Late-2nd-century Canons

By Britannica

     By the end of the 2nd century, Irenaeus used the four canonical Gospels, 13 letters of Paul, I Peter, I and II John, Revelation, Shepherd of Hermas (a work later excluded from the canon), and Acts. Justin Martyr (died c. 165), a Christian apologist, wrote of the reading of the Gospels, “the memoirs of the Apostles,” in the services, in which they were the basis for sermons. In his writings he quoted freely from the Gospels, Hebrews, the Pauline Letters, I Peter, and Acts. Justin’s Syrian pupil, Tatian (c. 160), although he quotes from John separately, is best known for his Diatessaron (literally, “through four” [gospels], but also a musicological term meaning “choral” “harmony”), which was a life of Christ compiled from all four Gospels but based on the outline and structure of John. This indicates both that Tatian was aware of four gospel traditions and that their canonicity was not fixed in final form at his time in Syria. Although Tatian was later declared a heretic, the Diatessaron was used until the 5th century and influenced the Western Church even after four separated gospels were established.

     The first clear witness to a catalog of authoritative New Testament writings is found in the so-called Muratorian Canon, a crude and uncultured Latin 8th-century manuscript translated from a Greek list written in Rome c. 170–180, named for its modern discoverer and publisher Lodovica Antonio Muratori (1672–1750). Though the first lines are lost, Luke is referred to as “the third book of the Gospel,” and the canon thus contains [Matthew, Mark] Luke, John, Acts, 13 Pauline letters, Jude, two letters of John, and Revelation. Concerning the Apocalypse of Peter, it notes that it may be read, although some persons object; it rejects the Shepherd of Hermas as having been written only recently in Rome and lacking connection with the apostolic age. The Wisdom of Solomon (a Jewish intertestamental writing), is included in the accepted works as written in Solomon’s honour.

     Some principles for determining the criteria of canonicity begin to be apparent: apostolicity, true doctrine (regula fidei), and widespread geographical usage. Such principles are indicated by Muratori’s argument that the Pauline Letters are canonical and universal — the Word of God for the whole church — although they are addressed to specific churches, on the analogy of the letters to the seven churches in Revelation; in a prophetic statement to the whole church, seven specific churches are addressed, then the specific letters of Paul can be read for all. Thus, the catholic  ( Not the Catholic Church as we now know it, but rather catholic in the sense of universal, good for all ) status of the Pauline letters to seven churches is vindicated on the basis of the revelation of Jesus Christ to John, the seer and writer of Revelation. Wide usage in the church is indicated in calling Acts the Acts of all the Apostles and in the intention of the “general address”—e.g., “To those who are called,” in Jude — of the Catholic (or general) Letters—i.e., I and II Peter, I, II, and III John, James, and Jude. The criterion of accordance with received teaching is plain in the rejection of heretical writings. The Muratorian Canon itself may have been, in part, a response to Marcion’s heretical and reductive canon.

     The criteria of true doctrine, usage, and apostolicity all taken together must be satisfied, then, in order that a book be judged canonical. Thus, even though the Shepherd of Hermas, the First Letter of Clement, and the Didachē may have been widely used and contain true doctrines, they were not canonical because they were not apostolic nor connected to the apostolic age, or they were local writings without support in many areas.     This applies to many of the books that those who don't read the Bible insist should be a part of our Canon, Book of Jasher, Gospel of Thomas etc. Just because a book is mentioned in Scripture does not mean it should be included in our Bible.

     During the time of the definitive formation of the canon in the 2nd century, apparent differences existed in the Western churches (centred in or in close contact with Rome) and those of the East (as in Alexandria and Asia Minor).  ( I think it is important to remember that Christians were first called Christians in Antioch and that Gnosticism was birthed in Alexandria, Egypt. ) It is not surprising that the Roman Muratorian Canon omitted Hebrews and accepted and held Revelation in high esteem, for Hebrews allows for no repentance for the baptized Christian who commits apostasy (rejection of faith), a problem in the Western Church when it was subjected to persecution. In the East, on the other hand, there was a dogmatic resistance to the teaching of a 1,000 - year reign of the Messiah before the end time — i.e., chiliasm, or millenarianism — in Revelation. There was also a difference in the acceptance of Acts and the Catholic Letters. With the continued expansion of the church, particularly in the 2nd century, consolidation was necessary.

Canonical standards of the 3rd and 4th centuries

     Clement of Alexandria,  ( Egypt, a type of the world) a theologian who flourished in the late 2nd century, seemed to be practically  unconcerned about canonicity.  To him, inspiration is what mattered, and he made use of the Gospel of the Hebrews, the Gospel of the Egyptians, the Letter of Barnabas, the Didachē, and other extracanonical works. Origen (died c. 254), Clement’s pupil and one of the greatest thinkers of the early church, distinguished at least three classes of writings, basing his judgment on majority usage in places that he had visited: (1) homologoumena or anantirrhēta, “undisputed in the churches of God throughout the whole world” (the four Gospels, 13 Pauline Letters, I Peter, I John, Acts, and Revelation); (2) amphiballomena, “disputed” (II Peter, II and III John, Hebrews, James, and Jude); and (3) notha, “spurious” (Gospel of the Egyptians, Thomas, and others). He used the term “scripture” (graphē) for the Didachē, the Letter of Barnabas, and the Shepherd of Hermas, but did not consider them canonical. Eusebius shows the situation in the early 4th century. Universally accepted are: the four Gospels, Acts, 14 Pauline Letters (including Hebrews), I John, and I Peter. The disputed writings are of two kinds: (1) those known and accepted by many (James, Jude, II Peter, II and III John, and (2) those called “spurious” but not “foul and impious” (Acts of Paul, Shepherd of Hermas, Apocalypse of Peter, Letter of Barnabas, Didachē and possibly the Gospel of the Hebrews); finally there are the heretically spurious (e.g., Gospel of Peter, Acts of John). Revelation is listed both as fully accepted (“if permissible”) and as spurious but not impious. It is important that Eusebius feels free to make authoritative use of the disputed writings. Thus canon and authoritative revelation are not yet the same thing.

Determination of the canon in the 4th century

     Athanasius, a 4th-century bishop of Alexandria  ( Egypt ) and a significant theologian, delimited the canon and settled the strife between East and West. On a principle of inclusiveness, both Revelation and Hebrews (as part of the Pauline corpus) were accepted. The 27 books of the New Testament — and they only — were declared canonical. In the Greek churches there was still controversy about Revelation, but in the Latin Church, under the influence of Jerome, Athanasius’ decision was accepted. It is notable, however, that, in a mid - 4th-century manuscript called Codex Sinaiticus, the Letter of Barnabas and the Shepherd of Hermas are included at the end but with no indication of secondary status, and that, in the 5th-century Codex Alexandrinus, there is no demarcation between Revelation and I and II Clement.

     In the Syriac Church,  (Antioch ) Tatian’s Diatessaron was used until the 5th century, and in the 3rd century the 14 Pauline Letters were added. Because Tatian had been declared a heretic, there was a clear episcopal order to have the four separated Gospels when, according to tradition, Rabbula, bishop of Edessa, introduced the Syriac version known as the Peshitta—also adding Acts, James, I Peter, and I John—making a 22-book canon. Only much later, perhaps in the 7th century, did the Syriac canon come into agreement with the Greek 27 books.

Developments in the 16th century

     With the advent of printing and differences between Roman Catholics and Protestants, the canon and its relationship to tradition finally became fixed. During the Counter-Reformation Council of Trent (1545–63), the canon of the entire Bible was set in 1546 as the Vulgate, based on Jerome’s Latin version. For Luther, the criterion of what was canonical was both apostolicity, or what is of an apostolic nature, and “was Christum treibet”—what drives toward, or leads to, Christ. This latter criterion he did not find in, for example, Hebrews, James, Jude, and Revelation; even so, he bowed to tradition, and placed these books last in the New Testament.

Britannica Source

Diatessaron - Harmony Of The Gospels

By New World Encyclopedia

     The Diatessaron (c 150 - 160 C.E.) (meaning "Harmony of Four") is an early Christian text written by the apologist and ascetic Tatian, who combined the four canonical gospels into a single harmonious narrative. Tatian attempted to resolve some of the contradictions found in the mainstream gospels by integrating them into one story and removing any duplicate information. For example, he omitted the conflicting genealogies of  Matthew and  Luke thereby creating a streamlined narrative sequence, which, however, was different from both the synoptic gospels and the Gospel of  John. Tation's harmony also does not include Jesus' encounter with the adulteress ( John 7:53 - 8:11 ).

     Only fifty-six verses in the canonical Gospels do not have a counterpart in the Diatessaron, mostly the genealogies and the pericope adulterae. The final work is about 72 percent the length of the four gospels put together. He followed the gospels closely in terms of wording but put the verses in a new, different sequence.

     In the early church, the gospels at first circulated independently, with  Matthew being the most popular. The Diatesseron is notable evidence for the authority already enjoyed by the four gospels by the mid-second century. Twenty years after Tatian's harmony, Irenaeus expressly proclaimed the authoritative character of the four gospels. The Diatesseron became the standard text of the gospels in the Syriac - speaking churches down to the fifth century, when it gave way to the four separate Gospels, in the Peshitta version.

Tatian's Harmonizing of the Gospels

     Tatian was an Assyrian pupil of Justin Martyr in Rome. When Justin quoted the Gospels, he tended to do so in a harmonized form, and it is generally concluded that he must have possessed a Greek harmony text; but it is unclear how much Tatian may have borrowed from this previous author in determining his own narrative sequence of Gospel elements. It is equally unclear whether Tatian took the Syriac Gospel texts composited into his Diatessaron from a previous translation, or whether the translation was his own. Where the Diatessaron records Gospel quotations from the Jewish Scriptures, the text appears to agree with that found in the Syriac Peshitta Old Testament rather than that found in the Greek Septuagint — as used by the original Gospel authors. The majority consensus is that the Peshitta Old Testament preceded the Diatessaron, and represents an independent translation from the Hebrew Bible. Resolution of these scholarly questions remain very difficult so long as no complete version of the Diatessaron in Syriac or Greek has been recovered; while the medieval translations that have survived — in Arabic and Latin — both relied on texts that had been heavily corrected to conform better with later canonic versions of the separate Gospel texts.

     There has even been disagreement about what language Tatian used for its original composition, whether Syriac or Greek. Modern scholarship tends to favour a Syriac origin; but even so, the exercise must have been repeated in Greek very shortly afterwards — probably by Tatian himself.

Diatessaron in Syriac Christianity

     The Diatessaron was used as the standard Gospel text in the liturgy of the Syrian Church for two centuries and was quoted or alluded to by Syrian writers. Ephrem the Syrian wrote a commentary on it, the Syriac original of which was rediscovered only in 1957, when a manuscript acquired by Sir Chester Beatty from the Coptic monastery of Deir es-Suriani in Wadi Natrun, Egypt (now Chester Beatty Syriac MS 709, Dublin) turned out to contain the text of Ephrem's commentary. The incomplete manuscript has been supplemented by stray folios that have appeared on the European market, so that now approximately eighty per cent of the Syriac original is available (McCarthy 1994); for those phrases that Ephrem quotes (which is not the entire text), it provides for the first time, a dependable witness to Tatian's original; and also confirms their content and sequence.

     How the Gospel text that was the standard in Syriac Christianity for two centuries should have utterly disappeared requires explaining. Theodoret, bishop of Cyrrhus on the Euphrates in upper Syria in 423, suspecting Tatian having been a heretic, sought out and found more than two hundred copies of the Diatessaron, which he collected and put away, and introduced instead of them the Gospels of the four evangelists. Thus the harmonization was replaced in the fifth century by the canonical four gospels in the Peshitta version, whose Syriac text nevertheless contains many Diatessaronic readings. Gradually, without extant copies to which to refer, the Diatessaron developed a reputation for having been heretical.

Vernacular harmonies derived from the Diatessaron

     No Christian tradition, other than the Syriac, has ever adopted a harmonized Gospel text for use in its liturgy. However, in many traditions (given the inherent tendency of Christian liturgical texts to ossification), it was not unusual for subsequent Christian generations to seek to provide paraphrased Gospel versions in language closer to the vernacular of their own day. Frequently such versions have been constructed as Gospel harmonies, sometimes taking the Tatian's Diatessaron as an exemplar; other times proceeding independently. Hence from the Syriac Diatessaron text was derived an eleventh century Arabic harmony (the source for the published versions of the Diatessaron in English); and a thirteenth Century Persian harmony. The Arabic harmony preserves Tatian's sequence exactly, but uses a source text corrected in most places to that of the standard Syriac Peshitta Gospels; the Persian harmony differs greatly in sequence, but translates a Syriac text that is rather closer to that in Ephrem's commentary. The Diatessaron is thought to have been available to Muhammad, and may have led to the assumption in the Quran that the Christian Gospel is one text.

     An Old Latin version of Tatian's Syriac text appears to have circulated in the West from the late second century; with a sequence adjusted to conform more closely to that of the canonical Gospel of Luke, and also including additional material (such as the pericope of the adulteress), possibly from the Gospel of the Hebrews. With the gradual adoption of the Vulgate as the liturgical Gospel text of the Latin Church, the Latin Diatessaron was increasingly modified to conform to Vulgate readings. In 546, Victor of Capua discovered such a mixed manuscript; and, further corrected by Victor so as to provide a very pure Vulgate text within a modified Diatessaron sequence, this harmony, the Codex Fuldensis, survives in the monastic library at Fulda, where it served as the source text for vernacular harmonies in Old High German, Eastern Frankish and Old Saxon (the alliterative poem 'Heliand'). The older mixed Vulgate/Diatessaron text type also appears to have continued as a distinct tradition, as such texts appear to underly surviving thirteenth-fourteenth century Gospel harmonies in Middle Dutch, Middle High German, Middle French, Middle English, Tuscan and Venetian; although no example of this hypothetical Latin sub-text has ever been identified. This Latin Diatessaron textual tradition has also been suggested as underlying the enigmatic sixteenth century pro-Muslim Gospel of Barnabas.

Tradition of Gospel harmonies

     The name 'Diatessaron' is Greek for 'through four'; the Syriac name for this gospel harmony is 'Ewangeliyôn Damhalltê' ('Gospel of the Mixed'). Indeed, the Syrian Church also rejected John's Book of  Revelation and the Pastoral Epistles. They were included again only in the middle of the sixth century.

     In the tradition of Gospel harmonies, there is another Diatessaron, reportedly written by one Ammonius the Alexandrian, to correct perceived deficencies in Tatian's. (Note that this Ammonius may or may not be the Ammonius Saccas who taught Origen and Plotinus). None of this revised Diatessaron survives, except as it may have influenced the medieval Arabic and Latin texts that were formerly the only existing reflections of Tatian's work.

     Gospel harmonies are valuable in studies of biblical texts, since they frequently offer glimpses of earlier versions of texts. In particular, due to their not having been copied as frequently as biblical texts, more of the earlier versions survive (as newer copies did not exist to replace them). As such, the extant texts contain within them portions of earlier versions of the gospels than the earliest separate gospels known.

     In addition, because the Old Testament quotations in the Diatessaron are separately translated from the Hebrew — and hence independent of the Septuagint — these quotations form an important early witness to the vocalization of the Hebrew Bible.

     The Qur'an, in referring to Christians and Christian scripture, only makes reference to one gospel. From this it has been inferred that the Arabian Christians of the seventh century were habitually using a harmonization such as the Diatessaron as their principal scripture.

     New World Encyclopedia

The Religious Affections

By Owen Strachan 8/01/2012

     Many years ago, in a wild and woolly period known as the First Great Awakening, colonial pastor Jonathan Edwards took on the tricky task of sorting out what place the “religious affections,” as he called them, have in the Christian life. Here’s what he said as a foundational tenet:

     There are false affections, and there are true. A man’s having much affection, don’t prove that he has any true religion: but if he has no affection, it proves that he has no true religion. (Works of Jonathan Edwards 2:121)

     Edwards wrote these words to help people process the revivals of the 1730s–40s, a series of spiritual awakenings when many people claimed their hearts had been profoundly stirred by God. Edwards’ beloved wife, Sarah, had herself fallen into a sort of rapture, feeling herself remarkably close to the Lord. Some “Old Lights” cried down these emotive expressions of faith, charging that they were nothing more than attention-seeking excesses. True spirituality was not expressive and swept up but modest and buttoned-down. This discussion on “spiritual ecstasies” became a referendum on the revival itself.

     In The Religious Affections, Edwards lists twelve negative, or inconclusive, signs of conversion — including strong emotions, bodily reactions, and an outbreak of religious conversation — and twelve positive signs that show the Spirit has truly regenerated the heart unto faith in Christ. In his fourth positive sign, Edwards zeroes in on the way that affections “arise from the mind’s being enlightened, rightly and spiritually to understand or apprehend divine things” (2:266). In other words, thinking about salvation and the God who commissioned and initiated it fans the spiritual fire inside us to a flame. A grand vision of God, Edwards intimates, leads to a grand way of living:

     He that truly sees the divine, transcendent, supreme glory of those things which are divine, does as it were know their divinity intuitively; he not only argues that they are divine, but he sees that they are divine; he sees that in them wherein divinity chiefly consists; for in this glory … does mainly consist the true notion of divinity: God is God, and distinguished from all other beings, and exalted above ‘em, chiefly by his divine beauty, which is infinitely diverse from all other beauty. They therefore that see the stamp of this glory in divine things, they see divinity in them, they see God in them, and so see ‘em to be divine. (2:298)

     When you seek to understand the character and glory of God revealed in the Bible, you realize, as Edwards noted, that you are not merely encountering interesting religious ideas or dramatic stories, but “things which are divine.” You are looking into the mind and will of God Himself. You are seeing His “divine beauty,” beauty that captures you, enraptures you, and transforms you to become beautiful yourself.

     Such a vision of a majestic, saving God results in the final sign: “Christian practice or a holy life.” For the pastor-theologian, this is “the chief of all the signs of grace, both as an evidence of the sincerity of professors unto others, and also to their own consciences” (2:406). Three outcomes mark a person as holy. First, “Tis necessary that men should be universally obedient.” Second, they pursue service to God: “Christians in their effectual calling, are not called to idleness, but to labor in God’s vineyard, and spend their day in doing a great and laborious service.” Third, they persevere “in obedience, which is chiefly insisted on in the Scripture, as a special note of the truth of grace” (2:384-89). Here, then, is an elegant summary of what Christian spirituality really is: obedience, constant service, and perseverance in the faith.

     The progression sketched in this little piece on a monumental spiritual work is important. When we encounter a great and holy God in all His beauty, we are stirred to live holy lives. So many of us want to live vibrantly before God, to experience the “fullness of joy” spoken of in Psalm 16:11. So, we make some resolutions, grit our teeth, and resolve to pray more and sin less.

     What we might miss, however, is the vital connection between a grand vision of God and a holy way of life. If our hearts would be aflame for God, there must be more than leaves and twigs to heat them. We need a majestic picture of the Lord from texts like Job 38–41; Isaiah 45–46; and Ezekiel 1. When we see God in all His majesty and glory, we find the material we need to sustain holy living.

     I say “sustain” because we live in a fallen world and, though redeemed, we ourselves are sinful (Rom. 3:10–18). The heart sold out to God will experience many things—passionate closeness with God, terrible disappointments, days marked by a feeling of spiritual neutrality. Through it all is our call to persevere, as the “hall of faith” of Hebrews 11 indicates.

     That, it would seem from Scripture and Edwards, one of our most trusted theologians, is the ultimate display of God-given religious affection: to journey on to heaven with a great God looming before us, the storms of sin and darkness howling around us, and never stop.

Click here to go to source

Owen Strachan is the author of Awakening the Evangelical Mind and The Pastor as Public Theologian (with Kevin Vanhoozer). A systematic theology professor at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, he is the director of the Center for Public Theology and hosts the City of God podcast. He is writing a Jonathan Edwards devotional (Tyndale House) and a theological anthropology (B&H Academic). You can follow him on Twitter.

The Coming of the Kingdom part 18

By Dr. Andrew Woods 08/16/2013

Evangelical Confusion

Because today's church largely believes in the kingdom's presence, we began a study chronicling what the Bible teaches about the kingdom. The biblical teaching on the kingdom has been surveyed from  Genesis to  Revelation. This earthly kingdom is anticipated in the office of Theocratic Administrator that was lost in Eden, in the biblical covenants, in the predictions of the Old Testament prophets, and in the earthly theocracy governing Israel from the time of Moses to Zedekiah. This theocratic arrangement terminated with the "Times of the Gentiles" when the nation had no king reigning on David’s Throne as Judah was trampled by various Gentile powers. Against that backdrop entered Jesus Christ, the rightful Heir to David's Throne. Had first-century Israel enthroned Christ, the earthly kingdom would have manifested. Despite this unprecedented opportunity, Israel rejected the kingdom offer leading to its postponement.

Consequently, Christ explained the spiritual conditions that would prevail during the kingdom's absence. This interim program includes His revelation of the kingdom mysteries and the church ( Matt. 13; 16:18 ). Because neither the kingdom mysteries nor the church represent the fulfillment of God's Old Testament kingdom promises, the kingdom will remain in a state of abeyance as long as God's present work in the world continues through His interim program. However, one day the church's mission on the earth will be completed resulting in the church's removal from the earth through the rapture. Then God, who is not forgetful of His prior unconditional covenants with Israel, will re-extend the offer of the kingdom to national Israel in the midst of the coming Great Tribulation. Unlike at the First Advent, this time the offer will be accepted leading to Christ's return and subsequent earthly kingdom.  Revelation therefore explains how the world will eventually transition from the rule that Satan has had over the world ever since the Fall in Eden ( Luke 4:5-8 ) to the future time in history when God and His people "will reign upon the earth" ( Rev. 5:10b; 11:15b ).

In addition, we explained that the expression "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" merely communicates that the Old Testament expectation of an earthly kingdom had drawn near in the person of Christ. Had the nation enthroned Christ ( Deut. 17:15 ), what the Old Testament predicted concerning an earthly kingdom would have become a reality not only for Israel but also for the entire world. As long as Christ was present amongst first-century Israel offering them the kingdom, it was in an imminent state of nearness. This reality is an entirely different matter from saying that the kingdom was present or had arrived.

The "Lord's Prayer" And The Kingdom

Some believe Christ inaugurated the kingdom in spiritual form during His First Advent. [1] One way of showing the implausibility of such a proposition is by exploring the true meaning of the so-called "Lord's Prayer" found in  Matthew 6:9-13. These verses say:

Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil. (NASB).

In actuality, this prayer is all about the kingdom. [2] Toussaint explains,

"The sample prayer, it can be concluded, is given in the context of the coming kingdom. The first three requests are petitions for the coming of the kingdom. The last three are for the needs of the disciples in the interim preceding the establishment of the kingdom." [3]

If  Matthew 6:9-13 is in actuality a model prayer for the disciples consisting of three requests for the kingdom to come and three additional requests for their temporal needs to be met prior to the kingdom's establishment, then it becomes obvious that the Lord did not establish the kingdom at His First Advent. Otherwise, the "Disciples' Prayer" becomes nonsensical. After all, why pray for the coming of the kingdom and make additional requests until its establishment if the kingdom were already a present reality?

Three Requests Related To Temporal Needs

Previously, we observed that the first three clauses ( Matt. 6:9-10 ) found in the "Disciples Prayer" (the requests for God's name to be revered, the kingdom to come, and the sovereign will of God to be done on the earth) are in reality requests for the yet future kingdom. Similarly,  Matthew 6:11-13 can best be understood as three requests that petition the Father to meet the temporal needs of Christ's disciples in the era leading up to the kingdom's establishment while the kingdom remains in a state of postponement. Walvoord notes, "In verse  11, the petitions are changed to the first person relating to human need."  [4]

First,  Matthew 6:11 says,  "Give us this day our daily bread." Here, "bread" is most likely used as a figure of speech known as a synecdoche (where a part is used to represent the whole) to represent general nourishment. According to Glasscock, "'Bread' was most likely used figuratively for food in general ( Gen. 3:19 )." [5]

The kingdom will be a time of great agricultural prosperity resulting in no more starvation or food shortage.  Amos 9:13 says,

"'Behold, days are coming,' declares the Lord, 'When the plowman will overtake the reaper And the treader of grapes him who sows seed; When the mountains will drip sweet wine...'"

Isaiah 65:21-22a similarly notes,

"They will build houses and inhabit them; They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit. They will not build and another inhabit, They will not plant and another eat."

Zechariah 8:12 similarly predicts,

"For there will be peace for the seed: the vine will yield its fruit, the land will yield its produce and the heavens will give their dew; and I will cause the remnant of this people to inherit all these things."

Until this time of agricultural prosperity in the kingdom age comes, food shortages will continue to be a reality for humanity. Thus, it is appropriate for Christ to instruct His disciples to pray for their daily provision until this specific request becomes unnecessary after the kingdom comes. During the wilderness wanderings, God miraculously and physically provided for the nation of Israel through the daily provision of manna. This provision continued until the nation entered Canaan —the land "flowing with milk and honey" ( Exod. 16:14-36; Josh. 5:11-12 ). At that point, daily provision of manna was no longer required since the prosperity of the land economically sustained the nation. Similarly, God must supply the daily needs of His disciples until every physical need is abundantly met once the agricultural prosperity of the kingdom age becomes an earthly reality. Hence, Christ instructs His disciples to pray for their daily sustenance during the kingdom's absence.

Second,  Matthew 6:12 says,  "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Here, Christ instructs His disciples to seek spiritual provision when they sin and fall out of fellowship with the Father. Toussaint explains, "Judicial forgiveness is not in view ( Acts 10:43 ) but fellowship ( 1 John 1:5-9 ). It is impossible for one to be in fellowship with God as long as he harbors ill will in his heart." [6] Walvoord also explains, "The Christian already forgiven judicially should not expect restoration in the family unless he, himself, is forgiving." [7] Glasscock similarly notes:

It is not likely here that the issue of forgiveness is referring to initial redemptive forgiveness (for salvation) but the forgiveness for offense against the Father in the perpetual daily life situation (for fellowship). There is no salvific passage that requires the one being saved to perform any act, such as forgiving others, in order to gain forgiveness. The overwhelming testimony of Scripture is that salvation from eternal torment is a free gift not granted on the basis of any act ( Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5; Rom. 4:5; etc.). [8]

When Christ comes to establish His kingdom, His disciples will be resurrected and thus in bodies with no capacity for sin ( Dan. 12:2; Rev. 20:4-5 ). However, in the meantime, while still in mortal bodies, followers of Christ still retain a propensity for sin and thus can still fall out of fellowship with the Father. Consequently, they need spiritual provision to maintain or to restore fellowship with God. Therefore, Christ explains this interim spiritual provision in  Matthew 6:12.

Third,  Matthew 6:13 says,  "And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil." Glasscock notes,

"...and the object from which we are to seek deliverance is evil. More literally it should be understood as 'the Evil One.'...The petition of the model prayer, then, is for God to allow us to undergo the testing but to be rescued from the snare of the Evil One, the Devil." [9]

The kingdom represents a time in history when Satan will be incarcerated ( Rev. 20:2-3 ). With the kingdom absent in the present age, Satan remains the "god of this world" ( 2 Cor. 4:4 ) and "...prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour" ( 1 Pet. 5:8 ). Thus, in the present age, with the kingdom and Satan's incarceration not a present reality, the believer is in need of protection from the Adversary ( John 17:15 ). Such protection is what the believer must pray for during this interim age, before the kingdom comes. In sum, in  Matthew 6:9-11, Christ teaches His followers to ask the Father to meet their temporal needs (physical provision, spiritual restoration, and divine protection from Satan) during the kingdom's absence. Once the kingdom comes, such requests will no longer be necessary. In conclusion, when rightly understood, the "Disciples' Prayer" consists of three requests for the kingdom to come and three additional requests for provisions that are needed while the kingdom remains in abeyance. Thus, the whole notion that Christ already established the kingdom in spiritual form at His First Advent becomes unlikely, if not impossible.

Continue Reading (Part 19 on Sept 9 web page)

ENDNOTES

[1] Kenneth Gentry, He Shall Have Dominion: A Postmillennial Eschatology
[2] Stanley Toussaint, Behold the King: A Study of Matthew
[3] Ibid., 112.
[4] John Walvoord, Matthew (The John Walvoord Prophecy Commentaries)
[5] Ed Glasscock, Matthew- Moody Gospel Commentary
[6] Toussaint, 111.
[7] Walvoord, 53.
[8] Glasscock, 148-49.
[9] Ibid., 150.

     Dr. Andrew Woods Books

Note I copied this article from The Bible Prophecy Blog.

Dr. Andrew Woods Ministry Page, YouTube Channel, and Church.

Every Conflict Is a Test

By Alexander Strauch 8/01/2012

     The New Testament does not hide the fact that nearly every church in the Apostolic age experienced conflict. As the New Testament writers addressed these matters, they provided invaluable instruction on how believers are to think, act, and treat one another when conflict arises. By studying the churches in the New Testament and the instructions given to them regarding conflict, we can learn biblical principles for handling conflict in a constructive, Christ-honoring way.

A Key Principle to Remember

     One of the most important principles I have discovered to guide me when engaged in conflict of any kind is found in Paul’s letter to the Galatians. It is this: when conflict arises, our attitudes and behaviors should reflect our new life in Christ given by the Holy Spirit who lives within us. We are to display the fruit of the Spirit and not the works of the flesh. We are to be Spirit-controlled and not flesh-controlled or out of control. Serious discord threatened the life and unity of the newly planted churches of Galatia. So Paul warned the new believers: “If you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another” (Gal. 5:1).

     If these new Christian believers did not stop fighting, no one would survive the carnage. After Paul warns of the potential for mutual destruction within the believing community, he charges his readers to “walk by the Spirit” and not to gratify “the desires of the flesh” or display “the works of the flesh.”

Do Not Display the Works of the Flesh

     Much of the contentious infighting that plagues many churches today results from believers acting according to the flesh and not the Spirit. In Galatians, Paul focuses on eight social sins of the flesh that ruin relationships and divide churches: “Now the works of the flesh are evident … enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy” (5:19–21; see 2 Cor. 12:20 for a similar list).

     As you consider these eight “works of the flesh,” know this: the Holy Spirit is absolutely opposed to each of them. Galatians 5:17 states, “For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other.” Paul’s catalog of social vices stands as an objective check to our behavior. So the next time you are involved in conflict, stop and think. You know you are yielding to “the desires of the flesh” if any of the above sinful vices are displayed in your behavior or attitude.      The one thing Christian believers are not to do when engaged in conflict is to revert back to our old, pre-conversion, flesh-driven ways of behavior.

Display the Fruit of the Spirit

     When facing conflict, instead of biting and devouring one another and displaying the destructive social sins of the flesh, we are to “walk by the Spirit,” be “led by the Spirit,” “live by the Spirit,” “sow to the Spirit” (5:16, 18, 25; 6:8). Nothing but the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit is sufficient to enable believers to resist the desires of the flesh and to live Christlike lives.

     The Spirit seeks to form Christlike character qualities in the life of every individual Christian and every local church body. These qualities promote right attitudes, godly conduct, and healthy relationships — the very qualities the strife-torn congregations in Galatia desperately needed. Paul’s nine descriptions of “the fruit of the Spirit” form a composite picture of Christlike character and conduct: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control” (5:22–23). We know that we are walking by the Spirit and being led by the Spirit when we see “the fruit of the Spirit” displayed in our daily conduct and inner attitudes.

     “The fruit of the Spirit,” then, provides an objective guide to our attitudes and behavior when dealing with conflict. So we should always ask ourselves: “Am I displaying a Christlike character and the life of the Spirit when I deal with disagreement or someone who opposes me?” Hopefully, we all can answer, “Yes.”

     When caught in a storm of conflict, one fruit of the Spirit that is especially needed to navigate safely through the storm is “self-control” (5:23). Lack of self-control is a major problem during conflict, but the Holy Spirit provides power over the fleshly excesses generated by sinful passions of anger, jealousy, hatred, and the spirit of revenge.

     Christian believers who control their emotions and thinking by the power of the Spirit are best able to handle conflict constructively and bring about a just resolution. They are Christians who don’t bite and devour their brothers and sisters in Christ.

     In contrast, when people act according to the flesh, they are out of control emotionally. They do not display the fruit of the Spirit and have the potential to do terrible damage to other people and to the name of Christ.

     Conflict presents one of the toughest challenges to walking by the Spirit. If only we would recognize that every conflict is a test as to whether or not we will display Christlike character and the reality of the gospel in our lives. Will we as Christians display the beautiful fruit of the Holy Spirit or the ugliness of the flesh?

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     Alexander Strauch (Per Amazon) was raised in New Jersey and converted to Christ at a Bible camp in New York State. He received his undergraduate degree from Colorado Christian University. He went on to earn his Master's of Divinity degree from Denver Seminary. For the past thirty years, he has served faithfully at Littleton Bible Chapel. Additionally, he has taught philosophy and New Testament literature at Colorado Christian University. A gifted Bible teacher and popular speaker, Mr. Strauch has helped thousands of churches worldwide through his expository writing ministry. He is the author of the now-classic works Biblical Eldership and The New Testament Deacon. Mr. Strauch resides with his wife, Marilyn, and two daughters in Littleton, Colorado, and also has two married daughters in the area.

• 1     Biblical Eldership: An Urgent Call to Restore Biblical Church Leadership
• 2     Leading With Love
• 3     Men and Women, Equal Yet Different: A Brief Study of the Biblical Passages on Gender
• 4     If You Bite & Devour One Another
• 5     The New Testament Deacon: The Church's Minister of Mercy
• 6     The Hospitality Commands: Building Loving Christian Community: Building Bridges to Friends and Neighbors
• 7     Agape Leadership
• 8     Leading with Love Study Guide
• 9     Love or Die: Christ's Wake-up Call to the Church

Pilgrims in a Post-Christian Culture

By Voddie Baucham 8/01/2012

     In John Bunyan’s classic The Pilgrim's Progress, the Wicket Gate is a symbol for entrance into the Christian life. There, the main character, Christian, encounters the gatekeeper, Good-Will. Their encounter, like the rest of the book, is filled with layers of meaning to which modern pilgrims would do well to pay attention:

     So when the pilgrim was fully inside, Good Will asked him, “Who directed you to come this way?”

     CHRISTIAN: Evangelist exhorted me to come this way and knock at the Gate, just as I did. He further told me that you, sir, would tell me what I must do next.

     GOOD-WILL: An open door is set before you, and no man can shut it.

     CHRISTIAN: Now I begin to reap the benefits of my hazards.

     GOOD-WILL: But how is it that you have come alone?

     CHRISTIAN: Because none of my neighbors saw their danger as I saw mine.

The Battle Has Just Begun

     As pilgrims on this journey to the Celestial City, we must recognize the fact that coming to faith in Christ is the end of our enmity with God, but it is in nowise an end of warfare. Obstinate, Pliable, the Slough of Despond, and Mr. Worldly Wiseman had all been obstacles on Christian’s journey to the Wicket Gate. However, in many ways, the worst still lay ahead. Similarly, our battle with the world, the flesh, and the Devil only intensifies once we have crossed from death to life.

     Old patterns of thinking, cultural trends, and the constant bombardment of images and ideas can obscure the path to the Celestial City. Entering the Wicket Gate is not the end of the matter. The world may no longer be our “home,” but it is still where we live. And as pilgrims, we must recognize our need to renew our minds constantly (Rom. 12:2), crucify the flesh (Gal 5:24), and resist the Devil (James 4:7).

     Like Christian, we must war with Apollion and fight to stay on the “straight and narrow path.” Then, of course, there is the temptation of Vanity Fair. And the worst thing that can happen there is not to forfeit one’s life, but to lose one’s witness. The greatest danger to the pilgrim is growing to love something, anything, more than one loves the Celestial City. Therefore, the ordinary means of grace become more important as time goes by. The preaching of the Word, the feast and fellowship of the Lord’s Table: these are the priceless jewels that remind us of the fading glory of the things we know, and cause us to echo the Apostle’s cry: “I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ” (Phil. 3:8).

There Are Others in Need of That Which You Have Found

     It is impossible for a pilgrim to stand before the Wicket Gate without thinking about his friends, neighbors, and family members who have not made it. This is what Paul experienced in Romans 10:1 when he wrote, “Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” Every man, woman, and child on his or her way to the Celestial City has felt this same yearning. Yet we must journey on.

     For Christian, there is the constant tension between the call of the Celestial City and his love for friends and family who have not “seen their danger as he saw his.” And he, like all pilgrims, must recognize that leaving the path is not only unthinkable from the standpoint of his calling, but also catastrophic for those whom he desperately yearns to join him. The only way to commend the path to others is to stay on it.

     This post-Christian culture would have us believe that the only way to bear witness to Christ effectively is to “contextualize” in a way that essentially leaves the path. We must walk like, talk like, dress like, live like, and love like the world in order to win the world. However, the opposite is actually true. It is, in fact, the straight and narrow path to the Celestial City that conforms us to the image of Christ. The path is where we learn the very truth to which we bear witness. And our desire is to have others join us on the path, not distract us from it.

     As Christian pilgrims, we must realize that the journey we are on is long and fraught with difficulty. The gatekeeper did not come to bring peace but a sword (Matt. 10:34). Moreover, He promises that we will be hated by the world (John 15:18; 17:14). Nevertheless, we are no better than the world that hates us. The only difference is the grace we have received. As such, we have no room to boast (Rom. 3:27), but we have much more cause to rejoice and a message to share with a world full of neighbors who simply have yet to see their danger as we saw ours.

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     Dr. Voddie Baucham Jr. is the incoming dean of the seminary at African Christian University in Lusaka, Zambia. He previously served as pastor of preaching at Grace Family Baptist Church in Spring, Tex.

Voddie Baucham Jr.Books

• 1     What He Must Be: ...If He Wants to Marry My Daughter
• 2     Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes
• 3     Family Shepherds: Calling and Equipping Men to Lead Their Homes
• 4     Family Driven Faith: Doing What It Takes to Raise Sons and Daughters Who Walk with God
• 5     The Ever-Loving Truth: Can Faith Thrive in a Post-Christian Culture?
• 6     Joseph and the Gospel of Many Colors: Reading an Old Story in a New Way

By John Walvoord (1990)

Order Of Events Of Bible Prophecy

     According to  Daniel’s prophecies, the times of the Gentiles will not end until the end of the great tribulation, which is yet to come. The section of prophecy in  Luke 21:20–24 is distinguished from the other prophecies dealing with signs of the end because  Luke 21:24 has already been literally fulfilled while the other aspects of its signs, as in  Matthew 24 and  Mark 13, have yet to see complete fulfillment. Only the book of  Luke gives the specific answer to signs of the destruction of Jerusalem.

Luke 21:20–24 (ESV) 20  “But when you see Jerusalem surrounded by armies, then know that its desolation has come near. 21  Then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains, and let those who are inside the city depart, and let not those who are out in the country enter it, 22  for these are days of vengeance, to fulfill all that is written. 23  Alas for women who are pregnant and for those who are nursing infants in those days! For there will be great distress upon the earth and wrath against this people. 24  They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

The Specific Signs of the End and of the Coming of Christ

     Matthew 24:15–26; Mark 13:14–25; Luke 21:25–28. Jesus, having described the signs relating to the destruction of Jerusalem, which some of them would live to see, and the general signs of the progress of the present age, then revealed in detail the specific signs which would be unmistakable evidence that the second coming of Christ and the end of the age was near. It is important to note that the specific signs are entirely different from the signs for the destruction of Jerusalem, though there are some similarities. In both, Israel will be in time of trouble and tribulation. In both periods those in Judea are urged to flee to the mountains. In both cases Gentile power, at least at first, will be triumphant. But the specific signs of the end of the age and the coming of Christ do not occur in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem but await the future period leading up to the second coming of Christ, which will be the specific sign of the end.

     One of the sources of confusion among interpreters of the Olivet Discourse is their attempt to find complete fulfillment of the entire Olivet Discourse in connection with the destruction of Jerusalem. This is sometimes related to the attempt to avoid specific prophecy and the tendency to avoid details in prophecy as being accurate. Actually, Christ was painting a detailed and accurate picture of the great tribulation and its effect on the inhabitants of Jerusalem. As previously pointed out,  Matthew’s predictions do not relate to the church age as such, the rapture of the church, or related events. Here,  Matthew’s gospel, reporting the prophecies of Christ, focuses on the last three and a half years leading up to the second coming. In that time there will be specific signs that will unmistakably identify the period as the time of the great tribulation.

     Jesus first of all called attention to the specific sign of the appearance of “‘the abomination that causes desolation’ spoken of through the prophet  Daniel” ( Matt. 24:15 ). According to  Daniel 9:26–27, the future world ruler, who will be in power in that period of three and a half years, will desecrate the temple and cause the sacrifices to cease. This is called “an abomination that causes desolation” because it destroys the sacred character of the sacrificial altar and the temple that will be in existence at the time. A similar event occurred in the second century BC when Antiochus Epiphanes stopped the sacrifices and desecrated the temple. This event fulfilled  Daniel’s prophecy, recorded in  Daniel 11:31.

Matthew 24:15 (ESV) 15  “So when you see the abomination of desolation spoken of by the prophet Daniel, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand),

Daniel 9:26–27 (ESV) 26 And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed. 27 And he shall make a strong covenant with many for one week, and for half of the week he shall put an end to sacrifice and offering. And on the wing of abominations shall come one who makes desolate, until the decreed end is poured out on the desolator.”

     Matthew’s account describes this event, which is yet to come, as a time when the temple will be desecrated in a similar way: “From the time that the daily sacrifice is abolished and the abomination that causes desolation is set up, there will be 1,290 days” ( Dan. 12:11 ). This period of approximately three and a half years will be the period of the great tribulation and will climax in the second coming of Christ. Accordingly, when the temple is desecrated by the future world ruler, it will be a specific sign of the imminent coming of Christ (cf.  2 Thess. 2:3–4; Rev. 13:11–15 ).

     Just as the surrounding of Jerusalem by the Roman armies was a sign for them to flee to the mountains in Judea in AD 70, so when this temple is desecrated in the future, it will be a sign for Jews in Jerusalem to flee. It will be a very specific sign that will come on a certain day at a certain time. Jesus urged them to flee immediately when they learn of it, not even bothering to go back to the house or to stop to get their cloak ( Matt. 24:16–18 ). As it was in the case when Jerusalem was destroyed, so it will be difficult for pregnant women and nursing mothers to leave home and endure the hardships of escaping Jerusalem.

     Jesus also said they should pray that they will not have to leave on the Sabbath because travel on the Sabbath day would be an obvious sign that they were fleeing, as normally they did not journey on the Sabbath (v.  20 ).

     The initial sign of the desecration of their temple will be followed by the fearful fulfillment and the time of great trouble anticipated in the Old Testament ( Jer. 30:4–7; Dan. 9:25–26 ). Jesus declared that  “there will be great distress, unequaled from the beginning of the world until now — and never to be equaled again” ( Matt. 24:21 ). This time of trouble will be so great that the period, if not limited to the three and a half years duration as described in Scriptures, will destroy the human race. Jesus stated,  “No one would survive, but for the sake of the elect those days will be shortened” ( Matt. 24:22 ).

     The gospel of  Mark states essentially the same truths as that of  Matthew 24 ( Mark 13:14–17 ).  Luke recorded Christ as saying,  “There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. Men will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken” ( Luke 21:25–26 ).

     All these events will be warnings that Christ is coming at the end of this period. Though people will not know the day nor the hour, they will be able to comprehend the approximate time because the length of the total period is forty-two months ( Rev. 13:5 ). Taking all of the Scripture into consideration, and especially the graphic picture of the great tribulation provided in the book of  Revelation, it seems that the population of the world will be decimated and only a fraction of those that enter the period will survive to the end. Jesus said, in fact, that if He did not stop the period by His second coming, there would be no human beings left on earth ( Matt. 24:22 ). The idea of posttribulationists that survival through this time is a blessed hope is not tenable.

     There will also be deceitful signs and reports that Christ has already appeared: “At that time if anyone says to you,  ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or,  ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to deceive even the elect—if that were possible” (vv.  Matthew 24:23–24; cf.  Mark 13:21–23 ). According to  Matthew 24:26, there will be reports that Jesus has appeared in the desert or has been revealed in the inner room, but believers are urged not to believe this.

Matthew 24:23–24 (ESV) 23  Then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘There he is!’ do not believe it. 24  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform great signs and wonders, so as to lead astray, if possible, even the elect.

Mark 13:21–23 (ESV) 21  And then if anyone says to you, ‘Look, here is the Christ!’ or ‘Look, there he is!’ do not believe it. 22  For false christs and false prophets will arise and perform signs and wonders, to lead astray, if possible, the elect. 23  But be on guard; I have told you all things beforehand.

Matthew 24:26 (ESV) 26  So, if they say to you, ‘Look, he is in the wilderness,’ do not go out. If they say, ‘Look, he is in the inner rooms,’ do not believe it.

     The point is that the second coming of Christ will be a very visible event. Jesus described it in  Matthew:  “For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man” (v.  27 ). The second coming will be preceded by many supernatural events in the skies that are described in the book of  Revelation. Jesus, according to  Matthew’s gospel, said,  “Immediately after the distress of those days ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken’” ( Matt. 24:29; cf.  Mark 13:24–25; Luke 21: 25–26 ).

     The final sign will be the appearance of Christ Himself in the sky in His return from heaven to the earth. Jesus said,  “At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in the sky, and all nations of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky, with power and great glory” ( Matt. 24:30; cf.  Mark 13:26; Luke 21:27 ).

     Revelation 19:11–16 describes the scene in greater detail.

     It should be noted that  Matthew was not talking about the rapture of the church, which is described in totally different language (cf.  1 Thess. 4:16 ). The final sign is the glory of Christ Himself in the skies in return to the earth. The nations will grieve because it is the time of judgment for rejection of Jesus as Savior and Lord.

1 Thessalonians 4:16 (ESV) 16 For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first.

     When Christ comes to earth He will send out His angels to assemble the elect: “And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other” ( Matt. 24:31 ). Mark described the same event as the assembling of the elect both from earth and heaven ( Mark 13:27 ).

     Some have taken the “elect” here to refer specifically to the elect living on earth, but it is more probable that this event will include all the elect, or the saved, including Old Testament saints, saved Israel, the church, and the saints of the tribulation period leading up to the second coming. Some will need to be resurrected from the dead, such as the martyrs ( Rev. 20:4–6 ) and the Old Testament saints ( Dan. 12:2 ). The church was resurrected, or translated, earlier, at the time of the rapture. At the second coming of Christ no child of God will be left unresurrected or unrestored, but all will share in the millennial kingdom.

     Taken as a whole, the revelation of  Mathew 24:4–31, with parallel passages in  Mark and  Luke, answers the questions that the disciples had raised: the first concerning the destruction of Jerusalem, which occurred in AD 70, and the second and third questions dealing with the end of the age and the coming of Christ. The event itself is preceded by the signs that Jesus described and that climax in the second coming of Christ at the beginning of His kingdom on earth.

     Having answered their questions, Jesus next turned to illustrations and applications of the truths of these prophecies.

The Parable of the Fig Tree

1.     Matthew 24:32–35; Mark 13:28–31; Luke 21:29–33. Jesus first used the fig tree as an illustration of the signs of the Lord’s coming. Jesus declared,  “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door” ( Matt. 24:32–33; cf.  Mark 13:28–29; Luke 21:29–31 ). A common interpretation has been to interpret the fig tree as a type of Israel and the revival of Israel as the budding of the fig tree. The fig tree could very well be a type of Israel, but it does not seem to be so used in Scripture. Good and bad figs are mentioned in  Jeremiah 24:1–8; the good figs are those carried off in captivity, and the bad figs are those who remain in the land of Israel.  Jeremiah 29:17 also mentioned figs. In  Judges 9:1–11 fig trees are mentioned but not in relation to Israel. They are mentioned by Christ in  Matthew 21:19–20 and  Mark 11:12–14. There is no indication in the interpretation of  Matthew 21:18–22 and  Mark 11:12–14, 20–26 that relates the fig tree to Israel. Accordingly, though many have followed this interpretation, there is no scriptural basis.

     A better alternative is the simple explanation that the fig tree is used as a natural illustration. Because the fig tree by its nature brings forth leaves late in spring, seeing leaves on a fig tree is evidence that summer is very near. This illustration is carried over to the second coming of Christ. When the events described in the preceding verses occur, it will be a clear indication of the second coming of Christ being near. The sign in the passage is not the revival of Israel, which is not the subject of  Matthew 24, but rather the details of the great tribulation, which occurs in the three and a half years preceding the second coming. Accordingly,  “all these things” (v.  Mat 24:33 ) refers not to the revival of Israel but to the events of the great tribulation. It is true, however, that Israel will have a measure of revival preceding the second coming of Christ, but this is based on other scriptural revelation rather than on the revelation presented here.

The Generation to See the Fulfillment

     Jesus made a further comment on the situation in saying,  “This generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away” ( Matt. 24:34–35 ). The normal use of the word generation is in reference to the time span between one’s birth and the time when one becomes a parent. Obviously, the generation that lived in Christ’s day did not see all the things described in the preceding context. Some have inferred from this that the term generation is a reference to Israel and have asserted that Israel will not pass away until all these things are fulfilled. However, Israel will never pass away. Still other scholars take generation as an indefinite period of time.

     The most natural meaning, however, is to take it as normally used as a reference to a period of twenty-five to forty years. But instead of referring this to the time in which Christ lived, it refers back to the preceding period that is described as the great tribulation. As the great tribulation is only three and a half years long, obviously, those who see the great tribulation will also see the coming of the Lord. Regardless of how it is interpreted, Christ affirmed, in support of the fulfillment of the prophecy, that His words will never pass away even though our present earth and heaven will ultimately be destroyed.

The Time Preceding the Second Coming Compared to the Days of Noah before the Flood

     Matthew 24:36–42. Though the time of the coming of the Lord may be recognized as about to happen, details are not given in such clarity that one can determine the day or the hour. Needless speculation concerning the time of the coming of the Lord could be avoided if this verse were taken literally. Jesus said,  “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father” (v.  Matthew 24:36 ).

     Jesus, of course, was referring here to His human intelligence, which was limited, not to His divine omniscience. The time leading up to the second coming was compared to the days leading up to the flood. In the case of the flood, there were numerous signs of the approaching end, and the same will be true of the second coming. It should be noted that the signs are in relation to the second coming of Christ at the end of the tribulation, not to the rapture of the church, which has no signs and is always imminent until it occurs. Noah took more than a hundred years to build the ark. In this time people carried on their normal activities, as Jesus mentioned (vv.  37–38 ). When the ark was finally finished, however, the situation suddenly changed. Now it was possible for the flood to come.

     As Noah’s neighbors observed, they saw a very strange sight — the animals marching into the ark in pairs, in almost military precision ( Gen. 7:2–3 ). God also announced to Noah, “Seven days from now I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made” (v.  4 ).

Genesis 7:2–4 (ESV) 2 Take with you seven pairs of all clean animals, the male and his mate, and a pair of the animals that are not clean, the male and his mate, 3 and seven pairs of the birds of the heavens also, male and female, to keep their offspring alive on the face of all the earth. 4 For in seven days I will send rain on the earth forty days and forty nights, and every living thing that I have made I will blot out from the face of the ground.”

     After the animals had come safely into the ark, Moses recorded that Noah and his family, consisting of his wife and three sons and their wives, also entered the ark. Now the situation was entirely changed. Everything that preceded the flood was now fulfilled. The door to the ark was shut, and then it began to rain. In a similar way, many prophecies have to be fulfilled leading up to the second coming. As the period of the great tribulation progresses, and those who understand the prophecies of the end time realize that approximately three and a half years have passed, they will undoubtedly know and expect Christ to come even though the prophecies are not specifically detailed to allow them to know the day or the hour. Such people will know the year.

     Jesus then compared the situation of the flood of Noah to the time of the second coming. He stated,  “That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” ( Matt. 24:39–42 ).

     Because this event is somewhat similar to the rapture in that some are taken and some are left, posttribulationists almost universally cite this verse as proof that the rapture will occur as a part of the second coming of Christ after the tribulation. However, a careful reading of the passage yields exactly the opposite result. At the rapture of the church, those taken are those who are saved, and those who are left are left to go through the awful period, including the great tribulation. Here the situation is just in reverse. Those who are taken are taken in judgment, and those who are left are left to enter the millennial kingdom.

     Despite the obvious fact that the illustration has to be reversed in order to make an application to the rapture, posttribulationists sometimes point out that the Greek word airo, used to express “took them all away” (v.  39 ), is a different word than used in verse  40 and in verse  41 (Gr., paralambano : “will be taken”). Though admitting that in verse  39 at the time of the flood those taken were taken in judgment, posttribulationists claim the change in wording justifies reading the rapture into verses  40–42. However, this conclusion is not only contrary to the text of  Matthew 24 but also does not take into consideration  Luke 17 in its description of the second coming where Jesus said,  “I tell you, on that night two people will be in one bed; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding grain together; one will be taken and the other left” (vv.  34–35 ). In  Luke, however, the question is asked by the disciples, “Where, Lord?” (v.  37 ). In reply, Jesus said,  “Where there is a dead body, there the vultures will gather” (v.  37 ). In other words, the ones taken are obviously put to death in judgment, in contrast to what will happen at the rapture when the ones taken are brought to heaven. There is no scriptural basis for reading the rapture into  Matthew 24. The occasion is entirely different. At the rapture, the church, composed of those who are saved, is taken to heaven. At the second coming of Christ, the saved remain on earth, and the unsaved are taken away in judgment at the beginning of the millennial kingdom. The very word used to describe those taken away in  Matthew 24:40–41 is used of Christ being taken away to the cross, obviously being taken in judgment as used here (cf.  John 19:16: “So the soldiers took charge of Jesus”).

     The conclusion for those living at the time of the second coming is similar to that of the time of Noah:  “Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come” ( Matt. 24:42 ). Though the passage is talking about the second coming of Christ and not the period preceding the rapture, if those living in the period before the second coming — who are able to see signs of the second coming indicating its approach — should be watching, how much more should those waiting for the rapture, which has no signs, live in constant expectation of the imminent return of Jesus for His church.

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Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times

Bless the Lord, O my Soul! (Prayer)

By Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)

     LORD, we are longing to draw near ; may Thy Spirit draw us near. We come by the way of Christ our Mediator. We could not approach Thee, O our God, if it were not for Him, but in Him we come boldly to the throne of heavenly grace. Nor can we come without thanksgiving — thanksgiving from the heart, such as the tongue can never express. Thou hast chosen us from before the foundation of the world, and this well-head of mercy sends forth streams of lovingkindness never ceasing. Because we were chosen we have been redeemed with precious blood. Bless the Lord ! And we have been called by the Holy Spirit out of the world, and we have been led to obey that wondrous call which hath quickened us and renewed us, and made us the people of God, given us adoption into the Divine Family. Bless the Lord!

     Our hearts would pause as we remember the greatness of each one of Thy favours, and we would say, "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name." When we consider our utter unworthiness before conversion, and our great faultiness since, we can but admire the riches of abounding grace which God has manifested to us unworthy ones. Bless the Lord ! And when we think of all that Thou hast promised to give, which our faith embraces as being really ours, since the covenant makes it sure, we know not how abundantly enough to utter the memory of Thy great goodness. We would make our praises equal to our expectations, and our expectations equaJ to Thy promises. We can never rise so high. We give to Thee, however, the praise of our entire being ; unto Jehovah, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, the Creator of the world, the redeemed of men, unto Jehovah be glory for ever and ever, and let all His people praise Him. Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom He hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy.

     O Lord, Thy works praise Thee, but Thy saints bless Thee ; and this shall be our heaven ; yea, our heaven of heavens eternally, to praise and magnify the great and ever blessed God. May many a maiden this day, may many a man break forth and say, with the virgin of old, "My soul doth magnify the Lord and my spirit doth rejoice in God my Saviour." May there be going up this day sweet incense of praise laid by holy hands, privately upon the altar of God. May the place be filled with the smoke thereof, not perhaps to the consciousness of every one, but to the acceptance of God who shall smell a sweet savour of rest in Christ, and then in the praises of His people in Him.

     But, Lord, when we have praised Thee we have to fold the wing ; yea, we have to cover the face and cover the feet and stand before Thee to worship in another fashion, ( Isaiah 6 ) for we confess that we are evil, evil in our original, and though renewed by sovereign grace Thy people cannot speak of being clean, rid of sin. There is sin which dwelleth in us which is our daily plague. O God, we humble ourselves before Thee. We ask that our faith may clearly perceive the blood of the atonement and the covering of the perfect righteousness of Christ ; and may we come afresh, depending alone on Jesus. "I, the chief of sinners am, but Jesus died for me." May this be our one hope, that Jesus died and rose again, and that for His sake we are accepted in the Beloved.

     May every child of Thine have his conscience purged from dead works to serve the true and living God May there be no cloud between us and our Heavenly Father ; nay, not even a mist, not even the morning mist that soon is gone. May we walk in the light as God is in the light. May our fellowship with the Father and with His Son, Jesus Christ, be unquestionable ; may it be fuel ; may it fill us with joy ; may it be a most real fact this day ; may we enjoy it to the full, knowing whom we have believed, knowing who is our Father, knowing who it is that dwells in us, even the Holy Spirit.

     Take away from us every thing which now might hinder our delighting ourselves in God. May we come to God this day with a supreme joy ; may we speak of Him as "God my exceeding joy; yea, mine own God is He." O God give us a sense of property in Thyself. May we come near to Thee, having no doubt and nothing whatsoever that shall spoil the beautiful simplicity of a childlike faith which looks up into the great face of God and saith, "Our Father, which art in heaven."

     There are those who never repented of sin and never believed in Christ, and consequently the wrath of God abideth on them. They are living without God, they are living in darkness. O God in Thy great mercy look upon them. They do not look at Thee, but do Thou look at them. May the sinner see his sin and mourn it ; see His Saviour and accept Him ; see himself saved, and go on his way rejoicing. Father, do grant us this.

     Once more we pray Thee bless Thy Church. Lord quicken the spiritual life of believers. Thou hast given to Thy Church great activity, for which we thank Thee. May that activity be supported by a corresponding inner life. Let us not get to be busy here and there with Martha, and forget to sit at Thy feet with Mary. Lord, restore to Thy Church the love of strong doctrine. May Thy truth yet prevail. Purge out from among Thy Church these who would lead others away from the truth as it is in Jesus, and give back the old power and something more. Give us Pentecost ; yea, many Pentecosts in one, and may we live to see Thy Church shine forth clear as the sun and fair as the moon, and terrible as an army with banners.

     God grant that we may live to see better days. But if perilous times should come in these last days make us faithful. Raise up in England, raise up in Scotland, men that shall hold the truth firmly as their fathers did. Raise up in every country where there has been a faithful church men that will not let the vessel drift upon the rocks. O God of the Judges, Thou who didst raise up first one and then another when the people went astray from God ; raise up for us still (our Joshuas are dead) our Deborahs, our Baraks, our Gideons and Jephthahs, and Samuels, that shall maintain for God His truth, and worst the enemies of Israel. Lord look upon Thy Church in these days. Lord revive us. Lord restore us. Lord give power to Thy Word again that Thy name may be glorified.

     Remember the Church of God in this land in all its various phases and portions, and pour out Thy Spirit upon it. Remember the multitude of Thy people across the sea in America, prosper them, bless them with the increase of God. And wherever Thou hast a people may Jesus dwell with them and reveal Himself to His own, for Christ's sake, to whom be glory with the Father and with the Holy Ghost, for ever and ever. Amen.

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 100

His Steadfast Love Endures Forever
100 A Psalm for Giving Thanks

1 Make a joyful noise to the LORD, all the earth!
2 Serve the LORD with gladness!
Come into his presence with singing!

3 Know that the LORD, he is God!
It is he who made us, and we are his;
we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.

4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving,
and his courts with praise!
Give thanks to him; bless his name!

5 For the LORD is good;
his steadfast love endures forever,
and his faithfulness to all generations.

ESV Study Bible

The Continual Burnt Offering (Acts 17:30)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

September 8

Acts 17:30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”    ESV

     To all men comes the command to repent and believe the gospel. Repentance is a change of mind, a complete turning right-about-face, an entirely changed attitude toward God, sin, and self. It is the soul coming to the bar of judgment now that his case may all be settled before the appointed day when the man who hung on the cross will sit on the throne. God has raised Him from the dead to give repentance and remission of sins to all who yield to His Spirit’s entreaty as set forth in the proclamation of the gospel. Those who thus turn to Him now in this day of grace need have no fear of judgment in that last great assize. They stand forever cleared of every charge.

Jesus, the Lord, our righteousness!
Our beauty Thou, our glorious dress!
Before the throne, in this arrayed,
With joy shall we lift up the head.
Bold shall we stand in that great day,
For who aught to our charge shall lay,
While by Thy blood absolved we are
From sin and guilt, from shame and fear?
Till we behold Thee on Thy throne
In Thee we boast, in Thee alone,
Our beauty this, our glorious dress,
Jesus, the Lord, our righteousness.
--- Zinzendorf

The Continual Burnt Offering: Daily Meditations on the Word of God