There exists in Cyberland a set of open discussion forums oriented toward folks connected to the military services in which one can find a couple of forum areas bearing a Christian label. I have been frequenting one such forum for some time now, but alas, it might be time to move on down the road.

Why? I have consistently failed to be obedient to a couple of moderators I have sometimes affectionately called the Sheriff and the Deputy. Don’t worry; I didn’t shoot either of them. (If you get that, you are probably old like me.)

Permit me to explain. At this particular cyber-venue we find the following forum rules:

"In the interest of maintaining good order and mutually respectful discussion within the Christian Corner forum, the follow policies apply to messages posted here.

This is a CHRISTIAN forum. Topics discussed here will be from a Christian/Biblical perspective. As such, some opinions expressed here may be controversial. As a Christian forum the topic of sin will be discussed. The term "hate the sin, but love the sinner" will apply to these discussions. Therefore, personal attacks, insults, and profanity will not be tolerated."

The above certainly seems fair and reasonable, doesn’t it? I interpreted those rules as meaning that the Christian/biblical perspective regarding topics discussed would be presented, and that rude, ignorant, and disrespectful conversation would not be tolerated. In other words, I believed they meant what they said. Well, after a year or so of hanging out at this particular forum, I think I finally got it figured out.

It’s OK to talk about ‘sin’, but in a general sense only, as the reason Christ died, but don’t talk about what that means in terms of fallen humanity, specifically. By that I mean don’t talk about such things as ‘natural’ fallen human beings being by nature hostile to God and deserving of His just wrath – that sort of thing. It upsets the atheists and unbelievers who might show up whom we are supposed to be ‘wooing’ to Jesus.

Perhaps most grievously, I missed the ‘therefore’ in the part that said:

“’hate the sin, but love the sinner’ will apply to these discussions. Therefore, personal attacks, insults, and profanity will not be tolerated."

I thought that the ‘not to be tolerated’ behavior applied to everyone engaged in discussions. I have since learned, and been specifically told (IN the forum), that this rule doesn’t really apply to unbelievers and atheists. Not that I have seen any Christians acting that way, but there are a few regular professing atheists who routinely mock God and engage in personal attacks/insults. To their credit I have not observed open profanity. I guess requiring them to adhere to rules long considered as proper behavior for human dialogue of any sort would be ‘unloving’ to those whom we are supposed to be ‘wooing’ to Christ.

I suppose the biggest eye opener was being counseled IN the forum, by the Sheriff and the Deputy Sheriff, in front of the gleefully watching God-mocking pagans, concerning my ‘intentionally confrontational’ behavior, while nothing at all is said to those who openly mock God and His followers. I just couldn’t understand it, until I was publically counseled concerning my misinterpretation of the rules. I also might have ‘offended’ the Sheriff and Deputy by suggesting the rules should apply to everyone.

That left me with two choices. I either need to go find some sackcloth and ashes, or move on down the road. Well, since the biblical model for evangelism has at its core the nature of fallen human beings and the issue of sin, and nowhere do we have an example of ‘wooing’ the lost to Christ by just proving how nice we are and how inoffensive our ‘gospel’ is, it’s time to do a little ‘dust shakin’.

The gospel message that actually has the power to save is offensive to the unbeliever unless God has softened a hard heart and opened deaf ears to hear it. Our job as believers is to lovingly and prayerfully present an ‘offensive’ gospel and trust God to do as He said he would – save sinners. To do otherwise – to ‘woo’ the lost to Christ with niceness and promises of how Jesus will fix all their problems would place me in the ‘God-mocking’ camp, whether or not I ‘profess’ Christ.

I recently read an article concerning Olympic athletes who have acknowledged God in their lives. Here are some examples:

“Jesus is my life, and it’s been cool to experience Him through this sport I have a passion for.”

“I often use the word ‘free’ to remind myself that God wants me to live my life and compete on the court free in him.”

“I know I did not get to where I am by myself. Being able to trust my Lord and have faith that whatever happens is His will, gives me the inner peace that makes me ready for anything.”

“I am a Christian. [The] Bible is the most powerful book I’ve ever read in my life.”

“I really believe God is always wanting to speak to me and reveal secrets to me and tell me what I need to be doing.”

“I listen to a lot of Christian music, and reading my Bible calms me down immensely.”

As an adult, . . .recommitted his life to Christ. “It felt so good, it felt so good for me just to realize that there’s something bigger that I need to be focusing on,” he said.

Please don’t misunderstand me. I’m thrilled that Olympic athletes spoke about God and their faith in a very public forum! There are many Christians who don’t and won’t. At the same time, I think it instructive what they are saying about God and then ask ourselves a couple of questions.

We’ve been told that God:

• is cool to experience,
• wants us to live free in Him,
• helps us succeed and gives inner peace,
• has a powerful book that, when read, can calm us down,
• wants to speak to and tell us what to do, and
• is something bigger we can feel good about.

Are these true statements? I would say yes, after omitting the bit about God wanting to whisper secrets in our ears from one of our examples. Both Christians and non-Christians can relate to their sentiments. The Christian can even relate each one of them to Jesus in some way. The non-Christian? How might he/she receive these short testimonies?

• There are a lot’s of ‘cool’ things to experience.
• I’m free already.
• Isn’t training more important than religion?
• There are a lot of easier ways to stay calm that read a book! I have my music!
• I don’t need others telling me what to do.
• A bigger paycheck would make me feel great!
• Well, if I’m not sensing ‘cool’ in my life, not feeling successful, or not at peace with my world, I guess I can ‘try’ God.

Do you see where I’m going with this? We’ve been given God as a ‘life enhancement’ tool. Did those who spoke of their God intend to communicate that? I have no idea, and I do not doubt the sincerity of their testimonies. There is however, a much more important reason to embrace God through His Son, Jesus Christ.

The first, and foremost, reason we need to consider God and His Son is because we are sinners who are by nature ‘children of wrath’ (Eph 2). God is however a merciful God and sent his own Son to suffer the wrath and punishment we justly deserve. All those who realize their condition before a holy and just God, call out to God “Have mercy on me, a sinner!” and trust in Christ will have eternal life (John 3:16).

About those testimonies? They all communicate something true about God, as do so many of the testimonies we hear from other sports figures and celebrities.

At the same time I am reminded that if I want to share the gospel message that brings truly abundant life, on God’s terms, I must get to the bottom line, the main thing:

“Christ died for our sins.”

1 Corinthians 15:3

By definition, a logic bomb is a piece of programming code added to the software of an application or operating system that lies dormant until a predetermined period of time (i.e., a period of latency) or event occurs, triggering the code into action. Logic bombs typically are malicious in intent, acting in the same ways as a virus or Trojan horse, once activated.

I actually had to looked up the definition of a ‘logic bomb’ because the term came to mind when in a discussion concerning the purposes of the warning passages in scripture I was trying to explain the importance that words spoken by Jesus might impact the discussion. I wanted to find out if there was such a thing and how it would be defined.

The possible logic bomb:

Point 1 – Jesus said said those who believe in Him (his sheep) will never perish or face condemnation, having passed from death to life. (John 10:28 & John 5:34)

Point 2 – Any losing, forfeiting, throwing away, falling away, jumping out of the Father’s hand etc. means, by default, ‘perishing’.

Point 3 – None of the above ‘perishing’ examples will actually happen, because Jesus says they won’t.

Point 4 – All of the warning passages (which are all true), that seem to say a genuine believer could actually wake up in Hell (for one of the aforementioned subjects of Point 2) must serve another purpose in scripture.

Well, there was an event that triggered it – a discussion with my daughter and son-in-law that for the most part was batting warning scriptures and assurance scriptures back and forth. You can imagine how that was going. During the match, the fact that Jesus said, in plain words that have certain meanings “they (his sheep) shall ‘never perish’ ” exploded into my brain housing group. When that happened, all I could utter to continued warning passages tossed my way was “but didn’t Jesus say. . .?”

I guess you could say that there was a trigger and an explosion, but does that make it a logic bomb? Well, was it malicious in nature?

To me it certainly was not because I had been tossing the ‘assurance’ balls over the net. It might have been to my discussion opponent because it ‘maliciously’ attacked the operating system which asserts dogmatically that salvation, once possessed, could ever be reversed.

What it did do for me was settle the issue in my mind and heart. If Jesus meant what he said, the matter was closed and I never again would need to engage in length debate or animated discussions that don’t go very far. All I need to input into the data stream is “But didn’t Jesus say. . .they will never perish?” and let God take it from there.

So does it qualify as a logic bomb? You be the judge.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment. And this we will do if God permits. For it is impossible, in the case of those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted the heavenly gift, and have shared in the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, to restore them again to repentance, since they are crucifying once again the Son of God to their own harm and holding him up to contempt. (Hebrews 6:1-5a ESV)

Some will assert that the above warnings against apostasy or falling away, are addressed to believers, and imply a possibility of their falling away, or committing apostasy. Those who believe that ‘he who began a good work will bring it to completion at the day of the Lord’ (Phil 1:6), offer other purposes for the above warnings.

There is, of course, a sense in which it is possible for believers to fall away, — when they are viewed simply in themselves, with reference to their own powers and capacities, and apart from God’s purpose or design with respect to them. And it is admitted by all that believers can fall into sin temporarily.

The primary purpose of these passages, however, is to induce men to co-operate willingly with God for the accomplishment of His purposes. They are inducements which produce constant humility, watchfulness, and diligence. In the same way a parent, in order to get the willing co-operation of a child, may tell it to stay out of the way of an approaching automobile, when all the time the parent has no intention of ever letting the child get into a position where it would be injured. When God plies a soul with fears of falling it is by no means a proof that God in His secret purpose intends to permit him to fall. These fears may be the very means which God has designed to keep him from falling.

Secondly, God’s exhortations to duty are perfectly consistent with His purpose to give sufficient grace for the performance of these duties. In one place we are commanded to love the Lord our God with all our heart; in another, God says, “I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes.” Now either these must be consistent with each other, or the Holy Spirit must contradict Himself. Plainly it is not the latter.

Thirdly, these warnings are, even for believers, incitements to greater faith and prayer.

Fourthly, they are designed to show man his duty rather than his ability, and his weakness rather than his strength.

Fifthly, they convince men of their want of holiness and of their dependence upon God.

Sixthly, they serve as restraints on unbelievers, and leave them without excuse.

Loraine Boettner

I would agree that left to our own devices and natural abilities & desires, we would probably be just like the Israelites who had a track record of making promises and falling away again and again and again. However, as mentioned above, spoken by the prophet Ezekiel, God had a plan. . .

And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules. (Ezekiel 36:26-27 ESV)

Assuming the above to be true, solely because of God’s work in the human heart, why would we want to believe that a true Christian could fall away?

Albert Mohler , 20 July 2012

The news hit the airwaves like a sudden onslaught, and the truth began to sink in. It has happened again. This time, 50 people shot while attending the midnight premier of the last in the Batman sequence, The Dark Knight Rises. According to press reports, a 24-year-old man burst into the crowded theater, wearing a gas mask and carrying an arsenal. After deploying what is believed to be tear gas, he opened fire with a shotgun, a rifle, and two hand guns. At least 12 people are dead, and dozens are injured, many critically.

Over 100 police officers responded to the scene in Aurora, just a few miles from Columbine High School, where in 1999 two high school students killed 12 fellow students and one teacher in a rampage that also injured 21 other students. That school massacre became a milestone in the nation’s legacy of violence. Now, yet another Denver suburb joins that tragic list.

The inevitable media swarm focuses on the data first — the who, what, when, and where questions. Then they, along with the public at large, begin to ask the why question. That is always the hard one.

The same vexing but inescapable question comes every time a Columbine happens or an Anders Behring Breivik attempts to justify his mass homicide. How could such a thing happen? How could a human being do such a thing?

There is no easy answer to this question. The easy answers are never satisfying, and they are often based in the confused moral calculus of popular culture. We assume there must have been a political motivation, a psychiatric disturbance, a sociological pressure … anything that will offer a satisfying explanation that will assure us. Wave after wave of analysis is offered, and sometimes some horrifying clues emerge. But the moral madness of mass homicide can never be truly explained.

Christians are driven by instinct to think in biblical and theological terms. But, how should that instinct be guided?

The Reality of Human Evil

First, Christians know that the human heart is capable of great evil. Human history includes a catalog of human horrors. The 20th century, described by historian Eric Hobsbawm as the century of “megadeath,” included a list of names such as Adolf Hitler, Josef Stalin, Pol Pot, and Charles Manson. But those murderers did their killing from a distance, at least usually. Those who carry out the murders themselves are even more haunting to us. The young man arrested in this case, 24-year-old James Holmes, looks disarmingly normal.

The Fall released human moral evil into the cosmos, and every single human being is a sinner, tempted by a full range of sinfulness. When someone does something as seemingly unthinkable as this, we often question how anyone could do such a thing. The prophet Jeremiah spoke to this when he lamented, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick, who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

Human beings are capable of unspeakable moral evil. We are shocked by such atrocities, but only because we have some distance from the last one. We cannot afford to be shocked when humans commit grotesque moral evil. It tells us the truth about unbridled human sin.

The Grace of Moral Restraint

Second, we must be thankful for restraints on moral evil. Christians must not underestimate the potential of any human being — ourselves included — to commit moral horror. We know ourselves to be sinners, and we know ourselves to be capable of sins we do not actually commit. Why do we not commit them?

God restrains human sinfulness. If the fullness of human sin was set loose, humanity would destroy itself. God restrains human evil by several means. First, he has created us in his image, and at least part of this image is what we call conscience. The moral conscience is a powerful restraint on human evil, and for this we must be exceedingly thankful. At the same time, the human conscience is also warped by the Fall and no longer fully trustworthy. We have developed the capacity to ignore the conscience, torture the conscience, and even misdirect the conscience by moral rationalization. Nevertheless, the restraint of the conscience is fundamental, and for that we must be very thankful.

God has also established institutions and orders that restrain human evil. As the Apostle Paul reminds us in Romans 13, God gave us the institution of government in order to restrain evil and to punish the evildoer. He has also given us the institution of marriage and the family and the larger order of society in order to restrain evil. We are surrounded by a complex of laws and statutes and social expectations and civic associations. All these function to restrain evil.

At the foundation of these restraints is the fear of God, which, even in an increasingly secular society, still retains a more powerful force than is often acknowledged.

Evil Answered at the Cross

Third, we must admit that there will be no fully satisfying answer to these questions in this life. Christians know that God is sovereign, and that nothing is outside of his control. We also now that he allows evil to exist, and human beings to commit moral atrocities. We cannot deny the sovereignty of God to be denied and evil allowed its independent existence, and yet we cannot deny the reality of evil and the horror of its threat to be lessened. We are reminded that evil can be answered only by a cross.

Theologian Henri Blocher explains this truth vividly in these words:

“Evil is conquered as evil because God turns it back upon itself. He makes the supreme crime, the murder of the only righteous person, the very operation that abolishes sin. The maneuver is utterly unprecedented. No more complete victory could be imagined. God responds in the indirect way that is perfectly suited to the ambiguity of evil. He entraps the deceiver in his own wiles. Evil, like a judoist, takes advantage of the power of good, which it perverts; the Lord, like a supreme champion, replies by using the very grip of the opponent.”

We must grieve with those who grieve. We must pray for Gospel churches in the Denver area who will be called upon for urgent ministry. We must pray for our nation and communities. And we must pray that God will guard ourselves from evil — especially our own evil. And we must point to the cross. What other answer can we give?

Reference: Henri Blocher, Evil and the Cross (Kregel, 2005).

I am always glad to hear from readers. Write me at mail@albertmohler.com. Follow regular updates on Twitter at www.twitter.com/AlbertMohler.

NOTE: Many times, when the topics of God’s predestination and election are discussed it turns to the topic of the God’s foreknowledge. The following, taken from a larger A.W. Pink work that can be read here, is provided for your consideration.

What controversies have been engendered by this subject in the past! But what truth of Holy Scripture is there which has not been made the occasion of theological and ecclesiastical battles? The deity of Christ, His virgin birth, His atoning death, His second advent; the believer’s justification, sanctification, security; the church, its organization, officers, discipline; baptism, the Lord’s supper, and a score of other precious truths might be mentioned. Yet, the controversies which have been waged over them did not close the mouths of God’s faithful servants; why, then, should we avoid the vexed question of God’s Foreknowledge, because, forsooth, there are some who will charge us with fomenting strife? Let others contend if they will, our duty is to bear witness according to the light vouchsafed us.

. . .

There are two things concerning the Foreknowledge of God about which many are in ignorance: the meaning of the term, its Scriptural scope.

. . .

When the solemn and blessed subject of Divine foreordination is expounded, when God’s eternal choice of certain ones to be conformed to the image of His Son is set forth, the Enemy sends along some man to argue that election is based upon the foreknowledge of God, and this “foreknowledge” is interpreted to mean that God foresaw certain ones would be more pliable than others, that they would respond more readily to the strivings of the Spirit, and that because God knew they would believe, He, accordingly, predestinated them unto salvation.

. . .

Scripture affirms that God, in His high sovereignty, singled out certain ones to be recipients of His distinguishing favors (Acts 13:48), and therefore He determined to bestow upon them the gift of faith.

. . .

What is meant by “foreknowledge?” “To know beforehand,” is the ready reply of many. But we must not jump at conclusions, nor must we turn to Webster’s dictionary as the final court of appeal, for it is not a matter of the etymology of the term employed. What is needed is to find out how the word is used in Scripture.

. . .

. The word “foreknowledge” is not found in the Old Testament. But know occurs there frequently. When that term is used in connection with God, it often signifies to regard with favour, denoting not mere cognition but an affection for the object in view. “I know thee by name” (Ex. 33:17). “Ye have been rebellious against the Lord from the day that I knew you” (Deut. 9:24). “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee” (Jer. 1:5). “They have made princes and I knew it not” (Hos. 8:4). “You only have I known of all the families of the earth” (Amos 3:2). In these passages knew signifies either loved or appointed.

In like manner, the word “know” is frequently used in the New Testament, in the same sense as in the Old Testament.

. . .

The fact is that “foreknowledge” is never used in Scripture in connection with events or actions; instead, it always has reference to persons.

. . .

The first occurrence is in Acts 2:23. There we read, “Him being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.” If careful attention is paid to the wording of this verse it will be seen that the apostle was not there speaking of God’s foreknowledge of the act of the crucifixion, but of the Person crucified: “Him (Christ) being delivered by,” etc.

The second occurrence is in Romans 8;29,30. “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. Moreover whom He did predestinate, them He also called,” etc. Weigh well the pronoun that is used here. It is not what He did foreknow, but whom He did.

. . .

“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” (Rom. 11:2). Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in 1 Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father? The previous verse tells us: the reference is to the “strangers scattered” i.e. the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to persons, and not to their foreseen acts.

. . .

“God hath not cast away His people which He foreknew” (Rom. 11:2). Once more the plain reference is to persons, and to persons only.

The last mention is in 1 Peter 1:2: “Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father.” Who are elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father? The previous verse tells us: the reference is to the “strangers scattered” i.e. the Diaspora, the Dispersion, the believing Jews. Thus, here too the reference is to persons, and not to their foreseen acts.

___________________

The above excerpts are from an A.W. Pink work which can be read in its entirety here.

I had a great discussion concerning the above on a recent Sunday evening that lasted way past my normal bedtime when I have to work the following day. The discussion began while talking about the morning sermon at a local church from Hebrews 6.

While not a debate, on one side was the opinion that genuine salvation begins at the moment of belief and will carry the believer safely into eternity no matter what might come to pass in between. On the other side was the thought that salvation can be forfeited essentially because of human will. You can readily imagine some of the passages of scripture that were brought up and tossed about.

The personal challenge for this old guy was trying to arrive at the simplest way to support the position that genuine salvation will never be lost, forfeited, or rejected once received. Are there passages of scripture that should settle the matter no matter how convincing passages suggesting otherwise appear? Perhaps there are, in the very words of Jesus:

At that time the Feast of Dedication took place at Jerusalem. It was winter, and Jesus was walking in the temple, in the colonnade of Solomon. So the Jews gathered around him and said to him, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Christ, tell us plainly.” Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe. The works that I do in my Father’s name bear witness about me, but you do not believe because you are not among my sheep. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.” (John 10:22-30 ESV)

Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. (John 5:24 ESV)

Aside from the sometimes hotly debated meaning of ‘snatch’ in the John 10 passage, we have two statements.

1. John 10:28 tells us that Christ gives eternal life to his sheep, his true followers, and they shall never perish. Exactly when does he give them eternal life? There are only two options; in this life or at the judgment seat. Jesus answers that also.

2. From the moment a person hears the message of the gospel, repents of sin and believes the message that Christ died for our sins,  he/she has passed from death to life.

Do those two passages, John 10:28 & John 5:24 settle the matter? Well, if they mean exactly what they say, all the other passages that seem to indicate salvation can somehow be reversed, must mean something else.

Think about it. . .

There’s no doubt that persecution is a stark reality of living the Christian life. The apostle Paul warned us that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” (2 Timothy 3:12). Jesus told us to expect persecution from the world because if they persecuted Him, they will persecute His followers also. Jesus has made it very clear to us that those of the world will hate us because they hate Him. If Christians were like the world—vain, earthly, sensual, and given to pleasure, wealth, and ambition—the world would not oppose us. But Christians do not belong to the world which is why they hate and persecute us (John 15:18-19). Christians are, or should be, influenced by different principles from those of the world. We are motivated by the love of God and holiness, while the world is driven by the love of sin. It is our very separation from the world that arouses the world’s animosity toward us. The world would prefer that we were like them; since we are not, they hate us (1 Peter 4:3-4).

 
As faithful Christians, we must learn to recognize the value of persecution and even to rejoice in it, not in an ostentatious way, but quietly and humbly because persecution has great spiritual value. First, persecution allows us to share in a unique fellowship with our Lord. In his letter to the Philippians, Paul outlined a number of things he surrendered for the cause of Christ. Such losses, however, he viewed as “rubbish” (Philippians 3:8), or “dung” (KJV), that he might share in the “fellowship of [Christ’s] sufferings” (Philippians 3:10). The noble apostle even counted his chains as a grace (favor) which God had bestowed upon him (Philippians 1:7).

Second, in all truth, persecution is good for us. James argues that trials test our faith, work or develop (endurance) in our lives, and help develop maturity (James 1:2-4). For as steel is tempered in the flames of the forge, trials and persecution serve to hone down those rough edges that tarnish our character. Yielding graciously to persecution allows one to demonstrate that he is of a superior quality than his adversaries. It’s easy to be hateful, but an ugly disposition throws a light upon our human weakness. It is much more Christ-like to remain calm and to respond in kindness in the face of evil opposition. Without question this is a tremendous challenge, but we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us and the wonderful example of the Lord to encourage us. Peter says of Jesus, “When they hurled their insults at Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats. Instead, He entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:23).

Third, persecution enables us to value the support of true friends. Conflict sometimes brings faithful children of God together in an encouraging and supportive way they might not have known otherwise. Hardship can stimulate the Lord’s people toward a greater resolve to love and comfort one another and lift one another to the throne of grace in prayer. There’s nothing like an unpleasant incident to help the more mature rise toward a greater level of brotherly love.

 
So, when we think about it seriously, we can move ourselves forward, even in the face of antagonism, whether from the world or within the church, and press on. We can thank God for His grace and for His patience with us. We can express gratitude for those whom we love in the Lord and who stand with us in times of distress. And we can pray for those who would accuse, misuse, or abuse us (2 Corinthians 11:24; Romans 10:1).

Recommended Resource: Foxe’s Book of Martyrs by John Foxe.

Online Article Source

 THE NOT SO SECRET RAPTURE

 Revised

By W. Fred Rice

  (ThM, Systematic Theology, Westminster Seminary

Evangelical book catalogs promote books such as Planet Earth: The Final Chapter, The Great Escape, and the Left Behind series. Bumper stickers warn us that the vehicle’s occupants may disappear at any moment. It is clear that there is a preoccupation with the idea of a secret rapture. Perhaps this has become more pronounced recently due to the expectation of a new millennium and the fears regarding potential Y2K problems. Perhaps psychologically people are especially receptive to the idea of an imminent, secret rapture at the present time. Additionally, many Christians are not aware that any other position relative to the second coming of Jesus Christ exists. Even in Reformed circles there are numerous people reading these books. Many of these people are unaware that this viewpoint conflicts with Scripture and Reformed Theology.

What exactly is the secret rapture teaching? It is the teaching that the Christian Church will be secretly removed from the world, and that the unbelievers who are left behind will not be certain where vast multitudes have gone. These unbelievers will be left on the earth to endure seven years of tribulation, which will be initiated by the Antichrist, who will be revealed only after the rapture has taken place. The prophecies of the seven seals, the seven trumpets, and the seven bowls of the book of Revelation will be fulfilled during this tribulation.

Tim LaHaye and Jerry B. Jenkins are the authors of Left Behind and four other books in a series that delineates this theory in popular fiction. So popular is this series that 4.5 million copies of the books and audio tapes have been sold. It has its own extensive web site, postcards, and a separate Left Behind Series for Kids, and a movie is being made based on the first two books, Left Behind and Tribulation Force. In Tim LaHaye’s book Left Behind, the first in this series, Rayford Steele, pilot for Pan-Continental Airlines is making a flight from Chicago to London when he is informed by Hattie, his head flight attendant, that many of their passengers have disappeared mid-flight. Their clothes are the only evidence remaining of their former presence. As Rayford contacts other airliners he finds that they have experienced the same phenomenon. Upon his forced return to Chicago he finds total chaos, as aircraft and vehicles, suddenly without operators, have collided and crashed all over the city. After reaching his home with considerable difficulty, he finds that his own wife and son have disappeared. Actually, this is what he had expected, since his wife was a Christian who had spoken regularly about the imminent secret rapture of the Church, and he finds this the only reasonable explanation for what has happened. The majority of people, however, seek to find some other reason, such as capture by aliens or an unexplained scientific phenomenon. Rayford calls the church where his wife was a member, and the visitation pastor Bruce Barnes answers the phone! Rayford meets with Bruce in an effort to get some answers, and Bruce confesses that he was never a true Christian, and was not surprised to be left behind. But Bruce has become a Christian since the rapture, and is anxious to share his faith with others. Rayford and many others are converted. Two witnesses, Moishe and Eli, appear out of nowhere and begin witnessing in the city of Jerusalem. We are informed that through their witness 144,000 Jews will be converted. Meanwhile, Nicolae Carpathia, a brilliant and eloquent Romanian, rises quickly to power, becoming the head of the United Nations. At the end of the book it is evident that he is either the Antichrist or the False Prophet, and that his professed humanitarianism is totalitarianism in disguise. We are left hanging on the edge of a literary cliff, and will have to read the succeeding books of the series to learn the final outcome. But those of us acquainted with dispensational theology have a fairly good idea of what will happen.

So what is wrong with the perspective of these novels and other books which promote this theory in a fictional or non-fictional fashion? After all, such books accurately represent the popular theory of the rapture as taught in the majority of evangelical, Bible believing churches in the United States today. But do they truly represent the teachings of Scripture? The majority of Reformed people have always answered this question in the negative.

What, then, does the Bible teach? At the time of Christ’s ascension, the disciples were told that “this same Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will so come in like manner as you saw him go into heaven” (Acts 1:11). His ascension was visible and physical; his second coming will be visible and physical as well. Dispensationalists seek to explain this by saying that the second coming is divided into two parts, the coming of Christ for his saints (the secret rapture), and the coming of Christ with his saints (the revelation), and that it is only at his revelation that he will appear visibly. But this in reality postulates a second and a third coming.^[1]

Additionally, there is simply no hint of a secret rapture in Scripture. The coming of Christ is consistently described as a visible and noisy event, which is also accompanied by the resurrection of the dead. I Thessalonians 4:16 contains one of the most vivid descriptions of the second coming. We are told that “the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.” The same connection of the sound of the trumpet with the resurrection is also made in I Cor. 15:51-52.

Matthew 24:21-311^[2] teaches that the coming of Christ will be “as the lightning” (v. 27), that “all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet . . ..” (vv. 30-31). In addition to describing this event as noisy and clearly visible by all the inhabitants of the earth, this passage also warns us against belief in a secret coming of Christ: “Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There!’ do not believe it” (v. 23); and, ” . . . if they say to you, ‘Look, He is in the desert!’ do not go out; or ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms!’ do not believe it” (v. 26). There will be absolutely no question about what has happened after Christ has come. People left behind will not be dreaming up explanations – they will be mourning because their judgment has come.

Also going against this theory is II Thess. 2:1-10, which teaches that two events will occur prior to the coming of Christ: (1) “the falling away” (or “rebellion,” NIV, or, literally, “apostasy”); (2) the revelation of “the man of lawlessness.” Now whether we understand the Antichrist as nothing more than the spirit of Antichrist, or as a particular individual, one thing is clear: this revelation of the Antichrist will be prior to Christ’s coming, not afterwards.

Scripture teaches that the coming of Christ will be sudden and unexpected, especially to unbelievers. This is the teaching of Paul in I Thess. 5:1-10. But to say that it will be sudden and unexpected is not to say that it will be secret.

The passage that is most frequently used to substantiate a secret rapture and unbelievers being left behind is Luke 17:31-37, which speaks of “two in one bed: the one will be taken and the other will be left.” It is perfectly true that this passage teaches that unbelievers will be left behind. But there is nothing here to indicate the imaginative dispensational scenario of the one being taken away secretly. Comparing Scripture with Scripture we must conclude that those left behind are left behind to suffer judgment. II Thess. 1:3-10 speaks of the Lord Jesus “in flaming fire taking vengeance” when he is revealed from heaven. Unbelievers will not be left behind to go through a seven year tribulation and have a second chance to accept the Lord during that time. This idea of a second chance is emphasized again and again in Left Behind, and yet this is an idea which is foreign to Scripture.

Concerning the Left Behind books, can anything positive be said? First, they are well written and engaging. Second, the plan of salvation is, on the whole, accurately represented: it is clear that conversion is much more than a bare profession of faith, but is accompanied by repentance and followed by a changed life. Third, these books certainly impress upon people the reality of the return of Christ, even if the details regarding it are misrepresented. 

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^[1]Titus 2:13 is often used to support this. The argument is that “the blessed hope” is the rapture and the “glorious appearing” is the revelation. But the Greek grammatical construction for “the blessed hope and glorious appearing” (one article precedes two nouns which are joined by the conjunction kai) makes it as likely that the terms are being used to describe one event as two.

^[2]It seems to me that many preterists dilute the meaning of this passage almost as much as dispensationalists do, by referring it to an unseen coming of Christ in 70 A.D. John Murray, Collected Writings, Volume II, pp. 387ff., by contrast, supports the prevailing interpretation that this refers to the second coming of Christ. But at least preterists would agree that Scripture does not teach a secret rapture.