Begging Your Pardon, But I Must Disagree: An Alternative Opinion to that of Adrian Warnock on the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia

I really am a nobody in the larger Christian world.  Chances are I will remain as such.  Adrian Warnock however has a platform within conservative Christianity in both the United Kingdom and in the United States.  While Adrian is considered an influential voice in some sectors of Charismatic Christianity, my sphere is only this blog.  He has influence over a broad range of people, whereas my influence is very limited.  Adrian Warnock is a psychiatrist.  I'm just a working stiff.  He is an elder at his church, whereas I am just a member at mine.  And not only that, but I really do hate these internet controversies that pop up a few times each year.  Ninety-nine times out of a hundred, they are just foolishness.  I think the only other time I ever commented on anything of this nature was the Strange Fire conference from a year and a half ago, which was much bigger in scope. 

So why then am I publicly disagreeing with him?  Why get involved in this controversy?  Why would I go out of my way to suggest that his recent blog posts on why Christians should support the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia as well as the plausibility problem, are not only wrong and naive, but potentially dangerous ways to think about these issues?  Why would a young thirty-something nobody do such a thing?  Of course part of it is the fact that the Day which we are told we should support is not just about fighting against discrimination and violence (although we absolutely should oppose civil discrimination and violence).  It is, as the website says, "A worldwide celebration of sexual and gender diversities!"  This is clearly beyond what any Christian can do.  First Corinthians 10 tells us that:

¹⁸ Observe Israel after the flesh: Are not those who eat of the sacrifices partakers of the altar? ¹⁹ What am I saying then? That an idol is anything, or what is offered to idols is anything? ²⁰ Rather, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice they sacrifice to demons and not to God, and I do not want you to have fellowship with demons. ²¹ You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons; you cannot partake of the Lord’s table and of the table of demons. ²² Or do we provoke the Lord to jealousy? Are we stronger than He?

(1 Corinthians 10:18-22 NKJV)

Most of these internet blowups don't concern me so I stay away.  It's not my fight.  I believe this one is.  As I stated above, Adrian Warnock is an influential voice in the broad Charismatic Calvinist stream.  While I am not so endowed with such influence, I am a constituent member of that stream; and so for the honor of the Church and that of the Charismatic Calvinist movement, I feel like I should make my dissenting opinion known.

I think I can also speak to this as someone who is aware of the need to be compassionate and sensitive to the emotions that many people feel who experience same-sex attraction.  I can count some people that I know personally who do.  Some of them are practicing homosexuals, and some are Christians who still battle these attractions daily.  Additionally, anyone who knows me well knows of my generally favorable stance toward the late Lonnie Frisbee, the hippie evangelist who ministered during the days of the Jesus Movement and who sadly died of complications resulting from AIDS in 1993.

One last word of introduction.  In my mind, this really isn't ultimately about the homosexual movement or the related issues of same-sex attraction within Evangelicalism.  What I hope to challenge are what I perceive to be some of the underlying assumptions in Adrian's article.  To borrow terminology from the Protestant Reformation, the homosexual/transgender issue is the formal cause, but the material cause is much deeper.  The material cause is the manifold ways Evangelicals think that if only the Church would just get its act together and support in some prophetic sense the same issues the larger culture does, the secular Western culture would finally take notice and begin to listen to what we have to say.  As I hope to demonstrate, this attitude is wrong and I believe deadly and is found in a host of other issues not sexual in nature.  However, I should say up front that it is not my intention to issue a point-by-point rebuttal.  There are some good things in his two blog posts.  Again, my only concern is that the underlying assumptions are off and have lead and will lead to very dangerous places spiritually.

I really don't know where this idea came from that the Church is somehow a sad, sorry bunch of mediocrities that are completely out of touch with the real world.  Now I am sure that may be true somewhere, but I have rarely seen it.  Much current evangelical thinking seems to lean to this idea that if we all could only get our heads out of our proverbial rear ends, we could somehow really begin to affect the world for Christ.  But I believe this misses the mark substantially.  That is just not what our Lord Jesus said would happen.  The truth of the matter is, no matter how lovingly we preach, no matter how accepting we biblically can be, and no matter how much patience and compassion we show, the world will simply hate us: 

Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and kill you, and you will be hated by all nations for My name’s sake

(Matthew 24:9 NKJV)

I recognize that this passage likely had most direct relevance in the period just before the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, but the principle remains.

¹⁸ “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. ¹⁹ If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. ²⁰ Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. ²¹ But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.

(John 15:18-21 NKJV)

¹¹ Beloved, I beg you as sojourners and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the soul, ¹² having your conduct honorable among the Gentiles, that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may, by your good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation.

(1 Peter 2:11,12 NKJV)

This passage is particularly relevant since Peter tells us that even despite our good conduct, those in the world will speak against us a evildoers.  But we still do good works, so that God will ultimately be glorified on the day of visitation, which I take to be the Day of Judgment.  A similar statement from Peter later in his first epistle makes much the same point:

  ³ For we have spent enough of our past lifetime in doing the will of the Gentiles—when we walked in lewdness, lusts, drunkenness, revelries, drinking parties, and abominable idolatries. ⁴ In regard to these, they think it strange that you do not run with them in the same flood of dissipation, speaking evil of you. ⁵ They will give an account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.

(1 Peter 4:3-5 NKJV)

Hopefully this small section makes the point well.  I am convinced that even if the world wasn't convinced that the Church hated LGBT people, they would just find some other reason to hate us.  If they don't hate us for this, they will hate us for that, or at the very least consider as being uncool and archaic.  This would be true even if we began to champion all the liberal social causes. 

A second area of concern is Adrian's follow up article, which deals with what he calls the "plausibility problem."  Adrian says this in this article:

"What Conservative Evangelical Christians believe the Bible says no longer seems plausible to outsiders.  This is not just because of what Christians say, but also because of how it is said, and what church communities display to the world."

Now it very well may be true that the presentation is off.  I am sure there are many places where that is indeed the case.  There is nothing I can do about that.  What concerns me though is that first sentence, that what evangelical Christians say is no longer plausible to the world.  To be truthful, I can barely contain my incredulousness!  I do not mean any disrespect, however I wonder when plausibility became a criterion for truth.  Since when did it matter what the world thought about how "plausible" our message was?  How "plausible" is it that an obscure Jewish carpenter, albeit one with supernatural powers, can die for the sins of the world (by crucifixion no less) and rise physically from the dead, fulfilling centuries of prophetic predictions?  How "plausible" was it to the ancient, idol-worshipping pagans that surrounded Israel that there is only one God, who is invisible?  How could it be "plausible" in a Europe used to centuries of sacraments, indulgences, pilgrimages, monasteries, popes and archbishops that justification is by faith alone?  Presbyterian Carl Trueman, a professor at Westminster Theological Seminary is helpful here:

"...Some of the greatest preaching ever known was designed precisely not to communicate to the contemporary culture.  Just check Isaiah's commission in Isaiah 6, and the use of that text in Jesus' ministry to see how not communicating in comprehensible categories as determined by the immediate culture is a critical sign of judgment on an idolatrous people.
(Carl Trueman, Fools Rush in Where Monkeys Fear to Tread, Kindle edition, location 1228)

As helpful as Trueman is, I think the Apostle Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said it best:

¹⁸ For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. ¹⁹ For it is written:

“I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.”

²⁰ Where is the wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the disputer of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of this world? ²¹ For since, in the wisdom of God, the world through wisdom did not know God, it pleased God through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. ²² For Jews request a sign, and Greeks seek after wisdom; ²³ but we preach Christ crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the Greeks foolishness, ²⁴ but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. ²⁵ Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men....¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.

(1 Corinthians 1:18-25; 2:14 NKJV)

Again, I don't wish to be disrespectful, though I have been forceful.  I care very much for the honor of the Church and I have seen this kind of thinking over and over again.  I believe it is high time to challenge it.  I believe the right answer in this issue and others is to continue to love, continue to preach and teach, continue to suffer, continue to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and continue to do good works.  These are all things that Christians throughout the ages have done.  I, as a good Calvinist, will leave the saving to God.  I am certain that Dr. Warnock would agree.  Blessings in Christ Jesus.

   

What Does a Word and Power Movement Look Like? Part 2, Preaching and Teaching

In the first part of this series, I began to explore how a Word and Power movement values having doctrinal absolutes that are in line with historic Christian orthodoxy.  In this post, I will explore a similar theme.  I will suggest briefly that Word and Power churches should have an unapologetic commitment to the preaching and teaching of the Word of God, the Bible.  

Without spending too much time complaining, it does seem that in many places, clear and precise preaching and teaching has fallen on hard times.  The reasons are many.  Some want the teaching to be short and "practical" (as if the Bible by itself was somehow not practical).  Others want the teaching to be "relevant."  Practicality and relevance are not bad things in themselves.  I would suggest however that by simply and plainly teaching the Bible (which seems to primarily be the responsibility of the elders of the Church, though not exclusively), relevance and practicality take care of themselves.

Some ministries so emphasize teaching that they forget to preach, admonish, and exhort.  Others make the opposite mistake.  The truth is that Jesus Himself used both approaches and there really is a lot of overlap between them (Luke 4:15, 43-44).  The job of the man occupying the pulpit is to both convey information from the text and its backgrounds, well as to exhort, rebuke, and admonish the hearers to do something about it, all under the power of the Holy Spirit.

The Scriptures themselves put a high premium on the clear and regular teaching of the Bible to the Church.  Consider these Scriptural examples:

And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers.  (Acts 2:42 NKJV)

In this example, the fledgling Church gives great attention to hearing the Word of God being preached by gifted men.

 And Ezra opened the book in the sight of all the people, for he was standing above all the people; and when he opened it, all the people stood up. 6 And Ezra blessed the Lord, the great God.

Then all the people answered, “Amen, Amen!” while lifting up their hands. And they bowed their heads and worshiped the Lord with their faces to the ground.

7 Also Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, helped the people to understand the Law; and the people stood in their place. 8 So they read distinctly from the book, in the Law of God; and they gave the sense, and helped them to understand the reading.  (Nehemiah 8:5-8 NKJV)

This has to be one of the most clear Scriptures about how the Word read, taught, and preached can affect a whole community of people.  It is not just enough for the man of God to read from the Word, he must help the people understand the reading.  Another thing in these verses that stands out is the there were many men who read the Word and taught.  Part of this may have been a logistical necessity with the virtually the whole nation gathered together, but I still believe that churches should make room for a number of gifted men to use their gifts of teaching and preaching.

Let no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.  Till I come, give attention to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine.  Do not neglect the gift that is in you, which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership.  Meditate on these things; give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all.  Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.  (1 Timothy 4:12-16 NKJV)

Let the elders who rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and doctrine.  (1 Timothy 5:17 NKJV)

These two examples speak for themselves, but I want to point out a few things.  Firstly, Paul instructs young Timothy to "give attention" to the reading and expounding of the Word.  This tells me that preaching is not an obligatory exercise between worship sets, but something that has to be an emphasis in Timothy's life and ministry.

Secondly, as verse 16 makes plain, eternal destinies ride on how Timothy discharges his ministry.  Now of course I believe in justification by faith alone, but if the Word is not taught properly and regularly, people may never actually hear the Gospel and be saved!

Thirdly and finally, the last Scripture I referenced makes plain that teaching and preaching are hard work.  The elders "labor" in word and doctrine.  I am not an elder, but I have prepared and delivered sermons before.  Believe me, it is hard work! 

All of that said, I am only beginning to scratch the surface of what a Word and Power movement might, by God's grace, look like.  I hope that I can have some small part to play in God bringing it to fruition.  Amen.

What Does a Word and Power Movement Look Like? Part 1, Doctrinal Absolutes

Blogging is not always easy.  One reason is that I am a regular guy with a regular job and a family.  I don't always have spare minutes to write and publish. But another reason is that I have had difficulty in finding topics to blog about, or the topics I want to address would almost require a book to be written.  

With all of that said, as sort of a New Year's resolution of sorts, I have decided to begin a new emphasis and to begin discussing those elements that specifically pertain to what I believe is biblical ministry, i.e., word and power.  In that vein, this post will start a series exploring specific applications of the same.  Today I will discuss doctrinal absolutes.

What exactly do I mean by doctrinal absolutes?  Basically, I mean that any individual, church, ministry, etc... will be committed to certain propositional truth statements about important biblical topics.  I know I know; how horribly foundationalist, fundamentalist, literalist, etc..,  Nevertheless, that is how the Bible speaks.  It tells us certain things about itself, God, creation, humanity, sin, salvation, the Church, and so on.  It certainly offends (post)modern Western sensibilities, but I hold to it without apology.  Any ministry of word and power will also hold without apology doctrinal standards that are enforced and that are in harmony with the historic Christian faith of the creeds and reformation era confessions.  

So what does the Bible exactly say about the doctrinal aspect of the Church's ministry?  I am glad you asked!  Here is a small sampling:

 “And indeed, now I know that you all, among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of God, will see my face no more.  Therefore I testify to you this day that I am innocent of the blood of all men.  For I have not shunned to declare to you the whole counsel of God.   (Acts 20:25-27 NKJV)

Please notice how Paul reasons.  He declares to the elders of the Church at Ephesus that he is innocent of their blood should they fall away and be destroyed.  He can say this because He has not withheld anything profitable (Acts 20:20).  Indeed, he has declared to them "the whole counsel of God."  Eternal destinies are at stake in maintaining doctrinal absolutes and teaching them boldly.

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.  (Romans 6:17 NKJV)

What does this verse imply except that there is, in fact, a "form of doctrine" which exists and which is taught to the churches.

Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.  That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.  (2 Timothy 1:13,14 NKJV)

One thing I like about this passage is that Paul tells Timothy that it is through a special work of the Holy Spirit that he is able to hold fast to the "pattern of sound words".  Having a strong doctrinal basis is not something that we do on our own.  God the Holy Spirit Himself is assisting us.

Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father.  (1 John 2:24 NKJV)

This passage is yet another exhortation to hold on to something previously given.  In this case, John is instructing the churches under his care to cling to that which they had heard from the beginning.  What was it that they had heard from the beginning?  Among many other things is that God is light and in Him is no darkness (1:5), that Jesus Christ Himself is the propitiation for our sins (2:2), that they must not love the world nor the things in the world (2:15), that Jesus is the Christ and implicitly is one with the Father, and that anyone who denies that is the antichrist (2:22,23).  

Again, these are but a small sampling of Scriptures that make plain that part of the mission of the Church is to maintain a healthy, sound doctrinal basis.  It must have no part of watering down the unpopular truths of the Bible to suit the whims and fancies of the world.  As the passage from 2 Timothy makes plain, all of this is done by and through the power of the Holy Spirit who has been given to the Church.  Amen.

A Case Against the Pre-Tribulation Rapture; Ten Years Later

It occurred to me recently that it was exactly 10 years ago that I made one of the most profound theological shifts in my life.  Interestingly, it was not when I embraced Calvinism, nor when I came to understand the continuation of certain spiritual gifts.  Those were important, but did not have too much paradigm-shifting effect (at the time).  No, it was my rejection of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture and my subsequent embrace of the Post-Tribulational, Historic Premillennial view, which took place in the fall of 2004.  Along with the recent release of the latest "Left Behind" movie, it seemed like a good idea to write down my reasons why.  I do realize that this concerns a non-primary doctrine.  It is NOT my intention to write libelous things against those who hold to Pre-Tribulationism.  All of my earliest mentors in the faith were Dispensationalists, and many of the great expositors of the 20th century held to it (Chuck Smith, Charles Swindoll, David Jeremiah, John MacArthur, etc.).  I only wish to tell why I no longer believe this.

Like many young Christians in America, I was raised on a steady diet of Dispensational teaching (though I didn't know it was called that).  I was completely oblivious to any other views and honestly thought everyone who was sensible believed in the Pre-Trib Rapture.  All of this was only reinforced when, at the age of 17 - shortly after being truly born again - I began attending a church belonging to Calvary Chapel.  I spent three years at that church and fell in love with their approach to verse-by-verse expository preaching.  I also learned that I had a knack for theology and Bible memorization.  I began to seriously consider that God may be calling me to full-time ministry and that it would be through Calvary Chapel.  I visited Calvary Chapel Bible College in Murrieta, California, and started to imagine what it would be like to give myself to the ministry in that context.  My pastors were very supportive and encouraged me to look into it.

To make a long story short, I ended up at a different college much closer to home.  That would mark the beginning of the end for my time at Calvary Chapel and also the end to my Dispensationalism.  After making this transition theologically, I broke the news to my pastors at Calvary Chapel.  They were very kind about it and honestly spoke with me in love.  However, they told me that that door into the ministry was now closed to me and it would probably be better for me to find another fellowship that shared my views.  In what follows, I want to show, from the Bible, why I no longer believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture view.

The first Scripture I want to consider is the primary text on the concept of the Rapture, 1 Thessalonians 4:13-17,

13 But we do not want you to be uninformed, brethren, about those who are asleep, so that you will not grieve as do the rest who have no hope. 14 For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who have fallen asleep in Jesus. 15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.

The thing I wish to note here is that this text leaves no room at all for any kind of "secret" rapture.  It does teach that believers will be caught up in the air and meet the Lord, but notice how public and loud it is.  We see Jesus himself descending from Heaven, a shout, the voice of an archangel, and the blast of a trumpet.  Also, this event takes place at "the coming of the Lord", a phrase which everywhere else indicates His triumphant and public return to earth, which takes place after any tribulation period.

This is further confirmed by looking at Matthew 24:29-31,

29 “But immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30 And then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory. 31 And He will send forth His angels with a great trumpet and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of the sky to the other.  (NASB)

Matthew 24 is notoriously difficult and a full exegesis is beyond the scope of this little blog, but I wish the reader to note the similarities between this passage and the previous one in 1 Thessalonians.  In both passages, we find the Lord Jesus appearing in the sky with trumpets sounding and the presence of angels.  Also, both passages accompany the trumpet sounding with the gathering of the saints together.  I think it should be fairly obvious that the two Scriptures are parallel passages.  The clincher though is found at the beginning of verse 29, which explicitly states that this event will take place immediately after the tribulation and inseparable with the glorious second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ.  This, I believe is absolutely devastating the the Pre-Tribulational scheme.

Matthew 24:29-35	1 Thessalonians 4:13-17
Immediately after the tribulation of those days
	For this we say to you by the word of the Lord
	that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep.
Then the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and then 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.	For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout,
And He will send His angels with a great sound of a trumpet,	with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God.
and they will gather together His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.	And the dead in Christ will rise first.  Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air.

Honestly, I could stop there, but there is one more passage I wish to examine.  Specifically, I wish to look at 2 Thessalonians 2:1-8,

Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed.7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming...

Verse 1 is significant.  Paul, after already comforting the Thessalonian believers in chapter 1 with the hope of the second coming, introduces a related theme.  Evidently, some word had come to the saints in Thessalonica, ostensibly from Paul that the Day of the Lord, had already occurred and that somehow, the Thessalonians had missed out on it.  Paul seeks to correct this mistake by telling them the things which must first take place.  However, notice how Paul links together the glorious appearing of Jesus to take revenge on His enemies with our gathering together to him.  This is undoubtedly a reference to his earlier teaching on it in 1 Thessalonians 4 and what he had just written in 2 Thessalonians 1.  Again, it is apparent that the catching up of believers, or "the Rapture" will take place at the same moment as our Lord's glorious appearing.  It is not separated by a seven-year tribulation period.

Verses 2 and 3 are even more explicit.  Paul clusters the Second Coming and the Rapture together as one event called "The Day of the Lord".  At the risk of being redundant, they are not separate in his thinking.  Secondly, Paul labors to show how this one event cannot take place until certain conditions are met.  Namely, a massive falling away from the faith and the appearance of the "Man of Lawlessness" must come first.  Some Pre-Tribulationists attempt to circumvent this by asserting that the Greek word translated "apostasy" can also mean "departure." In their thinking, this "departure" is the departure from the earth of the saints in the Rapture.  They believe that Paul is giving a sequence of Rapture, Man of Lawlessness, Second Coming.  However, we have already seen that for Paul, the Rapture and Second Coming are one event and take place at the same time.  So it makes no sense at all that the Rapture can't happen until after the Rapture happens.  In reality, Paul's end-times sequence is Apostasy, Man of Lawlessness, Second Coming/Rapture.  We have also noted that this event can only take place after the Tribulation period.

There are, of course other lines of evidence I could follow.  We have to be sure that the Tribulation is an entirely future event like those of the Dispensational persuasion believe.  Personally, I believe that the Tribulation is a present event that began in the first century and continues today.  But space prevents me from exploring that.  I could also cite other New Testament Scriptures that portray Jesus' Second Coming as a unified event.  However, what I have given you is a good place to start I think in demonstrating that the teaching of the Pre-Tribulation Rapture is incorrect, despite the godliness of many of its exponents.

What's Your Name?

It is well known that in biblical times, much more so than today, a person's name had a special significance that often described aspects of that person's life. In some cases it described someone's rank in society or the circumstances surrounding his or her conception or birth.


Although it is much less prominent today, at least in the West, we can still find traces of it today, both for good and bad. As an example of the latter, no one wants to be called a Judas or a Benedict Arnold, names synonymous with betrayal (for my non-American readers, Benedict Arnold was a general who betrayed the United States during the American War for Independence by agreeing to surrender West Point to the British Army). On the other hand, a name with an honorable history is often passed down to new generations in order to perpetuate a legacy.



In the Scriptures, we find this dynamic at work constantly. In fact, I believe that it is a subtle motif that can be found throughout the Bible. I hope to show that there are two ways to be given a name in Scripture. On the one hand, I hope to demonstrate that the essense of sin and unbelief is the desire to make a name for one's self, thereby functionally dethroning God and taking divine prerogatives. These individuals are always met with destruction. On the other, those who humbly acknowledge their dependence on God are often honored by him with a name that He gives to them in love.

Attempting to make a name for one's self is ultimately the sin that doomed our first parents, Adam and Eve. The serpent's temptation appealed to the desire to be like God and be the ones who decide what is good and evil.

Then the serpent said to the woman, "You will not surely die. For God knows that in the day you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:4,5 NKJV)

Sadly, the sinful desire to make for one's self a name and thus sin against God whose name alone is worthy did not stop with Adam and Eve, but continued throughout biblical history. The story of the Tower of Babel is even more explicit:

Now the whole earth had one language and one speech. And it came to pass, as they journeyed from the east, that they found a plain in the land of Shinar, and they dwelt there. Then they said to one another, "Come, let us make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They had brick for stone, and they had asphalt for mortar. And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth." (Genesis 11:1-4 NKJV)

Of course, we know the rest of story of how God saw this arrogant attempt and stopped it by confusing the languages and scattering mankind all over the face of the earth. Even this however, could not stop Man in his pride from trying to exalt himself and make for himself a name, like those original people did at Babel. Other examples of individuals trying to make a name for themselves also include:



-The king of Babylon (whom some commentators think was a type of Satan in his initial rebellion)

"How you are fallen from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning!
How you are cut down to the ground,
You who weakened the nations!
For you have said in your heart:
‘I will ascend into heaven,
I will exalt my throne above the stars of God;
I will also sit on the mount of the congregation
On the farthest sides of the north;
I will ascend above the heights of the clouds,
I will be like the Most High.’
Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol,
To the lowest depths of the Pit.

　

- The King of Tyre (who also is thought by some to be a type of the Devil)

The word of the Lord came to me again, saying, 2 "Son of man, say to the prince of Tyre, ‘Thus says the Lord God:

"Because your heart is lifted up,
And you say, ‘I am a god,
I sit in the seat of gods,
In the midst of the seas,’
Yet you are a man, and not a god,
Though you set your heart as the heart of a god...‘Therefore thus says the Lord God:

"Because you have set your heart as the heart of a god,
7 Behold, therefore, I will bring strangers against you,
The most terrible of the nations;
And they shall draw their swords against the beauty of your wisdom,
And defile your splendor.
8 They shall throw you down into the Pit,
And you shall die the death of the slain
In the midst of the seas (Ezekiel 28:1,2;6-8 NKJV)

　

-Nebuchadnezzar

All this came upon King Nebuchadnezzar. At the end of the twelve months he was walking about the royal palace of Babylon. The king spoke, saying, "Is not this great Babylon, that I have built for a royal dwelling by my mighty power and for the honor of my majesty?"

While the word was still in the king’s mouth, a voice fell from heaven: "King Nebuchadnezzar, to you it is spoken: the kingdom has departed from you! And they shall drive you from men, and your dwelling shall be with the beasts of the field. They shall make you eat grass like oxen; and seven times shall pass over you, until you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses."

That very hour the word was fulfilled concerning Nebuchadnezzar; he was driven from men and ate grass like oxen; his body was wet with the dew of heaven till his hair had grown like eagles’ feathers and his nails like birds’ claws.

　

-Herod

Now Herod had been very angry with the people of Tyre and Sidon; but they came to him with one accord, and having made Blastus the king’s personal aide their friend, they asked for peace, because their country was supplied with food by the king’s country.

So on a set day Herod, arrayed in royal apparel, sat on his throne and gave an oration to them. And the people kept shouting, "The voice of a god and not of a man!" Then immediately an angel of the Lord struck him, because he did not give glory to God. And he was eaten by worms and died.

But the word of God grew and multiplied. (Acts 12:20-24 NKJV)

　

-The Man of Sin

Now, brethren, concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, we ask you, not to be soon shaken in mind or troubled, either by spirit or by word or by letter, as if from us, as though the day of Christ had come. Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition, who opposes and exalts himself above all that is called God or that is worshiped, so that he sits as God in the temple of God, showing himself that he is God. (2 Thessalonians 2:1-4 NKJV)

　

These examples show that ultimately what lies at the heart of sin and rebellion against the creator God is the desire to take from Him the glory that is due Him, and replace it with a self-styled glory that comes from prideful self-aggrandizement. The only end of this is total, unrelenting, and eternal destruction. In fact, in all the above cited Scriptures, that destruction is always declared and/or carried out.



Contrast this however with a different kind of name; a name given only by grace. This is a name that is not self-given, but rather a name that God Himself gives to His people who turn from making a name for themselves, but rather glory only in God's name and turn away from self-glorying.





-Abraham

Now the Lord had said to Abram:

"Get out of your country,
From your family
And from your father’s house,
To a land that I will show you.
I will make you a great nation;
I will bless you
And make your name great;
And you shall be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
And I will curse him who curses you;
And in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed." (Genesis 12:1-3 NKJV)

　

-Jacob

And He said, "Your name shall no longer be called Jacob, but Israel; for you have struggled with God and with men, and have prevailed." (Genesis 32:28 NKJV)

　

-David

But it happened that night that the word of God came to Nathan, saying, "Go and tell My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord: "You shall not build Me a house to dwell in. For I have not dwelt in a house since the time that I brought up Israel, even to this day, but have gone from tent to tent, and from one tabernacle to another. Wherever I have moved about with all Israel, have I ever spoken a word to any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, ‘Why have you not built Me a house of cedar–’"’ Now therefore, thus shall you say to My servant David, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: "I took you from the sheepfold, from following the sheep, to be ruler over My people Israel. And I have been with you wherever you have gone, and have cut off all your enemies from before you, and have made you a name like the name of the great men who are on the earth. Moreover I will appoint a place for My people Israel, and will plant them, that they may dwell in a place of their own and move no more; nor shall the sons of wickedness oppress them anymore, as previously, since the time that I commanded judges to be over My people Israel. Also I will subdue all your enemies. Furthermore I tell you that the Lord will build you a house. (1 Chronicles 17:3-10 NKJV)

　

-Zerubabbel

‘In that day,’ says the Lord of hosts, ‘I will take you, Zerubbabel My servant, the son of Shealtiel,’ says the Lord, ‘and will make you like a signet ring; for I have chosen you,’ says the Lord of hosts." (Haggai 2:23 NKJV)

　

-Joshua the High Priest

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan standing at his right hand to oppose him. And the Lord said to Satan, "The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?"

Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, "Take away the filthy garments from him." And to him He said, "See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes."

And I said, "Let them put a clean turban on his head."

So they put a clean turban on his head, and they put the clothes on him. And the Angel of the Lord stood by.  (Zechariah 3:1-5 NKJV)

　

As we come to the New Testament, we find that much the same theme continues. Those who entrust themselves in humble faith and obedience to God are endowed by Him with names and/or precious legacies. Our Lord Jesus Himself was exalted with the name that is above every name because of His obedience to God; even obedience to the point of death on the cross (Philippians 2:5-11). Simon was given the name Peter meaning "rock", after his confession of faith in Jesus as the Messiah, which Jesus said would be the rock upon which His Church is built (Matthew 16:13-20). John was dubbed "the disciple whom Jesus loved" (John 13:23; 21:7; 20).



As for Christians throughout history and today, the Scriptures are replete with the blessed names and titles given to God's covenant people in both testaments. Christians are called saints (Daniel 7:27; Romans 1:7), children (1 John 3:1), a Kingdom of/and Priests (Exodus 19:6; Revelation 1:6; 5:10). Our Good Shepherd Himself knows His sheep by name (John 10:3). All of these names and more come to God's own people; those who humble themselves before Him and seek not to make a name for themselves, but who seek to make God's name great throughout the earth. These are the ones who pray that God's name would be hallowed (Matthew 6:9). And as we pray and labor for God's name to be made great, He in His greatness and love, bestows upon us with names and titles that no one can take away.

A Few Reflections From My Recent Trip North

About a week and a half ago, my family and I returned from our trip up north to both Philadelphia and Cincinnati.  I, my wife Katie, and the two kids got in the car and drove up and back.  It was a long trip both ways to be sure, but I thought I would share some highlights as well as some things that I learned about myself and the ministry along the way.


Firstly, a few bits of trivia:


- I hate bridges and mountains!  I guess I have a fear of heights.  Thankfully, I was able to avoid the Delaware Memorial, Ben Franklin, and Walt Whitman bridges.  On the other hand, I did have to drive through the mountains in western Pennsylvania, and on the way back through eastern Kentucky and Tennesse.  I'll say this; if I ever see the Pennsylvania Turnpike again, it'll be too soon.


- It is COLD up north!  Even in late March it was still around 30 degrees in Philadelphia.  I am really thankful that I live in Florida and now have a small understanding of why people snow bird in Florida.




- With small kids, anytime you stop, plan on it being at least an hour.


- I really like those quaint little towns in eastern Pennsylvania like Lancaster and Ephrata.  We saw our share of Amish people on horse and buggy.


- I got to see the Liberty Bell and Independence Hall.  It was really cool to be inside the building where my nation's independence was born.


- Yes I climbed the Rocky Steps at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.  I hummed that theme to myself the whole way up.


- The food in Cincinnati is pretty awesome.  Toward the end of our trip, some dear friends of my wife's took us to a place called The Montgomery Inn.  Their ribs are spectacular.  If you're ever in Cincinnati, do yourself a favor and go.


-The Creation Museum in Petersburg, Kentucky was really cool too!  Katie's friends Don and Gabby O'Connell took us the day before we left.  My favorite part was the planetarium.  Reflecting on the sheer vastness of space and the distances between stars and galaxies was truly mind-boggling!






Secondly, I learned a few things about myself and the nature of the Christian ministry while in Philadelphia from my friend and mentor, Pastor Earl Wright of The Church of God in the Word.  Pastor Wright spoke to us about the seriousness of the Christian ministry and the high calling it is for a man to enter it.  We spoke of how easy it can be to fall into moral failure, the high standards overseers are called to, and how important it is for a man to have the full support of his wife.


It was confirmed in me that I do indeed have a genuine calling of God into full-time Christian ministry and that this is what I will continue to pursue in my life.  I believe that Lord is calling me specifically to somewhere in the northern part of the Tampa Bay area to minister.  A few years ago, I was leading worship in a Vineyard church in Inverness, Florida and when that fell through left the area to come to St. Petersburg.  The truth is I was very sad to leave the area and I believe now that it was a mistake.  It is very possible and likely that the Lord is even now leading me back to that area in the very near future. 


I also learned that I am not yet qualified for the Christian ministry.  Pastor Earl and I discussed the qualifications for an Overseer in 1 Timothy 3 and Titus 1.  I am just not there yet.  I still have much work to do in bringing some of those areas under control.


Lastly, I really enjoyed the fellowship, the prayers, the opportunity to preach, and also the opportunity to meet Charles Smoot in Lancaster; a fellow brother in the Association of Charismatic Reformed Churches.  I do hope to find my way back up to eastern Pennsylvania again, not only to fellowship with brothers Earl and Charles, but also because my Mom and Dad are moving up there too. 


Anyway, sometimes it is good to get away and take a retreat to learn things about oneself.  Especially for me right now as I prepare to turn 30 this month.  I pray that God will continue to bless me and my family and to form us into the image of His Son.  My hope is always to glorify Him in whatever circumstance.  The ministry and the Church belong to Jesus and He puts just the right people in place.  I pray that He will find in me a willing vessel to be used for His purposes.