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are
thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.
Galatians 5: 21 Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in
time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of
God.
Matthew
6: 33 But seek ye first the
To walk in the flesh is to refuse to suffer for Christ. The
Bible teaches that Christians who will not resist
temptation, and will not repent, will not inherit the kingdom. They will not receive the reward.
They will instead be banished or
excluded until after the millennium.
The majority of pre-millennialists today believe that
Christians can forfeit a high position in the coming kingdom through disobedience or slothful
service. The Bible indeed teaches this
doctrine. Yet, this only applies to
Christians who are breaking the “least” of the
commandments. The Christians who will be
accounted worthy to enter the kingdom will be given higher or lower positions
of authority based upon the degree of attention they have given to the details
commanded in the Bible. Those that avoid
or disdain what they believe to be only minor commandments in the New Testament (and therefore teach others to
avoid them) will suffer a diminishing of their glory, even though they make it into the kingdom to reign:
Matthew 5: 19 Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be
called the least in the [Page 74] kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and
teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Notice that the subject is the “least”
of the commandments. However, the very
next verse assures the disciples that they may break “great”
commandments and may actually fail to enter the coming kingdom:
Matthew 5: 20
For I say unto you, That
except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of
the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case ENTER into
the kingdom of heaven.
Many rightly apply verse 19
to believing disciples, yet they apply verse 20
to unbelievers! This is to break a
fundamental rule of Biblical interpretation.
The context must be noted:
Matthew 5: 1 And seeing
the multitudes, he went up into a mountain: and when he was set, his disciples came unto him:
2 And he opened his mouth, and taught
THEM, saying, …
The “you” throughout Christ’s discourse in Matthew [chs.] 5-7 are the
disciples. They are “salt of the earth” (Matthew
5: 13) and “light of the world” (Matthew 5:14).
Whoever is warned in verse 19 is also
warned in verse 20, unless one can prove the contrary from the context.
It is practical righteousness that Christ is calling for throughout Matthew 5-7.
In Matthew 5: 20, He tells believers
that they must be holier than the scribes and Pharisees if they will
enter the kingdom. In other words, they must obey God from pure
motives instead of only serving God outwardly in order to impress men.
The people that Christ is addressing in the Sermon
on the Mount already believe
upon Him. If any lost professors have slipped in behind the disciples,
Christ does not address them in command, promise or warning.
[Page 75]
Many attempt to deny that the warnings of the Sermon
on the Mount apply to New
Testament Christians. Paul therefore
gives a sharp warning about ignoring the words of Christ:
1 Timothy 6: 3
If any man teach otherwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy,
strife, railings, evil surmisings,
5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt
minds, and destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such
withdraw thyself.
Some teach that the Gospel of Matthew is a Jewish book, and that this means Christ’s promises
and warnings cannot apply doctrinally to all Christians. But Christ Himself commissioned His disciples
to teach saved Gentiles His commandments:
Matthew
28: 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name
of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
20 Teaching them to
observe ALL THINGS whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Notice, He says that all nations are to observe all the things He commanded His
disciples. It is implied that this was
to go on unto the “end of the world.” It therefore follows that the promises and
warnings of the Sermon on the Mount apply
to New Testament Christians today. We
have no right to disregard a promise or warning unless we are given clear
authority to do so elsewhere in the New Testament. But Paul never disannuls the Lord’s warnings
to believers. Instead, he affirms them.
What is the evidence for taking the Gospel of Matthew as being
written to only Jewish believers?
Matthew (like Mark and John) interprets for his readers Hebrew words (Matthew 1: 23).
In Matthew 28: 15, he speaks of the
Jews as “the Jews,” and he refers to Jewish
synagogues as “their synagogues” (Matthew 4: 23, 9: 35).
[Page 76]
His Gospel is for all believers, Jew and Gentile, in all
ages. Jesus Christ commanded his
disciples (including Matthew!) to teach His words to all nations (Matthew 28: 19-20) and added that He would be with
them “unto the end of the world.” Many of the old defenders of
dispensationalism stoutly rejected the hyper-dispensational, Bullingerite idea
that the warnings and promises of Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew are to be
applied only to Jewish
disciples (i.e. Robert Govett, J.R.
It is argued that Matthew presents Jesus as the son of David
and that this proves that His promises and warnings have no direct, doctrinal
application to Christians today. However, the apostle Paul also presents Jesus
Christ as the son of David, and calls this fact a central part of his own
gospel:
2 Timothy 2: 8 Remember
that Jesus Christ of the seed of David was
raised from the dead according to my gospel:
Are we to reject any application of Paul’s inspired warnings
to present-day Christians and instead apply them to a future age?
Paul’s [The] Epistle to the Hebrews teaches that God has spoken to
us by His Son (Hebrews 1: 1-2). This was written later in Paul’s ministry
when the sign gifts were mentioned in past tense (Hebrews
2: 4). Certainly then, Paul
believed the warnings and promises in the Sermon on the Mount apply to all Christians, Jew or
Gentile. It is God’s Son that spoke the
words of the Sermon on the Mount. There has certainly been later revelation
of the Holy Ghost. It is true that some of Christ’s commands were meant only
for His first century disciples. Christ
commanded the twelve not to preach to Gentiles (Matthew
10: 5-11). But later, He changed
this command and gave a new commission [Page 77] (Matthew
28: 19). We must apply every
command, warning and promise of Christ to all Christians, in all ages, unless
it would be absurd or unbiblical to do so.
There is absolutely
no reason to teach that Christ’s
warnings in the Sermon on the Mount, etc.,
are not to be applied to modern Christians. They are repeated in general to saints
throughout all of the New Testament.
Jesus warns true believers about missing the future millennial kingdom (Matthew 5: 20; 7: 21; 13: 41; 18: 3, 23, 35; 19: 23-25,
22: 2, 13; 25: 1, 11-13; Mark 9: 38, 47; 10: 15, 23; Luke 9: 62; 13: 23-28, 14:
15, 24; 18: 17, 24; 19: 12, 26).
So does the apostle Paul (Acts 14: 22; 1
Corinthians 6: 9, Galatians 5: 21, Ephesians 5: 5; 1 Thessalonians 2: 12; 2
Thessalonians 1: 5; Hebrews 3:14, 19; 4: 1, 11; 12: 28)!
Some apply the Sermon on the Mount as a means of gaining salvation in
endless eternity. However, the Sermon is specifically addressed to those already
saved through faith in Jesus;
they are already children of their Father (Matthew
5: 16, 45, 48).
Some believe that Christ’s words are a future constitution in the 1000-year kingdom. This is also an absurd error. Christ speaks to those who are soon to be
persecuted. Such teaching would
certainly have no place in the kingdom where Christ will
rule the world with a rod of iron (Matthew 5: 5,
10, 12, 20: 6: 10, 19). Jesus
speaks of the kingdom as future, not present (Matthew
5: 19-20; 6: 10, 33, 7: 21).
There are many warnings in the Gospels to New Testament
Christians. They speak of the future
judgment seat of Christ. Christian
teachers that deny this truth are usually more than ready to apply all the nice
promises in the Gospels to
themselves. This was the methodology of
Proof That the Kingdom Can Be Missed
There are many passages in the Bible that plainly teach that
disobedient Christians are in danger of missing the millennial kingdom:
Matthew 7: 13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the
way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat:
14 Because strait is the gate, and
narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be
that find it.
Christ is here addressing His disciples who already believe
upon Him (John 3: 16). The strait gate is entrance into the
millennium.
Matthew 7: 21 Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven;
but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Believers who walk in disobedience are
in danger of missing the kingdom.
Matthew 18: 1 At the
same time came the disciples unto Jesus, saying, Who
is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus
called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except
ye be converted, and become as little
children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
This passage is addressed to disciples. They are warned about missing the kingdom
altogether. The word “converted” is simply a reference to a practical change in the Christian’s walk. It means these disciples must quit competing with each other in pride. Many saints in modem churches have the same
problems.
[Page 79]
Matthew 19: 23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I
say unto you, That a rich man shall
hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven.
24 And again I say unto you, It is
easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the
Here the
Mark 11: 30 The
baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of
men? answer me.
Luke 15: 18 I will
arise and go to my father, and will say unto him, Father, 1 have sinned against heaven, and before thee,
In the same manner, thousands of newspaper articles could be
cited which use “Washington” or “the White House” as synonymous for government
leaders.
In Matthew 19: 23, Christ
is teaching that riches will hinder obedience since they tempt one
to compromise to keep them:
1 Timothy
6: 9 But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful
lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
10 For the love of money is the root of
all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many
sorrows.
Notice some other passages of Scripture that teach that all
Christians will not enter the kingdom:
Matthew 25:19 After
a long time the lord of those servants cometh, and reckoneth
with them.
21 His lord said unto him, Well done,
thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over
a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into
the joy of thy lord.
[Page 80]
Notice that entrance into the “Joy of
thy Lord” (i.e. in the millennial kingdom) will be based upon
faithfulness at Christ’s second coming.
Luke 13: 23 Then
said one unto him, Lord, are there few that be saved? And he said unto them,
24 Strive to enter in at the strait gate:
for many, 1 say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall
not be able.
25 When once the master of the house is
risen up, and hath shut to the door, and ye begin to stand without, and to
knock at the door, saying, Lord, Lord, open unto us; and he shall answer and
say unto you, I know you not whence ye are:
28 There shall be weeping and gnashing
of teeth, when ye shall see Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, and all the
prophets, in the
Whoever Christ is addressing is commanded to
work for kingdom entrance. One does not “strive”
(labour strenuously) for salvation in eternity.
This passage teaches how saved disciples can enter into the coming
kingdom by abstaining from
practical iniquity.
Acts 14:
21 And when they had preached the gospel to that city, and had
taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to Iconium, and
22 Confirming the souls of the disciples, and exhorting them to
continue in the faith, and that we must through much tribulation enter into
the
The above exhortation to Christians is to “continue in the
faith” in order to enter the coming kingdom.
To continue in the faith is to often put oneself in great danger. Even in an age when persecution is limited,
one must nevertheless often endure great losses in money or esteem in order to
confess Christ and stand for His whole truth.
2 Thessalonians 1: 4 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:
[Page 81]
5 Which is a manifest token of the
righteous judgment of God, that ye may be counted worthy of
the
These Christians are said to suffer for “the kingdom,” not
just for a high position within it. No
pre-millennialist should fail to see in these Scriptures that kingdom entrance
is conditional. The only way
around the implications of the passage is to attempt to argue (as Roman
Catholics [and Protestant A-millennialists]) that the
Hebrews 3: 1 Wherefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider
the Apostle and High Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the
provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known
my ways.
11 So I sware in
my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.
12 Take heed, brethren,
lest
there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from
the living God.
18 And to whom sware he that they should not enter into his rest, but to them that
believed not?
19 So we see that
they could not enter in because of unbelief.
These words are addressed to Hebrew Christians, just as 1 Corinthians is addressed to Gentile Christians. These Christians are
exhorted to not depart from God. The “rest” is the “world to come”
(Hebrews 2: 5). It is the millennial age,
the glorious 7th day Sabbath.
To Not Inherit Necessarily Implies to Not Enter
The following Scriptures are plainly warnings to true, New Testament
Christians. They warn that entrance into the millennial kingdom may be
forfeited. To lose the kingdom as an inheritance is to lose entrance into it:
1 Corinthians 6: 8 Nay,
ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your
brethren.
[Page 82]
9 Know ye not that the
unrighteous shall not inherit the
10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor
drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the
Galatians 5: 21 Envyings,
murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which 1 tell you
before, as 1 have also told you in time past, that they which do such
things shall not inherit the
Ephesians 5: 3 But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it
not be once named among you, as becometh saints;
5 For this ye know, that no
whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the
6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for
because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of
disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore partakers with them.
In regard to the above words in Ephesians
5: 5, David Bosworth (1814-1899) has written:
“I see no way to avoid, or get around
this plain testimony, except by making a distinction between inheriting and inhabiting (i.e., in the sense of possessing, or
enjoying). That there is a difference in
the meaning of the words, I do not pretend to deny; but as used in this place,
there seems to be only a distinction of terms, and not meaning.”*
* David Bosworth, The
Millennium And Related Events (Chicago: Revell, 1889).
Nevertheless, many others fancy that the word “inherit” in reference to the kingdom of God in such
Scriptures as Galatians 5: 21, etc., allows entrance to all Christians at Christ’s coming.
This way, the only danger for rebellion would be the loss of ownership
and authority in the kingdom (i.e.
“inheritance”).
Such teaching, tones down the warnings scattered
throughout Paul’s Epistles, in regard to not missing the kingdom. The danger for unfaithful believers is seen
to be only a loss of crowns. However, [Page 83] Scripture teaches that all Christians who enter the kingdom from this dispensation are
glorified kings. To lose
the crown
is to lose kingdom entrance (Revelation
5: 10, 20: 4-6; 1 Corinthians 9: 24-27).
All Christians, who enter the kingdom, enter crowned. Faithful
Christians will primarily reign over natural nations who will then populate the
earth:
“There is no hint in Scripture of
resurrected believers being subjects in the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Nov.
1947).
- W.P. Clark
Likewise, Watchman Nee states:
“Once a Western missionary told me,
‘If I cannot have the crown, at least I can have the kingdom.’ ...What is a
crown? It is not merely a hat beaten
with gold and studded with diamonds. ... What is a crown? A crown represents position in the
kingdom. It also represents glory in the
kingdom. ... When one loses the crown, he loses the thing that the crown
represents. We have to see that the
crown is the symbol of the kingdom. ... The crown is a reward for the
overcomers, and the throne is also a reward for the overcomers. ... There is no
such thing as losing the crown but still having the kingdom. Similarly, one cannot lose the throne but
still have the kingdom.”*
* Watchman Nee, The Gospel
Of God, vol. 3 (California:
Living Stream Ministry, 1990), 401.
Fundamental Baptist writer, William F. Roadhouse writes:
“No reward, no crown - no crown, no
reigning! ... There will be no crownless regents in Christ’s coming Kingdom!
... Saved-but-crownless will never see us through into coming kingdom joys.”*
* W.F.
Roadhouse, Believers Sharing Or
Forfeiting Christ’s Glorious Reign! (
The rebellious, Old Testament Jews mentioned in Hebrews 3 and 1
Corinthians 10 did not enter the Promised Land at all. They [Page 84] were not allowed to enter and become subjects. They
were not allowed to enter and simply forfeit the right of owning property. They were excluded. These
chapters are written to New Testament Christians as a warning in regard to the future millennial
kingdom:
Hebrews 2: 5 For
unto the angels hath he not put in subjection the world to come,
whereof we speak.
Hebrews 4: 11 Let us
labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest
any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
The future “rest” that
believers are promised through faith and patience (Hebrews 6: 12) is the same as
the “world to come.” It is the future millennial kingdom:
1 Corinthians 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the
1 Corinthians 10:6 Now these things were our examples, to the
intent we should not lust after evil things, as they also lusted.
7 Neither be ye idolaters,
as were some of them; as it is written, The people sat down to eat and drink,
and rose up to play.
8 Neither let us commit
fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand.
9 Neither let us
tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed
of serpents.
10 Neither murmur ye, as some of them also
murmured, and were destroyed of the destroyer.
11 Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition,
upon whom the ends of the world are come.
Can any imagine that Paul’s intention is anything other than
to warn of the same judgments falling on Christians in this age? No disobedience will be tolerated in the
millennial kingdom when Christ rules. He
will judge the nations with a rod of iron.
However, no one from this present age will enter the kingdom to begin with, without
practical holiness. The unrighteous and
the [Page 85] unholy, even among Christians, will be excluded at the second
coming of Christ:
Hebrews 12: 14 Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall
see the Lord:
To not inherit the land is to be denied the privilege
of possessing it by entrance. This can be seen by comparing Numbers 13 & 14
and Deuteronomy 4: 19-26 with 1 Corinthians 10: 4-12 and Hebrews 3 & 4. The same relationship between the two words
is also revealed elsewhere:
Matthew 19: 17 And he
said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is,
God: but if thou wilt enter into life, keep the commandments.
23 Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into
the kingdom of heaven.
Mark 10: 17 And
when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to
him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do
that I may inherit eternal [age-lasting] life?
24 And the disciples were astonished at his words. But
Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them
that trust in riches to enter into the
To not “inherit” a kingdom is
to not enter into it and inhabit it. To
be denied the right to go up and possess the land is to perish
off the land and miss the
blessing. Those that attempt to water down
the kingdom warnings of the apostle Paul miss a crucial point. In 1 Corinthians 6: 9, 10 and Galatians 5: 21
it does not say “does not have any inheritance in the
1 Corinthians 6: 10 Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit THE
[Page 86]
It is true that some entered in among the Israelites who did not
possess an inheritance in the land.
However, these correspond to the mortal nations that will live during
the millennium, not to Christians who are commanded in this age to go up and
possess the land by “overcoming” (Matthew 11: 12; 2 Timothy 2: 12, etc.).
* *
*
Chapter 9
A Protestant Purgatory?
“... I might show how others have
been led rashly to make the coming of the Lord and its attendant judgments, a kind of purgatory for the purification of unfaithful
believers ... Thus, Bishop Hall, rehearsing the Millenarian tenets of his day,
enumerates among them the following: ‘Christ shall examine, blame, and shame
the saints who are alive at his coming, if they be found to have walked
loosely…’ … Nor was the Bishop mistaken as to the views of his opponents...”*
* Samuel Waldegrave, New
Testament Millenarianism (1854).
- Samuel Waldegrave (1817-1869)
“Others fall back upon the old heresy
of a purgatory of some kind ... Exclusion from the
* Sir
Robert Anderson, Forgotten Truth (1914),
131, 148.
- Sir Robert Anderson (1841-1918)
“... Dillow constructs a sort of Protestant Purgatory for the ‘unrepentant who are
saved.’”*
* David
Reagan, “Eternal Security-Do Believer’s Have IT”
(The Lamplighter, July-August 2000).
- David Reagan
[Page 88]
Notice the words used in the above objections. What do words such as “a kind of,” “of some kind”
and “a sort of” actually imply? They reveal that the opponents of
accountability truth understand that there is certainly a difference between this truth and the heresy of
The Catholic doctrine of Purgatory is certainly heresy. However, in their zeal to escape a so-called Protestant
or Baptist Purgatory at
all costs, many professing Christian leaders are running into the pit of Catholic
salvation assurance (which is
no true “assurance” at all, since [eternal salvation in]
it is based on works or fruit).
Joseph Dillow (author of The
Reign of the Servant Kings) believes (like Charles Stanley, Zane Hodges,
Tony Evans, etc.) that disobedient Christians will experience a type of outer
darkness that is within the millennial kingdom. They do not teach total exclusion from the
millennial kingdom. These evangelicals
are part of a refreshing, motivating revival of accountability truth. Their
warnings (although softer than the Bible actually teaches) are often maligned
as some type of “Protestant Purgatory” by those
that do not believe a Christian can sin badly enough to merit such
punishments. Certainly, this same
objection will be made in regard to the harsher warnings found in this book.
There are many verses that Catholics have used to attempt to
justify their Purgatory. Yet, there is no such place mentioned in the Bible. Friends and relatives cannot pay
or pray a Christian’s way out of future chastisement. Also, unlike the Catholic myth, future chastisement of
unfaithful believers is not for the purpose of earning final, positional [eternal] salvation. It is discipline from a just and faithful
Father who loves His children enough to chastise those who hurt themselves and
others, contrary to the rules of His holy household.
[Page 89]
Rewards and chastisements abound in this life for practical
obedience or disobedience (1 Corinthians 11,
Hebrews 12). What many have
missed is simply that there are multitudes of Scriptures that teach that such rewards
and chastisements can be extended on the same basis over into the next world,
during the coming millennial kingdom (2 Corinthians
5: 9- 11, Galatians 5: 21). If
harsh discipline for [regenerate] believers in this life does not take away from the
Cross of Calvary, then neither does the doctrine of discipline for some
believers during the coming age of reward.
It is when the Catholics teach that such discipline merits positional salvation in eternity that
such a concept becomes a devilish error.
In regard to the history of Purgatory, Jacques Le Goff writes:
“Until the end of the twelfth century
the noun purgatorium did not exist: the Purgatory had not yet been born.
It is a remarkable fact that the first appearance of the word purgatorium,
expressing a newly acquired awareness of Purgatory as a place and thus the
birth of Purgatory per se, has been neglected by historians...”*
* Jacques Le Goff, The
Birth Of Purgatory (University Of Chicago Press, 1986), 3.
[Page 90]
The Roman Catholic dogma of Purgatory was officially ratified
at the Council of Ferrara-Florence (1438-45) and reaffirmed at the Council of
Trent (1545-63). The concept was
developed in the sixth century.
Augustine (354-436) helped lay the foundation. Jerome (and many other early, professing
Christians) taught that some Christians would be temporarily punished in fire,
yet saved at last. Augustine, on the
other hand, resisted this idea, and taught that any man that committed gross
sins would burn eternally. Gregory the
Great (540-604) would build upon Augustine’s framework by teaching that there
would be temporary punishment in fire for “light”
or venial sins, while all other sins would bring eternal damnation. Sufferings, whether for Christ (as a martyr)
or for venial sins (in this life or in the intermediate state), were given
redemptive value. The Biblical truths of
millennial exclusion and millennial chastisement were perverted into
The testimonies of the following accountability teachers will reveal the folly in branding
chastisement (during the age of the millennial kingdom) as “Purgatory.” It
is an emotional straw man:
“Most will take up the ground –
‘Chastisement, but only in this life.’ Your proofs, friend? ... you admit, that
in spite of Jesus’ atonement, the chastisements of God descend on the offending
believer in this life, It is no bar then to their falling on him in the next
age.”*
* D.M. Panton, The
Judgment Seat Of Christ (Schoettle), 78-79.
- Robert Govett (1813-1901)
“The kingdom, as it is the period of
reward to the righteous, so is it, to those of a contrary conduct, the time of
exclusion and penalty. ... The offences between brother and brother are not
infinite, and so neither shall the duration of the sentence be for ever. The last farthing will be paid off: the time
of imprisonment expire. ‘The age to come’ is to be the time of forgiveness of some things, as well
as the present age: Matt. 12: 32. ‘But this is purgatory!’ Is it [Page 91] Scripture? Do not,
Christian brother, seek to set aside a truth because it is unpleasant, by
raising a storm of prejudice. If this be
not spoken to disciples, prove it! Put
it down by force of Scripture! Hew it in
pieces with that two edged sword! But if
it be the word of Christ, bow to it! ’Tis not, in its chief features, like the
Romish doctrine of purgatory. 1.
Purgatory is supposed by Romanists to begin at death, to end at Christ’s
appearing. The sentence here begins only
with the Saviour’s judgment seat. 2. The
parties detained in purgatory, it is asserted, may be delivered by prayers,
masses, indulgences, etc. This last is
the especial feature, which has rendered the Romish doctrine so justly
odious. It has no place here. But the one question is, What saith the
Scripture? - To that I bend; do you also beloved!”*
* Robert Govett, The
Sermon On The Mount (London: Thynne & Co. LTD, 1934; reprint, Miami
Springs: Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 77-78.
- Robert Govett
“The Roman doctrine of Purgatory
would have been impossible had the Church always held and taught the full
Scripture truth of a believer’s purging.
Only twice has the Roman doctrine been officially defined. ‘If such as be truly penitent die in God’s
favour before they have satisfied for their sins of commission and omission by
worthy fruits of penance’ - i.e., assisted their own atonement – ‘their souls
are purged after death with purgatorial punishments’ (Council of Ferrara); ‘and
the souls delivered there are assisted by the suffrages [prayers and devotions]
of the Faithful, and especially by the most acceptable sacrifice of the Mass.’
(Council of Trent). ... Prayer for the dead is unknown in the Scriptures. This cuts away the root of all abominations
(indulgences, etc.) that have grown around the Roman doctrine. ... But the
vital error lies in confusing discipline with [eternal] salvation. ... There are
no atoning sufferings but the sufferings of
* D.M. Panton, Purgatory (Farnborough, Hants.. The Vanguard
Reprints, #93).
- D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
“All denunciation of this truth as
‘purgatory’ condemns the Lord Jesus at least as sharply as it criticizes His
commentator. Roman error on the point is
lodged [Page 92] in making a believer’s
punishment hereafter a means to his fundamental salvation, an integral part of
the Atonement.”*
* D.M. Panton, Purgatory (Farnborough, Hants.. The Vanguard
Reprints, #93).
- D.M. Panton
“I hear the orthodox exclaim,
‘Purgatory! Purgatory!’ ‘Away with such
a fellow from the earth; for it is not fit that he should live.’ But invective is not argument, and the
mandate of conventionality cannot silence the voice of God in the breast of any
man to whom truth and righteousness are dearer than the plaudits of the crowd.”*
* Stephen S. Craig, The
Dualism Of Eternal Life (
- Stephen S. Craig (1916)
“It will be objected that this
prospect of punishment after death for some who are ultimately to be saved
savours of the Roman doctrine of purgatory.
Stalwart Protestants will rush to the battle with the heaviest armaments
they can command. But let the searcher
for truth alone be calm .... Every instructed Christian believes in purgatory
in principle. The fire purges the gold
that it may be fit for the king’s table.
Heb. 12: 12; 1 Pet. 1: 6, 7, indeed the whole Bible teaches this, nor is it questioned
as to the ways of God our Father with His children in this life. It
is therefore simply a question of whether God by His Word does or does not
extend the application of this process to life after death. No new principle as to His ways is
introduced. And who shall complain, or
even wonder, should He thus vindicate His justice before men and angels? It is not fully exhibited in this life, even
in the case of His children. The godly
do not get a full reward of virtue, nor the carnal believer the due reward of
his deeds. The former rightly look
beyond death for their recompense; it is but consistent that the latter should
then receive theirs. ... This differs radically from the Romish doctrine of purgatory, for that dogma makes the
suffering after death for such as go to purgatory necessary to their purification
and final salvation....Thus 'according to the Romanists the departed have to
make an atonement themselves, in the
purgatorial state, for the sins they have committed when in this life.’ (Walter
Hook, in Dr. W.F. Hook’s Church
Dictionary, 629). ... It is worth deep and full inquiry whether it be not
the case that the whole system of Roman theology, and each dogma separately,
has some element of truth at its heart, truth perverted and corrupted, but
there. ... If this is so, it is to be expected that in even their doctrine of
purgatory there is an element of truth.
In the fierceness of Reformation controversy it too largely happened
that almost everything Roman was rejected in toto, instead of discrimination being employed to rescue the wheat from
the chaff. The chief exception was the
retention of the fatal doctrine of regeneration by baptism. Here more discrimination ought to have been
used to reject the error while yet retaining New Testament teaching and
practice. But it would have been a mistake to have rejected [Page 93] baptism as completely and summarily as purgatory was
rejected, for both have a basis of truth overlaid by deadly error.”*
* G.H.
Lang, The Epistle To The Hebrews (Conley
& Schoettle, 1985), 185-187.
- G.H. Lang (1874-1958)
“...Catholics tell people that a man will not be saved until he
has been completely purged in purgatory.
This is an absolute overturning of the teaching of the Bible. ...
Discipline and chastisement are not for salvation but for sanctification. The matter of our salvation is settled long
before God disciplines us, but there are still things in us that do not match
Him. ... Therefore, there is discipline in this age and there is discipline in
the coming kingdom. Once a person is
clear about this truth, he will see the heresy in Roman Catholicism. The Roman Catholic Church takes a few verses
and utilizes them for her own purpose.”*
* Watchman
Nee, The Gospel Of God, vol. 3
(California: Living Stream Ministry, 1990), 460-461.
- Watchman Nee (1903-1972)
One more point should be noted in reference to this
objection. Many of the most vocal
opponents of millennial chastisement are also Futurists in regard to their
interpretation of the Book of Revelation. (Futurists believe that chapters 4 through 22
are yet to be fulfilled). This prophetic
view is indeed correct. Nevertheless,
Dean Henry Alford (1810-1871) once accused the Futurist interpretation of being
a Jesuit heresy since Francisco Ribera (1537-1591) also taught it. This same claim is still often made today.
Futurists would reply that
While Futurism is often linked to Romanism, pre-millennialism itself
is often linked to ancient Judaism. This
was the common objection made against it in history. Therefore, premillennial Futurists should
think twice before attempting to use the “guilt by
association” argument against the doctrine of millennial exclusion. The same type of emotional objections could
easily be used against almost every part of our eschatological system.
One can be sure that any doctrine of future discipline will
not be received well by the majority of the people of God. In fact, one remembers the shallow objections
made against Jeremiah when he preached of discipline to come for God’s people (Jeremiah 7: 4; 28: 9-17). Even so, such are the ways of wishful
thinking. The teaching of temporary
punishment for rebellious Christians has never been wrong. The Catholics simply made it contribute to
positional salvation in eternity, which the Bible states is not through
suffering, nor works, but through faith alone in the Blood of Jesus Christ our
Lord.
* * *
Chapter 10
Where Do the Unfaithful Christians Go?
“The Scripture view of the certain consequences of our actions in the day of
justice near at hand, is one of God’s motives to holiness; - a very strong one,
- repeated in various forms in the Epistles to the Churches. But it condemns so many; it frightens so many
who believe they are wrong in some things, or suspect that they are, that they dare not face it - they will not receive it. Where the heart is warped, it is not difficult
to persuade one’s self, that a falsehood which flatters us is better than a
truth which condemns.”*
* Robert Govett, Sowing and Reaping (
- Robert Govett (1813-1901)
Matthew 25: 30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
There are many who place a strong emphasis on the judgment
seat who believe that carnal Christians must spend a portion or all of the
millennial age in outer darkness. This view is growing in popularity as the
vast proliferation of carnality is provoking many Christian leaders to
re-examine the warning passages addressed to the saints.
[Page 96]
For example, George W. Dollar, the fundamental Baptist writer
who has become well known for his works on the history of fundamentalism, has
stated:
“He’s going to send all of the wicked, lazy, unprofitable
Christians ... to outer darkness for one thousand years and there shall be
gnashing of teeth.”*
* George
W. Dollar, “Reward” (tape recorded sermon at
Some modem Christians hold that this “outer darkness” is a temporary prison in the heart of
the earth where carnal Christians will spend the millennium (like so many of the older
fundamentalists). This is the view of this book.
Others teach that “outer darkness”
is only a realm above ground within the kingdom. Those that
teach this view are divided. Some teach
that there is also a further
possibility of being cast down into the underworld depending on the degree of
sin; but they would distinguish this underworld from “outer
darkness.” Others believe that “outer darkness” within the kingdom (i.e. above ground) is the worst thing that can happen
to an unfaithful believer. They would
not see any judgment upon unfaithful Christians in the underworld. In the latter view, most of the warnings are
often interpreted to be figurative and they thereby lose much of their intended
force.
Tony Evans holds that “outer darkness”
is a judgment upon an unfaithful believer inside the kingdom (not below
it). In an article in the Tim
Lahaye Prophecy Study Bible, he
writes:
“Every Christian will be rewarded based on his words, deeds, and
faithfulness ... those Christians who are unfaithful (Matt.25: 28-30) will have their rewards
taken from them and given to those who were faithful, and they will be cast
into ‘outer darkness,’ the place where there shall be ‘weeping and gnashing of
teeth.’ The ‘outer darkness’ described in this passage ... is likely a lesser
status in God’s kingdom.”*
* Tim LaHaye Prophecy Study Bible (AMG Publishers, 2000), 1234.
Charles Stanley is another popular preacher that has written
upon the subject of accountability.
“Jesus concluded his parable [Mt. 25: 30] and added
that the slave was cast out into the outer darkness ...
Some believers will be entrusted with certain privileges; others will not. Some
will reign with Christ; others will not ... It may seem strange that in a book
on eternal security I would devote so much space to the judgment and rewards of
believers. But I believe that this area
of doctrine is the key to reconciling God’s justice with the free gift of
salvation. Anyone who takes Jesus’ kingdom teaching seriously knows that
believers do not get away with sin...”*
* Charles
Stanley, Eternal Security (Oliver Nelson).
124-125, 128.
It is refreshing to see such popular writers applying
Christian warning passages to true believers.
Yet, for these warnings to fully accomplish their
intended purpose among the saints, they must e taught and preached in their
full force. Jesus has not
simply spoken in parabolic form to warn His disciples. He has told them literally, on multiple
occasions, what unfaithful
Christians will experience at the judgment seat and where they will spend the millennium.
He openly warns them of the danger of going to [and
staying in] the underworld during the millennium. The next chapter will examine the underworld
in detail, and document the fact that while Christ’s warnings to His own are
not warnings about being tormented in the Lake of Fire for all eternity (i.e. losing [eternal] salvation), they are, nevertheless, far more
dreadful than many are willing to admit.
Many older fundamentalists were not shy about interpreting the
warnings in their fullness. Multitudes openly
taught that carnal Christians would be banished to the underworld until the end
of the millennium. The final chapter of
this book documents this [Page 98] fact in detail. Although there is an increasing number of
Christians that are willing to take these warnings in full force (without
denying eternal security), it is admittedly the least popular view concerning
the warning passages. It is certainly
not difficult to understand why this is the case when we consider what the
Bible teaches about the state of the majority of churches in the last days (2 Timothy 4: 2-5).
It is inconsistent to argue that Christ’s parabolic warnings
are addressed to true disciples and
then refuse to admit the same when He warns the same disciples literally! If the warnings to believers (whether in
parabolic form or not) are not literal, what happens to the warnings to the
lost? Many Universalists believe that
the “
In Matthew 25: 30, the
subject is an unprofitable servant. On
other occasions, Jesus taught that such servants would actually
miss the kingdom entirely and would
be banished to the underworld.
There is therefore no reason not to conclude that “outer darkness” in Matthew
25: 30 means the dark regions of the underworld, exactly as it does in
all the other warnings.
When Out is Down
Literal warnings (whether to believers or unbelievers) are
often imbedded in the framework of symbolic parables. The
ultimate warnings taught in parabolic figures such as “stripes,” “fire,” “burning,” “casting out,”
“darkness,” etc. should always be
taken literally. This
is how Jesus interprets His own parables (Matthew
13: 40-42).
Notice the following verse:
[Page 99]
2 Peter 2: 4 For if
God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell,
and delivered them into chains of DARKNESS, to
be reserved unto judgment;
There is nothing figurative about 2 Peter 2: 4. The underworld is dark. Therefore, the warning to
true disciples about being cast out into “outer
darkness” is a warning about being cast into this temporary prison in
the heart of the earth.
Notice a similar warning to unbelieving Jews:
Matthew 8: 11 And I
say unto you, That many shall come from the east and west, and shall sit down
with Abraham, and Isaac, and Jacob, in the kingdom of heaven.
12 But the children of the kingdom
shall be cast out into OUTER DARKNESS: there shall be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.
Compare this to the warning Christ gave His own disciples:
Matthew 25:30 And
cast ye the unprofitable servant into OUTER DARKNESS: there shall
he weeping and gnashing of teeth.
No one doubts that the warning to lost Jews refers to the
darkness of the underworld during the age of the millennium. Yet, why do so many believers doubt this fact
when disciples are likewise warned? The main
reason is that they do not believe a Christian can ever miss out on millennial
entrance. Perhaps it is too shocking a
thought for “modern” emotions! Notice that believers are warned about going
to the same place as
unbelievers during the millennium:
Luke 12: 45 But and if that servant
say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the
menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that
servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an
hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion WITH the unbelievers.
[Page 100]
Matthew 24: 50
The lord of that servant shall come in a day when
he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion WITH the hypocrites: there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Why do many rightly apply Matthew
25: 30 to real Christians but refuse to apply Matthew
24: 51 in the same manner?
Unbelievers and hypocrites go into “outer
darkness” where there is “weeping and gnashing
of teeth.” Disobedient believers will temporarily visit the same
place if they do not repent in time:
Matthew 25:30 And cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer
darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
Outer darkness in the heart of the earth is where the
hypocrites and unbelievers will be until the Great White Throne when everyone is raised for final
judgment. At that point, all who are not
found written in the Book of Life (the [unregenerate] unbelievers) will be cast into the Lake of Fire for
all eternity (Revelation 20: 15). All Christians will then be together
throughout eternity.
Many might point out the fact that out is not under. But is this necessarily true? It is important to see that each parable of
Jesus describes a literal judgment. It
is true that the disobedient servant is to be cast “outside”
of the “joy of the Lord.” Nevertheless, the “joy”
of the Lord is His whole reign in the coming kingdom.
Fellowship with Him in this glorious reign is a prize indeed. To be cast out of the
joy of the kingdom during the millennial
age is to go to the prison in the heart of the earth. The Bible is consistent in its terminology.
Notice how it speaks of another judgment elsewhere as both “out” and “down” at the
same time:
Revelation 12: 7 And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought
against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels,
8 And prevailed
not; neither was their place found any more in heaven.
[Page 101]
9 And the great dragon was cast OUT, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which
deceiveth the whole world: he was cast OUT into the earth, and
his angels were cast OUT with him.
10 And I heard a loud voice saying in
heaven, Now is come salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of his Christ: for the accuser of
our brethren is cast DOWN, which
accused them before our God day and night.
12 Therefore rejoice, ye heavens, and ye that dwell in
them. Woe to the inhabiters of the earth and of the sea! for the devil is
come DOWN unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he
hath but a short time.
In the above Scriptures, “out”
of heaven is said to be “down” to the
earth. When the kingdom likewise comes
to the earth, “out” of its territory will be “down” into the darkness of the underworld. If out of Heaven’s territory is down to the
earth, out of the earth’s territory will be down in the underworld.
The main proof that “outer darkness” refers to the underworld
(in Matthew 22: 13 and 25: 30) lies in the fact that Jesus literally
warns true disciples (such as the apostle John) of going there (Mark 9: 38, 41, 43). These literal
warnings to Christians will be examined in future chapters. These literal warnings explain the parabolic
warnings. If the literal warnings do not
apply to true Christians, then neither do the parabolic warnings. But if this is true, then one might as well
conclude that the warnings to the lost do not apply to them either. Although Jesus taught that the warnings in His parables are to be taken literally. (Matthew 13: 40-42), there is a tendency
to embrace parabolic warnings (since they are easier to manipulate), while
rejecting the literal ones:
Ezekiel 20: 48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have
kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
49 Then said I,
Ah Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
Secondly, there is no evidence for holding to two different
types of “outer darkness” “Outer
darkness” is the dark realm in the [Page 102] heart of the earth. This underworld will be examined in the
next chapter.
* *
*
[Page 103]
Chapter 11
The Underworld
“The Jews placed Hell in the centre of the earth, and believed it to be situated under
waters and mountains.”*
*
- The Complete
Dictionary (1764)
“Hell: Although now
almost universally applied to the state and place of eternal punishment, the
word was originally used in the same sense as hades, meaning the underworld. ...”*
* A Standard Dictionary Of The English
Language (New York:
Funk & Wagnalls, 1895).
- A
Standard Dictionary Of The English Language
The underworld is sometimes called Hell in the Bible. “Hell” is an older English word found in the A. V. and other
early English versions. It once referred
to a place a tailor threw his scraps or a printer his broken type. A “hell” is
therefore any type of garbage-dump or scrap-yard. It is therefore a proper word to
use to refer [Page 104] to the place the Lord will cast all that are unworthy of His kingdom (Matthew 5: 28, Luke 9: 62, etc.).
The early Bible translators knew how to properly use the word hell. Although
it is certainly a place of fiery torment, the A. V. teaches that Hell is not
the final place of endless torment:
Revelation
20: 13 And the sea gave up the dead
which were in it; and death and HELL delivered up the dead which
were in them: and they were judged every man according to their
works.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.
Notice that all the dead come out of Hell and the lost then go
into the Lake of Fire. G.H. Lang (1874-1958) writes:
“When the A.V. was made, ‘hell’ meant what the Greek
Hades means, a vast covered region out of ken of our bodily
senses, reached after death. Today, 'hell' has come to mean the
place of final judgment, the ‘lake of fire,’ which misleads the present reader of the A V.”*
* G.H.
Lang, The Parabolic Teaching of Scripture
(Grand Rapids: Wm. B. Eerdmans, 1956), 267.
It should be noted that the A. V. reveals that Hell is not the
final destination of the lost and therefore will not be found misleading anyone
who takes the time to study it closely (2 Timothy
2: 15).
The Imperial
Bible-Dictionary agrees with Lang’s definition of the word hell:
“Originally, indeed our hell
corresponded more exactly to ‘hades,’ being derived from the Saxon helan, to cover, and signifying
merely the covered or invisible place ... its earlier meaning has been lost
sight of.”*
* The
Imperial Bible-Dictionary (London: Blackie & Son, 1887).
[Page 105]
“Hell” is derived from words
meaning to conceal or cover. This
can be seen in words such as helmet (i.e. a covering for the head).
It is also associated with under (i.e. as in the underworld).
A person’s heel is the
under-part and therefore concealed on the bottom. However, the
Bible does not teach that the final
Job 11: 8 It is
as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what
canst thou know?
Proverbs 9: 18 But he knoweth not that the dead are there;
and that her guests are in the depths
of hell.
Isaiah 14:15 Yet thou shalt be brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
Amos 9: 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they
climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
Matthew
11: 23 And thou,
2 Peter 2: 4
For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
The various Hebrew and Greek words translated "hell"
in the above verses all refer to the same place.
The definition for the word
hell given by William Smith’s, A Dictionary Of The Bible (1863) is even more revealing. It states:
“Passing over the derivations suggested by older writers, it is now generally
agreed that the word comes from the root ... [meaning] ‘to make hollow’ [Page 106] (Comp. Germ. Holle, ‘hell,’ with hohle, ‘a hollow'), and therefore means the vast hollow subterranean resting-place which is the
common receptacle of the dead. ...”*
* William Smith, A
Dictionary Of The Bible (Boston: Little, Brown, And Co., 1863).
It is therefore proper to refer to the centre of the earth as
“Hell.”
On the other hand, this definition does not seem to correspond with the
idea of a “lake.” The
Some commentators on the basis of Revelation
20: 13-14 would hold that the
Technically, the A. V. makes a distinction between Hell and
the
The Controversial Word “Hell”
Although it is shocking, the word hell is a perfect English word to describe the dark dungeon of the
underworld where unbelievers and carnal Christians will spend the
millennium:
Luke 12: 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My
lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens,
and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come in
a day when he looketh not for hini, and at an hour when he is not aware, and
will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion WITH the
unbelievers.
People that study their English Bible know that “hell” is complex.
In the A. V. the word hell is already used for the
place Jesus went after death, before He resurrected (Psalms
16: 10, Acts 2: 27). Jesus did
not suffer in Hell. He paid for our sins
in His body on the Cross. He then went
to the
Ephesians 4: 9 (Now that he
ascended, what is it but that he also descended first into the LOWER PARTS of the earth?
Revelation
5: 3 And no man in heaven,
nor in earth, neither UNDER THE EARTH, was
able to open the book, neither to look thereon.
Disobedient Christians will be cast out of the millennial
kingdom and will temporarily go into
the underworld where they will experience negative consequences based on their degree
of sin [Page 108] (Luke 12: 47-48). This prison is sometimes called hell in
the English Bible. This book retains the word exactly as it is used in the A.V.
Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus
Sheol (i.e. Old Testament Hebrew) and Hades
(i.e. Greek) are different names for the same place (compare Psalms 16: 10 and Acts
2: 27). Gehenna and Tartarus are
also different names found in Greek copies of the Bible for that one place
called “Hell” in English.
Some believe that Hades is simply a holding tank for the
spirits of the dead. They believe that
Gehenna is the place of final, endless judgment in fire. Yet,
there is also fire in Hades! What then
is the evidence that they are distinct places?
Notice that the Rich Man is said to go to Hades in the Greek copies:
Luke 16: 23
And in hell [i.e. hades] he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and
seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on
me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool
my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame.
Hades is shown in Luke 16 to
be a place of fiery torment just as Gehenna is said to be:
Matthew 5:
22 But I say unto you,
That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of
the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger
of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell
(i.e. gehenna) fire.
In Greek copies, Jesus uses Hades as a warning against sin (Matthew 11: 23, Luke 10: 14-15). There is no Biblical reason to view Hades and
Gehenna as distinct realms.
[Page 109]
Tartarus is shown in Greek to be down in the heart of the earth
where Hades is said to be:
2 Peter 2: 4
For if God spared not the angels that sinned,
but cast them down to hell (i.e. tartarus), and delivered them into chains
of darkness, to be reserved unto
judgment;
Matthew 11: 23 And thou,
Tartarus and Hades both refer to the same pit in the center
of the earth called Hell:
“Hades is a place in the world not
regularly finished; a subterraneous region, wherein
the light of this world does not shine; from which circumstance, that in this region
the light does not shine, it cannot be but there must be in it perpetual
darkness....”*
* The Works Of Flavius Josephus, Translated by William Whiston (
- Flavius Josephus (37-100)
William T. Shedd (1820-1894) calls attention to the fact that
in classical Greek, Tartarus and Hades were often used interchangeably:
“It is noteworthy, that the place in
which they suffer is denominated Hades, by both Homer and Plato showing that in
the classical use, Hades is sometimes the equivalent of Tartarus.
...”*
* Williarn T. Shedd, The
Doctrine Of Endless Punishment (Oregon: Ages Software, The Master Christian
Library, 1997), 32.
Clement (born in the second century) implies that Tartarus is
also the same as Gehenna:
“Did not Plato know of the rivers of
fire and the depth of the earth, and Tartarns, called by the
Barbarians Gehenna, naming, as he does prophetically, [Page 110] Cocytus,
and Acheron, and Pyriphlegethon, and introducing such corrective tortures for
discipline?”*
* Clement (Oregon: Ages Software, The
Master Christian Library, 1997), 935.
Many scholars have noted that “Gehenna”
is derived from the Hebrew “
Matthew 10: 28 And fear
not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul but rather fear
him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell (i.e. gehenna).
A non-material soul will not be destroyed in a physical garbage dump or in a place a printer
throws his broken type. Gehenna is a
place where a body and soul may be
destroyed. It is therefore in the centre
of the earth where the souls of the damned are cast. The literal “
Jeremiah
7: 31 And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is
in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their
daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my
heart.
Isaiah 30:33
For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for
the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is
fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a
stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
Isaiah 14: 9 Hell from beneath is moved for thee to meet thee at thy
coming: it stirreth up the dead for thee, even all the chief
ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their thrones all the kings of the
nations.
[Page 111]
Isaiah 5:
14 Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and opened
her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude, and
their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
It is interesting that many rabbinical writings from the first
two centuries maintained a similar idea.
They taught that Gehenna was down in the heart of the earth and that it
did in fact connect with the surface of the earth in the
*... [Gehenna]
connects with the earth through a small hole, through
which the fire of Gehenna passes to heat the surface of the earth. Some writers place this hole near
* Jacques Le Goff, The
Birth Of Purgatory (Chicago: The University Of Chicago Press, 1984), 39.
Le Goff quotes a rabbinical treatise on the courts (Sanhedrin)
from the early period between A.D. 70 and A.D. 135:
“The sinners in
* Jacques Le Goff, 40.
These testimonies are interesting since they reveal the
traditional belief that Gehenna is down in the
heart of the earth where Hades and Tartarus are also said to be. The A. V. certainly agrees by calling them all
“Hell” (i.e. hollow, under, covered).
Harper’s Bible
Dictionary also
states that the Hebrews agreed with this idea:
“In Hebrew
eschatology Gehenna was the region under, but more extensive than, the earth. …”*
* Harper’s Bible Dictionary (New York: Harper & Brothers,
1961).
Early Christian testimonies likewise
reveal the same truth. Tertullian (born
in the second century) in his Apology writes:
[Page 112]
“And if we threaten Gehenna, which is a reservoir of secret fire under the earth for purposes
of punishment, we have in the same way derision heaped on us.”*
* Tertullian, Apol. 47,
“Part First” (Oregon: Ages Software, The Master
Christian Library, 1997), 96.
That Gehenna and Hades are the same place in the heart of the earth
may also be seen from the fact that the lost Pharisees are warned of Gehenna in the Greek copies. However, at the end of the millennium, the
dead (which surely include these same Pharisees from the time of Christ) will
actually come out of Hades:
Matthew
23: 15 Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and
land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell (i.e. gehenna) than yourselves.
33 Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers,
how can ye escape the damnation of hell (i.e. gehenna)?
Revelation 20: 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and hell
(i.e. hades) delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to
their works.
Hades and Gehenna are therefore the
same place.
To escape this conclusion, perhaps some will reply that the
Gehenna warnings to the Pharisees in passages such as Matthew
23 are postmillennial and
must therefore refer to the final Lake of Fire (Revelation 20: 15). Yet, this
cannot be true since the warnings regarding Gehenna are directly contrasted
with life in the millennial kingdom (Matthew 5: 20, 22; 18: 3, 9; Mark 9: 47). It should be remembered that the next
“kingdom” to come is the millennium (Matthew 6: 10;
Revelation 20: 6, 7; 1 Corinthians 15: 23-26). Although Jesus often spoke of endless
condemnation on the “last day” after the millennium (e.g. John 3:16, 18; 6: 40,;12: 48), none of His actual
warnings using the word Hell speak of a postmillennial judgment.
[Page 113]
Notice some of the following references to the future
millennial kingdom in the context of various Gehenna warnings:
Matthew 18: 3 And said, Verily I say unto you, Except ye be
converted, and become as little children, ye shall not enter into the
kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble
himself as this little child, the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
9 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it
out, and cast it from thee: it is better for thee to enter into life
with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast into hell (i.e.
gehenna) fire.
Mark 9: 47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is
better for thee to enter into the
It should be remembered that the dead are also said to spend
the future millennium in Hades. The dead come up out of Hades after
the millennial kingdom:
Revelation 20: 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in
it; and death and hell (i.e. hades) delivered up the dead which were in them:
and they were judged every man according to their works.
14 And death and hell (i.e. hades) were cast into the
lake of fire. This is the second death.
Hades is therefore the same as Gehenna. The A. V translators were correct in
translating Hades, Gehenna and Tartarus by the single word “Hell.” They all
refer to that one place in the centre of the earth where the unfaithful dead
(i.e. carnal believers and unbelievers) will spend the millennial
[Page 114]
“...how many true believers
are failing to grasp the import of
these most solemn passages
and the teaching generally
of the Master and His
disciples regarding these
kingdom truths. ...?”
- Lt-Colonel G. F. Poynder (1851-1942)
* * *
[Page 115]
Chapter 12
The Temporary Abodes of the Dead
“Who can take pleasure in the thought
of people being eternally lost? If you
want to see folk damned, there is something wrong with you! Universalism is thus a comfortable doctrine
in a way that alternatives are not. But wishful thinking, based on a craving for comfort and a reluctance
to believe that some of God’s truth might be tragic, is no sure index of
reality.”*
* Robert
A. Peterson, Hell On Trial (Phillipsburg:
Presbyterian And Reformed, 1995), 15.
- J.
“Typical orthodox believers, like the
framers of the Westminster Standards and their lineal descendants, have no
hesitation in consigning all but a small percentage of the human race to a
literally eternal hell, and yet will be horrified at the thought that they,
dyed with sins of which many sinners have never been guilty of, should find their ABODE in hell even for one thousand years. Will it not do them good to take at least a
taste of their own medicine?”*
* Stephen S. Craig, The
Dualism Of Eternal Life (
- Stephen S. Craig (1916)
[Page 116]
The Bible teaches that Christians can be banished for 1000 years
(during the kingdom age) in the underworld. Many Christians reject this truth
for the same reason that most in the world reject the doctrine of endless
torment for unbelievers. It seems that
there is as much “wishful thinking, based on a craving
for comfort” among Christians in regard to their own possible, future
chastisements as lost people have for eternal punishment.
To escape the truth of millennial banishment of unfaithful
Christians, many argue that the warnings to the disciples in the Gospels are
warnings about absolute, eternal condemnation out of which there will be no
escape. This chapter will continue to
explore the underworld and the various abodes of the dead and then begin to
answer this common objection.
The Lowest Hell
Because the word hell means a concealed, lower, hollow place, it is also sometimes used
in the Bible for the grave (i.e. a hole or tomb in the earth). English dictionaries list “the grave” as the first or second definition of the
word (see Webster’s 1828, etc.). Notice the following Scriptures:
Deuteronomy 32: 22 For a fire is
kindled in mine anger, and shall bum unto the lowest hell,
and shall consume the earth with her increase, and set on fire the
foundations of the mountains.
Psalms 86: 13 For great is thy
mercy toward me: and thou hast delivered my soul from the lowest hell.
These verses teach that there is another Hell that is lower
than the deep grave or pit. They are
therefore ultimately referring to the Hell that is deep in the centre of the earth,
way below the grave itself. The grave or tomb (below the surface of the earth) is a deep “hell”; yet there is a Hell that is beneath it. The “lowest hell” actually means the “lowest grave” (i.e. the deepest pit):
[Page 117]
Psalms 88: 5 Free
among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom
thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand.
6 Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps.
Yet, the deepest grave that could
be dug would be Hell itself.
Job 11: 8 It is
as high as heaven; what canst thou do? deeper than hell; what
canst thou know?
Amos 9: 2 Though they dig into hell, thence shall mine hand take them; though they
climb up to heaven, thence will I bring them down:
The “lowest hell” is therefore
Hell itself. The so-called “Jehovah’s Witnesses” that teach that “hell” means the grave, do not realize that there is a
“hell” down deep below the earthly graves! In this Hell, a soul can be destroyed. The earthly grave cannot kill a soul, which
is shown to be distinct from the body:
Matthew 10: 28 And
fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but
rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in
hell.
The context will help in determining which Hell is meant in a
Bible passage. For example, we might assume that “hell” in the following Scripture means simply the
grave:
Ezekiel 32:26 There
is Meshech, Tubal, and all her multitude: her graves are round about him: all of
them uncircumcised, slain by the sword, though they caused their terror in the
land of the living.
27 And they shall not lie with the
mighty that are fallen of the uncircumcised, which are gone
down to hell with their weapons of war: and they have laid their swords under
their beads, but their iniquities shall be upon their bones, though
they were the terror of the mighty in the land of the living.
Nevertheless, usually “hell” in
Scripture refers to that “lowest hell” beneath the
grave, which is a place of severe punishment:
Matthew 5: 22 But I
say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be
in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall
be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in
danger of hell fire.
[Page 118]
Matthew 18: 9 And if
thine eye offend thee; pluck it out, and cast it from thee: it is better for
thee to enter into life with one eye, rather than having two eyes to be cast
into hell fire.
Mark 9: 43 And if thy hand offend thee,
cut it off. it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two
hands to go into hell, into the fire
that never shall be quenched:
Luke 16: 23 And in
hell he lift up his eyes, being in
torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom.
24 And he cried and said, Father
Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his
finger in water, and cool my tongue; for 1 am tormented in this flame.
There is no fire in the grave.
Therefore, throughout this book Hell will be used to refer to the lowest Hell, which is a dark prison
of fire. This is its most common meaning
in the Bible.
Death and Hell Are Literal Places
The “death” and “hell” of Revelation 20: 14
are not names for angels or states of mind:
Revelation 20: 14
And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
The context of the passage reveals that these are literal places. The
rule is to interpret a passage literally unless the context demands it to be
interpreted figuratively. Revelation 20: 13 reveals that the “dead” will come out from these places in
resurrection. If “death” and “hell” are
not literal places, then it would
follow that the resurrection from them is
not literal. The final judgment itself
would then also appear to be symbolic.
[Page 119]
If “death” and “hell” in Revelation 20:13
are only personifications or states of existence, then the final place mentioned
must likewise be the same (Revelation 20: 15). If the other places are not literal
places of the dead, then on
what logical basis would one argue for the reality of that final place called the
Revelation 20: 14
And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
Where are these two places called “hell”
and “death?”
Hell is in the heart of the earth where the Rich Man’s soul went in Luke 16: 23.
“Death” is simply the earthly grave, which held the Rich Man’s body in the
upper chambers of the earth (Luke 16: 22). Joseph Mede (1586-1638) comments
upon Revelation 20:14:
“...but the former Death of bodies in the grave, and the state of separate
souls in Hades was no more.”*
* Joseph
Mede, The Works Of The Pious And
Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 605.
Similarly, Clarence Larkin (1850-1924) writes:
“By ‘Death’ we are to understand
the ‘Grave’ ...
by ‘Hell,’ the
Compartment of the ‘Underworld’...”*
* Clarence
Larkin, The Book of Revelation, (Glenside,
Pa: Rev. Clarence Larkin Estate, 1919), 193.
Indeed, the Bible sometimes refers to the earthly grave as “death”:
Psalms 6: 5 For in death there is no remembrance of thee: in the grave who shall give thee thanks?
Isaiah 38:18
For the grave cannot
praise thee, death can not celebrate thee: they that
go down into the pit cannot hope for thy truth.
[Page 120]
Therefore, after the millennial kingdom is ended, there will
be only three possible places (besides the
Revelation 20: 13
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged
every man according to their works.
14 And death and
hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of
life was cast into the lake of fire.
The “earth” as an organized
system will already be in a state of disorder at this time (Revelation 20: 11). No longer an organized unit, it will then
become without form and void. With the earth disorganized, the various
waters will then be gathered together into one body called simply the “Sea” (Genesis 1: 10). The land will be in one mass called “death.”
Finally, this leaves “hell,” which was previously
down in, the centre of the whole, organized system. Therefore, there will be three graves for dead bodies to be resurrected from at the Great
White Throne: the waters (Exodus 15:4), the
land (1 Samuel 31: 13), and Hell (Matthew 10: 28).
At this time, unbelievers will be cast into the
* *
*
[Page 121]
Chapter 13
Death at the Judgment Seat
Romans 8:13 For if ye live after
the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit
do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
“What death is here threatened? [in Rom.8:
13] Evidently not the death which seizes all
men, holy or wicked alike. That takes
effect through Adam’s transgression, and cannot be warded off by any holiness
in life. Nor can it be the common death
which visits alike the two classes of the regenerate, - (1) carnal Christians,
and (2) spiritual ones. For the verse
assures us, that the fleshly will be overcome by death, while the spiritual
receive the life promised. It is a death
which takes effect after the raising of the mortal body. Both the life and the death are recompenses,
after present life is ended, and as the result of conduct now. ... They must
take place, then, at Christ’s appearing. ... The death to be inflicted on
offending believers is not eternal. It
would overthrow the Scriptural doctrine of the perseverance of God’s elect.
…”*
* Robert Govett, Govett On
Romans (Conley & Schoettle), 302, 307.
- Robert Govett (1813-1901)
We have seen that the future millennial kingdom is a prize
that is set before the Lord’s servants (Colossians 3:
24; Hebrews 6: 12; [Page 122] Galatians 5: 21; Philippians 3: 14).
This prize can be forfeited. All
Christians will appear before the judgment seat of Christ. Those that are judged to be unworthy of entrance
into the glorious millennial kingdom will receive temporary chastisement. This chastisement will begin at the judgment
seat of Christ (2 Corinthians 5: 9-11). It
will continue throughout the millennium in the underworld. The extent of the chastening during the
millennial reign will be determined by the extent of disobedience and how much
light the believer possessed, etc. (Luke 12: 47-48). Before continuing to examine the Scriptures
that speak of chastisement during the millennial reign, let us return again to
the judgment seat of Christ where it all begins.
The Bible is not written to scratch itching ears (2 Timothy 4: 3).
It is a holy, inspired revelation of reality! We ignore this reality to our
own peril. This
chapter will continue to open up the Biblical truths that many Christians in this
modem age have never heard before. These
holy truths are shocking. They are meant
to be. Future chapters will
introduce more Scriptural support for the truths presented in this chapter,
answer objections, and also provide numerous quotes from influential Christian
leaders who have believed these same truths.
If believers may be severely punished in this life before
the day of reckoning even takes place, then it surely removes any emotional objections to punishment in
regard to the future judgment day! Today
is not the day of absolute recompense
for Christians:
1 Timothy 5: 24
Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.
2 Peter 3:9
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.
14 Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye
look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of him in peace, without
spot, and blameless.
[Page 123]
15 And account that the longsuffering
of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also
according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you;
This is the day of our Lord’s patience. However, everything will be equalized at the
future judgment seat. Any severe discipline from God
experienced in this life is simply a warning of what is to come at the
judgment seat if there is no self-judgment beforehand.
But what is the extent of this negative punishment
at the future judgment seat of Christ?
The Bible teaches that some Christians will experience temporary
death after death. Would Paul go to the trouble of warning
believers that they may be slain in this life with physical sickness and death
and then warn them in stronger terms about a future
judgment seat where no such punishments will occur? Notice again Paul’s warnings about this
future day of judgment before the throne of God:
2 Corinthians 5: 9
Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted
of him.
10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the
things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or
bad.
11 Knowing therefore the
TERROR
of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I
trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
Paul includes himself in the statement. He warns the Corinthians of the future
judgment seat. What could the phrase “the terror of the Lord” mean if it does not have
anything to do with some type of death?
There have been many Christian leaders that have properly applied this
warning to Christians; yet all too often, there has been a tendency in some teachers
to water down the word terror or attempt to thrust it into obscurity:
[Page 124]
“...to face Christ at that time will
be a terror to those who have failed to do His bidding after they were
saved. I say ‘terror'’ - that is exactly
what Paul wrote of that time by inspiration of God ... I once thought that
verse was speaking of the terror with which lost men will face Christ, but it
is not so ... In Heaven [Hades (Heb. 9: 27)*] it
will be terrible to face Christ who saved you and keeps you, in your shame over
your wasted life! ... I am not speaking of punishment now, but of tears, of
shame and sadness.”**
[* That is, after death, but before
resurrection, (Luke 20: 35; Phil. 3: 11,
etc.)]
** John R. Rice, Tears in
Heaven (Murfreesboro, Tenn.: Sword of the Lord Publishers, 1941), 13-16, as
quoted in Carl G. Johnson, The Account
Which We Must Give (Schaumburg: Regular Baptist Press, 1990), 43.
- John R. Rice (1895-1980)
“In seeking to register with the
people the seriousness of the inevitable confrontation with Christ at the bema, Paul immediately added this, ‘Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men’ (2 Cor.5: 11). Again, we will
attempt no explanation, for neither did the apostle.”*
* S.
Franklin Logsdon, Profiles of Prophecy (Grand
Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1964), 26, 28-29, as quoted in Carl G.
Johnson, The Account Which We Must Give (Schaumburg:
Regular Baptist Press, 1990), 44.
- S. Franklin Logsdon (1907-1987)
Christian leaders that apply such warnings to believers should
be commended. Yet, many (such as the
late Dr. Rice) fall short of correctly elucidating the warnings with other
Scriptures. The Bible abounds with
additional information on this subject.
Paul uses the word terror to describe the power of the government to inflict death by the sword (Romans 13: 3-4).
Certainly, the Corinthians knew what Paul meant by the “terror of the Lord”; he had warned them about it
several times in his first Epistle to them.
Some of them had experienced sickness and death as a warning of future judgment (1 Corinthians 11: 30). Paul states that the “terror of the Lord” is something that has been revealed; it is
something we “know” as we study the
Scriptures. The Old Testament certainly
abounds with examples of the Lord’s “terror”:
[Page 125]
Deuteronomy 32: 25 The sword without, and terror within,
shall destroy both the young man and the virgin, the suckling also with the
man of gray hairs.
What does “terror” speak
of? It is always linked with death and
torment (Job 6: 4; Ezekiel 21: 12). It is wrong to lean to our own understanding
when so many Scriptures define terror for us.
To water down the warning in 2 Corinthians
5: 11 with sophistry greatly offends against Scripture and common
sense. Nevertheless, this is how the
majority of God’s people have always responded to His warnings:
Ezekiel 20:48 And all flesh shall see that I the LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
49
Then said I, Ah
Lord GOD! they say of me,
Doth he not speak parables?
“Terror,” as it is revealed in
the Bible, brings to mind images of severe, literal punishment. The Lord assures His disciples that such punishment may be experienced
at the future judgment seat when He returns:
Luke 12: 41
Then Peter said unto him, Lord,
speakest thou this parable unto us, or even to all?
42 And the Lord said, Who then is that faithful and wise steward, whom his lord shall make
ruler over his household, to give them their portion of meat in due season?
43 Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall find so
doing.
44 Of a truth I
say unto you, that he will make him ruler over all that he hath.
45 But and if that servant
say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the
menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
46 The lord of that servant will come in
a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and
will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his
portion with the unbelievers.
47 And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according
to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes.
For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be [Page 125] much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him
they will ask the more.
This warning is addressed to Peter, Peter was one of the
Lord’s “servants.” Peter was also one of the apostles who made
up the “foundation” of the early church (Ephesians 2: 20; 4: 11). The Bible refers to true believers as the
Lord’s “servants” (Matthew
25:14, 19; Mark 13: 34; John 18: 36; Acts 4: 29; Revelation 1: 1). Paul’s Epistles likewise use the term for
Christians (Colossians 4: 1; Ephesians 6: 6;
Philippians 1: 1, etc.). It is
unreasonable to conclude that the Lord will literally punish His unfaithful “servants” who were saved before the Cross, but will
not punish unfaithful servants after the Cross.
If there is any difference, the teaching of the Bible is that light
brings more responsibility, and therefore greater condemnation (Hebrews 12: 25,
etc.)!
Many attempt to escape accountability by teaching that the
unfaithful servant is only a professor, and not a possessor. In other words, they teach
that the unfaithful servant does not picture a disobedient [regenerate] believer. Yet, the very context reveals that the
faithful servant is a true believer. The
words “that servant” in Luke
12: 45 reveal that the same, faithful servant in verses
42-44 can be “beaten” and even “cut in sunder” (i.e. in two) if he chooses to walk in
disobedience. G.H. Lang (1874-1958)
writes:
“This emphatic pronoun (Luke 12: 45) must have
some antecedent, and none is to be found save ‘the
faithful and wise steward’ (12: 42). Truth is not to be reached by settling for
ourselves in advance what the Lord may or may not do to His own servants, and
then sweeping aside the words which do not agree with that prior decision.”*
* D.M. Panton, The
Judgment Seat Of Christ (Schoettle), 74.
The context of Luke 12: 41-48
is the coming of the Lord when the judgment seat will take place. Paul states that this will be a time of
terror for many. The Lord certainly
reveals that there will be real punishment.
To water-down this warning into figurative [Page 127] never-never land would be to establish
a dangerous, interpretive precedent. Any
passages that describe the judgment of the lost would also be subjected to the same obscure symbolism. When people water-down passages addressed to
the lost it is called modernism or liberal Christianity. Where does this leave “fundamental” Christians that do the same thing with their own warnings?
Some argue that this warning must be figurative since not even
lost people will be cut in sunder. But Jesus has already taught us how to
interpret His parables. According to the
foundational key of interpretation that He reveals, the judgments in His
parables (whether addressed to believers or unbelievers) are literal (Matthew 13: 41-42).
But how will disobedient believers be cut in sunder? Is
this possible? If it is not impossible
with death in this life, it
certainly will not be impossible at the future judgment seat! Judas burst “asunder” (Matthew 24: 51) when he fell:
Acts 1: 18 Now this man purchased a field with the reward of
iniquity; and falling headlong, he burst asunder in the
midst, and all his bowels gushed out.
The word asunder can mean apart; it can therefore refer to
being cut open (i.e. apart) by the lashes of a whip. For example, in regard to
the scourging of Jesus, Adam Clarke (1760-1832) writes:
“This is allowed to have been a very
severe punishment of itself among the Romans, the flesh being generally cut by the whips used for this purpose: so
the poet - ... ‘To be cut by the horrible whip.’ - Flor. Sat. 1. 3.119. And
sometimes, it seems, they were whipped to death. See the same poet, Sat. 1. 2. 41 ... See
also Horat. Epod. Od. lv. v. 11.”*
* Adarn Clarke, Commentary,
VoL 1 - Matthew To The Acts (
[Page 128]
Other Scriptures plainly teach that carnal Christians are in
danger of such a death. In the days of
Christ, owners had the power of life and death over their slaves. A master could legally hew a slave in pieces with
a sword, like Samuel slew Agag (1 Samuel 15: 33). In ancient times, some people were even “sawn asunder” (Hebrews 11:
37). Can a Christian ever
experience such a death at the judgment seat?
Why not take the warning for what it plainly says? Do we not expect unbelievers to take their
warnings for what they plainly teach?
The Epistle to the Hebrews reveals that the soul and spirit
can be divided in judgment:
Hebrews 4: 12
For the word of God is quick,
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the DIVIDING ASUNDER of soul and spirit, and of
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of
the heart.
13 Neither is there any creature that is
not manifest in HIS sight: but all things are naked and
opened unto the eyes of HIM with whom we have
to do.
This appears to be a warning about standing before Jesus at
the future judgment seat. The previous
verse makes this apparent (Hebrews 4: 11). The next chapter of this book will reveal
that the Bible warns true Christians of a temporary soul death if we walk in sin without repentance.
The Lord will slay the wicked with the rod of His mouth and the breath of His lips (Psalms 18: 8; Isaiah 30: 33):
Isaiah 11:
4 ... and he shall smite the earth with the rod of his mouth, and
with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Carnal Christians will receive this same type of judgment,
although temporary. They will be cut
asunder by the fire that proceeds out of the Lord’s mouth, which goes forth
before His throne:
[Page 129]
Hebrews 12: 28
Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be
moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming
fire.
Many, perhaps in an effort to escape the stinging warnings of
the Gospels, have limited the warnings in Matthew 24 and 25 to only
“Dispensationalists following
Scofield have restricted Matthew 24 and 25 to
* George W. Dollar, A
History of Fundamentalism In
Multitudes of early dispensationalists applied the warnings in
Matthew 24 and 25
to all Christians (J.R. Graves, J.A. Seiss,
G.N.H. Peters, Robert Govett, etc.).
Christ gave these warnings to Peter, James, John and Andrew. The best interpretation is therefore to conclude
that the general warnings apply to all [regenerate] believers
(i.e. Jew or Gentile) regardless of the age they are
living in (i.e.
before the tribulation or in the midst of it). Jesus commanded His Jewish disciples to take His
words that they had received from Him and teach them to the Gentiles (Matthew 28: 19, 20; 1 Timothy 6: 3, 4). These words include His warnings. Therefore, we learn from Luke 12
and Matthew 24 how the Lord will deal with all His “servants,”
whether they are disciples before the Cross, disciples after the Cross, or
believing Jews or Gentiles in the tribulation period. Paul warns the Corinthians about the danger
of experiencing “terror” at the judgment
seat. The Gospels simply give some extra
details directly from our Lord concerning this terror. Even if it could be proven that disciples
such as Peter, James and John are to be seen as representatives of “
Romans 11: 22 Behold
therefore the goodness and severity of God: on
them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness, if thou continue
in his goodness: otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.
But this is exactly what many teachers do today. If the Lord warns His servants in the Gospels
(or in the Book of Revelation), they say the warnings belong to
The Same Warning in Romans
It is important to realize that the warnings concerning death
at the judgment seat for some believers are not at all limited to the
Gospels. Notice some other Scriptures
that warn [regenerate]
believers of future
death:
Romans 6: 16
Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin
unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Romans 8:12
Therefore, brethren, we are
debtors, not to the flesh, to live after the flesh.
13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live.
These Scriptures are not teaching salvation in eternity
through works. The life and death in
Romans 8:13 have to do with the judgment seat of Christ. Believers
must walk in the [Holy] Spirit’s [Page 131] power or they will “die.”
Robert Govett (1813-1901), over a century ago, wrote on this passage:
“What death is this? Not the present death, which is experienced
by multitudes of saints; but a future one, to be received at Christ’s appearing.”*
* Robert Govett, Sowing and Reaping (
This can be seen from the context of Romans chapter 8:
Romans 8: 1 There is therefore now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh,
but after the Spirit.
This first verse of the chapter implies that there will be
some condemnation for believers who walk after the flesh. Paul continues to describe this condemnation,
and reveals that it has to do with the future resurrection:
Romans 8: 11
But IF the Spirit of him that
raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the
dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you.
13 For IF ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but IF ye through the Spirit do mortify the
deeds of the body, ye shall live.
The “ye” refers to the saved
Romans (Romans 1: 6-8). To “live” is
to be raised to immortality in glory at the coming of Christ. The “death” of
verse 13 will therefore also be experienced [in the underworld] at
the judgment seat of Christ. This is the
context. Some Christians will stand
before the Lord in glory; others will stand before Him in shame and nakedness (1 John 2: 28).
They will pay a price for appearing at the judgment seat in such a
condition.
The Holy Spirit certainly “dwells”
in all [obedient]
Christians regardless of our conduct (1 Corinthians
6:19).* However, Paul is
referring to another type of fellowship with the Spirit. He is referring to the Spirit “dwelling” in the believer’s works, in harmony, without
[Page 132] being grieved (Ephesians 4: 30). There is a sense in which the Spirit of Christ only “dwells” in believers who are walking
with Him in obedient fellowship:
[* See Acts 5: 32. **See G. H. Lang’s ‘The Personal
Indwelling Of The Holy Spirit’.]
1 John 3:
24 And he that keepeth
his commandments DWELLETH in him, and HE IN HIM. And hereby
we know that [He] he abideth IN US, by the Spirit which he hath
given us.
All Christians do not keep the Lord’s commandments. There is therefore a sense in which carnal
Christians do not have the Spirit of Christ dwelling
fully within them. They are not “filled” with the Spirit in their conduct (Ephesians 5: 18).
If they are not FILLED with the
Spirit, then it follows that, at least in one sense, the Holy Spirit is not dwelling within them.
They are not walking experientially with Jesus or the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God longs to dwell in
the very works and words of every Christian, not just in the
heart or body. Jesus taught
His disciples the same truth that Paul is discussing in Romans 8:
John 15: 4 Abide in me, and I IN YOU. As the
branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can
ye, except ye abide in me.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men
gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
10 If ye keep my commandments,
ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and
abide in his love.
14
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Again, Jesus only abides in the believer (in one sense) as the believer obeys His commands! Romans, chapter 8
is therefore teaching that some believers are not [indwelt
or] filled with the Spirit in regard to their
works. They will therefore (if they do
not repent) experience a literal death at the judgment seat for their
negligence. They will not shine in
glory. They will be temporarily slain:
Romans 8: 6 For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace.
[Page 133]
9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in
the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ,
he is none of his.
11 But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell
in you, he that raised up Christ from
the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies* by his Spirit that
dwelleth in you.
[* See
Many modern Christians are “carnally
minded” (1 Corinthians 3: 1). They will not belong to Christ at [the time of the ‘First
Resurrection’ at] His coming (Hebrews 3: 6).
This does not refer to positional salvation in eternity;
it refers to the future millennial age of reward. Some Christians will experience literal and
temporary death at the judgment seat for walking “after
the flesh.” They will not be “children of the resurrection” (Luke 20: 36). Only
Christians that walk after the Spirit are firstborn sons who will inherit the
millennial age, never to die again. Carnal
Christians will return to death and will have to wait until after the
millennium to live again in eternity.
This is the context and teaching of Romans
6-8.
In conclusion, the Gospels and Paul’s Epistles teach that the
Lord’s unfaithful servants will temporarily perish at the judgment seat of
Christ. They will be slain by the
consuming fire of the Lord’s breath.
They will not be permitted to enjoy the glorious millennial
kingdom. Yet, death at the judgment seat
is not annihilation, nor is it a lack of consciousness. Every unfaithful Christian will mourn the
loss of the millennial kingdom and will have to wait 1000 years to be reunited
with the faithful saints in bliss and glory.
[Page 134]
* *
*
[Page
135]
Chapter 14
Temporary Soul Death
“... ‘Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought
worthy...?’
It is folly to say that such words as these refer
to the wicked, at the Great White Throne judgment...”*
* R.E. Neighbour, If They Shall Fall Away (Schoettle), 132.
- R.E. Neighbour (1872‑1945)
It is now time to examine more closely the temporary death
that many Christians will experience at the judgment seat. It includes not only the death of the body, but also the death of the soul:
Hebrews 10: 29 Of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall
he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot
the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath
done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
To understand this verse, we must understand to whom the
Epistle to the Hebrews is addressed. It
is certainly not addressed to lost people:
[Page 136]
Hebrews 13: 10 We have an altar, whereof they have no right to eat which serve
the tabernacle.
18 Pray for us: for we trust we have a
good conscience, in all things willing to live honestly.
20 Now the God of peace, that brought
again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that
great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,
23 Know ye that our brother
Timothy is set at liberty; with whom, if he come shortly, 1 will see
you.
24 Salute all them that have the rule over you, and all the saints. They
of
25 Grace be with you all. Amen.
Paul is not asking lost Hebrews or tribulation Jews to pray
for him. He is not asking lost Jews to
salute the saints. This Epistle is
written to saved Hebrews in the
first century. Notice the context of chapter 10, where again, it is seen that true saints
are addressed:
Hebrews 10:19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
23 Let us hold
fast the profession of our faith without
wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;)
24 And let us
consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:
Notice the next verse of this same chapter:
Hebrews 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves
together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the
more, as ye see the day approaching.
“Ourselves” surely includes the
apostle and other true saints. The
context has not changed. It will remain
the same throughout the remaining verses of Hebrews
10. These early Hebrew Christians
are warned to not forsake the assembly. The “day approaching”* can be nothing other than the day of the judgment
seat of Christ that takes place at His second coming. Therefore, the warning in Hebrews 10 applies to all Christians throughout
the whole age [Page 137] leading up to the second coming of
Christ. The great fundamental Baptist
leader, R.E. Neighbour (1872-1945) writes:
[* It may also refer to the Kingdom “Age”
and the “First
Resurrection” (2 Pet. 3: 8, 9. cf.
Luke 20: 35 with
Rev. 20: 4, 5.).]
“With the Lord’s coming in view it is
difficult to make the words of this blessed book refer exclusively to Christian
Hebrews of the first century.”*
* R.E. Neighbour, If They
Shall Fall Away (Schoettle), 131.
Hebrews 10: 25 reveals when the punishment described
in the verses that follow will take place.
Chastisement in this life is not in view. The context
is the future day of reckoning that is approaching:
Hebrews 10:26 For if we sin
wilfully after that we have received the knowledge
of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and FIERY indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
“We” includes the apostle. He has certainly “received
the knowledge of the truth” in sincerity. Therefore, so have the Hebrews he is
addressing. To play games with the word we and say it doesn’t actually mean the
apostle, is to again, establish an interpretive precedent that would disrupt
the continuity of the entire New Testament.
What would it then mean for the rest of the “we’s”
in the New Testament (e.g. Romans 6: 4, 8: 28;
Ephesians 1: 7)? What does the “we” mean four verses later in Hebrews
10? It is found in the same
context:
Hebrews 10: 30 For we know
him that hath said, Vengeance belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the
Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
Does the inspired apostle “know Him?” No one doubts that he does. There are “we’s”
all throughout the Epistle to the Hebrews that no one doubts. Why? Because
the do not speak of something the flesh of man does not desire to hear.
[Page 138]
These Hebrew Christians have already been taught about the
mercy that is available in the Christian life in regard to their practical,
wilful sins:
Hebrews 4: 16 Let us therefore come
boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy,
and find grace to help in time of need.
Hebrews 10: 22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and
our bodies washed with pure water.
The apostle John teaches the same truth in his first Epistle:
1 John 1: 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the
truth is not in us.
9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Every Christian wilfully sins after salvation. Yet, fortunately, the Epistle to the Hebrews
teaches that Christians can come to the throne of their High Priest and get
forgiveness and cleansing. This is not
referring to salvation in eternity. It
is referring to the forgiveness that can keep one from experiencing severe,
temporary punishments. If a Christian
sins, he is in trouble. If he does not
repent and get mercy from his Heavenly Father, he is in danger of “judgment” and “fiery
indignation” at the judgment seat on that “approaching”
day.
One central point of Hebrews is that Christians should not
gamble or postpone getting mercy:
Hebrews 3: 7
Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye
will hear his voice. ...
Hebrews 12: 17 For ye know how that afterward, when
he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears.
[Page 139]
The “place of repentance” is today, on this
earth. The time for Christians to confess
their sins and seek mercy is not the future day of the judgment seat of Christ.
The phrase “there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins” in Hebrews 10: 26
reveals that Christ’s Blood does more than make one a Christian. It also brings power (Hebrews 13: 20-21), as well as mercy in regard to our daily
Christian walk (1 John 2: 1-2). The teaching of Hebrews 10: 26-27 is that Christians cannot
presume upon their High Priest and get away with it. It is not teaching that Christians lose
salvation in eternity when they wilfully sin.
Yet, it is teaching that they lose a place of grace in
regard to the practical Christian walk. Saints should
not wilfully sin, confess and receive mercy, and then think that they can sin
some more without the danger of severe consequences. True, we can always come boldly before
the throne again as long as the
“day” of judgment has not yet arrived. Nevertheless, carnal Christians run a great
risk! Sin has a way of hardening the
heart into stubbornness. Through wilful sins,
carnal Christians can harden themselves and lose the desire to repent and seek
mercy:
Hebrews 3: 13
But exhort one another daily, while it is called
To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of
sin.
Furthermore, who can be certain that God will not grow weary
of being presumed upon and decide to take his life immediately?
Hebrews 3: 15
While it is said, To day if ye will hear his
voice, harden not your hearts, as in the provocation.
16 For some, when they had heard, did provoke:
howbeit not all that came out of
17 But with whom was he grieved forty
years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases
fell in the wilderness?
When a Christian sins he must then renew his daily fellowship with
God through repentance. If he will not,
he needs to hear the [Page 140] stern warning that there is
punishment for such disobedience awaiting him at the future judgment seat:
Hebrews 10: 26 For if we sin wilfully after that we have
received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for
sins,
27 But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and
fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
28 He that despised Moses' law died without
mercy under two or three witnesses:
29 Of how much sorer
punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under
foot the Son of God, and hath counted the blood of the
covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and bath
done despite unto the Spirit of grace?
When a Christian sins he tramples under foot the power of
the Blood of his High
Priest. He grieves the Spirit. When he
then refuses to repent and get restored to fellowship with the Lord, he tramples
under foot the practical mercy of the Blood of his High Priest.
If he continues in this condition, what will happen to him at the
judgment seat of Christ? Words such as “fiery
indignation” and “devour” plainly
describe some type of death!
The argument in Hebrews 10 is that under the Old Testament
there was physical death for sin:
Numbers 15: 32 And while the children of
33 And they that found him gathering
sticks brought him unto Moses and Aaron, and unto all the congregation.
34 And they put him in ward, because it was not
declared what should be done to him.
35 And the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone
him with stones without the camp.
This was harsh. Yet,
Christ is greater and has done more for His people than Moses did for the Jews
in the Old Testament. The New Testament law of Christ is greater and
holier. If physical death was the penalty for wilful sin under
Moses, what shall be [Page 141] the penalty for sin (if mercy is not
received beforehand) under Christ? It
will be a worse death than physical death.
It will include that, but go beyond it.
Jesus taught that only God could kill the soul, and that His disciples should
therefore fear Him more than man (Matthew 10: 28). Therefore, Hebrews
10 is warning Christians that if they sin wilfully and do not seek mercy
before the judgment seat arrives, they are in danger of a severe rod of
punishment. Under Moses it was physical death.
Under Christ it is the temporary death of the body and the soul! This is why the Bible teaches Christians to
strive to have their souls saved at the judgment seat (Hebrews 10: 39; 1 Peter 1: 9; James 1: 21,
etc.). The Christian’s soul is already
saved in eternity. Yet, there is also a saving of the soul in
relation to the future age of reward. Disobedient Christians are in danger of
losing their souls temporarily at the judgment seat (Matthew
10: 28, 29; 16: 24-26).
Immediately, the argument will be that such a doctrine appears
to deny the grace of God in regard to His people. Let us therefore hear the
conclusion of the passage in Hebrews 10:
Hebrews 10: 30
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance
belongeth unto me, I will recompense,
saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge HIS PEOPLE.
This may indeed go against everything one has been
taught. Certainly, that is another
reason that accountability truths such as these are rejected so quickly by
many.
Others lean to their own understanding and attempt to argue
that such punishment would go against their understanding of the love of God.
They never reason that this present life is not the day
of judgment and recompense.
They never consider that in this day of grace and mercy God sometimes kills Christians for
sins. If this is not opposed
to His love in this age of patience [Page 142] (2 Peter
3: 9, 15), then certainly temporary soul death will not be opposed to
His love in the future day of reward according to works:
Matthew 16: 24
Then said Jesus unto his disciples,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross,
and follow me.
25 For whosoever will save
his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake
shall find it.
26 For what is a man profited, if he
shall gain the whole world, and lose his own SOUL?
or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the
glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward EVERY MAN according to his works.
Revelation 22:12
And, behold, I come quickly;
and my reward is with me, to give EVERY MAN according as
his work shall be.
* *
*
[Page 143]
Chapter 15
Hurt of the Second Death
“Surely, if they leave the world fully justified, but
incompletely sanctified, it follows that they will be hurt of the Second Death,
though only temporarily. ...”*
* George
H. Pember, The Great Prophecies Of The
Centuries Concerning The Church (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1887;
reprint, Miami Springs: Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 114-115.
- G.E. Pember (1837-1910)
The “much sorer punishment”
than physical death (mentioned in Hebrews 10)
is called the “second death” in the Book of
Revelation. The Lord’s breath lights a
fire before His throne. This fire from
the Lord’s mouth is a rod. It will try
believers and it will slay all that have lived in disobedience and sloth
without repentance. The
[Page 144]
Revelation 20:14 And
death and hell were cast into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
Unbelievers will be thrown into this
Revelation 2: 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be
HURT of the second death.
After being slain by the Lord’s fiery breath at
the judgment seat, unfaithful Christians will then be banished to the
underworld for 1000 years. Notice that
the above warning is to the “churches.” This means true Christians. If it does not, there would be no way to ever
discern who is addressed in a given Bible passage. Various verses could be
applied to true saints at each person’s fancy or whim. John explains that by “churches” the Holy Spirit means true Christians:
Revelation 1:4
John to the seven churches which are in
5 And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness,
and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth.
Unto him that
loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood,
6 And hath made us kings and priests unto God and his Father; to him be
glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen.
9 I John, who also am
YOUR BROTHER, and companion in tribulation, and in the kingdom and patience of
Jesus Christ, was in the isle that is called
John says he is the “brother”
of the people in each of these seven congregations to whom the Book of
Revelation is addressed (Revelation 1: 9). If there are false professors among them,
they are ignored. The Lord warns these
true Christians about the “second death” in Revelation
2: 11.
[Page 145]
Notice that the sword of the Lord’s mouth is also His
punishing rod, which He will wield
at the second coming:
Isaiah 11: 4 But with righteousness shall he judge the
poor, and reprove with equity for the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the
earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
This “rod” is a sword of “fire”:
Isaiah 30: 27 Behold, the name of the LORD cometh from far,
burning with his anger, and the burden thereof is heavy: his lips are full
of indignation, and his tongue as a devouring fire:
28 And his breath, as an
overflowing stream, shall reach to the midst of the neck, to sift
the nations with the sieve of vanity: and there shall be a bridle in the jaws
of the people, causing them to err.
Daniel shows this same fiery stream slaying the Beast at the second coming of Christ:
Daniel 7: 9 I beheld till the
thrones were cast down, and the Ancient of days did sit, whose garment was
white as snow, and the hair of his head like the pure wool: his throne was like the fiery flame, and his wheels as
burning fire.
10 A fiery stream issued and came forth from before him: thousand thousands ministered unto him, and ten thousand times
ten thousand stood before him: the judgment was set, and the books were opened.
11 I beheld then because of the voice of
the great words which the horn spake: I beheld even till the beast was
slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning flame.
In Daniel 7: 10-11, the “fiery flame” that engulfs the Beast is said to come
forth from “before” the Lord. This flowing, fiery lava comes forth from
before the throne, and
appears to gather there into a giant “lake.” This same event is seen in Revelation 19; yet there, the fiery “stream” is revealed as a “lake”
of fire. The
Revelation 19: 20 And the beast was taken, and
with him the false prophet that wrought miracles
before him, with which he deceived them that had received the mark of the
beast, and them that worshipped his image. These both were cast alive into
a lake of fire burning with brimstone.
[Page 146]
The Book of Revelation reveals much about the Lord’s
throne. Notice that it indeed shows a “sea” to be directly before it:
Revelation 4: 6
And before the throne there was a
sea of glass like unto crystal...
The “sea of glass” is said to
be “before the throne” in the same place as the
“fiery stream” that will later destroy the Beast
in Daniel 7.
Therefore, the future
Revelation 15: 2 And I saw as
it were a sea of glass mingled with fire...
But why is this large body of fire called both a “lake” and a “sea?” It is because both words simply mean in
strict English a large “basin” or “repository”:
Sea: “...a large
inland body of water; a large lake ... In a decision delivered at the October
term, 1893, the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Great Lakes
were seas, in the legal sense of the term. ...”*
*A Standard Dictionary
Of The English Language (New York: Funk & Wagnalls, 1895).
- Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of the English Language
The Bible also uses the two words
interchangeably in other places (Mark 5: 13; Luke
8: 33).
The “sea of glass mingled with fire”
is the
“The sea [of glass] becomes the lake
of fire.”*
* Robert Govett, Govett On
Revelation, Vol. 1 (London: 1861;
reprint, Miami Springs: Conley & Schoettle, 1981), 39
[Page 147]
Perhaps this is the reason for the slight difference in
terms. The “lake
of fire” is the “sea of glass” at a later date.
Out of the Lord’s mouth comes the inspiration of the
Scriptures, which will judge mankind, saved and unsaved. However, as has been noted, the breath out of His mouth also lights a literal fire that will punish the rebellious. This very breath ignites the
Isaiah 30: 33 For Tophet is ordained of old; yea, for the
king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile thereof is fire
and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a stream of
brimstone, doth kindle it.
Notice the following two warnings to Christians. Based on the previous Scriptures already
given, it can be seen that both of these passages contain the same “fiery” threat:
Revelation 2: 12 And to the angel of the church in Pergamos
write; These things saith he which hath the sharp sword
with two edges;
16 Repent; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and
will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.
17 He that bath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto
the churches ...
Revelation 2: 11 He that bath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of the
second death.
It is the Lord’s breath (i.e. the “sword”
from His very mouth) that lights the
Hebrews 12: 28 Wherefore
we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may
serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
9 For our God is a
consuming fire.
[Page 148]
At the judgment seat, the fiery sword of the Lord’s mouth
will judge Christians that have lived unfaithfully and have not repented in
this life. This is the “second death” that bums before His throne (before
which every believer must one day appear).
It is there that these [disobedient and
unrepentant] believers will be temporarily
slain. It is called the second
death because it occurs after
the raising of the body from the effects of the first death (Revelation 20: 5).
Unbelievers will experience it eternally after the millennium. Unfaithful believers who do not
repent in time will temporarily experience it before the millennium.
Erroneous Interpretations of Revelation 2: 11
The conditional promise in Revelation
2: 11, concerning the “second death,”
certainly contains a warning. If the
Christian does not “overcome” he will be “hurt of the second death.” It is like every other promise given in the
same context to these “seven churches”:
Revelation 2: 26 And he that overcometh, and keepeth
my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
No one doubts that the promise to Christians in the above
verse is conditioned on “overcoming.” Those that do not overcome will not be given
“power over the nations.” The promise is at the same time a
warning. Yet, some have maintained that
the promise in Revelation 2: 11 of not being
hurt of the second death is only a figure of speech and that it need not mean
that if one does not overcome that one will be hurt. Let one show that any of the
other similar promises to these Seven Churches are not conditioned upon “overcoming.”
They all are. The
promises to overcomers are warnings. In
fact, the very context of Revelation 2: 11
is a word of alarm. The [Holy] Spirit says to
the churches, “He that hath
an ear let him hear.” This can
only mean that what is about to be given is conditioned upon the response of “overcoming” in the hearers. One would certainly need to have a high
degree of evidence to interpret the language in any other manner. The argument, “This is not a conditional
promise in Revelation 2: 11
because it is not a conditional promise” greatly begs the question when it is found in the context of six similar, conditional promises.
If it is true that Revelation 2:
11 does not imply a warning to those who do not fulfil the conditions of
the promise, an interpretive mess is created in regard to the rest of the
Bible. For example, notice the following
Scripture:
1 John 2: 28 And now, little children, abide in him;
that, when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming.
The promise of not being ashamed is conditioned upon abiding; just as not being hurt of the second
death is conditioned upon overcoming. Notice another Bible
promise:
1 Peter 2: 6
Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture,
Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.
Surely, the above verse implies that he that does not
“believe” will be confounded. Such examples could be endlessly multiplied;
yet, one more is worthy of noting:
Exodus 12: 13 And the blood shall be to
you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will
pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy
you, when I smite the
Is this statement in Exodus simply a figure of speech stating that those with the blood upon their houses will not lose their firstborn sons,
with no implication at all that those without the blood on their houses will be judged? Certainly, it is not.
[Page 150]
Others that have been firmly rooted in the Biblical doctrine
that a true Christian can never lose [eternal] salvation, rashly apply all the warnings about the “second death” to only unbelievers and false
professors. This leaves the Christian (if he will be
consistent in his interpretation) with practically nothing to fear and nothing
to hope for since the warnings about the “second death”
are in the same context as the warnings about losing crowns. Most will admit that the warnings about
losing such crowns are addressed to real Christians; yet they show much
inconsistency when they interpret Christ’s warning about the “second death” as addressed to the lost. This is sloppy interpretation and it
immediately causes one to suspect ulterior motives; chiefly, the desire to
escape that which would truly cause fear, leaving only warnings that would not frighten away
carnal church members. Most carnal
Christians do not mind warnings to professors, for they assume they are not so unholy as to be considered such. The astute observation of Robert Lewis
Stevenson is sadly correct:
“Not every
man is so great a coward as he thinks he is ‑ nor yet so good a Christian.”
Notice again how the warnings about the “second death” are in the same context as other
promises and warnings addressed to real Christians:
Revelation 2: 10
Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten days: be thou faithful unto death, and 1 will give thee a crown of life.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt
of the second death.
Satan does not persecute lost, hypocritical professors in such
a manner. And the lost are never told
that they may win a crown for “enduring to the end.” They are not even true believers in
Christ. The [Holy] Spirit is speaking to the “churches.” The [regenerate] Christians in these churches are told to “overcome.” If they do not [Page 151] “overcome” (i.e. get victory over the
manifold temptations of Satan and their own sinful flesh), they will be “hurt of the second death.”
To escape the warning, others run with the word “overcome” and wrest
it from its context in the Book of Revelation. They claim that in John’s first Epistle
“overcome” means to simply be born again through faith (i.e. salvation in the
1st degree):
1 John 5:
4 For whatsoever is born of
God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the
world, even our faith.
5 Who is he that overcometh the
world, but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God?
Yet, Christians also need to have practical faith in the authority
and power of Jesus in order to overcome the world’s temptations. Therefore, the phrase “born of God” in 1 John
means more than simply initial salvation. It speaks of a daily, practical
renewing that comes through yielding to the [Holy] Spirit. “Overcometh” in 1 John 5
refers to a victorious walk that is only possible by daily faith in the Son of God (see Hebrews 11; Romans 12: 21).
Nevertheless, even if it is conceded that “overcometh” refers only to initial, positional
salvation in 1 John, is this the way the
word is being used in the context of Christ’s words to the
Seven Churches? Certainly, the context
plainly reveals that Christ is
addressing those already saved; He is exhorting them to “overcome” through
works in the Christian life:
Revelation 2: 2
I know thy works, and thy labour, and
thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and
thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and hast found
them liars:
3 And hast borne, and hast patience,
and for my name’s sake hast laboured, and hast not
fainted.
7 He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches; To
him that overcometh will 1 give to eat of the tree of life, which is in the
midst of the paradise of God.
[Page 152]
Revelation 2: 10 Fear none of those things which thou shalt
suffer: behold, the devil shall cast some of you into prison, that ye may be tried; and ye shall have tribulation ten
days: be thou faithful unto death, and I will give
thee a crown of life.
11 He that hath an ear, let him hear
what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be
hurt of the second death.
There is the warning of the “second
death” right in the context of enduring prison and martyrdom for
Christ’s sake. Indeed, many early
Christians were tempted to refrain from confessing Christ in public rather than
endure the hardships of prison (or worse), which would often be the result of
such confessions. It is a historical fact
that such warnings and promises as these given in the Book of Revelation
sustained many persecuted Christians in the first few centuries and gave them
the extra motivation to endure. Works
such as The Martyr’s Mirror (1660) thoroughly document the fact that thousands
of saints under Pagan and Papal Rome gave up their physical lives to avoid
having their souls (Romans 8: 13; Matthew 10: 28)
slain by God after death.*
* This mammoth work by Theileman J. van
Braght consists of 1141 pages.
Not a Loss of Eternal Salvation
Others argue that the conditional promise of not being hurt of
the “second death” must refer to a possible loss
of salvation in eternity. They point to
the other verses in the Book of Revelation that reveal that the “second death” is the
Revelation 20: 14 And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire.
This is the second death.
15 And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
[Page 153]
It is indeed the same “lake,” yet all those who experience it
will not experience it to the same degree. Context
can greatly affect the interpretation of words and phrases. The same fire of
God can be temporary for God’s rebellious [regenerate] people, yet endless for God’s rebellious
enemies (i.e. non-Christians). The
subjects being warned in the context will help determine the difference. Notice an example of this principle from the
Old Testament:
Exodus 14: 19 And the angel of God, which went before the
camp of Israel, removed and went behind them; and the pillar of the
cloud went from before their face, and stood behind them:
20 And it came between the camp of the
Egyptians and the camp of
The same pillar of the cloud was darkness to the Egyptians but
it gave light to the Israelites! What a
contrast! Surely then it is no great thing if the fire of God is shown to be
both a rod of discipline for unrepentant [regenerate] Christians as well as a place of final, endless
condemnation for the [unregenerate] lost.
Christians cannot lose eternal
salvation. They will therefore only
be hurt temporarily by the Lord’s fiery breath.
They will then be banished to the underworld throughout the millennium. After this, they will be raised to
everlasting life (i.e. “saved”) at the Great
White Throne on the Last Day:
Revelation 2: 11 He that hath an ear, let him hear what the Spirit
saith unto the churches; He that overcometh shall not be hurt of
the second death.
1 Corinthians 3:15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
[Page 154]
Leviticus 9: 24
And there came a fire out from
before the LORD,
and consumed upon the altar the burnt offering and the fat:
which when all the people saw, they shouted,
and fell on their faces.
Leviticus 10: 2
And there went out fire from the LORD,
and devoured them, and they died before the LORD.
“The word ‘destroy’... does not mean ‘annihilate.’... not once [in
Scripture]
does it mean ‘annihilate.’ ”
- R. E. Neighbour (Gospel Herald, 1927)
* *
*
[Page 155]
Chapter 16
Trial by Fire
“...all shall be subjected to examination by fire. For all who want to return to heaven must be
tried by fire.”*
*Jacques Le Goff, The
Birth Of Purgatory (University Of Chicago Press 1986), 59.
- Ambrose (340-397)
Every Christian will appear before the judgment seat (i.e.
Christ’s throne). Every Christian must
therefore come into contact with the fire that issues out from before the
Lord’s throne (Daniel 7: 10). When a Christian appears before the judgment
seat (Romans 14: 10), he is standing
trial. The Scripture is not silent
concerning the details of this trial. It
is a trial by fire:
1 Corinthians 3: 13
Every man’s work shall be made manifest: for the
day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work of what sort it is.
[Page 156]
A literal fire will also punish the unprofitable servant
himself (1 Corinthians 3: 15, 17; Revelation 2: 11,
etc.). Many Christian leaders have been bold to proclaim this truth in
full-force, without compromising eternal security. Yet, it appears that there have also been
many well-known Christian leaders who have come to the very doorstep of this
teaching, but proceeded no further.
In regard to the passage in 1
Corinthians 3, D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899‑1981) writes:
“It is His love to us, and our relationship to Him, our fear, our dread,
lest in any way we should grieve Him or disappoint Him. But I have to take it
even a step beyond that. There is a fear
that should govern all we are and all we do ... The Apostle puts this to the
Corinthians in the First Epistle chapter 3, beginning at verse 9: ‘For we are labourers together with God ... let every man take heed how
he buildeth thereupon ... If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved; yet so as by fire. Know
ye not that ye are the
* D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones, Life
in the Spirit (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1975), 78-80, 363-364, 370.
- D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981)
The great radio preacher M.R. Deffian (1891-1965) interprets
the passage in 1 Corinthians 3 similarly:
“Now of course, this truth may shock some
of our ultra-grace scholars, but there is a future judgment for all believers.
... While the believer will never be judged as to his salvation by faith in the
Lord Jesus, which is forever settled ... he nevertheless will be called into
account for his conduct after he has been saved. ... I do not know whether this
is a figure of some terrible ordeal through which we will have to pass, of
remorse and self-accusation, or some other form of
chastening. We do not know; but the text
implies that the experience will be an unpleasant one.”*
* M.R. DeHaan, Studies In
First Corinthians (Zondervan Publishing House), 40, 46.
The Bible does not leave it as vague as these teachers have
left it. Yet, sadly, many modern
Christian teachers will not come as far as they do in warning believers. It is not presumption to believe that
whatever the Bible states will literally occur will certainly occur! All Christians will come into contact with
the fire that is before the Lord’s throne (2
Corinthians 5: 9-11; Daniel 7: 10; Revelation 15: 2; 1 Corinthians 3: 13). For many, it will not be a [Page 158] happy experience. The warning in 1 Corinthians 3 is defined in Revelation 2: 11 and other Scriptures, which warn
carnal believers of literal fire at the
judgment seat and during the millennium.
It is important to realize that the Bible teaches that the
fire “tries” the work. The work is done in the Christian life, in
the body before one arrives
at the judgment seat. The Bible says
that the Christian at the judgment seat must “receive”
the things done in “his body” (2 Corinthians 5: 10). The “fire” will
manifest and declare in the body whether the deeds were good
or bad. The bodies of Christians will declare
by the fire what kind of works they have performed. As they stand before the judgment seat, they
will stand upon the fiery
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, and to STAND
BEFORE the Son of man.
The Christian is to watch and pray always to be accounted
worthy of standing before the
throne on that day. If the Christian has
committed unworthy deeds and failed to seek mercy while there was still time,
he will fall and experience the flames of the second death.
The “fire” shall surely “declare” a man’s work.
If he has not repented of sloth and carnality it will declare it in the
“temple” of his body by slaying him:
1 Corinthians 3: 15 If any man’s work
shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the
[Page 159]
17 If any man defile the
Many theologians tickle the ears of saints by not reading the whole
context of this “saved; yet so as by fire”
passage. Verses
16 and 17 are a further explanation
of the words “suffer loss” in verse 15!
They speak of our bodies as the
In discussing the “fire” of 1 Corinthians 3:15, F. L. Godet (1812-1900)
writes:
“Many, and Meyer himself, seem to
take this word in its literal sense ... But
it must not be forgotten that the building to be proved exists only figuratively,
and that consequently the fire which is to put it to the proof can only be also
a figurative fire.”*
* F.L.
Godet, Commentary on St. Paul’s First
Epistle to the Corinthians (Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark, 1889-1890?), 186.
This objection, however, disregards the manner in which Jesus
Himself interpreted the warnings in His figurative parables.
The actual judgments in the Lord’s parables (whether to believers or
unbelievers) are literal. For example,
in Matthew 13: 47-50, the literal interpretation
of the figure actually becomes worse than the figure itself!:
[Page 160]
Matthew 13: 47 Again, the
kingdom of heaven is like unto a net, that was cast into the sea, and gathered
of every kind:
48 Which, when it was full, they drew to shore, and sat
down, and gathered the good into vessels, but cast the bad
away.
49 So shall it be at the end of the
world: the angels shall come forth, and sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
51 Jesus saith unto them, Have ye
understood all these things? They say unto him, Yea, Lord.
The figurative casting in verse 48 becomes literal in
the interpretation. However, the interpretation
reveals extra details that are far worse than the illustration itself
revealed. The casting is
into a furnace of fire to be burned.
Notice another example:
Matthew 13: 36 Then
Jesus sent the multitude away, and went into the house: and his disciples came
unto him, saying, Declare unto us the parable
of the tares of the field.
40 As therefore the tares are gathered and burned in the fire; so shall it be in the end of this world.
41 The Son of man shall send forth his angels,
and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that offend, and them which
do iniquity;
42 And shall cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of
teeth.
In the interpretation, the figurative “fire” remains fire and becomes literal, even though the other
figurative elements all stand for something else. “Men” stand
for “angels.”
The “tares” are representative of “them which do iniquity.” But the “fire”
is “fire!”
Therefore, we have an interpretive principle established
that truly brings fear and trembling: In warning passages, generally, the
parable means exactly what it says.
However, at times, the reality is far worse than what is stated on the surface of the illustration! It is therefore certainly a great error to
teach that the literal truth represented by a warning parable or illustration
is something less than the figure
reveals (Ezekiel 20: 49)!
The Bible also uses symbolism to describe the judgment of the
wicked when Christ returns (Malachi 4: 1-3).
Yet, again, [Page 161] this fire will be literal, even
though it is in the same context as figurative calves and trees (2 Thessalonians 1: 7-8). Many
Christian teachers are quick to see this literal fire in parabolic warnings to
the lost, yet they are unwilling to interpret the fire in Christian warning
passages in the same manner.
1 Corinthians 3: 12-17 should be
interpreted in the light of the keys provided in Matthew
13 and elsewhere in the Scriptures.
In 1 Corinthians 3: 15, the “fire”
speaks of literal fire.
Paul concludes his warning by revealing that it is the
unfaithful Christian man himself that
shall be literally burned:
1 Corinthians 3:15
If any man's work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
16 Know ye not that ye are the
17 If any man defile the
In the Epistles to the Corinthians, the figure of a “temple” represents a physical body (1 Corinthians 3: 16; 6: 19-20; 2 Corinthians 6: 16). The Christian that fails to bring forth holy
fruit (i.e. good works) is grieving the indwelling Spirit and defiling his
physical body. He will be ultimately
saved, yet only “by” fire. Webster’s 1828 defines “by” as “through” in its second definition. Modern dictionaries likewise define it as “through the medium of.” The phrase “by fire”
is often used in Scripture in this manner (Leviticus
3: 3, 5). Therefore, the Christian man that defiles
the temple of his body by unfaithful deeds will not fully experience eternal
life until he has literally passed through fire, suffering temporary
destruction.
Some maintain that the “
1 Corinthians 5: 6 Your glorying is not
good. Know ye not that a
little leaven leaveneth the whole lump?
Throughout the Bible, “defile”
always means “to pollute” in a moral sense (Leviticus 15: 31; Matthew 15: 11; 1 Timothy 1: 10,
etc.). It never means “to persecute.”
Furthermore, “any man” would refer to any
man, saved or lost. Therefore, even if
one denies that the “temple” refers to the
physical body of the believer in 1 Corinthians 3:
17, there is no escaping the verse as a literal warning to
Christians. In context, it is a warning
concerning the judgment seat of Christ.
Hurt by Falling In
Notice again the promise in Revelation
2: 11:
Revelation 2: 11
He that hath an ear, let him hear what the
Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh
shall not be hurt of the second death.
This is plainly a promise that if a Christian resists sin in
victory, he will not painfully fall into the midst of the fire when he walks
across it before the judgment throne of God.
For many, it will be a tormenting experience to walk before the throne
and take position over those flames.
Will the flames hurt? Will they
kill? This future day of judgment will
surely be a day of reflection. The Bible
is filled with warnings not to despise this coming day. Every saint will take his position when his
turn comes, and at that moment he will stand or fall. There will be many that will [Page 163] walk before the throne and find that
the flames of the “sea of glass mingled with fire”
do not “hurt” them at all:
Revelation 15: 2 And I saw as it were a sea of glass
mingled with FIRE: and them that had gotten the victory over the
beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, STAND on the sea of glass, having the harps of God.
Remember, this sea of glass and fire is before the Lord’s
throne (Revelation 4: 6). The fire does not hurt these tribulation
saints who STAND before the
Lord. This will be the happy experience of
all faithful Christians who will one day appear before the judgment seat. They will be like the Israelites who passed
through the
Daniel 3: 25 He answered and said, Lo, I see four men
loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt;
and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.
26 Then Nebuchadnezzar came near to the
mouth of the burning fiery furnace, and
spake, and said, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, ye servants of the most high
God, come forth, and come hither. Then Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, came
forth of the midst of the fire.
27 And the princes, governors, and
captains, and the king's counsellors, being gathered together, saw these men,
upon whose bodies the fire had no power, nor was an hair
of their head singed, neither were their coats changed, nor the smell of fire
had passed on them.
Verse 25 says the men had no “hurt.” Verse 27 says
the fire “had no power” over them. This is similar to that future fire that will
likewise fail to have “power” over some
believers who have exercised the same faith as these Old Testament saints:
Revelation 20: 6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath NO POWER, but they shall be
priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years.
[Page 164]
In regard to these that are found blessed and holy, the fire will have “no power.” As
they stand before the throne they will remain standing! Their bodies will
shine forth gloriously, as purified gold “in the midst
of the fire.” The fire will have
no power to hurt them. Boldly, they will
rejoice and praise God. Their very
bodies will glorify God and declare that they have been obedient and
victorious. The rest of the Christians
will not have bodies that can withstand the flames (Romans
8: 11, 13; Colossians 1: 22-23).
In tormenting fear, they will fall into the flames and burn in a fiery
death (Revelation 2: 11; Hebrews 10: 31). The Christians that do not overcome in life
will be temporarily overcome by the flames of the “second
death” at the judgment throne of Christ.
Some Early Christian Testimonies Concerning Trial by Fire
Many might be quick to call this teaching “Purgatory.”
Certainly, no obedient, fundamental Christian desires to be associated
with the historic errors and abuses of Roman Catholicism! Yet, this teaching protects the freeness of the
gospel message by removing the arguments which Catholics have used to deny
eternal salvation by grace through faith alone.
Salvation in eternity is by grace through faith alone. No amount of temporal suffering (in this life or in the world to
come) can add one jot or one tittle to what Christ did on
[Page 165]
As with all the other truths
During the process of writing this book, the writer decided to
read through the writings of Sub-Apostolic Christians. He was amazed at how prevalent the teaching
of “trial by fire” was among these early
writers. The writings of these
so-called, early “Church Fathers” are certainly
not inspired. They often contain errors.
Nevertheless, with this Biblical understanding of a second death for some
Christians at the judgment seat, many of the writings of these early Christians
are made easier to comprehend. Even
though much error was already creeping in, ushering in the infamous dark ages,
it appears that many early Christians preserved seeds of truth (at least in regard
to the Christian’s future judgment and the millennial reign) that were taught
by the holy apostles of the first century.
Notice the following words:
“But when He shall have judged the
righteous, He will also try them with fire.
Then they whose sins shall exceed either in weight or in number, shall
be scorched by the fire and burnt: but they whom full justice and maturity of
virtue has imbued will not perceive that fire; for they have
something of God in themselves which repels and rejects the violence of the
flame. So great is the force of
innocence, that the flame shrinks from it without doing harm; which
has received from God this power, that it burns the wicked, and is under the
command of the righteous. Nor, however,
let any one imagine that souls are immediately judged after death. For all are detained in one and a common
place of confinement, until the arrival of the time in which the great Judge
shall make an investigation of their deserts.
Then they whose piety shall have been approved of will receive the
reward of immortality; but they whose sins and crimes shall have been brought
to light will not rise again, but will be [Page 166] hidden in the same
darkness with the wicked, being destined to certain punishment.”*
* Lactantius, Institutes, “Of The Torments And
Punishments Of Souls,” (Oregon: Ages Software, The Master Christian
Library, 1997).
- Lactantius (240-320)
“Before the resurrected lies a fire, which all of them must cross. This is the baptism of fire foretold by
John the Baptist, in the Holy Ghost and the fire, it is the burning sword of
the cherub who guards the gate of heaven, before which everyone must pass...”*
* Jacques Le Goff, The
Birth Of Purgatory (University Of Chicago Press, 1986), 59.
- Ambrose (340-397)
“He [Paul] said: ‘yet so as by fire,’ because this salvation exists not without pain;
for he did not say, ‘he shall be saved by fire,’ but when he says, ‘yet so as by fire,’ he wants to show that
this salvation is to come, but that he must suffer the pains of
fire; so that, purged by fire, he may be saved and not, like
the infidels ... tormented forever by eternal fire; if for a portion
of his works he has some value, it is because he believed in
Christ.”*
* Jacques Le Goff, 61.
- Ambrosiaster
Lactantius was an early pre-millennialist and a futurist in
regard to the Book of Revelation.
Ambrosiaster (also a pre-millennialist) was an anonymous writer in the
fourth century. He speaks of temporary
punishment in fire for some Christians.
The teaching of a temporary punishment by fire for some saints
is also found in the writings of Clement of Alexandria (d. 215), Athanasius
(296-373), Cyril of Jerusalem (315-386), Basil (329-379), Theodoret (393-457),
Cyprian, Hilary (315-368), Ephraem (306-373), Gregory of Nyssa (335-394), and
many others. It was practically a
universal teaching, used by the Spirit of God to sustain thousands of early
Christians in martyrdom:
“Many of the Church Fathers are cited in support of the belief that
Christians must pass through fire on the Day of Judgment, though all will not
be injured by it - the highest saints passing through unhurt, and others
suffering a punishment proportioned to their sins...”*
* M’Clintock
and Strong, Cyclopedia of Biblical,
Theological and Ecclesiastical Literature, vol. VIII (New York: Harper & Brothers, 1890), 797.
- M’ Clintock and Strong
This early teaching of trial by fire at the judgment seat was different in many respects from the
Roman Catholic Purgatory:
“The Judgment day purgation entirely differs from the Roman Catholic
doctrine as Bellarmine admits...”*
* John
Henry Blunt, Dictionary of Doctrinal and
Historical Theology (
- Dictionary of Doctrinal and Historical Theology
The truth concerning temporary punishment for disobedient
saints was soon corrupted into various forms of Universalism on one side, and salvation
in eternity through suffering on
the other. Indulgences, prayers for the
dead, masses for the dead, etc. would later be added to complete the perversion
and scare many Christians totally away from the doctrine of chastisement at the
judgment seat. Nevertheless, in that
early age, the false doctrine of Purgatory had not yet completely overshadowed
the Biblical truth concerning Christian punishment. Much truth therefore still remained.
It is interesting that modem Catholics (e.g. John J. Dietzen)
define Purgatory as simply a possible burning of shame which occurs in an instant! This is what many Protestants teach concerning
the judgment seat of Christ! As an
increasing number of Protestants trade the doctrine of salvation through faith alone for salvation through faithfulness, the
prophesied unity between Protestants and
[Page 168]
“...the sword
of God is fire, of which they who choose to do
wickedly become the fuel.”
- Justin Martyr, First Apology, 44
* *
*
[Page169]
Chapter 17
Two Phases at the Judgment Seat
“The judgment of the evil servant
gives an insight as to what those who have done bad will receive at the
Judgment Seat of Christ ... He was cut asunder ... He found his portion with
the hypocrites ... To explain these things, we cannot. We, however, certainly accept the Word of the
Lord, as authoritative and final ... We accept Paul’s warning: ‘Knowing,
therefore, the terror of the Lord we persuade men.’”*
* Robert E. Neighbour, What Saith the Scriptures? (
- R.E. Neighbour (1872-1945)
Matthew 3: 10
And now also the axe is laid unto the root of
the trees: therefore every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Matthew 3: 10 describes a double judgment. It states that
unfruitful trees will be first “hewn down” and
then “cast into the fire.” This warning to the nation of
[Page 170]
They will then be cast into the dark, fiery prison of the
underworld. Both of these judgments are
at the time of the resurrection of the body at Christ’s second coming.
It might at first appear strange that disobedient Christians
should be warned of the stinging pain of “death”
in two different places:
Mark 9: 38 And JOHN answered him, saying, Master, we saw one
casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him,
because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for there is
no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak evil of me.
45 And if THY
foot offend thee, cut it off. it is better for thee to enter halt into life,
than having two feet to be cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be
quenched:
46 Where their
worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.
47 And if thine eye offend thee, pluck
it out: it is better for thee to enter into the
Revelation
2:11 He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He
that overcometh shall not be hurt of the second death.
Revelation 20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire. This is the second death.
Nevertheless, there are the warnings. Hell is not before the Lord’s throne; yet
Christians are warned about destruction in both places.
Disobedient Christians who fail to overcome in life will first
briefly experience the Lord’s fiery breath before His judgment seat. They will
then experience the dark prison of the underworld during the glorious age
of the millennial
[Page 171]
Revelation 2: 11
He that hath an ear, LET HIM HEAR what the Spirit saith unto the churches; He that overcometh
shall not be hurt of the second death.
Two Stages of Judgment
Disobedient Christians do not stay in the fire before the
throne of the Lord. After the fire has
declared in their bodies what kind of deeds they committed as Christians, it
will be time for the second stage of their judgment. Being “hurt” of
the “second death” is only the first, initial
stage. They will then be gathered again
and sent down to the underworld for the duration of the
millennial kingdom (Revelation 20: 6). Thus, all the warnings of Christ will be
fulfilled. Disobedient Christians not
only experience the pain of the “second death”
as Christ proclaimed to the “Seven Churches,” but they also go to the fiery,
dark prison in the heart of the earth as He continually taught in the
Gospels. The fire before God’s throne is
simply the manifestation period. It involves a “death.” The fire hurts; the fire kills everyone that has lived in sin and refused to
repent while there was time.
Notice how this double slaying is revealed in the death
of Goliath:
1 Samuel 17: 48 And it came to pass, when the Philistine
arose, and came and drew nigh to meet David, that David hasted, and ran toward
the army to meet the Philistine.
49 And David put his hand in his bag,
and took thence a stone, and slang it, and smote the Philistine in his
forehead, that the stone sunk into his forehead; and he fell upon
his face to the earth.
50 So David prevailed over the
Philistine with a sling and with a stone, and smote the Philistine, and
slew him; but there was no sword in the hand of David.
51 Therefore David ran, and stood upon the Philistine,
and took his sword, and drew it out of the sheath thereof, and slew him, and
cut off his head therewith. And
when the Philistines saw their champion was dead, they fled.
[Page 172]
This is a death in two stages.
The Bible further describes this two-part judgment upon the disobedient Christian:
Matthew
24: 48 But and if that evil servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his
coming;
49 And shall begin to smite his fellow-servants, and to
eat and drink with the drunken;
50 The lord of that
servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an
hour that he is not aware of,
51 And shall cut him asunder, and
appoint him his portion with the hypocrites: there shall be weeping
and gnashing of teeth.
In Matthew 24: 48-51 the
Christian is warned to be always ready. It is easy to fall into a state of rebellion. It is easy to let our love grow cold. Yet, it is dangerous. All the Christians who appear at the final
judgment seat will be tried and it will be seen if they have lived in readiness. Those who are caught unprepared will walk
before the throne to die.
Jesus warned His disciples about two stages of judgment in Matthew 24.
First He said that the slothful, wicked servant would be “cut asunder.”
He then said that such a servant would be “appointed”
a portion “with the hypocrites.” This is a two-part judgment. Initially there is death. Then there is the further appointment to the
underworld.
As the disobedient servants walk over the fire before God’s
throne, they will immediately be “cut asunder”
by its flames. They will then be
gathered into the “lower parts of the earth” to
stay in outer darkness until after the millennial kingdom.
The “cutting asunder” is a
distinct part of the punishment; it is separate from the subsequent “appointing.” It
is illustrated in many types throughout the Scripture. Judgment begins with an “examination” where
those who have been disobedient will be punished before they are “sentenced”:
[Page 173]
Acts 22: 24
The chief captain commanded him to be brought into the castle, and bade that he
should be examined by scourging; that
he might know wherefore they cried so against him.
The courts of the world are not always just and holy. On the other hand, one can be sure that there
will be holy justice at the coming judgment seat of Christ. The earthly courts do, however, give some
clues to the order of the coming judgment of Christians. There is initially an examination by scourging (this would represent the
“second death”).
Then there is a sentencing or appointing (this would represent
banishment to the underworld.).
This two-part process is again revealed in the Book of Acts:
Acts 16: 23 And when they had laid many stripes upon them, they cast them into prison, charging
the jailor to keep them safely:
24 Who, having received such a charge, thrust them into the inner prison, and made their feet fast
in the stocks,
Notice also the dual judgment upon Jeremiah:
Jeremiah 37: 15 Wherefore the princes were wroth with Jeremiah,
and smote him, and put him in prison in the
house of Jonathan the scribe: for they had made that the prison.
16 When Jeremiah was entered into the dungeon, and into
the cabins, and Jeremiah had remained there many days;
At the day of the judgment seat of Christ it will not be the
innocent who are beaten and then cast into prison. It will
be the disobedient Christians who would not repent and ask for mercy while they
were given the opportunity. Christ
warned about the same two-part process of judgment. First there will be the “stripes” before God’s throne; secondly there will be a
“casting” into the underworld when the throne
descends down to earth:
Luke 12: 45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My
lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens,
and to eat and drink, and to be drunken;
[Page 174]
46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he
looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the
unbelievers.
47 And that servant, which knew his
lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall
be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever
much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed
much, of him they will ask the more.
The “cutting asunder” is the first
stage of punishment. It is the examination
where every Christian receives in the body the things done in the
body. Those that have done good receive
good. Those that have done evil will
receive the “hurt” of fire according to their
deeds. The disobedient, after their
flogging, will then be cast into the heart of the earth. This casting
away is the second stage of punishment.
Notice again in Luke 12 how
the Bible warns of this two-part judgment for the Christian:
Luke 12: 4 And I say unto you my friends, Be not afraid of them that kill the body, and after that have
no more that they can do.
5 But I will forewarn you whom ye shall
fear: Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into
hell; yea, 1 say unto you, Fear him.
Christians are to fear God their Father (Matthew 10: 28-29). Notice it states in Luke
12: 5, “after he hath killed.” This is at the judgment seat. He kills by the fiery sea (Revelation 15: 2) that is fed by the “consuming fire” that issues from His throne. This fire slays the Christian at the judgment
seat. After “he
hath killed,” He then has power to send those that have been hurt by the
“second death” into the hellish underworld. First there is the “killing”;
then there is the “casting,” just as in Matthew 24.
The only difference is that Luke 12
reveals where the slain are
to be cast. They are to be cast into
Hell.
This two-part judgment links together Christ’s warning about
the fiery destruction before His throne (Revelation
2: 11) with His warnings about the underworld. The judgment in Hell comes directly after the
“death” before His throne.
It is important to remember that “death”
does not necessarily mean a lack of consciousness:
Luke 16:22 And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was
carried by the angels into Abraharn's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;
23 And in hell he lift up
his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus
in his bosom.
The teaching about the “Rich Man”
(although dealing with the “intermediate state”
before the resurrection of the body) is a strong picture of the order of the
judgment seat of Christ for [regenerate] believers.
There is the “dying” and then the casting
into the heart of the earth. The “Rich Man” died a physical death on earth before he
went to Hell in soul. Yet, the account
certainly is a vivid illustration of the “second death”
at the judgment seat that takes place right before the disobedient believer is
cast into the heart of the earth.
Notice one more example of this two-part judgment upon
disobedient Christians:
Hebrews 3: 1 Wherefore, holy brethren,
partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High
Priest of our profession, Christ Jesus;
8 Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in
the day of temptation in the wilderness:
9 When your
fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my works forty years.
10 Wherefore I was grieved with that
generation, and said, They do alway err in their heart; and they have not known
my ways.
11
So I sware in
my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.
12 Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you
an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God.
13 But exhort one
another daily, while it is called To-day; lest any of you be hardened through
the deceitfulness of sin.
[Page 176]
14 For we are
made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast
unto the end;
In Hebrews
3, Paul uses the example of the people of God in the wilderness to warn
Christians in the New Testament period.
The Israelite was to believe God and overcome. Yet,
many tempted God in discouragement and unbelief. God said He was grieved with them. Their judgment is used as a warning to the
Christian today. As many
of the children of
Notice that the judgment upon
the unfaithful Israelites was in two parts:
Numbers 14: 35
I the LORD have
said, I will surely do it unto all
this evil congregation, that are gathered together against me: in this
wilderness they shall be consumed, and there they shall die.
The disobedient Israelites were to
die. That is the first aspect of the
judgment. This illustrates the “second death” at the judgment seat of Christ. The flames from before God’s throne shall hurt
the Christians that believe the evil report and mock God’s plan as being too
difficult. They shall die. However, that isn’t all. There is also a second aspect to this judgment:
Numbers 14: 32
But as for you, your carcases,
they shall fall in this wilderness.
33 And your children shall wander in the
wilderness forty years, and bear your whoredoms, until your carcases be
wasted in the wilderness.
Hebrews 3:17 But with whom
was he grieved forty years? was it not with them that had sinned, whose carcases fell in the wilderness?
[Page 177]
The word “carcass” as it is
used throughout the Scripture refers to a “dead body.” The falling, wasting, rotting carcass is a judgment that occurs after one is already dead. God said the “dead
bodies” would then be subject to falling or wasting away in the
wilderness. In figure, this means the
disobedient Christian is to be taken after he is slain at the judgment
seat to be judged in the underworld. As the dead bodies of rebellious
Israelites “fell” in the wilderness outside
the “Promised Land,” so will Christians
that experience the “second death” be subject to
another aspect of judgment outside the kingdom:
Hebrews 3: 18
And to whom sware he that they should not enter
into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they
could not enter in because of unbelief.
Many, if not most, Christians will refuse to believe they can
lose the coming “rest.” They will not fear the loss of the kingdom and
therefore will not be anchored in the motivating power that the godly fear of
loss brings. Others will draw back in dismay.
They will believe God is telling the truth about His warnings, yet they
will not believe God about His provision to equip His saints with mercy and
power to endure. All Christians who draw
back will be slain at the
judgment seat (Hebrews 10: 38-39; 2 Corinthians 5:
9-11). They will then fall into
the “wilderness” of the underworld to waste away
until their release.
In review, it might prove helpful to take one last look at 1 Corinthians 3.
It also reveals both aspects of the coming two-part judgment:
1 Corinthians 3: 12
Now if any man build upon this foundation gold,
silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble;
[Page 178]
13 Every man’s
work shall be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it shall be
revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man’s work
of what sort it is.
14 If any man’s work abide which he hath
built thereupon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man’s work shall be burned, he
shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Like the presumptuous man who comes in without a “Wedding garment” in Christ’s parable (Matthew 22: 11-14), many Christians will not be
clothed with practical holiness in their bodies as they come into contact with
the fire at the judgment seat.
Christians are commanded to bring their bodies under subjection to the will of God:
1 Thessalonians 4: 4 That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour;
Holy living in the present body is like building a house or
temple. The Christian’s future glorified
body is being built on the “foundation” of
Christ. If the Christian walks in
holiness, he is fashioning his “temple” with
precious stones to be made manifest at the judgment seat. If the Christian walks in disobedience, he is
building himself up with wood, hay and stubble.
This “house” or “temple”
is then defiled. The foundation is holy,
yet the rest of the building will not withstand the coming fire. The “house,”
as it is tried by fire, will burn:
Hebrews 3: 4
For every house is builded by some man; but he that built all things is
God.
6 But Christ as a son over his own
house; whose house are we, if we hold fast the
confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
1 Corinthians 3: 16 Know ye not that ye are the
17 If any man defile the
[Page 179]
1 Corinthians 3 teaches that disobedient Christians will have their “bodies” (temples) tried by fire. The works in the body will be manifest in the
body by fire. If the “house” burns, it is a defiled body of wood, hay, and
stubble. If the “house” stands, it is a house that has been built up in the precious
stones of faith and godly works:
Romans 8: 11 But IF the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus
from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ
from the dead shall also quicken your
mortal bodies by his
Spirit that dwelleth in you.
13 For IF YE live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye
shall live.
Every Christian that has walked a life filled with the Spirit
will be glorified at the judgment seat (Romans 8:
17). The flames of the “second death” will not hurt the glorified body
quickened by the Spirit. However, every
Christian that has not allowed the indwelling Spirit to dwell in his [body,] actions and
deeds (but has grieved Him) will die in the flames at the judgment seat. His carnal deeds will be manifested in his mortal
body.
After this manifestation by fire comes the next step:
1 Corinthians 3: 15 If any
man’s work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be
saved; yet so as by fire.
After the body is first burned in the “second death,” it will then be sentenced and temporarily banished
to the underworld. This is a two-part
judgment. Tried by fire (i.e., the
second death) and then saved “so as by fire”
(i.e., the subsequent punishment in the fiery prison of the underworld, from
which one will be delivered after the millennium).
[Page 180]
Fire from Outer Space
One might wonder how disobedient believers get from the fire
before Christ’s throne to the underworld.
After the judgment is finished, angels will then gather up all of the unfaithful
Christians who were tried and slain before the throne. This work of the angels is revealed to us in Matthew 13 when they will cleanse the earth of the
wicked in general:
Matthew 13: 41 The Son of man shall send forth his
angels, and they shall gather out of his kingdom all things that
offend, and them which do iniquity;
42 And shall
cast them into a furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
43 Then shall the righteous shine forth as the
sun in the kingdom of their Father.
Who hath ears to hear, let him hear.
49 So shall it
be at the end of the world: the angels shall come forth, and
sever the wicked from among the just,
50 And shall cast them into the
furnace of fire: there shall be wailing and gnashing of teeth.
Notice that the angels do not decide
who is wicked or just, as this is already manifested. They gather everyone who is found unworthy of
[the millennial] kingdom
reign and cast them into the fiery dungeon in the heart of the earth. This same type of angelic reaping will take
place at the judgment seat of Christ.
Notice a warning from the Lord to His disciples:
John 15: 1
I am
the true vine, and my Father is the husbandman.
2 Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit, he purgeth it, that it
may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are
clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.
5 I am the vine, ye are
the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit:
for without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in
me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and
cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
Christians are the “branches.” They
are “clean” (vs.3).
The branches are to “abide” (obey the commands
of the Lord in His [Page 181] strength). If they do not obey, they will be
punished. They will be removed. This will happen at the second coming.
First there is a “casting forth”
and “withering” (vs.6). Then “men gather them”
(vs. 6).
This “gathering” is the angelic gathering similar to that already given
in parabolic form in Matthew 13: 39.
This warning by Christ also reveals the two stages of judgment. There is the casting forth and withering at the judgment seat of Christ
(followed by the gathering by the angels), and then the subsequent burning in the darkness of the underworld.
In the second stage of the judgment, the fire is certainly real. Nevertheless, the “rich
man” in Hell could think, feel pity for his brethren, and carry on a
conversation while burning in fire (Luke 16: 23-29). This does not take away the severity of
threat. However, it does manifest a
realm of mystery by which the Hell-fire warnings might be more easily digested
by the emotions.
Falling from Heaven
After the separation performed by the angels, the underworld
will open up and receive the slain from the fire before God’s throne (i.e. the second
stage of judgment). The following verses vividly illustrate how
the slain before God’s throne may descend into the underworld.
Isaiah 14:
9 Hell from beneath is
moved for thee to meet thee at thy coming: it stirreth up the dead for
thee, even all the chief ones of the earth; it hath raised up from their
thrones all the kings of the nations.
Isaiah 5: 14
Therefore hell hath enlarged herself, and
opened her mouth without measure: and their glory, and their multitude,
and their pomp, and he that rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
[Page 182]
The fiery throne begins to descend to earth right before the
destruction of Antichrist and his armies (Daniel 7:
10). Hell will open up her mouth
to receive those who will be imprisoned within her during the millennium. Only
the Antichrist and the False Prophet will be in the Lake of Fire that is before
God’s throne during the millennial age (Revelation
19: 20; 20:10); this fire will then be in full, final
manifestation. Unfaithful believers will
be in the underworld during the millennium.
They will fall from heaven (i.e. sky) above earth much like the “star”
falls in the Book of Revelation in the midst of the tribulation period:
Revelation 9: 1 And the fifth angel sounded, and I saw a star fall from heaven unto the earth: and to him
was given the key of the bottomless pit.
Disobedient Christians (who do not repent while there is still
time) will first “fall” into the fire before
God’s throne. After they are gathered up
by the angels, there will be a mighty “shaking”:
Hebrews 12: 25 See that ye refuse not him that
speaketh. For if they escaped not who
refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape,
if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven:
26 Whose voice then shook the earth: but
now he bath promised, saying, Yet once more I shake not the
earth only, but also heaven.
27 And this word, Yet once more, signifieth the removing of those things that are shaken, as of
things that are made, that those things which cannot be shaken may remain.
28 Wherefore we receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably with
reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a consuming fire.
Those Christians that do not remain will fall farther into the
lower parts of the earth (i.e. the second and final stage of judgment):
2 Peter 1: 10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give
diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
[Page 183]
The “election” mentioned by
Peter is into the reward of kingdom reign.
The “falling” is falling into sin, which includes a later “falling” at the judgment seat if there is no repentance
beforehand:
Hebrews 10: 30
For we know him that hath said, Vengeance
belongeth unto me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people.
31 It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
[Page 184]
“Theirs is the ‘first
resurrection,’ of which we read in [Revelation] chapter 20. –
that resurrection of the dead which
‘the mark’ toward which he pressed,
if by any means he
might attain unto it (Phil. 3). Infinite mischief is
done by the belief that all [Christians] will be
equally blessed, equally honoured.”
- The Pulpit Commentary
* *
*
[Page 185]
Chapter 18
The Prize of the First resurrection
“The act of resurrection to appear before
the Berna [i.e. Judgment Seat] is thus distinct
from participation in the First Resurrection. ... It was for a share in a
resurrection not temporary ... that ancient martyrs refused life.”*
* D.M. Panton, The
Judgment Seat Of Christ (Schoettle), 50.
- D.M. Panton (1870-1955)
Christians that miss the millennial kingdom will not have part
in the First Resurrection:
Revelation 20: 6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they
shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a
thousand years.
Everyone that has “part” in the
First Resurrection will reign. This at
once refutes the common idea that the only thing Christians can forfeit is a reign
in the kingdom. Christians can lose the millennial kingdom itself Where is there room in Revelation 20: 6 [Page 186] for Christians that enter the kingdom
as subjects? Where
is there room in the verse for Christians who enter the millennial kingdom and
do not reign? There is no room. Whoever
has “part” in the First Resurrection will reign
with Jesus (over the nations in natural bodies*) a thousand years.
[* It is inconceivable, in the light of what we read in Scripture, that the
dead – whose souls are now in ‘Hades’ – will
have “natural bodies” at the time of the ‘First
Resurrection’!]
Notice what the Bible reveals about the saints who
come down with Christ to reign
in the kingdom** after the judgment seat is
completed:
[** NOTE. This text can only refer to saints who will be rapt into heaven –
being “accounted worthy” to escape the Great
Tribulation, (Luke 21: 36): and it is taught
in Scripture that - “the glory of the celestial
[body] is one, and the glory of the terrestrial
is another” (1 Cor. 15: 40,
R.V.)! Therefore, at the time of this
rapture, their bodies will be changed into immortal, glorified
bodies of “flesh
and bones,”
like that of our Lord Jesus Christ, (Luke 24: 39).
Furthermore, there are no glorified “saints” in heaven today for, “we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting
for our adoption,
to wit, the redemption of our body … we with patience wait for it,”
(Rom. 8: 23-25, R.V.).]
Revelation 17: 14 These shall make war with the Lamb, and the
Lamb shall overcome them: for he is Lord of lords, and King of kings: and they that are WITH HIM are called, and chosen, and faithful.
The saints who come back with Christ are “faithful” and “chosen.” Every Christian is not a “faithful” Christian (Matthew
24: 45, 48; 25: 21, 26; Revelation 2: 10). Williarn Arnot (1808-1875)
expounds upon the word “chosen”:
“
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (July
16, 1928).
All Christians are “called,”
but all Christians are not “chosen” to reign in
the millennium:
Matthew 22: 11 And when the king came in to see the guests,
he saw there a man which had not on a wedding garment:
12 And he saith unto him, Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding
garment? And he was speechless.
13 Then said the king to the servants, Bind him hand
and foot, and take him away, and cast him into outer darkness; there shall be
weeping and gnashing of teeth.
14 For many are called, but few are chosen.
[Page 187]
Notice again who is “chosen” to
have part in the First Resurrection:
Revelation 20: 6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the
first resurrection: on such the second death
hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign
with him a thousand years.
This verse places the condition of holiness on having part in the First
Resurrection. This speaks of practical holiness, since John mentions the
martyrs that have overcome the Beast in the same context:
Revelation 20: 4
And I saw thrones, and THEY sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of
THEM that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
There are two groups mentioned in the above verse. First there are those that are sitting on “thrones.” This
appears to speak of the Christian overcomers from previous ages before
the tribulation period. They will reign
and have part in the First Resurrection.
There is no throne given without practical holiness in the Christian
life:
Revelation
3: 21 To him that overcometh
will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame, and
am set down with my Father in his throne.
2 Timothy 2:12
If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will deny us:
It therefore follows that these sitting upon thrones in Revelation 20: 4 cannot represent all Christians. It must therefore be a select number that have valiantly resisted sin
and worldliness in order to reign with Christ.
[Page 188]
The other set of saints mentioned in Revelation
20: 4 are the martyrs in the future tribulation period that will resist
the temptations of the Beast and pay for it with their lives. These two groups are all that John mentions.
Therefore, where are the Christians that were not “faithful”
(Revelation 17: 14) or “holy” (Revelation 20: 6)?:
2 Peter 1: 5 And beside
this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue;
and to virtue knowledge;
6 And to knowledge temperance; and to temperance
patience; and to patience godliness;
7 And to godliness
brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness charity.
8 For if these things be in you, and
abound, they make you that ye shall neither be barren nor
unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 But he that lacketh these things
is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged
from his old sins.
1 John 2: 28 And now, little children, abide in him; that,
when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed
before him at his coming.
Where are those Christians in Revelation 20: 4 that supposedly
lose their crown and their reign, yet still gain kingdom entrance? They
are not found in the verse, just as they are not found in verse 6.
They do not have part in the
First Resurrection.
The first group sitting upon the thrones in Revelation 20: 4 reveals that the First Resurrection is limited to only
those Christians that have lived sufficiently holy lives to be accounted worthy
of reigning. Entrance into
the kingdom is not so narrow that one must be an actual physical martyr to
obtain it. On the other hand, neither is
it so wide that all Christians enter regardless of their conduct.
Having part in the First Resurrection is linked with kingdom
entrance and reign. Both are conditional
blessings for Christians based upon conduct. Other Scriptures likewise reveal the same [Page 189] connection between this resurrection and reigning. They also reveal that both are conditional in
regard to Christians:
Luke 20: 35 But
they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain THAT
WORLD, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are
given in marriage:
Obtaining the coming age of the millennium is linked with obtaining the resurrection from the dead. One must be “accounted
worthy.” Notice another passage:
Luke 14:13 But when thou makest a feast, call the poor,
the maimed, the lame, the blind:
14 And thou shalt be blessed; for they
cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at
the resurrection of the just.
Feeding the poor is a practical work of holiness.
This shows that the “accounted worthy” in
Luke 20: 35 refers to practical
righteousness in the Christian walk. It is not speaking of the positional, imputed righteousness
possessed by all Christians.
Paul took these words of Christ literally:
Philippians 3: 10 That I may know him, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being
made conformable unto his death;
11 If by any means I
might attain unto the RESURRECTION of the dead.
12 Not as though I had already attained,
either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that
for which also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself to have
apprehended: but this one thing 1 do, forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the PRIZE of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Paul was striving for the First Resurrection. He shows the First Resurrection is conditioned
upon suffering with Christ. It is called
a “prize.”
A prize is something one is to win:
[Page 190]
1 Corinthians 9: 24 Know ye not that they which run in a race run
all, but one receiveth the prize? So run, that ye may obtain.
25 And every man that striveth for the
mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as uncertainly;
so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my body,
and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to
others, I myself should be a castaway.
There is nothing figurative about the words of Philippians 3: 11.
To spiritualize the resurrection in that chapter is to cast doubt on the
literalness of any resurrection, in any verse.
The First Resurrection to Immortality
It is important to realize that “having
part” in the First Resurrection does not just consist of being raised
momentarily from the dead for
judgment.*
It consists of being raised from the dead never to die again:
[* NOTE. Keep in mind, there is an on-going
judgment before death (Acts. 5: 1-10),
and also a “judgment,” after the time of death
in Hades before this resurrection:
“… it is appointed unto men once to die, and after this cometh judgment”
(Heb. 9: 27, R.V.).]
Luke 20: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to
obtain that world, and the resurrection from the
dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 Neither can they die
any more: for
they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children
of the resurrection.
Christ plainly describes the First Resurrection. Anything less than being raised to
immortality is not the First Resurrection.
Many have been physically resurrected in the past:
Hebrews 11: 35 Women
received their dead raised to life again: and others were tortured,
not accepting deliverance; that they might obtain
a better resurrection:
Even though many have been physically resurrected already, no
one but Christ has obtained the “better resurrection.”
They all died again. Jesus Christ is the only one who has been
raised
to immortality:
[Page 191]
Colossians 1: 18 And he
is the head of the body, the church: who is the beginning, the firstborn from
the dead; that in all things he might have the pre-eminence.
1 Corinthians 15: 20 But now is Christ
risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits
of them that slept.
All Christians will be bodily resurrected to stand trial at
the judgment seat of Christ:*
2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must
all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive
the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good
or bad.
[* NOTE. The author is here implying that “all” saints
will (after resurrection) “appear before the
judgment seat of Christ”! This is
nowhere stated in Scripture! If it were
true, those not found worthy to reign during the millennium, would then return
to the place of the dead in “the heart of the earth”! Nowhere is this stated in Scripture. The word “all”
in verse 23 is limited, and includes only those
resurrected “at His coming”. That is, at the end of the Great
Tribulation. They will not
“die again” as the author has stated in the
following paragraph. See G. H. Lang’s ‘Firstfruits
and Harvest’.]
Nevertheless, all Christians will not stay alive. All Christians will not be found worthy to
obtain “that world” and the “resurrection from the dead.” Since they will [not] die again, they do not “have
part” in that Resurrection.
The word “resurrection” in Scripture
usually refers to being raised to immortality.
This is how Paul uses the word in 1
Corinthians 15:
1 Corinthians 15: 22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all* be made alive.
23 But every man in his own order: CHRIST the firstfruits;
AFTERWARD they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 THEN cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put down
all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign,
till he hath put all enemies under his feet.
The words “made alive” mean to
be made alive never to die again. The
words “in Christ” (15:
22) refer only to Christians.
Unbelievers are not in Christ.
They will never be made alive never to die again. Unbelievers will indeed be raised from the
dead. Yet, they are never raised from
the dead to live eternally.
[Page 191]
The context of 1 Corinthians 15 refers only to Christians. Other than the resurrection of Jesus (the
first one to rise from the dead in glory, never to die again), Paul mentions
two more resurrections of saints. Each
Christian must be raised “in his own order.”
Paul mentions the two times that Christians will be raised to
immortality. The first resurrection (to immortality) occurs at the coming of
Christ. The words “they that are Christ’s at his coming” refer to the chosen saints who will be accounted worthy to reign with
Jesus in the millennial kingdom. This does not refer to all Christians:
Hebrews 3: 6 But Christ as
a son over his own house; whose house are we, IF
we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm unto the end.
1 John 3: 24
And he
that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him...
There are plainly two ways to belong to Jesus. We can belong to Him positionally in regard to
eternal salvation and we can also belong to Him experientially in the walk of faith in regard
to the coming millennial glory. It was
in this latter sense that Paul laboured to “know”
Jesus:
Philippians 3: 10
That I may KNOW HIM, and the power of his
resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto
his death;
11 If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection [out] of the dead.
Paul wanted to be among that special number that would be “Christ’s at his coming” (1
Corinthians 15: 23). Jesus taught that only faithful, watching saints
would be known by Him and recognized by Him in such a manner (Luke 13: 27; Matthew 7: 23; 25: 12). He taught His disciples to walk in humility, putting themselves
last that they may be first in the future kingdom reign
(Luke 13: 30; Mark 9: 35). Even in Old Testament times, daily [Page 193] fellowship and intimacy with the Lord was dependent upon the exercise of
humility:
Psalms 138: 6
Though the LORD
be high, yet hath he respect unto the
lowly: but the proud he KNOWETH afar
off.
Jesus taught His believing disciples that this principle was
still true, even among Christians. Obedient
Christians “know” Jesus in a deeper,
more special manner than unfaithful saints know Him (John
15: 14). Directly before he was brutally whipped for simply being a
Baptist, Obediah Holmes proclaimed:
“That which suffer for, is the Word
of God, and testimony of Jesus Christ ... I am now come to be baptized in
afflictions by your hands, that so I may have further
fellowship with my Lord
...”*
* John Clarke, 49, 50.
It is this deeper knowledge that Paul laboured to obtain, whether
in life, suffering or death. Paul
already knew Jesus as his Saviour. He
longed to be found walking with Him daily in the fullness of His power. Such a daily walk with Christ is the only way
to have part in the First Resurrection before the millennium (Philippians 3: 10-11).
In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul
teaches that there is also another time that Christians
will be raised to immortality. It occurs when the millennial kingdom has
ended:
1 Corinthians 15: 23 But every man in his
own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his
coming.
24 THEN cometh the end, when he shall have
delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father;
when he shall have put down all rule and all authority and power.
This teaches that after the millennial kingdom there will be
some saints who missed the First Resurrection that will then be [Page 194] resurrected to immortality. “Every man in his own order” refers to either before
the millennium or after it. The Book of
Revelation also reveals that there will be saints raised to immortality after
the millennium:
Revelation
20: 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and
hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according
to their works.
14 And death and hell were cast
into the lake of fire. This is the
second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Revelation 20: 15 teaches that people will be found written in the Book of Life at the end
of the millennial age. This is the “end” that
Paul refers to in 1 Corinthians 15: 24.
The early Christians understood this motivating truth. They understood that each saint must be
raised in his own order (i.e. either before the millennium or afterward)
according to their deserts. Tertullian
(160-240) testifies that these early saints prayed to have part in the First
Resurrection. In regard to the First
Resurrection, Tertullian writes:
“We do confess that a kingdom is
promised to us upon the earth. ... After its thousand years are over, within
which period is completed the resurrection of the saints,
who rise, sooner OR LATER according to their deserts, there will
ensue the destruction of the world. …”*
* Tertullian,
Anti-Marcion, (Albany, OR: Ages
Digital Library Collections, 1997), “The Ante-Nicene
Fathers,” Vol.3; Ch.24, 620.
Christians who are accounted worthy to be raised to
immortality at the start of the
millennium will be “firstborn”:
Romans 8: 29 For
whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of
his Son, that he might be the FIRSTBORN among many brethren.
[Page 195]
The special honor of being a "firstbom" son includes
being firstborn in resurrection (i.e. before the other "brethren"
who will be raised after the millennium):
Luke 20: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in
marriage:
36 Neither can they die any more:
for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the CHILDREN OF THE RESURRECTION.
Jesus Himself reveals the crucial distinction between simply
being raised (to die again at the judgment seat) and being raised to eternal
life at the start of the millennium:
John 5: 26 For as the Father hath life in himself, so
hath he given to the Son to have life in himself,
27 And hath given him authority to execute judgment also, because he is the Son of man.
28 Marvel not at this: for the hour is
coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall
hear his voice,
29 And shall come forth; they that have
done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto
the resurrection of damnation.
This event happens in a future “hour”
(i.e. a short duration of time). It
speaks of two classes being resurrected. It divides between two different types
of resurrections. Even though those that
have done evil are resurrected (notice this is practical unrighteousness that
any Christian may be found guilty of), they do not “have
part” in the “resurrection of life.” They are not resurrected to immortality. There is nothing in the word “damnation” in John 5
that must refer to the absolute endless punishment of the lost for rejecting
Christ. The context of both passages is
practical holiness or the lack of it.
Many Christians will be raised only to die again. They will be hurt of the “second death” and will miss the kingdom for 1000 [Page 196] years. These Christians will be
raised to immortality at the Great White Throne after the millennium:
Revelation
20: 5 But the rest of the dead LIVED NOT AGAIN until the thousand
years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
6 Blessed and holy is he that bath part in the first
resurrection: on such the second death
hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall
reign with him a thousand years.
The remainder of the dead must wait until after the millennium
to be raised:
John 6: 39 And this is the
Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should
lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the LAST day.
40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which
seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.
These Christians missed the First Resurrection and the
millennial kingdom reign. They were hurt of the second death
and had to die again at the judgment
seat of Christ. They receive the
resurrection of life (to immortality) on the Last Day, which occurs after the
millennium. The lost that have never
received Jesus will then perish in the
* * *
[Page 197]
Chapter 19
Safeguarding Literal Interpretation
“...as the words here stand, we
cannot, without great violence, make ‘the rest’... embrace any other than the class of the
pious dead, from which the martyr saints have been previously taken to
participate in the first resurrection.”*
* Daniel Steele, A Substitute For Holiness, Chapter XIV
- John Owen (1616-1683)
“The number of the elect who are to
share these blessings has also been much discussed. A too literal interpretation
of Rev. 20: 4 limited them to the martyrs and those who remained faithful
in the final persecution.”*
* The New Schaff-Herzog
Encyclopedia (New
York: Funk and Wagnalls, 1910), 377.
- The New Schaff-Herzog
Encyclopedia (1910)
Only a select number of Christians
(not all) will be raised to reign in the millennial kingdom. The remainder will fail to receive this great
prize. Opponents of pre-millennialism
sometimes embrace an allegorical form of this truth. Is the doctrine of selective resurrection
therefore a concession to those that spiritualize [Page 198] the prophecies? Certainly not! It is actually a strong defence against
them. Later chapters will reveal that a
majority of pre-millennialists (throughout history) have believed in some form
of selective-resurrection. They limited
the First Resurrection to martyrs, which they defined as all Christians living
a life of holiness, whether or not they are physically martyred.
Alexander Reese, a historic pre-millennialist, reminds us that
the majority of non-literalists also hold to a selective (though usually
figurative) resurrection in Revelation 20:
“It is wrong, therefore, to assert as
some advocates and most critics of
Premillennialism assert, that the first resurrection is limited to martyrs.”*
* Alexander Reese, The Approaching Advent Of Christ (Marshall, Morgan & Scott
Ltd., 1937), 86.
The critics of pre-millennialism interpret the “First Resurrection” in Revelation
20 to be either regeneration (i.e. Augustine, Chilton), water baptism,
the disembodied souls of saints reigning in Heaven (i.e. the amillennialists),
or a spiritual resurrection of the “church” on
earth (i.e. Whitby and the postmillennialists).
In spite of such absurdities, some of their various arguments concerning
selective-resurrection are worth noting:
“During the 1000 years, the martyred
saints are said to reign with Christ.
The fourth verse speaks of a limited group; not all Christians. The Apocalypse is deeply concerned with the
martyrs and their reward. This is
nothing new; it has been the constant emphasis of the book. ... This 'living'
must speak of something special given to the martyrs which other Christians do
not receive until the thousand years have passed. This interpretation
presupposes that the phrase 'rest of the dead' refers to all other non‑martyred Christians. This point is
important to any proper interpretation of the twentieth chapter. The idea that
the phrase refers to the unsaved dead is one of the errors which has caused
many to hesitate to adopt the true view of the passage. …”*
* Jay
Adams, The Time Is At Hand (Presbyterian
And Reformed Publishing Co., 1974), 88-89, 91.
- Jay E. Adams (b. 1929)
[Page 199]
“These - the martyrs and confessors -
and no others are the subject of the passage.
(Rev. 20) The assumption which is often made that all the pious dead are included, is entirely without warrant from
the passage itself, and tends to involve the whole in extricable confusion.”
*
-
“The triumph of Christ is shared not
by the martyrs only but by all who under the sway of the Beast and the False
Prophet suffered reproach, boycotting, imprisonment, loss of goods, or other
inconveniences, though they did not win the martyr’s crown ... the return of
the martyrs and confessors to life at the beginning of the Thousand Years, is
the first Resurrection. ... There are points at which the Augustinian
interpretation forsakes the guidance of John’s words; it overlooks, e.g., the
limitation of the first Resurrection to the martyrs and confessors.”*
* Henry
B. Swete, The Apocalypse of
- Henry Barclay Swete (d. 1917)
“After investigating this subject,
moreover, I have doubts whether the assertion is correct, that such a doctrine
as that of the first resurrection is no where else to be found in the
Scriptures. What can Paul mean, (Phil. 3: 8-11) when he represents
himself as readily submitting to every kind of self-denial and suffering, ‘if by any means he might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead?’
Of his resurrection at the end of the world, when all without exception,
even the wicked as well as the good, will surely be raised, he could have no
possible doubt. What sense can this
passage have then, if it represents him as labouring and suffering merely in
order to attain to a resurrection, and as holding this up to view, by
implication, as unattainable unless he should arrive at a high degree of
Christian perfection? On the other hand;
let us suppose a first resurrection to be appointed as a
special reward of high attainments in Christian virtue, (exactly as in Rev.20: 4-6), and all
seems to be made plain and easy. Of a resurrection in a
figurative sense, i.e. regeneration, Paul cannot be speaking; for
he had already attained to that on the plain of Damascus. Of the like tenor with this text, moreover,
seems to be the implication in Luke 14: 14, where the Saviour promises to his disciples a sure reward for kindness to the poor and the
suffering, by the declaration: ‘Thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.’
”*
* D.T.
Taylor, The Voice Of The Church (H.L.
Hastings, 1855), 371-372.
- Moses Stuart (1780-1852)
[Page 200]
“The express contrast here made
between the partial and general resurrection, and the manner in which this
contrast is present, show that the design is not to compare a spiritual with a physical
resurrection, but to contrast the partial extent of the latter at the beginning
of the Millennium, with its general or universal extent at the end of the
world .... Peculiar sufferings and fidelity are entitled to, and will receive,
peculiar rewards.”*
* Moses
Stuart, A Commentary On The Apocalypse, vol.
2 (
- Moses Stuart
In spite of these admissions from the opponents of
pre-millennialism, selective-resurrection (i.e. millennial exclusion of some
Christians) must ultimately be denied on a-millennial or post-millennial
grounds. Thomas Bumett (1635-1715)
reveals that the doctrine of selective-resurrection was actually used to
defeat the critics of
pre-millennialism in his day:
“Dr. Hammond, a learned and worthy
divine (but one that loves to contract and cramp the sense of prophecies), making this first resurrection allegorical, applies it not
to single persons, but to the state of the church
in general: the Christian church, he says, shall have a resurrection
for a thousand years; that is, shall rise out of persecution, be in a
prosperous condition, and an undisturbed profession of the true religion, for
so long a time. But this agrees with the prophecy as little as the former: if it be a state of the church in general, and of the church
then in being, why is this resurrection applied to the martyrs?”*
* Bishop
Burnett, The Sacred Theory Of The Earth (London:
T. Kinnersley, Acton Place, Kingsland Road, 1816), 544.
There is another way in which many modem pre-millennialists
(i.e. those that refuse to limit kingdom entrance to overcomers) are in much
sympathy with the various spiritualizers.
These pre-millenialists tend to spiritualize the word “kingdom” as it
occurs in warning passages throughout the New Testament. This way (to do away with any
warning to true Christians) the kingdom warnings are made to refer to the new birth. In other words, the Bible
is seen to be warning professors to bring forth fruit or they will not “inherit” eternity. Thus the “kingdom” becomes another
[Page 201] word for eternity or salvation in general. As proof of this, note the arguments of pre-millennialist Sir Robert Anderson
(1841-1918) who is forced by his doctrinal stand to sound like Augustine
attempting to refute the early Chiliasts (i.e. pre-millennialists):
“Exclusion from the millennial
kingdom, we are told by some, will be the penalty imposed on Christians who lapse
into immoral practices. ... This assumes, however, that ‘the kingdom of God’ is
merely a synonym for the millennial kingdom ... [1 Cor. 6: 9, 10] The world and its religion is the natural
sphere, but the kingdom of God is
spiritual; and none can enter it ... without a new birth by the Spirit. ...
As a matter of fact, it is extremely doubtful whether the
millennial kingdom is ever referred to in these Epistles of the Apostle Paul.”*
* Sir
Robert Anderson, Forgotten Truth (1914;
reprinted,
These are incredible words from a pre-millennialist! The next kingdom to come is the millennial,
not the eternal kingdom (Luke 21: 31; 22: 16).
“That ‘the
Kingdom’ is
the Millennial, and not the Eternal, this very Epistle declares: ‘He shall deliver up THE KINGDOM to God, even the Father’ (1 Cor. 15: 24). ...”*
* D.M. Panton, The
Judgment Seat Of Christ (Schoettle, 1984), 45.
[Page 202]
In applying the various warnings and promises (dealing with
conduct) to true Christians in
regard to the future millennial kingdom,
one safeguards the truth of pre-millennialism itself. To do otherwise begins to unravel it.
Several prominent preachers that rejected the truths of
millennial exclusion also rejected the pre-millennialism they once
advocated! Thomas T. Shields (1873-1955)
pastored the
“It is sheer, unmitigated
rubbish. We not only reject it, we repudiate
it, and abhor it. In our view, anyone
who could write thus, and equally those who believe it, need the services of a
psychiatrist.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (June
1st 1940).
D.M. Panton was a leading premillennial fundamentalist in
“In conversation, Ketcham recalled
positively that R.E. Neighbour was the
one man really responsible for the founding of the Baptist Bible Union, and
Riley in 1924 named both Neighbour and Van Osdel ... Years later, Van Osdel
wrote, ‘Dr. Neighbour was one of the leading spirits in this movement, and
later when a meeting was called for interested parties to meet in Chicago he
prevailed upon Dr. W.B. Riley and Dr. J. Frank Norris to join our [Page 203] ranks ... Dr. Riley succeeded in persuading Dr. T.T. Shields to be present at the
Kansas City meeting and to accept the
presidency.”*
* Robert George Defflay, A
History of the Baptist Bible Union (A Dissertation presented to the Faculty
of the Graduate School Dallas Theological Seminary, 1963).
Shields was far less vocal in his opposition to such views
during this period of his life. He would
invite Neighbour to preach in his church and had warm correspondence with
him. It appears that Shields was, for a
time, an advocate of dispensational pre-millennialism. Yet, later he repudiated
pre-millennialism. It is therefore no
wonder that he also repudiated millennial exclusion. Amillennialists define the “
Similarly, Arthur W. Pink (1886-1952) was a dispensational
writer that attempted to refute the doctrine of millennial exclusion (in 1918);
he later also denied pre-millennialism.
Pink writes:
“This is the Dispensation of Grace,
and grace obliterates all distinctions, grace eliminates all questions of
merits; grace makes every blessing a Divine and free gift. ... The one
who has received Christ as his or her Saviour is for ever beyond the reach of
Divine ‘judgment.’
... Entrance into that [millennial] Kingdom is
solely a matter of Divine grace, but an ‘abundant
entrance’ into it is conditional upon our
present fidelity to the Lord. … But let us ask the question, Does the apostle
here [Philippians 3: 11] refer to a physical resurrection?”*
* Arthur
W. Pink, The Redeemer’s Return (Swengel,
PA: Bible Truth Depot, 1918).
Pink at first argues that millennial exclusion cannot be true
(regardless of what the Scriptures appear to teach) since there can [Page 204] be no distinctions in this age of grace.
However, a few sentences later he tells us that there are distinctions
based on service and that some unfaithful Christians will have a lower position
in the millennium! Therefore, his
argument concerning the dispensation of grace could just as easily be used to
refute his own view. To keep Philippians 3: 11 from negating his view, Pink was
forced to spiritualize the resurrection therein. Yet, if the resurrection in Philippians 3: 11 can be spiritualized, then why
not spiritualize the resurrection in Revelation 20:
4? To deny millennial exclusion,
words such as “kingdom” and “resurrection” must be interpreted figuratively in many
passages. This is why the denial of
millennial exclusion begins the slippery slope toward A-millennialism.
Dr. John Wilmot, for thirty-five years (1924-1959), pastored
the Highgate Road Baptist Chapel in
“The writer gives certain supposed
reasons for true believers being excluded from the kingdom and expelled into
temporary punishment. He says, ‘Joint-heirship with Christ in His millennial
reign is bequeathed on the same condition on which He received it - it is
appointed as a special reward of high attainment in Christian virtue. ... some
guilty of the very gravest offences are temporarily in gehenna.’ It is said
that these will be released at the Great White Throne, as their names will be
found written in the Book of Life.”
These examples demonstrate the Scriptural principle that when
we reject additional light, we risk losing the light we have already received (Matthew 13: 11-12).
The fact that spiritualizers often hold to a selective resurrection (although figurative) in Revelation 20 is due to the fact that at [Page 205] one time practically all interpreters (i.e.
premillennial, amillennial and postmillennial) embraced this truth.
Many premillennialists have rightly discovered another class
of saints sitting on the “thrones” before the
martyr class is mentioned in Revelation 20: 4. These two groups are all that John sees
having part in the First Resurrection.
Therefore, everyone that has a part in the First Resurrection sits
on a throne and reigns
with Christ for 1000 years. Revelation
20: 4 speaks of millennial thrones.
Christ states that these thrones are only given through overcoming in
the Christian life:
Revelation 3: 21 To him that overcometh will
I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also overcame,
and am set down with my Father in his throne.
22 He that hath
an ear, let him hear what the Spirit saith unto the churches.
On the other hand, spiritualizers are usually hyper-Calvinists
and they therefore tend to deny that any true Christian could ever be unworthy
of a crown or a throne. Since they never
interpret a “kingdom” warning to be millennial,
they hardly ever discover the sad truth of the unfaithful Christian. The “
In conclusion, when spiritualizers are found limiting the
First Resurrection to only the overcomers, they are actually one step closer to
pre-millennialism. Likewise, when
pre-millennialists refuse to limit the prize of the millennial resurrection,
they are one step removed from it.
[Page 206]
Matthew 18: 34
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to
the tormentors,
till he should pay all that was
due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also unto you,
if ye from your hearts
forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
“The Christian Church has never fairly faced these words.”
- Sir William Robertson Nicoll (1851-1923)
* *
*
[Page 207]
CHAPTER 20
Millennial Incarceration
“Wherefore
hell, in another place, is called a prison too.”
* John Bunyan, The
Complete Works Of John Bunyan (Philadelphia: Bradley, Garretson & Co.,
1874), 995.
- John Bunyan (1628-1688)
“...lest this Judge deliver you over
to the angel who is to execute the sentence, and he commit you to the prison of hell, out of which there will be no dismissal
until the smallest even of your delinquencies be paid off...”*
* Tertullian,
A Treatise on the Soul, 35.
- Tertullian (A.D. 210)
According to Isaiah, Satan will one day be temporarily
imprisoned in the heart of the earth:
Isaiah 14: 12 How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the
ground, which didst weaken the nations!
13 For thou hast said in thine heart, I
will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will
sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north:
14 I will ascend above the heights of
the clouds; I will be like the most High.
[Page 208]
15 Yet thou shalt be
brought down to hell, to the sides of the pit.
The Book of Revelation likewise teaches that Satan will be locked
up in the bottomless pit (Revelation 20: 1-2). Revelation 20: 7 calls it a “prison”:
Revelation 20: 7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of
his prison ...
This prison is the bottomless pit of the underworld (1 Peter 3: 19; 2 Peter 2: 4):
“Hell: A dungeon or prison.”*
* Noah Webster’s First Edition Of An
American Dictionary Of The English Language, 1828 (Foundation For American Christian Education,
1989).
- Webster’s Dictionary (1828)
A Warning to Peter About Millennial
Prison
Disobedient [regenerate] believers may also experience incarceration in the
underworld during the millennium:
Luke 12: 46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when
he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him
in sunder, and will appoint him his
portion WITH THE UNBELIEVERS.
Ephesians 5: 6 Let no man deceive you with vain words: for
because of these things cometh the wrath of God upon the children of disobedience.
7 Be not ye therefore
partakers WITH THEM.
Where do unbelievers spend the millennium? Notice another warning addressed to Peter:
Matthew
18: 21 Then came PETER to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin
against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
22 Jesus saith unto HIM,
I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
[Page 209]
23 Therefore is the
KINGDOM of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of
HIS SERVANTS.
The parable that Jesus gives to Peter concerns the judgment
seat of Christ. Jesus warns Peter about
missing the millennial kingdom if he does not show mercy to his brethren (18: 23). Every
Christian will need mercy from God at the judgment seat since only one wilful sin (worthy of exclusion) after
salvation makes us worthy of temporary soul death (Hebrews
10: 28-29). This mercy must be sought
in this life before the Judgment day arrives.
The New Testament teaches that one condition for receiving
mercy at the judgment seat (and in our daily walk with God) is that we show
mercy to others:
Matthew 5: 7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall
obtain mercy.
Matthew 6: 14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
15 But if ye forgive not men their
trespasses, neither wilI your Father forgive your trespasses.
James 2: 12 So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be
judged by the law of liberty.
13 For he shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy;
and mercy rejoiceth against judgment.
Notice how the parable in Matthew
18 concludes with this truth:
Matthew 18: 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him,
said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because
thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy
fellow-servant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due
unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto YOU,
if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
[Page 210]
Christ gives this warning to His disciples (i.e. primarily
Peter). Since the context is the future
judgment seat and the millennial kingdom (Matthew
18: 23), and since the warnings in Christ’s parables are always literal
(Matthew 13: 4-42), this is clearly a
warning about being cast into the dungeon in the heart of the earth until
after the millennium.
Christians are commanded to daily confess their sins and seek
forgiveness (Matthew 6: 11-12; 1 John 1: 9):
“To say that they [believers’
sins] are to be recognized as sins, and yet that no
acknowledgment is to be made, and no forgiveness sought for them, is a
statement so monstrous as to carry its own refutation.”*
* D.M. Panton, Sin After Conversion (London: Alfred Holness, 1917), 1.
- B.W. Newton (1807-1899)
But when God sees that we will not forgive a brother (who does
not owe us anything compared to what we owe God), we are then placed in grave
danger of receiving judgment without mercy when Jesus Christ returns (James 2: 13). The Book of Revelation reveals that the
imprisonment and torment that disobedient believers will experience will last
for 1000 years:
Revelation 20: 4 And I
saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I
saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the
word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither
had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the
dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
However, we can be sure that there will be different degrees
of chastisement during this 1000 years based on the degree of unfaithfulness and
light (Luke 12: 47-48).
* *
*
[Page 211]
Chapter 21
Blotted out of the Book of Life
“...[Revelation 3:5] this is not a question of eternity, it is a question of
reigning with Christ.”*
* Watchman
Nee, Come, Lord Jesus (New York: Christian
Fellowship, 1976), 41.
- Watchman Nee (1903-1972)
“Some have supposed, that there may
be two books of life ... [Or] there may be a temporary blotting out of the name
of the believer from the book of life, during the period of reward enjoyed by
the others; and a restoration of the name, ere the final award settles the
position of each for ever.”*
* Robert Govett, Govett On
Revelation, Vol. 1 (Miami
Springs: Conley & Schoettle, 1981), 171.
- Robert Govett (1813-1901)
It is time to examine another conditional promise that is
often erroneously treated in the same manner as Revelation
2: 11:
Revelation 3: 5 He that overcometh, the same shall be clothed
in white raiment; and I will not blot out his name out
of the book of life, but I will confess his name before my Father,
and before his angels.
[Page 212]
The arguments already given in regard to Revelation 2: 11 (i.e. in chapter
15) also apply to Revelation 15. Notice
the additional, conditional promise of being confessed before the Father and
His angels. No one doubts that such a
promise is conditional (see Matthew 10: 32). Yet, it is in the same verse as the promise
concerning the “book of life.” The view that this is not a real warning to [regenerate] Christians
is untenable. Revelation
3: 5 teaches that if Christians do not “overcome”
they will be blotted out of the “book of life.” Those that doubt that this promise contains a
warning should remember that the Lord Jesus clearly repeats the same warning in
the closing chapter of the Book of Revelation:
Revelation 22: 16
I Jesus have sent mine angel to testify unto you these things in the churches. I am the root and the offspring of David, and
the bright and morning star.
19 And if any man shall
take away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take
away his part out of the book of life, and out of the holy city, and
from the things which are written in this book.
This warning (like the one in Revelation
15) is addressed to “the churches.” Christians are obviously warned. Verse 19 reads “any man.” This is a warning to first century saints
that they must overcome in battle and resist any temptation to diminish or corrupt
the Lord’s words. The same warning
therefore applies to all Christians, at all times.
Arminians (i.e. Christians [who
believe and teach Christians] can lose
salvation in eternity) hastily read their view into these verses. However, to be blotted out of a book of “life” is simply a warning about losing “life.” The warning is to Christians, and there are
plenty of Scriptures to show that Christians can never perish in eternity (John 6: 39-40).
Losing “life” is not necessarily losing
absolute eternal life. To be blotted out of the “book of life” at the judgment seat means (when it is a
warning to [regenerate]
Christians) to be condemned to die throughout the millennium. This is a danger for Christians.
[Page 213]
Arminians argue that the “book of life”
shows up again at the Great White Throne judgment:
Revelation 20: 14 And death and hell
were cast into the lake of fire. This is
the second death.
15 And whosoever was not
found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
Does not this make the conditional promise in Revelation 3: 5 a warning about losing eternal
salvation? To begin to answer this
objection it should first be noted that there is more than one “book” mentioned in Revelation 20:
Revelation
20: 12 And I saw the dead,
small and great, stand before God; and the BOOKS
were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.
It is possible that there is more than one “book of life.”
There is a “life” that is relative to
each age revealed in Scripture. First,
there is a book of physical life in this world (Exodus
32: 32; Psalms 69: 28); secondly, there is a book of millennial life in regard to the age to come (Revelation 3: 5); and finally, there is a book of
absolute, eternal life (Revelation 20: 12).
Notice that God is keeping a record of His “firstborn” children:
Hebrews 12: 23 To the general assembly and church of the
firstborn, which are written in heaven...
This means that God is keeping a record of the saints that
will have part in the First Resurrection. These saints will be firstborn among “many brethren” (Romans 8:
29). The millennial “book of life” (Revelation
3: 5) will therefore contain the names of every Christian that will be
crowned at the judgment seat. To be blotted out of this book
is to fail to overcome in life and
backslide from [Page 214] a state of holy, practical righteousness.
Every good deed a Christian performs is written in this book:
Hebrews 6: 10
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work
and labour of love, which ye have shewed toward his name, in that ye have
ministered to the saints, and do minister.
The Christian must “strive” to
overcome and make sure that he does not lose what he has already gained. The Christian may
be disqualified or “blotted out” of the book of
practical righteousness and millennial life:
2 John 1: 8 Look to yourselves, that we lose not those things which we have wrought, but that we receive a full reward,
The final “book of life” is the
book of positional righteousness.
It concerns life in eternity. It
contains the names of only those that are saved through faith alone in Christ. The lost will not be found in this book at
the Great White Throne (Revelation 20:12; 13: 8;
17: 8).
The idea of multiple books might seem strange to some. Yet, no one holds the “woman” in Revelation 17 to
be the same as the “woman” in Revelation 12 or 21. The creature with 10 horns in Revelation 12 (i.e. Satan) is different from the
creature with 10 horns in Revelation 13 (i.e.
the Antichrist). It is therefore a fact
that we must exercise much discernment in regard to context when interpreting
the Book of Revelation and comparing Scripture to Scripture. Things similar are not always the same.
There is also
another possibility that will not contradict the Scriptures that clearly teach
eternal security (i.e. 1 Corinthians 3: 5; John 6:
39; 10: 28, etc.). If the book of life in Revelation
20: 15 is the same as the book of life in Revelation
15, there is nothing in Revelation 3: 5
that teaches that the “blotting out” from “life” is absolute for unfaithful Christians.
The whole [Page 215] testimony of the Bible (in figurative
type and literal doctrine) on the subject of reward teaches a restoration of unfaithful [and
disobedient] believers after the time of their temporary punishment (Luke
12: 47; Jonah 2: 6):
Matthew 18: 34
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the
tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto
you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.
1 Corinthians 3:15
If any man’s work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire.
Such Scriptures have never been adequately answered by
Arminians. They cannot take them for
what they plainly teach. Universalists quickly
apply them to unbelievers in an effort to prove their view; yet these
Scriptures are addressed to [regenerate] believers. Rebellious
Christians (that do not repent in time) will be blotted out of the book of
life. They
will experience a temporary “second death” at
the judgment seat where
their souls will be slain. They will
then be banished to the underworld. Nevertheless, they will be restored after the millennium.
According to this view, the book of life is a book of
relative, practical righteousness. No
unbeliever will be in this book since it is a practical evil to stubbornly
reject the gift of eternal life (John 3: 20). Christians
will be found in this book as long as they continue in obedience. They may be
temporarily blotted out of the book for unfaithfulness (Romans 11: 22; Revelation 3:
5). After these unfaithful
Christians have been scourged, they will again be found in the book of
life. The book of life would therefore
be a book with the names of everyone that is allowed to remain living at the second coming of
Christ. Carnal Christians will not be
permitted to remain living at the judgment seat; they will not enter into the
millennial kingdom. However, they will
be [Page 216] allowed to live forever at the Great White Throne after the
millennium:
Revelation 20:13 And the sea
gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead
which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works.
15 And whosoever was not found written
in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
The wording of verse 15
would be unnecessary unless there will be people found written in the book of
life that rise from the underworld. Revelation 15, therefore, contains a conditional promise that if the Christian will overcome, he or she will not experience
death during the millennial age. We are reminded that
God is [now - for His judgment is
on-going - ] taking notes in His “book” in order to reinforce the fact that our deeds (whether good or bad) will surely
follow us to the judgment seat:
Revelation 14: 13 … and their
works do follow them.
* *
*
[Page 217]
Chapter 22
The Unquenchable Fire
“Believers as a body repudiate such a
suggestion: they have never been taught, that those who are saved by the Blood
of Christ can possibly have anything to suffer after the close of the present
life. ... If, then, there be any logical sequence in the passage, the salting must take place in Hell. And, since the Lord is
here dealing with the faults of believers, what
can the salting with fire mean but the burning away of corruption?”*
* George
H. Pember, The Great Prophecies Of The
Centuries Concerning The Church (Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 110, 111.
- G. H. Pember (1837-1910)
“Every saved man must have his
baptism of fire now in this age, or in the age to come. God is not mocked. ... the traditional
advocates of eternal punishment are obliged to surrender from 80 to 90% of
their proof texts, their working capital.
Will any honest Bible student with the facts before him dare to deny
it? And, more than that, they are
obliged to confess that a very large proportion of those Scriptures which they
have supposed to reveal the eternal peril of the sinner, on the contrary
actually reveal the age-lasting peril of their own souls.
... This is why I discriminate between the ‘traditional’ and the real...”*
* Stephen
S. Craig, The Dualism Of Eternal Life (
- Stephen S. Craig (1916)
[Page 218]
The above words of fundamentalist Bible teacher S.S. Craig
rebuke the common, dangerous habit of misapplying the Bible’s warning
passages. Craig does not deny the truth
of endless punishment for the lost. He simply argues that it is the
responsibility of all studious Christians to contend for true doctrine with the
right ammunition.
When one thinks of the underworld, one immediately calls to
mind images of fire:
Mark 9: 43 And if thy hand offend thee,
cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two
hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be
quenched:
The fires of the underworld are real and terrible. The disobedient Christian that does not
repent in time may temporarily experience these fires:
Hebrews 6: 4
For it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened, and have tasted of the heavenly gift, and were made partakers
of the Holy Ghost,
5 And have tasted the good word of God, and the powers
of the world to come,
6 If they shall fall away, to renew them again unto
repentance; seeing they crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put
him to an open shame.
7 For the earth which drinketh in the rain that cometh
oft upon it, and bringeth forth herbs meet for them by whom it is dressed,
receiveth blessing from God:
8 But that which beareth thorns and briers is
rejected, and is nigh unto cursing; whose end is to be burned.
John 15: 2 Every branch in me
that beareth not fruit he taketh away: and every branch that beareth fruit,
he purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit.
3 Now ye are clean through
the word which I have spoken unto you.
5 I am the vine, ye are the branches:
He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for
without me ye can do nothing.
6 If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and
cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
[Page 219]
7 If ye abide in me, and my words abide
in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
Matthew 5: 22 But I say unto you [i.e. disciples], That whosoever is angry with his brother
without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say
to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall
say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.
We have already seen that Christ’s parabolic warnings contain
literal judgments (Matthew 13: 36, 42). But did not Christ warn His disciples of an unquenchable fire in Mark
9: 43? Let us investigate this
phrase by comparing Scripture with Scripture.
The Bible often speaks literally, though relatively (see appendix A). This
is a sufficient answer to those that would argue that the various words and
phrases found in Christ’s warnings to His disciples negate the doctrine of
eternal security. However, it is not
necessary to limit the eternal nature of the fires of Hell. It is only necessary to understand that God’s
disobedient children will never stay in them eternally.
The warning concerning the unquenchable fire is clearly
addressed to John:
Mark 9: 38 And JOHN answered him, saying, Master, we saw one
casting out devils in thy name, and he followeth not us: and we forbad him,
because he followeth not us.
39 But Jesus said, Forbid him not: for
there is no man which shall do a miracle in my name, that can lightly speak
evil of me.
40 For he that is not against us is on our part.
41 For whosoever shall give you a cup of
water to drink in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily
I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward.
42 And whosoever shall offend one of these little ones
that believe in me, it is better for him that a millstone were hanged about his
neck, and he were cast into the sea.
43 And if thy hand offend thee, cut
it off. it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two
hands to go into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:
[Page 220]
The unbeliever does not escape eternal damnation by a life of
abstaining from sin. The warning is not
addressed to unbelievers. The second
person singular “thy” in verse 43 can only be a reference to John based on the
context. John is said to already “belong to Christ” in verse
41. Jesus is therefore warning a true
believer about the
possibility of going to the underworld during the millennium. It appears that the competitive attitude
among the disciples prompted this strong rebuke and warning (Mark 9: 33-37, 50).
Since the fire is “never” to be
quenched, many imagine that whoever or whatever experiences this fire must never
come out. However, let it be remembered that everyone (even the lost) will one day come out
of the underworld:
Revelation 20: 13
And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and
they were judged every man according to their works.
Do any imagine that the unsaved are burning while they are standing at the Great
White Throne being judged? The lost are indeed promised a conscious
torment in the
Mark 9: 47
And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it
is better for thee to enter into the
The rebellious child will be scourged. If sentenced to the underworld during the
kingdom, the child of God will not be able to free himself. No relative may pray or pay his way out. As the prison sentence lasts its whole
course, so will the fire destroy in its full force. This fire will do what God intends for it to
do. It will not fail. The tears of God’s people will not stop its
fury. It is [Page 221] unquenchable:
Mark 9: 45 And if thy foot offend thee, cut it off: it is
better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be cast into
hell, into the fire that never shall he quenched:
Notice some similar warnings in the Old Testament:
2 Kings 22: 17 Because they have forsaken me, and have
burned incense unto other gods, that they might provoke me to anger with all
the works of their hands; therefore my wrath shall be kindled
against this place, and shall NOT be quenched.
Amos 5: 6
Seek the LORD,
and ye shall live; lest he break out like fire in
the house of Joseph, and devour it, and there be none to
quench it in
Ezekiel 20:47 And say to the forest of the south, Hear the
word of the LORD; Thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I will kindle a fire in
thee, and it shall devour every green tree in thee, and every dry
tree: the flaming flame shall not be quenched, and
all faces from the south to the north shall be burned therein.
48 And all flesh shall see that 1 the
LORD have kindled it: it shall not be quenched.
49
Then said I, Ah
Lord GOD! they say of me, Doth he not speak parables?
The O.T. Scriptures are just as literal as Mark 9: 45.
These warnings are not parabolic.
They reveal that an unquenchable fire is
not necessarily a fire that bums its victim for endless eternally.
If phrases and words such as “unquenchable”
can be literally used for fires that temporarily burn cities and forests in
this world, they can certainly be used to describe a temporary judgment in the
age to come (i.e. 1000 years)!
The Disciples and Everlasting Fire
Hell will be cast into the
Revelation
20:14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of
fire...
[Page 222]
Therefore, the fires of Hell obviously merge with the eternal
fires of the
Isaiah 30: 33 For Tophet is ordained of
old; yea, for the king it is prepared; he hath made it deep and large: the pile
thereof is fire and much wood; the breath of the LORD, like a
stream of brimstone, doth kindle it.
Even the fire that burned
Jude 1: 7
Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and
the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication,
and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the
vengeance of eternal fire.
The “example” is found in Genesis 19: 24.
Unless we interpret “eternal” in Jude 1: 7 in a relative sense [see appendix A], it is obvious that God’s eternal, unquenchable
fire does not always burn its victims eternally.
Jeremiah 17: 27 But if ye will not hearken unto me to hallow
the sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day; then will I kindle a FIRE in
the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it
shall NOT be quenched.
In light of these facts, notice
another warning to believers:
Matthew 18: 1 At the same time came the disciples
unto Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom
of heaven?
8 Wherefore if thy hand or thy foot
offend thee, cut them off, and cast them from thee: it is better for thee to
enter into life halt or maimed, rather than having two hands or two feet to be
cast into EVERLASTING fire.
[Page 223]
The fire that is unquenchable in Mark 9 is called “everlasting” in Matthew 18. Both warnings are addressed to
believers. Both warnings are in regard
to the future millennial kingdom.
Unbelievers, Satan, evil angels, the Beast and the False Prophet will
certainly burn eternally (see appendix B). Yet, the city of
Jonah in Hell “Forever”
It is interesting that the case of Jonah reveals that God’s
servants can be cast away “for ever,” and yet be
restored to life again:
Jonah 2: 2
And said, I cried by reason of mine affliction
unto the LORD, and he heard me; out of the belly of HELL cried I,
and thou heardest my voice.
6 I went down to the bottoms of the
mountains; the earth with her bars was about me FOR EVER: yet hast
thou brought up my life from corruption, O LORD my God.
10 And the LORD spake unto the fish, and
it vomited out Jonah upon the dry land.
Jonah was one of God’s chosen prophets who rebelled against
His will. Notice that he was cast away “for ever” (2: 6). It appears that Jonah died in the whale’s
belly and his soul literally went to Hell (2: 2). When he cried to the Lord, his soul came back
into his body and the Lord caused the whale to spue him onto the shore. Jonah’s experience is therefore a perfect illustration of temporary
chastisement for backslidden Christians in the underworld during the
millennium!
If it is maintained that the word “everlasting”
must always refer to absolute eternity, the example of Jonah proves that God’s
unfaithful servants can come out of such endless punishment.
Jonah was bound “for ever”; but he was
set free! Therefore, if “everlasting” is taken in its highest, normal sense
when used in the [Page 224] context of believers in Matthew 18: 8, this still would not teach that disobedient
Christians can lose [eternal] salvation. They will eventually come out of such
fiery punishment (1 Corinthians 3: 15).
* *
*
[Page 225]
Chapter 23
The Reward of Eternal Life
“By the above heading I mean to
convey the thought, the truth, that the phrase ‘Eternal
Life’ is used in a dual, or twofold sense, in
the Scriptures. In the former it
designates the free gift of God to the soul that believes on Jesus Christ as
the only Saviour from sin. In the second
sense it means, no longer the free gift, but the prize of which Paul speaks in Phil.3: 7-14. This prize is the gracious privilege granted
to believers who like Joshua and Caleb, like John and Paul, wholly follow the
Lord, of sharing in the glory of the first resurrection and the unspeakable
blessedness of Christ’s
* Stephen S. Craig, The Dualism Of Eternal Life (
- S.S. Craig (1916)
If we take the words “eternal life”
(in certain contexts) in a relative sense (see appendix A),
the warnings and promises addressed to believers will not contradict salvation
by grace through faith alone. In
conditional passages addressed to Christians, “eternal
life” would simply refer to “age-lasting life”
in the future millennium:
[Page 226]
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of
faith, lay hold on ETERNAL LIFE, whereunto thou art
also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses.
Timothy in 1 Timothy 6: 12
is already positionally saved in regard to absolute eternity. Yet, he is commanded to fight to
obtain the future age of reward that begins 1000 years earlier:
2 Timothy 2: 12 If we
suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him, he also will
deny us:
The fight of faith is keeping the reward
of the millennium in the forefront of our minds so we will be properly
motivated to fight and suffer against sin (Hebrews
11: 15, 27; 12: 4). Believers
that already possess “eternal life” in endless
eternity are nevertheless told to strive and work by faith to obtain “eternal life” in the 1000-year kingdom.
There are two
aspects of “eternal life” taught in Scripture in
regard to the Christian. There is a dualism in the words. This dualism is also seen in Bible terms such
as “salvation,” “justification,”
“condemnation,” etc. Absolute eternity is a free
gift through faith alone. The millennium
is a reward according to works. The
millennium is the “world to come.” The future eternal age begins after the millennium.
Dualisms abound in Scripture and nature. Jesus is both fully God and fully Man. Physical light
has properties that behave as both particles and waves. Jesus Christ is the “light
of the world” and “eternal life”:
John 8: 12
Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not
walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
[Page 227]
1 John 5: 20 And we know that the Son of God is come, and
hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are
in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.
We should therefore expect “eternal
life” to contain dual aspects, just as light does. Light reflects the dual nature of Christ as
God and
Scripture reveals an “eternal life”
that is a reward above and beyond the
“eternal life” in absolute eternity that all
Christians already possess through faith alone:
Romans 2: 7 To them who by patient continuance in
well doing seek for glory and honour and immortality, ETERNAL LIFE:
Jude verse 21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto ETERNAL LIFE.
1 Timothy 6: 11 But thou, 0 man of God, flee
these things; and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience,
meekness.
12 Fight the good
fight of faith, lay hold on ETERNAL LIFE, whereunto
thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many
witnesses.
17 Charge them that are rich in
this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in
the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy;
18 That they do good,
that they be rich in good works, ready to distribute, willing to communicate;
19 Laying up in store for
themselves a good foundation against the time to come, that they may lay
hold on ETERNAL LIFE.
In the above passages “eternal life” is through works. Notice the context is the “time to come” (1 Timothy
6: 19). This refers to the
millennium. There is an “eternal life” in the next world, and there is an “eternal life” after the world to come.
[Page 228]
Notice how Christ plainly teaches that there is an “eternal
life” to be obtained through works in the “world to
come” before final,
eternity:
Mark 10:28 Then Peter began to say unto him, Lo, we have left all, and have followed
thee.
29 And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that bath left house, or brethren, or
sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake,
and the gospel’s,
30 But he shall receive an hundredfold now in THIS TIME, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and
mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in THE WORLD
TO COME ETERNAL LIFE. (See Luke
20:35)
This future age of the millennial kingdom is the same reward
mentioned in the Epistle to the Hebrews:
Hebrews 2: 5 For unto the
angels hath he not put in subjection the WORLD TO COME, whereof we
speak.
Hebrews 4: 11 Let us LABOUR therefore to ENTER into THAT REST, lest
any man fall after the same example of unbelief.
The “eternal life” that is
given by grace through faith alone is fully experienced by all Christians only in the world after the next world. However,
throughout Scripture there is another “eternal life”
to be gained in the next age that is different than the “eternal life” by faith alone. It is gained by grace (i.e. God’s free supply
of power) through faith and works:
John 12: 25 He that loveth his life shall lose it; and he
that hateth his life in this world shall keep it
unto LIFE ETERNAL.
1 John 3: 15 Whosoever
hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath ETERNAL LIFE abiding in him.
Throughout John’s First Epistle we see that “eternal life” is a prize to be obtained by walking in
obedience to the commandments (1 John 2: 28;
3:18-24). In one sense, John
tells his Christian [Page 229] readers that Christ Himself is our “eternal life,” for He is the power to obtain it (1 John 1: 2; 5: 20). To reign with Jesus Christ in His millennial
glory will be “life” indeed! John is writing to people that already
believe in Jesus Christ. He desires them
to also believe on Jesus for power to overcome sin. He wants them to examine themselves to make
sure they are walking in God’s Spirit (i.e. being “born”
of Him daily in practical works). This
will give them strong confidence that they will also possess “eternal life” in the world to come (1 John 5: 13).
This fullness of life in the kingdom age is a high quality of
glory. Present life can be
interrupted. The riches and glory can
quickly fade. However, nothing can take
away the fullness and enjoyment of the millennial glory to come. It is a special reign with Jesus during that
age of reward. It is “eternal” life, unlike the fragile life and uncertain
glory this world has to offer.
In the Bible, “life” is
qualified by the world around it. “Life” in this world is not the same as “life” in the next. Nor will “life”
after the millennial kingdom be the same as life in the millennium. All Christian theologians believe in a future
“eternal life.”
Nevertheless, none appear at all confused about the fact that (unless
translated to Heaven like Enoch or Elijah) all believers will die. Why?
Because all real theologians understand that the future “eternal life” is different than the “life” of this present world. “Life” does not simply mean existence. If
one receives the prize of “eternal life” in the
next world, one will gain a glory that will last and endure that whole
age. It will be a glorious celebration
of rest and honour. After this “eternal life” of the millennium, the believer will
then pass over into the “eternal life” of
another world and age, where all believers will be united for endless eternity.
Another Possibility
If we define the word “eternal” in a stricter sense, then
“eternal life” would mean living, never to die again (see chapter 18). Based on this definition, only those
Christians that are accounted worthy of millennial reign will experience “eternal life” when Jesus returns:
Luke 20: 35 But they which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world [age], and the resurrection
[out] from the dead, neither
marry, nor are given in marriage:
36 Neither can they die
any more: for
they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children
of the resurrection.
It is true that all Christians presently possess “eternal life”
as a free gift (John 6: 47). However, unless the Christian is raptured
without dying, physical death must intervene before he or she experiences this continual life. And, if Christ denies the Christian at the
judgment seat, he or she will experience temporary death until the end of the
kingdom (2 Timothy 2: 12; Revelation 2: 11; Luke
12: 43). Therefore, it will not
be until after the millennium that all Christians experience absolute “eternal
life” (John 6: 40, 54; 1 Corinthians 3: 15;
Revelation 20: 15). On the other
hand, faithful Christians
will enter into “eternal life” 1000 years before
the rest of the saved. They will be “firstborn” into “eternal life.” The remainder of the saints must wait to
experience it:
Romans 8: 17
And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; IF so be that we suffer with him, that we
may be also glorified TOGETHER.
29 For whom he did foreknow, he also did
predestinate to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might he the FIRSTBORN among MANY BRETHREN.
The promise of being glorified at the appearing of Christ is
conditioned upon suffering with Him.
Notice that every Christian that obtains this glory will be “firstborn” among many “brethren.” The “brethren”
refer to all the saved (Hebrews 2: 12; 3: 1).
[Page 231]
“Firstborn” speaks of the
privilege of entering into “eternal life”
1000-years before the remainder
of the “brethren.” The following verse also refers to this
privilege:
Hebrews 12: 23
To the general assembly and church of the FIRSTBORN, which are written in heaven, and to God the Judge
of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect,
God is indeed keeping a record of all that will be “accounted worthy” to obtain the coming millennial
kingdom (Philippians 4: 3; Hebrews 6: 10).
There are abundant Scriptures in the New Testament that place
“eternal life” before Christians as a reward
according to works. If the word “eternal”
is defined as absolutely endless, then
the only way “eternal life” can be set before
the saints as a conditional reward would be if there is another, special
time when some saints will begin this experience earlier than the larger group. Faithful Christians will be raised to
immortality 1000 years before the remainder of the household of God. There is
therefore a hope set before every believer of entering into an absolute “eternal
life” 1000-years before the unfaithful saints (Luke 20: 35-36). This is a sufficient answer to anyone that is
unwilling to interpret the word “eternal” in any relative sense in certain
passages.
* *
*
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Chapter 24
Believers Should Believe
“What vexation and sorrow will be
theirs who refuse the Lord’s command to strive to enter into the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (March
15th, 1930).
- Joseph Sladen (1841-1930)
Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please
him: for he that cometh to God must BELIEVE that he is, and
that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.
Hebrews 3: 18 And to whom sware he that they should not
enter into his rest, but to them that believed not?
19 So we see that they could not enter in because of UNBELIEF.
Those that have believed the good news concerning salvation in
eternity (by grace through faith alone) are called to also believe the message
concerning how they may win the millennial [Page 234] kingdom. Believers should believe! This is how the Christian receives power to
run and fight. Centuries before the time
of Christ, Joshua and Caleb believed that with God’s power they could overcome
the giants and inherit the land. The
Christian must likewise believe that by the grace of God (made available
through the Blood of Christ) he or she may overcome sin and enter the promised [millennial]
kingdom. It is not a confidence in self
as a source for overcoming in life; it is a confidence in the provision and
power of God through Jesus Christ. The
Christian must believe this Gospel concerning the millennial kingdom; it includes the warnings about
missing it, as well as the provisions Christ has made for us to win and secure
it. This is a “believing”
that is distinct from the [initial] believing that makes one a Christian in the first
place:
1 John 5:13 These things
have I written unto you that believe on the name of
the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may BELIEVE on the name of the Son of God.
John writes his Epistle to Christians that have already believed in regard to salvation in
eternity. He writes that they might
likewise believe in Him for power to obtain “life”
in the future millennium. Christians may lose sight of the fear of God in regard to the future
kingdom. They may lose sight of the ‘prize’. They
may also lose sight of the power that God has made available in Jesus. It is for this reason that they are to stir themselves up in this holy
faith and move with fear in regard to the coming kingdom:
Hebrews 4: 11 Let us labour
therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of UNBELIEF.
Paul tells Christians in Hebrews 4:
11 that they must strive to enter the millennial kingdom. The millennium is the great Sabbath Rest of
earth’s history. Just as a whole
generation (except Joshua and Caleb) missed entrance into the Promised Land, so
will [Page 235] many Christians miss entrance into the millennial
1 Corinthians 10: 11 Now all these things happened unto them for
ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
12 Wherefore let him that thinketh
he standeth take heed lest he fall.
The Old Testament provides numerous examples to warn the
Christian about the danger of missing the millennial kingdom. Christians need to remember these
things. They need to be reminded of
them:
Jude verse 5
I will therefore put you in remembrance, though
ye once knew this, how that the Lord, having saved the people out of the land of Egypt, afterward
destroyed them that BELIEVED not.
Christians place themselves on dangerous ground when they fail
to believe God’s [conditional] promises and warnings. They rob themselves of the
motivating power that hope and holy fear can bring to the Christian walk. Furthermore, it is dangerous to reject truth when the Lord reveals it. The kingdom truth is a precious talent that must not be buried (Matthew 25: 25). It
should be believed and preached so others may be warned in time:
Ezekiel 33: 6
But if the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warned; if the
sword come, and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his
iniquity; but his blood will I require at the watchman’s hand.
Many never see [or hear] the truth
about the [millennial]
kingdom; they therefore never get the opportunity to believe it. It is not because they do not read it plainly
in the Bible; it is because they study the Scriptures
through the eyes of preconceived notions born from the womb of tradition. Others
do have it revealed, but reject the light. These hear the truth and see it put
together; yet, they will not let themselves understand it. Truth that is not popular does not sell well;
and the love of money is the root of all evil (1
Timothy 6: 10):
Matthew 13: 19 When any one heareth the word
of the KINGDOM, and understandeth it not, then cometh the wicked
one, and catcheth away that which was sown in his heart. This is he which received seed by the way
side.
Other Christians will believe the doctrine of the kingdom for
awhile, yet when they are ridiculed, mocked or persecuted, they will forsake
the truth. It is easy to see why! The full doctrine of the kingdom states that
if we compromise, we are in danger of missing the millennium and being cast out
into darkness during the duration of it.
The mechanics of self-deception can easily enter the picture. If a [regenerate] person can convince himself that he has nothing
much to fear, he can more easily enjoy the pleasures of sin and compromise for
a season:
Luke 8: 13 They on the rock are they, which, when they hear,
receive the word with joy; and these have no root, which FOR A WHILE
BELIEVE, and in time of temptation fall away.
14 And that which fell among thorns are
they, which, when they have heard, go forth, and are choked
with cares and riches and pleasures of this life, and bring no fruit to
perfection.
15 But that on the good ground are they,
which in an honest and good heart, having heard the word, keep it,
and bring forth fruit with patience.
Notice that Luke’s Gospel plainly teaches that some will
believe the kingdom truth for awhile.
There is nothing in the passage about a false belief. The context is the millennial
kingdom and reward. The problem is not
that the belief is not real. The problem
is that the belief does not continue due to the sacrifice required to maintain it.
These kingdom truths bring together the truth that is on both
sides of the debate over whether or not salvation can be lost. Those that teach that [eternal] salvation can be lost or
that it must be maintained or proven by a life of works are both wrong. On the other hand, those that teach that
there is no real possibility of true “terror” at
the judgment seat are also wrong (2 Corinthians 5:
9-11). It is crucial that every
Christian believe the kingdom warnings, regardless of what it will cost. Nothing in this life is worth
losing our souls during the millennium:
Matthew 16: 24
Then said Jesus unto HIS DISCIPLES,
If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and
follow me.
26 For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a
man give in exchange for his soul?
27 For the Son of man shall come in the
glory of his Father with his angels; and then he shall reward every man
according to his works.
The above warning is given to the Lord’s disciples, which
include Peter, James and John (Matthew 16: 28; 17:
1).
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* *
*
Chapter 25
Objections and Questions Answered
“They are warnings which, admittedly,
we have not taken seriously. We either ignore
them completely or relegate them to other people or transfer their application
to another dispensation.”*
* S. Franklin Logsdon, Profiles
of Prophecy (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1964), 26.
- S. Frank Logsdon (1907-1987)
Throughout history, God’s people have often been slow to
believe His warnings. In days of
rebellion they have always used certain facts of privilege to attempt to escape
the truths of accountability:
Jeremiah 7: 4 Trust ye not in lying words, saying, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, The temple of the LORD, are
these.
9 Will ye steal, murder, and commit
adultery, and swear falsely, and burn incense unto Baal, and walk after other
gods whom ye know not;
10 And come and stand before me in this
house, which is called by my name, and say, We are delivered
to do all these abominations?
[Page 240]
The Jews knew that they were privileged to possess the Lord’s
Malachi 2: 17 Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet
ye say, Wherein have we wearied him?
When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is
good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God
of judgment?
Malachi 3:15 And now we call the
proud happy; yea, they
that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even
delivered.
16 Then they that FEARED THE LORD
spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened, and heard it, and a
book of remembrance was written before him for them that feared the LORD, and that
thought upon his name.
Many Christians use these same types of objections today to
deny God’s warnings to the saints in the New Testament. But the Lord is taking note of all that will
fear Him and believe His warnings! The
heart of man is more than able to conceive of many objections. Nevertheless, there are answers for everyone that is willing to believe the Scriptures
regardless of the cost.
Is This a Dreadful, Terrible Doctrine?
The threat of severe punishment at the judgment seat is a terrible idea to feelings that have been roaming
carefree. The Bible agrees and freely
uses such words to speak of the coming judgment upon unfaithful Christians:
2 Corinthians 5: 10-11 For we must all appear before the judgment seat
of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to
that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
11 Knowing therefore the TERROR of the Lord,
we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are
made manifest in your consciences.
[Page 241]
In deciding to believe or reject the doctrine of a conditional
millennial kingdom, it might help to remember that the majority of modern,
professing Christians believe something far more dreadful and terrible than anything this book maintains! They believe that if the Christian does not
keep up a certain degree of works he loses salvation and burns for trillions of
years and onward into endless eternity!
Others teach that the Christian must keep up this standard of works to prove he is really saved to begin with. If he falls below the quota-line (whatever
that is), again, he is destined to bum for eternity in torment. In either doctrine, one must be good or burn in torment for billions of years without
end. The message to the Christian in
these horrible views is the same, “Be good or suffer
for endless eternity in fire.” On
the other hand, the message this book brings to the Christian is, “Be good or suffer loss for 1000 years.” It is indeed dreadful, but it is not a crippling, horrendous
insanity that must be upheld in self-righteous, Pharisaical delusion if it is
to remain at all in the forefront of the mind.
Notice the response the Irish biographer, Joseph D’ Arcy Sirr
(1794-1868) made in 1841 upon hearing about conditional entrance into the
millennial kingdom:
“With as much evidence of truth might
we conclude, that martyrs only are included in the narrative of the First
Resurrection. I know that such a
conclusion indeed has been drawn by my Millenarian friend Mr. Burgh, from the
place before us, since he restricts the sense of this passage to those who have
at least had the spirit of martyrs. Now, I, for my part, believe that all the Lord’s real children possess
just such a spirit, for they have the Spirit of Jesus. ... I,
therefore, can discover no ground for the limitation that has been contended
for, though I readily admit, nay maintain, on the general
tenor of Scripture, that it is through much tribulation the way to the Kingdom
lieth; and that theirs is a perilous state who know nothing of it, or who court
the world in order to avoid it.”*
* Joseph D’ Arcy Sirr, The Resurrection Considered In A Series Of
Letters (1841).
[Page 242]
His response is the common objection made by almost everyone
that rejects the conditional kingdom message. In this view, Christians must still
perform the good works, sacrifices, etc.! They must still suffer. They must resist temptation and possess a “martyr spirit.”
If they lack these things they either lose eternal salvation or they
prove they have never possessed it to begin with. The end result is the same; only the loss for
failing to do the required works is not 1000 years. It is not even a billion years. According to the above interpretation, all
professing Christians must suffer and strive to keep (or prove) salvation in
order to escape damnation in endless eternity! Such interpretations are far more dreadful and
horrible than anything this book maintains. Compared to these views, this book
holds the moderate position between no judgment and eternal judgment for the
carnal believer.
How Good Does the Christian Have to Be?
As an objection, many people wonder how good one has to be to
enter the millennial kingdom. Yet, this
objection entirely misses the point.
Christians are never to have absolute assurance that they have finished the race while they are in the
midst of running it! That is the
very way to lose a race:
1 Corinthians 10: 12
Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take
heed lest he fall.
Christians are certainly to have absolute assurance they are
saved in final eternity. And they are
also commanded to have assurance that Jesus Christ has provided everything needed
to finish the race and win the millennial prize. Nevertheless, this is all very different from
presuming that we have already won the race when there is still much work left
to do.
[Page 243]
The answer to the objection is that we are to never stop and
rest until the Day of Rest comes. We are
to never assume we are already good enough. We are to fear, hope and
strive until the end. On the other hand, we must also
beware of doubting the provision or mercy of God in regard to the kingdom. We must not despise all that Jesus has done
to provide power to run the race and win.
Many Israelites missed the Promised Land for such unbelief in God’s
power.
This accountability teaching does not create a special clique
of Christians who think they have obtained above others. In fact, it
is the very thing that guards against such attitudes by promising severe
punishment for self-exaltation:
Matthew 18: 1 At the same time came the disciples unto
Jesus, saying, Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?
2 And Jesus
called a little child unto him, and set him in the midst of them,
3 And said, Verily 1 say unto you, Except ye be converted, and become as
little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven.
4 Whosoever therefore shall humble himself as this little child,
the same is greatest in the kingdom of heaven.
True kingdom believers do not yet think they have obtained the
prize:
Philippians 3: 11 If by any means I might attain
unto the resurrection of the dead.
12 Not as though I had
already attained, either were already perfect: but I follow after, if that I may apprehend that for which
also I am apprehended of Christ Jesus.
13 Brethren, I count not myself
to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those
things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
14 I press toward the mark for the prize
of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus.
Furthermore, kingdom believers might ask others how good they
have to be to think themselves saved in eternity. If Christians [Page 244] must look to their works for assurance of eternal salvation, how much
fruit must we possess? The answer that
is given is the answer the kingdom believer will give in return!
Or how good do we have to be to win a jewel on a crown at the
judgment seat? Many teach that there is
no punishment at the judgment seat. They
teach that there is only the obtaining of various crowns. But why do they not ask how good we must be to obtain a crown? When we speak of real punishment many
suddenly desire to know where the line is.
Yet, they cannot tell us where the line is even in regard to their own souls
in eternity. Their whole objection reveals that the
idea of losing a few jewels on a crown where there is a street of gold was never that big a threat to them in
the first place. Yet, when we mention
1000 years of banishment to the underworld, suddenly we have their
attention! They want to know how good we
must be. This alone manifests the
impotent theology of those who will not believe the accountability truths of
Scripture.
Isn’t It Wrong to Fear God?
Many imagine that believers should only respect or reverence God. They therefore are
opposed to the idea of truly fearing Him:
Isaiah 8: 13 Sanctify the
LORD of hosts himself, and let him be your FEAR, and let him be your
DREAD.
But notice that the Bible uses “fear”
alongside reverence:
Hebrews 12: 28 Wherefore we receiving a
kingdom which cannot be moved, let us have grace, whereby we may serve God
acceptably with reverence and godly fear:
29 For our God is a
consuming fire.
[Page 245]
Verse 29 would make no sense unless “godly fear”
means real fear. The fear of God is
to be greater in our lives than the fear of physical death:
Matthew 10: 28 And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
29 Are not two sparrows sold for a farthing? and one of
them shall not fall on the ground without your Father.
Certainly, such a fear would bring true trembling. This is Biblical:
Philippians 2: 12 Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always
obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out
your own salvation with fear and trembling.
The “salvation” in the above
verse refers to salvation from the power of sin in the Christian life, which is
linked to salvation into the millennial kingdom. The Christian is to tremble in fear at the
thought of despising the power of God in the Christian walk. To do so places one in grave danger of
missing the kingdom.
This idea of trembling may at first seem contrary to Christian
joy. Christians are indeed commanded to
live a life of rejoicing in God’s promises.
Yet, true joy comes from truth.
Running from Christian warnings will not bring true joy. The Bible links joy and fear together in a
beautiful harmony. They may seem
contrary to one another (like the Humanity and Deity of Christ, freewill and
the Sovereignty of God, etc.), however, they both have their proper place:
Psalms
2: 11 Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling.
12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from
the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in
him.
Matthew 28: 8 And they departed quickly from the sepulchre with fear and great joy; and did run to bring his disciples
word.
[Page 246]
There are some fears that Christians should not have. Certainly, believers should never fear a loss of eternal salvation (1 Corinthians 3:15). Also, they should not fear man or
circumstances above God (Isaiah 41: 14):
2 Timothy 1: 7
For God hath not given us the spirit
of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.
8 Be not thou therefore
ashamed of
the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner: but be thou partaker of
the afflictions of the gospel according to the power of God;
Paul is in prison and it appears that Timothy is tempted to
fear persecution. Yet, such Bible
passages have absolutely nothing to do with the fear of God. History is filled with thousands of martyrs
who were able to refuse the fear of man because they truly feared God.
The Bible calls Christians to fear before they sin, as a deterrent to sinning;
fearing after sin is proper,
but it is not the ideal:
Hebrews 10: 26
For if we sin wilfully after
that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more
sacrifice for sins,
27 But a certain FEARFUL looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.
The Christian should walk in pre-sin fear (i.e. the
fear of displeasing God and missing the kingdom). If he falls into wilful sin through a lack of
adequate pre-sin fear, he must
now walk in post-sin fear! The torment of the latter should quickly
drive him to confession and repentance.
All believers will sin and will pass often between pre-sin
fear and post‑sin fear to some degree.
The one fear keeps the Christian from sin; the other drives him to
quickly repent while there is still time.
[Page 247]
What About the Promises That Believers Will Not Be Condemned?
The first text often cited to object to accountability truth
is Romans 8:
1. Does not Romans 8: 1 teach that there is no condemnation
for Christians?
Romans 8: 1 There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are
in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the
Spirit.
The above verse teaches that there is no “condemnation” as long as the Christian is not walking
in the flesh! This same
teaching is found a few verses later:
Romans 8: 13
For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body,
ye shall live.
Walking and living refer to works in the Christian life. Paul states elsewhere that Christians can be
condemned:
1 Corinthians 11: 34 And if any man hunger, let him eat at home;
that ye come not together unto condemnation. And the rest will I set in order when I
come.
1 Timothy 5: 11 But the younger widows refuse:
for when they have begun to wax wanton against Christ, they will marry;
12 Having damnation, because they have cast off their first faith.
13 And withal they learn to be idle,
wandering about from house to house; and not only idle, but tattlers also and
busybodies, speaking things which they ought not.
Christians who are in a state of damnation presently will be
temporarily damned at the judgment seat.
This means they will miss the kingdom for walking in the flesh instead
of after the Spirit.
Jesus teaches that not a hair of His
disciple’s heads will perish:
[Page 248]
Luke 21: 16 And ye shall
be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends; and some of you shall they cause to be put to death.
17 And ye shall be hated of all
men for my name’s sake.
18 But there shall not an hair of your head perish.
Many that oppose the accountability truth of this book are
quick to clutch Luke 21: 18. Yet, they will not embrace the warnings from
the Gospels to the disciples! If the
promises of eternal security apply to all Christians, then so do the warnings
of millennial banishment in the underworld.
Notice Luke 21:18
again. It is a promise of final
resurrection. It cannot be taken in an
absolute sense, for verse 16 clearly states
that some believers will be physically slain.
Therefore, if physical destruction in this life does not overthrow the
promise of Luke 21:18, then temporary
punishment at the judgment seat and during the millennium will not overthrow
it. All Christians will be perfected in
bliss after the millennium. Not a single
hair will finally perish from any saint.
Other Scripture passages which speak of no condemnation (such
as John 3: 16-18) are referring to the
final, eternal age. They do not offer
immunity from punishment in this life or in the millennial world to come. The promise of never perishing has to do with
eternity on the Last Day. The majority
of believers have already perished physically.
And multiple Scriptures warn unfaithful believers that they may also
perish during the millennium. Yet, no
Christian will ultimately perish in eternity (1 Corinthians 3: 15).
What Can Separate Us from the Love of God?
Romans 8: 38
For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come,
39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other
creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God,
which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
[Page 249]
Those who would use this verse to deny chastisement at the
judgment seat and during the millennium for unfaithful Christians do not
understand the love of God:
Proverbs 3: 12
For whom the LORD loveth
he correcteth; even as a father the son in whom he delighteth.
Proverbs 13: 24 He that spareth his rod
hateth his son: but he that loveth him chasteneth him betimes.
God made some Christians sick in
What Loving Father Would Kill His Children?
The Bible teaches strongly against child abuse (Ephesians 6: 4).
It should be obvious to any sane man that the manner in which God deals
with His children cannot be used as an absolute example of how we are to deal with our own children. The Lord made some saints sick in 1 Corinthians 11: 30-32! How God deals with grown people is not how man
should deal with children. However, we
can glean principles. For example, God’s love for His children
is unconditional. Any chastisement we
receive from Him is only temporary. To
understand how God deals with believers we must remember that God is not only
our Father, He is also our Judge and our Master. As God, He has rights over
our lives that no earthly parent has over his or her own child. There is, therefore, room for the literal
warnings.
What About 1 Thessalonians 4:
16-17?
1 Thessalonians 4: 16 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:
[Page 250]
17 Then we which are alive and remain
shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the
air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord.
Mede, Tertullian, and other early Christians, though strongly
premillennial, applied this passage to events after the millennium. All Christians (even those who have been
unfaithful) will be in glory with the Lord after the millennium. However, it
is not necessary to apply this passage to a postmillennial event if we
understand Biblical language. The promise in the above verse is like the
promise in the following verse:
1 Corinthians 4:5 Therefore
judge nothing before the time, until the Lord come, who both will bring to
light the hidden things of darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the
hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
The above promise in 1 Corinthians
4: 5 is certainly not absolute. “Every man,” in an absolute sense, would mean that even the unbelievers would be
praised at the judgment seat! This is obviously
the wrong interpretation since not even every Christian will be praised at the judgment seat (Matthew 25: 26; 2 Corinthians 5: 9-11; 1 John 2: 28; 1
Corinthians 3: 15, etc.). Yet, if
the comforting promise in this Scripture must be interpreted in a relative
sense in order to harmonize with the rest of Scripture, then why isn’t 1 Thessalonians 4: 17 interpreted in the same
manner?
Are we called to submit to every ordinance of man (1 Peter 2:
13), absolutely, without exception?
If so, Peter disobeyed his own teaching (Acts
5: 29)! God expects us to read
His whole Book (i.e. “every Word of God”), and
notice the exceptions to general commands and promises.
The “we” in 1 Thessalonians 4: 17 includes the apostle Paul and
the Thessalonian saints to whom he is writing.
All Christian teachers are in agreement on this point. On the other hand, it is [Page 251] interesting that many scholars attempt to argue that the same kind of “we” in Hebrews 10: 26
does not actually include Paul himself or the saved Hebrews to whom he is writing! This is, of course, a reckless
interpretation. Could this inconsistency
be motivated by the fact that Hebrews 10: 26-29
is a promise of future judgment and 1 Thessalonians 4: 17 is a
promise of future blessing?
Hebrews 10: 26-29 teaches that if Paul or the Hebrew Christians sin
wilfully, they will receive future judgment.
There is no Biblical reason to not apply this warning to all Christians at all times. Yet, we know that everyone, in some degree,
sins wilfully after salvation (1 John 1: 8, 9). Is it therefore absolutely true that every Christian will die at the judgment
seat? No! Some saints will obey the admonitions and
teachings of the previous verses and chapters in Hebrews, which shed further light on the
warning. These Christians will quickly flee to the
throne of grace and seek mercy. Just a
few verses before the warning is given in Hebrews
10: 26-29, we have the command to seek mercy and avoid this sore
punishment:
Hebrews 10: 21 And having an high priest over the house of God;
22 Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith,
having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with
pure water.
Paul includes himself in this exhortation. It is therefore a command to believers. Christians avoid temporary death at the
judgment seat (for sins committed after salvation) by seeking mercy in faith
and abstaining from sin in the first place.
The promises and exhortations to seek mercy and grace (for sins in the
Christian walk) are provided in the previous chapters of the Epistle to the
Hebrews (Hebrews 4: 16; 7: 25; 8: 1; 9: 14, 24). The judgment seat will be too
late to repent and seek such
mercy (Hebrews 12: 16-17).
[Page 252]
Therefore, in interpreting the “we”
in Hebrews 10: 26-29, we must factor in the
previous information given in the Epistle.
It is the same with the “we” in 1 Thessalonians 4: 17. Paul and the saved Hebrews (i.e. the “we” ) will certainly die at the judgment seat if they
fail to repent and seek mercy in time.
Likewise, Paul and the Thessalonians (i.e. the “we”)
will be with Jesus forever at His coming (without being a temporary castaway) if they
continue to fulfil the conditions already provided in
the previous teachings of the apostle (1
Thessalonians 4: 6), in the
Epistles to the Thessalonians (1 Thessalonians
2: 12; 3: 5, 13; 4: 6; 5: 23), and
in the rest of Scripture (Matthew 24: 48-51;
25: 30; Luke 12: 43-48; 1 Corinthians 6: 8-10; 9: 27; 2 Corinthians 5: 9-11;
Galatians 5: 19-21; Ephesians 5: 5-8, etc.).
As already noted, there are many statements in the Bible that
are general or potentially true, yet not absolute or without conditions or
qualifications (see 1 Kings 2: 20, 23; 20: 42;
Jonah 3: 2, 4, 10, etc.):
Hebrews 9: 27 And as it is
appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment:
The above verse is only true in general. Many will be translated and will totally
escape death like Enoch (Hebrews 11: 5). And some people in the Bible died more than
once (Acts 9: 40, etc.). The phrase “so shall
we ever be with the Lord” must likewise be interpreted in the light of
its immediate context and implied conditions (stated elsewhere). What kind of Christians were the
Thessalonians? Were they enduring
persecution faithfully? Were they hoping
for the kingdom? Were they walking in
love? If so, they could certainly have
confidence and hope of kingdom reign and Paul could honestly comfort them with
the promise that they will appear with Jesus in glory during the
millennium. Notice the faithfulness
of the Thessalonians:
1 Thessalonians 1: 2 We give thanks to God always for you all,
making mention of you in our prayers;
3 Remembering without ceasing
your work of faith, and labour of love, and patience of hope in our Lord Jesus
Christ, in
the sight of God and our Father;
7 So that
ye were ensamples to all that believe in
8 For from you sounded out the word of
the Lord not only in
The Thessalonians were very holy. That is why Paul could comfort them with the
hope of being with Christ forever at His appearing. They were
also faithfully suffering for Christ.
Those that suffer will surely reign (2
Timothy 2: 12):
2 Thessalonians 1: 5 Which is a manifest token of the righteous judgment of God,
that ye may be counted worthy of the
1 Thessalonians 2: 14 For ye, brethren, became followers of the
churches of God which in
For this cause, Paul could rejoice. He was not afraid for them (Galatians 4: 11).
He had great expectation that they would remain in the presence of
Christ and inherit the [millennial] kingdom:
1 Thessalonians 2: 19 For what
is our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing?
Are not even ye in the presence of our Lord Jesus Christ
at his coming?
20 For ye are our glory and joy.
It was not simply because the Thessalonians were saved that
Paul could have this great hope and joy.
It was because they were suffering faithfully for the kingdom.
Paul was anxious to find out how they were responding to their
afflictions. When he heard the good news
of their faithfulness, he rejoiced and was comforted:
1 Thessalonians 3: 4 For verily, when we were with you, we told you before that we should suffer tribulation; even as it came
to pass, and ye know.
[Page 254]
5 For this cause, when I could no
longer forbear, I sent to know your faith, lest by some means the
tempter have tempted you, and our labour be in vain.
6 But now when Timotheus came from you unto us, and brought us good tidings of your faith and charity, and
that ye have good remembrance of us always, desiring greatly to see us, as we
also to see you:
7 Therefore, brethren, we were comforted
over you in all our affliction and distress by your faith:
Nevertheless, Paul even warns the holy Thessalonians. Before he gives them the comforting words of 1 Thessalonians 4: 17, he warns them that such a
promise of “ever” being with the Lord (before
the millennium) is not unconditional. If
they do not continue in holiness,
they are in danger at the second coming of Christ:
1 Thessalonians 4: 3 For
this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain
from fornication:
4 That every one of you should know how to possess his
vessel in sanctification and honour;
5 Not in the
lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God:
6 That no man go beyond and defraud his
brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the
AVENGER of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified.
This warning reveals that the “so
shall we ever be with the Lord” is not unconditional. It was made because the Thessalonians were
fulfilling the conditions:
1 Thessalonians 4: 9 But as
touching brotherly love ye NEED NOT that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
13 But I would not have you to be
ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even
as others which have no hope.
It is probable that the ones who had fallen asleep were
martyred for their faith in Christ. They
would certainly have “hope” of reigning with
Christ! The rest who were alive and
remaining could also have great hope since they were walking in the Spirit.
[Page 255]
The promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:
17 is similar to the promise God made to the Israelites concerning the
Exodus 6: 6 Wherefore say
unto the children of
7 And I will take you to me for a
people, and I will be to you a God: and ye shall know that I am the LORD your
God, which bringeth you out from under the burdens of the Egyptians.
8 And I will bring you
in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to
Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for
an heritage: I am the LORD.
Exodus 12: 25 And it shall come to pass, when ye be come to the land which the LORD will give you, according as
he hath promised, that YE SHALL keep this service.
Numbers 13: 2 Send thou men, that they may search the
There are no conditions revealed in these positive statements
to
The promise in 1 Thessalonians 4:
17 is also very similar to the New Testament promises concerning prayer.
There are many verses that do not reveal in themselves that outward obedience
is a condition for answered prayer. We
are called to factor in the conditions that are revealed in other
Scriptures. Notice the following
promises:
[Page 256]
Matthew 7: 7
Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto
you:
8 For every one that
asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.
Matthew 18:19 Again I say unto you, That if two of you
shall agree on earth as touching any thing that they shall ask, it shall be done for them of my Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 21:22 And all things, whatsoever ye
shall ask in prayer, believing, ye shall receive.
Mark 11: 23 For verily I say unto you, That whosoever
shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea;
and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he
saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith.
24 Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive
them, and ye shall have them.
John 14: 13 And whatsoever ye shall ask in my name, that will I do, that
the Father may be glorified in the Son.
14 If ye shall ask any thing in
my name, I will do it.
The conditions in the following Scriptures must be added to
these promises (John 15: 7; James 4: 3; 1 Peter 3:
12; 1 John 3: 22; 5: 14-15).
Therefore, the “we” that is “with the Lord” in the future millennial kingdom is a “we” that is properly fulfilling all the stated
conditions through Christ’s power.
In light of this answer, how are we to know that the promise
of eternal salvation through faith alone (apart from works) is not also
conditional? One way we know this
precious promise is without conditions is through examining other Scriptures
that reveal that Christians who possessed no fruit in their lives, will
ultimately experience eternal salvation after the millennium (1 Corinthians 3: 15; Revelation 20: 13-15; Matthew 18:
34-35, John 6: 39-40, etc.).
[Page 257]
What About 1 Corinthians 15: 51-58?
The promises in 1 Corinthians 15:
51-58 must also be interpreted in light of the warnings and implied conditions
revealed in the context and in the rest of Scripture:
1 Corinthians 15: 51 Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not
all sleep, but we shall all be changed,
52 In a moment, in the twinkling of an
eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be
raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.
53 For this corruptible must put on
incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.
The Corinthians were walking in carnality (1 Corinthians 3: 1). Paul however assured them that they will
certainly be “changed.” This “change”
is from a flesh and blood body (1 Corinthians 15:
50) to a resurrected or translated body, fit for the judgment seat of
Christ. The degree of glory these changed
bodies will possess will depend upon the degree of suffering against sin they
each allowed in the Christian life.
Like the corporate promises given to
Colossians 1: 21 And you, that were sometime
alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled
22 In the body
of his flesh through death, to present you holy and
unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:
23 IF ye continue in the
faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the GOSPEL, which ye have heard, and
which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof 1 Paul am
made a minister;
The “Gospel” contains both the
unconditional promise of salvation in eternity and the conditional promise of
reigning with [Page 258] Christ in the millennial kingdom (Hebrews 4: 1-2).
Notice the condition in Colossians 1: 23.
These “ifs” are implied in many passages. It is true that all passages should be
interpreted at face value whenever possible.
Nevertheless, we must also compare Scripture with Scripture. Some statements are relative (e.g. as in “household” baptisms, etc.). Notice the warnings already given to the
Corinthians:
1 Corinthians 3:16 Know ye not that ye are the
17 If any man defile the
1 Corinthians 9: 25 And every man that striveth
for the mastery is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a
corruptible crown; but we an incorruptible.
26 I therefore so run, not as
uncertainly; so fight I, not as one that beateth the air:
27 But I keep under my
body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I
have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.
These verses teach that moral corruption will lead to death
and millennial exclusion at the judgment seat of Christ:
1 Corinthians 16: 22 If ANY MAN love not the Lord Jesus
Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha.
Christians who do not obey Christ’s commandments do not
manifest love toward Him (John 14: 15). 1 Corinthians 16:
22 reveals that they will be accursed or excommunicated when the Lord comes. Certainly
no one can argue that Christians always walk in love toward the Lord
Jesus. Scripture elsewhere assures us
that Christians are not loving God unless they love their brethren (1 John 4: 20).
There are many other warnings scattered throughout 1
Corinthians (1 Corinthians 5: 5; 6: 8-10; 10: 5-6;
11: 32). All of these warnings
reveal that any promises of premillennial glory and life [Page 259] in 1 Corinthians 15: 51-58 are
conditioned upon obedience to the commands throughout the rest of the
Epistle.
Also, it is important to remember that the primary promise in 1 Corinthians 15 is a promise of being “changed” (1 Corinthians 15: 51-52). Paul, and those who were suffering with him, would indeed possess a glorified body at Christ’s appearing. They would never experience
death again:
1
Corinthians 4: 8
Now
ye are full, now ye are rich, ye have reigned as kings without us: and I would
to God ye did reign, that we also might reign with
you.
9 For I think that God hath set forth us the apostles last, as it were appointed to death: for we
are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men.
10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but
ye are wise in Christ; we are weak, but ye are strong; ye are honourable, but
we are despised.
11 Even unto this present hour we both
hunger, and thirst, and are naked, and are buffeted, and have no certain
dwelling place;
14 I write not these things to
shame you, but as my beloved sons I warn you.
Paul is therefore confident of future glory
at Christ’s appearing.
On the other hand, Paul has already revealed in 1 Corinthians 15 that the resurrected and
translated bodies that are “changed” will not
all have the same degree of glory:
1 Corinthians 15: 41 There is one glory of the sun, and another
glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars: for one star differeth from
another star in glory.
Therefore, when some slothful Christians are “changed,” they will have a limited glory. Others will have no glory at all since they
did not suffer:
Romans 8: 17 And if
children, then heirs; heirs of God, and [but] joint-heirs
with Christ; IF so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also GLORIFIED together.
[Page 260]
Jesus taught that glorification with Him [during the coming millennium]
is conditioned upon suffering:
John 12: 24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone:
but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
25 He that loveth his life
shall lose it; and he that hateth his life in this
world shall keep it unto life eternal.
26 If any man serve me, let him follow me; and
where I am, there shall also my servant be: if any man serve me, him
will my Father honour.
It appears that Paul is referring to this kind of “dying” in 1 Corinthians 15:
1 Corinthians 15: 31 I
protest by your rejoicing which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily.
32 If after the manner of men I have
fought with beasts at
35 But some man will say, How are the dead raised up?
and with what body do they come?
36 Thou fool, that which thou sowest is NOT quickened, EXCEPT IT DIE:
Paul conditions millennial glorification on martyrdom and/or
suffering for Christ. He states that we
are daily sowing the degree of
glory our future body will possess at the judgment seat. If there has not been adequate suffering
against sin, there will be no quickening at all. These conditions
are stated before the final promises of the chapter.
Notice that the whole chapter begins with a condition:
1 Corinthians 15: 1 Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which
I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand;
2 By which also ye are
saved, IF ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have
believed in vain.
3 For I delivered unto you first of all
that which 1 also received, how that Christ died for our sins according
to the scriptures;
[Page 261]
As already noted, the “gospel”
contains two sides. The Gospel is that “Christ died for our sins.” He died for our sins in two ways. He died to forgive us of our sins so we may
live in eternity. This is positional
forgiveness. But Christ also died to save us from the power of our sins that we might stand without shame before Him at His coming. Christians that refuse to keep in memory the
promises of the Gospel (in relation to fighting sin and
reigning in the millennium) will be unable to overcome in their battles. They will not be “saved”
(1 Corinthians 15: 2) into the millennium at
the judgment seat. Instead of standing
before the Lord in glory, they will stand before Him in naked shame (1 John 2: 28).
They will therefore have to wait until after the millennium to receive the
glorious resurrection to immortality.
Paul teaches that there are three times when
glorified bodies (which will never die again) will be given:
1 Corinthians 15: 23
But every man in his own order:
Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s
at his coming.
24 THEN cometh the end, when he
shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have
put down all rule and all authority and power.
Christ was the first to resurrect in glory, never to die again
(1 Corinthians 15: 23; Colossians 1: 18). Next, there will be a resurrection of
faithful Christians [i.e., overcomers] at His second coming. Yet, Paul, in 1
Corinthians 15: 24 also reveals that there is one more time of resurrection [for disobedient and unworthy regenerate believers] to immortality. This occurs at the “end” when the millennial kingdom has ended. Unfaithful Christians who miss being
glorified before the kingdom (they will be raised to judgment,* but they will not be raised to immortality) will
have to wait till the Great Mite Throne to receive their incorruptible body and
get victory over death:
[* NOTE. ‘… they will be raised
to judgment’! What is meant here
by this statement? It surely cannot have
any reference to Resurrection, for all who are ‘accounted
worthy to attain to that age’ … ‘cannot die any more’, (Luke
20: 35, 36)! In other words those
Christians - now in the underworld as disembodied souls (Matt. 16: 18; Acts 2: 34; Rev. 6: 9) – will need
to be ‘raised’ to inherit the promised
Messianic Kingdom. Would it not be
better to say: ‘Unfaithful Christians who miss being
glorified during the kingdom will not be raised to immortality?’
There are those Christians who refuse to believe in a selective
resurrection of reward, (Phil. 3: 11; Luke 14: 14;
Heb. 11: 35)! Others, believe “all” Christians - from amongst the dead
now in ‘Hades’ - must be resurrected to be judged! They ignore the text in Heb. 9: 27, “… it is
appointed unto men once to die, and after this (i.e., the time of death) judgment”! No
mention of being ‘raised
to judgment’!
Others interpret the word “all”
(in 1 Cor. 15: 22),
to include all Christians irrespective of how they lived after
conversion! They neglect the Divine
order, found in the immediate context and the following verse: “But each in his own order … THEN they that are Christ’s at His coming.”!
Some believe Abraham, and other O.T. saints worthy of an inheritance
in the coming Messianic Kingdom, must be ‘raised’
in natural bodies of flesh, blood
and bones (unlike our Saviour’s resurrected body of “flesh and bones”
(Luke 24: 39)! This type natural body is (in their opinion),
deemed necessary to enable them to rule with Christ “ON” earth in the “age” to come!
All of this appears to me to go - (without any Scriptural proof) - beyond
what the Scriptures teach: and it flies in the face of any possibility of dead saints
being judged after their resurrection in order to determine if they will be
“accounted worthy” to reign with Christ! Jesus says, those who will be resurrected
will be “equal unto the angels.” That is, able to ascend into the heavenly
sphere of the Kingdom, or descent to its earthly sphere: and, notice our
Lord’s description of these resurrected saints, - “neither
can they die any more” (Luke 20: 36)! Therefore, all who “attain unto the resurrection [out] from the dead (Phil. 3: 11,
R.V.), will rule with Messiah Jesus during His Millennial Kingdom, (Rev. 20: 4).]
Revelation 20: 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire.
[Page 262]
Revelation 20: 15 teaches that there will be
people found in the “book of life” after the
millennium.
It appears that those who use 1
Corinthians 15: 51 to deny the full kingdom teaching are simply taking
the promise out of context. Paul has
already stated that this quickening is conditioned upon dying daily for Christ.
And he has plainly revealed that there is an “order”
to the resurrection. Some must wait till
the “end” after the kingdom.
One last point should be noted in regard to verses such as 1 Corinthians 15: 51 and 1
Thessalonians 4: 17 (also see the “every man”
in 1 Corinthians 4: 5). If these few passages will be used to deny
all the other clear warnings and conditions, then the door is opened for the
Universalist heresy:
1 Corinthians 15: 22 For as in
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall ALL
be made alive.
Unbelievers will never be raised to immortality. The “all” here
is limited to believers. The following
passages would also teach Universalism if taken at face value (Ephesians 1: 10; Colossians 1: 20; 3: 11; Revelation 5:
13; 1 Corinthians 7: 7, 17, etc.).
If these promises must be limited by context and the united testimony of
Scripture to believers in general, then it is no wonder that some promises
addressed to believers must likewise be limited to only faithful believers. The Universalist is rightly reproved, for
emotionally grasping at a few verses while ignoring scores of other
warnings. Yet, many Christians are
guilty of the same approach! The
warnings concerning millennial exclusion greatly outnumber the two or three
verses that appear to teach that “all”
Christians will be glorified and reign in the millennial kingdom with Christ.
Is This Legalism?
[Page 263]
True Legalism is turning our eyes to works for justification
in eternity. It has to do with working
for initial salvation, which is given through faith alone. The [millennial] kingdom promises are not obtained through faith
alone:
Hebrews 6: 11
And we desire that every one of you do shew the
same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
It might be proper to also use the word Legalism to refer to
any teaching that places New Testament believers under commands that conflict with
New Testament law. This is far from
saying that believers are not commanded to obey the commands of the New
Testament. The fact that Christians have
commands to obey to obtain rewards and escape chastisement is not Legalism; if
it is, then Jesus Christ and all the other apostles and New Testament writers
were Legalists.
The warnings to believers in the Bible exist. They cannot be denied or ignored. Either they teach that true believers can
lose eternal salvation, etc., or they teach that true believers can lose the
millennial kingdom. Any other view
except the latter has Christians striving to be [eternally] saved, stay saved, or prove that they are saved.
Thus, the only view that is not Legalism is the view that applies the warnings to the millennial
kingdom. The only other options are to
ignore the warnings or water them down.
Doesn’t the Old Testament Teach That the Kingdom is Endless?
Many point to Bible passages in the Book of Daniel and elsewhere
in the Old Testament to attempt to prove an endless kingdom that begins when Christ returns
(e.g. Isaiah 9: 7; Daniel 2: 44, [Page 264] etc.). If the millennial kingdom does
not come to an end, one might argue that the doctrine of eternal security is
compromised by the doctrine of kingdom exclusion presented in this book.
First, such words as “everlasting”
often contain relative meanings. It is
possible that some passages that appear to teach an endless kingdom are simply
revealing that nothing can or will overthrow it throughout its ordained
duration.
Secondly, it is a common principle of prophetic interpretation
that many Old Testament passages contain dual or stacked applications. There are many Scriptures that speak of
Christ’s first and second comings at the same time. Therefore, it is possible that many passages
that appear to be describing an eternal kingdom are in actuality, revealing the
final and endless age on top of the millennial age. They
read as one event (i.e. one kingdom), as if there is no division between the
two different ages (see the same type of thing in Isaiah
61: 1-3 and Luke 4: 17-20).
It is also true that God has always been and always will be
King. Wherever He rules there is some
type of His kingdom present. This does
not mean that the phrases “
Luke 9: 26
For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of my
words, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he shall come
in his OWN glory, and in his Father’s, and of the holy angels.
Jesus will indeed also appear in His Father’s glory when He
reigns in the millennium. This glory and
dominion will never end. Nevertheless,
the special, millennial glory of Christ (with its throne and kingdom) does
come to an end:
[Page 265]
1 Corinthians 15: 23 But every man in his own order: Christ the
firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming.
24 Then cometh the end,
when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father; when he shall have put
down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till he hath put
all enemies under his feet.
26 The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death.
28 And when all things shall be subdued unto him, then shall the Son also himself be subject unto him that put all things
under him, that God may be all in all.
Revelation 20:4 And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them,
and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were
beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not
worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon
their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with
Christ a thousand years.
5 But the rest of the dead lived not
again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection.
The reign of Christ and His faithful servants in “His own glory” will only last one thousand years. This
kingdom will indeed end. Nevertheless,
the reign of Christ in the glory of the Father
will be an absolute, endless dominion.
The majority of “kingdom” passages in the New Testament refer to millennial glory since they are in the context of prizes and warnings.
There are many Bible passages that reveal that unfaithful
Christians will be released at the end of their punishment (Matthew 18: 34; 1 Corinthians 3:15; Revelation 20: 13-15,
etc.). Therefore, they do not lose the
absolute, eternal kingdom for disobedience.
The kingdom warnings are “millennial.”
(For more details see
Do the Warnings Apply Solely to Jews or Tribulation Saints?
When Christians are confronted with Biblical accountability
truth they often reply, “These warnings are in the
Gospels. They [Page 266] do not apply
to us.” When they are then given the
warnings from Hebrews, they reply, “These warnings in
Hebrews, like those in the Gospels, are Jewish, and they do not apply to us.” When they are then given the warnings in the
Book of Revelation (written long after Paul’s revelations) addressed to the churches, they then reply, “These warnings are in the Book of Revelation, not Paul’s
Gentile epistles.” When they are
then given warnings in Paul’s Gentile epistles they reply, “You are reading into them.
These warnings to the saints do not teach punishment at the judgment
seat and banishment during the millennium.” The reader is therefore encouraged to open
the Bible and read plainly the following warnings that are found in Paul’s
Gentile epistles. They are not contrary
to the warnings to believers in any other book of the Bible (Romans 8:13, 17; 11: 20, 21; 14: 12; 1 Corinthians 3:
15-17; 6: 7-10; 9: 24-27; 10: 1-12, 22; 11: 29-32; 16: 22; 2 Corinthians 5:
9-11; Galatians 5: 19-22; 6: 7, 8;
Ephesians 5: 4-7; 6: 9; Philippians 3: 10, 11; Colossians 1: 22, 23; 3: 25; 1
Thessalonians 4: 6; 1 Timothy 2: 15, 16; 5: 6, 12; 6: 8, 9; 2 Timothy 2: 12, 13,
etc.).
Ethelbert William Bullinger (1837-1913) was the founder of
hyper-dispensationalism. He was an
Anglican and a high-ranking Mason. He taught
that the soul sleeps before the resurrection.
Many of his followers became annihilationists. Bullinger’s brand of dispensationalism led to
his denial of water baptism and the Lord’s Supper as ordinances for this
age. He taught that the Gospels (including
the Great Commission!) apply only to Jews under the Law and in the future
tribulation period. It is not hard to
see how this view would become the lawless side of dispensationalism, radically
opposed to the dispensational-accountability teachings of Govett, Pember,
etc. G.H. Pember, in a letter to a
friend, wrote of Bullinger’s opposition to his teachings:
[Page 267]
“One of his heterodoxies is ... his
idea that the whole of the New Testament, save the Epistles of Paul alone, were
written for the Jews, or for Jewish Churches, and not for the Churches of this
Dispensation.”
This is certainly a serious matter. Ironside writes:
“...ultra-dispensationalists
who, under the guise of setting forth ‘high truth,’ are deliberately attempting
to rob Christians of the greater part of their Bible.”*
* H.A.
Ironside, Wrongly Dividing the Word of
Truth (
Popular Bible scholars presented and defended millennial
exclusion at a prophecy conference in 1909. Bullinger participated in this
conference. In his objection to these
truths at the conference, he reveals that his hyper-dispensationalism certainly
leads to an unbiblical antinomianism:
“Had the Papers referred to the
Pentecostal Dispensation, their quotations would be in place. But to bring them into the present
Dispensation of the grace of God, is to place us more or less ‘under the law,’ and to
destroy the foundation of God’s grace in Christ. ... We have been wrongly
warned that we may lose our crown, and taught that our position ‘in Christ’ may be affected by our conduct. There were four references to this present dispensation, but
not one contained an allusion to the ‘Kingdom’ …”*
* “The Entrance Into the
It appears that Bullinger denied any negative consequences for
improper conduct! One can only imagine
the rotten fruit that would grow out of robbing Christians of so many commands
and warnings. H.A. Ironside writes:
“Having had most intimate
acquaintance with Bullingerism as taught by many for the last forty years, I
have no hesitation in saying that its fruits are evil. It has produced a tremendous crop of heresies
throughout the length and breadth of this and other lands; it has divided
Christians ... it has lifted up its votaries [Page 268] in intellectual and
spiritual pride to an appalling extent... I have no hesitancy in saying it is
an absolutely Satanic perversion of the truth.”*
* “The Entrance Into the
It is no wonder that, according to Ironside’s own experience,
hyper-dispensationalists often resent being called “hyper-dispensationalists”
or “Bullingerites!”
On the other hand, it is not surprising that the God-fearing,
accountability views that Bullinger attempted to refute brought forth so much
fruit! This fruit is documented in the last
few chapters of this book.
In 1 Timothy 6, Paul warns
against hyper-dispensationalism:
1 Timothy 6: 3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not
to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus
Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but
doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife,
railings, evil surmisings,
5 Perverse disputings of men of corrupt minds, and
destitute of the truth, supposing that gain is godliness: from such withdraw
thyself.
In regard to this passage, Ironside writes:
“One would almost think that this was a direct command to Timothy to beware
of Bullingerism! Notice, Timothy is to
withdraw himself from, that is, to have no fellowship with, those who refuse
the present authority of the words of our Lord Jesus Christ. Where do we get those actual words? Certainly in the four Gospels ... If a man
refuses these words, whether on a plea that they do not apply to our
dispensation, or for any other reason, the Spirit of God declares it is an
evidence of intellectual or spiritual pride.
Such men ordinarily think they know much more than others, and they look
down from their fancied heights of superior Scriptural understanding with a
certain contempt, often not untinged with scornful amusement, upon godly men
and women who are simply seeking to take the words of the Lord Jesus as the
guide for [Page 269] their lives. But here we are told that such ‘know nothing,’...
The dotard is generally characterized by frequent repetition of similar
expressions…”*
* H.A. Ironside, Wrongly
Dividing the Word of Truth, 18-19.
One of the wildest of Bullinger’s hyper-dispensational ideas is
that the message to the Seven Churches in the Book of Revelation does not apply
to Christians in this age! He taught
that these promises and warnings to these seven churches apply to Jews in the
tribulation period, centuries later. He
admitted that no other Christian had ever taught this view. Bullinger writes:
“But all this [i.e. the
rapture of the church], we submit, takes place before
the Apocalypse opens ... we are to consider the interpretation of Rev. 2. and 3. as future, and
belonging to the ‘hereafter.’ ... these ‘churches’ are future assemblies of Jewish believers on earth...”*
* E.W.
Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation (reprint,
Bullinger admitted that John wrote the Revelation long after
Paul wrote Ephesians. But this was not
enough to turn him aside from his destructive theory. Bullinger started with the idea that
positional “grace” and “standing”
are absolutely incompatible with warnings and responsibility. Therefore, he gave all the warnings (in
nearly every book of the New Testament) to the Jews.
All Christian teachers do not take the extreme route that
Bullinger takes to remove himself from the warnings in chapters
2 and 3 of the Book of
Revelation. But there is a general tendency
to find some method to escape them. In a
prophecy conference in 1912, D.M. Panton reproved some of his brethren for this
stubbornness:
“My beloved brethren who differ with
me have got an awkward dilemma before them.
The majority of them acknowledge that these Epistles are for the
Churches of Christ all through the ages, but the moment we come to apply the
passages we are told that one half of those passages do not apply. That is an [Page 270] awkward dilemma. ... To me there is no awkwardness about
it; I accept the whole thing as applicable all through the ages. My position is clear and tenable. ... I am
standing on the position of the Apostolic and sub-Apostolic Church. ... I, too,
shrink much from many things that are here.
But believe me it is absolute loyalty to the whole Word of God, and not
to any section of it, that compels me to the position I take up.”*
* “The Letters to the Seven Churches,” Papers Read Before the Prophecy
Investigation Society (1912).
Bullinger begins his argument by denying that the “Lord’s day” in Revelation
1: 10 means the first day of the week.
Yet, in the previous verse, John gives his geographical location and the
reason for his banishment. Why would he
not also give the very day he is writing?
Bullinger writes:
“What John saw, by the Spirit’s power
and agency, was ‘the Day of the Lord,’ and the whole course of future events connected with that
Day ... John saw the events as they will take place in ‘the Day of the Lord.’ Our lot is cast in ‘man’s day’... But, thank God,
‘man’s day’ will
not go on forever. Another day is coming
...”*
* E.W.
Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation, xvi‑xvii,
xxii.
However, in an attempt to refute a secondary, prophetic interpretation
of the Seven Churches (relating to the seven stages of history), Bullinger
writes:
“When God
says a ‘day’ He
means a day ... it is clear that ‘days’ mean days...”*
* E.W.
Bullinger, Commentary On Revelation,
74.
If Bullinger holds that the “Lord’s
day” means a literal day when Christ judges the earth, then how does it
follow that John also sees the whole tribulation period? If Bullinger holds the “Lord’s day” to refer to many years, he has
contradicted himself.
[Page 271]
Another reason Bullinger holds that the messages to the Seven
Churches do not apply to Christians in all ages is that the Book of Revelation
does not call Christians “sons.” He notes that it calls God “the Father” instead of “our
Father.” However, the Epistle to
Titus never refers to Christians as “sons” or “children of God,” nor does it refer to God as “our Father.” It
reads “the Father” (Titus
1: 4). The same can be said for
Paul’s second Epistle to Timothy. Yet,
the Epistle to the Hebrews (supposedly only doctrinally applicable to Jewish
Christians) refers to saints as “sons” of God (Hebrews 2: 10; 12: 7)!
It is contrary to the principles of literal interpretation to
state that warnings are not applied doctrinally to the people to whom they are
addressed! The warnings to the Seven
Churches in the Book of Revelation are not historically addressed to future
Revelation 1:11 Saying, I am Alpha and Omega, the first and
the last: and, What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which ARE in Asia; unto Ephesus, and unto
Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira, and unto Sardis, and unto
Philadelphia, and unto Laodicea.
This message is sent to seven literal churches. The Lord did not say “which WILL BE.” The
Bible teaches that the words of the Holy Spirit may certainly be applied to
future saints. Yet, the application to
future saints must never replace or uproot the application to early saints to
whom the words are originally addressed.
If we say that the message to these Seven Churches did
not apply to seven literal churches in the first century (and therefore to all
churches in all ages before the tribulation period), we have laid the
interpretive foundation for a-millennialism. What then becomes of the Old Testament
promises and warnings to
The text itself plainly teaches us how we are to divide the
Book of Revelation:
Revelation 1: 19 Write the things which thou
hast seen, and the things WHICH ARE, and the
things which shall be hereafter;
The messages to the Seven Churches are the “things which are.”
It is not a future message to people in the tribulation period (though
they can still draw comfort from the words).
The exhortations, promises and warnings to the Seven Churches
reveal that the message is addressed to Christians before the tribulation
period:
Revelation 2: 2 I know thy works, and
thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil:
and thou hast tried them which say they are APOSTLES, and
are not, and hast found them liars:
We do not have apostles today.
Revelation 2: 13 I know thy works, and
where thou dwellest, even where Satan’s seat is: and thou holdest fast my name,
and hast not denied my faith, even in those days wherein ANTIPAS was
my faithful martyr, who was slain among you, where Satan dwelleth.
Antipas refers to a literal person in the first century. If these are tribulation epistles, then who
is Antipas?
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 them that dwell upon the earth.
[Page 273]
It would appear strange to promise to keep people from an hour
that they are supposedly already living in!
It is therefore erroneous to claim that the warnings and promises
to the
What About the
Many wonder where departed Christians will go before the resurrection and the judgment seat
of Christ.* It is clear from Scripture
that the doctrine of soul sleep is in error.
Luke 16 alone reveals that people are
conscious between death and the resurrection.
[* Here again it is implied that ‘the judgment seat
of Christ’ takes place after resurrection instead of after
death (Heb. 9: 27)!]
Often this question is in the form of an objection to
millennial exclusion. The reasoning is, that it would appear strange to have
some believers enjoying bliss in Heaven for centuries (in spirit and soul),
only to depart to the underworld at the time of the resurrection.
On the other hand, many unfaithful believers are already
allowed to enjoy gracious blessings from God in this life. Yet,
they will surely be excluded at the judgment seat!
Scripture largely ignores the intermediate state. The millennium, eternity and the resurrection
of the body are the main subjects placed before the believer. There are certainly some passages of Scripture
that teach that Christians (or at least some Christians) will go into the presence
of the Lord in Heaven directly after death (Philippians
1: 23; 2 Corinthians 5: 6-8, Revelation 5: 8-10). Nevertheless, it is equally true that all
Christians will be resurrected to appear before the judgment seat to receive
the things done in the body at Christ’s appearing (2 Corinthians
5: 10). *
[* If this is true, then where do these resurrected saints go
afterwards? Do they “all” remain on
earth, ascend into the presence of God in heaven, or some return again into ‘Hades’ - the place of the dead?]
It should also be pointed out that one of the main proofs for
believing that all [deceased] Christians go to be with the Lord
in the intermediate state is a statement made by the apostle Paul late in his
life when he was discussing his martyrdom (Philippians 1: 23). Yet, Paul also had confidence that he would
be crowned at this point in his life (2 Timothy 4:
6-8). All believers do not
receive crowns. Since Paul had lived for
Christ, he could have confidence and boldness concerning the judgment
seat. Also, he taught that martyrdom
(for right motives) was a sure path to reigning with Christ (2 Timothy 2:12).
When looking back at a long life of suffering for Christ and realizing
that he was soon to be beheaded, Paul expressed his great hope and expectation
of soon departing to be with Christ and later coming back to reign with Him in
the millennium. Surely then, since all believers do not receive crowns (yet Paul expressed confidence of
receiving one), Philippians 1: 23 is a shaky
foundation for making the intermediate state an automatic privilege of
grace.
The martyr Stephen actually asked the Lord to receive his spirit in the intermediate state:*
[* NOTE. Surely this has reference to the animating spirit, common to all
who are presently alive. , “…if he [God] gather unto himself his spirit and his
breath; all flesh shall perish together, and man shall
turn again unto dust” (Job. 34: 14, 15,
R.V.). “… knowing
that she was dead
… her spirit returned, and she rose up immediately”,
(Luke 8: 55, R.V.) See also Jas. 2:
26: “…as the body without the spirit
is dead…”]
Acts 7: 59 And they
stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord
Jesus, receive my spirit.
Does not this suggest that the intermediate state is conditional
and included as part of the prize of future millennial glory? Notice Paul’s statement in 2 Corinthians 5:
2 Corinthians 5: 8 We are
confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be
present with the Lord.
9 Wherefore we labour, that, whether
present or absent, we way be accepted of him.
[Page 275]
It could be argued that this passage implies conditions (i.e.
labouring to be “accepted”) as easily as it
could be used to support the doctrine that all Christians (regardless of
conduct) go to be with the Lord [in heaven] directly after death.
The account of the Rich Man and Lazarus is one of the only
in-depth teachings on the intermediate state in the Bible (Luke 16: 19). There is nothing in the account
about the Gospel. The issue appears to
be that the Rich Man did not love his neighbour. This account in Luke
16 and other warnings surely cause one to fear that comforts in the
intermediate state might be administered on the same principle as blessings in
the millennium. This would leave only eternity to be an absolute privilege of grace through faith
alone. Some Christian leaders in the
past have embraced this idea (Tertullian, Burgh, Craig, etc.)
This would of course bring up the question of God’s
justice. This would leave some
unfaithful Christians, which died in the first century, to be in the underworld
much longer than carnal Christians which will die directly before the coming of
Christ. Yet, the suffering in the
underworld involves more than simply duration. There is also intensity of
suffering. Therefore, the Lord is certainly able to give to every man what he
deserves. But why hasn’t this objection been raised in regard to the lost? The same question applies to them. Many unbelievers have died in the first
century. And many unbelievers will die
directly before the coming of Christ. They will all perish throughout
eternity. Yet, those which died in the
days of Christ will receive eternity plus 2000 or so years of suffering.
Is it proper to punish a person before he has stood
trial? There is a preliminary judgment
that God must make in regard to all men when they die. God must judge whether or not a person is
saved or lost. Certainly then, it is no
great thing for Him to judge [Page 276] between unfaithful saints and
faithful saints before they appear in body at the
judgment seat.
In our own legal system, authorities often hold a man in jail
until his court date. The Bible reveals
that God does the same for some wicked angels:
2 Peter 2: 4 For if God
spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered
them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment;
Jude verse 6 And the angels which kept
not their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved
in everlasting chains under darkness unto the judgment of the great
day.
It is therefore possible that God does the same for all men
according to their works, whether they are saved or lost. At the very least, the mysteries of the
intermediate state provide no valid objection to the clear teaching of
millennial exclusion. God knows how to
keep Christians until the day of the judgment seat of Christ:
2 Peter 2: 9 The Lord
knoweth how to deliver the godly out of temptations, and to reserve the unjust unto the day of judgment to be punished:
What About the Popular Christians That Never Believed This
Doctrine?
Many that wish to object to kingdom-accountability truth will
point out the numerous men and women that were used by God which never believed
such a doctrine. The following chapters
will reveal that more Christians believed this truth than many realize! Nevertheless, it is true that many
well-known, fruitful Christians did not believe it. Is this therefore a good justification for
rejecting it?
[Page 277]
Many of the founding fathers of
Many great Christians did not believe in millennial exclusion
simply because they were never taught it.
They will be judged for the light and opportunities they were given (Luke 12: 47-48).
Some wonder how the doctrine of millennial exclusion could be
true since God used many fiery fundamentalists, missionaries and revivalists
who never understood it. But did not God
also use such men as Charles Finney and Jonathan Edwards? Yet, Finney and Edwards not only did not
understand millennial exclusion, they totally rejected pre-millennialism
altogether! They were
post-millennial. Paul taught that
post-millennialism would overthrow the faith of some (2
Timothy 2: 18). But sometimes
these doctrines take a few generations to eat away (as a canker) at the
foundation of faith and manifest their rotten fruits (2
Timothy 2: 17).
And what about the great number of preachers that God used
that denied eternal security? Many of
these old preachers would not hesitate to view most modem Christians as damned
for absolute eternity if they were alive today! Some of these Arminian
preachers often made confusing statements, as if they were [Page 278] catching a glimpse of the doctrine of millennial exclusion (John Fletcher,
etc.). For example, Peter Cartwright
ends his autobiography with the following words:
“And now, I ask of all who may read this
imperfect sketch of my eventful life, while I linger on these mortal shores, to
pray for me ... that I may be counted worthy to obtain a part in
the first resurrection, and may, 0 may I meet you all in
heaven! Farewell, till we meet at the
judgment.”*
* Peter Cartwright, Autobiography
o fPeter Cartwright (New York: Nelson & Phillips, 1856), 525,
- Peter Cartwright (1785-1872)
Yet, it is probable that these men made no distinction between
millennial exclusion and eternal damnation.
Or, perhaps some held to both doctrines, based on the degree of failure.
The fact that God has used people with great doctrinal errors
is nothing new. One only has to think
upon such Bible characters as Samson, Cyrus, Balaam, etc., to see that God
often accomplishes much through those inclined to human error. Notice the great work wrought by Saul:
1 Samuel 28: 3 Now Samuel was dead, and all
1 Samuel 10:11 And it came to pass, when all that knew him
beforetime saw that, behold, he prophesied among the prophets,
then the people said one to another, What is this that is come unto the son
of Kish? Is Saul also among
the prophets?
Nevertheless, Saul had great sins. It is therefore no wonder that God has used
many people who never understood the great truths of the millennial kingdom as
a reward.
Some fundamental Christians in the twentieth century appeared
to have accomplished much while only fearing the loss of jewels [Page 279] on a crown. What could these
Christians have accomplished had they understood the full accountability truth
in regard to the millennium? Certainly,
their converts would have been more grounded.
If these preachers ran fast and hard with whatever motivations they had,
they could have done even more with the truth of kingdom exclusion.
Many are gifted to be great workers. They are not slothful. Perhaps these can appear to stay busy without
the kingdom truth. Nevertheless, a large part of our Christian stewardship is preaching the truths of the
The Lord will bring everything to light on the day of the
judgment seat of Christ (1 Corinthians 4: 2-5). Until then, it would not be wise to reject
any truth simply because some other Christians appeared to thrive without
it. Often the rotten fruit of weak or
heretical doctrine is only fully manifested in the next few generations.
Doesn’t the Bible Teach That Our “Works”
(and Not Our “Sins”) Will Be
Judged?
S.S. Craig (1855-1936) answers this objection:
“On this passage [2 Cor. 5: 10] Dr. Scofield comments as follows: ‘The judgment of the believer’s works,
not sins, is in question here ... Matt. 10: 12; Rom. 14: 10; Gal. 6: 7; Eph. 6: 8;
Col. 3: 24, 25…’ … Matt.
10: 12 has no
bearing on the subject whatever. Eph. 6: 8 has reference to the
Christian’s good deeds, but says nothing of the evil; and the other three
passages affirm the very opposite of the Doctor’s contention. How very emphatic is Col. 3: 25: ‘But He that [Page 280] doeth wrong (assuming that he has not made it right) shall receive for the wrong which he hath
done, and there is no respect of persons.’ Surely that is plain enough. Those who hold the theory in question say it
is the believer’s works and not his person that is to be judged. Is it conceivable that an evil work, apart
from the person who does it, can be judged, the sentence executed and justice
satisfied thereby? How would the theory
work in civil jurisprudence? Suppose
society should say, ‘We will let the murderer go free, but we will judge and
punish the deed.’ ... Christ bore the believer’s sin and sins on the cross
judicially. But this will not save the
believer from sinning; nor from reaping as he SOWS.”*
* Stephen S. Craig, The Dualism of Eternal Life (
The Bible reveals that Christians can be judged for “sins” (1 John 5: 16-17;
James 1: 15, 19; Hebrews 10: 26; Romans 6: 16; 1 Timothy 5: 24). There must be a distinction made between
position and practice (i.e. walk). No believer will be punished judicially for
sins after salvation in a positional, eternal sense. However, there are temporal judgments (in this life and during the millennium) for sin in
believers. The semantic distinction that
is often made between bad works and sins is erroneous. Evil works are sins.
Doesn’t the Bible Teach That Every Man Shall Have Praise of
God?
1 Corinthians 4: 5 Therefore judge nothing before the time,
until the Lord come, who both will bring to light the hidden things of
darkness, and will make manifest the counsels of the hearts: and then shall every man have praise of God.
This verse is easily answered in the same manner as 1 Thessalonians 4: 17 and 1
Corinthians 15: 51. The “every man” is not absolute. The previous chapter makes this clear (1 Corinthians 3: 15). Those that maintain that “every” must always mean “absolutely every” when referring to Christians should spend some
time debating Universalists!
[Page 281
If Christian leaders would search the Scriptures for proof of
punishment at the judgment seat with the same intensity that they search them
for any jot or tittle that can be used to deny it, this present book would be
largely unnecessary. H.A. Ironside
(1876-1951), has answered the above objection sufficiently:
“The context, however, seems to show
that it is a question of the source from which the praise comes, rather than an
affirmation that all will have praise.
The apostle tells the Corinthians that it is a very small thing with him
to be judged of them or of man’s day, in contrast to the Lord’s day when praise will come from none
other source, but from God.”*
* H.A. Ironside, Sailing With Paul (New York: Loizeaux Brothers, 1955), 77.
If Paul Was Not Sure of Millennial Entrance, How Can Anyone Be
Sure?
This same question could be asked in
regard to any view of the judgment seat of Christ. How can anyone be sure of crowns? How can anyone be sure that they will not
stand in shame before Jesus (1 John 2: 28)?
Whatever standard of holiness is required to win a crown and escape shame is
the same standard required to escape millennial exclusion.
A Christian writer once objected to the truths of millennial
exclusion by comparing this doctrine with the uncertainty of Arminianism. However, millennial exclusion actually
reinforces the certainty of eternal salvation!
It gives the warnings addressed to the saints their proper place and
thereby insures that they will not be misapplied. When these warning passages are wrongly
applied to eternity, humble believers are robbed of their assurance.
The Bible teaches that some Christians do enter the millennial
kingdom and reign with Christ.
Therefore, God’s
standard is not impossible to meet. He
provides the daily strength to overcome.
He does not require absolute
perfection. He requires that we fear [Page 282] His warnings and seek His mercy
in repentance before we die or arrive at the judgment seat.
What About James Chapter 2?
Many attempt to mix saving faith with works on the basis of James 2.
They then argue that all the warnings apply to professors, and that the
Christian must continue to bring forth fruit to prove that he is truly [eternally] saved. Yet, James 2
is addressed to people that are already [eternally] saved:
James 2: 1 My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect of persons.
These Jewish believers are admonished in regard to their
Christian walk. Therefore, the judgment seat of Christ is
the context of this chapter, not eternity.
To be saved at the judgment
seat (i.e. escape chastisement), the Christian must add [good] works to his
faith. Faith alone saves us
in eternity. Faith and works saves us at the judgment seat (Hebrews
6: 12). The word “saved” is sometimes used in the Bible for escaping
physical death in this life (Acts 27: 31). Certainly, then, it can also be used for
escaping death at the judgment seat and during the millennial kingdom! James refers to Abraham’s faith and
works in Genesis 22.
This was years after his faith alone in Genesis
15 (which Paul uses as an example of eternal salvation in Romans 4).
Therefore, James 2 reveals how a
Christian may be justified before God and show forth
his works before man in this life. Christians that please God
in this life will be rewarded at the judgment seat with millennial reign.
[Page 283]
How Can Christ’s Body Be Punished at the Judgment Seat
and During the Millennium?
Many argue that since they are part of Christ’s body they are
therefore immune from punishment at the judgment seat and during the
millennium. Yet, why then aren’t
Christians immune from scourging in this life (Hebrews
12: 6)? Some of the saints in
How Can the Holy Spirit
That Indwells Believers
Be Present in Hell
During the Millennium?
The Holy Spirit is Omnipresent:
Psalms 139: 7
Whither shall I go from thy spirit?
or whither shall I flee from thy presence?
8 If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell [Sheol], behold, thou art there.
Job 26: 6
Hell is naked before him, and destruction hath
no covering.
Proverbs 15: 11
Hell and destruction are before the LORD: how
much more then the hearts of the children of men?
Christians have suffered chastisement and persecution for
centuries. They have been burned at the
stake with the indwelling Spirit. God is
not bound by His creation. God is not
inside the universe. The universe is
inside of God (Acts 17: 28; Hebrews 1: 3)!
Did Not Jesus Pay for Our Sins at
Jesus paid for all our sins, past, present and future, as far
as eternal salvation is concerned. No sin can ever rob a believer of [Page 284] eternal life on the Last Day (after the millennium). Yet, there are sins that Christians commit as
children of God.
And God’s children are held accountable for their faults (if they do not
confess their transgressions and seek mercy in fear). Almost all modern Christians allow Jesus the right
to reward good works. Shall He not also
reward the bad deeds? If Jesus is not
free to judge unfaithfulness at the judgment seat, He is not free to judge it
in this present life. Yet, almost all
commentators admit that the Lord judges His saints in this life (1 Corinthians 11; Hebrews 12). The distinction in Scripture is therefore between temporary and eternal judgment. Christians can never be judged eternally for
their sins since Jesus has paid the full price for them on the Cross. Yet, the sins of [regenerate] believers can bring temporal judgments, and
the millennium is temporal.
The forgiveness of sins in regard to believers is not automatic, and it
must be maintained (Matthew 6:15; 18: 35; 1 John 1:
9). The God who measured the
earth and waters in exact proportion (Isaiah 40: 12)
has also ordained the exact measure of chastisement for unfaithful saints. Yet, many claim that Jesus may chastise saints (and even kill
them, as in 1 Corinthians 11) as long as He
remains INVISIBLE to our physical
eyes. However, if He APPEARS as JUDGE, they claim He is no longer allowed to cause harm or
affliction. This idea is preposterous (Luke 12: 46)!
How Can a Person with a New Nature Be Punished at the Judgment
Seat?
A person with a new nature can be punished at the judgment seat the same way that he can be
punished in this life! Who is it that
can lose crowns at the judgment seat according to the common view? Who is it that can appear in shame? It is the Christian. Therefore, the Christian can also be punished at the judgment
seat and banished to the underworld.
Horatius Bonar (1808-1880) writes:
[Page 285]
“This mysticism or confusion is a
serious thing ... it only needs a slight analysis, a little taking to pieces,
to shew that its effect, if carried out, would be to destroy the feeling of
responsibility, to weaken the sense of sin ... Shall we stifle conscience by
calling that no sin which is sin? Shall
we extenuate trespass because found in a saint?
Shall we sit easy under evil, because done by the old man, not the new;
by the flesh, and not the spirit?”*
* Horatius Bonar, God’s Way of Holiness (
How Do We Know If We Have Confessed Our Sins Enough?
Sometimes, sincere Christians who fear God’s warnings, wonder if
they have neglected to repent of certain sins, or if they have repented enough
to escape millennial exclusion.
Sometimes these questions are raised as objections to the teaching;
however, if the truths of millennial exclusion are not true, then the warnings
to the saints must be applied to eternity.
Yet, the questions concerning repentance would still remain. Only, the consequences of not repenting
properly or enough would be eternal, not millennial and temporary!
Furthermore, these questions concerning repentance would also
still apply to any view of the judgment seat. The common, modern view sees only
shame at the judgment seat. How much
repentance is required in the Christian life to escape this shame?
We can arrive at confidence concerning the judgment seat of
Christ; yet, we should never have certainty in this life (1 Corinthian 10: 12). The Bible teaches us to hope in the Lord’s mercy (Psalms 33: 18). Yet, we should never gamble. We should confess and forsake
all known sin and pray for the Lord to reveal more to us. We
must be careful of provoking God by accusing Him of being impossible to please
(Hebrews 3: 15-19). He is merciful and longsuffering. Every
Christian that fears His warnings, walks in obedience, and quickly, sincerely
repents when he or she falls, can have confidence of victory at last:
[Page 286]
Hebrews 3: 6
But Christ as a son over his own house; whose
house are we, if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing
of the hope firm unto the end.
Many of the Warnings Cited
Do Not Directly Mention the Judgment Seat of Christ
How many warnings to lost people directly mention the Great
White Throne? Unless we will neutralize all warnings to
lost people that do not mention the Great White Throne, we should not
neutralize the warnings to saints that do not directly mention the judgment
scat of Christ.
Is This a Jehovah’s Witness or Seventh Day Adventist Teaching?
Some have noticed that accountability teacher D.M. Panton
edited The Dawn Magazine and
they have confused this with J.W. terminology.
There is no connection. Panton
stated that he intentionally wanted to seize back a good word, and that he
refused to let the word remain a monopoly of a false sect (i.e. The
Dawn, Vol. II, No.3,
1925). The accountability truth of this
book is so greatly removed from J.W. and Seventh Day Adventist (i.e.
annihilationist) teaching that it not only maintains that God burns the
lost for all eternity in
torment, it maintains that true Christians are in danger of literal, temporary punishment when Christ
returns. Judgment begins at the House of God (1
Peter 4: 17)!
Are Not the Warning Passages in the Gospels
Tribulation, Second Coming Passages?
Jesus commands His disciples to teach His words to Gentiles until He returns (Matthew 28: 20).
The warnings apply to His people in whatever stage of His second
coming. Is John
14: 1-3 after the judgment seat?
Most apply it to saints in this age.
The same [Page 287] people are addressed in John 14 as in Matthew 25:
19. Does not Paul warn us about
those who would ignore the Lord’s words?:
1 Timothy 6: 3 If any man teach otherwise, and consent not
to wholesome words, even the WORDS OF OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST,
and to the doctrine which is according to godliness;
4 He is proud, knowing nothing, but
doting about questions and strifes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife,
railings, evil surmisings,
If Scripture later changes a command in the Gospels, we are
free to disregard it as a direct, doctrinal command for our lives. However, the warnings of Jesus to His
disciples are never changed. The
remainder of the New Testament confirms them!
Furthermore, most apply the positive promises in the Gospels
without saying they are misappropriated.
It is also a fact that the earliest church fathers (for 300 years)
applied the Gospels to saints. They were
premillennial.
Shouldn’t We Follow the Majority?
Christians must follow the Word of God, not the popular,
religious majority.
In fact, it has been proven over
and over again that the majority (especially in an age of religious corruption)
is usually wrong. The Bible speaks about the religious
majority in the last days, and it is not a pretty sight:
2 Timothy 4: 1 I charge
thee therefore before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, who shall judge
the quick and the dead at his appearing and his kingdom;
2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season;
reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound
doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers,
having itching ears;
4 And they shall turn
away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
[Page 288]
There are many “fables” that
Christians have embraced in this day and age.
One fable that
tickles and soothes the “itching” ears of carnal
Christians is the doctrine that Christians are
never in danger of being punished at the future judgment seat after death. It is wise to boldly receive the light of
Scripture and refuse to be intimidated by the modern majority. A.T. Pierson (1837-1911) once stated:
“Brethren, we have a saying, Great is
the truth and will prevail: but this is never so in this age; in this age truth
is always with the minority; and so convinced am I of this, that if I find
myself agreeing with the majority I make haste and get over to the other side,
for I know 1 am wrong.”*
* G.H. Lang, The Rights Of The Holy Spirit In The House Of God (1938), 4.
Many [with a false sense of
security] will follow the comfortable tradition
of the majority regardless of how corrupt it becomes. They are afraid to stand for
truth. Even if they see it, they choose
rather to corrupt the doctrine of the Bible:
Matthew 15: 3
But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of God by your tradition?
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.*
[*NOTE. This “teaching for doctrines the
commandments of men,” applies to a host of Scriptural teachings: - believer’s
baptism, justification by works, the salvation of the soul, on-going judgment
of believers, and the intermediate place and state of the dead before the time
of resurrection, etc.]
On the other hand, God has many that have not bowed the knee
to erroneous, cowardly tradition. Many
have taught that a believer is saved by grace through faith alone and can never
lose [eternal]
salvation; yet they also boldly preached the fact that disobedient believers
can be punished at the judgment seat and be excluded from the millennial
kingdom. Even so, no Christian can rest
upon the merits of others. Each individual Christian is called to study, believe and practice the
truths that God has revealed in His Word:
Romans 14:12
So then every one of us shall give
account of himself to God.
* *
*
[Page 289]
Chapter 26
Accountability Truth in History (Part
1)
“But there are those who tell us, and their number is not few, that only
the strong spiritual members of the church are designated in Scripture as
overcomers. …”*
* H.A. Ironside, Lectures
On The Revelation (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1987), 209.
- H.A. Ironside (1876-1951)
“Commentators generally, if not universally, limit this privilege to the martyrs
only; and think that these only shall rise from the dead at the commencement of
the millennium...” - The Christian
Messenger (Oct. 1833)
Hebrews
12: 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us
lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, [Page 290] and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us.
A “great cloud of witnesses”
throughout Christian history lends further support to the accountability truths
taught in this book. The numerous quotes
from these various Christians will provide great encouragement for those who
have accepted these truths. Many of the Christian leaders
that taught the possibility of temporary
punishment in the underworld for carnal Christians were the leaders in
prophetic study in their days.
They influenced many. The
Christian leaders that taught millennial exclusion but were vague in regard to
exactly where the banished believers
spent the millennium (whether in Heaven, the grave or the underworld) were even
more numerous. These final chapters will
explore all of these writers and will document that the history of millennial
exclusion (in whatever form or degree) is as fruitful as the history of pre-millennialism itself.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the truth of
millennial exclusion and temporary hell for unfaithful believers was gaining
ground. In response, Bible teachers such
as Russell Elliott wrote booklets in
an attempt to combat it. The words of
Elliott (in Review Of Mr. D.M. Panton’s
The Judgment Seat of Christ) testify
to the prominence of accountability truth in his days:
“This review of teaching, which is being persistently pressed upon the attention of the Christian
public, is earnestly commended to the consideration of any who may
have come under its influence. ... even true believers, according to this system, may ‘return temporarily to corruption.’ ... Some have to endure
for a time even the torments of hell.
This is predicated of true children of God, washed in the blood of
Christ.”
Objectors such as Elliott (like A.O. Molesworth in Exclusion
From The Kingdom), believed the
warnings apply to false professors. Therefore,
according to their view, Christians must fear an eternal hell for failure in the Christian life! Therefore, such objectors strain at a gnat
and swallow a camel (Matthew 23: 24). [Page 291] Invective often vexes the truth. The Augsburg Confession (1530) anathematized
pre-millennialism. The Second Helvetic
Confession (1566) condemned the doctrine as “Jewish
dreams.” History certainly
teaches us that Christendom does not always welcome a revival of Biblical
truth, especially in the area of eschatology.
We should, therefore, not expect to find many in history teaching that
disobedient Christians may be temporarily punished in the underworld and/or excluded from the millennium.
However, the number that we do find is quite amazing!
When viewing the teachings on the judgment seat of many great
Christians of earlier ages, one is driven to conclude that
there has been a great cover-up! If there has not been a conspiracy among many modem Christian
leaders to hide the teachings of these earlier saints, there has certainly been
a Satanic conspiracy to hide them. The Devil from the
beginning has tried to hide God’s warnings from His people (Genesis 3; 4).
His campaign has continued in modem times. This is no doubt the reason why many modem
Christian teachers “garnish the sepulchres” of the righteous saints of earlier days, while rejecting and
obscuring their Biblical teachings concerning the millennial kingdom
(Matthew
23: 29-31).
Many in this modem age would do well to study the older writers
a bit more closely. Many worthy saints
in past ages have proclaimed loudly and clearly (on the basis of Scripture)
that all Christians do not enter the millennium. Yet, their message has been forgotten or
overlooked by the majority in this lukewarm age:
“The most valuable truth has been
attained by increased investigation in the track of the older writers, with the
further light that history has afforded. ... the early writers of the Christian
Church assisted Mede, the father of modern interpretation. More, Cressener, Sir Isaac Newton, Bishop Newton ...
etc. all followed. ... Some modern writers have too
much, however, disregarded [Page 292] what previous writers have said, and others have set
them wholly aside, as groundless interpretations.”*
* Edward Bickersteth, Practical
Guide to the Prophecies (1852), 344.
- Edward Bickersteth (1786-1850)
These final chapters will not disregard such pioneering men as
Joseph Mede, Thomas Newton and many others of previous generations who were all advocates
of selective-resurrection. The evidence presented here will force those who wish to object to
selective-resurrection and kingdom-exclusion to object on other grounds besides
the alleged newness of the doctrines. These ideas might
indeed be new to the modem reader, but they are certainly not new to
Christianity itself. Many of these bold
believers in a conditional millennium were the pillars of
Bible-believing, fundamental Christianity.
They were certainly the leaders in prophetic study.
Many great doctrines that were brought to a fullness of light by their
labours are still found
on the lips of conservative, fundamental preachers around the world.
Selective-Resurrection at the
Forefront of Premillennialism
Such excellent works as The
Theocratic Kingdom by G.N.H. Peters
(1825-1909), Last Times by Joseph Seiss (1823-1904) and The
Voice Of The Church by Daniel T.
Taylor (1823-1899) thoroughly
document the prevalence of pre-millennialism throughout the history of
Christianity. These works (and others
like them) prove that pre-millennialism shows up wherever there is light and
that it has been an established prophetic view throughout the ages. The doctrine of millennial exclusion for
disobedient believers rests largely upon this foundation of pre-millennialism
(i.e. literal interpretation).
[Page 293]
To trace the history of pre-millennialism (in general) is to
trace the history of selective-resurrection (i.e. kingdom exclusion). Elias
Smith (1769-1846) has noted:
“Some who allow that there will be a
resurrection of the saints at the coming of Christ, deny the resurrection to
any except such as were put to death for Christ’s sake. …*
* Elias
Smith, Sermons Containing An Illustration
Of The Prophecies ... (1808), 90.
It is immediately seen that selective-resurrection has been
taught before. However, notice that E.R. Craven (the American editor of Lange’s Revelation Commentary) divided premillennial thought equally
into three views concerning
those subjects who will “have part” in the First Resurrection:
“ ... some holding they are all
saints; others that they are only the martyrs; others still, that
they are the specially faithful, including the martyrs.”*
* John
Peter Lange, Lange’s Revelation
Commentary (
Moses Lard, writing in 1865 states:
“The sleeping saints will all be
raised, of the truth of this all who have written and spoken on the millennium
seem not satisfied, for some have taken the
ground that only a part of the just will be raised.”*
* Moses E. Lard, Lard’s
Quarterly, 2/1 (Oct. 1865).
The evidence is, therefore, clear that some earlier saints
have taught selective-resurrection in regard to the millennial kingdom. To teach selective-resurrection, is to teach
kingdom exclusion. The doctrine is
therefore not new. Yet, “some” (above) is not exactly the right word for the
vast popularity of the doctrine throughout history. George
N.H. Peters appears to have been an [Page 294] advocate of varying degrees of
accountability teaching.* He was much
closer to the truth when he stated:
* In The Theocratic Kingdom (Grand Rapids:
Kregel), vol. 2, 290, G.N.H. Peters
refers to the Great White Throne after the millennium and states: “For while translations, glorifications, etc. may result
during the Millennial age as a reward for holiness, yet the mention of the book
of life and the reference to all the dead then existing may imply that others,
not accounted worthy of special honour and exaltation - although ultimately to
be saved - are included in those dead.”
Peters also believed in a partial rapture, holding the pre-trib escape
as a reward for “overcomers.” He believed the Foolish Virgins were true
Christians (vol. 3, p.306).
Nevertheless, in other places he appears to reject the doctrine of
selective-resurrection.
“Burgh, and many others, insist
that martyrs only are designated.”*
* G.N.H. Peters, The
Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 2 (
It should be noted here that William Burgh (1800-1866)
included any Christian who is
resisting sin and walking in holiness under the term “martyr.” Therefore, Peters actually testifies to the
fact that “many” Christians throughout history
have believed that only faithful Christians will enter the millennial kingdom. Burgh writes:
“I would only add that in using the
word martyrs in the preceding remarks, as a
designation of those who shall reign with Christ, I would not be understood to confine
it to its received sense: because it is evident that all ‘sufferers,’ as well
as those who have actually lost their lives for Christ, are included in this
blessed hope.”*
* William
Burgh, Lectures On The Second Advent Of
Our Lord Jesus Christ (
It is true that among the multitudes of pre-millennial
advocates of selective-resurrection there were a few who did indeed limit the
First Resurrection to physical martyrs alone (e.g. L.G.
Schmucker). Peter Jurieu (1637-1713),
a French Protestant minister (called the “Goliath of
Protestantism”) writes:
[Page 295]
“...for this first Resurrection will
be but of a very few, viz. of the Ancient Martyrs. The remainder of the faithful shall not be
raised, till the end of the world.”*
* Peter
Jurieu, The Accomplishment Of Scripture
Prophecies (
On the other hand, the vast majority of pre-millennialists
advocating selective-resurrection use the word “martyr”
in a general sense to refer to all “overcomers.” This broad use of the word “martyr” slipped past many prophetic students and
perhaps tempted them to discard the motivating truth of kingdom exclusion
altogether. Since the opportunity for
literal, physical martyrdom is largely out of our hands, it would indeed be
discouraging to read passage after passage of Scripture concerning the
millennial kingdom and believe that we must be physically slain for Christ to
ever obtain entrance into that blessed period.
However, such an objection is no ground for rejecting the
selective-resurrection doctrine since the majority of its early advocates
simply used the term “martyr” for convenience
sake as a general designation for all “overcomers.”
F. W. Grant (1834-1913) in attempting to refute
these “many” advocates of
selective-resurrection, nevertheless, goes one step further than “many” and confesses that it was the belief of
practically “all” of the pre-millennialists a
century before him:
“The recognition of the first company
here [i.e. Revelation 20: 4] also removes another difficulty which troubled those with whom the ‘blessed hope’ revived at the end of the last
century - that the first resurrection consisted wholly of martyrs.”*
* F.W.
Grant, The Numerical Bible, Hebrews To
Revelation (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1978), 480.
Multitudes of early pre-millennialists held to the doctrine of
selective-resurrection. In studying the voluminous works of
these early pre-millennialists for oneself (many of their books are the [Page 296] size of a standard coffee-table), one finds that they were not strangers
to the arguments so confidently put forth by later generations in an attempt to
counter the doctrine of kingdom exclusion.
Perhaps F.W. Grant underestimated the interpretive skill of his
forefathers. Revelation
chapter 20 was not
even the sole ground for embracing selective-resurrection in those early days.
For example, Christ’s parable of the “Ten Virgins” in Matthew 25 (like so many of His other parables) spawned
multitudes of accountability teachers.
In his own comments upon the parable, Joseph Seiss (1823-1904) quotes Olshausen as stating:
“It is clear that the words ‘I know you not,’ cannot
denote eternal condemnation. The foolish
virgins are only excluded from the Marriage of the Lamb but are not thereby
deprived of eternal happiness. …”*
* Joseph Augustus Seiss, The
Parable Of The Ten Virgins (1862).
Seiss agrees with this view.
George N.H. Peters attests to
the fact that this was also the view of Poiret,
Von Meyer, Rudolph, Stier, Bayford, and others.* Seiss continues:
* George
N.H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, vol.
3 (
“Stier also agrees that ‘a further
hope as regards the last end must remain.’
Dean Alford also concurs in the same. So too, the Theological And Literary Journal, in an article on this parable. ...The same view is also maintained by Poiret ... Von Mayer ...
and others.”*
* Joseph Augustus Seiss, The
Parable Of The Ten Virgins (1862).
Again, “and others”
is an understatement. The view appears to have almost dominated
premillennial thought by the middle of the nineteenth century.
Many early scholars held to the belief that the Foolish Virgins are
ultimately saved, though excluded temporarily from
either the pre-trib rapture or the millennium, or both. Early influential writers such as William Cuninghame (1775-1849) and some
of the other
* Michael
Baxter, Forty Coming Wonders (London:
Christian Herald Office, 1887), 64, 149.
“Fr. von Meyer, and Millenarian commentators, take the same view, and generally assume that the five foolish virgins will be excluded only from the blessedness of the first resurrection
and the thousand years reign of Christ on earth, but not from final salvation.
... It may be urged in favour of this view that the virgins are not divided
into good and bad, but into wise and foolish virgins, and that the latter are
not represented as unbelievers.”*
* Lange’s Commentary On The Holy Scriptures, Matthew, translated from the German and edited
with additions by Philip Schaff (Zondervan), 439.
Schaff lists the view as the “general”
teaching among early pre-millennialists.
There were a few early, Calvinist writers such as John Gill (1697-1771)
that taught that all Christians are
raised to enter the millennial kingdom.
Nevertheless, millennial exclusion was so general in early
pre-millennialism that it is listed as the only interpretation under the heading of “Millennialism” in many Bible encyclopedias and
dictionaries. For example, the Dictionary Of Doctrinal And Historical
Theology from 1892 states:
“The Millenaries, or Chiliasts,
accepting this prophecy [Rev. 20] literally, hold that ... there
will be a first resurrection of martyrs, and of those worthy to share the
martyr’s crown; that for the thousand years these will live [Page 298] and reign with Christ on earth ... that after this will be the
general resurrection.”*
* Dictionary Of Doctrinal And Historical Theology, edited by John Henry Blunt (London:
Longmans, Green, And Co., 1892).
The above dictionary is far from being opposed to
pre-millennialism or out of touch with the subject; in fact, it actually
defends the glorious doctrine from dishonest attacks. Likewise, another Bible dictionary (
“A name suggested by the period of
1000 years described in Rev. 20 ... during which Satan is
confined in the abyss, and the martyr saints reign
with Christ.”*
* A Dictionary of the Bible, edited
by James Hastings (1911).
David Brown (1803-1897), whom pre-millennialist E. R. Craven
calls one of the ablest opponents of pre-millennialism to have ever been
published, is quick to point out the fact that earlier premillennial prophecy
experts did not believe every Christian entered the millennium.
He also reminds his readers that of those pre-millennialists who do
believe all Christians enter the kingdom, that the most distinguished are
nevertheless themselves doubtful about the certainty of it:
“But do all those who take the
prophecy [in Revelation 20] literally interpret it alike?
By no means. ... Bishop Newton
calls this first resurrection ‘a peculiar prerogative of the martyrs
and confessors above the rest
of mankind.’... even those who do take it
literally [the first resurrection in
Revelation 20]
are not agreed as to the parties intended by it; and of those who conceive it to embrace the
righteous at large, some - and the most distinguished - have come to that
conclusion with much hesitation, and with great diffidence as to the soundness
of that opinion.”*
* David
Brown, Christ’s Second Coming, Will It Be
Premillennial? (New York: R. Carter, 1876), 221-224, 226.
In a later book he states:
[Page 299]
“This has been the great field of
controversy between two sections of Christians from the third century to the
present day. Up to the third
century the persecuted Christians seem to have taken this [Revelation 20] as predicting a literal resurrection of the martyrs to
reign with Christ. I have said that the
early Christians who take the prediction literally understood it of the martyrs
exclusively; insomuch that it begot a fanatical desire of martyrdom, that they ‘might
have part in the first resurrection.’ Even some
of the modem advocates of the literal sense have felt themselves obliged to
admit that it will be that of the martyrs only.
Others - feeling, no doubt, that a thousand years’ reign with Christ of
martyrs only is not likely to be the thing intended - are fain to include such
as have been virtual martyrs, such as eminent confessors.”*
* David
Brown, The Apocalypse: Its Structure And
Primary Predictions (New York: Christian Literature Co., 1891).
James Durham (1622-1658) was a famous, Scottish Presbyterian
minister actually living in the days when the “blessed
hope” was reviving. He should
know best what pre-millennialists in his day taught since he had access to the
many published works that are now lost or difficult to find. He likewise affirms that the doctrine of
selective-resurrection dominated the pre-millennialism of his day:
“... according to the Millenaries themselves; (for then, seeing, as they say, none
arise first but martyrs …). …”*
* James
Durham, Commentary Upon The Book Of
Revelation (
Joseph Hall (1574-1656) was also an early opponent of the new
revival of pre-millennialism. He writes:
“Not that I think the opinion of our new Chiliasts [i.e. pre-millenialists] so deadly and pernicious in itself, as to make shipwreck of
their own or others faith ... for, what
prejudice is it to me, if the souls of the martyrs get the start
of me, in resuming their bodies a thousand years before me, if in the meanwhile, my soul be at
rest in a paradise of bliss?”*
* The Revelation Unrevealed concerning
the Thousand-Yeares Reigne of the Saints with Christ upon Earth (1650), as quoted in Charles Spurgeon,
The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1871), 271, 279.
[Page 300]
Later pre-millennialists would continue to build upon the
foundation of selective-resurrection. They would prove from the Bible that those excluded from the millennium
would receive temporary punishment in the underworld (i.e. Hell, Hades,
Gehenna). Bishop Hall might have cared more about
missing the millennium if he would have understood this truth!
The main point of this chapter is already proven. Accountability truth in regard to the
millennial kingdom is not new; seeds of selective-resurrection
are found wherever there are revivals of prophetic light, from the earliest
ages of Christendom to the revivals following the Reformation. The truth continued to stay within the
forefront of pre-millennialism until the second half of the twentieth century
when modernism and liberalism gained greater foot-holds, thereby attempting and
often succeeding in putting out the precious light of Bible prophecy altogether.
Dispensational Premillennialism
Within the confines of dispensational pre-millennialism
there have been many advocates of kingdom exclusion. Many of these writers will be examined in the
next chapter. Robert Govett (1813-1901) issued his futurist commentary on the
Book of Revelation in 1843. Within a
decade, he was also combining this literalist and futurist view with the
doctrine of the pre-trib rapture (partial) at the secret coming of Christ.*
Govett is therefore one of the earliest writers to actually place in
print the combination of these views. He
was also one of the chief defenders of millennial exclusion.
* Govett’s work, The
Saints’ Rapture To The Presence of the Lord Jesus was published in 1852.
Many that held that true believers could be excluded from the
pre-trib translation, the millennium (or both) used the term [Page 301] “dispensational.” J.R.
Graves entitled one of his books on rapture exclusion, Dispensational Expositions of the Parables and Prophecies of
Christ. H.W Fry’s book, God’s Plan in
the Bible taught the danger of exclusion from both the rapture and the
millennium. It claimed to be a primer on
dispensationalism and was endorsed by Bullinger and many Darbyites. It is therefore erroneous to equate dispensationalism with only the views of Darby. He was simply
a leading figure in a broader movement.
At the time, prominent pastors such as Charles Spurgeon named Govett and Pember (both advocates of millennial exclusion) as the leaders in
the movement. James Grant (1802-1879) gives Govett the principle credit for
publicizing dispensational views. In
It is true that there have been many dispensationalists who
have not embraced selective-resurrection or chastisement at the judgment seat
(e.g. J.N. Darby,
* *
*
Chapter 28
Accountability Truth in History (Part
2)
“...it is ‘new’ only to its critics.’”* -
D.M. Panton (1870 - 1955)
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn, (August 1944), 677.
Truth can be quickly buried in one rebellious generation. This chapter will continue to prove that the
views of this book are not new. These accountability truths have
never been “popular.” Who would expect them to be? Many of the Lord’s commandments themselves
have never been popular; how much less the Scriptures that teach the dire
consequences for ignoring them? Nevertheless, many will be surprised at the
number of Christians who have stood for these truths, to one degree or another.
This list is by no means inclusive. It starts in the late twentieth century and
descends throughout history. These writers differed in some doctrinal
details. Many of these
Christians explain in [Page 304] their writings that the excluded Christians are imprisoned in the
underworld. Others did not elaborate. In regard to their specific theological views
concerning Christian accountability, they will speak for themselves in the
extracts that follow.
Only those writers that have fallen asleep
in Christ are mentioned in this list. There are certainly some preachers and
writers alive today who teach chastisement at the judgment seat, millennial
exclusion, and temporary chastisement in the underworld. Writers, such as Gary Whipple and Arlen
Chitwood, both have books advocating a temporary second death and
millennial exclusion for carnal Christians.
Along with the men that endorsed this book, the author has also spoken
directly to some fiery, fundamental Baptist pastors, evangelists,
and missionaries, who plainly testified that they believe carnal Christians
will be temporarily chastised in Hell during the millennium. A remnant is truly awakening to prepare God’s
people for these perilous times! The
purpose of this book is to contribute to this revival in the hopes that more
will discover the fear of the Lord and believe His warnings in their fullness.
As God once comforted Paul by sending Titus (2 Corinthians 7: 6), the testimonies of the many believers
in this chapter will refresh and console the weathered pilgrim on that lonely,
narrow road that leads to kingdom life.
May the Lord raise up many who will stand in the courageous spirit of
earlier kingdom believers in these last
days.
Hebrews 6: 11. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same
diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit
the promises.
[Page 305]
A Sample
of Premillennialists Who Believed in Kingdom Exclusion and / or Corporal
Chastisement at the Judgment Seat of Christ
Watchman Nee (1903 -
1972):
Early Baptist and Brethren writers influenced Watchman Nee in
regard to the judgment seat of Christ.
The Lord used the truths of accountability (and Nee’s own gifts) to
prepare and encourage multitudes of Chinese Christians to withstand
persecution.
“Born in
Nee visited several times
in
* Elvin
Moyer, revised and enlarged by Earle E. Cairns, The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1982), 294 - 295.
- The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church
“Among
*
Christian History Institute (
“Before his departure, he left a piece
of paper under his pillow, which had several lines of big words written in a
shaking hand. He wanted to testify to
the truth which he had even until his death, with his lifelong experience. That truth is - ‘Christ is the Son of God who
died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the
universe. I die because of my belief in
Christ. Watchman Nee.’ …”
* Witness
Lee, Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine
Revelation in the Present Age (
Nee: “...
those
Christians who faithfully have followed the Lord shall enjoy glory a thousand
years ahead of other Christians. ... The
second death is the lake of fire. Those who have no part in the first resurrection may yet be hurt by the
second death. Some Christians
will be disciplined in the future (see Matt.
18: 34, 35). He who wrongs his brother will be
punished by the Lord (1 Thess.4: 5, 6). We believers are exhorted to fear Him who has power to cast into hell
... thus implying that OVER SOME CHRISTIANS HELL STILL HAS ITS THREAT (Luke 12: 4, 5). If a branch does not abide in Christ, he,
like a branch, is liable to be cast off, withered, cast into the fire
and burned (John 15: 6). ... Will there be anyone saved at
the Great White Throne? The answer is
yes. ...
The Bible explicitly states that those who do not confess Christ before men
will not be confessed by Christ before the angels of God. This means they have no part in the
kingdom. If they too were to appear at
this juncture, they certainly should be among the saved.”*
* Watchman
Nee, Come Lord Jesus (New York:
Christian Fellowship Publishers, 1976), 212, 214-215, 221-222.
A. Edwin Wilson (1901-1986):
“A native Texan, Rev. Wilson received
his formal education at
* A.
Edwin Wilson, Selected Writings (originally
published in 1981, while the author was still living. The ... brief biography was written at that
time and appeared on the inside cover of that publication).
* A.
Edwin Wilson, Selected Writings Of A.
Edwin Wilson (Hayesville, North Carolina: Schoettle, 1996), 182, 201, 205.
Albert George Tilney (1891-1976):
Some of the works of A.G. Tilney include The Glories Of The Messiah, The Kingdom Is The Gospel, and Charles Lyell’s Monstrous Error Of
Anti-catastrophism published by the Evolution Protest Movement (founded in
1932). He was honourable secretary of
the Movement:
[Page 308]
“Albert G. Tilney, B.A. Hons. (
* A Jubilee of Witness for Creation
Against Evolution by
CSM/EPM, 1932-1982 (July 1982), 9, 12.
Tilney: “Merit (or
worthiness) it must be maintained in the teeth of all denial, is a condition
and qualification for the First Resurrection ... (Luke 20: 35). ... Priests
of God and Christ, they shall reign with him a thousand years ... not
instead of eternally, but Millennially before eternity proper begins. Others -
proud, indulgent, cowardly - are judged unworthy of Christ and of aeonian
life. Now we know from several epistles that SOME BELIEVERS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS
* A.G.
Tilney, “Will All Believer’s Share In The First
Resurrection?,” The Dawn (Nov.
15, 1938).
Oswald Jeffrey Smith (1889-1986):
Oswald J. Smith was a pastor, evangelist, author and hymn
writer. He was well known as the pastor
of People’s
“Ordained in 1915, his evangelistic and missionary zeal did
not sit well with his Presbyterian congregation, and he resigned. ... Anxious to
promote [Page 309] missions, Smith began travelling overseas in 1924, returning
home to raise funds and recruit missionaries. ...
A powerful preacher, Smith was a leading figure in Canadian fundamentalism,
who wrote thirty-five books and had over a hundred of his poems set to music.”*
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of
Christianity In
“Before 1950
Smith had preached in
* Peter S. Ruckman, The History Of The New
- Ruckman
Smith: “… ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.’ This was the great incentive to the Christians of the
early Church. ... Pastor D.M. Panton, widely
known writer and diligent student of prophecy ... Hudson Taylor and others have been
exponents of ‘select’ or ‘partial’ rapture and a ‘partial’
reign. This view I must say I have no
hesitation whatever in accepting.” *
* Oswald
J. Smith, Is The Antichrist At Hand? (Tabernacle
Publishers, 1927), 30, 45.
O. J. Smith openly accepted the views of D.M. Panton (see the information
and quotes provided under Panton) in regard to the millennium. Panton openly taught that some Christians
that miss the millennium will be temporarily punished in the fiery underworld
according to their works. The belief in
Panton’s partial reign obviously drove
Smith’s early missionary zeal. However,
it appears that his views in regard to the kingdom and Christian accountability
were later watered-down due to the temptations and dangers associated with his immense
popularity. Sadly, this [Page 310] has happened to many fiery preachers as the second half of the twentieth
century progressed:
“...this began when Smith was drawn
off into the pseudo-intellectual pursuits of the Neo-evangelicals who followed
Billy Graham. ... Still Oswald did a vast amount of good in his time.”*
* Peter S. Ruckman, The
History Of The New
Robert Thomas Ketcham (1889-1978):
“Fundamental Baptist minister. A native of Nelson,
* Dictionary Of Christianity In America, coordinating editor, Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove,
Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1990), 613.
Ketcham: “Scripture says the reigning is contingent upon the
suffering. Second Timothy 2: 12: ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him,
he shall also deny us.’ What about the believer who has never really ‘suffered’
with Christ? What is his status in the reign? ... I do not think the
worldly believer will share in the millennial reign.”*
* Robert
T. Ketcharn, Sermons by Ketcham, vol.2:
Why Was Christ a Carpenter? And Other Sermons (Des Plaines, III.; Regular
Baptist Press, 1966), 127-128; as quoted in Carl G. Johnson, The Account Which We Must Give (Schaumburg:
Regular Baptist Press, 1990), 46-47.
Ketcharn: “The general
attitudes concerning the matters discussed in this chapter are: First: There will be rewards for
faithfulness in various lines of Christian living. Second. The believer does sin, and, as a consequence, receives chastisement, but it is
confined to this life only. Third.
Some believers will have no reward
at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but because chastisement
ends with this life, there will
be none there. The difference between
this common conception and the view set forth in this chapter is simply this:
The principle of chastisement remains
the same; the difference is in the extent
to which it is carried. One halts the process at the Judgment Seat of
Christ; the other [Page 311] allows its
continuance for those who did not submit to its benefactions here. I have searched in vain for a single
Scripture to prove the discontinuance of this principle at the Lord’s
return. On the other hand a great mass
of Scripture ... seems to indicate the awful and soul-searching truth that there is such
a thing as CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE when we see Him face to face. We have been surprised to discover that MANY
TEACHERS have had a conviction that this was the teaching of Scripture, such
men as Lange, Dean Alford, Stanley, Goebel, and GOVETT. And when we read the following from the pen
of C.G. Trumbull, editor of The Sunday School Times, are we not led to believe he had some convictions along this line?
Writing of the parable of the talents, he said: ‘If the servant (who is cast
into outer darkness) is not a believer, but a mere professor, then we have in
this parable nothing to represent the Christian who fails in faithfulness.”*
* Ibid.
Robert Govett (mentioned by Ketcham above) also taught that
slothful servants are in danger of being punished temporarily in Gehenna during
the millennial age.
Charles G.A. Gibson-Smith (1882-1949):
Charles George Alexander Gibson-Smith was a Christian
publisher in
[Page 312]
“Mr. C.G.A. Gibson-Smith has printed 10,000 of ‘The Overcomer and the Throne’ and Mr. Lang’s ‘Watchful, Prayerful, Victorious Overcomers’ …”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (April
1947).
- The Dawn
Daniel Paul Rader (1878-1938):
D.M. Panton testifies in The
Dawn that Paul Rader shared his beliefs in regard to millennial exclusion.
*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Sept.
16th, 1929).
“Paul Rader was one of the most
powerful evangelistic preachers of the early 20th Century. ... He pastored
* Available from www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/guides/038.htm;
Internet.
- The Cyber Hymnal
“Thousands of radio listeners also
received his magazine, the World Wide
Christian Courier. ... Rader himself was an enormous personal influence on
many Evangelical leaders of the next generation. His style, his aggressiveness, his charisma,
his entrepreneurship, his eager use of all the newest means of communications
remained vividly impressed in the memory of such people as Percy Crawford,
Peter Deyneka, Merrill Dunlop, Howard Ferrin, Charles Fuller, Torrey Johnson,
Clarence Jones, Howard Jones, Lance Latham, and Oswald Smith, among others.” *
* Billy Graham Center Archives (
“He was instrumental in sending
scores of missionaries to countries all over the world in addition to
influencing hundreds of young men to enter the ministry.” *
* Ed Reese, Christian Hall
Of Fame Series (
[Page 313]
Rader: “Everything
that has to do with the thousand years must meet the most terrific fires of
testing. Only that which
can pass through the fire test at the Judgment Seat can be admitted into this
thousand years of Millennial splendour.”*
* Christian Life, as quoted in The Dawn (July 1947).
William Frederick Roadhouse (1875-1951):
“Author of several books, Mr.
Roadhouse was active in the ministry for 50 years, and was secretary-treasurer
of the Slavic Missionary society at his death. ... Born at
*
-
“He has given
years of devout and critical study to his task of interpretation which has had
applied to it the acid test of public teaching to many groups of earnest
ministers, receiving approval.”*
* W F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation, (
- Rev. J.C. Massee
“Seeing The Revelation is the third
work on the Apocalypse within a
little more than a year, to embody the tremendous truth that a believer’s conduct
ensures, or else jeopardizes, both his rapture and reign. ... Mr. Roadhouse,
who has filled the presidency of the chief prophetical society in
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Jan.
16th, 1933).
- D.M. Panton
[Page314]
“...we were in this case enabled to
send forth the message of Seeing The
Revelation into seventy countries on all the continents; into half a
hundred provinces and states in
* W F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation, (Toronto:
The Overcomer Publishers, 1936),15.
- Preface to the Second Edition (1936)
Roadhouse: “But as we have
before intimated, those not barred by the disqualifications that each of the
Apostles and our Lord Jesus Christ clearly point out (as Galatians 5:19-21,
etc.) will have position and rulership in that coming Kingdom - those who
‘suffer with Him’ (2 Timothy 2: 12, Romans
8: 17); those who are counted ‘worthy’ (Luke 21: 36); ... A
resurrection takes place. We remember
that at the setting up of the rulership of the Overcomers, in chapter 20: 5, it was said, ‘But the rest of the dead (believers) lived not again until
the thousand years were finished.’ They had won no
crown. In Scriptural language, they had
proven ‘unworthy,’ ‘unfaithful’. ... And hence they were not raised to ‘reign with Him’. ... God shake us up. When
Revival comes we shall see this truth again!
Let the reader remember these perfectly simple things - namely, no
uncrowned believer ‘reigns with Christ,’ and crowns are earned by sweat,
labour, travail, even to death if need be.”*
* W F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation, (Toronto:
The Overcomer Publishers, 1936), 221-222, 229-231.
Roadhouse: “This Bema,
has been said for a generation or longer, to be but for the adjudication of
Rewards. The usage cited, out of eleven
times the word is employed, indicated otherwise - and for us, New Testament
usage determines its meaning. For
example, Pilate sat on the Bema - did he ‘reward’ Christ, or condemn him? (Matthew
27: 19; John
19: 13).
Herod sat upon a Bema, trying both criminals and good men (Acts 12: 21). ... This Bema (translated ‘judgment
seat’)
is to dispense not only happy rewardings but also the opposite. ... Thus we have what
the New Testament itself yields and settles ... By this we stand ... Does the
cleric who trails the slime of his sexual philandering into the holiest of places
and relationships ‘get away with it’ at the Bema? ... Does the plainly
dishonest preacher or layman who mishandles funds, puts through crooked deals,
or carelessly owes everybody, large or small, expect His welcoming word -
instead of rejection in that day (cf. Lev.6:
1-7)? ... Our responsibility is to ‘hew to the
line’ unafraid of personal consequences.
Let us - even in our over-popular, respectable, ‘Fundamentalist’ ranks -
not ‘water down’ our message. ...”*
*W F.
Roadhouse, Believers Sharing Or Forfeiting
Christ’s Glorious Reign! 3,7-8.
[Page 315]
George Henry Lang (1874-1958):
“Lang ministered throughout
* Cyril
J. Barber, The Minister’s Library (
- The Minister’s Library
“...he was not prepared to take
traditional interpretations unless he was personally convinced they were right.
... Perhaps one of the greatest teachers of his time, multitudes could testify
of the great help they received from him, either from his public utterances or
from his writings.”*
* Douglas
W. Brealey, The Witness (Dec. 1958).
- The Witness
“...one of
the outstanding Biblical scholars of our generation.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952),12.
- Wilbur M. Smith
Lang: “One great
school of theology has asserted that these passages which we are considering
declare the final perdition of such; which involves the idea that really saved
people, justified, possessors of eternal life, the children of God, may forfeit
all this standing and relationship and be finally lost. But this teaching seems so obviously to conflict
with numerous and explicit assertions of Scripture ... that not unnaturally
many others have rejected it. Yet it
must be confessed that this latter school of teachers does not know how to give
due weight to these many and awful warnings.
At the most these can but apply them to persons (unregenerate
professors) to whom by no fair exegesis can the passages be made to apply.”*
* G.H.
Lang, Firstborn Sons, Their Rights &
Risks (Conley & Schoettle, 1984),113.
Lang: “It being therefore
the case that the first resurrection, while open indeed to all, is a prize
which must be attained, and which, like every prize, may be forfeited, it is at
once made clear why in Rev. 20. 4-6, where the two resurrections are set, one at the opening of
the Millennial Kingdom and the other at its close, it is said that ‘blessed and holy’ is he that
hath part in the former, including pre-eminently those who in varying degree
had suffered for and with Jesus and for the word of God. And that some believers not
accounted worthy of that resurrection, will rise in the second resurrection
unto eternal life, though THEY WILL HAVE MISSED REIGNING WITH [Page 316] CHRIST IN HIS KINGDOM, fitly explains why at the final judgment the book of life will
be opened and searched (Rev. 20.11-15)....”*
* G.H. Lang, Firstfruits
And Harvest (Conley & Schoettle, 1985), 27-28.
Lang: “What
punishment conceivable as to this present life can be thought of as more severe
than premature death by stoning, drowning, or fire? Yet evidently something more
severe is possible or a violent death were not to be preferred, were
not better than it. But if it is
something more dreadful than such a death must it not be after death? An answer is not difficult for those who assert
that a child of God may lose salvation and be cast into the lake of fire for
ever. That were certainly a more severe
punishment than the worst this earth-life can bring. But what answer can we give who assert that
no child of God can be lost eternally?
The many give no answer at all, but ignore such passages and problems;
while such as at all face the question treat such scriptures but superficially,
avoid their plain terms and force, and say the persons in question were never
regenerated by faith in Christ. ... In Mark 9: 41-50, this teaching is
reported as given by the Lord on another occasion, which repetition suggests
that He thought it important to impress it upon HIS FOLLOWERS. Yet most have neglected it.
On this second occasion the Lord enlarged His remarks by a contrast: lit is better for thee to go into life maimed, rather than having thy
two hands to go INTO GEHENNA, into the unquenchable fire ... Christ
intended more than the casting of the corpse into the fires of Hinnom, for (a)
He speaks of what God can do to a man after his death ... (b) that in the
Gehenna intended the soul can be destroyed, which of course could not take
place in Hinnom. ... There is therefore something possible after death, something to be
feared because fearful, of which they who cause young believers to
stumble ought to be afraid, and which they who apostatize from Christ ought to expect
(Heb. 10: 27). They are to expect it. How contrary is
this to the easy-going complacency which our vain hearts love and which some
views popular among Christians encourage.”*
* G.H. Lang, The Epistle
To The Hebrews (Conley & Schoettle, 1985), 180, 182-183.
Robert Edward Neighbour (1872-1945):
R.E. Neighbour was one of the foremost fundamental Baptist leaders
of the first half of the twentieth century. He stood strongly against
postmillennial ideas and modernism. His [Page 317] popular sermons were printed in the Gospel
Herald and other fundamentalist publications (Sword of the Lord, etc.).
“Missionary to
* George
W. Dollar, A History of Fundamentalism in
- A
History of Fundamentalism in
“The battle with modernism could no
longer be suppressed by the Northern Baptist Convention (now American Baptist
Convention), so there was a ‘Call and Manifesto’ issued in 1921 by 130
conservatives. This resulted in the
formation of the Baptist Bible Union in 1923.
Some of the leaders were W. B. Riley, O. W. Van Osdel ... W. L.
Pettingill, R. E. Neighbour, T. T.
Shields (Canada), A. C. Dixon and the fiery J. Frank Norris of Fort Worth,
Texas.”*
* E.L.
Bynum, King James Fans? (Lubbock, Texas: Tabernacle Baptist Church,
1979), 14.
- E.L. Bynurn
“The BBU could be a live-wire affair.
... on the executive committee were Norris, A.C. Dixon, Neighbour, Riley, Pettingill, Van Osdel. ...”*
* George
W. Dollar, A History of fundamentalism in
- A
History of fundamentalism in
Many may be unaware that R.E. Neighbour was actually the man
behind the formation of the Baptist Bible Union:
“It was apparently during the
* Baptist Beacon (Jan. 1924), 1:14.
** O.W.
Van Osdel, “The Future of the Baptist Bible
*** Robert
George Delnay, A History of the Baptist
Bible Union (A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Dallas Theological Seminary, 1963), 47, 50, 52, 66.
“Words of commendation and
appreciation [in regard to Neighbour’s Gems Of Gold] are coming in from all
over the
* R.E.
Neighbour, What Saith The Scriptures? (
“Robert E. Neighbour, Sr., was a
widely beloved Bible teacher and author of more than ninety books. He often shared conference platforms with Dr.
John Rice.”*
* Available
from www.swordofthelord.com/description.asp?item=S5214;
Intemet.
- Sword
of the Lord Foundation
“Dr. Neighbour who is a foremost
preacher in the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Feb.
15th, 1935).
- D.M. Panton
[Page 319]
Neighbour: “It is easy
to say that this evil servant in the parable [Matthew
25:15-19] represents those in the
church who are not saved, instead of the saved ... The simple facts are these: First
of all our Lord does not place His talents in the hand of the unregenerate;
secondly, there are many among the truly saved who are hiding their talents in
the earth ... What then was the lot of the wicked and slothful
servant? ... In Matthew 25:28 he loses his talent
first of all, and then, in verse 30, he is said to be cast into OUTER DARKNESS, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth ... We
shall receive for the BAD we have
done. Now we hesitate. I hear no ‘Amens!’ Instead many begin to tremble ... You ask at
once - what will they receive? ... Any child, properly reared, will tell you
what he receives for bad behaviour ... He will say, ‘a spanking.’ Still you hesitate. You
thought there could be no sorrow at the Judgment Seat of Christ. You thought there could be nothing by way of chastisement, and
certainly nothing like weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then what did the Holy Spirit mean when
Paul, after saying, that ‘every one shall receive according to that which he hath done,
whether it be
... bad,’ added, ‘knowing the terror of the
Lord we persuade men.’...Think you that a just Judge will ignore our unconfessed evil conduct?
... Yes, the bad servants will be saved ... but with no place
in the kingdom ... The parables of Christ plainly teach that the ‘unprofitable’ and ‘wicked’ and ‘slothful’ servant, shall have
no place in the Kingdom. ... Remember Christ said, ‘Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven.’ (Matthew 7: 21). ... We believe in the
security of the believer; we believe if you are born again, you can never be
unborn. ... However, the eternal security of a believer does not secure His
rewards. Salvation is by grace, apart
from works. ... Salvation is the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. ...
All a sinner can do is to receive a finished and a completed work. ... There
has been, however, on the part of many who believe a grave error. They have
turned away from many solemn warnings, which are plainly and positively written
in the Word of God. ... In our former sermon we emphasized that the
* R.E. Neighbour, What
Saith The Scriptures? (
[Page 320]
Samuel Fennell Hurnard (1871-1949):
S.F. Hurnard served on the committee of the Prophecy
Investigation Society (inaugurated in 18651 He published To Him That Overcometh in 1920.
It was based on articles that appeared years before in The Friends’ Witness To Scriptural Truth magazine
(1908-1939) of which he was the editor.
Hurnard’s commentary, Revelation,
The Book With A Blessing was published in 1930. D.M. Panton lists Hurnard as a beloved
brother who was in sympathy with the accountability truth found in The Dawn.
A personal letter received from his
widow states:
“My husband
was a Quaker, but came out of it when the Society turned modernistic.”*
* Personal letter from Mrs. M.F. Hurnard (April 24, 1999).
- Mrs. M.F. Hurnard
Hurnard: “It is
evident that the ‘first resurrection’ is one of privilege and blessing. Here is the fifth Beatitude of this Book, ‘Blessed and holy’ are these. ...
They appear from other passages to be an elect, or chosen company - chosen for
reward ... 2 Tim. 2: 12 agrees with this chapter.
[Revelation 20] ‘If we suffer, we shall also
reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us.’ ....”*
* Samuel
F. Hurnard. Revelation, The Book With A
Blessing (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1930), 128.
David Morrieson Panton (1870-1955):
A memoir of Panton by Geo. H. Ramsay states:
“D.M. Panton, the Founder and Proprietor,
as well as Editor, of the Dawn, believed that God gave Dawn into his hands as
an instrument for the making known and maintaining of doctrines which, though
clearly enunciated in the Word of God, have become all but a dead letter to the
majority of Christians ... namely, that, as a responsible agent of Christ, he
must hand in an [Page 321] account
of his stewardship before the Judgment Seat of his Lord; that from his Lord’s
lips he will receive the sentence due to him, be it good or bad, according as
he has been faithful or unfaithful ... Mr. Panton believed that God put Dawn
into his hands for the making known of these doctrines far and wide. He rejoiced that he was unfettered by
financial or other interests, and free to proclaim the whole counsel of God ...
He was faithful to his charge to the end ... Who was Mr. Panton? ... David
Morrieson Panton was born in the year 1870 in
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (August
1955), 163-164.
“Like Robert Govett, when he saw for the first time the truth of baptism by immersion, he
obeyed at once, and came out of the Church of England .... an
invitation was received from the little church at
* Surrey Chapel’s Book Of
Remembrance.
Panton founded and edited the popular Dawn Magazine from 1924 to 1955. It stated, “This magazine stands for [Page 322] Fundamentalism,
and is opposed to all Modernist and Sacerdotal assumptions.” Many of his articles were also published in other
popular Christian living and prophecy magazines throughout the first half of
the twentieth century. He was a frequent
speaker at prophetic conferences.
“Pastor D.M. Panton, [is a] widely
known writer and diligent student of prophecy…”*
* Oswald
J. Smith, Is The Antichrist At Hand? (Tabernacle Publishers, 1927), 30, 45.
- O.J. Smith
The following endorsements reveal the vast influence D.M.
Panton held among Christians in the first half of the twentieth century:
“With the publication of ‘The Dawn,’
Mr. D.M. Panton, whose writings on prophetic subjects are eagerly read on both
sides of the Atlantic, enters the field of journalism amid the good wishes of
friends far and near ... we wish the venture good success.”
-
“Mr. Panton is a Bible student and
teacher of extraordinary vision and power .... From the standpoint of
literature his writings are notable. But
from the standpoint of spiritual illumination and insight they could come only
from a Spirit-filled heart and mind.”
- Sunday School Times,
“While it is vital fact that
Scriptural inspiration ceased with God’s closing of the Canon, it is also true
that God raises up His special messengers in different generations, and there
are many who believe that D.M. Panton is one of these.”
- Charles G. Trumbull
“The editor of this valuable magazine
stands on a lofty watch tower .... its truths and warnings are sadly needed in
these days of deepening apostasy.”
- Irish Times Magazine
[Page 323]
“Having read each number of this
magazine to date, we feel impelled to write a further word regarding its
worth. It bears the imprint of
thoroughness, and, clothed in graceful diction, reveals vigilance concerning events
tangent on prophecy, soundness in doctrine, and warm-hearted outlook upon the
mission field.”
- Trusting And Toiling
Panton: “All are
agreed that rank in the Kingdom is
regulated by service and suffering: if entry itself, or exclusion, also turns
on service and suffering, it is plainly only an extension of a momentous
principle already accepted and taught.
But before turning to the Word of God it may be well to observe that many godly servants of Christ have understood the Scriptures to teach
the possibility of a believer’s exclusion. Polycarp, an actual
disciple of the Apostle John, says: ‘If we please Him in this present Age, we shall also receive the Age to Come; and if
we walk worthy of Him, we shall also reign together with
Him.’ … Tertullian (as Dr. Seiss reminds us, The Last Times, p.242) testifies that in his day, the era
immediately following on the Apostles, it was the custom for Christians to pray
that they might have part in the First Resurrection ... but most assume that
all chastisement is sharply confined to this life. The Judgment Seat is thereby shorn of all
judicial function, and made totally unreal. ... The belief that judgment for the believer is exhausted in
this life is obviously untenable, because we have all known backsliders who
died in the utmost worldly prosperity. ... It is not eternal death [taught in Rom. 8:12], for the believer is guaranteed eternal life: it is not
present death, for it is contrary both to Scripture and to fact that all
sanctified believers live to a great age, and all backsliders die young: it is MILLENNIAL DEATH, the cutting asunder at the Bema. ... Where it
will he asked, are the excluded during the Kingdom? ... Some, guilty of the very gravest offences, are TEMPORARILY IN GEHENNA (Matt. 5: 22, John 15: 6, Heb. 10: 26, 27, Rev. 2: 11). ... The denial of these solemn truths paralyses and
destroys some of the most powerful stimulants God has supplied to His Church in
its deadening struggle with the world, the flesh, and the devil; it empties of
all horror the dread warnings to the backslider, and leaves him, if it does not
put him, in a drugged sleep; and it drives privilege over the precipice of
responsibility…” *
* D.M. Panton, The Judgment Seat Of Christ (Hayesville: Schoettle, 1993), 38, 50,
59, 72, 75-77.
[Page 324]
William Powell Clark (1864-1953):
“Born 25th of November 1864, son of
the late Hon. J. P. Clark, Custos for Manchester, William Powell Clark was
admitted to practise as Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica
on the 18th of December 1886. Appointed
to the Public Service on the 14th of December 1892 as a Resident Magistrate, W.
P. Clark served in different parishes and was President of the Discharged
Prisoners’ Aid Society. Mr. Clark was
also co-founder of the Keswick Convention
* Who’s Who in
- Who’s Who in
William P. Clark participated in many missionary trips to
* W.P.
Clark, “Current Errors Concerning The Second Coming,”
The Dawn (April 15, 1940).
Clark: “There is no hint in
Scripture of resurrected believers being subjects in the
* W.P.
Clark, “The Eternal Security Of The Believer,” The Dawn (Nov. 1947).
[Page 325]
* W.P.
Clark, “The Justice Of God,” The Dawn (Dec. 15, 1925).
Frank Victor Mildred:
F.V. Mildred was a Baptist writer. He is associated with
* Edward
Starr, A Baptist Bibliography (New
York: American Baptist Historical Society, 1964), 45.
Mildred: “...the
Kingdom of the thousand years is a reward which can be won or lost. ... The
Church today is worldly-minded and often spiritually helpless. It needs the tonic of this truth of ‘the
kingdom as a reward’ to stir it from its lethargy.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn, vol. XXIX, no. 11 (1952).
Mary Ardine:
“Mary Ardine”
is an assumed name of this writer.
Ardine: “All who are
taken in these two companies will be member’s of the Lord’s body, and will
reign with Him because they will have part in the First Resurrection. But even yet there will be some believers who
will be left out as unworthy, and that is why the Lord bids us hold fast that
which we have, that no man take our crown, and gives many similar charges, all
addressed to His own people - a fact which evidently points to the possibility
of some, even of those who believe in Him, failing to obtain the Kingdom. …
‘But I do not quite follow you,’ interrupted the Objector. ‘How can Christians be in danger of missing
the glory? Does not the Lord Himself say
that whosoever believeth in Him hath everlasting life? How then can it depend on our faithfulness or
service?’ ‘It is indeed a glorious and
blessed fact’ replied the Master that eternal life is the gift of
God through Christ. ... but the crown and the
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (Feb. 15th, 1926).
Jesse Sayer:
Sayer was the author of Alphabetical
Studies Of Holy Scripture (1930) and Spiritual
Thoughts On Solomon’s
Sayer: “The overcomer
is manifestly the one who endures to the end; he is not temporary ... they will
have part in the first resurrection. ... These will be granted ability to rule.
... You will reign with Christ; if you suffer you will be privileged to be in
the Sovereignty with Him. ... May the Lord make us overcorners!”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (Dec. 15th, 1934).
H. S. Gallimore:
H. S. Gallimore was Hon. Chaplain for
the Chinese Mission,
Gallimore: “Are we to write
down the five foolish virgins as lost? ... Most suggestive of all however is
the First Resurrection. Only the blessed
and holy have part therein. ... Whatever our school of thought, how incumbent is it in each of us not to have counted himself to have
apprehended, but to strive earnestly if haply we may through grace be reckoned
worthy to attain that resurrection from among the dead and to enter in with the
Lord at His coming!”*
* H.S.
Gallimore, “The Ten Virgins,” The Dawn (Dec. 1947).
William Henry Griffith
Thomas (1861-1924):
“Ordained in 1885, he served curacies
in
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
“This class of 13 students was the
result of Dr. Chafer’s burden and vision to found a seminary that would
emphasize expository preaching and teaching of the Scriptures. In the winter of 1921 Dr. Chafer shared this idea with Dr. Alex B. Winchester, pastor emeritus
of Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto, Canada, and Dr. W. H. Griffith
Thomas, an outstanding Anglican scholar and professor of Old
Testament exegesis at Wycliffe College, Toronto.”*
* Available from www.dts.edu/dts/Catalog98/gencral98/history98.htm;
Internet.
- A Brief History of
Thomas: “While a
genuine Christian who becomes a backslider will not be judicially condemned for
ever, there will be a very serious measure of personal, practical
condemnation when such an one stands before the Judgment seat of
Christ to be dealt with according to works.”*
* D.M. Panton, Judgment
Seat of Christ (Schoettle, 1993),
73.
Thomas: “There is no
other way of salvation, and no other merit than the sacrificial death of Christ
on
* W.H.
Griffith Thomas, The Principles Of
Theology (London: Vine Books, 1978).
[Page 328]
Jessie Penn-Lewis
(1861-1927):
Jessie Penn-Lewis was born in
“Her ministry took her to
*Jessie
Penn-Lewis, The Magna Charta Of Woman (Bethany
Fellowship, 1975) Preface.
Penn-Lewis: “Many may
ask why we should go forward in ceaseless conflict and warfare with the forces
of evil. It is for the prize of the
throne. In His messages to the churches
the Lord clearly holds out to all the incentive of reward. Paul’s writings are full of reference to ‘reward,’ to all who will
fulfil the conditions. ... Now what is the throne which awaits our ascended
Lord? It is the Millennial throne of
reigning and ruling the kingdoms of the world. ... Then the
Millennial throne of Christ is to be shared with others on certain conditions,
by the gift of Christ Himself. ... The obtaining of the prize of this ‘high calling’ of sharing the
throne with Christ was the incentive which urged Paul on to count all things
loss to obtain it, and to be willing to be made conformable to the death of
Christ as the primary means for reaching such an end (see Phil. 3: 10-14). ... ‘lf by any means I may attain.’ ... Paul was perfectly sure of his eternal salvation as a
free gift from God, through the finished work of Christ ... but he again and
again refers to the Prize which even he could not be sure of, unless he pressed
on to fulfil the conditions for obtaining it. In Romans
8: 17, the same ‘if’ comes in again in connection with the
same subject. ... What is in the balance, therefore, for every believer in the
present warfare with Satan, which must intensify as the age closes, is the Millennial
crown and throne.”*
* Jessie Penn-Lewis, The
Overcomer (Oct. 1934).
Charles Spelman Utting
(1859-1951):
Charles S. Utting was a pastor and
Christian writer in
[Page 329]
Utting: “This is
progressive sanctification, a life-long process and growth, and in those cases
where it is accomplished will win its possessors a share
in the First Resurrection, and the reigning with Christ in His
* C.S.
Utting, “Sanctification For Glory,” The Dawn (June 15, 1940).
Phillp Mauro (1859-1952):
“As far as twentieth century
Christian figures are concerned, Philip Mauro stands out as one of the most
captivating. After coming to a saving
knowledge of the Lord in 1903, at the age of forty five, Mauro, a member of the
bar of the Supreme Court of the
* The Preterist Archive, available from www.preteristarchive.com; Internet.
Mauro later began to spiritualize many aspects of Bible
prophecy. Nevertheless his views found
in such early works as Looking For The
Saviour and God’s Pilgrims are
very much worthy of consideration.
Mauro: “And let it not
be forgotten that there is not only ‘the recompense of reward’ for faithfulness
and obedience, which Moses had in view (Heb.
9: 26), but also that there is ‘a just recompense of reward’
for ‘every transgression and disobedience’ (Heb. 2: 2, 3). For the saints
are, every
one, to receive ‘the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether good or bad.’ We know it is quite common,
and alas! exceedingly popular, in this lax and easy-going day, either to
ignore, or actually to set aside, this [Page 330] solemn and
salutary warning concerning the Judgment seat of Christ. Saints are quite willing to hear
about receiving recompense for the things done in the body that are ‘good’; but are disposed to close their ears to the warning that
they are to receive equally for the deeds that are ‘bad.’ But there stand the words of God, and we dare not set them
aside, or water down their very clear meaning.
Who can say to what extent the present low spiritual condition of the
saints is due to the prevailing tendency, on the part of those who assume to
teach and instruct them, to disregard or blunt the edge of the sharp warnings
of Scripture, of which there are many, or to explain them away, or to assign
them to others than the children of God, for whose benefit they are given?”*
* Philip Mauro, Looking For The Saviour (Fleming H. Revell Co.), 66-68.
Mauro: “It may be of
interest to the reader to learn that the writing of this book was begun and
finished on the memorable voyage of the Steamship Carpathia which was
interrupted by the rescue of the survivors of the Titanic, and by the return
with them to the
* Philip
Mauro, God’s Pilgrims (Harrisburg:
Christian Publications, 1969), 6-7, 11-12, 17-18, 81.
Thomas Mitchell Chalmers (1858-1937):
T.M. Chalmers was the founder of the New York Jewish
Evangelization Society. Panton testifies
that Chalmers embraced his teachings:
“His sympathy with the Dawn was ... exceptional, and his
reproduction of our articles on the other side of the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (April
15th, 1937).
- D.M. Panton
Stephen Speers Craig (1855-1936?):
S.S. Craig pastored a church in
[Page 332]
He authored The Dualism
Of Eternal Life, which was published in 1916. An original copy of this book was stamped with
“From Pastor S.S. Craig,
Craig’s powerful articles against modernism appeared in
fundamentalist periodicals such as Watchword
and Truth (e.g. April, 1913) and Foundation
Magazine (e.g. July-August, 1999).
Craig also contended against postmillennialism with great fervour.
Craig: “Only those
who endure unto the end will have salvation in the second degree. Matt. 24:
13. And
if those who do not endure unto the end miss the second stage of salvation,
what will be the consequence, the penalty?
They will LOSE THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM. ... Every saved man
must have his BAPTISM OF FIRE now in this age, or in the age to come. ‘God is
not mocked.’
Gal. 6: 6-8. ... He who sincerely accepts Christ as his Saviour from
sin is in turn accepted of God, for Christ’s sake, forgiven, regenerated, and
justified. ... This is his justification as a sinner. And we may affirm, as a general principle,
that it can never be lost. ... According to the traditional
theory a man can have salvation, and break every one of the commandments
enumerated by the Saviour, and yet enter the Millennial kingdom, because they
say, it is all of grace. But Gal. 5: 19-21 and 2 Cor. 12: 19-21, not to cite other passages, prove the
falsity of the assumption. ... Only those who have attained real spiritual
union with Christ by self-denial and self-sacrifice effected through the power of
the Spirit of Christ as crucified and risen, will share in the glory of the
first-resurrection. ... How pathetic the
thought that for the great majority of Christians their end is not maturity and
Millennial glory, but exclusion, destruction
and age-lasting Judgment. ... What an
inconceivable loss it will be to THE CHRISTIAN to be shut out
from the Messianic Kingdom for a thousand years, and CONFINED IN THE HADEAN
PRISON? Matt. 5: 21-26. Surely the ‘wages of sin is
death’ for the carnal Christian as well as for
the sinner. And why should it not be so?”*
* Stephen S. Craig, The
Dualism Of Eternal Life (
[Page 333]
Lt. Col. George Frederick Poynder (1851-1942):
G.F. Poynder was a surgeon, missionary and author. He went to school at Charterhouse (a private
school in the
“At the end of 1917 I was asked by
the Director of Mildmay Mission to the Jews - Rev. S. Wilkinson to take up work
as a Medical Missionary, which I was delighted to do.”
Along with many of the other accountability teachers in his
day (e.g. Panton, Hurnard, Sladen, Schofield, etc.), Poynder participated in
the Prophecy Investigation Society conferences. It appears he spent the latter part of his
life suffering from heart disease, where confined to his home (Wootton, St.
Lawrence, Church Grove, Fleet in Hampshire), he authored many excellent books
on Bible prophecy.
“I have no hesitation in
saying that the matter presented by my beloved friend is of urgent importance.”*
* Samuel
Wilkinson, in the Foreword to Poynder’s Judgment
(Wooton, St. Lawrence, Church Grove, Fleet, Hants).
- Samuel Wilkinson
“A very thoughtful, gracious work [i.e. Prophetic Studies] by one who has made prophecy the study of a
lifetime. ...”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Nov.
1st, 1937).
- D.M. Panton
Poynder: “This was the
prize, ‘the out-resurrection from amongst the dead’ for which the Apostle Paul
was striving, lest when he had preached to others, he himself should be a
castaway, i.e. rejected at the judgment-seat of Christ for the prize; ... This
also was the prize for which the martyrs suffered themselves to be tortured,
not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection, that
is, the first resurrection .... How important it
is then for us to examine ourselves, and see whether we be in the faith. ... And
may we ever [Page 334] bear in mind the solemn
warning contained in the judgment meted out to the wicked and unprofitable
servant - His own bond-slave, entrusted with His Master’s goods, and which had
been more or less carefully preserved – ‘Thou wicked and slothful servant, - thou knewest -
thou oughtest therefore ... take the talent from him ... and cast ye the
unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth’....We may conclude that as he is his Lord’s own bond-slave, bought with
His own most precious Blood, entrusted with His goods, his name was entered in
the Lamb’s Book of Life ... though he will of necessity have
MISSED reigning with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. ... He
immediately passes on to the account of the second or General Resurrection. ...
This separation and judgment must take place when the Great White Throne is set
... those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast
into the Lake of Fire; whilst those whose names are in that book, but were not judged to be worthy of the first resurrection, now enter
into eternal life, so for them the Lord’s promise as recorded in John 6: 39, 40, 44, 54, four times repeated,
will be literally fulfilled ... they will have everlasting life, being raised
up as promised ‘at the last day’. ...But let it never be forgotten; - he will miss the prize, the first or
better resurrection, the joy of entering the Marriage Feast, and living and
reigning with his Lord during the Millennium.”*
* The Dawn (March 15, 1928).
Dr. Alfred Taylor Schofield (1846‑1929):
“Alfred Schofield, M.D., a
distinguished
* Henry
Pickering, Chief Men Among The Brethren (Neptune,
N.J.: Loizeaux, 1996).
- Chief Men Among The Brethren
[Page 335]
Thomas Corwin Horton refers to A.T.
Schofield as the “famous physician and author.”*
* Thomas
Corwin Horton, These Premillennialists,
Who Are They? (Los Angeles: 1921).
Schofield’s brother was R. Harold A. Schofield (1851-1883) who
was the first medical missionary to
Schofield: “...we are all perfectly clear that entrance into eternal life is of grace
alone ... but Scripture clearly shows that there are definite rewards and
losses with regard to our Christian conduct in this world. ... This is the
point I would put definitely before you.
For forty years I have glossed over every passage which refers to exclusion, and have refused to apply it to the Christian
man. But on the face of them, these
passages do apply to Christians everywhere.
They are in Epistles written to Christians, and are safeguarded at the
time, as applying to Christians. I feel
that when an Apostle says, ‘Be not deceived,’ there may be great danger that
some will be deceived, in applying Scriptures to other people and carefully
shielding the application from ourselves.
First, I would appeal to you, on those grounds, quietly to read those
short passages which have been alluded to, many of them, over again. ... ‘Be
not deceived.’ Why that solemn
warning? No one that is an unconverted
adulterer will inherit the
* The Entrance Into The
Schofield: “‘Judgment-seat
of Christ.’ Christians have long sought to
minimize this expression in its solemnity and its reality, lest it conflict
with John 5: 24 ... and have tried by parading Greek to obscure its
meaning. ‘This is not a judgment-seat,’
they say, ‘but only a ‘Bema’ tribunal whence on a sort of prize day rewards are
given to faithful servants.’ But this is
only to obscure Scripture. It is true
that the word in the Greek is Bema, but then Bema means ‘judgment-seat,’ and is
used in Scripture to describe the judgment-seats of [Page 336] Pilate, of Caesar, of
Herod, of the Son of Man (John 5: 22), as well as of Christ?”*
* A.T.
Schofield, The Life That Pleases God (
Henry William Fry:
Fry wrote in the late 1800’s.
Some of his titles included, God’s
Plan In The Bible, The Seal Of Heaven,
The Brand Of Hell and Life In
Fry: “It is also
a very solemn teaching and warning which is contained in the following parable
of the talents. The kingdom of heaven is
again spoken of, for the man called His own servants (not those who do not own Him as their Lord) and delivered unto
them certain trusts. These
trusts some made the most of, others neglected.
Those who faithfully used their talents received a reward, those who
neglected to use them, though equally believers, and equally professors, or
Christians as we should call them, were cast out; not because they did not believe, not because they sinned, simply
because they were slothful and unprofitable! ... Then commences the scene of
terror, when the unsanctified and unsaved dead will be summoned to stand before
the awful judgment seat of the Great White Throne! But others will also be there who will not be
cast into the lake of fire. Those
believers whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but who failed
during their lifetime to seek and find, through consecration of their bodies
and faith in Jesus Christ, that sanctification or holiness, or purity of heart
without which no man shall see the Lord, and who did not stand before Christ’s
Judgment-seat, will also appear at this dread Bar! ...”*
* H.W.
Fry, God’s Plan In The Bible (London:
Marshall Brothers, 1904), 42, 56.
[Page 337]
Isaac Massey Haldeman (1845-1933):
“Baptist pastor. Born in
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
“...for over forty years pastor of the
First Baptist Church in New York City, and possibly the staunchest exponent of
premillennial truth in his generation ...”*
* A. Edwin Wilson, Selected
Writings Of A. Edwin Wilson (Hayesville, North Carolina: Schoettle, 1996),
381.
- A. Edwin Wilson
“So far as my knowledge extends, Dr.
Haldeman is the greatest prophet of the Lord now standing in any pulpit in this
country.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 36.
- James M.
Gray
“Pastor Haldeman is a valiant fighter and a hard hitter in
the battle for the primitive faith.”*
* Serving And Waiting (May 1913).
- Serving And Waiting
“Dr. Haldeman was probably the most influential
preacher of prophetic themes in his generation in this country.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 24.
- Wilbur Smith
“God raised up able men who would not accommodate, men highly trained and
deeply and irrevocably dedicated to the Word of God. Their names deserve reverent mention often
for they were God's giants against a black sky.
[Page 338] Outstanding were AJ. Gordon of
* George
W. Dollar, “The Early Days of American Fundamentalism”,
Bibliotheca Sacra, April 1966, 116.
- George Dollar, The Early Days of American Fundamentalism
Haldeman: “The
preachers who have preached and by their preaching have built nothing better
than wood, hay and stubble on the foundation of Christ will be judged as
unfaithful stewards of the Word of God. ... None of these
shall enter into and share the joy of the Lord.
They cannot take part in the kingdom on earth. ... O the
pitiableness of it. Redeemed and doing
nothing for Christ. ... They will miss the ‘well
done.’
They cannot enter into the joy of the Lord. They will have no part in the
kingdom of the thousand years on earth.”*
* I M.
Haldeman, Ten Sermons On The Second
Coming Of Our Lord (New York:
Fleming H. Revell, 1917).
Haldeman: “The wicked servant [Luke
19: 12-27] belongs to the category of those who
shall be ashamed before Him at His coming; who shall not receive an abundant entrance into the Kingdom; who shall lose
their crown and be shut out from participation in ‘the joy of the Lord,’ even His rule and glory
on the earth.”*
* I M.
Haldeman, The Coming Of Christ:
Premillennial And Imminent (Charles C. Cook, 1906), 57.
Alexander Patterson
(1844-1912):
Patterson is known for his book The Greater Life and Work of Christ.
Patterson: “The fact of the chastening
of the unfaithful servant at the judgment of the saints, is also taught
directly by Christ ... [Luke 12:
45-48]. Here is certain exposure, condemnation,
and more, for the fruitless or faithless
servant. ‘Beaten with many stripes’ does not mean the loss of the soul, but does mean more
than has been generally taught. The ‘stripes’ are connected with
the coming of Christ. The same truth is
taught in the parables of [Page 339] the same talents when the
unprofitable servant is cast out ‘into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping
and gnashing of teeth.’ [Matt. 25:30].”*
* Alexander
Patterson, The Greater Life And Work Of
Christ (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell, 1896), 317.
Siegfried Abraham Goebel (b.1844):
“German Reformed; ... He was educated
at the universities of
* The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia (New York And London: Funk And Wagnalls Company, 1909).
- The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia
Goebel: “But great
and glorious as is this reward, so heavy, on the other hand, is the punishment that will be inflicted on those who let the Word entrusted to them
lie dead and useless. For not
merely will the Lord leave to the faithful the rich product of their earthly
labour even in the future
* Siegried
Goebel, “The Servant’s Of Christ And Their
Responsibility”, The Dawn (Nov.
15, 1928).
Lt. Col. Joseph Sladen (1841-1930):
“The late Joseph Sladen, who died at
an advanced age in 1930, was for many years in touch with Open Brethren. He was son-in-law to the Earl of Cavan, who also
had been associated with them for a great while until his death in 1887.”*
* G.H. Lang, Anthony
Norris Groves (Schoettle, 1988), 297.
- G.H. Lang
[Page 340]
Joseph Sladen’s wife was the daughter of Frederick Edward
Gould, the 9th Earl of Cavan. Based on
his writings, Gould himself appeared to have also been an advocate of selective
resurrection. Burke’s Peerage And Baroneiage gives the
following in formation in regard to Sladen’s wife:
“Sarah Sophia, m. 14 July, 1875, Lt.-Col. Joseph Sladen, of
Sladen died in
Sladen: “‘Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate ... shall inherit the
* Joseph
Sladen, The Entrance Into The
Sladen: “What
vexation and sorrow will be theirs who refuse the Lord’s command to strive to
enter into the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (March
15, 1939).
Sladen: “Salvation
then refers to the gift of Eternal Life, and also to the coming
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn, vol. VI, no. 9 (Dec. 16th, 1929).
Sladen: “All the
saints will reign in the eternal Kingdom on the ground of grace alone, as heirs
of God; although some will have lost the joint heirship with Christ
in His temporary Kingdom.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn, vol. v, #2 (May 1 st, 1928).
George Hawkins Pember (1837-1910):
G.H. Pember is best known today for The Earth’s Earliest Ages (1876).
It predicts the rise of Theosophy (i.e. Christianized occultism) in the
last days. At one time, Pember was
recognized around the world for his writings on Bible prophecy:
“G. H. Pernber was a noted teacher of
scripture in the latter decades of the nineteenth century in
* The Witness (July
31, 1996).
- The Witness
“One of the most valuable expositions
of prophecy ever published. It is
written in a popular and interesting style, and handles with masterly discriminating,
scholarly research, and eloquent description the principal prophecies of the
Bible.”*
* G.H. Lang, “Selective Resurrection
And Rapture” The Disciple (Conley
& Schoettle, 1984), 76.
- The Prophetic News
“In the latter part of the last century
and the beginning of this a
- G.H. Lang
“...one of the best Bible scholars in
* Wilbur M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston:
W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 35.
- Wilbur Smith
[Page 342]
Even Charles Spurgeon (who was never quick to approve of
prophetic studies) was inclined to call Pember’s The Great Prophecies an “investigation of
prophecy in an intelligent manner, with a calm and judicial temper.”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1882).
Pember: “But, if any
demur to their soothing and comfortable but sloth-inducing creed, they
straightway cry out, that he is denying the grace of God. Very different, however, as we have seen is
the language of the Bible. For while it
tells us that the gift of God is eternal life, it at the same time, insists
that we must run the race, and contend for the mastery, if we would win the
crown; that we must finish the work which we came here to do if
we would enter into God's Millennial Sabbath‑rest; ... that it is to the overcomer alone
that Christ will give to sit with Him upon His throne: that we must endure with
Him now, if we would reign with Him hereafter…”*
* G.H. Pember, The Church,
The Churches, And The Mysteries, vol. 3 (Conley & Schoettle, 1984),
93-94.
Pember: “Those
servants of the Lord who shall be found to have been faithful will be judged
worthy of the First Resurrection, and will immediately be made Priests of God
and His Christ, and will reign with Him for a Thousand Years. ... But the unfaithful servants will be banished into the darkness without
the pale of the Kingdom, where they will be detained, and dealt with according
to the sentence of the Lord, until the Last Day. Then, when the time of reward has passed by,
He will raise them up to everlasting life ... but can it be that children of God will,
in any circumstances, need literal cleansing fires for the completion of their
sanctification? Believers as a body
repudiate such a suggestion: they have never been taught, that those who are
saved by the Blood of Christ can possibly have anything to suffer after the
close of the present life .... If, then, there be any logical
sequence in the passage, THE SALTING
* G.H.
Pember, The Great Prophecies Of The
Centuries Concerning The Church, vol. 4 (Conley & Schoettle, 1984),
104-105, 110-111, 114-115.
J. Hudson
After studying medicine and theology in
“Mr. Hudson Taylor once told me that
the premillennial view was the inspiration of his life and had been the chief
incitement that had taken him to
* The Dawn (March 1st, 1935).
- H.W. Frost
“One of the most revered names in modem missions.”*
* George
W. Dollar, A History of Fundamentalism in
- A History of Fundamentalism in
“This mighty man of God cannot be
claimed by any denominational body as belonging distinctly to their
company. He and his mission swept out
beyond all barriers of denominational restraint, but, in his monumental biography,
by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, there is this clear and convincing note
regarding his own personal convictions: ‘The Rev. W. G. Lewis was the minister
of the Baptist church, of which Mr. Taylor had become and long remained a
member’ (Vol. 2, p. 17). This same Mr.
Lewis, who was editor of ‘The Baptist Magazine’ in 1865, was the man who urged
Hudson Taylor to make a wider appeal for inland
* John
G. Ridley, M.C., Who Are These? (Glebe,
- John G. Ridley, M.C.
“But there were some of the earliest
of these students who doubted this last opinion [i.e., that all true
Christians share in the First Resurrection] and
thought that the high honour of reigning with Christ was contingent upon
faithfulness to Him in this life.... Hudson Taylor held
the same view. ...”*
* G.H. Lang, “Selective Resurrection
And Rapture…” The Disciple (Conley
& Schoettle, 1984), 74.
- G.H. Lang
* J .
Elijah Richardson Craven (1824-1908):
“Elijah Richardson Craven ... was one
of the many northern Presbyterian pastors who spearheaded a shift from
postmillennialism among evangelicals between the Civil War and World War
1. Craven received his B.A. in 1842 at
* Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, general editor (Kregel, 1996), 74.
- Dictionary of Premillennial Theology
“Of the many widely-read students of
prophecy in our country in the latter part of the nineteenth century, I would say
that there were five who could be called outstanding, scholars of unquestioned
ability and deep insight into the Word of God.
These would be Dr. Samuel H. Kellog ... James H. Brooks ... Dr. E.R. Craven ... the Reverend George N.H. Peters ... and
Dr. Nathanael West. ...”*
* Nathaniel
West, The Thousand Years (
- Wilbur Smith
“… one of the
most accomplished scholars in the country…”*
* James H. Brookes, The
Truth (Vol. 5, 1879).
- James H. Brookes
Craven: “Into that
glorious company of the First Resurrection it
is probable that only those who have been partakers
of Christ’s humiliation and suffering (either personally or throughout the
present aeon) shall be received - a select portion of the redeemed, including
the martyrs.”*
* D.M.
Panton, Judgment Seat of Christ (Schoettle,
1993), 39. See also Craven’s note on p. 391 of Lange’s Revelation Commentary.
Joseph Augustus Seiss (1823-1904):
“Lutheran minister and author. Born of Alsatian stock near
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
Wilbur Smith lists Seiss’s The
Apocalypse as the “most famous work published in
this country on the Book of Revelation.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 30-31.
Seiss taught that the slothful servants, virgins, etc. in
Christ’s accountability parables represent true believers. He held that
partaking of the First Resurrection, escaping outer darkness and avoiding being
“cut asunder” are rewards and privileges for
obedient Christian service.
Nevertheless, he mainly applied these warnings and blessings to the
pre-trib rapture and the coming tribulation period (not the millennium).
Seiss: “In the
parable of the pounds we also read of a servant who was no less a servant than his
fellow-servants. ... He, however, behaved so unprofitably toward his trust that
it was eventually taken away from him, and no reward or rulership was given
him as to his more industrious and faithful fellows. No man can take the parable and say that this
servant represents such as shall finally perish. ... To be saved is one thing;
to be rewarded is another. The one is
through the grace of God only; the other is according to works and attainments
only. ... It is only hard service that brings reward, and a real bearing of the
cross that secures the crown. ... The first translation will
partake of equal privileges with the first resurrection, and therefore must
possess equal qualifications.
And if martyrdom in fact was necessary as a preparation for the first
resurrection, a living martyrdom is necessary to qualify for the
first translation. ... Here (i.e. Phil.
3: 15 -) we see, as in many similar passages,
the connection of sufferings with these high blessings.”*
* Joseph
Augustus Seiss, The Parable Of The Ten
Virgins (Smith, English, 1862),187.
[Page 347]
James Robinson Graves (1820-1893):
Before the breaking out of the Civil War, the paper that
“...clergyman, author, was born April
10, 1820, in
* Herringshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Biography, 416.
- Herringshaw’s Encyclopedia
of American Biography
“Southern Baptist preacher, editor
and publisher who led in the formation of the Landmark Movement. ... by 1848 he
was editor of The
* Dictionary Of
Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
“Probably the
most influential advocate of millenarian doctrines among nineteenth-century
Southern Baptists was James R. Graves. …”*
* Emest R. Sandeen, The
Roots Of Fundamentalism (University Of
Chicago Press, 1970), 264.
- The Roots Of Fundamentalism
“It is from
Grave’s influence that Baptists have drawn much of their dispensational and
premillennial thought...”*
* James
0. Combs, Roots and Origins of Baptist
Fundamentalism (John the Baptist
Press, 1984), 58.
- Roots and Origins ofBaptist Fundamentalism
It appears that
The following quotes are from one of the last works
* James
R. Graves, Dispensational Expositions of
the Parables and Prophecies of Christ (Memphis: Graves & MaHaffy,
1887), 223.
“These expositions are eminently
providential. Had their author not been
stricken down by a severe and protracted affliction, they doubtless would never
have been written ... He can truly say these years were spent in Beulah, in
almost unalloyed spiritual enjoyment ... The author, after more than three
years of patient study of the prophetic Scriptures since writing ‘The Seven
Dispensations,’ has modified his views set forth in that work...”*
* Ibid.
* Ibid., 240, 251, 253, 257, 260, 263-265, 270, 274.
Johannes Van Oosterzee (1817-1882):
“The author ... is very generally regarded
as the ablest living Dutch divine of the evangelical school ... he has
vigorously defended the Christian faith against the assaults of rationalism.”*
* J. J.
Van Oosterzee, The Theology Of The New
Testament: A Handbook For Bible Students (London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1882).
- The Theology Of The
New Testament
“...the eminent Dutch theologian, was
a voluminous writer and a strong premillenarian. He assisted in the preparation of the old
‘Herzog Encyclopedia.’ In learning,
eloquence and piety he ranked among the greatest divines of his age.”*
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return (Fleming H. Revell, 1914), 181.
- J. F. Silver, The
Lord’s Return
[Page 350]
“From 1863 to the end of his life he
was professor at
* Elvin Moyer, revised and enlarged by Earle E. Cairns, The Wycliffle Biographical Dictionary Of The
Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1982).
- The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church
Van Oosterzee is known for N.
L Theology and The Person And Work Of
The Redeemer. Alexander Reese lists
Van Oosterzee as a believer in selective resurrection. Reese states:
“It is wrong, therefore, to assert as
some advocates ... of Pre-millennialism assert, that the first-resurrection is
limited to martyrs.”*
* Alexander
Reese, The Approaching Advent Of Christ (Marshall,
Morgan & Scott Ltd., 1937) footnote on p. 86.
Reese lists Van Oosterzee as one of
these advocates.
Robert Govett (1813-1901):
The large list of Govett’s works in Edward Starr’s A Baptist Bibliography (1964) certainly reveal him to be one of the
foremost premillennial writers of the nineteenth century. Govett was a valiant warrior for the truth of
reward and punishment for Christians.
The teaching of millennial exclusion and punishment for disobedient
Christians at the judgment seat permeated his writings and commentaries. He was also one of the chief defenders of
literal interpretation and the futurist view of prophecy. He published his first commentary on the Book
of Revelation in 1843. His later commentary on the Book of
Revelation became a classic. It
consisted of 2000-plus pages! (Schoettle reprinted it in the 1980’s.) Spurgeon often referred to Govett as the main
spokesman for the futurist view.* He
once listed the foremost futurist writers as Pember, De Burgh, BM. Newton and [Page 351] Govett.** All of these writers
except B.W. Newton believed in millennial exclusion! James Grant (1802-1979) gives Govett the
principle credit for publicizing dispensational views. Govett’s writings were sometimes included in
Spurgeon’s Sword and Trowel and other
religious periodicals. The following
reviews and testimonies reveal the wide influence Govett had in his age.
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1880), 407.
**
Charles Spurgeon, The Sword and the
Trowel (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1889), 36.
“Govett was the grandson of William Romaine.
... in 1844, he seceded over objections to baptismal service. Afterwards, he
preached at Victoria Hall,
* Blackwell Dictionary Of Evangelical Biography, 1730-1860, edited by Donald M. Lewis
(Blackwell Publishers, 1995).
- Blackwell Dictionary
Of Evangelical Biography
“Raised in Staines, Middlesex,
England; fellow of Worcester College, Oxford (1830), honoured with a life
fellowship upon graduation (1835); ordained Anglican priest (1837); became a
curate of St. Stephen, Norwich, where he drew large crowds; confessed his
conscience was against infant baptism and resigned (1844); most of congregation
left, made him their pastor, and met in Victoria Hall, Norwich; baptized
300-400 former Anglicans by 1848; built Surrey Chapel, Norwich, at his own
expense (1854) and ministered there 47 years until his death; succeeded by D.M.
Panton...”*
* Available from www.clevelandonline.org;
Internet.
“Govett’s commentary on the Book of Revelation] earned its author justifiable recognition as an expositor. It remains today one of the most sought after
works on this portion of God’s Word.”*
* Cyril J. Barber, The
Minister’s Library (
- The Minister’s Library
“My own opinion is that he brings to
his interpretation a more thorough knowledge of the Scriptures in their bearing
on the last book of the Bible than any other writer of his generation.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 28.
- Wilbur M. Smith
[Page 352]
“First and foremost Robert Govett was
a man of prayer. ... In addition to his ministry at the Chapel Mr. Govett had
gained a wide reputation in England and America as a Biblical Expositor, and
tributes to his writings came from many sources - including his old University
and Cambridge - and such preachers as Rev. C.H. Spurgeon held him in high
esteem ...”
-
“...that prolific expounder of the
Word of God, Robert Govett, whose works are to-day experiencing an unprecedented
revival, calling for republication.”*
* Grace And Truth (Sept. 1934).
- Grace And Truth
“This work [Govett’s Christ
* Charles Spurgeon, The
Sword and the Trowel (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1885), 548.
- Spurgeon
“The oftener we refer to Mr. Govett’s
pages, the more do we value his exposition ... He is a reverent student of the
Word, and is wide as the poles asunder from critics of the modem school, who
seem far more set upon improving the Scriptures than upon expounding them ...
We only express our heart when we say that we venerate and admire this author
and preacher, whose works will be more appreciated by future generations than
by this frivolous age.”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1883), 512.
- Spurgeon
“Mr. Govett is an aged disciple ... whose exposition of the Revelation of
Charles Spurgeon, The Sword
and the Trowel (London: Passmore
& Alabaster, 1880), 407.
- Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel (1880)
“We wish we could introduce this
profound writer and sound teacher to those of our readers who, being
instructors of others, need to be well taught themselves ... a more thorough
Baptist commentary was never written [Govett’s Gospel of John] ... The day will come
when the idols of the hour will perish, and the writings of such a man as R.
Govett will be prized as the much fine gold.
Meanwhile we heartily congratulate our brother upon being enabled to
maintain so clear a testimony for the gospel of Jesus ... In these two volumes
difficulties are not shirked...”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London: Passmore &
Alabaster, 1881), 480.
- Spurgeon
Govett: “For a word
only, under the Saviour’s decree, a greater punishment is to overtake the
offender, than for the worst deed under the law! He
is to be cast into the place of God’s enemies, ‑ ‘GEHENNA OF FIRE,’ – ‘THE SECOND DEATH!’ ‘Do you mean,
then, that a converted man will be lost for ever?’ No! ... It has been justly exploded, as a
self-evidently false principle of prophetical interpretation, that ‘All the promises of the prophets belong to the Church! All
the wrath and threatenings belong to
* Robert Govett, The
Sermon On The Mount (Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 69-70.
Govett: “What then
shall become of those who do not attain to the First resurrection and its
reward? They will indeed appear, as all
believers must, before the Judgment Seat of Christ: but they will not
enjoy the Thousand Years.”*
* Robert
Govett, Baptism, The
Govett: “I had
asserted, that some believers, inconsequence of their unprofitableness, or for
other reasons, will be dismissed again to Hadees. You
reply, [Page 354] ‘Coheirs
with Christ, need we seek for disproof of this?’ Yes, indeed you must! ... we
are again and again warned, that the doers of moral evil
have no lot ‘in the kingdom of the Christ and God,’ even though once
washed and justified and sanctified: Eph. 5: 5; 1 Cor. 6:
9-11; Gal. 6: 30; 5: 19-21 .... How stands the apostle’s rebuke [1 Cor.
6:9-11], if we read it on the usual
theory? ‘0 Corinthian believers, some of
you are defrauding your brethren. What!
do you not know that unconverted men, if unrighteous, shall not enter the kingdom! Do not mistake! No unconverted men, if fornicators
or adulterers, will enter that kingdom.’ Was that the apostle’s meaning? Does
he teach that unconverted men, if they are morally decent, will
enter the kingdom? I suppose none
will say so. Will not unconverted men,
simply as unconverted, be refused any portion there? Is not this what Jesus says to Nicodemus? John 3: 3. ... From false
ideas of Christian liberty, Corinthian Christians were acting quite contrary to
the word of Jesus. Is there no danger in
this direction in our day? To whom are
Paul’s ‘Know ye not?’s addressed, but to believers?”*
* Robert
Govett, Entrance Into The Millennial
Kingdom, Four Letters To J T Molesworth (Norwich: Fletcher & Son,
1883), 5-6, 17.
Govett: “What is the
evident implication of these two agreeing passages? Clearly, that it is possible that SOME
BELIEVERS, members of the churches of Christ, MAY BE HURT BY THE SECOND DEATH.
... The perseverance of the saints is a true doctrine: yet there must be room
found for this also.”*
* Robert
Govett, Govett On Revelation, Vol. 1 (Conley & Schoettle, 1981), 101.
Philip Henry Gosse (1810-1888):
“British naturalist. Born at
* Grolier Encyclopedia (New York: 1960).
- Grolier Encyclopedia
“...one of the leading zoologists of
the last century. When in 1857 Lyell,
the geologist, was sounding scientific opinion as to what reaction could be
expected to
* G.H.
Lang, The Disciple (Conley &
Schoettle, 1984), 77.
- G.H. Lang
“I knew Mr. Gosse in two ways. His book on Marine Zoology was my sole
authority when I kept a large sea-water aquarium in
* A.T.
Schofield, Behind The Brass Plate, 35.
- Dr. A.T. Schofield
“P.H. Gosse the naturalist .... were of those who acknowledged the warnings and penalties addressed to
the people of God .... They taught that sharing in the first resurrection, and
in the reign of the Lamb to follow, were high dignities that might be forfeited
by carnal conduct.”*
* G.H. Lang, The Disciple (Conley
& Schoettle. 1984), 91.
- G.H. Lang
Robert Cleaver Chapman
(1803-1902):
“Robert Cleaver Chapman was born in
* Henry Pickering, Chief
Men Among The Brethren (Neptune: Loizeaux. 1996).
- Chief Men Among The Brethren
[Page 356]
“The remarkable Robert C. Chapman served
God in an isolated corner of nineteenth-century England ... Yet by the end of
his life he was known throughout the world for his great love, wisdom and
compassion ... Robert Chapman became one of the most respected Christians of
nineteenth-century Britain ... His acquaintance C.H. Spurgeon called him ‘the
saintliest man I ever knew.’ ... A brilliant man from a wealthy family, Chapman
could have chosen any number of prestigious paths to follow. Yet he chose a life of poverty. He wanted to work and live with poor and
uneducated people ... Robert Chapman enjoyed rising very early each morning ...
He was very health-conscious and walked for his body’s sake...”*
* Robert
L. Peterson, Robert Chapman (Neptune:
Loizeaux, 1995), 7, 14, 87.
- Robert L. Peterson
“...he laboured for 70 years in a
small town in a remote corner of
* Available
from www.thechurchincleveland.org;
Intemet.
“We preach about the Heavenly places, but Chapman lives there.”*
* R.C. Chapman, Suggestive
Questions, Prologue, 3.
- J. N. Darby
“Mr. W. Hake, a schoolmaster himself,
has said: ‘That in all his experience - and he was over 90 when he said it - he
had not met with any one who had knowledge of the English language equal to
that Mr. Chapman possessed. The latter
always chose the proper words to express his thoughts. His language has been termed ‘Classic
English,’ a combination of Anglo-Saxon and the words of Scripture. Upon being questioned about ‘Recovered
Truths,’ so-called, Mr. Chapman said, ‘recovered Truths, dear brother! I know no recovered truths, I hold nothing
that others have not held before me.’”*
* R.C. Chapman, Suggestive
Questions, Epilogue, 21.
[Page 357]
“R.C. Chapman led the way to what has
become extensive work in Roman Catholic Spain. ... Mr. Groves mentions a visit
to ‘R.C’ at
* G.H.
Lang, Anthony Norris Groves (Schoettle,
1988), 19, 32.
- G.H. Lang
“Nothing that came from the pen of
Robert Chapman, one of the saintliest characters among the early Brethren, but
was full of grace and goodness. Nor does
he fail to see the imperiled position of the
believer.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (April 15th, 1926).
- D.M. Panton
Chapman: “… ‘This is the first resurrection.’
is it not a resurrection of first fruits? And the rest of the dead in the same verse,
do they not include all the family of God?
Not the wicked dead only. Hence
in verse 12,
‘Another book was opened, which is the Book of
Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works,’ verse 15. ‘And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’ … My soul rejoices in the hope of that
reign, the glory of which will be to new creation the necessary
step; and contribute to perfect the joy of that new creation..”*
* R.C.
Chapman, Suggestive Questions, 15-16.
William Nathaniel Tilson Marsh:
Marsh wrote in the middle of
nineteenth century:
“Sir W.T. Marsh, who is a baronet as
well as a clergyman, is the son of the late Rev. Dr. Marsh, of Beckenham, and brother
of Miss Marsh, authoress of ‘Hedley Vicar’s Life.’”*
*
[Page 358]
Marsh: “The
Apostle Paul did not doubt that he should share in the resurrection of the dead
... But then what is the Apostle’s meaning when he also says, ‘If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead?’ (Phil.
3: 11.) ... It is, in short,
the elect resurrection or First Resurrection to WHICH ST. PAUL DESIRED TO
ATTAIN ... This First Resurrection is the special resurrection of
which our Lord speaks, when he says, ‘They who
shall be accounted worthy to attain that world and the resurrection from the dead…’ …to obtain it is to receive a peculiar privilege, and to be awarded a
special honour. For our Lord
speaks of those who shall be accounted worthy to attain it as the
children of God being the children of the resurrection. (Luke
20: 35, 36; 14: 14) ... It was with this
resurrection in view that the martyred saints suffered and endured, counting it
all joy, ‘that they might obtain a better resurrection.’ And it is on
those who attain to the same reward of grace that
* Ibid., 366-367.
William Burgh (1800-1866):
“Irish Futurist educated at
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 3 (
William Burgh was one of the first anti-Catholic writers (contemporaneous
with Samuel Maitland) to hold to the Scriptural view that the Book of Revelation [chapters 4 to 22]
has not yet been fulfilled (i.e. futurism).
[Page 359]
“...the most sound and able teachers among
Futurists are among the foremost in opposition to the Papacy. We might have added the name of William de
Burgh ... of all Futurists, few more clear.”*
* Watching And Waiting (Mar-April 1942).
- Watching And Waiting
Burgh: “I feel constrained rather to acquiesce in an
opinion known to have been generally held in the early ages of Christianity,
that ‘the first resurrection’ is not general, even as it respects the Church, but
limited to certain among it, possessing a qualification
to be noticed presently. ... A distinction is thus made between one part of the
Church and another, and a qualification admitted for reigning with Christ over
and above the circumstance of being a believer and saved; while the glory of
the millennial kingdom is allowed to be special, and not the same with eternal glory of
the whole Church when ‘made perfect.’ In fact, it just
amounts to the limitation so expressly made in the words ‘if we suffer, we shall also
reign with him,’ superadded to that other condition,- ‘If we be dead with him, we shall also live
with him’ (2 Tim. 2: 11, 12); and again, ‘if so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also glorified together.’ (Rom. 8: 17). The reason
of which limitation seems to be, that the millennial kingdom being a special
award to Christ as ‘Son of David’ and ‘Son
of Man’ in
consequence of His sufferings, being a honour and exaltation conferred on him.
... I say that the glory of the millennial reign being thus special as it
respects Christ Himself, and distinct from that glory which He shall have
evermore, when having sufficiently asserted and established his rights, ‘He shall give up this
kingdom to the Father, and God shall be all in all.’ (1 Cor. 15: 28,) so does he share this
glory with those who have shared his sufferings. ... Reluctantly, I need not
say, I have been forced to come to the conclusion I am now stating; but
Scripture cannot be resisted; and if I see one thing more plainly written than
another in Scripture, it is, that ‘to reign with Christ,’ we must ‘suffer with Him’. Another convincing proof of
the limitation of the First Resurrection I think we have in the fact that after
the thousand-years-reign, when ‘the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the
books are opened,’ (Rev.
20: 12) it is
added, ‘Another
book was opened which is the book of life...’ Now, if
the whole Church had been raised previously, and that ‘the dead small and great,’... be only the lost,
wherefore open ‘the book of life,’ to judge them? And if it be said,
merely to show that none of them were entered there, I think verse 15 leads to a different
conclusion – ‘And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire,’ which
surely does not imply that the whole number of those so judged were cast into
the lake, and none of them found written in the [Page 360] book. ... I am equally certain, that Christianity
may exist in a very low state, - that it is possible to be saved and yet come
short of the full reward.”*
* William
Burgh, Lectures On The Second Advent Of
Our Lord Jesus Christ (
Burgh: “... I would conclude
that the first resurrection will not comprise the whole of those who have died
previous to the Advent; and that to those who shall be privileged then to rise
and reign, it will not be the enjoyment of the final glory of the Church, the
redemption hope, but of a special glory and special hope to which they had
attained otherwise than in mere consideration of their being believers and
redeemed. I have revised with care the
opinion I gave in the lectures above referred to - that the First
Resurrection is limited to a portion of the redeemed Church; that
while eternal life and the inheritance are of faith and free grace, and common
to all believers merely as such, the millennial crown and the
first resurrection are a REWARD - the reward of suffering for and
with Christ; as I have just said, a special glory and special hope over and
above the redemption hope and glory, designed to comfort and support
believers under persecution: a need and use which I have little doubt the
church will before long be called on collectively to experience ....
I have reconsidered this opinion the more as I learned that there were not a
few who objected to it ... yet I confess the result has been to confirm me more
in it. …”*
* Williarn
Burgh, The Apocalypse Unfufilled, (
Theodosia A. Powerscourt (1800-1836):
“One who attended the conferences at
Albury was Viscountess Powerscourt of Powerscourt House, Bray,
* G.H. Lang, The
Disciple, Oct. 1953 (Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 16.
- G.H. Lang
[Page 361]
“The Powerscourt Conferences of 1831 to
1833 most probably moved Darby from his earlier historicist pre-millennialism
to futurist pre-millennialism.”*
* Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, general editor (Kregel,
1996), 83.
- Dictionary of Premillennialism
Powerscourt: “I should be
glad to know what you think concerning reigning with Christ. Do you think it is for all, or only for the
martyrs? I have been thinking a good
deal on this subject of late. It seems
to me that the reason why it belongs to this dispensation to reign with Him, is
because this is the dispensation of martyrdom; the last-days of his church,
because of the absence of her bridegroom.
Rest at any time seems a mere accident. ... I conceive we are all given
opportunity of this martyrdom. It seems
distinguished from the suffering which we have in common with the world, in
that it is a suffering for principle, a trial of faith, a voluntary preference
of suffering in the flesh, to denying Christ in any wise .... Oh! how many secret martyrdoms are thus endured,
unknown to man, but precious to God!
Now, I do believe, there never was a time that this
doctrine (the connection between reigning and suffering) would bear less to be
overlooked, or required more to be brought forward; for, truly,
there is such a thing as refusing martyrdom, even as much as if we were to turn
from the stake. ... I believe there is such a thing as even the believer’s
being so allured, so led captive by things of sense, as for even the mighty
argument to be overpowered: ‘If ye love me, keep my commandments;’ and that
many Christians, under the conviction that their souls cannot be lost, live in the indulgence of unlawful
gratifications, rather than go through the torture of the whole heart being
drawn and quartered. But, surely, if the
millennial reign of Christ be a particular reward to Him for his sufferings, as
‘Son of Man,’ ‘Son of David,’ distinct from everlasting glory, those only who
have partaken with Him shall reign with Him.
Do tell me what you think of this? for it seems to me, that though there
are now many saved Christians, there are but few reigning ones... ‘If we suffer
we shall reign with Him’. ... I quite agree with you, that martyrdom is not
always outward suffering, or always from or through man. I believe all are given opportunity of
martyrdom, because this is the dispensation of martyrdom. ... I believe it can
be refused, and that they will be sufferers who do refuse. ... Have we counted
the cost? Let us not be willing to lose
any part of our reward by our fooleries here - let it be a full reward. ... Oh!
dear brother, what a hope is the [Page 362] resurrection! … To-day, then, let us be
diligent, that to-morrow we may be found of Him in peace, waiting. … In hope of His kingdom.”*
* Lectures And Papers Of The Late Viscountess Powerscourt, Robert Daly (
[Page 363]
* *
*
Chapter 28
Accountability Truth in History (Part 3)
“Certainly, new discoveries of old truths
ought not to be branded with the odious name of novel opinions.”*
* Increase Mather, The
Mystery (Bibliotheca Sacra,
1943), 276.
- Increase Mather
In the previous chapter, we noticed some great pre-millennialists
of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries such as G.H. Pember, Robert Govett,
S.S. Craig, Watchman Nee, D.M. Panton, G.H. Lang, A.G. Tilney, etc. that clearly embraced and confessed both millennial
exclusion and a temporary Hell [place in Gk. ‘Hades’] for unfaithful believers. The rotten fruit in the latter
half of the twentieth century, testified that other Christian leaders were
presumptuous for rejecting the powerful warnings brought to light by such men
as these! Some of the other writers mentioned in the
previous chapter [Page 364] imply stated that they believed in
millennial exclusion in the same manner as some of these influential men. (Perhaps this was an easier way to refer to
such controversial truth in public.) Others
simply stated that they believed the First Resurrection and the millennium were
conditional for Christians; we may never know where exactly many of these writers placed the disobedient
Christian during the Thousand Years.
Yet, such excluded Christians must reside somewhere!
This present chapter will document many of the writers that
believed in selective-resurrection and/or literal chastisement at the judgment
seat, who were born before 1800. These
earlier pre-millennialists were usually less clear concerning what exactly
happens to the unfaithful Christian when excluded from the millennium. Perhaps
not many would have advocated a temporary Hell; yet, practically every pre-millennialist
during this period advocated millennial exclusion/selective resurrection! To save space, only a sample of these will be
listed. As we make our way to the
ancient pre-millennialists of the first few centuries of the Christian era, the
doctrines of temporary Hell and chastisement at the judgment seat will again
come prominently into view!
Anthony Norris Groves (1795‑1853):
“ ... joint founder of Plymouth Brethren movement,
missionary to
* Elvin
Moyer, revised and enlarged by Earle E. Cairns, The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1982), 174.
- The Wycliffle Biographical Dictionary of the Church
“Anthony Norris Groves was born at
* Henry
Pickering, Chief Men Among The Brethren (Neptune:
Loizeaux, 1996).
- Chief Men Among The Brethren
“On October 7th ... 1830, Mr.
[Georgel Muller married Mary Groves, A.N. Groves’ sister, and in 1835 we find
him accompanying
* G.H. Lang, Anthony
Norris Groves (Schoettle, 1988), 14-15, 19, 297.
[Page 366]
“A man so devotedly, so fervently,
attached to the Scriptures, I never knew before.”*
* Memoir Of Anthony Norris Groves, by his Widow (London: James Nisbet & Co.,1869), 5.
- John Kitto (1804-1854)
“The prime human agent in this [Brethren]
movement was a man of deep spirituality of life and ardent love to his Lord,
one Anthony Norris Groves .... The figure of
* Watching And Waiting (Aug. 1940).
‑ Watching And Waiting
* Ibid.,
296, 304, 378.
Joshua William Brooks (1790-1882):
“...prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral,
author, and editor of The Investigator [1831-36], as well as compiler of A
Dictionary of Writers on the Prophecies, was prominent in prophetic
exposition circles between 1831 and 1844. ... One and a half columns are needed
to list the works of Brooks in the
* Leroy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers, vol.
3 (
Brooks: “There is
another point likewise intimated in Scripture ... and that is - the very
critical situation of some at that time, who are in the main believers, but
who, owing to want of watchfulness and to worldly conformity and to negligent
walking, will likewise be overtaken by the whirlwind, and severely
punished.
* Joshua W. Brooks, Elements
of Prophetical Interpretation (
Thomas Newton (1703-1784):
“Thomas Newton, D.D., Bishop of Bristol,
England ... is distinguished for his piety, and extensive research, as
exhibited in his valuable writings on the prophecies.”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church (H.L. Hastings, 1855), 248.
- The Voice of the Church
“
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return (Fleming H. Revell, 1914), 185.
- The Lord’s Return
“He studied at Trinity college,
* Schaff,
A Religious
Encyclopedia (Funk & Wagnall, 1891).
- A Religious
Encyclopedia (Schaff)
* Thomas
Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies,
vol. III (
Charles Daubuz (1670-1740):
“Charles Daubuz ... a French
commentator of the highest rank, is acknowledged by Professor Bush to have been
‘the ablest of all commentators on the visions of John.’ Daubuz published his Commentary in
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return (Fleming H. Revell, 1914), 182.
- The Lord’s Return
“Charles
Daubuz ... exiled Huguenot, was born in
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 2 (
Daubuz: “He will not
make an end all at once; no more than he rewards all the saints at once, but
the martyrs or such as are described presently.
When all idolatry is destroyed, then comes the general Resurrection of
all mankind .... All this is spoken of such as suffer, and die for true
religion, and the testimony of a good conscience .... We have seen, that
the promise of Christ is, that the martyrs, or overcomers of his enemies, shall
reign with him. ... What can therefore oblige us not to own, that
these very martyrs are now to rise again, and reign with Christ? So that this is indeed a literal resurrection
of such dead as are mentioned in the words before us ... Some others pretend,
that the flourishing state of the Church is the reward, which the martyrs must
expect; as if that could fully accomplish the promises of Christ to them for
their eminent sufferings and constancy. ... And do we not see,
that Christ has promised such prerogatives to the martyrs? Yes, he promises, that he will give them
the Morning Star, in chap. 2: 28. Even as he has
received of the Father. That is, he rose
before the general Resurrection, so must they; they must shine as the Morning
Star before the full day light of the general Resurrection. ... how do we know but God will also stretch the title of martyr to such
Confessors as have confessed him before man, though they [Page 369] are
not slain at their confession, but suffered otherwise, as St. John himself, who without doubt will be therein equal
to the other Apostles. ... These dead therefore, who are not raised up till
after the Millennium, include not only the wicked who
are dead since Adam’s fall, but also all such among Christians who are dead, or
shall die till that time, having no title to this first Resurrection upon one
of the accounts before mentioned in the former verse. …”*
* Charles
Daubuz, A Perpetual Commentary On The Revelation Of
Robert Fleming, Jr. (1660-1716):
“Robert Fleming ... descended from a
line of Scot preachers. Born in
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 2 (
- The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers
“...in his Christology he ...
maintains that this is a ‘real and corporeal resurrection of the apostles and other most eminent saints of the New
Testament, who died before the Millennium began,’ thus interpreting it, as he
also does Dan.12: 2, in a literal sense.”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church (H.L. Hastings, 185 5), 227.
- The Voice Of The Church
[Page 370]
Thomas Burnett
(1635-1715):
“Thomas Burnett, D.D., was born in
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church, 212.
- The Voice of the Church
“A learned and eloquent writer.”*
* James Darling (1797-1862), Cyclopaedia
Bibliographica (1854).
- Cyclopaedia Bibliographica
Burnett: “
* Bishop
Burnett, The Sacred Theory Of The Earth (London:
T. Kinnersley, Acton Place, Kingsland Road, 1816), 535, 542, 544, 551.
[Page 371]
Henry More (1614-1687):
“Henry More ... nonconformist
educator and philosopher, was born at Grantham, of Calvinist parents, and from childhood
took a deep interest in questions of theology. ... A man of profound learning,
he was a distinguished religious leader. ... More refused all preferments,
including the mastership of Christ’s College, the deanery of Christ’s Church,
the provostship of Trinity College, Dublin, the deanery of St. Patrick’s, and
two bishoprics. He believed he could do God greater service in private than in
public station.”*
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 2 (
Although More speaks only of martyrs in the extract below, he,
like the majority of early pre-millennialists, also included confessors
(i.e. any Christian who faithfully lives for Christ)
in the First Resurrection.
More: “But the
rest of the dead ... lived not again, much less were thus revivisicated as the Martyrs were, till the thousand years were
finished. ... And whosoever was not found written in the Book of
Life, that is in the Book of Life of the Lamb ... which implies, that
those which were found in that Book of Life, were adjudged to the enjoyment of
Eternal Life.”*
* Henry
More, The Revelation Of
Johann H. Alsted (1568-1638):
“John H. Alsted ... of
* Jesse
Forest Silver, The Lord’s Return (Fleming
H. Revell, 1914), 187.
- The Lord’s Return
“Alsted, whose book, ‘De mille annis Apocalypt’ was published before any of Mede’s
works appeared, restricted the millennial resurrection to the
martyrs. ...”*
* David
Brown, Christ’s Second Coming (1876).
- Christ’s second Coming
[Page 372]
Alsted: “This
chapter (Revelation 20) discourseth of the singular happiness of the Church, both
under its warfare and Triumph. The
singular happiness of the Church during its warfare, or being militant, is set
down in three respects.
1. In its security from the hostile incursions of
the wicked for a 1000 years.
2. In the resurrection of the martyrs before the
general resurrection.
3. In the wonderful
deliverance of the godly, from the last persecution of the wicked, which shall
happen after those thousand years. … The third period of the Church of the New
Testament, is from the beginning of the thousand years, to the end
thereof. And it shall contain, as well
the martyrs that shall then rise, as the nations not yet converted, and the
Jews; and it shall be free from persecutions. ... Of the Resurrection
of the Martyrs, and of their reign here upon Earth. ... Therefore for the space of those whole 1000
years the Church shall enjoy outward peace, the Martyrs being
raised from the dead, and the nations, together with the Jews, being
converted to the faith of Christ ... Here then is described the singular reward, which the martyrs have received for their
sufferings, and extraordinary performances. ... But ‘the rest of the dead’. ... as well the
godly, as the ungodly, ‘lived not again,’ that is, were not made partakers of that happiness and
prerogative, whereby a number of some of the faithful shall rise before
the universal and last resurrection, and shall reign with Christ here upon
earth. ... In which the bodies of the
martyrs shall rise, in the beginning of those thousand
years. We must not therefore understand in this place a spiritual resurrection,
by which we are said to rise out of that sleep, and death of sin: for that resurrection is common unto all
good men, and [supposedly]
happeneth daily. ... ‘And the dead were judged,’ (Revelation 20: 12-15) a definitive sentence
passing upon all; acquitting some, and condemning others.”*
* J H. Alsted, The
Joseph Mede (1586-1638):
“Joseph Mede, of
* Jesse
Forest Silver, The Lord’s Return (Fleming
H. Revell, 1914), 188.
- The Lord’s Return
“Pre-millennialism rose to much eminence in this [17th]
century. First and highest on the list
stands the illustrious Mede, whom Rev. David Brown, of
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church (H.L. Hastings, 1855), 166-167,172.
- The Voice of the Church
“Probably no work on the Apocalypse by
an English author from the time of the Reformation down to the beginning of the
19th century, and even later, has exercised as much influence as this profound
interpretation.”*
* Wilbur M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For The Study Of
Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 27.
- Wilbur M. Smith
“Joseph Mede (1586-1638) was the
father of English pre-millennialism. ... The publication of Key to the Revelation in English in 1643
took
* Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, general editor (Kregel, 1996), 250-251.
- Dictionary of Premillennialism
“He was a true Millenarian of the
primitive stamp; and his interpretations of the Scriptures relating to this
subject have never been surpassed for clearness, consistency, and primitive
simplicity.”*
* Daniel Dana Buck (1814-1895), Avenging The Elect: (South-Western Publishing House, 1858).
- Daniel D. Buck
“Be this as it may, the man who may
be called the father of the modem form of pre-millennialism, and whose minute
study of this particular prophecy entitles him surely to be heard as to the parties intended in the prediction – the [Page 374] subjects of the millennial
resurrection - Joseph Mede says: ‘The rising of the martyrs is that which is called the first
resurrection, being as it seems, a prerogative to their sufferings above the
rest of the dead.’ …”*
* David Brown, Christ’s Second Coming (1876), 223.
- David Brown
Mede: “The Rising
of the Martyrs is that which is called the
First Resurrection, being, as
it seems, a prerogative to their sufferings above the
rest of the Dead; who as they suffered with Christ in the
time of his patience, so should they be glorified with him in the Reign of his
Victory before
the Universal
Resurrection of all.
... The Second Resurrection to
be after the End of the 1000 years, Justin Martyr, by way of distinction, calleth ... the Eternal and Universal
resurrection of all together; namely,
in respect of the former which was Particular, and but of some. And that it is common both to the Godly and to the Wicked, and not the Wicked
only, may appear, in that there are two Books opened for the Dead, (ver.
12) whereof one is the Book of Life; which argues two sorts of Dead to be judged.”*
* The Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
“... this having part in Resurrection
prima (First resurrection) was not to be common to all, but to be a privilege
of some, namely, of Martyrs, and Confessors equipollent to them, if God so would accept
them. Moreover, the belief of this Prerogative of Martyrs in
Resurrectione prima was that which made the Christians of those times so
joyously desirous of Martyrdom. These
things will perhaps seem strange, but they will be found true, if duly
examined. ... Yet thus much I conceive the Text seem to imply, That these
saints of the First resurrection should reign here on earth in
the New Jerusalem in a state of beatitude and glory, partaking of Divine
presence and vision of Christ their King; as it were in an Heaven
upon earth. ...”*
* The Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
“This Dogma of the 1000 years regnum was the general opinion of all orthodox Christians in the age
immediately following the Apostles, if Justin Martyr say true; and none known
to deny it but hereticks, which denied the resurrection, and held
that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was not the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”*
* The Works Of The Pious
And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
[Page 375]
“ ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.’ [Revelation
3:19] ... Certain therefore it was that they
should feel the scourge of God, unless they should rouse themselves out of their
lazy devotions, out of the hateful and dangerous temper of lukewarmness, unless they should blow up the fire of
zeal, to love and worship God with all earnestness and fervency. ... So that
meaning is; those whom I love, if after I have long reproved them and convinced
them of sin, by my Word and ministers, all be but in vain, then I use to
chastise them with my rod, to afflict them with some scourge of my discipline.
... His Word is always the harbinger of His sword: He rebukes and then
chastens. ... Nay, when other warnings have been fruitless, and God’s
chastisements and judgments near, the very heavens themselves shall by comets
and other signs give warning of their approach, if at length by our humiliation
we would stop them even at the door. ... it should behove us not lightly
to pass by His warnings. ... Repentance is the means to avoid and
prevent God’s judgments. ... And so if
* The Works Of The Pious And
Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
James Usher (1580-1656):
“James Usher, D.D., Archbishop of
Armagh, Ireland, was born ... at
* D.T.
Taylor, The Voice Of The Church, 173-174.
- Voice of the Church
“...the learned and famous Irish
chronologist, turned from Augustine’s spiritual theory as a result of close
study, and became a pre-millenarian.”*
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return, 183.
- The Lord’s Return
[Page 376]
Usher: “The eyes of
God, angels and men, are upon us, and great is the account we must make to our
Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Supreme head of his Church, and will at length reward
or punish his servants in this ministry of his Gospel, as he shall find them
faithful or negligent.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Dec.
15th, 1925).
Usher said he “hoped” to meet
his friend in the First Resurrection. It
appears that from his contact with Joseph Mede he came to believe, not only in
pre-millennialism, but also in the view that the millennium is
a reward for faithful service. Usher
desired to be “accounted worthy” by the Lord to
be raised to reign:
“… Usher at first appears to have
clung to millennial views of the middle ages; but subsequently, as it would
seem, was converted to the primitive millennial faith by the writings and
personal influence of Mr. Mede.”*
* Daniel
Dana Buck (1814-1895), Avenging The
Elect: (South-Western Publishing House, 1858), 73.
- Daniel Dana Buck
William Twiss (1575-1649):
“The Westminster Assembly, convened
by Parliament in 1643, and composed of 151 learned and godly men, was directed
to frame the doctrines of the Church of England. Premillennial faith was found to be very
strong. Robert Baillie, president of the
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church, 188-189.
- The Lord’s Return
Twiss: “As for the
black time to be expected; if so, it seems to be wondrous great, if not greater
than all that went before ... yet God grant we may be of the
number of those that suffer, that within three days and a half we may be raised and reign with Christ at his Coming.” *
* The Works Of The Pious And
Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 765.
[Page 377]
John Piscator (1546-1625):
“John Piscator ... of
* Jesse
Forest Silver, The Lord’s Return, 173.
- The Lord’s Return
“As concerning the persons to be
raised, which are expressed in Rev. 20: 4 to be only Martyrs, and Piscator
will have it proceed only of such. ... This may be helped two
ways. First by such an interpretation
of Martyrdom as may be extended much further then to the suffering of death for
the testimony of Christ.
...”*
* The
Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Leamed Joseph Mede, 773.
Tertullian (160-240):
This section begins with Tertullian. However, many other early Christian writings
could be cited to reveal that the early Christians were premillennial. They also believed that having a part in the
first resurrection and entering into the millennial kingdom are rewards for
obedience and faithfulness. The
following examples and quotes will reveal the truth of this last statement.
Tertullian, like so many other accountability preachers
mentioned in this book (i.e. D.M. Panton, W.P. Clark, Philip Mauro, etc.), was
trained in law. His clear defence of
pre-millennialism and his strong preaching against the depraved theater, etc.
cause him to stand out as an early light.
Fierce persecution raged in his day.
“He was born at
* D.T.
Taylor, The Voice Of The Church, 67.
- The Voice of the Church
[Page 378]
Tertullian: “We do confess
that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth. ... After its thousand years
are over, within which period is completed the resurrection of the saints,
who rise, sooner or later according to their deserts, there will
ensue the destruction of the world. ...”*
* Tertullian,
Anti-Marcion, (Albany, OR: Ages
Digital Library Collections, 1997), “The Ante-Nicene
Fathers”, Vol.3; Ch.24, 620.
Tertullian: “...lest this
Judge deliver you over to the angel who is to execute the sentence, and he
commit you to the prison of hell, out of which there
will be no dismissal until the smallest even of your
delinquencies be paid off in
the period before the resurrection. What
can be a more fitting sense than this?
What a truer interpretation?”*
* Tertullian, A Treatise
on the Soul, 35 ANF, III:216.
Tertullian: “For no one, on becoming absent from the body, is at once a dweller in the
presence of the Lord, except by the prerogative of martyrdom, he gains a
lodging in Paradise, not in the lower regions.”*
* Tertullian, On the
Resurrection of the Flesh.
Barnabus (A.D. 100):
“Let us be spiritually-minded: let us be a perfect temple to God. As much as in us lies, let us meditate upon the
fear of God, and let us keep His commandments, that we may rejoice in His
ordinances. The Lord will judge the
world without respect of persons. Each
will receive as he has done: if he is righteous, his
righteousness will precede him; if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is
before him. Take heed, lest
resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall
asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. And all the more attend to this, my brethren,
when ye reflect and behold, that after so great signs and wonders were wrought
in
*Coxe,
A. Clevend, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (
Polycarp (69-155):
“Bp. of Srnyma, one of the most
prominent figures in the church of the 2nd cent. ... He claimed to have known
at least one apostle and must in early life have met many who could tell things
they had heard from actual disciples of our Lord ... Polycarp crowned his other
services to the church by a glorious martyrdom ... Irenaeus states (III. iii.4)
that Polycarp had been instructed by apostles and conversed with many who had
seen Christ ... doubtless Tertullian (de Praescrip.32)
is right in understanding this to mean that he had been so established by St.
John. ...”*
* A Dictionary Of
Christian Biography. Edited by Henry Wace and William C. Piercy (Peabody.
- A Dictionary Of Christian Biography
Polycarp: “In whom,
though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory; into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that ‘by grace ye are saved,
not of works,’ but
by the will of God through Jesus Christ. ... But He who raised Him
up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His
commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all
unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, falsewitness; ‘not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,’ or blow for blow,
or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be
forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye
mete, it shall be measured to you again’; and
once more, ‘Blessed are the poor, and those that
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.’... Knowing, then, that ‘God is not mocked,’ we ought to walk
worthy of His commandment and glory. ... If we please Him in this present
world, we shall receive also the [Page 380] future world, according as He has promised to us that He will
raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, ‘we shall
also reign together with Him,’... In like
manner, let the young men also be blameless in all things, being especially
careful to preserve purity, and keeping themselves in, as with a bridle, from
every kind of evil. For it is well that
they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since ‘every lust
warreth against the spirit;’ and ‘neither fornicators,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the
* The Epistle Of
Polycarp To The Philippians (Albany, OR: Ages Digital Library Collections, 1997), “The Ante-Nicene Fathers.”
Testimonies Concerning the Early
Martyrs
“Mr. Faber on this point observes, that ‘The doctrine of the literal resurrection
of the martyrs prior to that epoch certainly prevailed to a considerable extent
throughout the early church, and often animated the primitive believers to seal
the truth with their blood ... - And on the same subject the learned Dodwell writes: - ‘The primitive
Christians believed that the first resurrection of their bodies would take
place in the kingdom of the millennium; and as they considered that
resurrection to be peculiar to the just, so they conceived the martyrs would
enjoy the principle share of its glory.
Since these opinions were entertained, it is impossible to say how many
were inflamed with the desire of martyrdom.
From this it is demonstrably evident that the martyrs’ hope
lay in the First Resurrection of Rev. 20: 6. Ignatius
craving death that he might ‘rise free’ ... Cyprian attesting that those who suffered expected a prior
resurrection and a more prominent place in God’s kingdom,’ and to crown all,
Tertullian affirming that the martyrs’ express prayer was that he ‘Might have a
part in the First Resurrection.’”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice Of The Church, 64-65.
- The Voice Of The Church
“Up to the third century the
persecuted Christians seem to have taken this as predicting a literal resurrection
of the martyrs to reign with Christ. I
have said that the early Christians who
took the prediction literally understood it of [Page 381] the martyrs exclusively; insomuch that it begot a fanatical
desire of martyrdom, that they ‘might have part in the first resurrection.’... Nor can I see how
multitudes could have been inflamed, as they are said to have been, with a
passion for martyrdom, in hope of thereby having ‘part in the first
resurrection,’ if that resurrection was believed to be the portion, not of
martyrs only, but of all believers.,”*
* David
Brown, The Structure of the Apocalypse (1891).
- David Brown (1803-1897)
“We come now to Tertullian, the
eminent contemporary of Irenaeus, a man of eloquence and learning, who with all
his faults, had many excellencies. His
testimony is equally conspicuous and positive.
‘We also confess,’ says he, ‘that a kingdom is promised us on earth,
after the resurrection; for it will be for a thousand years in a city of divine
workmanship. ... This is the city provided of God to receive the saints in the
resurrection, wherein to refresh themselves with all spiritual good things, in
recompense of those which in the world we have despised and lost.’ He
also testifies that it was the custom of his times for Christians to pray that
they might have part in the first resurrection; thus showing that this was the
general and firm belief of his time.”*
* Joseph
Seiss, The Last Times, 241-242.
- Joseph Seiss
“Moreover, the belief of the
Prerogative of Martyrs in resurrection prima was that which made the Christians
of those times so joyously desirous of Martyrdom.”*
* The Works Of The Pious
And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 771.
- Joseph Mede
“In short the doctrine of the millennium
was generally believed in the three first and purest ages; and this belief, as
the learned Dodwell hath justly observed, was one principal cause of the
fortitude of the primitive Christians; they even coveted martyrdom, in hopes of being partakers of the privileges and glories of the
martyrs in the first resurrection.
Afterwards this doctrine grew into disrepute for various reasons.
... Besides wherever the influence and authority of the church of Rome have
extended, she hath endeavoured by all means to discredit this doctrine. ... No
wonder therefore that this doctrine lay depressed for many ages, but it sprang up again at the Reformation, and will flourish
together with the study of Revelation.”*
* Thomas
Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol.
III (
[Page 382]
- Thomas Newton
“On the persons who shall partake of the first resurrection, I confess I find it difficult
to agree with the modern expectants of the Lord’s advent. Their opinion, generally speaking, is that
all the redeemed from the beginning shall then rise to reign with Christ; while
I feel constrained rather to acquiesce in an opinion known to have been
generally held in the early ages of Christianity, that ‘the first resurrection’
is not general, even as it respects the saved in this dispensation, but limited
to certain from among it, possessing a qualification to be noticed
presently...”*
* William
Burgh, Lectures On The Second Advent Of
Our Lord Jesus Christ (
- William
Burgh
“We have spoken of Christ’s doctrine of a future life, and are now thinking
of its threatening aspect. ... I have said, the terms in which this doctrine is
conveyed must be accepted in their obvious and popular sense. But yet, when they are taken in this sense,
they carry a meaning from the pressure of which we are driven to seek relief -
if it may be had, in criticism; or if not so, in some mitigating hypothesis.
... Yet there is a movement forward ... let the time come when all such
sinister influences shall be discarded with the contempt they deserve. ... That
dozen men, ignobly born as they were, which followed Jesus in his circuits
through Galilee and Judea, fondly dreamed of palaces and princedoms which were
soon to be theirs now, when in truth, they were about to be sent forth on a
course of suffering intensely severe. It was needful to arm them for this unlooked for conflict; and this
requisite preparation, as it included powerful motives of the happiest
complexion, so did embrace a dread so deep that it should be proof against the
extremest wrench of bodily anguish.
On the one hand, this Teacher of men said, ‘Fear not, little flock, for
it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’; but on the other he
said, even to these his ‘friends’ – ‘Fear not them which can kill the body, and after that have
nothing more that they can do. But I
forewarn you whom you shall fear, Fear him, which after he bath
killed bath power to cast into Gehenna.’ ... Now we of this age may extenuate these phrases;
or, if we please, let us cast away the whole doctrine as intolerable and
incredible. Let us do so: but it is a matter of history, out of question, that the apostolic
church, and the church of later times, took it, word for word, in the whole of
its apparent value ... it is certain that the language of Christ, in regard to
the future life, was constantly on the lips of martyrs throughout the suffering
centuries.”*
* Isaac
Taylor, Restoration Of Belief (
[Page 383]
- Isaac
Taylor Jr. (1787-1865)
CONCLUSION
It is probable that the teachings presented in this book are new
to the reader. Joseph Butler (1692-1752)
once wrote:
“...it is owned the whole scheme of
Scripture is not yet understood ... Nor is it at all incredible, that a book,
which has been so long in the possession of mankind, should contain many truths
as yet undiscovered.”*
* Joseph
Butler, The Analogy Of Religion, Book
II, Ch. III (New York: Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., 1875), 168.
Similarly, John B. Heard (b. 1828)
once observed:
“Thus, the way of discovery still
lies open to us in Divine things if we have only the moral courage to go to the
fountain-head of truth, instead of filling our vessel out of this or that
doctor’s compendium of truth ... The majority of mankind think that they think;
they acquiesce, and suppose that they argue; they flatter themselves that they
are holding their own, when they have actually grown up to manhood, with
scarcely a conviction that they can call their own. So it always was, and so it will ever be. The Divine things of the Word are no
exception, but rather an instance. The
more difficult the subject, and the more serious the consequences of error, the
more averse the majority are to what is called ‘unsettling men’s minds’...”*
* Rev. J. B. Heard, Tripartite
Nature of Man, 358.
There was a time when the majority of Protestants resisted the
revival of pre-millennialism as “Jewish fables.”
In a later age, the majority of Protestants likewise resisted the revival of
futurism as “Jesuit propaganda.” Yet, many today rightly and openly embrace
both doctrines as crucial aspects of fundamental truth. It could therefore be argued that the
teachings presented in this book are simply the next step in eschatology, and that they will
obviously be resisted with as much zeal and stubborn pride as the earlier
attempts to revive other aspects of eschatology.
[Page 384]
However, as these last few chapters have documented, the
author cannot claim to be the first to have discovered and organized these
accountability truths. A remnant in each
age finds them (often to the great displeasure of the majority), and then they
are quickly buried again. S.S. Craig, in 1916, entitled a chapter in his book
on these truths, “A Revolution In Eschatology.”* A revolution? Indeed, as long as there is
a Devil roaming the earth, the warnings in Scripture to the saints will need to
be continually revived. He will always seek to rid the earth of every
trace of holy hope and fear.
* S.S Craig, The Dualism Of Eternal Life, chapter 4.
*
* *
[Page 385]
Chapter 29
Believers Must Confess
“To share the infamy that falls on
Scripture (any subject) is an infinite honour, for it is ‘walking with God.’”
- David M. Panton (1944)
John 12: 42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers also
many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him,
lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
43 For they loved the
praise of men more than the praise of God.
Believing the Gospel brings salvation in eternity. Outward confession brings millennial
salvation at the judgment seat. Readers
who have been persuaded of these accountability truths (whether partially or
fully) are bound by these very truths to confess them openly. Shall we be silent in this age of unbelief and
rebellion? These truths, if believed, have the power to make saints think twice
about flirting with sin and worldliness. They have the [Page 386] power to keep Christian families together.
History has revealed that these truths have the power to encourage great
sacrifices for God and His truth. They
have the power to move men and women to give up their lives to become
missionaries in foreign lands. Shall we
be silent?
We must fear God more than man. This is the very foundation of accountability
truth:
Matthew
10:26 Fear them not
therefore: for there is nothing
covered, that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in
darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye upon
the housetops.
28 And fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell.
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my
Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is
in heaven.
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I
came not to send peace, but a sword.
A great majority of the Lord’s words consist of warnings to
the children of God! The main reason
these truths are not openly confessed by more Christian leaders lies in the
fact that to preach them publicly on the “housetops”
may (and probably will) bring a loss of esteem, money, honour or “opportunity” in the Christian community! This is plainly the “fear
of man”! Some Christian leaders
have “entangled” themselves to such a degree
that they have too much to lose. Yet, if
the teaching of this book is even partly true, it then follows that there is no
Christian leader that can afford to be silent once he is exposed to it:
Luke 12:
47 And that servant,
which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his
will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit
things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever
much is given, of him shall [Page 387] be much required: and to whom men have committed much,
of him they will ask the more.
49 I am come to send fire on the earth;
and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Light ignored becomes lightning. Please deeply consider the following words of
our Lord in relation to the truths of this book:
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever
shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall
a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore shall
be ashamed of me AND OF MY WORDS in this adulterous and sinful generation; of
him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the glory of his
Father with the holy angels.
Luke 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole
world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of MY WORDS, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy
angels.
Again, large portions of the Lord’s words are warnings to the
saints. It therefore follows that to the
degree we preach these words of the Lord will be the degree we are confessed by
Christ at His coming. To the degree we
ignore these warnings, or diminish their impact (after being exposed to the
truth), will be the degree we are denied at the Lord’s coming. May the reader be filled with the Spirit unto
great boldness, and for the love of God and man, openly teach and preach these
truths to this generation!
-------
[Photograph above:
“Christians must follow the Word of God, not the popular,
religious majority. In fact, it has been
proven over and over again that the majority (especially in the age of
religious corruption) is usually wrong.
The Bible speaks about the religious majority in the last days,
and it is not a pretty sight.” 1 Tim. 4: 1-4.
-------
[Page 289]
Chapter 26
Accountability Truth in History (Part
1)
“But there are those who tell us, and their number is not few, that only
the strong spiritual members of the church are designated in Scripture as
overcomers. …”*
* H.A. Ironside, Lectures On
The Revelation (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1987), 209.
- H.A. Ironside (1876-1951)
“Commentators generally, if not universally, limit this privilege to the martyrs only;
and think that these only shall rise from the dead at the commencement of the
millennium...” - The Christian
Messenger (Oct. 1833)
Hebrews
12: 1 Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay
aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, [Page 290] and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us.
A “great cloud of witnesses”
throughout Christian history lends further support to the accountability truths
taught in this book. The numerous quotes
from these various Christians will provide great encouragement for those who
have accepted these truths. Many of the Christian leaders
that taught the possibility of temporary
punishment in the underworld for carnal Christians were the leaders in
prophetic study in their days.
They influenced many. The
Christian leaders that taught millennial exclusion but were vague in regard to
exactly where the banished
believers spent the millennium (whether in Heaven, the grave or the underworld)
were even more numerous. These final
chapters will explore all of these writers and will document that the history
of millennial exclusion (in whatever form or degree) is as fruitful as the history of pre-millennialism
itself.
In the first half of the twentieth century, the truth of
millennial exclusion and temporary hell for unfaithful believers was gaining
ground. In response, Bible teachers such
as Russell Elliott wrote booklets in
an attempt to combat it. The words of
Elliott (in Review Of Mr. D.M. Panton’s
The Judgment Seat of Christ) testify
to the prominence of accountability truth in his days:
“This review of teaching, which is being persistently pressed upon the attention of the Christian
public, is earnestly commended to the consideration of any who may
have come under its influence. ... even true believers, according to this system, may ‘return temporarily to corruption.’ ... Some have to endure
for a time even the torments of hell.
This is predicated of true children of God, washed in the blood of
Christ.”
Objectors such as Elliott (like A.O. Molesworth in Exclusion
From The Kingdom), believed the
warnings apply to false professors.
Therefore, according to their view, Christians must fear an eternal hell for failure
in the Christian life! Therefore, such
objectors strain at a gnat and swallow a camel (Matthew
23: 24). [Page 291] Invective often vexes the truth.
The Augsburg Confession (1530) anathematized pre-millennialism. The Second Helvetic Confession (1566)
condemned the doctrine as “Jewish dreams.” History certainly teaches us
that Christendom does not always welcome a revival of Biblical truth,
especially in the area of eschatology. We
should, therefore, not expect to find many in history teaching that disobedient
Christians may be temporarily punished in the underworld and/or excluded from the millennium. However, the number that we do
find is quite amazing!
When viewing the teachings on the judgment seat of many great
Christians of earlier ages, one is driven to conclude that
there has been a great cover-up! If there has not been a conspiracy among many modem Christian
leaders to hide the teachings of these earlier saints, there has certainly been
a Satanic conspiracy to hide them. The Devil from the
beginning has tried to hide God’s warnings from His people (Genesis 3; 4).
His campaign has continued in modem times. This is no doubt the reason why many modem
Christian teachers “garnish the sepulchres” of the righteous saints of earlier days, while rejecting and
obscuring their Biblical teachings concerning the millennial kingdom
(Matthew
23: 29-31).
Many in this modem age would do well to study the older
writers a bit more closely. Many worthy saints in past ages have proclaimed loudly and clearly (on
the basis of Scripture) that all Christians do not enter the millennium. Yet, their message has been forgotten or
overlooked by the majority in this lukewarm age:
“The most valuable truth has been
attained by increased investigation in the track of the older writers, with the
further light that history has afforded. ... the early writers of the Christian
Church assisted Mede, the father of modern interpretation. More, Cressener, Sir Isaac Newton, Bishop Newton ...
etc. all followed. ... Some modern writers have too
much, however, disregarded [Page 292] what previous writers have said, and others have set
them wholly aside, as groundless interpretations.”*
* Edward Bickersteth, Practical
Guide to the Prophecies (1852), 344.
- Edward Bickersteth (1786-1850)
These final chapters will not disregard such pioneering men as
Joseph Mede, Thomas Newton and many others of previous generations who were all advocates
of selective-resurrection. The evidence presented here will force those who wish to object to
selective-resurrection and kingdom-exclusion to object on other grounds besides
the alleged newness of the doctrines. These ideas might indeed
be new to the modem reader, but they are certainly not new to Christianity
itself. Many of these bold believers in
a conditional millennium were the pillars of
Bible-believing, fundamental Christianity.
They were certainly the leaders in prophetic study.
Many great doctrines that were brought to a fullness of light by their
labours are still found
on the lips of conservative, fundamental preachers around the world.
Selective-Resurrection at the
Forefront of Premillennialism
Such excellent works as The
Theocratic Kingdom by G.N.H. Peters
(1825-1909), Last Times by Joseph Seiss (1823-1904) and The
Voice Of The Church by Daniel T.
Taylor (1823-1899) thoroughly
document the prevalence of pre-millennialism throughout the history of
Christianity. These works (and others
like them) prove that pre-millennialism shows up wherever there is light and
that it has been an established prophetic view throughout the ages. The doctrine of millennial exclusion for
disobedient believers rests largely upon this foundation of pre-millennialism
(i.e. literal interpretation).
[Page 293]
To trace the history of pre-millennialism (in general) is to
trace the history of selective-resurrection (i.e. kingdom exclusion). Elias
Smith (1769-1846) has noted:
“Some who allow that there will be a
resurrection of the saints at the coming of Christ, deny the resurrection to
any except such as were put to death for Christ’s sake. …*
* Elias
Smith, Sermons Containing An Illustration
Of The Prophecies ... (1808), 90.
It is immediately seen that selective-resurrection has been
taught before. However, notice that E.R. Craven (the American editor of Lange’s Revelation Commentary) divided premillennial thought equally
into three views concerning
those subjects who will “have part” in the First Resurrection:
“ ... some holding they are all
saints; others that they are only the martyrs; others still, that
they are the specially faithful, including the martyrs.”*
* John
Peter Lange, Lange’s Revelation
Commentary (
Moses Lard, writing in 1865 states:
“The sleeping saints will all be
raised, of the truth of this all who have written and spoken on the millennium
seem not satisfied, for some have taken the
ground that only a part of the just will be raised.”*
* Moses E. Lard, Lard’s
Quarterly, 2/1 (Oct. 1865).
The evidence is, therefore, clear that some earlier saints
have taught selective-resurrection in regard to the millennial kingdom. To teach selective-resurrection, is to teach
kingdom exclusion. The doctrine is
therefore not new. Yet, “some” (above) is not exactly the right word for the
vast popularity of the doctrine throughout history. George
N.H. Peters appears to have been an [Page 294] advocate of varying degrees of accountability
teaching.* He was much closer to the
truth when he stated:
* In The Theocratic Kingdom (Grand Rapids:
Kregel), vol. 2, 290, G.N.H. Peters
refers to the Great White Throne after the millennium and states: “For while translations, glorifications, etc. may result
during the Millennial age as a reward for holiness, yet the mention of the book
of life and the reference to all the dead then existing may imply that others,
not accounted worthy of special honour and exaltation - although ultimately to
be saved - are included in those dead.”
Peters also believed in a partial rapture, holding the pre-trib escape
as a reward for “overcomers.” He believed the Foolish Virgins were true
Christians (vol. 3, p.306).
Nevertheless, in other places he appears to reject the doctrine of
selective-resurrection.
“Burgh, and many others, insist
that martyrs only are designated.”*
* G.N.H. Peters, The
Theocratic Kingdom, vol. 2 (
It should be noted here that William Burgh (1800-1866) included
any Christian who is
resisting sin and walking in holiness under the term “martyr.” Therefore, Peters actually testifies to the
fact that “many” Christians throughout history
have believed that only faithful Christians will enter the millennial kingdom. Burgh writes:
“I would only add that in using the
word martyrs in the preceding remarks, as a
designation of those who shall reign with Christ, I would not be understood to confine
it to its received sense: because it is evident that all ‘sufferers,’ as well
as those who have actually lost their lives for Christ, are included in this
blessed hope.”*
* William
Burgh, Lectures On The Second Advent Of
Our Lord Jesus Christ (
It is true that among the multitudes of pre-millennial
advocates of selective-resurrection there were a few who did indeed limit the
First Resurrection to physical martyrs alone (e.g. L.G.
Schmucker). Peter Jurieu (1637-1713),
a French Protestant minister (called the “Goliath of
Protestantism”) writes:
[Page 295]
“...for this first Resurrection will
be but of a very few, viz. of the Ancient Martyrs. The remainder of the faithful shall not be
raised, till the end of the world.”*
* Peter
Jurieu, The Accomplishment Of Scripture
Prophecies (
On the other hand, the vast majority of pre-millennialists
advocating selective-resurrection use the word “martyr”
in a general sense to refer to all “overcomers.” This broad use of the word “martyr” slipped past many prophetic students and
perhaps tempted them to discard the motivating truth of kingdom exclusion
altogether. Since the opportunity for
literal, physical martyrdom is largely out of our hands, it would indeed be
discouraging to read passage after passage of Scripture concerning the
millennial kingdom and believe that we must be physically slain for Christ to
ever obtain entrance into that blessed period.
However, such an objection is no ground for rejecting the
selective-resurrection doctrine since the majority of its early advocates
simply used the term “martyr” for convenience
sake as a general designation for all “overcomers.”
F. W. Grant (1834-1913) in attempting to refute
these “many” advocates of
selective-resurrection, nevertheless, goes one step further than “many” and confesses that it was the belief of
practically “all” of the pre-millennialists a
century before him:
“The recognition of the first company
here [i.e. Revelation 20: 4] also removes another difficulty which troubled those with whom the ‘blessed hope’ revived at the end of the last
century - that the first resurrection consisted wholly of martyrs.”*
* F.W.
Grant, The Numerical Bible, Hebrews To
Revelation (Neptune, New Jersey: Loizeaux Brothers, 1978), 480.
Multitudes of early pre-millennialists held to the doctrine of
selective-resurrection. In studying the voluminous works of
these early pre-millennialists for oneself (many of their books are the [Page 296] size of a standard coffee-table), one finds that they were not strangers
to the arguments so confidently put forth by later generations in an attempt to
counter the doctrine of kingdom exclusion.
Perhaps F.W. Grant underestimated the interpretive skill of his
forefathers. Revelation
chapter 20 was not
even the sole ground for embracing selective-resurrection in those early days.
For example, Christ’s parable of the “Ten Virgins” in Matthew 25 (like so many of His other parables) spawned multitudes
of accountability teachers. In his own
comments upon the parable, Joseph Seiss
(1823-1904) quotes Olshausen as
stating:
“It is clear that the words ‘I know you not,’ cannot
denote eternal condemnation. The foolish
virgins are only excluded from the Marriage of the Lamb but are not thereby
deprived of eternal happiness. …”*
* Joseph Augustus Seiss, The
Parable Of The Ten Virgins (1862).
Seiss agrees with this view.
George N.H. Peters attests to
the fact that this was also the view of Poiret,
Von Meyer, Rudolph, Stier, Bayford, and others.* Seiss continues:
* George
N.H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom, vol.
3 (
“Stier also agrees that ‘a further
hope as regards the last end must remain.’
Dean Alford also concurs in the same. So too, the Theological And Literary Journal, in an article on this parable. ...The same view is also maintained by Poiret ... Von Mayer ...
and others.”*
* Joseph Augustus Seiss, The
Parable Of The Ten Virgins (1862).
Again, “and others”
is an understatement. The view appears to have almost dominated
premillennial thought by the middle of the nineteenth century.
Many early scholars held to the belief that the Foolish Virgins are
ultimately saved, though excluded temporarily from
either the pre-trib rapture or the millennium, or both. Early influential writers such as William Cuninghame (1775-1849) and some
of the other
* Michael
Baxter, Forty Coming Wonders (London:
Christian Herald Office, 1887), 64, 149.
“Fr. von Meyer, and Millenarian commentators, take the same view, and generally assume that the five foolish virgins will be excluded only from the blessedness of the first resurrection
and the thousand years reign of Christ on earth, but not from final salvation.
... It may be urged in favour of this view that the virgins are not divided
into good and bad, but into wise and foolish virgins, and that the latter are
not represented as unbelievers.”*
* Lange’s Commentary On The Holy Scriptures, Matthew, translated from the German and edited
with additions by Philip Schaff (Zondervan), 439.
Schaff lists the view as the “general”
teaching among early pre-millennialists.
There were a few early, Calvinist writers such as John Gill (1697-1771)
that taught that all Christians are
raised to enter the millennial kingdom.
Nevertheless, millennial exclusion was so general in early
pre-millennialism that it is listed as the only interpretation under the heading of “Millennialism” in many Bible encyclopedias and
dictionaries. For example, the Dictionary Of Doctrinal And Historical
Theology from 1892 states:
“The Millenaries, or Chiliasts,
accepting this prophecy [Rev. 20] literally, hold that ... there
will be a first resurrection of martyrs, and of those worthy to share the
martyr’s crown; that for the thousand years these will live [Page 298] and reign with Christ on earth ... that after this will be the
general resurrection.”*
* Dictionary Of Doctrinal And Historical Theology, edited by John Henry Blunt (London:
Longmans, Green, And Co., 1892).
The above dictionary is far from being opposed to
pre-millennialism or out of touch with the subject; in fact, it actually
defends the glorious doctrine from dishonest attacks. Likewise, another Bible dictionary (
“A name suggested by the period of
1000 years described in Rev. 20 ... during which Satan is
confined in the abyss, and the martyr saints reign
with Christ.”*
* A Dictionary of the Bible, edited
by James Hastings (1911).
David Brown (1803-1897), whom pre-millennialist E. R. Craven calls
one of the ablest opponents of pre-millennialism to have ever been published,
is quick to point out the fact that earlier premillennial prophecy experts did
not believe every Christian
entered the millennium. He also reminds
his readers that of those pre-millennialists who do believe all Christians
enter the kingdom, that the most distinguished are nevertheless themselves
doubtful about the certainty of it:
“But do all those who take the
prophecy [in Revelation 20] literally interpret it alike?
By no means. ... Bishop Newton
calls this first resurrection ‘a peculiar prerogative of the martyrs
and confessors above the rest
of mankind.’... even those who do take it
literally [the first resurrection in
Revelation 20]
are not agreed as to the parties intended by it; and of those who conceive it to embrace the
righteous at large, some - and the most distinguished - have come to that
conclusion with much hesitation, and with great diffidence as to the soundness
of that opinion.”*
* David
Brown, Christ’s Second Coming, Will It Be
Premillennial? (New York: R. Carter, 1876), 221-224, 226.
In a later book he states:
[Page 299]
“This has been the great field of
controversy between two sections of Christians from the third century to the present
day. Up to the third
century the persecuted Christians seem to have taken this [Revelation 20] as predicting a literal resurrection of the martyrs to
reign with Christ. I have said that the
early Christians who take the prediction literally understood it of the martyrs
exclusively; insomuch that it begot a fanatical desire of martyrdom, that they
‘might have part in the first resurrection.’ Even some of the modem advocates of the literal sense have
felt themselves obliged to admit that it will be that of the martyrs only. Others - feeling, no doubt, that a thousand
years’ reign with Christ of martyrs only is not likely to be the thing intended
- are fain to include such as have been virtual martyrs, such as eminent
confessors.”*
* David
Brown, The Apocalypse: Its Structure And
Primary Predictions (New York: Christian Literature Co., 1891).
James Durham (1622-1658) was a famous, Scottish Presbyterian
minister actually living in the days when the “blessed
hope” was reviving. He should
know best what pre-millennialists in his day taught since he had access to the
many published works that are now lost or difficult to find. He likewise affirms that the doctrine of
selective-resurrection dominated the pre-millennialism of his day:
“... according to the Millenaries themselves; (for then, seeing, as they say, none
arise first but martyrs …). …”*
* James
Durham, Commentary Upon The Book Of
Revelation (
Joseph Hall (1574-1656) was also an early opponent of the new
revival of pre-millennialism. He writes:
“Not that I think the opinion of our new Chiliasts [i.e. pre-millenialists] so deadly and pernicious in itself, as to make shipwreck of
their own or others faith ... for, what
prejudice is it to me, if the souls of the martyrs get the start
of me, in resuming their bodies a thousand years before me, if in the meanwhile, my soul be at
rest in a paradise of bliss?”*
* The Revelation Unrevealed concerning
the Thousand-Yeares Reigne of the Saints with Christ upon Earth (1650), as quoted in Charles Spurgeon,
The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1871), 271, 279.
[Page 300]
Later pre-millennialists would continue to build upon the foundation
of selective-resurrection. They would prove from the Bible that those excluded from the millennium
would receive temporary punishment in the underworld (i.e. Hell, Hades,
Gehenna). Bishop Hall might have cared more about
missing the millennium if he would have understood this truth!
The main point of this chapter is already proven. Accountability truth in regard to the
millennial kingdom is not new; seeds of selective-resurrection
are found wherever there are revivals of prophetic light, from the earliest
ages of Christendom to the revivals following the Reformation. The truth continued to stay within the
forefront of pre-millennialism until the second half of the twentieth century
when modernism and liberalism gained greater foot-holds, thereby attempting and
often succeeding in putting out the precious light of Bible prophecy
altogether.
Dispensational Premillennialism
Within the confines of dispensational pre-millennialism
there have been many advocates of kingdom exclusion. Many of these writers will be examined in the
next chapter. Robert Govett (1813-1901) issued his futurist commentary on the
Book of Revelation in 1843. Within a
decade, he was also combining this literalist and futurist view with the
doctrine of the pre-trib rapture (partial) at the secret coming of Christ.*
Govett is therefore one of the earliest writers to actually place in
print the combination of these views. He
was also one of the chief defenders of millennial exclusion.
* Govett’s work, The
Saints’ Rapture To The Presence of the Lord Jesus was published in 1852.
Many that held that true believers could be excluded from the
pre-trib translation, the millennium (or both) used the term [Page 301] “dispensational.” J.R.
Graves entitled one of his books on rapture exclusion, Dispensational Expositions of the Parables and Prophecies of
Christ. H.W Fry’s book, God’s Plan in
the Bible taught the danger of exclusion from both the rapture and the
millennium. It claimed to be a primer on
dispensationalism and was endorsed by Bullinger and many Darbyites. It is therefore erroneous to equate dispensationalism with only the views of Darby. He was simply
a leading figure in a broader movement.
At the time, prominent pastors such as Charles Spurgeon named Govett and Pember (both advocates of millennial exclusion) as the leaders in
the movement. James Grant (1802-1879) gives Govett the principle credit for
publicizing dispensational views. In
It is true that there have been many dispensationalists who
have not embraced selective-resurrection or chastisement at the judgment seat
(e.g. J.N. Darby,
* *
*
Chapter 28
Accountability Truth in History (Part
2)
“...it is ‘new’ only to its critics.’”* -
D.M. Panton (1870 - 1955)
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn, (August 1944), 677.
Truth can be quickly buried in one rebellious generation. This chapter will continue to prove that the
views of this book are not new. These accountability truths have
never been “popular.” Who would expect them to be? Many of the Lord’s commandments themselves
have never been popular; how much less the Scriptures that teach the dire
consequences for ignoring them? Nevertheless, many will be surprised at the
number of Christians who have stood for these truths, to one degree or another.
This list is by no means inclusive. It starts in the late twentieth century and
descends throughout history. These writers differed in some doctrinal
details. Many of these
Christians explain in [Page 304] their writings that the excluded Christians are imprisoned in the
underworld. Others did not elaborate. In regard to their specific theological views
concerning Christian accountability, they will speak for themselves in the
extracts that follow.
Only those writers that have fallen
asleep in Christ are mentioned in this list. There are certainly some preachers and writers
alive today who teach chastisement at the judgment seat, millennial exclusion,
and temporary chastisement in the underworld.
Writers, such as Gary Whipple
and Arlen Chitwood, both have books
advocating a temporary second death and millennial exclusion for carnal
Christians. Along with the men that
endorsed this book, the author has also spoken directly to some fiery,
fundamental Baptist pastors, evangelists, and missionaries,
who plainly testified that they believe carnal Christians will be temporarily
chastised in Hell during the millennium. A remnant is truly awakening to prepare God’s
people for these perilous times! The
purpose of this book is to contribute to this revival in the hopes that more
will discover the fear of the Lord and believe His warnings in their fullness.
As God once comforted Paul by sending Titus (2 Corinthians 7: 6), the testimonies of the many
believers in this chapter will refresh and console the weathered pilgrim on
that lonely, narrow road that leads to kingdom life. May the Lord raise up many who will stand in
the courageous spirit of earlier kingdom believers in these last days.
Hebrews 6: 11. And we desire that every one of you do shew the same
diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end:
12 That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit
the promises.
[Page 305]
A Sample
of Premillennialists Who Believed in Kingdom Exclusion and / or Corporal
Chastisement at the Judgment Seat of Christ
Watchman Nee (1903 - 1972):
Early Baptist and Brethren writers influenced Watchman Nee in
regard to the judgment seat of Christ.
The Lord used the truths of accountability (and Nee’s own gifts) to
prepare and encourage multitudes of Chinese Christians to withstand persecution.
“Born in
Nee visited several times
in
* Elvin
Moyer, revised and enlarged by Earle E. Cairns, The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1982), 294 - 295.
- The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church
“Among
*
Christian History Institute (
“Before his departure, he left a
piece of paper under his pillow, which had several lines of big words written
in a shaking hand. He wanted to testify to
the truth which he had even until his death, with his lifelong experience. That truth is - ‘Christ is the Son of God who
died for the redemption of sinners and resurrected after three days. This is the greatest truth in the
universe. I die because of my belief in
Christ. Watchman Nee.’ …”
* Witness
Lee, Watchman Nee: A Seer of the Divine
Revelation in the Present Age (
Nee: “...
those
Christians who faithfully have followed the Lord shall enjoy glory a thousand
years ahead of other Christians. ... The
second death is the lake of fire. Those who have no part in the first resurrection may yet be hurt by the
second death. Some Christians
will be disciplined in the future (see Matt.
18: 34, 35). He who wrongs his brother will be
punished by the Lord (1 Thess.4: 5, 6). We believers are exhorted to fear Him who has power to cast into hell
... thus implying that OVER SOME CHRISTIANS HELL STILL HAS ITS THREAT (Luke 12: 4, 5). If a branch does not abide in Christ, he, like
a branch, is liable to be cast off, withered, cast into the fire
and burned (John 15: 6). ... Will there be anyone saved at
the Great White Throne? The answer is
yes. ...
The Bible explicitly states that those who do not confess Christ before men
will not be confessed by Christ before the angels of God. This means they have no part in the
kingdom. If they too were to appear at
this juncture, they certainly should be among the saved.”*
* Watchman
Nee, Come Lord Jesus (New York: Christian
Fellowship Publishers, 1976), 212, 214-215, 221-222.
A. Edwin Wilson (1901-1986):
“A native Texan, Rev. Wilson received
his formal education at
* A.
Edwin Wilson, Selected Writings (originally
published in 1981, while the author was still living. The ... brief biography was written at that
time and appeared on the inside cover of that publication).
* A.
Edwin Wilson, Selected Writings Of A.
Edwin Wilson (Hayesville, North Carolina: Schoettle, 1996), 182, 201, 205.
Albert George Tilney (1891-1976):
Some of the works of A.G. Tilney include The Glories Of The Messiah, The Kingdom Is The Gospel, and Charles Lyell’s Monstrous Error Of
Anti-catastrophism published by the Evolution Protest Movement (founded in
1932). He was honourable secretary of
the Movement:
[Page 308]
“Albert G. Tilney, B.A. Hons. (
* A Jubilee of Witness for Creation
Against Evolution by
CSM/EPM, 1932-1982 (July 1982), 9, 12.
Tilney: “Merit (or
worthiness) it must be maintained in the teeth of all denial, is a condition
and qualification for the First Resurrection ... (Luke 20: 35). ... Priests
of God and Christ, they shall reign with him a thousand years ... not
instead of eternally, but Millennially before eternity proper begins. Others -
proud, indulgent, cowardly - are judged unworthy of Christ and of aeonian
life. Now we know from several epistles that SOME BELIEVERS WILL BE EXCLUDED FROM THIS
* A.G.
Tilney, “Will All Believer’s Share In The First Resurrection?,”
The Dawn (Nov. 15, 1938).
Oswald Jeffrey Smith (1889-1986):
Oswald J. Smith was a pastor, evangelist, author and hymn
writer. He was well known as the pastor
of People’s
“Ordained in 1915, his evangelistic and missionary zeal did
not sit well with his Presbyterian congregation, and he resigned. ... Anxious to
promote [Page 309] missions, Smith began travelling overseas in 1924, returning
home to raise funds and recruit missionaries. ...
A powerful preacher, Smith was a leading figure in Canadian
fundamentalism, who wrote thirty-five books and had over a hundred of his poems
set to music.”*
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of
Christianity In
“Before 1950
Smith had preached in
* Peter S. Ruckman, The History Of The New
- Ruckman
Smith: “… ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with Him.’ This was the great incentive to the Christians of the
early Church. ... Pastor D.M. Panton, widely
known writer and diligent student of prophecy ... Hudson Taylor and others have been
exponents of ‘select’ or ‘partial’ rapture and a ‘partial’
reign. This view I must say I have no
hesitation whatever in accepting.” *
* Oswald
J. Smith, Is The Antichrist At Hand? (Tabernacle
Publishers, 1927), 30, 45.
O. J. Smith openly accepted the views of D.M. Panton (see the
information and quotes provided under Panton) in regard to the millennium. Panton openly taught that some Christians
that miss the millennium will be temporarily punished in the fiery underworld
according to their works. The belief in
Panton’s partial reign obviously drove
Smith’s early missionary zeal. However,
it appears that his views in regard to the kingdom and Christian accountability
were later watered-down due to the temptations and dangers associated with his
immense popularity. Sadly, this [Page 310] has happened to many fiery preachers as the second half of the twentieth
century progressed:
“...this began when Smith was drawn
off into the pseudo-intellectual pursuits of the Neo-evangelicals who followed
Billy Graham. ... Still Oswald did a vast amount of good in his time.”*
* Peter S. Ruckman, The
History Of The New
Robert Thomas Ketcham (1889-1978):
“Fundamental Baptist minister. A native of Nelson,
* Dictionary Of Christianity In America, coordinating editor, Daniel G. Reid (Downers Grove,
Illinois: Intervarsity Press, 1990), 613.
Ketcham: “Scripture says the reigning is contingent upon the
suffering. Second Timothy 2: 12: ‘If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny him,
he shall also deny us.’ What about the believer who has never really
‘suffered’ with Christ? What is his status in the reign? ... I do not think the worldly believer will share in the millennial reign.”*
* Robert
T. Ketcharn, Sermons by Ketcham, vol.2:
Why Was Christ a Carpenter? And Other Sermons (Des Plaines, III.; Regular
Baptist Press, 1966), 127-128; as quoted in Carl G. Johnson, The Account Which We Must Give (Schaumburg:
Regular Baptist Press, 1990), 46-47.
Ketcharn: “The general
attitudes concerning the matters discussed in this chapter are: First: There will be rewards for
faithfulness in various lines of Christian living. Second. The believer does sin, and, as a consequence, receives chastisement, but it is
confined to this life only. Third.
Some believers will have no reward
at the Judgment Seat of Christ, but because chastisement
ends with this life, there will
be none there. The difference between this
common conception and the view set forth in this chapter is simply this: The principle of chastisement remains the
same; the difference is in the extent to
which it is carried. One halts the process at the Judgment Seat of Christ; the
other [Page 311] allows its
continuance for those who did not submit to its benefactions here. I have searched in vain for a single
Scripture to prove the discontinuance of this principle at the Lord’s return. On the other hand a great mass of Scripture ... seems to indicate the awful and
soul-searching truth that there is such a thing as CORRECTIVE DISCIPLINE when
we see Him face to face. We have been
surprised to discover that MANY TEACHERS have had a conviction that this was the
teaching of Scripture, such men as Lange, Dean Alford, Stanley, Goebel, and
GOVETT. And when we read the following
from the pen of C.G. Trumbull, editor of The Sunday School
Times, are we not led to believe he had
some convictions along this line? Writing of the parable of the talents, he said:
‘If the servant (who is cast into outer darkness) is not a believer, but a mere
professor, then we have in this parable nothing to represent the Christian who
fails in faithfulness.”*
* Ibid.
Robert Govett (mentioned by Ketcham above) also taught that
slothful servants are in danger of being punished temporarily in Gehenna during
the millennial age.
Charles G.A. Gibson-Smith (1882-1949):
Charles George Alexander Gibson-Smith was a Christian
publisher in
[Page 312]
“Mr. C.G.A. Gibson-Smith has printed 10,000 of ‘The Overcomer and the Throne’ and Mr. Lang’s ‘Watchful, Prayerful, Victorious Overcomers’ …”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (April
1947).
- The Dawn
Daniel Paul Rader (1878-1938):
D.M. Panton testifies in The
Dawn that Paul Rader shared his beliefs in regard to millennial exclusion.
*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Sept.
16th, 1929).
“Paul Rader was one of the most
powerful evangelistic preachers of the early 20th Century. ... He pastored
* Available from www.wheaton.edu/bgc/archives/guides/038.htm;
Internet.
- The Cyber Hymnal
“Thousands of radio listeners also
received his magazine, the World Wide
Christian Courier. ... Rader himself was an enormous personal influence on
many Evangelical leaders of the next generation. His style, his aggressiveness, his charisma,
his entrepreneurship, his eager use of all the newest means of communications
remained vividly impressed in the memory of such people as Percy Crawford,
Peter Deyneka, Merrill Dunlop, Howard Ferrin, Charles Fuller, Torrey Johnson,
Clarence Jones, Howard Jones, Lance Latham, and Oswald Smith, among others.” *
* Billy Graham Center Archives (
“He was instrumental in sending scores
of missionaries to countries all over the world in addition to influencing
hundreds of young men to enter the ministry.” *
* Ed Reese, Christian Hall
Of Fame Series (
[Page 313]
Rader: “Everything
that has to do with the thousand years must meet the most terrific fires of
testing. Only that which
can pass through the fire test at the Judgment Seat can be admitted into this
thousand years of Millennial splendour.”*
* Christian Life, as quoted in The Dawn (July 1947).
William Frederick Roadhouse (1875-1951):
“Author of several books, Mr.
Roadhouse was active in the ministry for 50 years, and was secretary-treasurer
of the Slavic Missionary society at his death. ... Born at
*
-
“He has given
years of devout and critical study to his task of interpretation which has had applied
to it the acid test of public teaching to many groups of earnest ministers,
receiving approval.”*
* W F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation, (
- Rev. J.C. Massee
“Seeing The Revelation is the third
work on the Apocalypse within a
little more than a year, to embody the tremendous truth that a believer’s
conduct ensures, or else jeopardizes, both his rapture and reign. ... Mr.
Roadhouse, who has filled the presidency of the chief prophetical society in
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Jan.
16th, 1933).
- D.M. Panton
[Page314]
“...we were in this case enabled to
send forth the message of Seeing The
Revelation into seventy countries on all the continents; into half a
hundred provinces and states in
* W F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation, (Toronto:
The Overcomer Publishers, 1936),15.
- Preface to the Second Edition (1936)
Roadhouse: “But as we
have before intimated, those not barred by the disqualifications that each of
the Apostles and our Lord Jesus Christ clearly point out (as Galatians 5:19-21,
etc.) will have position and rulership in that coming Kingdom - those who
‘suffer with Him’ (2 Timothy 2: 12, Romans
8: 17); those who are counted ‘worthy’ (Luke 21: 36); ... A
resurrection takes place. We remember
that at the setting up of the rulership of the Overcomers, in chapter 20: 5, it was said, ‘But the rest of the dead (believers) lived not again until
the thousand years were finished.’ They had won no
crown. In Scriptural language, they had
proven ‘unworthy,’ ‘unfaithful’. ... And hence they were not raised to ‘reign with Him’. ... God shake us up. When
Revival comes we shall see this truth again!
Let the reader remember these perfectly simple things - namely, no
uncrowned believer ‘reigns with Christ,’ and crowns are earned by sweat,
labour, travail, even to death if need be.”*
* W F.
Roadhouse, Seeing The Revelation, (Toronto:
The Overcomer Publishers, 1936), 221-222, 229-231.
Roadhouse: “This Bema,
has been said for a generation or longer, to be but for the adjudication of
Rewards. The usage cited, out of eleven
times the word is employed, indicated otherwise - and for us, New Testament
usage determines its meaning. For
example, Pilate sat on the Bema - did he ‘reward’ Christ, or condemn him? (Matthew
27: 19; John
19: 13).
Herod sat upon a Bema, trying both criminals and good men (Acts 12: 21). ... This Bema (translated ‘judgment
seat’)
is to dispense not only happy rewardings but also the opposite. ... Thus we have what
the New Testament itself yields and settles ... By this we stand ... Does the
cleric who trails the slime of his sexual philandering into the holiest of
places and relationships ‘get away with it’ at the Bema? ... Does the plainly
dishonest preacher or layman who mishandles funds, puts through crooked deals,
or carelessly owes everybody, large or small, expect His welcoming word -
instead of rejection in that day (cf. Lev.6:
1-7)? ... Our responsibility is to ‘hew to the
line’ unafraid of personal consequences.
Let us - even in our over-popular, respectable, ‘Fundamentalist’ ranks -
not ‘water down’ our message. ...”*
*W F.
Roadhouse, Believers Sharing Or
Forfeiting Christ’s Glorious Reign! 3,7-8.
[Page 315]
George Henry Lang (1874-1958):
“Lang ministered throughout
* Cyril
J. Barber, The Minister’s Library (
- The Minister’s Library
“...he was not prepared to take
traditional interpretations unless he was personally convinced they were right.
... Perhaps one of the greatest teachers of his time, multitudes could testify
of the great help they received from him, either from his public utterances or
from his writings.”*
* Douglas
W. Brealey, The Witness (Dec. 1958).
- The Witness
“...one of the
outstanding Biblical scholars of our generation.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952),12.
- Wilbur M. Smith
Lang: “One great
school of theology has asserted that these passages which we are considering
declare the final perdition of such; which involves the idea that really saved
people, justified, possessors of eternal life, the children of God, may forfeit
all this standing and relationship and be finally lost. But this teaching seems so obviously to
conflict with numerous and explicit assertions of Scripture ... that not
unnaturally many others have rejected it.
Yet it must be confessed that this latter school of teachers does not know
how to give due weight to these many and awful warnings. At the most these can but apply them to
persons (unregenerate professors) to whom by no fair exegesis can the passages
be made to apply.”*
* G.H.
Lang, Firstborn Sons, Their Rights &
Risks (Conley & Schoettle, 1984),113.
Lang: “It being
therefore the case that the first resurrection, while open indeed to all, is a
prize which must be attained, and which, like every prize, may be forfeited, it
is at once made clear why in Rev. 20. 4-6, where the two resurrections are set, one at the opening of
the Millennial Kingdom and the other at its close, it is said that ‘blessed and holy’ is he that
hath part in the former, including pre-eminently those who in varying degree
had suffered for and with Jesus and for the word of God. And that some believers not
accounted worthy of that resurrection, will rise in the second resurrection
unto eternal life, though THEY WILL HAVE MISSED REIGNING WITH [Page 316] CHRIST IN HIS KINGDOM, fitly explains why at the final judgment the book of life will
be opened and searched (Rev. 20.11-15)....”*
* G.H. Lang, Firstfruits
And Harvest (Conley & Schoettle, 1985), 27-28.
Lang: “What
punishment conceivable as to this present life can be thought of as more severe
than premature death by stoning, drowning, or fire? Yet evidently something more
severe is possible or a violent death were not to be preferred, were
not better than it. But if it is
something more dreadful than such a death must it not be after death? An answer is not difficult for those who assert
that a child of God may lose salvation and be cast into the lake of fire for
ever. That were certainly a more severe
punishment than the worst this earth-life can bring. But what answer can we give who assert that
no child of God can be lost eternally?
The many give no answer at all, but ignore such passages and problems;
while such as at all face the question treat such scriptures but superficially,
avoid their plain terms and force, and say the persons in question were never
regenerated by faith in Christ. ... In Mark 9: 41-50, this teaching is
reported as given by the Lord on another occasion, which repetition suggests
that He thought it important to impress it upon HIS FOLLOWERS. Yet most have neglected it.
On this second occasion the Lord enlarged His remarks by a contrast: lit is better for thee to go into life maimed, rather than having thy
two hands to go INTO GEHENNA, into the unquenchable fire ... Christ
intended more than the casting of the corpse into the fires of Hinnom, for (a)
He speaks of what God can do to a man after his death ... (b) that in the
Gehenna intended the soul can be destroyed, which of course could not take
place in Hinnom. ... There is therefore something possible after death, something to be
feared because fearful, of which they who cause young believers to
stumble ought to be afraid, and which they who apostatize from Christ ought to expect
(Heb. 10: 27). They are to expect it. How contrary is
this to the easy-going complacency which our vain hearts love and which some
views popular among Christians encourage.”*
* G.H. Lang, The Epistle
To The Hebrews (Conley & Schoettle, 1985), 180, 182-183.
Robert Edward Neighbour (1872-1945):
R.E. Neighbour was one of the foremost fundamental Baptist leaders
of the first half of the twentieth century. He stood strongly against
postmillennial ideas and modernism. His [Page 317] popular sermons were printed in the Gospel
Herald and other fundamentalist publications (Sword of the Lord, etc.).
“Missionary to
* George
W. Dollar, A History of Fundamentalism in
- A
History of Fundamentalism in
“The battle with modernism could no
longer be suppressed by the Northern Baptist Convention (now American Baptist
Convention), so there was a ‘Call and Manifesto’ issued in 1921 by 130
conservatives. This resulted in the
formation of the Baptist Bible Union in 1923.
Some of the leaders were W. B. Riley, O. W. Van Osdel ... W. L.
Pettingill, R. E. Neighbour, T. T.
Shields (Canada), A. C. Dixon and the fiery J. Frank Norris of Fort Worth,
Texas.”*
* E.L.
Bynum, King James Fans? (Lubbock, Texas: Tabernacle Baptist Church,
1979), 14.
- E.L. Bynurn
“The BBU could be a live-wire affair.
... on the executive committee were Norris, A.C. Dixon, Neighbour, Riley, Pettingill, Van Osdel. ...”*
* George
W. Dollar, A History of fundamentalism in
- A
History of fundamentalism in
Many may be unaware that R.E. Neighbour was actually the man
behind the formation of the Baptist Bible Union:
“It was apparently during the
* Baptist Beacon (Jan. 1924), 1:14.
** O.W.
Van Osdel, “The Future of the Baptist Bible
*** Robert
George Delnay, A History of the Baptist
Bible Union (A Dissertation presented to the Faculty of the Graduate School
Dallas Theological Seminary, 1963), 47, 50, 52, 66.
“Words of commendation and
appreciation [in regard to Neighbour’s Gems Of Gold] are coming in from all
over the
* R.E.
Neighbour, What Saith The Scriptures? (
“Robert E. Neighbour, Sr., was a
widely beloved Bible teacher and author of more than ninety books. He often shared conference platforms with Dr.
John Rice.”*
* Available
from www.swordofthelord.com/description.asp?item=S5214;
Intemet.
- Sword
of the Lord Foundation
“Dr. Neighbour who is a foremost
preacher in the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Feb.
15th, 1935).
- D.M. Panton
[Page 319]
Neighbour: “It is easy
to say that this evil servant in the parable [Matthew
25:15-19] represents those in the
church who are not saved, instead of the saved ... The simple facts are these: First
of all our Lord does not place His talents in the hand of the unregenerate;
secondly, there are many among the truly saved who are hiding their talents in
the earth ... What then was the lot of the wicked and slothful
servant? ... In Matthew 25:28 he loses his talent
first of all, and then, in verse 30, he is said to be cast into OUTER DARKNESS, where there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth ... We
shall receive for the BAD we have
done. Now we hesitate. I hear no ‘Amens!’ Instead many begin to tremble ... You ask at
once - what will they receive? ... Any child, properly reared, will tell you
what he receives for bad behaviour ... He will say, ‘a spanking.’ Still you hesitate. You
thought there could be no sorrow at the Judgment Seat of Christ. You thought there could be nothing by way of chastisement, and
certainly nothing like weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then what did the Holy Spirit mean when
Paul, after saying, that ‘every one shall receive according to that which he hath done,
whether it be
... bad,’ added, ‘knowing the terror of the
Lord we persuade men.’...Think you that a just Judge will ignore our unconfessed evil conduct?
... Yes, the bad servants will be saved ... but with no place
in the kingdom ... The parables of Christ plainly teach that the ‘unprofitable’ and ‘wicked’ and ‘slothful’ servant, shall have
no place in the Kingdom. ... Remember Christ said, ‘Not every one that saith
unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the Kingdom of heaven.’ (Matthew 7: 21). ... We believe in the
security of the believer; we believe if you are born again, you can never be
unborn. ... However, the eternal security of a believer does not secure His
rewards. Salvation is by grace, apart
from works. ... Salvation is the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. ...
All a sinner can do is to receive a finished and a completed work. ... There
has been, however, on the part of many who believe a grave error. They have
turned away from many solemn warnings, which are plainly and positively written
in the Word of God. ... In our former sermon we emphasized that the
* R.E. Neighbour, What
Saith The Scriptures? (
[Page 320]
Samuel Fennell Hurnard (1871-1949):
S.F. Hurnard served on the committee of the Prophecy
Investigation Society (inaugurated in 18651 He published To Him That Overcometh in 1920.
It was based on articles that appeared years before in The Friends’ Witness To Scriptural Truth magazine
(1908-1939) of which he was the editor.
Hurnard’s commentary, Revelation,
The Book With A Blessing was published in 1930. D.M. Panton lists Hurnard as a beloved
brother who was in sympathy with the accountability truth found in The Dawn.
A personal letter received from his
widow states:
“My husband
was a Quaker, but came out of it when the Society turned modernistic.”*
* Personal letter from Mrs. M.F. Hurnard (April 24, 1999).
- Mrs. M.F. Hurnard
Hurnard: “It is
evident that the ‘first resurrection’ is one of privilege and blessing. Here is the fifth Beatitude of this Book, ‘Blessed and holy’ are these.
... They appear from other passages to be an elect, or chosen company - chosen
for reward ... 2 Tim. 2: 12 agrees with this chapter.
[Revelation 20] ‘If we suffer, we shall also
reign with Him: if we deny Him, He also will deny us.’ ....”*
* Samuel
F. Hurnard. Revelation, The Book With A
Blessing (London: Marshall, Morgan & Scott, 1930), 128.
David Morrieson Panton (1870-1955):
A memoir of Panton by Geo. H. Ramsay states:
“D.M. Panton, the Founder and Proprietor,
as well as Editor, of the Dawn, believed that God gave Dawn into his hands as
an instrument for the making known and maintaining of doctrines which, though
clearly enunciated in the Word of God, have become all but a dead letter to the
majority of Christians ... namely, that, as a responsible agent of Christ, he
must hand in an [Page 321] account
of his stewardship before the Judgment Seat of his Lord; that from his Lord’s
lips he will receive the sentence due to him, be it good or bad, according as
he has been faithful or unfaithful ... Mr. Panton believed that God put Dawn
into his hands for the making known of these doctrines far and wide. He rejoiced that he was unfettered by
financial or other interests, and free to proclaim the whole counsel of God ...
He was faithful to his charge to the end ... Who was Mr. Panton? ... David
Morrieson Panton was born in the year 1870 in
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (August
1955), 163-164.
“Like Robert Govett, when he saw for the first time the truth of baptism by immersion, he
obeyed at once, and came out of the Church of England .... an
invitation was received from the little church at
* Surrey Chapel’s Book Of
Remembrance.
Panton founded and edited the popular Dawn Magazine from 1924 to 1955. It stated, “This magazine stands for [Page 322] Fundamentalism,
and is opposed to all Modernist and Sacerdotal assumptions.” Many of his articles were also published in other
popular Christian living and prophecy magazines throughout the first half of
the twentieth century. He was a frequent
speaker at prophetic conferences.
“Pastor D.M. Panton, [is a] widely
known writer and diligent student of prophecy…”*
* Oswald
J. Smith, Is The Antichrist At Hand? (Tabernacle Publishers, 1927), 30, 45.
- O.J. Smith
The following endorsements reveal the vast influence D.M.
Panton held among Christians in the first half of the twentieth century:
“With the publication of ‘The Dawn,’
Mr. D.M. Panton, whose writings on prophetic subjects are eagerly read on both
sides of the Atlantic, enters the field of journalism amid the good wishes of
friends far and near ... we wish the venture good success.”
-
“Mr. Panton is a Bible student and
teacher of extraordinary vision and power .... From the standpoint of
literature his writings are notable. But
from the standpoint of spiritual illumination and insight they could come only
from a Spirit-filled heart and mind.”
- Sunday School Times,
“While it is vital fact that
Scriptural inspiration ceased with God’s closing of the Canon, it is also true
that God raises up His special messengers in different generations, and there
are many who believe that D.M. Panton is one of these.”
- Charles G. Trumbull
“The editor of this valuable magazine
stands on a lofty watch tower .... its truths and warnings are sadly needed in
these days of deepening apostasy.”
- Irish Times Magazine
[Page 323]
“Having read each number of this
magazine to date, we feel impelled to write a further word regarding its
worth. It bears the imprint of
thoroughness, and, clothed in graceful diction, reveals vigilance concerning
events tangent on prophecy, soundness in doctrine, and warm-hearted outlook
upon the mission field.”
- Trusting And Toiling
Panton: “All are
agreed that rank in the Kingdom is
regulated by service and suffering: if entry itself, or exclusion, also turns on
service and suffering, it is plainly only an extension of a momentous principle
already accepted and taught. But before
turning to the Word of God it may be well to observe that many godly
servants of Christ have understood the Scriptures to teach the possibility of a
believer’s exclusion. Polycarp, an actual disciple of the Apostle
John, says: ‘If we please Him in
this present Age, we shall also receive the Age to Come; and if
we walk worthy of Him, we shall also reign together with
Him.’ … Tertullian (as Dr. Seiss reminds us, The Last Times, p.242) testifies that in his day, the era
immediately following on the Apostles, it was the custom for Christians to pray
that they might have part in the First Resurrection ... but most assume that
all chastisement is sharply confined to this life. The Judgment Seat is thereby shorn of all
judicial function, and made totally unreal. ... The belief that judgment for the believer is exhausted in
this life is obviously untenable, because we have all known backsliders who
died in the utmost worldly prosperity. ... It is not eternal death [taught in Rom. 8:12], for the believer is guaranteed eternal life: it is not
present death, for it is contrary both to Scripture and to fact that all
sanctified believers live to a great age, and all backsliders die young: it is MILLENNIAL DEATH, the cutting asunder at the Bema. ... Where it
will he asked, are the excluded during the Kingdom? ... Some, guilty of the very gravest offences, are TEMPORARILY IN GEHENNA (Matt. 5: 22, John 15: 6, Heb. 10: 26, 27, Rev. 2: 11). ... The denial of these solemn truths paralyses and
destroys some of the most powerful stimulants God has supplied to His Church in
its deadening struggle with the world, the flesh, and the devil; it empties of
all horror the dread warnings to the backslider, and leaves him, if it does not
put him, in a drugged sleep; and it drives privilege over the precipice of
responsibility…” *
* D.M. Panton, The Judgment Seat Of Christ (Hayesville: Schoettle, 1993), 38, 50,
59, 72, 75-77.
[Page 324]
William Powell Clark (1864-1953):
“Born 25th of November 1864, son of
the late Hon. J. P. Clark, Custos for Manchester, William Powell Clark was
admitted to practise as Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Judicature of Jamaica
on the 18th of December 1886. Appointed
to the Public Service on the 14th of December 1892 as a Resident Magistrate, W.
P. Clark served in different parishes and was President of the Discharged
Prisoners’ Aid Society. Mr. Clark was
also co-founder of the Keswick Convention
* Who’s Who in
- Who’s Who in
William P. Clark participated in many missionary trips to
* W.P.
Clark, “Current Errors Concerning The Second Coming,”
The Dawn (April 15, 1940).
Clark: “There is no hint in
Scripture of resurrected believers being subjects in the
* W.P.
Clark, “The Eternal Security Of The Believer,” The Dawn (Nov. 1947).
[Page 325]
* W.P.
Clark, “The Justice Of God,” The Dawn (Dec. 15, 1925).
Frank Victor Mildred:
F.V. Mildred was a Baptist writer. He is associated with
* Edward
Starr, A Baptist Bibliography (New
York: American Baptist Historical Society, 1964), 45.
Mildred: “...the
Kingdom of the thousand years is a reward which can be won or lost. ... The Church
today is worldly-minded and often spiritually helpless. It needs the tonic of this truth of ‘the
kingdom as a reward’ to stir it from its lethargy.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn, vol. XXIX, no. 11 (1952).
Mary Ardine:
“Mary Ardine”
is an assumed name of this writer.
Ardine: “All who are
taken in these two companies will be member’s of the Lord’s body, and will
reign with Him because they will have part in the First Resurrection. But even yet there will be some believers who
will be left out as unworthy, and that is why the Lord bids us hold fast that
which we have, that no man take our crown, and gives many similar charges, all
addressed to His own people - a fact which evidently points to the possibility
of some, even of those who believe in Him, failing to obtain the Kingdom. …
‘But I do not quite follow you,’ interrupted the Objector. ‘How can Christians be in danger of missing
the glory? Does not the Lord Himself say
that whosoever believeth in Him hath everlasting life? How then can it depend on our faithfulness or
service?’ ‘It is indeed a glorious and
blessed fact’ replied the Master that eternal life is the gift of
God through Christ. ... but the crown and the
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (Feb. 15th, 1926).
Jesse Sayer:
Sayer was the author of Alphabetical
Studies Of Holy Scripture (1930) and Spiritual
Thoughts On Solomon’s
Sayer: “The
overcomer is manifestly the one who endures to the end; he is not temporary ...
they will have part in the first resurrection. ... These will be granted
ability to rule. ... You will reign with Christ; if you suffer you will be
privileged to be in the Sovereignty with Him. ... May the Lord make us
overcorners!”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (Dec. 15th, 1934).
H. S. Gallimore:
H. S. Gallimore was Hon. Chaplain for
the Chinese Mission,
Gallimore: “Are we to write
down the five foolish virgins as lost? ... Most suggestive of all however is
the First Resurrection. Only the blessed
and holy have part therein. ... Whatever our school of thought, how incumbent is it in each of us not to have counted himself to have
apprehended, but to strive earnestly if haply we may through grace be reckoned
worthy to attain that resurrection from among the dead and to enter in with the
Lord at His coming!”*
* H.S.
Gallimore, “The Ten Virgins,” The Dawn (Dec. 1947).
William Henry Griffith
Thomas (1861-1924):
“Ordained in 1885, he served curacies
in
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
“This class of 13 students was the
result of Dr. Chafer’s burden and vision to found a seminary that would
emphasize expository preaching and teaching of the Scriptures. In the winter of 1921 Dr. Chafer shared this idea with Dr. Alex B. Winchester, pastor emeritus
of Knox Presbyterian Church, Toronto, Canada, and Dr. W. H. Griffith
Thomas, an outstanding Anglican scholar and professor of Old
Testament exegesis at Wycliffe College, Toronto.”*
* Available from www.dts.edu/dts/Catalog98/gencral98/history98.htm;
Internet.
- A Brief History of
Thomas: “While a
genuine Christian who becomes a backslider will not be judicially condemned for
ever, there will be a very serious measure of personal, practical
condemnation when such an one stands before the Judgment seat of
Christ to be dealt with according to works.”*
* D.M. Panton, Judgment
Seat of Christ (Schoettle, 1993),
73.
Thomas: “There is no
other way of salvation, and no other merit than the sacrificial death of Christ
on
* W.H.
Griffith Thomas, The Principles Of
Theology (London: Vine Books, 1978).
[Page 328]
Jessie Penn-Lewis
(1861-1927):
Jessie Penn-Lewis was born in
“Her ministry took her to
*Jessie
Penn-Lewis, The Magna Charta Of Woman (Bethany
Fellowship, 1975) Preface.
Penn-Lewis: “Many may
ask why we should go forward in ceaseless conflict and warfare with the forces
of evil. It is for the prize of the
throne. In His messages to the churches
the Lord clearly holds out to all the incentive of reward. Paul’s writings are full of reference to ‘reward,’ to all who will
fulfil the conditions. ... Now what is the throne which awaits our ascended
Lord? It is the Millennial throne of
reigning and ruling the kingdoms of the world. ... Then the
Millennial throne of Christ is to be shared with others on certain conditions,
by the gift of Christ Himself. ... The obtaining of the prize of this ‘high calling’ of sharing the throne
with Christ was the incentive which urged Paul on to count all things loss to
obtain it, and to be willing to be made conformable to the death of Christ as
the primary means for reaching such an end (see Phil.
3: 10-14). ... ‘lf
by any means I may attain.’ ... Paul was
perfectly sure of his eternal salvation as a free gift from God, through the
finished work of Christ ... but he again and again refers to the Prize which
even he could not be sure of, unless he pressed on to fulfil the conditions for
obtaining it. In Romans 8: 17, the same ‘if’ comes in again in
connection with the same subject. ... What is in the balance, therefore, for
every believer in the present warfare with Satan, which must intensify as the
age closes, is the Millennial crown and throne.”*
* Jessie Penn-Lewis, The
Overcomer (Oct. 1934).
Charles Spelman Utting
(1859-1951):
Charles S. Utting was a pastor and
Christian writer in
[Page 329]
Utting: “This is progressive
sanctification, a life-long process and growth, and in those cases where it is
accomplished will win its possessors a share in the First
Resurrection, and the reigning with Christ in His
* C.S.
Utting, “Sanctification For Glory,” The Dawn (June 15, 1940).
Phillp Mauro (1859-1952):
“As far as twentieth century
Christian figures are concerned, Philip Mauro stands out as one of the most
captivating. After coming to a saving
knowledge of the Lord in 1903, at the age of forty five, Mauro, a member of the
bar of the Supreme Court of the
* The Preterist Archive, available from www.preteristarchive.com; Internet.
Mauro later began to spiritualize many aspects of Bible
prophecy. Nevertheless his views found
in such early works as Looking For The
Saviour and God’s Pilgrims are
very much worthy of consideration.
Mauro: “And let it not
be forgotten that there is not only ‘the recompense of reward’ for faithfulness
and obedience, which Moses had in view (Heb.
9: 26), but also that there is ‘a just recompense of reward’
for ‘every transgression and disobedience’ (Heb. 2: 2, 3). For the saints
are, every
one, to receive ‘the things done in his body, according to that he hath done,
whether good or bad.’ We know it is quite common,
and alas! exceedingly popular, in this lax and easy-going day, either to
ignore, or actually to set aside, this [Page 330] solemn and
salutary warning concerning the Judgment seat of Christ. Saints are quite willing to hear
about receiving recompense for the things done in the body that are ‘good’; but are disposed to close their ears to the warning that
they are to receive equally for the deeds that are ‘bad.’ But there stand the words of God, and we dare not set them
aside, or water down their very clear meaning.
Who can say to what extent the present low spiritual condition of the
saints is due to the prevailing tendency, on the part of those who assume to
teach and instruct them, to disregard or blunt the edge of the sharp warnings
of Scripture, of which there are many, or to explain them away, or to assign
them to others than the children of God, for whose benefit they are given?”*
* Philip Mauro, Looking For The Saviour (Fleming H. Revell Co.), 66-68.
Mauro: “It may be of
interest to the reader to learn that the writing of this book was begun and
finished on the memorable voyage of the Steamship Carpathia which was
interrupted by the rescue of the survivors of the Titanic, and by the return
with them to the
* Philip
Mauro, God’s Pilgrims (Harrisburg:
Christian Publications, 1969), 6-7, 11-12, 17-18, 81.
Thomas Mitchell Chalmers (1858-1937):
T.M. Chalmers was the founder of the New York Jewish
Evangelization Society. Panton testifies
that Chalmers embraced his teachings:
“His sympathy with the Dawn was ... exceptional, and his
reproduction of our articles on the other side of the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (April
15th, 1937).
- D.M. Panton
Stephen Speers Craig (1855-1936?):
S.S. Craig pastored a church in
[Page 332]
He authored The Dualism
Of Eternal Life, which was published in 1916. An original copy of this book was stamped
with “From Pastor S.S. Craig,
Craig’s powerful articles against modernism appeared in
fundamentalist periodicals such as Watchword
and Truth (e.g. April, 1913) and Foundation
Magazine (e.g. July-August, 1999).
Craig also contended against postmillennialism with great fervour.
Craig: “Only those
who endure unto the end will have salvation in the second degree. Matt. 24:
13. And if
those who do not endure unto the end miss the second stage of salvation, what
will be the consequence, the penalty? They will LOSE THE MESSIANIC KINGDOM. ... Every saved man must have his
BAPTISM OF FIRE now in this age, or in the age to come. ‘God is
not mocked.’
Gal. 6: 6-8. ... He who sincerely accepts Christ as his Saviour from
sin is in turn accepted of God, for Christ’s sake, forgiven, regenerated, and
justified. ... This is his justification as a sinner. And we may affirm, as a general principle,
that it can never be lost. ... According to the traditional
theory a man can have salvation, and break every one of the commandments
enumerated by the Saviour, and yet enter the Millennial kingdom, because they
say, it is all of grace. But Gal. 5: 19-21 and 2 Cor. 12: 19-21, not to cite other passages, prove the
falsity of the assumption. ... Only those who have attained real spiritual
union with Christ by self-denial and self-sacrifice effected through the power
of the Spirit of Christ as crucified and risen, will share in the glory of the
first-resurrection. ... How pathetic the
thought that for the great majority of Christians their end is not maturity and
Millennial glory, but exclusion, destruction
and age-lasting Judgment. ... What an inconceivable
loss it will be to THE CHRISTIAN to be shut out
from the Messianic Kingdom for a thousand years, and CONFINED IN THE HADEAN
PRISON? Matt. 5: 21-26. Surely the ‘wages of sin is
death’ for the carnal Christian as well as for
the sinner. And why should it not be so?”*
* Stephen S. Craig, The
Dualism Of Eternal Life (
[Page 333]
Lt. Col. George Frederick Poynder (1851-1942):
G.F. Poynder was a surgeon, missionary and author. He went to school at Charterhouse (a private
school in the
“At the end of 1917 I was asked by
the Director of Mildmay Mission to the Jews - Rev. S. Wilkinson to take up work
as a Medical Missionary, which I was delighted to do.”
Along with many of the other accountability teachers in his
day (e.g. Panton, Hurnard, Sladen, Schofield, etc.), Poynder participated in
the Prophecy Investigation Society conferences. It appears he spent the latter part of his
life suffering from heart disease, where confined to his home (Wootton, St.
Lawrence, Church Grove, Fleet in Hampshire), he authored many excellent books
on Bible prophecy.
“I have no hesitation in
saying that the matter presented by my beloved friend is of urgent importance.”*
* Samuel
Wilkinson, in the Foreword to Poynder’s Judgment
(Wooton, St. Lawrence, Church Grove, Fleet, Hants).
- Samuel Wilkinson
“A very thoughtful, gracious work [i.e. Prophetic Studies] by one who has made prophecy the study of a
lifetime. ...”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Nov.
1st, 1937).
- D.M. Panton
Poynder: “This was the
prize, ‘the out-resurrection from amongst the dead’ for which the Apostle Paul
was striving, lest when he had preached to others, he himself should be a
castaway, i.e. rejected at the judgment-seat of Christ for the prize; ... This
also was the prize for which the martyrs suffered themselves to be tortured,
not accepting deliverance that they might obtain a better resurrection, that
is, the first resurrection .... How important it
is then for us to examine ourselves, and see whether we be in the faith. ... And
may we ever [Page 334] bear in mind the solemn
warning contained in the judgment meted out to the wicked and unprofitable
servant - His own bond-slave, entrusted with His Master’s goods, and which had
been more or less carefully preserved – ‘Thou wicked and slothful servant, - thou knewest -
thou oughtest therefore ... take the talent from him ... and cast ye the
unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and
gnashing of teeth’....We may conclude that as he is his Lord’s own bond-slave, bought with
His own most precious Blood, entrusted with His goods, his name was entered in
the Lamb’s Book of Life ... though he will of necessity have
MISSED reigning with Christ in the Millennial Kingdom. ... He
immediately passes on to the account of the second or General Resurrection. ...
This separation and judgment must take place when the Great White Throne is set
... those whose names are not written in the Lamb’s Book of Life will be cast
into the Lake of Fire; whilst those whose names are in that book, but were not judged to be worthy of the first resurrection, now enter
into eternal life, so for them the Lord’s promise as recorded in John 6: 39, 40, 44, 54, four times repeated,
will be literally fulfilled ... they will have everlasting life, being raised
up as promised ‘at the last day’. ...But let it never be forgotten; - he will miss the prize, the first or
better resurrection, the joy of entering the Marriage Feast, and living and
reigning with his Lord during the Millennium.”*
* The Dawn (March 15, 1928).
Dr. Alfred Taylor Schofield (1846‑1929):
“Alfred Schofield, M.D., a
distinguished
* Henry
Pickering, Chief Men Among The Brethren (Neptune,
N.J.: Loizeaux, 1996).
- Chief Men Among The Brethren
[Page 335]
Thomas Corwin Horton refers to A.T.
Schofield as the “famous physician and author.”*
* Thomas
Corwin Horton, These Premillennialists,
Who Are They? (Los Angeles: 1921).
Schofield’s brother was R. Harold A. Schofield (1851-1883) who
was the first medical missionary to
Schofield: “...we are all perfectly clear that entrance into eternal life is of grace
alone ... but Scripture clearly shows that there are definite rewards and
losses with regard to our Christian conduct in this world. ... This is the
point I would put definitely before you.
For forty years I have glossed over every passage which refers to exclusion, and have refused to apply it to the Christian
man. But on the face of them, these
passages do apply to Christians everywhere.
They are in Epistles written to Christians, and are safeguarded at the
time, as applying to Christians. I feel
that when an Apostle says, ‘Be not deceived,’ there may be great danger that
some will be deceived, in applying Scriptures to other people and carefully
shielding the application from ourselves.
First, I would appeal to you, on those grounds, quietly to read those
short passages which have been alluded to, many of them, over again. ... ‘Be
not deceived.’ Why that solemn
warning? No one that is an unconverted
adulterer will inherit the
* The Entrance Into The
Schofield: “‘Judgment-seat
of Christ.’ Christians have long sought
to minimize this expression in its solemnity and its reality, lest it conflict
with John 5: 24 ... and have tried by parading Greek to obscure its
meaning. ‘This is not a judgment-seat,’
they say, ‘but only a ‘Bema’ tribunal whence on a sort of prize day rewards are
given to faithful servants.’ But this is
only to obscure Scripture. It is true
that the word in the Greek is Bema, but then Bema means ‘judgment-seat,’ and is
used in Scripture to describe the judgment-seats of [Page 336] Pilate, of Caesar, of
Herod, of the Son of Man (John 5: 22), as well as of Christ?”*
* A.T.
Schofield, The Life That Pleases God (
Henry William Fry:
Fry wrote in the late 1800’s.
Some of his titles included, God’s
Plan In The Bible, The Seal Of Heaven,
The Brand Of Hell and Life In
Fry: “It is also a
very solemn teaching and warning which is contained in the following parable of
the talents. The kingdom of heaven is
again spoken of, for the man called His own servants (not those who do not own Him as their Lord) and delivered unto
them certain trusts. These
trusts some made the most of, others neglected.
Those who faithfully used their talents received a reward, those who
neglected to use them, though equally believers, and equally professors, or
Christians as we should call them, were cast out; not because they did not believe, not because they sinned, simply
because they were slothful and unprofitable! ... Then commences the scene of
terror, when the unsanctified and unsaved dead will be summoned to stand before
the awful judgment seat of the Great White Throne! But others will also be there who will not be
cast into the lake of fire. Those
believers whose names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, but who failed
during their lifetime to seek and find, through consecration of their bodies
and faith in Jesus Christ, that sanctification or holiness, or purity of heart
without which no man shall see the Lord, and who did not stand before Christ’s
Judgment-seat, will also appear at this dread Bar! ...”*
* H.W.
Fry, God’s Plan In The Bible (London:
Marshall Brothers, 1904), 42, 56.
[Page 337]
Isaac Massey Haldeman (1845-1933):
“Baptist pastor. Born in
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
“...for over forty years pastor of
the First Baptist Church in New York City, and possibly the staunchest exponent
of premillennial truth in his generation ...”*
* A. Edwin Wilson, Selected
Writings Of A. Edwin Wilson (Hayesville, North Carolina: Schoettle, 1996),
381.
- A. Edwin Wilson
“So far as my knowledge extends, Dr.
Haldeman is the greatest prophet of the Lord now standing in any pulpit in this
country.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 36.
- James
M. Gray
“Pastor Haldeman is a valiant fighter and a hard hitter in
the battle for the primitive faith.”*
* Serving And Waiting (May 1913).
- Serving And Waiting
“Dr. Haldeman was probably the most
influential preacher of prophetic themes in his generation in this country.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 24.
- Wilbur Smith
“God raised up able men who would not accommodate, men highly trained and
deeply and irrevocably dedicated to the Word of God. Their names deserve reverent mention often
for they were God's giants against a black sky.
[Page 338] Outstanding were AJ. Gordon of
* George
W. Dollar, “The Early Days of American Fundamentalism”,
Bibliotheca Sacra, April 1966, 116.
- George Dollar, The Early Days of American Fundamentalism
Haldeman: “The
preachers who have preached and by their preaching have built nothing better
than wood, hay and stubble on the foundation of Christ will be judged as unfaithful
stewards of the Word of God. ... None of these shall enter into
and share the joy of the Lord. They
cannot take part in the kingdom on earth. ... O the pitiableness of
it. Redeemed and doing nothing for
Christ. ... They will miss the ‘well done.’ They cannot enter
into the joy of the Lord. They will have no part in the kingdom of the thousand years on earth.”*
* I M.
Haldeman, Ten Sermons On The Second
Coming Of Our Lord (New York:
Fleming H. Revell, 1917).
Haldeman: “The wicked servant [Luke
19: 12-27] belongs to the category of those who
shall be ashamed before Him at His coming; who shall not receive an abundant entrance into the Kingdom; who shall lose
their crown and be shut out from participation in ‘the joy of the Lord,’ even His rule and glory
on the earth.”*
* I M.
Haldeman, The Coming Of Christ:
Premillennial And Imminent (Charles C. Cook, 1906), 57.
Alexander Patterson
(1844-1912):
Patterson is known for his book The Greater Life and Work of Christ.
Patterson: “The fact of the
chastening of the unfaithful servant at the judgment of the saints, is also
taught directly by Christ ... [Luke 12:
45-48]. Here is certain exposure, condemnation,
and more, for the fruitless or faithless
servant. ‘Beaten with many stripes’ does not mean the loss of the soul, but does mean more
than has been generally taught. The ‘stripes’ are connected with
the coming of Christ. The same truth is
taught in the parables of [Page 339] the same talents when the
unprofitable servant is cast out ‘into the outer darkness: there shall be the weeping
and gnashing of teeth.’ [Matt. 25:30].”*
* Alexander
Patterson, The Greater Life And Work Of
Christ (Chicago: Fleming H. Revell, 1896), 317.
Siegfried Abraham Goebel (b.1844):
“German Reformed; ... He was educated
at the universities of
* The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia (New York And London: Funk And Wagnalls Company, 1909).
- The New Schaff-Herzog Encyclopedia
Goebel: “But great and
glorious as is this reward, so
heavy, on the other hand, is the punishment that will be inflicted on those who let the Word entrusted to them
lie dead and useless. For not
merely will the Lord leave to the faithful the rich product of their earthly labour
even in the future
* Siegried
Goebel, “The Servant’s Of Christ And Their Responsibility”,
The Dawn (Nov. 15, 1928).
Lt. Col. Joseph Sladen (1841-1930):
“The late Joseph Sladen, who died at
an advanced age in 1930, was for many years in touch with Open Brethren. He was son-in-law to the Earl of Cavan, who
also had been associated with them for a great while until his death in 1887.”*
* G.H. Lang, Anthony
Norris Groves (Schoettle, 1988), 297.
- G.H. Lang
[Page 340]
Joseph Sladen’s wife was the daughter of Frederick Edward
Gould, the 9th Earl of Cavan. Based on
his writings, Gould himself appeared to have also been an advocate of selective
resurrection. Burke’s Peerage And Baroneiage gives the
following in formation in regard to Sladen’s wife:
“Sarah Sophia, m. 14 July, 1875, Lt.-Col. Joseph Sladen, of
Sladen died in
Sladen: “‘Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor
adulterers, nor effeminate ... shall inherit the
* Joseph
Sladen, The Entrance Into The
Sladen: “What vexation
and sorrow will be theirs who refuse the Lord’s command to strive to enter into
the
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (March
15, 1939).
Sladen: “Salvation
then refers to the gift of Eternal Life, and also to the coming
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn, vol. VI, no. 9 (Dec. 16th, 1929).
Sladen: “All the
saints will reign in the eternal Kingdom on the ground of grace alone, as heirs
of God; although some will have lost the joint heirship with Christ
in His temporary Kingdom.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn, vol. v, #2 (May 1 st, 1928).
George Hawkins Pember (1837-1910):
G.H. Pember is best known today for The Earth’s Earliest Ages (1876).
It predicts the rise of Theosophy (i.e. Christianized occultism) in the
last days. At one time, Pember was recognized
around the world for his writings on Bible prophecy:
“G. H. Pernber was a noted teacher of
scripture in the latter decades of the nineteenth century in
* The Witness (July
31, 1996).
- The Witness
“One of the most valuable expositions
of prophecy ever published. It is
written in a popular and interesting style, and handles with masterly discriminating,
scholarly research, and eloquent description the principal prophecies of the
Bible.”*
* G.H. Lang, “Selective Resurrection
And Rapture” The Disciple (Conley
& Schoettle, 1984), 76.
- The Prophetic News
“In the latter part of the last century
and the beginning of this a
- G.H. Lang
“...one of the best Bible scholars in
* Wilbur M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston:
W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 35.
- Wilbur Smith
[Page 342]
Even Charles Spurgeon (who was never quick to approve of
prophetic studies) was inclined to call Pember’s The Great Prophecies an “investigation of
prophecy in an intelligent manner, with a calm and judicial temper.”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1882).
Pember: “But, if any
demur to their soothing and comfortable but sloth-inducing creed, they
straightway cry out, that he is denying the grace of God. Very different, however, as we have seen is
the language of the Bible. For while it
tells us that the gift of God is eternal life, it at the same time, insists
that we must run the race, and contend for the mastery, if we would win the
crown; that we must finish the work which we came here to do if
we would enter into God's Millennial Sabbath‑rest; ... that it is to the overcomer alone
that Christ will give to sit with Him upon His throne: that we must endure with
Him now, if we would reign with Him hereafter…”*
* G.H. Pember, The Church,
The Churches, And The Mysteries, vol. 3 (Conley & Schoettle, 1984),
93-94.
Pember: “Those
servants of the Lord who shall be found to have been faithful will be judged
worthy of the First Resurrection, and will immediately be made Priests of God
and His Christ, and will reign with Him for a Thousand Years. ... But the unfaithful servants will be banished into the darkness without
the pale of the Kingdom, where they will be detained, and dealt with according
to the sentence of the Lord, until the Last Day. Then, when the time of reward has passed by,
He will raise them up to everlasting life ... but can it be that children of God will,
in any circumstances, need literal cleansing fires for the completion of their
sanctification? Believers as a body
repudiate such a suggestion: they have never been taught, that those who are
saved by the Blood of Christ can possibly have anything to suffer after the
close of the present life .... If, then, there be any logical
sequence in the passage, THE SALTING
* G.H.
Pember, The Great Prophecies Of The
Centuries Concerning The Church, vol. 4 (Conley & Schoettle, 1984),
104-105, 110-111, 114-115.
J. Hudson
After studying medicine and theology in
“Mr. Hudson Taylor once told me that
the premillennial view was the inspiration of his life and had been the chief
incitement that had taken him to
* The Dawn (March 1st, 1935).
- H.W. Frost
“One of the most revered names in modem missions.”*
* George
W. Dollar, A History of Fundamentalism in
- A History of Fundamentalism in
“This mighty man of God cannot be
claimed by any denominational body as belonging distinctly to their
company. He and his mission swept out
beyond all barriers of denominational restraint, but, in his monumental biography,
by Dr. and Mrs. Howard Taylor, there is this clear and convincing note
regarding his own personal convictions: ‘The Rev. W. G. Lewis was the minister
of the Baptist church, of which Mr. Taylor had become and long remained a
member’ (Vol. 2, p. 17). This same Mr.
Lewis, who was editor of ‘The Baptist Magazine’ in 1865, was the man who urged
Hudson Taylor to make a wider appeal for inland
* John
G. Ridley, M.C., Who Are These? (Glebe,
- John G. Ridley, M.C.
“But there were some of the earliest
of these students who doubted this last opinion [i.e., that all true Christians
share in the First Resurrection] and thought that the
high honour of reigning with Christ was contingent upon faithfulness to Him in
this life.... Hudson Taylor held the same view.
...”*
* G.H. Lang, “Selective Resurrection
And Rapture…” The Disciple (Conley
& Schoettle, 1984), 74.
- G.H. Lang
* J .
Elijah Richardson Craven (1824-1908):
“Elijah Richardson Craven ... was one
of the many northern Presbyterian pastors who spearheaded a shift from
postmillennialism among evangelicals between the Civil War and World War
1. Craven received his B.A. in 1842 at
* Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, general editor (Kregel, 1996), 74.
- Dictionary of Premillennial Theology
“Of the many widely-read students of
prophecy in our country in the latter part of the nineteenth century, I would
say that there were five who could be called outstanding, scholars of
unquestioned ability and deep insight into the Word of God. These would be Dr. Samuel H. Kellog ... James
H. Brooks ... Dr. E.R. Craven ... the Reverend George
N.H. Peters ... and Dr. Nathanael West. ...”*
* Nathaniel
West, The Thousand Years (
- Wilbur Smith
“… one of the
most accomplished scholars in the country…”*
* James H. Brookes, The
Truth (Vol. 5, 1879).
- James H. Brookes
Craven: “Into that glorious
company of the First Resurrection it is probable that only those who have been partakers of Christ’s
humiliation and suffering (either personally or throughout the present aeon)
shall be received - a select portion of the redeemed, including the martyrs.”*
* D.M.
Panton, Judgment Seat of Christ (Schoettle,
1993), 39. See also Craven’s note on p. 391 of Lange’s Revelation Commentary.
Joseph Augustus Seiss (1823-1904):
“Lutheran minister and author. Born of Alsatian stock near
* Dictionary Of Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
Wilbur Smith lists Seiss’s The
Apocalypse as the “most famous work published in
this country on the Book of Revelation.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 30-31.
Seiss taught that the slothful servants, virgins, etc. in
Christ’s accountability parables represent true believers. He held that partaking
of the First Resurrection, escaping outer darkness and avoiding being “cut asunder” are rewards and privileges for obedient
Christian service. Nevertheless, he
mainly applied these warnings and blessings to the pre-trib rapture and the
coming tribulation period (not the millennium).
Seiss: “In the
parable of the pounds we also read of a servant who was no less a servant than
his fellow-servants. ... He, however, behaved so unprofitably toward his trust
that it was eventually taken away from him, and no reward or
rulership was given him as to his more industrious and faithful fellows. No man can take the parable and say that this
servant represents such as shall finally perish. ... To be saved is one thing;
to be rewarded is another. The one is
through the grace of God only; the other is according to works and attainments
only. ... It is only hard service that brings reward, and a real bearing of the
cross that secures the crown. ... The first translation will
partake of equal privileges with the first resurrection, and therefore must
possess equal qualifications.
And if martyrdom in fact was necessary as a preparation for the first
resurrection, a living martyrdom is necessary to qualify for the
first translation. ... Here (i.e. Phil.
3: 15 -) we see, as in many similar passages,
the connection of sufferings with these high blessings.”*
* Joseph
Augustus Seiss, The Parable Of The Ten
Virgins (Smith, English, 1862),187.
[Page 347]
James Robinson Graves (1820-1893):
Before the breaking out of the Civil War, the paper that
“...clergyman, author, was born April
10, 1820, in
* Herringshaw’s Encyclopedia of American Biography, 416.
- Herringshaw’s
Encyclopedia of American Biography
“Southern Baptist preacher, editor and
publisher who led in the formation of the Landmark Movement. ... by 1848 he was
editor of The
* Dictionary Of
Christianity In
- Dictionary Of Christianity In
“Probably the
most influential advocate of millenarian doctrines among nineteenth-century
Southern Baptists was James R. Graves. …”*
* Emest R. Sandeen, The
Roots Of Fundamentalism (University Of
Chicago Press, 1970), 264.
- The Roots Of Fundamentalism
“It is from
Grave’s influence that Baptists have drawn much of their dispensational and
premillennial thought...”*
* James
0. Combs, Roots and Origins of Baptist
Fundamentalism (John the Baptist
Press, 1984), 58.
- Roots and Origins ofBaptist Fundamentalism
It appears that
The following quotes are from one of the last works
* James
R. Graves, Dispensational Expositions of
the Parables and Prophecies of Christ (Memphis: Graves & MaHaffy,
1887), 223.
“These expositions are eminently
providential. Had their author not been
stricken down by a severe and protracted affliction, they doubtless would never
have been written ... He can truly say these years were spent in Beulah, in
almost unalloyed spiritual enjoyment ... The author, after more than three
years of patient study of the prophetic Scriptures since writing ‘The Seven
Dispensations,’ has modified his views set forth in that work...”*
* Ibid.
* Ibid., 240, 251, 253, 257, 260, 263-265, 270, 274.
Johannes Van Oosterzee (1817-1882):
“The author ... is very generally
regarded as the ablest living Dutch divine of the evangelical school ... he has
vigorously defended the Christian faith against the assaults of rationalism.”*
* J. J.
Van Oosterzee, The Theology Of The New
Testament: A Handbook For Bible Students (London: Hodder and Stoughton,
1882).
- The Theology Of The
New Testament
“...the eminent Dutch theologian, was
a voluminous writer and a strong premillenarian. He assisted in the preparation of the old
‘Herzog Encyclopedia.’ In learning,
eloquence and piety he ranked among the greatest divines of his age.”*
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return (Fleming H. Revell, 1914), 181.
- J. F. Silver, The
Lord’s Return
[Page 350]
“From 1863 to the end of his life he
was professor at
* Elvin Moyer, revised and enlarged by Earle E. Cairns, The Wycliffle Biographical Dictionary Of The
Church (Chicago: Moody Press, 1982).
- The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church
Van Oosterzee is known for N.
L Theology and The Person And Work Of
The Redeemer. Alexander Reese lists
Van Oosterzee as a believer in selective resurrection. Reese states:
“It is wrong, therefore, to assert as
some advocates ... of Pre-millennialism assert, that the first-resurrection is
limited to martyrs.”*
* Alexander
Reese, The Approaching Advent Of Christ (Marshall,
Morgan & Scott Ltd., 1937) footnote on p. 86.
Reese lists Van Oosterzee as one of
these advocates.
Robert Govett (1813-1901):
The large list of Govett’s works in Edward Starr’s A Baptist Bibliography (1964) certainly reveal him to be one of the foremost
premillennial writers of the nineteenth century. Govett was a valiant warrior for the truth of
reward and punishment for Christians.
The teaching of millennial exclusion and punishment for disobedient
Christians at the judgment seat permeated his writings and commentaries. He was also one of the chief defenders of
literal interpretation and the futurist view of prophecy. He published his first commentary on the Book
of Revelation in 1843. His later commentary on the Book of
Revelation became a classic. It
consisted of 2000-plus pages! (Schoettle reprinted it in the 1980’s.) Spurgeon often referred to Govett as the main
spokesman for the futurist view.* He
once listed the foremost futurist writers as Pember, De Burgh, BM. Newton and [Page 351] Govett.** All of these writers
except B.W. Newton believed in millennial exclusion! James Grant (1802-1979) gives Govett the
principle credit for publicizing dispensational views. Govett’s writings were sometimes included in
Spurgeon’s Sword and Trowel and other
religious periodicals. The following
reviews and testimonies reveal the wide influence Govett had in his age.
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1880), 407.
**
Charles Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel
(London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1889), 36.
“Govett was the grandson of William
Romaine. ... in 1844, he seceded over objections to baptismal service.
Afterwards, he preached at Victoria Hall,
* Blackwell Dictionary Of Evangelical Biography, 1730-1860, edited by Donald M. Lewis
(Blackwell Publishers, 1995).
- Blackwell Dictionary
Of Evangelical Biography
“Raised in Staines, Middlesex,
England; fellow of Worcester College, Oxford (1830), honoured with a life
fellowship upon graduation (1835); ordained Anglican priest (1837); became a
curate of St. Stephen, Norwich, where he drew large crowds; confessed his
conscience was against infant baptism and resigned (1844); most of congregation
left, made him their pastor, and met in Victoria Hall, Norwich; baptized
300-400 former Anglicans by 1848; built Surrey Chapel, Norwich, at his own
expense (1854) and ministered there 47 years until his death; succeeded by D.M.
Panton...”*
* Available from www.clevelandonline.org;
Internet.
“Govett’s commentary on the Book of Revelation] earned its author justifiable recognition as an expositor. It remains today one of the most sought after
works on this portion of God’s Word.”*
* Cyril J. Barber, The
Minister’s Library (
- The Minister’s Library
“My own opinion is that he brings to
his interpretation a more thorough knowledge of the Scriptures in their bearing
on the last book of the Bible than any other writer of his generation.”*
* Wilbur
M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For
The Study Of Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 28.
- Wilbur M. Smith
[Page 352]
“First and foremost Robert Govett was
a man of prayer. ... In addition to his ministry at the Chapel Mr. Govett had gained
a wide reputation in England and America as a Biblical Expositor, and tributes
to his writings came from many sources - including his old University and
Cambridge - and such preachers as Rev. C.H. Spurgeon held him in high esteem ...”
-
“...that prolific expounder of the
Word of God, Robert Govett, whose works are to-day experiencing an
unprecedented revival, calling for republication.”*
* Grace And Truth (Sept. 1934).
- Grace And Truth
“This work [Govett’s Christ
* Charles Spurgeon, The
Sword and the Trowel (London: Passmore & Alabaster, 1885), 548.
- Spurgeon
“The oftener we refer to Mr. Govett’s
pages, the more do we value his exposition ... He is a reverent student of the Word,
and is wide as the poles asunder from critics of the modem school, who seem far
more set upon improving the Scriptures than upon expounding them ... We only
express our heart when we say that we venerate and admire this author and
preacher, whose works will be more appreciated by future generations than by
this frivolous age.”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London:
Passmore & Alabaster, 1883), 512.
- Spurgeon
“Mr. Govett is an aged disciple ... whose exposition of the Revelation of
Charles Spurgeon, The Sword
and the Trowel (London: Passmore
& Alabaster, 1880), 407.
- Spurgeon, The Sword and Trowel (1880)
“We wish we could introduce this
profound writer and sound teacher to those of our readers who, being
instructors of others, need to be well taught themselves ... a more thorough
Baptist commentary was never written [Govett’s Gospel of John] ... The day will come
when the idols of the hour will perish, and the writings of such a man as R.
Govett will be prized as the much fine gold.
Meanwhile we heartily congratulate our brother upon being enabled to
maintain so clear a testimony for the gospel of Jesus ... In these two volumes
difficulties are not shirked...”*
* Charles
Spurgeon, The Sword and the Trowel (London: Passmore &
Alabaster, 1881), 480.
- Spurgeon
Govett: “For a word
only, under the Saviour’s decree, a greater punishment is to overtake the
offender, than for the worst deed under the law! He
is to be cast into the place of God’s enemies, ‑ ‘GEHENNA OF FIRE,’ – ‘THE SECOND DEATH!’ ‘Do you
mean, then, that a converted man will be lost for ever?’ No! ... It has been justly exploded, as a self-evidently
false principle of prophetical interpretation, that ‘All the promises of the prophets belong to the Church! All
the wrath and threatenings belong to
* Robert Govett, The
Sermon On The Mount (Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 69-70.
Govett: “What then shall
become of those who do not attain to the First resurrection and its
reward? They will indeed appear, as all
believers must, before the Judgment Seat of Christ: but they will not
enjoy the Thousand Years.”*
* Robert
Govett, Baptism, The
Govett: “I had
asserted, that some believers, inconsequence of their unprofitableness, or for
other reasons, will be dismissed again to Hadees. You
reply, [Page 354] ‘Coheirs
with Christ, need we seek for disproof of this?’ Yes, indeed you must! ... we
are again and again warned, that the doers of moral evil
have no lot ‘in the kingdom of the Christ and God,’ even though once
washed and justified and sanctified: Eph. 5: 5; 1 Cor. 6:
9-11; Gal. 6: 30; 5: 19-21 .... How stands the apostle’s rebuke [1 Cor.
6:9-11], if we read it on the usual
theory? ‘0 Corinthian believers, some of
you are defrauding your brethren. What!
do you not know that unconverted men, if unrighteous, shall not enter the kingdom! Do not mistake! No unconverted men, if fornicators
or adulterers, will enter that kingdom.’ Was that the apostle’s meaning? Does
he teach that unconverted men, if they are morally decent, will
enter the kingdom? I suppose none
will say so. Will not unconverted men,
simply as unconverted, be refused any portion there? Is not this what Jesus says to Nicodemus? John 3: 3. ... From false
ideas of Christian liberty, Corinthian Christians were acting quite contrary to
the word of Jesus. Is there no danger in
this direction in our day? To whom are
Paul’s ‘Know ye not?’s addressed, but to believers?”*
* Robert
Govett, Entrance Into The Millennial
Kingdom, Four Letters To J T Molesworth (Norwich: Fletcher & Son,
1883), 5-6, 17.
Govett: “What is the
evident implication of these two agreeing passages? Clearly, that it is possible that SOME
BELIEVERS, members of the churches of Christ, MAY BE HURT BY THE SECOND DEATH.
... The perseverance of the saints is a true doctrine: yet there must be room found
for this also.”*
* Robert
Govett, Govett On Revelation, Vol. 1 (Conley & Schoettle, 1981), 101.
Philip Henry Gosse (1810-1888):
“British naturalist. Born at
* Grolier Encyclopedia (New York: 1960).
- Grolier Encyclopedia
“...one of the leading zoologists of
the last century. When in 1857 Lyell,
the geologist, was sounding scientific opinion as to what reaction could be
expected to
* G.H.
Lang, The Disciple (Conley &
Schoettle, 1984), 77.
- G.H. Lang
“I knew Mr. Gosse in two ways. His book on Marine Zoology was my sole
authority when I kept a large sea-water aquarium in
* A.T.
Schofield, Behind The Brass Plate, 35.
- Dr. A.T. Schofield
“P.H. Gosse the naturalist .... were of those who acknowledged the warnings and penalties addressed to
the people of God .... They taught that sharing in the first resurrection, and
in the reign of the Lamb to follow, were high dignities that might be forfeited
by carnal conduct.”*
* G.H. Lang, The Disciple (Conley
& Schoettle. 1984), 91.
- G.H. Lang
Robert Cleaver Chapman
(1803-1902):
“Robert Cleaver Chapman was born in
* Henry Pickering, Chief
Men Among The Brethren (Neptune: Loizeaux. 1996).
- Chief Men Among The Brethren
[Page 356]
“The remarkable Robert C. Chapman
served God in an isolated corner of nineteenth-century England ... Yet by the
end of his life he was known throughout the world for his great love, wisdom
and compassion ... Robert Chapman became one of the most respected Christians
of nineteenth-century Britain ... His acquaintance C.H. Spurgeon called him
‘the saintliest man I ever knew.’ ... A brilliant man from a wealthy family,
Chapman could have chosen any number of prestigious paths to follow. Yet he chose a life of poverty. He wanted to work and live with poor and
uneducated people ... Robert Chapman enjoyed rising very early each morning ...
He was very health-conscious and walked for his body’s sake...”*
* Robert
L. Peterson, Robert Chapman (Neptune:
Loizeaux, 1995), 7, 14, 87.
- Robert L. Peterson
“...he laboured for 70 years in a
small town in a remote corner of
* Available
from www.thechurchincleveland.org;
Intemet.
“We preach about the Heavenly places, but Chapman lives there.”*
* R.C. Chapman, Suggestive
Questions, Prologue, 3.
- J. N. Darby
“Mr. W. Hake, a schoolmaster himself,
has said: ‘That in all his experience - and he was over 90 when he said it - he
had not met with any one who had knowledge of the English language equal to
that Mr. Chapman possessed. The latter
always chose the proper words to express his thoughts. His language has been termed ‘Classic
English,’ a combination of Anglo-Saxon and the words of Scripture. Upon being questioned about ‘Recovered
Truths,’ so-called, Mr. Chapman said, ‘recovered Truths, dear brother! I know no recovered truths, I hold nothing
that others have not held before me.’”*
* R.C. Chapman, Suggestive
Questions, Epilogue, 21.
[Page 357]
“R.C. Chapman led the way to what has
become extensive work in Roman Catholic Spain. ... Mr. Groves mentions a visit
to ‘R.C’ at
* G.H.
Lang, Anthony Norris Groves (Schoettle,
1988), 19, 32.
- G.H. Lang
“Nothing that came from the pen of
Robert Chapman, one of the saintliest characters among the early Brethren, but
was full of grace and goodness. Nor does
he fail to see the imperiled position of the
believer.”*
* D.M.
Panton, The Dawn (April 15th, 1926).
- D.M. Panton
Chapman: “… ‘This is the first resurrection.’
is it not a resurrection of first fruits? And the rest of the dead in the same verse,
do they not include all the family of God?
Not the wicked dead only. Hence
in verse 12,
‘Another book was opened, which is the Book of
Life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the
books, according to their works,’ verse 15. ‘And whosoever
was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.’ … My soul rejoices in the hope of that
reign, the glory of which will be to new creation the necessary
step; and contribute to perfect the joy of that new creation..”*
* R.C.
Chapman, Suggestive Questions, 15-16.
William Nathaniel Tilson Marsh:
Marsh wrote in the middle of
nineteenth century:
“Sir W.T. Marsh, who is a baronet as
well as a clergyman, is the son of the late Rev. Dr. Marsh, of Beckenham, and
brother of Miss Marsh, authoress of ‘Hedley Vicar’s Life.’”*
*
[Page 358]
Marsh: “The
Apostle Paul did not doubt that he should share in the resurrection of the dead
... But then what is the Apostle’s meaning when he also says, ‘If by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the
dead?’ (Phil.
3: 11.) ... It is, in short,
the elect resurrection or First Resurrection to WHICH ST. PAUL DESIRED TO
ATTAIN ... This First Resurrection is the special resurrection of
which our Lord speaks, when he says, ‘They who
shall be accounted worthy to attain that world and the resurrection from the dead…’ …to obtain it is to receive a peculiar privilege, and to be awarded a
special honour. For our Lord
speaks of those who shall be accounted worthy to attain it as the
children of God being the children of the resurrection. (Luke
20: 35, 36; 14: 14) ... It was with this
resurrection in view that the martyred saints suffered and endured, counting it
all joy, ‘that they might obtain a better resurrection.’ And it is on
those who attain to the same reward of grace that
* Ibid., 366-367.
William Burgh (1800-1866):
“Irish Futurist educated at
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 3 (
William Burgh was one of the first anti-Catholic writers (contemporaneous
with Samuel Maitland) to hold to the Scriptural view that the Book of Revelation [chapters 4 to 22]
has not yet been fulfilled (i.e. futurism).
[Page 359]
“...the most sound and able teachers
among Futurists are among the foremost in opposition to the Papacy. We might have added the name of William de
Burgh ... of all Futurists, few more clear.”*
* Watching And Waiting (Mar-April 1942).
- Watching And Waiting
Burgh: “I feel constrained rather to acquiesce in an opinion
known to have been generally held in the early ages of Christianity, that ‘the first resurrection’ is not general, even as it respects the Church, but
limited to certain among it, possessing a qualification
to be noticed presently. ... A distinction is thus made between one part of the
Church and another, and a qualification admitted for reigning with Christ over
and above the circumstance of being a believer and saved; while the glory of
the millennial kingdom is allowed to be special, and not the same with eternal glory of
the whole Church when ‘made perfect.’ In fact, it just
amounts to the limitation so expressly made in the words ‘if we suffer, we shall also
reign with him,’ superadded to that other condition,- ‘If we be dead with him, we shall also live
with him’ (2 Tim. 2: 11, 12); and again, ‘if so be that we suffer with
him, that we may be also glorified together.’ (Rom. 8: 17). The
reason of which limitation seems to be, that the millennial kingdom being a special
award to Christ as ‘Son of David’ and ‘Son
of Man’ in
consequence of His sufferings, being a honour and exaltation conferred on him.
... I say that the glory of the millennial reign being thus special as it
respects Christ Himself, and distinct from that glory which He shall have
evermore, when having sufficiently asserted and established his rights, ‘He shall give up this
kingdom to the Father, and God shall be all in all.’ (1 Cor. 15: 28,) so does he share this
glory with those who have shared his sufferings. ... Reluctantly, I need not
say, I have been forced to come to the conclusion I am now stating; but
Scripture cannot be resisted; and if I see one thing more plainly written than
another in Scripture, it is, that ‘to reign with Christ,’ we must ‘suffer with Him’. Another convincing proof of
the limitation of the First Resurrection I think we have in the fact that after
the thousand-years-reign, when ‘the dead, small and great, stand before God, and the
books are opened,’ (Rev.
20: 12) it is
added, ‘Another
book was opened which is the book of life...’ Now, if
the whole Church had been raised previously, and that ‘the dead small and great,’... be only the lost,
wherefore open ‘the book of life,’ to judge them? And if it be said,
merely to show that none of them were entered there, I think verse 15 leads to a different
conclusion – ‘And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of
fire,’ which
surely does not imply that the whole number of those so judged were cast into
the lake, and none of them found written in the [Page 360] book. ... I am equally certain, that Christianity
may exist in a very low state, - that it is possible to be saved and yet come
short of the full reward.”*
* William
Burgh, Lectures On The Second Advent Of
Our Lord Jesus Christ (
Burgh: “... I would
conclude that the first resurrection will not comprise the whole of those who
have died previous to the Advent; and that to those who shall be privileged
then to rise and reign, it will not be the enjoyment of the final glory of the
Church, the redemption hope, but of a special glory and special hope to which
they had attained otherwise than in mere consideration of their being believers
and redeemed. I have revised with care
the opinion I gave in the lectures above referred to - that the First Resurrection is limited to a portion of the redeemed Church;
that while eternal life and the inheritance are of faith and free grace, and
common to all believers merely as such, the millennial crown and the
first resurrection are a REWARD - the reward of suffering for and
with Christ; as I have just said, a special glory and special hope over and
above the redemption hope and glory, designed to comfort and support
believers under persecution: a need and use which I have little doubt the
church will before long be called on collectively to experience ....
I have reconsidered this opinion the more as I learned that there were not a
few who objected to it ... yet I confess the result has been to confirm me more
in it. …”*
* Williarn
Burgh, The Apocalypse Unfufilled, (
Theodosia A. Powerscourt (1800-1836):
“One who attended the conferences at Albury
was Viscountess Powerscourt of Powerscourt House, Bray,
* G.H. Lang, The
Disciple, Oct. 1953 (Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 16.
- G.H. Lang
[Page 361]
“The Powerscourt Conferences of 1831
to 1833 most probably moved Darby from his earlier historicist
pre-millennialism to futurist pre-millennialism.”*
* Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, general editor (Kregel,
1996), 83.
- Dictionary of Premillennialism
Powerscourt: “I should be
glad to know what you think concerning reigning with Christ. Do you think it is for all, or only for the martyrs? I have been thinking a good deal on this
subject of late. It seems to me that the
reason why it belongs to this dispensation to reign with Him, is because this
is the dispensation of martyrdom; the last-days of his church, because of the
absence of her bridegroom. Rest at any
time seems a mere accident. ... I conceive we are all given opportunity of this
martyrdom. It seems distinguished from
the suffering which we have in common with the world, in that it is a suffering
for principle, a trial of faith, a voluntary preference of suffering in the
flesh, to denying Christ in any wise ....
Oh! how many secret martyrdoms are thus endured, unknown to man, but precious
to God! Now, I do believe,
there never was a time that this doctrine (the connection between reigning and
suffering) would bear less to be overlooked, or required more to be brought
forward; for, truly, there is such a thing as refusing martyrdom,
even as much as if we were to turn from the stake. ... I believe there is such
a thing as even the believer’s being so allured, so led captive by things of
sense, as for even the mighty argument to be overpowered: ‘If ye love me, keep
my commandments;’ and that many Christians, under the conviction that their
souls cannot be lost, live in the indulgence of unlawful gratifications, rather than go
through the torture of the whole heart being drawn and quartered. But, surely, if the millennial reign of
Christ be a particular reward to Him for his sufferings, as ‘Son of Man,’ ‘Son
of David,’ distinct from everlasting glory, those only who have partaken with
Him shall reign with Him. Do tell me
what you think of this? for it seems to me, that though there are now many
saved Christians, there are but few reigning ones... ‘If we suffer we shall
reign with Him’. ... I quite agree with you, that martyrdom is not always
outward suffering, or always from or through man. I believe all are given opportunity of
martyrdom, because this is the dispensation of martyrdom. ... I believe it can
be refused, and that they will be sufferers who do refuse. ... Have we counted
the cost? Let us not be willing to lose
any part of our reward by our fooleries here - let it be a full reward. ... Oh!
dear brother, what a hope is the [Page 362] resurrection! … To-day, then, let us be
diligent, that to-morrow we may be found of Him in peace, waiting. … In hope of His kingdom.”*
* Lectures And Papers Of The Late Viscountess Powerscourt, Robert Daly (
[Page 363]
* *
*
Chapter 28
Accountability Truth in History (Part 3)
“Certainly, new discoveries of old
truths ought not to be branded with the odious name of novel opinions.”*
* Increase Mather, The
Mystery (Bibliotheca Sacra,
1943), 276.
- Increase Mather
In the previous chapter, we noticed some great
pre-millennialists of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries such as G.H.
Pember, Robert Govett, S.S. Craig, Watchman Nee, D.M. Panton, G.H. Lang, A.G.
Tilney, etc. that clearly embraced and
confessed both millennial exclusion and a temporary Hell [place
in Gk. ‘Hades’] for
unfaithful believers. The rotten fruit in the latter half of the twentieth century, testified
that other Christian leaders were presumptuous for rejecting the powerful
warnings brought to light by such men as these! Some of the other writers mentioned in the
previous chapter [Page 364] imply stated that they believed in
millennial exclusion in the same manner as some of these influential men. (Perhaps this was an easier way to refer to
such controversial truth in public.)
Others simply stated that they believed the First Resurrection and the
millennium were conditional for Christians; we may never know where exactly many of
these writers placed the disobedient Christian during the Thousand Years. Yet, such excluded Christians must reside
somewhere!
This present chapter will document many of the writers that
believed in selective-resurrection and/or literal chastisement at the judgment
seat, who were born before 1800. These
earlier pre-millennialists were usually less clear concerning what exactly
happens to the unfaithful Christian when excluded from the millennium. Perhaps
not many would have advocated a temporary Hell; yet, practically every pre-millennialist
during this period advocated millennial exclusion/selective resurrection! To save space, only a sample of these will be
listed. As we make our way to the ancient
pre-millennialists of the first few centuries of the Christian era, the
doctrines of temporary Hell and chastisement at the judgment seat will again
come prominently into view!
Anthony Norris Groves (1795‑1853):
“ ... joint founder of Plymouth Brethren movement,
missionary to
* Elvin
Moyer, revised and enlarged by Earle E. Cairns, The Wycliffe Biographical Dictionary Of The Church (Chicago: Moody
Press, 1982), 174.
- The Wycliffle Biographical Dictionary of the Church
“Anthony Norris Groves was born at
* Henry
Pickering, Chief Men Among The Brethren (Neptune:
Loizeaux, 1996).
- Chief Men Among The Brethren
“On October 7th ... 1830, Mr. [George
Muller married Mary Groves, A.N. Groves’ sister, and in 1835 we find him
accompanying
* G.H. Lang, Anthony
Norris Groves (Schoettle, 1988), 14-15, 19, 297.
[Page 366]
“A man so devotedly, so fervently,
attached to the Scriptures, I never knew before.”*
* Memoir Of Anthony Norris Groves, by his Widow (London: James Nisbet & Co.,1869), 5.
- John Kitto (1804-1854)
“The prime human agent in this
[Brethren] movement was a man of deep spirituality of life and ardent love to
his Lord, one Anthony Norris Groves .... The figure of
* Watching And Waiting (Aug. 1940).
‑ Watching And Waiting
* Ibid.,
296, 304, 378.
Joshua William Brooks (1790-1882):
“...prebendary of Lincoln Cathedral,
author, and editor of The Investigator [1831-36], as well as compiler of A
Dictionary of Writers on the Prophecies, was prominent in prophetic
exposition circles between 1831 and 1844. ... One and a half columns are needed
to list the works of Brooks in the
* Leroy Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers, vol.
3 (
Brooks: “There is another
point likewise intimated in Scripture ... and that is - the very critical
situation of some at that time, who are in the main believers, but who, owing
to want of watchfulness and to worldly conformity and to negligent walking,
will likewise be overtaken by the whirlwind, and severely
punished.
* Joshua W. Brooks, Elements
of Prophetical Interpretation (
Thomas Newton (1703-1784):
“Thomas Newton, D.D., Bishop of
Bristol, England ... is distinguished for his piety, and extensive research, as
exhibited in his valuable writings on the prophecies.”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice Of
The Church (H.L. Hastings, 1855), 248.
- The Voice of the Church
“
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return (Fleming H. Revell, 1914), 185.
- The Lord’s Return
“He studied at Trinity college,
* Schaff,
A Religious
Encyclopedia (Funk & Wagnall, 1891).
- A Religious Encyclopedia
(Schaff)
* Thomas
Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies,
vol. III (
Charles Daubuz (1670-1740):
“Charles Daubuz ... a French commentator
of the highest rank, is acknowledged by Professor Bush to have been ‘the ablest
of all commentators on the visions of John.’
Daubuz published his Commentary in
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return (Fleming H. Revell, 1914), 182.
- The Lord’s Return
“Charles
Daubuz ... exiled Huguenot, was born in
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 2 (
Daubuz: “He will not
make an end all at once; no more than he rewards all the saints at once, but
the martyrs or such as are described presently.
When all idolatry is destroyed, then comes the general Resurrection of
all mankind .... All this is spoken of such as suffer, and die for true
religion, and the testimony of a good conscience .... We have seen, that
the promise of Christ is, that the martyrs, or overcomers of his enemies, shall
reign with him. ... What can therefore oblige us not to own, that
these very martyrs are now to rise again, and reign with Christ? So that this is indeed a literal resurrection
of such dead as are mentioned in the words before us ... Some others pretend,
that the flourishing state of the Church is the reward, which the martyrs must
expect; as if that could fully accomplish the promises of Christ to them for
their eminent sufferings and constancy. ... And do we not see,
that Christ has promised such prerogatives to the martyrs? Yes, he promises, that he will give them the
Morning Star, in chap. 2: 28. Even as he has
received of the Father. That is, he rose
before the general Resurrection, so must they; they must shine as the Morning
Star before the full day light of the general Resurrection. ... how do we know but God will also stretch the title of martyr to such
Confessors as have confessed him before man, though they [Page 369] are
not slain at their confession, but suffered otherwise, as St. John himself, who without doubt will be therein equal
to the other Apostles. ... These dead therefore, who are not raised up till
after the Millennium, include not only the wicked who
are dead since Adam’s fall, but also all such among Christians who are dead, or
shall die till that time, having no title to this first Resurrection upon one
of the accounts before mentioned in the former verse. …”*
* Charles
Daubuz, A Perpetual Commentary On The Revelation Of
Robert Fleming, Jr. (1660-1716):
“Robert Fleming ... descended from a line
of Scot preachers. Born in
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 2 (
- The Prophetic Faith Of Our Fathers
“...in his Christology he ... maintains
that this is a ‘real and corporeal resurrection of the apostles and
other most eminent saints of the New Testament, who died before the
Millennium began,’ thus interpreting it, as he also does Dan.12: 2, in a literal
sense.”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church (H.L. Hastings, 185 5), 227.
- The Voice Of The Church
[Page 370]
Thomas Burnett
(1635-1715):
“Thomas Burnett, D.D., was born in
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church, 212.
- The Voice of the Church
“A learned and eloquent writer.”*
* James Darling (1797-1862), Cyclopaedia
Bibliographica (1854).
- Cyclopaedia Bibliographica
Burnett: “
* Bishop
Burnett, The Sacred Theory Of The Earth (London:
T. Kinnersley, Acton Place, Kingsland Road, 1816), 535, 542, 544, 551.
[Page 371]
Henry More (1614-1687):
“Henry More ... nonconformist
educator and philosopher, was born at Grantham, of Calvinist parents, and from
childhood took a deep interest in questions of theology. ... A man of profound
learning, he was a distinguished religious leader. ... More refused all
preferments, including the mastership of Christ’s College, the deanery of
Christ’s Church, the provostship of Trinity College, Dublin, the deanery of St.
Patrick’s, and two bishoprics. He believed he could do God greater service in
private than in public station.”*
* Leroy
Edwin Froom, The Prophetic Faith Of Our
Fathers, vol. 2 (
Although More speaks only of martyrs in the extract below, he,
like the majority of early pre-millennialists, also included confessors
(i.e. any Christian who faithfully lives for Christ)
in the First Resurrection.
More: “But the
rest of the dead ... lived not again, much less were thus revivisicated as the Martyrs were, till the thousand years were
finished. ... And whosoever was not found written in the Book of
Life, that is in the Book of Life of the Lamb ... which implies, that
those which were found in that Book of Life, were adjudged to the enjoyment of
Eternal Life.”*
* Henry
More, The Revelation Of
Johann H. Alsted (1568-1638):
“John H. Alsted ... of
* Jesse
Forest Silver, The Lord’s Return (Fleming
H. Revell, 1914), 187.
- The Lord’s Return
“Alsted, whose book, ‘De mille annis Apocalypt’ was published before any of Mede’s
works appeared, restricted the millennial resurrection to the
martyrs. ...”*
* David
Brown, Christ’s Second Coming (1876).
- Christ’s second Coming
[Page 372]
Alsted: “This
chapter (Revelation 20) discourseth of the singular happiness of the Church, both under
its warfare and Triumph. The singular
happiness of the Church during its warfare, or being militant, is set down in
three respects.
1. In its security from the hostile incursions of
the wicked for a 1000 years.
2. In the resurrection of the martyrs before the
general resurrection.
3. In the wonderful
deliverance of the godly, from the last persecution of the wicked, which shall
happen after those thousand years. … The third period of the Church of the New
Testament, is from the beginning of the thousand years, to the end
thereof. And it shall contain, as well
the martyrs that shall then rise, as the nations not yet converted, and the
Jews; and it shall be free from persecutions. ... Of the Resurrection
of the Martyrs, and of their reign here upon Earth. ... Therefore for the space of those whole 1000
years the Church shall enjoy outward peace, the Martyrs being
raised from the dead, and the nations, together with the Jews, being
converted to the faith of Christ ... Here then is described the singular reward, which the martyrs have received for their
sufferings, and extraordinary performances. ... But ‘the rest of the dead’. ... as well the
godly, as the ungodly, ‘lived not again,’ that is, were not made partakers of that happiness and prerogative,
whereby a number of some of the faithful shall rise before the universal
and last resurrection, and shall reign with Christ here upon earth. ... In which the bodies of the martyrs shall rise,
in the beginning of those thousand years.
We must not
therefore understand in this place a spiritual resurrection, by which we
are said to rise out of that sleep, and death of sin: for that resurrection is common unto all good men, and [supposedly] happeneth daily. ... ‘And the dead were judged,’ (Revelation 20: 12-15) a definitive sentence
passing upon all; acquitting some, and condemning others.”*
* J H. Alsted, The
Joseph Mede (1586-1638):
“Joseph Mede, of
* Jesse
Forest Silver, The Lord’s Return (Fleming
H. Revell, 1914), 188.
- The Lord’s Return
“Pre-millennialism rose to much eminence in this [17th]
century. First and highest on the list
stands the illustrious Mede, whom Rev. David Brown, of
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church (H.L. Hastings, 1855), 166-167,172.
- The Voice of the Church
“Probably no work on the Apocalypse
by an English author from the time of the Reformation down to the beginning of
the 19th century, and even later, has exercised as much influence as this
profound interpretation.”*
* Wilbur M. Smith, A Preliminary Bibliography For The Study Of
Biblical Prophecy (Boston: W.A. Wilde Co., 1952), 27.
- Wilbur M. Smith
“Joseph Mede (1586-1638) was the father
of English pre-millennialism. ... The publication of Key to the Revelation in English in 1643 took
* Dictionary Of Premillennial Theology, Mal Couch, general editor (Kregel, 1996), 250-251.
- Dictionary of Premillennialism
“He was a true Millenarian of the
primitive stamp; and his interpretations of the Scriptures relating to this
subject have never been surpassed for clearness, consistency, and primitive
simplicity.”*
* Daniel Dana Buck (1814-1895), Avenging The Elect: (South-Western Publishing House, 1858).
- Daniel D. Buck
“Be this as it may, the man who may
be called the father of the modem form of pre-millennialism, and whose minute
study of this particular prophecy entitles him surely to be heard as to the parties intended in the prediction – the [Page 374] subjects of the millennial
resurrection - Joseph Mede says: ‘The rising of the martyrs is that which is called the first resurrection,
being as it seems, a prerogative to their sufferings above the rest of the dead.’ …”*
* David Brown, Christ’s Second Coming (1876), 223.
- David Brown
Mede: “The Rising
of the Martyrs is that which is called the
First Resurrection, being, as
it seems, a prerogative to their sufferings above the
rest of the Dead; who as they suffered with Christ in
the time of his patience, so should they be glorified with him in the Reign of
his Victory
before the Universal Resurrection of
all. ... The Second Resurrection to
be after the End of the 1000 years, Justin Martyr, by way of distinction, calleth ... the Eternal and Universal
resurrection of all together; namely,
in respect of the former which was Particular, and but of some. And that it is common both to the Godly and to the Wicked, and not the Wicked
only, may appear, in that there are two Books opened for the Dead, (ver.
12) whereof one is the Book of Life; which argues two sorts of Dead to be judged.”*
* The Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
“... this having part in
Resurrection prima (First resurrection) was not to be common to all, but to be
a privilege of some, namely, of Martyrs, and Confessors equipollent to them, if God so would accept
them. Moreover, the belief of this Prerogative of Martyrs in
Resurrectione prima was that which made the Christians of those times so
joyously desirous of Martyrdom. These
things will perhaps seem strange, but they will be found true, if duly
examined. ... Yet thus much I conceive the Text seem to imply, That these
saints of the First resurrection should reign here on earth in
the New Jerusalem in a state of beatitude and glory, partaking of Divine
presence and vision of Christ their King; as it were in an Heaven
upon earth. ...”*
* The Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
“This Dogma of the 1000 years regnum was the general opinion of all orthodox Christians in the age
immediately following the Apostles, if Justin Martyr say true; and none known
to deny it but hereticks, which denied the resurrection, and held
that the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, was not the Father of our Lord Jesus
Christ.”*
* The Works Of The Pious
And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
[Page 375]
“ ‘As many as I love, I rebuke and
chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.’ [Revelation
3:19] ... Certain therefore it was that they
should feel the scourge of God, unless they should rouse themselves out of
their lazy devotions, out of the hateful and dangerous temper of lukewarmness, unless they should blow up the fire of
zeal, to love and worship God with all earnestness and fervency. ... So that
meaning is; those whom I love, if after I have long reproved them and convinced
them of sin, by my Word and ministers, all be but in vain, then I use to
chastise them with my rod, to afflict them with some scourge of my discipline.
... His Word is always the harbinger of His sword: He rebukes and then
chastens. ... Nay, when other warnings have been fruitless, and God’s
chastisements and judgments near, the very heavens themselves shall by comets
and other signs give warning of their approach, if at length by our humiliation
we would stop them even at the door. ... it should behove us not lightly
to pass by His warnings. ... Repentance is the means to avoid and
prevent God’s judgments. ... And so if
* The Works Of The Pious And
Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede (
James Usher (1580-1656):
“James Usher, D.D., Archbishop of
Armagh, Ireland, was born ... at
* D.T.
Taylor, The Voice Of The Church, 173-174.
- Voice of the Church
“...the learned and famous Irish
chronologist, turned from Augustine’s spiritual theory as a result of close
study, and became a pre-millenarian.”*
* Jesse Forest Silver, The
Lord’s Return, 183.
- The Lord’s Return
[Page 376]
Usher: “The eyes of
God, angels and men, are upon us, and great is the account we must make to our
Lord Jesus Christ, who is the Supreme head of his Church, and will at length
reward or punish his servants in this ministry of his Gospel, as he shall find
them faithful or negligent.”*
* D.M. Panton, The Dawn (Dec.
15th, 1925).
Usher said he “hoped” to meet
his friend in the First Resurrection. It
appears that from his contact with Joseph Mede he came to believe, not only in
pre-millennialism, but also in the view that the millennium is
a reward for faithful service. Usher
desired to be “accounted worthy” by the Lord to
be raised to reign:
“… Usher at first appears to have
clung to millennial views of the middle ages; but subsequently, as it would seem,
was converted to the primitive millennial faith by the writings and personal
influence of Mr. Mede.”*
* Daniel
Dana Buck (1814-1895), Avenging The
Elect: (South-Western Publishing House, 1858), 73.
- Daniel Dana Buck
William Twiss (1575-1649):
“The Westminster Assembly, convened
by Parliament in 1643, and composed of 151 learned and godly men, was directed
to frame the doctrines of the Church of England. Premillennial faith was found to be very
strong. Robert Baillie, president of the
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice
Of The Church, 188-189.
- The Lord’s Return
Twiss: “As for the
black time to be expected; if so, it seems to be wondrous great, if not greater
than all that went before ... yet God grant we may be of the
number of those that suffer, that within three days and a half we may be raised and reign with Christ at his Coming.” *
* The Works Of The Pious And
Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 765.
[Page 377]
John Piscator (1546-1625):
“John Piscator ... of
* Jesse
Forest Silver, The Lord’s Return, 173.
- The Lord’s Return
“As concerning the persons to be raised,
which are expressed in Rev. 20: 4 to be only Martyrs, and Piscator
will have it proceed only of such. ... This may be helped two
ways. First by such an
interpretation of Martyrdom as may be extended much further then to the
suffering of death for the testimony of Christ. ...”*
* The
Works Of The Pious And Profoundly-Leamed Joseph Mede, 773.
Tertullian (160-240):
This section begins with Tertullian. However, many other early Christian writings
could be cited to reveal that the early Christians were premillennial. They also believed that having a part in the
first resurrection and entering into the millennial kingdom are rewards for
obedience and faithfulness. The following
examples and quotes will reveal the truth of this last statement.
Tertullian, like so many other accountability preachers
mentioned in this book (i.e. D.M. Panton, W.P. Clark, Philip Mauro, etc.), was
trained in law. His clear defence of
pre-millennialism and his strong preaching against the depraved theater, etc.
cause him to stand out as an early light.
Fierce persecution raged in his day.
“He was born at
* D.T.
Taylor, The Voice Of The Church, 67.
- The Voice of the Church
[Page 378]
Tertullian: “We do
confess that a kingdom is promised to us upon the earth. ... After its thousand
years are over, within which period is completed the resurrection
of the saints, who rise, sooner or later according to their deserts, there
will ensue the destruction of the world. ...”*
* Tertullian,
Anti-Marcion, (Albany, OR: Ages
Digital Library Collections, 1997), “The Ante-Nicene
Fathers”, Vol.3; Ch.24, 620.
Tertullian: “...lest this
Judge deliver you over to the angel who is to execute the sentence, and he
commit you to the prison of hell, out of which there
will be no dismissal until the smallest even of your
delinquencies be paid off in
the period before the resurrection. What
can be a more fitting sense than this?
What a truer interpretation?”*
* Tertullian, A Treatise
on the Soul, 35 ANF, III:216.
Tertullian: “For no one, on becoming absent from the body, is at once a dweller in the presence
of the Lord, except by the prerogative of martyrdom, he gains a lodging in
Paradise, not in the lower regions.”*
* Tertullian, On the
Resurrection of the Flesh.
Barnabus (A.D. 100):
“Let us be spiritually-minded: let us be a perfect temple to God. As much as in us lies, let us meditate upon
the fear of God, and let us keep His commandments, that we may rejoice in His
ordinances. The Lord will judge the
world without respect of persons. Each
will receive as he has done: if he is righteous, his
righteousness will precede him; if he is wicked, the reward of wickedness is
before him. Take heed, lest
resting at our ease, as those who are the called [of God], we should fall
asleep in our sins, and the wicked prince, acquiring power over us, should thrust us away from the kingdom of the Lord. And all the more attend to this, my brethren,
when ye reflect and behold, that after so great signs and wonders were wrought
in
*Coxe,
A. Clevend, The Ante-Nicene Fathers (
Polycarp (69-155):
“Bp. of Srnyma, one of the most
prominent figures in the church of the 2nd cent. ... He claimed to have known
at least one apostle and must in early life have met many who could tell things
they had heard from actual disciples of our Lord ... Polycarp crowned his other
services to the church by a glorious martyrdom ... Irenaeus states (III. iii.4)
that Polycarp had been instructed by apostles and conversed with many who had
seen Christ ... doubtless Tertullian (de Praescrip.32)
is right in understanding this to mean that he had been so established by St.
John. ...”*
* A Dictionary Of
Christian Biography. Edited by Henry Wace and William C. Piercy (Peabody.
- A Dictionary Of Christian Biography
Polycarp: “In whom,
though now ye see Him not, ye believe, and believing, rejoice with joy
unspeakable and full of glory; into which joy many desire to enter, knowing that ‘by grace ye are saved,
not of works,’ but
by the will of God through Jesus Christ. ... But He who raised Him
up from the dead will raise up us also, if we do His will, and walk in His
commandments, and love what He loved, keeping ourselves from all
unrighteousness, covetousness, love of money, evil speaking, falsewitness; ‘not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing,’ or blow for blow,
or cursing for cursing, but being mindful of what the Lord said in His teaching: ‘Judge not, that ye be not judged; forgive, and it shall be
forgiven unto you; be merciful, that ye may obtain mercy; with what measure ye
mete, it shall be measured to you again’; and
once more, ‘Blessed are the poor, and those that
are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of God.’... Knowing, then, that ‘God is not mocked,’ we ought to walk
worthy of His commandment and glory. ... If we please Him in this present
world, we shall receive also the [Page 380] future world, according as He has promised to us that He will
raise us again from the dead, and that if we live worthily of Him, ‘we shall
also reign together with Him,’... In like
manner, let the young men also be blameless in all things, being especially
careful to preserve purity, and keeping themselves in, as with a bridle, from
every kind of evil. For it is well that
they should be cut off from the lusts that are in the world, since ‘every lust
warreth against the spirit;’ and ‘neither fornicators,
nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, shall inherit the
* The Epistle Of
Polycarp To The Philippians (Albany, OR: Ages Digital Library Collections, 1997), “The Ante-Nicene Fathers.”
Testimonies Concerning the Early
Martyrs
“Mr. Faber on this point observes, that ‘The doctrine of the literal
resurrection of the martyrs prior to that epoch certainly prevailed to a
considerable extent throughout the early church, and often animated the
primitive believers to seal the truth with their blood ... - And on the same
subject the learned Dodwell writes:
- ‘The primitive Christians believed that the first resurrection of their
bodies would take place in the kingdom of the millennium; and as they
considered that resurrection to be peculiar to the just, so they conceived the
martyrs would enjoy the principle share of its glory. Since these opinions were entertained, it is
impossible to say how many were inflamed with the desire of martyrdom. From this it is demonstrably
evident that the martyrs’ hope lay in the First Resurrection of Rev. 20: 6. Ignatius
craving death that he might ‘rise free’ ... Cyprian attesting that those who suffered expected a prior
resurrection and a more prominent place in God’s kingdom,’ and to crown all,
Tertullian affirming that the martyrs’ express prayer was that he ‘Might have a
part in the First Resurrection.’”*
* D.T. Taylor, The Voice Of The Church, 64-65.
- The Voice Of The Church
“Up to the third century the persecuted
Christians seem to have taken this as predicting a literal resurrection of the
martyrs to reign with Christ. I have
said that the early Christians who took
the prediction literally understood it of [Page 381] the martyrs
exclusively; insomuch that it begot a fanatical desire of martyrdom, that they
‘might have part in the first resurrection.’... Nor can I see how multitudes could
have been inflamed, as they are said to have been, with a passion for
martyrdom, in hope of thereby having ‘part in the first resurrection,’ if that
resurrection was believed to be the portion, not of martyrs only, but of all
believers.,”*
* David
Brown, The Structure of the Apocalypse (1891).
- David Brown (1803-1897)
“We come now to Tertullian, the
eminent contemporary of Irenaeus, a man of eloquence and learning, who with all
his faults, had many excellencies. His
testimony is equally conspicuous and positive.
‘We also confess,’ says he, ‘that a kingdom is promised us on earth,
after the resurrection; for it will be for a thousand years in a city of divine
workmanship. ... This is the city provided of God to receive the saints in the
resurrection, wherein to refresh themselves with all spiritual good things, in
recompense of those which in the world we have despised and lost.’ He
also testifies that it was the custom of his times for Christians to pray that
they might have part in the first resurrection; thus showing that this was the
general and firm belief of his time.”*
* Joseph
Seiss, The Last Times, 241-242.
- Joseph Seiss
“Moreover, the belief of the
Prerogative of Martyrs in resurrection prima was that which made the Christians
of those times so joyously desirous of Martyrdom.”*
* The Works Of The Pious
And Profoundly-Learned Joseph Mede, 771.
- Joseph Mede
“In short the doctrine of the
millennium was generally believed in the three first and purest ages; and this
belief, as the learned Dodwell hath justly observed, was one principal cause of
the fortitude of the primitive Christians; they even coveted martyrdom, in hopes of being partakers of
the privileges and glories of the martyrs in the first resurrection. Afterwards this doctrine grew into
disrepute for various reasons. ... Besides wherever the influence and authority
of the church of Rome have extended, she hath endeavoured by all means to
discredit this doctrine. ... No wonder therefore that this doctrine lay
depressed for many ages, but it sprang up again at the
Reformation, and will flourish together with the study of Revelation.”*
* Thomas
Newton, Dissertations on the Prophecies, Vol.
III (
[Page 382]
- Thomas Newton
“On the persons who shall partake of the first resurrection, I confess I find it
difficult to agree with the modern expectants of the Lord’s advent. Their opinion, generally speaking, is that
all the redeemed from the beginning shall then rise to reign with Christ; while
I feel constrained rather to acquiesce in an opinion known to have been
generally held in the early ages of Christianity, that ‘the first resurrection’
is not general, even as it respects the saved in this dispensation, but limited
to certain from among it, possessing a qualification to be noticed
presently...”*
* William
Burgh, Lectures On The Second Advent Of
Our Lord Jesus Christ (
- William
Burgh
“We have spoken of Christ’s doctrine of a future life, and are now thinking
of its threatening aspect. ... I have said, the terms in which this doctrine is
conveyed must be accepted in their obvious and popular sense. But yet, when they are taken in this sense,
they carry a meaning from the pressure of which we are driven to seek relief -
if it may be had, in criticism; or if not so, in some mitigating hypothesis.
... Yet there is a movement forward ... let the time come when all such
sinister influences shall be discarded with the contempt they deserve. ... That
dozen men, ignobly born as they were, which followed Jesus in his circuits
through Galilee and Judea, fondly dreamed of palaces and princedoms which were
soon to be theirs now, when in truth, they were about to be sent forth on a
course of suffering intensely severe. It was needful to arm them for this unlooked for conflict; and this
requisite preparation, as it included powerful motives of the happiest
complexion, so did embrace a dread so deep that it should be proof against the
extremest wrench of bodily anguish.
On the one hand, this Teacher of men said, ‘Fear not, little flock, for
it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom’; but on the other he
said, even to these his ‘friends’ – ‘Fear not them which can kill the body, and after that have
nothing more that they can do. But I
forewarn you whom you shall fear, Fear him, which after he bath
killed bath power to cast into Gehenna.’ ... Now we of this age may extenuate these phrases;
or, if we please, let us cast away the whole doctrine as intolerable and
incredible. Let us do so: but it is a matter of history, out of question, that the apostolic
church, and the church of later times, took it, word for word, in the whole of its
apparent value ... it is certain that the language of Christ, in regard to the
future life, was constantly on the lips of martyrs throughout the suffering
centuries.”*
* Isaac
Taylor, Restoration Of Belief (
[Page 383]
- Isaac
Taylor Jr. (1787-1865)
CONCLUSION
It is probable that the teachings presented in this book are
new to the reader. Joseph Butler
(1692-1752) once wrote:
“...it is owned the whole scheme of Scripture
is not yet understood ... Nor is it at all incredible, that a book, which has
been so long in the possession of mankind, should contain many truths as yet
undiscovered.”*
* Joseph
Butler, The Analogy Of Religion, Book
II, Ch. III (New York: Ivison, Blakeman, Taylor & Co., 1875), 168.
Similarly, John B. Heard (b. 1828)
once observed:
“Thus, the way of discovery still
lies open to us in Divine things if we have only the moral courage to go to the
fountain-head of truth, instead of filling our vessel out of this or that
doctor’s compendium of truth ... The majority of mankind think that they think;
they acquiesce, and suppose that they argue; they flatter themselves that they
are holding their own, when they have actually grown up to manhood, with
scarcely a conviction that they can call their own. So it always was, and so it will ever
be. The Divine things of the Word are no
exception, but rather an instance. The
more difficult the subject, and the more serious the consequences of error, the
more averse the majority are to what is called ‘unsettling men’s minds’...”*
* Rev. J. B. Heard, Tripartite
Nature of Man, 358.
There was a time when the majority of Protestants resisted the
revival of pre-millennialism as “Jewish fables.”
In a later age, the majority of Protestants likewise resisted the revival of
futurism as “Jesuit propaganda.” Yet, many today rightly and openly embrace
both doctrines as crucial aspects of fundamental truth. It could therefore be argued that the teachings
presented in this book are simply the next step in eschatology, and that they will obviously be resisted with as
much zeal and stubborn pride as the earlier attempts to revive other aspects of
eschatology.
[Page 384]
However, as these last few chapters have documented, the
author cannot claim to be the first to have discovered and organized these
accountability truths. A remnant in each
age finds them (often to the great displeasure of the majority), and then they
are quickly buried again. S.S. Craig, in 1916, entitled a chapter in his book
on these truths, “A Revolution In Eschatology.”* A revolution? Indeed, as long as there is
a Devil roaming the earth, the warnings in Scripture to the saints will need to
be continually revived. He will always seek to rid the earth of every
trace of holy hope and fear.
* S.S Craig, The Dualism Of Eternal Life, chapter 4.
*
* *
[Page 385]
Chapter 29
Believers Must Confess
“To share the infamy that falls on Scripture
(any subject) is an infinite honour, for it is ‘walking with God.’”
- David M. Panton (1944)
John 12: 42 Nevertheless among the chief rulers
also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess
him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue:
43 For they loved the
praise of men more than the praise of God.
Believing the Gospel brings salvation in eternity. Outward confession brings millennial
salvation at the judgment seat. Readers who
have been persuaded of these accountability truths (whether partially or fully)
are bound by these very truths to confess them openly. Shall we be silent in this age of unbelief
and rebellion? These truths, if believed, have the power to make saints think
twice about flirting with sin and worldliness. They have the [Page 386] power to keep Christian families together.
History has revealed that these truths have the power to encourage great
sacrifices for God and His truth. They
have the power to move men and women to give up their lives to become
missionaries in foreign lands. Shall we
be silent?
We must fear God more than man. This is the very foundation of accountability
truth:
Matthew
10:26 Fear them not
therefore: for there is nothing covered,
that shall not be revealed; and hid, that shall not be known.
27 What I tell you in
darkness, that speak ye in light: and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye
upon the housetops.
28 And fear not them
which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and
body in hell.
32 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my
Father which is in heaven.
33 But whosoever shall
deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is
in heaven.
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I
came not to send peace, but a sword.
A great majority of the Lord’s words consist of warnings to
the children of God! The main reason
these truths are not openly confessed by more Christian leaders lies in the
fact that to preach them publicly on the “housetops”
may (and probably will) bring a loss of esteem, money, honour or “opportunity” in the Christian community! This is plainly the “fear
of man”! Some Christian leaders
have “entangled” themselves to such a degree
that they have too much to lose. Yet, if
the teaching of this book is even partly true, it then follows that there is no
Christian leader that can afford to be silent once he is exposed to it:
Luke 12:
47 And that servant,
which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to
his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.
48 But he that knew not, and did commit things
worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever
much is given, of him shall [Page 387] be much required: and to whom men have committed much,
of him they will ask the more.
49 I am come to send fire on the earth;
and what will I, if it be already kindled?
Light ignored becomes lightning. Please deeply consider the following words of
our Lord in relation to the truths of this book:
Mark 8:34 And when he had called the people unto him with his disciples also, he said unto them, Whosoever will
come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.
35 For whosoever will save his life shall lose it; but whosoever
shall lose his life for my sake and the gospel’s, the same shall save it.
36 For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole
world, and lose his own soul?
37 Or what shall
a man give in exchange for his soul?
38 Whosoever therefore
shall be ashamed of me AND OF MY WORDS in this adulterous and sinful
generation; of him also shall the Son of man be ashamed, when he cometh in the
glory of his Father with the holy angels.
Luke 9:25 For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole
world, and lose himself, or be cast away?
26 For whosoever shall be ashamed of me and of MY WORDS, of him shall the Son of man be ashamed,
when he shall come in his own glory, and in his Father's, and of the holy
angels.
Again, large portions of the Lord’s words are warnings to the
saints. It therefore follows that to the
degree we preach these words of the Lord will be the degree we are confessed by
Christ at His coming. To the degree we
ignore these warnings, or diminish their impact (after being exposed to the
truth), will be the degree we are denied at the Lord’s coming. May the reader be filled with the Spirit unto
great boldness, and for the love of God and man, openly teach and preach these
truths to this generation!
* *
*
[Page 388 blank: Page 389]
APPENDIX A
Everlasting,
Forever and Eternal
The words everlasting, forever and eternal can sometimes be interpreted in a
relative sense. This is another possible
(though unnecessary) answer to why such words are sometimes used in warnings
and promises addressed to believers.
These words should always be understood in their normal, highest sense
when the context and subject allows it.
However, when the context is the duration of something in this present
age, or during the future millennial reign, these words may be interpreted in a
relative sense. (The objection that this
appears to add weight to the errors of Universalism is answered in the next
appendix.)
Quotes from Christian Scholars
Each of the following writers believes in the absolute,
eternal punishment of unbelievers:
[Page 390]
“The words depended upon (as eternal, perpetual, etc.) have sometimes, as critics of the most
diverse sentiments state, a limited meaning, denoting simply a long duration,
or a duration coeval with existing orderings or dispensations ... the words
‘eternal,’ ‘everlasting,’ ‘forever,’ are sometimes employed to denote limited duration (i.e. duration adapted to the nature of the
thing of which it is affirmed). ...”*
* George
N.H. Peters, The Theocratic Kingdom vol. II. (Grand Rapids:
Kregel, 1957), 538-539, 630.
- George N.H. Peters (1825-1909)
“Viewed in
its essence and form, together, it is both temporal and eternal, yet called eternal in its relative sense, that is ‘age-abiding’…”*
* Nathaniel
West, The Thousand Years (
- Nathaniel West (1826-1906)
“...in one of the volumes of Lent
Lectures on the Second Advent, I find Mr. Barker, on Heb.7: 25, thus expressing
himself – ‘It is absolutely necessary to remember that the word ‘ever’ signifies continuity, not eternity of action.’ ... What
canon of criticism is more self-evident and more universally recognized than
this, that
terms and phrases, expressive of perpetuity, are to be stretched no further than the known duration of the thing
spoken of?”*
* David Brown, Christ’s
Second Coming (1876), 123, 173.
- David Brown (1803-1897)
“...the word aionios is an adjective
formed from aion, which last, being derived from the Greek for ‘always,’ signifies
the whole time during which a person, thing, or state, exists. Hence, if it be used of a person, it
expressed his whole life, or lifetime; if of a succession of generations, of
history, or of the state of a people or the world, an age; if of the universe,
or of anything that lasts for ever, eternity.
The adjective, of course, follows the meanings of its noun. ...”*
* G.H.
Pember, The Great Prophecies Of The Centuries
Concerning The Church (Conley & Schoettle, 1984), 123.
- G.H. Pember (1837-1910)
“The word forever (KJV)
is often used in what might be called a limited sense, as
when in law we speak of transferring property ‘to him and his heirs forever,’
that is, to perpetuity.”*
* H.A. Ironside, Proverbs (Loizeaux
Brothers, 1995).
- H.A. Ironside (1876-1951)
[Page 391]
“Each of these has its ‘end,’ yet each is called ‘the kingdom.’ Each is an ‘Olam,’ and limited. Each is 'Forever,' yet only in
the sense of 'age-abiding,' not absolutely endless. ... The Old
Testament institutions, the Aaronic priesthood, the Davidic royalty, the bloody
sacrifices, and the whole administration, are declared in the Old Testament to
be ‘forever,’ but which, as Paul
assures us, means only ‘till the time of
reformation,’ Heb. 9. ...”*
* Nathaniel
West, The Thousand Years (
- Nathaniel West (1826-1906)
“Supposing that God’s Word speaks of
the earthly state of things and uses the expression ‘reigning forever and
ever,’ as
in Daniel 7 and
Luke 1, it cannot
be understood absolutely. The words must be limited by the subject-matter of which God
is speaking - so in Daniel 7: 27 the kingdom under the whole heaven, which is given to the
people of the saints of high places, is said to be an everlasting kingdom. This, I apprehend, is the same period that is
called here the thousand years.”*
* William Kelly, Revelation
Commentary, 435-436.
- William Kelly (1821-1906)
“Most fully may it be granted that,
in the Apostolic axiom, ‘the gift of God is eternal life’
(as well as in many other places) there is included the doctrine of infinite or
never-ending existence. Our persuasion of this fact must not however be made to hinge on the
native force of the adjective, there employed, but rather upon the
evident intention of the writer, as illustrated and confirmed by other means.”*
* Isaac
Taylor, Saturday Evening (1852), 329.
- Isaac Taylor, Jr. (1787-1865)
“It is often pointed out that ‘eternal’ (aionios) in ‘eternal punishment’ must have
the same meaning as in ‘eternal life.’ No doubt, but that does not give us the right to say that ‘eternal’ in both cases means ‘endless.”*
* Alford
Plummer, An Exegetical Commentary on the Gospel of
Matthew (1909), 351-352.
- Alford Plummer (1821-1926)
“The
punishment of the wicked is more properly endless, than eternal.”*
* William
G.T. Shedd, The Doctrine Of Endless Punishment (Oregon:
Ages Software, The Master Christian Library, 1997).
- William G.T. Shedd (1820-1894)
[Page 392]
“The preacher, in contending with the
universalist, or restorationist, would commit an error, and, it may be, suffer a failure in his argument, should he
lay the whole stress of it on the etymological or historical significance of
the words, aion, aionios, and attempt to prove that, of themselves, they
necessarily carry the meaning of endless duration.”*
* John P. Lange, Lange’s
Commentary American Edition, vol. V, 48.
- John P. Lange (1802-1884)
“I must be so candid as to acknowledge
that the use of these terms ‘forever,’ ‘eternal,’ ‘everlasting,’ shows that they who understand these words in a limited
sense when applied to punishment put no forced interpretation upon them.”*
* F.W.
Farrar, Mercy And
Judgment (New York: E.P. Dutton & Co., 1881), 401.
- Dr. J. Macknight (1721-1800)
Examples in Scripture
The following Scriptures each appear to use everlasting,
eternal or forever
in a relative sense:
Leviticus 6: 13 The fire shall EVER be burning upon the
altar; it shall never go out.
Deuteronomy 33: 15 And for the chief things of the
ancient mountains, and for the precious things of the LASTING hills,
Genesis 49: 26 The blessings of thy father
have prevailed above the blessings of my progenitors unto the utmost bound of the EVERLASTING hills: they
shall be on the head of Joseph, and on the crown of the head of him that was
separate from his brethren.
Exodus 40: 15 And thou shalt anoint them, as
thou didst anoint their father, that they may minister unto me in the priest's
office: for their anointing shall surely be an EVERLASTING
priesthood throughout their generations.
Leviticus 16: 34 And this shall be an EVERLASTING statute unto you, to make an atonement for the
children of
[Page 393]
Jude 1: 6 And the angels which kept not
their first estate, but left their own habitation, he hath reserved in EVERLASTING chains under darkness unto the judgment
of the great day.
1 Samuel 1: 22 But Hannah went not up; for she said unto her
husband, I will not go up until the child be weaned, and then I will bring him,
that he may appear before the LORD, and there abide FOR EVER.
28 Therefore also I have lent him to the LORD; as long as he liveth he shall be lent to the LORD. And he worshipped the LORD there.
Exodus 21: 6 Then his master shall bring him unto the judges; he shall also
bring him to the door, or unto the door post; and his master shall bore his ear
through with an awl; and he shall serve him FOR EVER.
Jude verse 7 Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and
the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication,
and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example,
suffering the vengeance of ETERNAL fire.
Leviticus 6: 13 The fire shall ever be burning
upon the altar; it shall NEVER go
out. (See Deuteronomy 15: 11; 2 Samuel 12: 10)
The Bible is filled with phrases and words that must be
expanded or limited by context or subject (Ecclesiastes
4: 16; 12:12; 1 Timothy 1: 4; 2 Timothy 3: 7; Exodus 27: 20; Matthew 26: 11,
Titus 1: 12; Habakkuk 3: 6).
“Everlasting” and “Forever” According to English and Bible Dictionaries
“That which did continue
for a long time, though not always.”*
* Thomas
Wilson (1563-1622), A Compleat Christian Dictionary (
- A
Compleat [Complete] Christian
Dictionary (1630, 1661)
“The term ‘everlasting’ is used in the Bible both
in the strict sense of unlimited time and more loosely of simply a prolonged period of time.”*
* Mercer Dictionary of the Bible (Mercer University Press, 1990).
- Mercer Dictionary of the Bible (1990)
[Page 394]
“Perpetual; continuing indefinitely,
or during the present state of things. ‘I will give thee, and thy seed after
thee, the
* Noah Webster’s First Edition Of An American Dictionary Of The English
Language, 1828 (Foundation For American Christian Education,
1989), Webster’s American Dictionary of
the English Language (New York:
Harper & Brothers, 1841).
- Webster’s American Dictionary of the English Language (1828,
1841)
“ ... It is certain that even amongst the Jews,
the word everlasting did not always signify infinity, but to a certain definite period.’ Bp. Taylor ‑ Rule of Conscience
‘First I shall readily grant, that the words for
ever and everlasting do not always in Scripture
signify an endless duration, and that is sufficiently proved by the
instances alleged to this purpose.'.’
Barrow, Vol. 1, Ser. 35. ...”*
* Charles
Richardson, A New Dictionary of the English Language (London: William Pickering,
1836-37).
- A New Dictionary of the English Language (1836-37)
“Continuing indefinitely, or during the present
state of things.”*
* John
Craig, A New Universal Etymological...Dictionary of
the English Language, (London:
Henry George Collins ... 1848-1849).
- A New Universal Etymological...Dictionary of
the English Language (1848-1849)
“Continuing for an
indefinitely long period; interminable; hence, endlessly recurring; constant;
incessant; also exceedingly durable; as land for an everlasting possession.”*
* Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of the English Language, (New York: 1895).
- Funk & Wagnall’s
Standard Dictionary of the English Language (1895)
“Continuing
indefinitely, or during a long period; perpetual.
…”*
* Webster’s Revised
Unabridged Dictionary (1913).
- Webster’s Dictionary (1913)
“Perpetual;
continuing indefinitely or during the present state of
things; as the
everlasting hills. ...”*
* Webster’s New Twentieth-Century
Dictionary Unabridged (New York: Standard Reference Works,
1956).
[Page 395] - Webster’s
New Twentieth-Century Dictionary Unabridged (1956)
“Continuing long or indefinitely. ...”*
* Webster’s Encyclopedic Unabridged
Dictionary (New York: Portland House, 1989).
- Merriam-Webster’s
Collegiate Dictionary (1948)
“Used
hyperbolically or in a relative sense.”*
*
- The
“Perpetual; continuing for an indefinite time.”*
* The American
Encyclopedic Dictionary (Chicago: W.B. Conkey, 1896).
- The American Encyclopedic Dictionary (1896)
“Continuing indefinitely, or during a long
period.”*
* Webster’s New
International Dictionary (Springfield: G.C. Merriam Co., 1951).
- Webster’s New International
Dictionary (1951)
“ Going on for a long time”*
* Webster’s
‑ Webster’s
“Lasting a long time”*
* Thorndike Barnhart
Comprehensive Desk Dictionary (Garden City: Doubleday & Co., 1967).
- Thorndike Barnhart Comprehensive Desk Dictionary
“Lasting forever or for a long time.”*
*
-
“Ever and Forever: Eternal, eternity. The whole period.”*
* Smith’s Bible Dictionary (A. J. Holman
& Co., 1896).
- Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1896)
[Page 396]”
“2. To the end of time or life; during an unlimited period;
interminably.”*
* A Standard Dictionary Of
The English Language (New York:
Funk & Wagnalls, 1895).
- Funk & Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary of the English Language (1895)
“For all time; without ending .... Forever can be used to mean continually,
often in a way that suggests too often. ... Forever can also
mean for an extremely long time or too much time. ...”*
*
-
“2. To the end of time or close of life. ...”*
* Webster’s New
Twentieth-Century Dictionary Unabridged (New York: Standard Reference Works,
1956).
-
Webster’s New Twentieth Century
Dictionary (1956)
“Eternal”
According to English Dictionaries
“1. Lasting
forever or for a very long time”*
*
-
“Eternal, too
is sometimes used of finite but very great duration.”*
* Winston Simplified Dictionary, Encyclopedic Edition (The John C. Winston Co., 1931), The Winston Dictionary, College Edition (The
John C. Winston Co., 1945).
- Winston Dictionary (Encyclopedic and College Editions,
1931, 1945)
“Said of
things to which endless continuance is ascribed hyperbolically or in a relative sense.”*
*
-
“2. Lasting for an indefinitely long period of time [syn: {everlasting},
{lasting}, {eonian}, {unceasing} ]”*
* Available from WordNetDictionary, www.projects.ghostwheel.com;
Internet.
- WordNet Dictionary
[Page 397]
“Eternal: “L. Aeternus, .... G. Aion, an age....”*
* Dictionary of the
Derivations of the English Language (Glasgow; Edinburgh; London: William Collins, Son, &
Company, 1872).
- Dictionary of the Derivations of the English Language (1872)
Eternal: “The Greek ... Aion, and
the Latin Aevum, indicate, in their
literal sense, an age or period of
action; and are often employed to denote finite duration. Aeternitas, from Aevum ... is, in its origin, a long
period or beyond an age.”*
* David Booth (1766-1846), An Analytical
Dictionary of the English Language (London: Printed for James Cochran and
Co., 1835).
- An Analytical Dictionary of the English Language (1835)
“Eternal” According to Bible Dictionaries
“The words eternal, everlasting, for ever
are often taken for a long time, and are not
always to be understood strictly.”*
* A Dictionary of the Holy Bible (
- A Dictionary of the Holy Bible (1759)
“Eternal (everlasting, for ever, evermore) sometimes denote that which continues a long time,” *
* John Brown, A Dictionary
of the Holy Bible (
- A Dictionary of the Holy Bible (John Brown, 1789)
Eternal, Eternity: “These words often signify a long time,
and must not always be understood rigorously.”*
* Augustin Calmet (1672-1757), Calmet’s Great Dictionary of the Holy Bible (London: printed for
Charles Tayfor, 1797-1801).
- Calmet’s Great Dictionary of the Holy Bible (1791-1801)
“Eternal, everlasting, for ever, evermore, sometimes denote that which
continues a long time.”*
* James
Wood (1751-1840), A
Dictionary of the Holy Bible (Liverpool: Printed by Nutall, Fisher, and
Dixon, 1807).
- A Dictionary of the Holy Bible, (James Wood, 1807)
“Eternal, everlasting, forever, evermore, sometimes denote that which
continues a long time.”*
[Page 398]
- The
Diamond Pocket Dictionary of the Bible (William Gurney, 1817)
* Rev. William
Gurney, The
Diamond Pocket Dictionary of the Bible (London: W. Lewis, 1817).
“Eternal, everlasting, sometimes denotes a long
but limited time. ...”*
* Rev. John Barr, Scripture Student’s Assistant (1828).
- Scripture Student’s Assistant (1828)
“The words forever, everlasting, eternal ... are often used
figuratively to denote long duration.”*
* Frederick
Adolphus Packard (1794-1867), The Union Bible
Dictionary (Philadelphia: American Sunday-School Union, 1838, 1837).
- The Union Bible Dictionary (Frederick Packard, 1838)
“The words forever, everlasting, eternal,
etc. are often used figuratively to denote long duration.”*
* John
Eadie, A Biblical Cyclopedia or Dictionary (London:
Religious Tract Society, 1853?).
- A Biblical Cyclopedia or Dictionary (John Eadie, 1853?)
“The words eternal, everlasting, for ever,
are not always to be understood in a literal sense; for sometimes they
signify only a long time.”*
* Samuel
Green, A Biblical and Theological Dictionary
(London: Benjamin L. Green, 1849).
- A Biblical and
Theological Dictionary (Samuel Green, 1849)
Eternal: “The Hebrew Olam, ‘world,’ and the Greek Aion, ‘age’ ... denote long continued duration, usually with a fixed end.”*
* William Wilberforce Rand (1816-1909), Dictionary of the Holy Bible (New York: American Tract Society,
1886).
- Dictionary of the Holy Bible (William Rand, 1886)
“Eternal., Time long past, and
of future to the end. Eternity: Only once [found in the Bible] in Isa. lvii. 15 meaning
duration in time.”*
* William Smith (1813-1893), Dr. William Smith’s Dictionary Of The Bible (Boston: Houghton, Mifflin and Company,
1896).
- Smith’s Bible Dictionary (1896)
“In the NT eternal ...denotes that which belongs to the coming
age ... and is strictly
equivalent to age-long.”*
[Page 399]
* Melancthon
Williams Jacobus, A New Standard Bible Dictionary (Funk
& Wagnalls Co., 1926).
- A New Standard Bible Dictionary (Melancthon Williams Jacobus, 1926)
“Eternal therefore sometimes means simply ‘age-long,’ and this is the usual
meaning in the N.T.”*
* Madeleine S. Miller and J. Lane
Miller, Harper’s Bible Dictionary (New
York: Harper & Brothers, 1961).
- Harper’s Bible Dictionary (1961)
“Frequently, the Hebrew and Greek
words which are translated ‘eternal’ simply indicate the unknown length of a lifetime ... or
any other indefinite span of time.”*
* William
C. Martin, The Layman’s Bible
Encyclopedia (Nashville: The South-western Company, 1964). 52
- The Layman’s Bible
Encyclopedia (1964)
“The terms
eternal, everlasting, for ever, sometimes have a limited meaning”*
* John
Farrar (1802-1884), A Biblical And Theological Dictionary (London:
Chas. H. Kelly, 1889).
‑ A Biblical And Theological Dictionary (1889)
* *
*
[Page 400
blank: Page 401]]
APPENDIX B
Refuting Universalism
Universalists are guilty of misapplying Bible passages. They often apply passages to unbelievers that
pertain to the judgment of Christians. These promises and
warnings to the saints deal with the millennial kingdom, not the absolute, eternal age after
the millennium.
The Bible reveals that the lost end up in the final
John 6 teaches that “everlasting life”
is given to all that believe the Gospel:
[Page 402]
John 6: 40 And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth
the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him
up at the last day.
It therefore follows that those who do not believe must be condemned for absolute eternity. There are many promises such as this that do not
have the future millennial age in view.
Therefore, there is no contextual reason to take the word “everlasting” in a limited or relative sense in such
verses. If believers receive absolute
eternal life, unbelievers must receive the exact opposite.
The fact that God paid such an infinitely high price for
the penalty of sin certainly reveals the boundless extent of the punishment deserved for it. The eternal God became a Man and died for the
sins of the world. If mankind does not
owe the debt of absolute, endless punishment, why would it take the death of
the absolute, eternal Son of God (as a Man) to redeem the world from it? The Deity of Jesus Christ is another strong
proof for endless punishment. Nothing
but absolute, endless torment could necessitate the physical death of Jesus
Christ!
Furthermore, Adam sinned against the eternal God. The absolute, eternal Lord spoke His holy Law
to Adam and Eve. The greatness of a law
can be measured by the greatness of the lawgiver. The Lawgiver in
[Page 403]
The fact that the Antichrist and the False Prophet are still
found in the Lake of Fire 1000 years after being cast into it reveals that lost
people are not annihilated by its flames (Revelation
20: 10).
The reason the Book of Revelation closes with no hope offered
for the lost is because they must pay an infinite price for their sins. In rejecting the Son of God, they rejected
the only payment that can satisfy their infinite debt. The confusion and emotional questions this
raises must be left to God and His mysterious ways. Christians must wait for a
future time when we will no longer see through a glass darkly (1 Corinthians 13: 12). We must not allow our emotions to tempt us to
unbelief. This will hinder our passion
to preach the Gospel to lost, dying souls.
When a Christian sins against the Lord the punishment due is
not absolutely infinite since Christians are already washed in the Blood of
Christ positionally (John 13: 10). The infinite debt of sin has already been satisfied. Disobedient Christians are punished in regard
to their practical walk in the same way disobedient children are punished by
loving parents. If a loving, holy man
adopted a child, the child would not be sent back to the orphanage for misbehaving. The child would already be adopted and would
therefore be loved unconditionally.
Nevertheless, the child would be punished for rebellion in the
household. Thus, the punishment of
believers is different than the punishment of unbelievers. The latter have absolutely no covering.
One may object that the arguments of this book lend too much
weight to Universalism. To the contrary, the view of this book actually affirms
the truth of the endless destruction of the lost! The conclusion of this book states that God’s
own disobedient children may be punished in the hellish
underworld (i.e. outer darkness) for 1000 years! Where does that leave the unbelievers?
[Page 404]
1 Peter 4: 17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of
God: and if it first begin at US, what shall the end be of
THEM that obey not the gospel of God?
18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall
the ungodly and the sinner appear?
Indeed! If true
Christians may be punished for 1000 years, where does that leave God’s absolute enemies? The doctrine of endless torment for the lost
is therefore affirmed by the
doctrine of millennial chastisement for unfaithful saints.
* *
*
[Page 405
GLOSSARY
ACCOUNTABILITY TRUTH: Generally used to refer to any teaching
of grave accountability for Christians, such as literal chastisement at the
judgment seat of Christ, conditional millennial entrance, and a thousand years
in the outer darkness of the underworld.
ETERNAL LIFE: Every Christian has eternal life as a possession. Yet, every Christian will not experience the fullness of this
eternal life until after the millennium.
Faithful, overcoming saints will fully experience eternal life at the
judgment seat before the millennium. Unfaithful
Christians (at the judgment seat) will not experience eternal life until the last day at the Great White Throne (after
the millennium). Therefore, the goal of
every Christian should be to win [a glorified,
immortal body to enjoy] eternal life a
thousand years earlier than
the Great White Throne (Philippians 3: 11). These privileged saints will be firstborn
(unto immortality). Some writers
understand eternal life as age-lasting life. Therefore, they see
the term as dual, being sometimes used for life in the millennium and sometimes
for life in the absolute eternal age.
According to this understanding, absolute eternal life in the eternal
age is a free gift through faith alone.
Relative eternal life in the millennial kingdom is a reward according to
works.
2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your
calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance
shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
[Page 406]
Although the word “everlasting”
could describe the millennial age in a
relative sense, it is also true that there will certainly be an “everlasting” kingdom (in the highest, strictest sense
of never-ending), after the millennium.
Is Peter teaching that we enter this final, eternal kingdom by works? No!:
“All the saints will reign in the
To understand how the Bible sometimes describes the kingdom in the New Testament, let us notice the
language in the Old Testament:
1 Samuel 28: 16 Then said Samuel, Wherefore then
dost thou ask of me, seeing the LORD is departed from thee, and is become thine
enemy?
17 And the LORD hath done to him, as he spake by me:
for the LORD hath rent the kingdom out of thine hand,
and given it to thy neighbour, even to David:
In the above passage, the kingdom is shown to continue. Saul
loses it, and it is given to David. It therefore
continues:
2 Samuel 3: 10 To translate the kingdom
from the house of Saul, and to set up the throne of David
over
Yet, notice how it is described in other verses:
1 Samuel 13: 13 And Samuel said to Saul, Thou hast
done foolishly: thou hast not kept the commandment of the LORD thy God, which he commanded thee: for now would the LORD have established thy kingdom upon
14 But now thy kingdom shall
NOT continue: the LORD
hath sought him a man after his own heart...
In one set of verses, the kingdom is translated from one
person to another. In the other set of
verses, the kingdom of one man ends, [Page 407] when the other man begins his
reign. Therefore, the kingdom can be
described relative to its king. And in
this manner, it ends when the king delivers up his throne. On the other hand, when viewed relative to
its domain, it does not end, but is only changed.
Applying this principle to the Lord’s kingdom in the New
Testament, it could be said that the
1 Corinthians 15: 24
Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up THE KINGDOM to God, even the
Father; when he shall
have put down all rule and all authority and power.
25 For he must reign, till
he bath put all enemies under his feet.
In light of these things, notice again the passage in 2 Peter:
2 Peter 1:10 Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence
to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall:
11 For so an entrance
shall be ministered unto you abundantly into the
everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
The millennium is actually the abundant entry stage of this final, eternal kingdom. To win the millennium (and not to fall) is to
win an abundant entrance into the eternal kingdom. To miss the millennium is to enter the final,
everlasting kingdom as a latecomer. An “abundant entrance” would be a privileged entrance; it is an early entrance, before
the rest. It is the difference between
the first and the last.
Webster defines “entrance” as
also meaning “beginning.” Therefore, if we do not fall, we will gain an
abundant
beginning into the
everlasting kingdom. Does this not speak
of the first, glorious thousand years of the everlasting kingdom?
[Page 408]
“Christ has two kingdoms; the temporary one of the thousand years, and the
eternal one. The temporary one is the porch into the eternal one. All believers will obtain an entrance
into the eternal one. But to obtain a
part in the temporary, is to have the rich or abundant
entrance into the eternal.”
(Robert Govett, Entrance
Into The Kingdom; reprinted in 1978, Schoettle)
EXCLUSION: The act of
banishing certain Christians from the millennial kingdom for failing to repent
of sins and seek mercy in the day of God’s patience.
FIRSTBORN SONS: The overcoming, faithful
Christians that will receive a double portion (Deuteronomy
21:17). They experience both life
in the eternal age (as a free gift through faith), and the millennial age
(as a reward according to works).
Christians that suffer with Christ will be rewarded as firstborn sons
among many brethren at the judgment seat of Christ (Romans
8: 17, 29; 2 Timothy 2: 12; Hebrews 2: 10). All who win the first resurrection are
firstborn sons.
FIRST RESURRECTION: The privilege of
being raised to immortality before the millennium. The majority of Christians will not be raised
to immortality until after the millennium (Revelation
20: 5, 15). After appearing
before the judgment seat of Christ (2 Corinthians
5: 9-11), they will return to death (Matthew
5: 30; 18: 34, 35) and suffer millennial chastisement (according to
their works) until the Great White Throne.
The Great White Throne (at the last day) is the second resurrection. At this time, all Christians will be raised
to immortality (John 6: 39); all unbelievers
will be thrown into the
GLORIFIED BODY: Only Christians
that overcome in life through suffering with Christ will receive a glorified
body (i.e. a [Page 409] body that shines with glory) at the premillennial
judgment seat (Revelation 3: 5; 1 John 2: 28). All Christians will possess a glorified body
on the last day of the Great White Throne (John 6:
39, 40, 44). But glory at the
judgment seat, before the millennium, is conditioned upon suffering and walking
with Christ (Romans 8: 17; 1 Thessalonians 5: 23; Philippians
3: 17-21; 2 Corinthians 5: 10).
Christians with glorified bodies will not be hurt at the judgment seat. The
Christian’s body will reflect his or her suffering and labour for Christ. The bodies of unfaithful Christians will be
hurt of the second death (Revelation 2: 11).
HELL: The prison in
the heart of the earth (Revelation 20: 7, 3; Isaiah
14: 15; 2 Peter 14). Unfaithful
Christians will be cast into this dungeon for a thousand years (Matthew 18: 34, 35). Hell is not the place of final punishment for
the unbeliever. Unbelievers will come
out of hell to perish eternally in the lake of fire (Revelation
20: 12-15).
KINGDOM TRUTH: The
premillennial doctrine that only faithful Christians who fear God, repent of
their sins, and seek God’s mercy will enter the millennial kingdom to
reign. This teaching should not be
confused with postmillennial or dominion theology teachings and J.W. teachings
- which also refer to a kingdom.
LAST DAY: The day of the Great White Throne
after the millennium. The resurrection
unto eternal life on this day is a free gift through faith alone. It is the day when the unbelievers will be
raised and then eternally condemned in judgment (John
12: 48). Every person that truly
believes the Gospel (unless they win the millennial reign) will be raised to
immortality on this last day (John 6: 39, 40).
OUTER DARKNESS: This is the same
as the underworld or hell. To be cast
out of heaven is to be cast down to earth (Revelation 12: 7-10). Therefore, to be cast out of God’s kingdom on
earth is to be cast down into the underworld (Matthew
5: 30, 18: 9; Mark 9: 47).
Unfaithful Christians will be temporarily banished to the underworld
until after the millennium. There will
be weeping and gnashing of teeth in this outer darkness (Matthew 8: 12; 22: 13; 25: 30). The unfaithful Christian goes to the same
place as the unbeliever and hypocrite until after the millennium (Luke 12: 46).
PURGATORY: A Roman Catholic
perversion of the doctrine of millennial exclusion. Catholics teach that people actually earn [eternal] salvation
by suffering in a mythological place (sometimes seen as only a state) called
purgatory. The doctrine of millennial
exclusion that is taught in this book is the exact opposite. It states that salvation in eternity is a
free gift through faith alone in [Page 411] Jesus. No sins can keep believers from experiencing
eternal life on the last day (after the millennium). Millennial exclusion and chastisement is for
the purpose of correction. It vindicates
God’s justice in regard to His children.
Disobedient Christians do not earn, contribute to, or keep their
salvation in eternity by suffering chastisement during the millennium. The principle difference between
SALVATION: This term is used in a variety ways in
Scripture. Paul even uses the term to
refer to escaping physical death (through drowning) in a storm (Acts 27: 31).
Therefore, the term is certainly used to refer to escaping eternal
torment in the lake of fire (i.e. simply becoming a Christian). However, it is also used to refer to escaping
death and pain in spirit, soul and body at the judgment seat of Christ. Some Christians will not be saved
(into the millennium) at the judgment seat. They will temporarily lose body, soul and
spirit (1 Corinthians 5: 5; James 1: 21). This salvation (for Christians) is through faith and works (James 2:
14; Hebrews 6: 12; 1 Timothy 2: 15; 2 Timothy 3: 15, etc.). All Christians (even those who miss the
millennium) will be saved into bliss and glory after the millennium - yet only
after experiencing chastisement in the fiery underworld according to their
works (1 Corinthians 3: 15). Therefore, in one sense, every Christian
already possesses salvation
in body, soul and spirit. But all will
not fully
experience this salvation
until after the
millennium. Only overcoming saints
experience full salvation at the
judgment seat before the millennium.
[Page 412]
SECOND DEATH: Death is not the
cessation of consciousness (Luke 16: 23). Death occurs when the body is separated from
the soul and spirit (James 2: 26). The first time this occurs could be called
the first
death. A second death would therefore require a reunification of the spirit, soul and
body. It would require a raising of the body at judgment. Unbelievers die and their souls go to hell
until they are raised again. This is
their first death. Unbelievers
will then be raised again at the Great White Throne after the
millennium. After rising in judgment
(being united in soul and body), they will be slain eternally, thus
experiencing a second death. Since all Christians will be raised before the millennium (to stand at the judgment seat of Christ), their
spirits, souls and bodies will be reunited.
Many Christians will then experience a second death (i.e. a second division of
spirit, soul and body). These unfaithful
believers will only be hurt of the second death (Revelation
2: 11). They will not die
eternally. Since the fire of God will
cut asunder (Matthew 24: 51) the unfaithful
believers in death (at the judgment scat of Christ), the fire before God’s
throne is called the second death in the Bible (Revelation
20: 14; 21: 8). Unbelievers
(after they are raised again at the Great White Throne) will be slain in the
lake of fire when they are raised to life again. However, unlike unfaithful believers, they
experience the second death eternally (Revelation
20: 15).
SELECTIVE RESURRECTION: This term, as used in this book, refers to the
teaching that only a select number of Christians will have part in the first resurrection.
This does not mean that all will not be raised before the millennium. It simply means that all Christians will not
stay raised. In other words, all
Christians will not experience immortality before the kingdom. Some must wait until after the millennium.
The word resurrection is not
therefore used in this book for the mere act of being raised from the
dead. It is used in the sense of being
raised to eternal life. Only faithful
Christians will experience absolute eternal life before the millennium. The rest, after appearing before the [Page 413] judgment seat of Christ, will return to death until the Great White Throne. Many writers that believed in selective resurrection also believed in a selective rapture (before the tribulation). However, selective resurrection has been
associated with all the various rapture views.
UNDERWORLD: The dark realm
in the heart of the earth that the Lord uses as a prison until after the
millennium. It is “under the earth.”
It is the same as hell or outer darkness. Unfaithful Christians will be imprisoned in
this underworld until after the millennium.
The suffering there will be according to works. There will be differing
degrees of chastisement (Luke 12: 47-48).
UNFAITHFUL CHRISTIAN: An unfaithful
Christian is a Christian that does not fear God, keep His commandments, and repent
of this sinful lifestyle (in the Christian life) before he or she dies. Every Christian sins;
yet some sin worse than others do. Some
Christians sin enough to merit millennial exclusion and chastisement in the
underworld, and they refuse to seek God’s mercy in repentance. The Lord will be the absolute judge of who
has been unfaithful. Our job is to
believe His warnings, trust in His mercy, and move with fear until we have
finished our course. In regard to
whether or not we are unfaithful, we are called to walk the narrow path between
high-mindedness and discouragement.