Old Answers to the New Atheism: An Interview with Peter Hitchens

By Peter Hitchens 6/1/2011

     Many Christians are aware of the hostile atheism of Christopher Hitchens. However, few Christians are aware that his brother, Peter, was also for many years antagonistic toward Christianity and a self-avowed atheist like his brother. Unlike Christopher, however, Peter is a prodigal son who has returned home. The story of the way God used simple beauties, such as architecture and painting, to draw Peter to faith is truly moving. Many Christians have wondered what is going on inside the heads of atheists to make them so angry. In this interview, Peter Hitchens gives us a glimpse into his life and thought as a Christian who was converted from atheism.

     Tabletalk: Some of our readers will not have read your book,  The Rage Against God: How Atheism Led Me to Faith , by the time this goes to print. Specifically, what are atheism’s three failed arguments?

     Peter Hitchens: Atheism has dozens of failed arguments. The ones I felt qualified to deal with were these: that religion, and specifically Christianity, is a major cause of conflict; that an effective moral code can exist without a belief in the eternal; and my brother’s claim that the Soviet regime was religious in character.

     TT: In The Rage Against God, you describe yourself as being a part of “robust English Protestantism.” What does that mean?

     PH: Oh, it’s a contrast to what in my schooldays would have been called the soppy sort of Christianity, a vaguely effeminate, stained-glass piety of incense and ritual, as opposed to a strong-voiced, earthy, unsuperstitious faith.

     TT: What was accurate about your headmaster’s suggestion that the deaths of those you loved would change your atheistic stance? How does the death of a loved one challenge atheism at its core?

     PH: Death is the great reminder that this life is limited, and that it may not be the end. For most of our lives, we behave as if this is not so. It is only when death touches those close to us that we are forced into this understanding, especially in a modern world where death is kept at a distance, ignored, undiscussed, and shuffled off into corners.

     TT: What is the major failure of Christian education in the modern West?

     PH: Its lack of poetry. The abandonment of the great poetic text of the King James Bible (and of the Book of Common Prayer, for those to whom it once applied) has rendered Christianity banal and chilly to three generations. Much of what Christ said is communicable in poetry, which contains meanings prose is unable to express. The same could be said for the abandonment of much of the church’s classical musical tradition.

     TT: Contra Christopher Hitchens and Richard Dawkins, how is the raising up of children in Christianity decidedly not child abuse?

     PH: Why presume guilt? The accusation is grotesque and baseless. Let them be challenged to show why it is, if it is. And to withdraw if they cannot.

     TT: Is there any advice you can give to believers in America on how to be faithful to Christ as our country becomes more blatantly and unapologetically secular?

     PH: Not really. Don’t expect to be popular, perhaps — and even learn to enjoy being unpopular. Christians in parts of the world where Islam or secularism are triumphant will have a rough time in this world, and so will be more interested in the importance of the next world than they might otherwise be. I believe Egypt’s Coptic Christians actually give thanks for this, as it strengthens their faith. I like being safe and comfortable far too much to welcome the idea, but I have to admit that it seems to me that the Copts have a point. They live more closely with Christ than we do because they must swim against the stream.

     TT: In what ways can we show our love for friends and family who are atheists and who may have succumbed to the intolerance prevalent among many atheists today?

     PH: Not, I think, by pressing our case on them, nor by returning intolerance for intolerance. People choose atheism. It is a deliberate and conscious act, involving far greater certainty than I can muster on this subject. They do this for a reason. If you can find out what that reason is, then you argue rationally with them about it . This may benefit any uncommitted people in your audience, but will probably make no impact on them. The chances are that they have rejected Christianity because they have correctly understood what it involves and do not wish to follow it. And they believe, as a logical result of this view, that Christianity, as a force, should be driven out of modern life.

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The Rest of the Story

By R.C. Sproul Jr. 6/1/2011

     Obedience is a rather narrow road. Disobedience, on the other hand, has a great, sweeping plain of options. Because we are like the Pharisees, we find it easy to convert the law of God into sundry sins of omission. We’re much better at not doing what we’re not supposed to do than we are at doing what we’re supposed to do. Thus, we reduce the Sabbath to all the things we’re not allowed to do. We work at fine-tuning the definition of “work” so we can make sure we don’t do it on the Sabbath. In so doing, as is our wont, we miss the point. Were we to divide the Ten Commandments not according to duties toward God and duties toward man, as many do, but instead on the basis of prohibitions and commands, the Sabbath commandment would end up with the commands. It is less about what we are forbidden to do and more about what we are commanded to do.

     First, believe it or not, the Sabbath commandment commands us to work. “Six days shalt thou labor” isn’t an interesting prelude designed merely to set the context for the command to come. It is a command in itself. We’re supposed to be busy with the work set before us. We are to be passionately pursuing the kingdom of God. We are to recognize that we live in the not-yet of the kingdom. Not all enemies have yet been made a footstool. We have not yet fully exercised dominion over the creation. The reign of Jesus is not yet universally recognized. The Westminster Shorter Catechism asks, “How does Christ execute the office of a king?” Its answer: “Christ executes the office of a king in subduing us to Himself, in ruling and defending us and in restraining and conquering all His and our enemies.” As we rule with and under Him, this is the work we are called to — seeking His kingdom, making manifest His reign.

     Second, as the Sabbath commandment moves to the day of observance, it does not command that we refrain from work — it’s far more profound: we are to rest. We think we are keeping the commandment if we refuse gallantly to do any of the work that is piling up and causing us to lose sleep at night. Instead, we are sinning. Rest isn’t just ceasing from working; it is also ceasing from worrying. It’s not easy. Indeed, in a manner of speaking, rest, especially ceasing from worry, is hard work. It takes discipline and fortitude to let go of all that has us worried.

     We have not succeeded if our worries are more pious, either. That is, we aren’t failing to keep the Sabbath when we worry about the big meeting at work on Monday, but successfully keeping it when we are worried about our persistent failure to mortify that particular sin that so troubles us. Worry is worry, and it has no place in our Sabbath celebration. The Lord’s Day is a feast day and should be treated as such.

     We rejoice and we get over our worries when we come to understand that the Lord’s Day is that time when we leave the “not yet” of the kingdom, and enter into the “already.” Is it not the case that the defining quality of eternity is the blessing of drawing near to the living God? When we feast at His Table, is He not declaring His blessing upon us? Is He not blessing and keeping, lifting up His countenance, making His face shine, being gracious unto us? Is He not lifting up His countenance on us? Is He not giving us peace?

     When we worry about the more mundane things, we are failing to heed the call of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount to set aside those worries, to not be like the Gentiles. We are called instead to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. When we worry about more spiritual matters, especially our own sins, we are missing the very heart of all Lord’s Day preaching — we, the repentant, are forgiven in Christ. We have, by His sovereign grace, succeeded in our quest — we have received His righteousness.

     Sabbath, then, is shalom, and shalom is Sabbath. We have rest because we have peace. We have peace because we have rest. We have both because Jesus is not just Lord of the Sabbath and the Prince of Peace but is also our Sabbath, our Peace.

     There is a right way to keep the Sabbath in our context. There is a right answer to this question that divides us. In the end, however, whatever position we take with respect to the Sabbath, whether we believe this law to have been abrogated in the new covenant, or whether we believe it to have been altered in the new covenant, or whether we maintain the passionate commitment of our Puritan fathers, the key question is ultimately the gospel question: Are we resting in the finished work of Christ? The most faithful Sabbath keeper will in the end be the most joyful Sabbath keeper. Sabbath, in the end, isn’t something to be observed but something to be celebrated. And we celebrate not merely a day off from work. We celebrate the victory of our King. We are of good cheer, for He has overcome the world. And we reign with Him.

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How Will The Second Coming Be Different From The Rapture

By Robert Jeffress 2023

     Some people are understandably confused about the two returns of Christ on the prophecy timeline. There are similarities between the rapture and the second coming. However, the differences between the two events are quite pronounced.

     According to believers who hold to the pretribulation view, the rapture will be a secret snatching away of the church before the tribulation. The only people who will see Jesus at the rapture are believers. At the rapture, Jesus will not return all the way to earth. Instead, believers will meet Him in the air.

     In contrast, the second coming will be the visible return of Jesus Christ to earth at the end of the tribulation. His feet will touch the Mount of Olives. The entire world, believers and unbelievers alike, will see Jesus in all His majesty. Philippians 2:10–11 says the reaction to Christ’s second coming will be universal: “Every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and . . . every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

     When Christ returns, the tribulation will come to an end. All unbelievers alive at that time will be cast into eternal punishment (Matt. 25:46), but believers who put their faith in Christ during the tribulation and survive to see His return will be ushered into the millennium.

The Millennium

     The millennium is a thousand-year period that will occur after the second coming. For one thousand years, Jesus Christ will reign on earth, fulfilling God’s promise to Abraham in Genesis 15. God promised Abraham that his believing descendants would one day possess a land, seed, and blessing, where the Messiah would rule on the throne of David from Jerusalem. Abraham believed Him, and so did his descendants. For centuries, the people of Israel clung to the hope of that promise.

     As the days of creation wind to a close, God will demonstrate His faithfulness again. And it’s vital that we understand the significance of this fulfillment. After all, if God were to renege on — or even slightly alter — His promise to Israel, what would keep Him from doing the same thing with the promise He made to us of eternal life?

     Christ will initiate His thousand-year reign on earth by asserting His power over His foes, as described in Revelation 20:1–3: “Then I saw an angel coming down from heaven. . . . And he laid hold of the dragon, the serpent of old, who is the devil and Satan, and bound him for a thousand years; and he threw him into the abyss, and shut it and sealed it over him, so that he would not deceive the nations any longer, until the thousand years were completed.”

     With Satan bound for a thousand years, part of the curse of sin will be removed. This is the time Isaiah 65 describes, when infants will not die, when people will live to be at least one hundred years old, and when we won’t have difficulty in agriculture with thorns and thistles. The millennium will see a renovation, but not a re-creation, of the earth.

Satan Released and the Final Rebellion

     At the end of the millennium, Satan will be released “for a short time” (Rev. 20:3). The question is, Why would God let him go, especially when things will be going so well?

     Here’s what we need to understand: only believers will enter the millennium and experience the earthly reign of Christ. Those of us who were saved before the tribulation, along with the people who became believers during the tribulation and then died, will enter the millennium in our new, resurrected bodies. But people who became believers during the tribulation and survived until Christ’s second coming will enter the millennium in their natural bodies. That means they will be able to marry and have children. During the thousand-year reign of Christ on earth, children will be born, grow up, and have families of their own, for generation after generation.

     Keep in mind, too, that it’s necessary that every person choose whether to follow Jesus. So at the end of the thousand years, God will release Satan for a short time and allow him to work his evil influence. Amazingly, some people who were born and grew up during the millennium will choose to follow Satan instead of Jesus. That is the final rebellion.

The Great White Throne Judgment

     God will put an end to this rebellion once and for all at the great white throne judgment — His final judgment against all unbelievers who have ever lived. In Revelation 20:13, John described the scene this way: “And the sea gave up the dead which were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead which were in them; and they were judged, every one of them according to their deeds.” When unbelievers die, their spirits go to Hades, which is described as a place of agony (Luke 16:24). Hades is a temporary place of intense suffering for the unsaved dead as they await their final judgment.

     At the great white throne judgment, all the unbelieving dead will appear before the Lord and be judged by their works. That criterion is only fair, since unbelievers say, in effect, “I don’t need God’s forgiveness; I’m good enough to get into heaven on my own merit.” So God agrees to their terms and judges them by their works. Unfortunately, the standard by which God judges is the perfection of Jesus Christ. And by that standard, “all . . . fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).

     The result of this judgment is spelled out in Revelation 20:14–15, when “death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death, the lake of fire. And if anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire.” Verse 10 completes the picture: “They will be tormented day and night forever and ever.”

     Unbelievers will not be destroyed after they are judged; instead, they will suffer for eternity. The same Greek word that is used to describe the eternal nature of heaven is also used to describe the eternal nature of hell. The horrible truth about hell is this: when you’ve spent three trillion years in the agony of hell, you will not have reduced by one second the amount of time you have left. That’s the fate of everyone who dies without trusting in Jesus Christ.

     According to 2 Peter 3:7, 10, one final event will conclude the great white throne judgment: “By His word the present heavens and earth are being reserved for fire, kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. . . . But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the earth and its works will be burned up.”

Eternity Future

     After the present heaven and earth are destroyed, we come to the events in Revelation 21. Eternity future begins. Describing his astonishing vision, the apostle John said, “Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband” (vv. 1–2).

     Popular images of heaven feature believers worshiping God in an ethereal, cloudlike setting. However, as John’s vision in Revelation 21 makes clear, the reality of heaven will be much more familiar to us. Our eternal dwelling place will be a new earth. Though in many ways it will seem familiar to us, it will also be very different from the earth we know. It won’t be the renovated earth of the millennium. The earth on which we will spend eternity will be entirely re-created, restored to its original purpose. God will allow us to enjoy forever the world as He originally created it to be. 3

     Amazingly, our enjoyment of eternity will be enhanced by the work we do. As we saw in our study of humanity and sin, humans were created to find fulfillment and joy in work. Contrary to what many people believe, work is not a curse from God as a result of Adam and Eve’s sin in the garden. Before the first couple ever took a bite of the forbidden fruit, God gave them the responsibility of work. Genesis 2:15 describes it like this: “Then the LORD God took the man and put him into the garden of Eden to cultivate it and keep it.”

     Although Eden was perfect, it was not self-sustaining. Humans were given the responsibility of cultivating it by tilling the soil and planting and harvesting crops. While it’s true that Adam and Eve’s work became much harder after the fall because of God’s judgment, work has always been — and will always be — part of God’s plan for us.

     The only reason we recoil from the prospect of working for eternity is that our labor on earth has been burdened by the effects of sin’s curse: bodies that grow tired, relationships that become strained, and an environment that is uncooperative. In the new heaven and earth, all those burdens will disappear because “there will no longer be any curse” (Rev. 22:3). In the world as we know it, work can be exhausting. In eternity, work will be exhilarating.

     In eternity, our physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual well-being will be assured. Our resurrected bodies will be perfect. Cancer, heart attacks, and strokes will all be things of the past. So will blindness, deafness, and paralysis, as well as gray hair, wrinkles, and widening girths. From the top of our heads to the bottom of our feet, we’ll be perfect in every way.

     In eternity, God will “wipe away every tear from [our] eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away” (Rev. 21:4). This is the forever future God has planned for those who trust in Jesus Christ.

     3 For more about what the Bible teaches about heaven, see my book A Place Called Heaven: 10 Surprising Truths about Your Eternal Home (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2017).

Defining the Debate

By R.C. Sproul 6/1/2011

     The question of Sabbath observation, historically, has provoked many debates and controversies involving separate issues. The first great debate about the Sabbath is whether, as an Old Testament ordinance particularly emphasized in the Mosaic covenant, it is still obligatory in the context of new covenant Christianity. Augustine, for example, believed that nine of the Ten Commandments (the so-called “moral law” of the Old Testament) were still intact and imposed obligations upon the Christian church. His lone exception with the commandment with respect to the Sabbath day. Since Paul spoke about keeping Sabbaths or not keeping Sabbaths as a matter adiaphorous (indifferent), Augustine was persuaded that the Old Testament Sabbath law had been abrogated. Others have argued that because the Sabbath was instituted originally not in the Mosaic economy but in creation, it maintains its status of moral law as long as the creation is intact.

     The second major controversy is the question about the day of the week on which the Sabbath is to be observed. Some insist that since the Sabbath was instituted on the seventh day of creation, when God rested from His labors, and since the Old Testament Israelites celebrated the Sabbath on the seventh day of the week, which would be Saturday, we should follow that pattern. Others have insisted that the New Testament changed the Sabbath to the first day of the week because of the significance of the resurrection of Jesus on that day. They also point to the New Testament practice of Christians coming together on Sunday as the Lord’s Day for worship. The argument focuses on whether the Sabbath is a cyclical command that requires worship and rest on every seventh day or whether it is specified to a particular day of the week. John Calvin argued that it would be legitimate to have the Sabbath day on any day if all of the churches would agree, because the principle in view was the regular assembling of the saints for corporate worship and for the observation of rest.

     Within the Reformed tradition, the most significant controversy that has appeared through the ages is the question of how the Sabbath is to be observed. There are two major positions within the Reformed tradition on this question. To make matters simple, we will refer to them as the Continental view of the Sabbath and the Puritan view of the Sabbath. Both views acknowledge that the Sabbath is still in effect. Both views agree that the Sabbath is a time for corporate worship. Both agree that the Sabbath is a day of rest when believers are to abstain from unnecessary commerce. But two areas are in dispute between the two schools and the most important of these is the question of recreation. Is recreation a legitimate form of rest-taking, or is recreation something that mars a sacred observation of the Sabbath day?

     The Puritan view argues against the acceptability of recreation on the Sabbath day. The text most often cited to support this view is Isaiah 58:13–14 and following: “If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable; if you honor it, not going your own ways, or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly; then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

     The crux of the matter in this passage is the prophetic critique of people doing their own pleasure on the Sabbath day. The assumption that many make with respect to this text is that doing one’s own pleasure must refer to recreation. If this is the case, the prophet Isaiah was adding new dimensions to the Old Testament law with respect to Sabbath-keeping. Whereas the rest of the Old Testament law is virtually silent with respect to recreation, this text in Isaiah is cited to indicate a further revelation from God about Sabbath observance — a prohibition of recreation.

     There is another way to understand Isaiah 58, however, following the thinking of those who hold the Continental view of the Sabbath. The distinction in Isaiah 58 is between doing what is pleasing to God and doing what is pleasing to ourselves in opposition to what is pleasing to God. Presumably, what is in view in the prophetic critique is God’s judgment against the Israelites for violating the Mosaic law with respect to the Sabbath day, particularly regarding involvement in commerce. There were Israelites who wanted to be able to buy and sell seven days a week, not simply six days a week. Therefore, they violated the Sabbath commandment by seeking their own pleasure, which was to do business on the Sabbath rather than to do that which was pleasing to God. According to this view, the text has nothing to say directly or indirectly about recreation on the Sabbath day.

     There is an old story, which may be apocryphal, that when John Knox came to Geneva to visit John Calvin at his home on the Sabbath, he was shocked to find Calvin engaged in lawn bowling. If the story is true, it may indicate that the theologian most devoted to Sabbath-keeping in history, Calvin, did not see recreation as a violation of the Lord’s Day, but as a part of the rest-taking or recreation that is to be part of this day. Recreation would never have been acceptable to Calvin if it had interrupted or supplanted the time devoted to worship on the Sabbath.

     One other point of debate remains between the two sides on this issue. It has to do with works of mercy performed on the Sabbath. The example of Jesus is cited, that on the Sabbath He engaged not only in worship and rest but also in works of mercy. Such works brought Him into conflict with the Pharisees over the question of Sabbath-keeping. Some have drawn the conclusion that since Jesus performed works of mercy on the Sabbath, the Christian is obligated to do the same. However, the fact that Jesus did works of mercy on the Sabbath, though it clearly reveals that it is lawful to do so on the Sabbath, does not obligate us to do such works on the Sabbath. That is to say, Jesus’ example teaches us that we may do works of mercy on the Sabbath but not that we must do such works on the Sabbath.

     All of these issues continue to be examined and debated as the church seeks to understand how God is best honored on this day.

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Robert Charles Sproul, 2/13/1939 – 12/14/2017 was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. R.C. Sproul was founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education and discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was also copastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Dr. Sproul has contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, has spoken at conferences, churches, and schools around the world, and has written more than one hundred books. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

The Bonds of Brotherhood

By R.C. Sproul 7/1/2011

     Fraternity … what does this word mean? It can refer to several distinct types of associations or relationships, and the church can learn valuable lessons by exploring these in more depth. The term fraternity may prompt us to recall the motto of the French Revolution: “Liberty, Fraternity, Equality.” Fraternity, along with equality and liberty, ranked right at the top of the concerns of that revolution. The term may cause us to think of college campus groups such as those depicted in the radical fraternity film Animal House. Beyond the college level, there is a wide variety of organizations of men in this world that are “fraternal orders,” such as the Elks, police groups, and various service clubs.

     The idea of fraternity is also manifested in the field of competitive sports, particularly with respect to team sports. The saying “There is no ‘I’ in team” is a cliché because it is so true. For teams to function efficiently and effectively, there must be fraternity and teamwork. Again and again we witness superstar players in the realm of professional sports being traded by their clubs because they create such a destructive atmosphere in the locker room.

     No team can function well strictly on the strength of a single individual. In basketball, for example, players who are ballhogs destroy the spirit of teamwork. If the ball is passed to a ballhog, he is very unlikely to pass it to a teammate, but more likely to take an ill-advised shot. In football, a play run by the offense involves blocking, running, passing, tackling, and other dimensions of the sport. The whole affair is an orchestration of the various elements. Even baseball operates on the basis of a team working in harmony. Babe Ruth never won a game by himself.

     Ironically, when we look at the arena of athletics, we see that the idea of fraternity exists not only in team sports but also in the context of individual sports. Perhaps the supreme example of an individual sport is boxing. It is mano a mano, one man against another. There is no tag team in the boxing ring. The boxer stands toe-to-toe against his opponent with his support systems in his corner. In the ring — the battlefield — he must fight alone. the drama of a tense bout between two equally-matched opponents, each doing his best to knock the other one out or to do enough bodily harm to win the fight on points? And yet, when the final bell rings, we often see these two gladiators come to the center of the ring and hug with an obvious sense of affection. Why do they do this? It is because a fighter is trained in his individual sport not only to compete with his opponent but to respect him. When he is engaged in a match that tests him to the ultimate degree, he comes away exhausted, battered, maybe even beaten, but nevertheless still possessing enormous respect for his opponent. There is a kind of fellowship, a kind of fraternity, that only individual gladiators such as these men understand.

     The same thing may be seen in golf, even though most matches test individual ability. From time to time, golfers join together as teammates, and there is the sense among them that they are part of a fraternity that is higher than each one in his individual accomplishments.

     But there is no fraternity as important or as significant as the church and the communion of saints. Obviously, the church is not an organization exclusive to men, so perhaps we can speak of the church as both a fraternity and a sorority. But in any case, the idea of team participation is clearly present. There is no such thing as a one-person church.

     Certainly we are not saved or justified by the faith of our families, friends, or associates. In one sense, redemption is an intensely individual matter. But once we are justified, once we are in a state of salvation, we are immediately put into a group. We are immediately put into the church.

     The church exists as a corporate body. There is a corporate solidarity that defines the identity of the New Testament church. There is no room for rugged individualism. No one has been given all the gifts of the Holy Spirit; no one has an opportunity to “hog” the ministry.

     What is needed in the church is a kind of familial relationship that is a brotherhood and a sisterhood. It can be learned in part outside of the church in other endeavors, such as the world of sports or even the battlefield. But the deepest knitting together of human beings for a common cause, a common faith, and a common Lord exists in the church of Jesus Christ.

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Robert Charles Sproul, 2/13/1939 – 12/14/2017 was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. R.C. Sproul was founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education and discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was also copastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Dr. Sproul has contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, has spoken at conferences, churches, and schools around the world, and has written more than one hundred books. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

Roots in the Pepsi Generation

By R.C. Sproul 5/1977

     The column’s title, “Right Now – Counts Forever” is designed to focus attention on the relevancy of our present lives to the eternal destinies we all face. We live in a culture that places the stress on “Right Now.” It’s called the “Pepsi Generation”—we are told to live life with “gusto” because we “only go around once.” Short range goals, pragmatic methods of problem solving, a quiet hysteria to make it happen “now,” all point to modern man’s despair regarding the future. The unspoken assumption is that it’s “now or never” because there is no ultimate future for mankind.

     Our Christian assertion is that there is more to our lives than “now.” If there is not, then even the now is meaningless. But we say now counts. Why? Now counts because we are creatures who have an origin and a destiny which is rooted and grounded in God.

     Did I say “rooted?” Why is that word so important? Recently we’ve experienced a cultural phenomenon of epic proportions. The televised drama, Roots has already had a shaking effect on our people. Can we explain the national reaction to Kunta Kinte and “Chicken George” merely in terms of our raw feeling of years of racial strife? I don’t think so. Neither does Alex Haley. Roots typifies a problem that transcends race. It is the problem of identity for all of modern man. Who am I?

     The question of identity can never be answered merely in terms of the present. To know who I am involves a discovery of my past (my origin) and at least a glimpse of my future (my destiny). If I am a cosmic accident springing from the dust and destined for more dust then I am nothing. I am a joke… a tale told by an idiot. But if my ultimate roots are grounded in eternity and my destiny is anchored in that same eternity, then I know something of who I am. I know I am a creature of eternal significance. If that’s so then my life counts. What I do today counts forever. Now, the now means something.

     Roots stirred us deeply because it provoked the hope that if we go back far enough we might find continuity and stability. Roots had its messiah figure in Chicken George. The program went through an entire episode with Chicken George never visibly present. Yet his “invisible presence” permeated every scene. I have never seen a television production where a character was so obviously present while not appearing on the screen. When George did appear he led his family in a new exodus to a new land of promise. Roots looked backward and forward in such a way as to give the present meaning.

     As T.V. treated us to Roots so Hollywood has treated us to Rocky—this film has captured the public imagination in a fresh way. Perhaps it represents merely an exercise in nostalgia, a throwback to Frank Merriwell and the original happy ending. Or perhaps it represents a protest to the age of the anti-hero and the story line of chaos that characterizes modern filmdom. Whatever the motive the movie reflects not in the Cinderella motif but the portrayal of human sensitivity displayed in Rocky’s mercy as a bill collector for the loan shark and his tenderness on the ice rink.

     Applaudable warmth is seen in Rocky’s “Lennie-like” love for animals and wayward teenagers and his sentiment for his manager. The fruit of discipline, endurance, and devotion to dignity are actually cast in roles of virtue. Rocky worked and fought not for a momentary prize but for a stand of valor that lasts.

     Maybe Rocky is a milestone. Maybe we are beginning to see there is more to life than Pepsi-Cola. It’s not now or never, but now and forever. Right now counts. It counts… for eternity.

Robert Charles Sproul, 2/13/1939 – 12/14/2017 was an American theologian, author, and ordained pastor in the Presbyterian Church in America. Dr. R.C. Sproul was founder and chairman of Ligonier Ministries, an international Christian education and discipleship organization located near Orlando, Fla. He was also copastor of Saint Andrew’s Chapel in Sanford, Fla., chancellor of Reformation Bible College, and executive editor of Tabletalk magazine. Dr. Sproul has contributed dozens of articles to national evangelical publications, has spoken at conferences, churches, and schools around the world, and has written more than one hundred books. He also served as general editor of the Reformation Study Bible.

Read The Psalms In "1" Year

Psalm 82

1 God has taken his place in the divine council;
in the midst of the gods he holds judgment:
2 “How long will you judge unjustly
and show partiality to the wicked? Selah
3 Give justice to the weak and the fatherless;
maintain the right of the afflicted and the destitute.
4 Rescue the weak and the needy;
deliver them from the hand of the wicked.”

5 They have neither knowledge nor understanding,
they walk about in darkness;
all the foundations of the earth are shaken.

6 I said, “You are gods,
sons of the Most High, all of you;
7 nevertheless, like men you shall die,
and fall like any prince.”

8 Arise, O God, judge the earth;
for you shall inherit all the nations!

Who Are the 144,000 in Revelation?

By Kevin DeYoung 1/17/2012

     Many sincere Bible-believing Christians would understand the 144,000 like this: The church is raptured prior to the great tribulation. During the time when the church is gone, a remnant of 144,000 ethnic Jews is converted (12,000 from each tribe). These Jewish converts, in turn, evangelize the Gentiles who make up the great multitude in white robes in v. 9. That’s one understanding of Revelation 7. A lot of godly people hold that understanding. Let me explain why I understand the 144,000 differently.

     The 144,000 are not an ethnic Jewish remnant, and certainly not an Anointed Class of saints who became Jehovah’s Witnesses before 1935. The 144,000 represent the entire community of the redeemed. Let me give you several reasons for making this claim.

     First, in chapter 13 we read that Satan seals all of his followers, so it makes sense that God would seal all of his people, not just the Jewish ones.

     Second, the image of sealing comes from Ezekiel 9 where the seal on the forehead marks out two groups of people: idolaters and non-idolaters. It would seem that the sealing of the 144,000 makes a similar distinction based on who worships God not who among the Jewish remnant worships God.

     Third, the 144,000 are called the servants of our God (Rev. 7:3). There is no reason to make the 144,000 any more restricted than that. If you are a servant of the living God, you are one of the 144,000 mentioned here. In Revelation, the phrase “servants of God” always refers to all of God’s redeemed people, not just an ethnic Jewish remnant (see 1:1; 2:20; 19:2; 19:5; 22:3).

     Fourth, the 144,000 mentioned later in chapter 14 are those who have been “redeemed from the earth” and those who were “purchased from among men.” This is generic everybody kind of language. The 144,000 is a symbolic number of redeemed drawn from all peoples, not simply the Jews. Besides, if the number is not symbolic then what do we do with Revelation 14:4 which describes the 144,000 as those “who have not defiled themselves with women”? Are we to think that the 144,000 refers to a chosen group of celibate Jewish men? It makes more sense to realize that 144,000 is a symbolic number that is described as celibate men to highlight the group’s moral purity and set-apartness for spiritual battle.

     Fifth, the last reason for thinking that the 144,000 is the entire community of the redeemed is because of the highly stylized list of tribes in verses 5-8. The number itself is stylized. It’s not to be taken literally. It’s 12 x 12 x 1000—12 being the number of completion for God’s people (representing the 12 tribes of Israel and the 12 apostles of the Lamb) and 1000 being a generic number suggesting a great multitude. So 144,000 is a way of saying all of God’s people under the old and new covenant.

     And then look at the list of the tribes. There are over a dozen different arrangements of the twelve tribes in the Bible. This one is unique among all of those. Judah is listed first because Jesus was from there as a lion of the tribe of Judah. All twelve of Jacob’s sons are listed—including Levi who usually wasn’t because he didn’t inherit any land-except for one. Manasseh, Joseph’s son (Jacob’s grandson), is listed in place of Dan. So why not Dan? Dan was left out in order to point to the purity of the redeemed church. From early in Israel’s history, Dan was the center of idolatry for the kingdom (Judges 18:30-31). During the days of the divided kingdom, Dan was one of two centers for idolatry (1 Kings 12:28-30). And there is recorded in some non-Biblical Jewish writings that the Jews thought the anti-Christ would come out of Dan based on Genesis 49:17. The bottom line is that the number and the list and the order of the tribes are all stylized to depict the totality of God’s pure and perfectly redeemed servants from all time over all the earth. That’s what Revelation means by the 144,000.

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• 1     The Biggest Story: How the Snake Crusher Brings Us Back to the Garden
• 2     Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
• 3     Crazy Busy: A (Mercifully) Short Book about a (Really) Big Problem
• 4     The Hole in Our Holiness (Paperback Edition): Filling the Gap between Gospel Passion and the Pursuit of Godliness
• 5     What Does the Bible Really Teach about Homosexuality?
• 6     Taking God At His Word (Paperback Edition): Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me
• 7     The Good News We Almost Forgot: Rediscovering the Gospel in a 16th Century Catechism
• 8     What Is the Mission of the Church?: Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission
• 9     Acting the Miracle: God's Work and Ours in the Mystery of Sanctification
• 10     Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion
• 11     Just Do Something: A Liberating Approach to Finding God's Will
• 12     Don't Call It a Comeback: The Old Faith for a New Day (Gospel Coalition Series)
• 13     The Holy Spirit (The Gospel Coalition Booklets)
• 14     Why We're Not Emergent: By Two Guys Who Should Be (Faith and Freedom)
• 15     Crazy Busy by Kevin DeYoung (2013-09-23)
• 16     Freedom and Boundaries: A Pastoral Primer on the Role of Women in the Church
• 17     Taking God at His Word: Why the Bible Is Knowable, Necessary, and Enough, and What That Means for You and Me by Kevin DeYoung (30-Apr-2014) Hardcover
• 18     Why Our Church Switched to the ESV

The Continual Burnt Offering (John 3:16)

By H.A. Ironside - 1941

August 4

Proverbs 3:5  Trust in the LORD with all your heart,
and do not lean on your own understanding.
6  In all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make straight your paths.

FOR GOD, the Lord of earth and Heaven,
SO LOVED, and longed to see forgiven,
THE WORLD in sin and pleasure mad,
THAT HE GAVE the greatest gift He had—
HIS ONLY SON — to take our place,
THAT WHOSOEVER — Oh, what grace!—
BELIEVETH, placing simple trust
IN HIM, the righteous and the just,
SHOULD NOT PERISH, lost in sin,
BUT HAVE ETERNAL LIFE IN HIM.
--- Barbara C. Ryberg

By John Walvoord

Israel’s Faithless Shepherds Contrasted with Her Future True Shepherd

     Ezekiel 34:1–10. The Israelites had been led astray because they had false shepherds who did not care for them but “ruled them harshly and brutally” (v.  4 ). No one had attempted to find the sheep who were scattered (v.  6 ).

     God declared that He was going to hold the shepherds accountable for their failure to tend to the sheep of Israel (vv.  7–10 ). This was fulfilled in the Babylonian captivity. God promised to rescue them in Israel’s future restoration (v.  10 ).

     Ezekiel 34:11–16. God declared that He Himself would search for His sheep and rescue them from where they had been scattered (vv.  11–12 ). God promised, “I will bring them out from the nations and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them into their own land. I will pasture them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines and in all the settlements in the land” (v.  13 ). This prediction of the future regathering of Israel from all over the world is still an unfulfilled commitment that will be fulfilled when the coming millennial kingdom begins.

     God will especially care for those who are weak or injured, will bring them to rich pastures, and will shepherd them with justice (vv.  14–16 ). This will be fulfilled in the millennium ( Jer. 23:5–8 ).

     Ezekiel 34:17–31. God promised special care for those who were weak and who had been trampled by the stronger sheep. He will serve as a judge “between the fat sheep and the lean sheep” (v.  20 ).

     Central to God’s plan of restoration for Israel will be the resurrection of David as a true shepherd who will serve as a prince under Christ as King of Kings and Lord of Lords (vv.  23–24 ). This places the fulfillment at the second coming when Old Testament saints will be resurrected ( Dan. 12:1–3 ).

     God also promised that this would be a time of peace when the wild beasts will not afflict them, when they will receive showers to water the land, and trees will bear their fruit ( Ezek. 34:25–27 ).

     God also promised to keep them in safety, no longer allowing the nations to plunder them, and would deliver them from famine (vv.  28–29 ). As a result of God’s work in restoration of Israel, “Then they will know that I, the LORD their God, am with them and they, the house of Israel, are my people, declares the Sovereign LORD. You my sheep, the sheep of my pasture, are people, and I am your God,’ declares the Sovereign LORD” (vv.  30–31 ). This will be fulfilled in the millennium ( Jer. 23:5–8 ).

Prophecy against Edom

     Ezekiel 35:1–15. The prophecy against Mount Seir predicted the destruction of the Edomites, descendants of Esau, who lived in that area. Though Ezekiel had predicted earlier the destruction of the Edomites ( 25:12–14 ), this prophecy apparently is representative of all the nations that opposed Israel who will be judged in the future. The Edomites seemed to have participated with the Babylonians in the destruction of Jerusalem and in the cruelty those in Jerusalem experienced.

     The long history of the animosity of the descendants of Esau against Israel called for many prophecies in the Bible in addition to those mentioned by  Ezekiel ( Isa. 34:5–8; 63:1–4; Jer. 49:17; Lam. 4:21; Amos 1:11, 12; Obad. 8, 10 ).

     Though the Edomites had rejoiced in the destruction of Jerusalem, their land in turn would be made desolate ( Ezek. 35:1–9 ). God would fill their nation’s mountains as well as her valleys and ravines with the slain (v.  8 ). Her towns would be destroyed and never inhabited (v.  9 ).

     Edom had rejoiced in the fall of both Israel (the ten tribes) and Judah (the two tribes), which had led to the destruction of Jerusalem in 586 BC (v.  10 ). She then thought that she would be able to take possession of all twelve tribes of Israel. Instead, God was going to cause her devastation (vv.  11–15 ).

     Actually, Edom continued for another four centuries before she gradually disappeared from history. In God’s time the prophecies were literally fulfilled.

The Future Restoration of Israel to Her Land

     Ezekiel 36:1–7. Just as the people of Edom and other nations had hounded Israel, destroyed her cities, and plundered them, so God promised He would destroy the nations, including Edom, who had done this to Israel (vv.  1–7 ).

     Ezekiel 36:8–36. To Israel, however, God gave the wonderful promise of her restoration. She will be restored like a tree producing branches and fruit (v.  8 ). God will increase the number of the house of Israel, and her cities will once again be inhabited and her ruins rebuilt (v.  10 ). Even animals will be more plentiful and the land will become fruitful (v.  11 ). God not only promised that the children of Israel would walk on her ancient land and possess it but also that nothing would deprive them of their children (v.  12 ), referring to the fact that Israel would be permanently established in her land when her final restoration takes place ( Amos 9:15 ). God declared that never again will the children of Israel be destroyed and suffer taunts from the nations ( Ezek. 36:13–15 ).

     God reminded the children of Israel, however, of their wickedness and how they were judged and dispersed among the nations because they had sinned against Him (vv.  16–18 ). God declared that the Israelites would be “scattered through the countries; I judged them according to their conduct and their actions” (v.  19 ).

     God would not restore Israel because she deserved it, but because of His desire to show her His righteousness and His holiness (vv.  22–23 ). In her restoration God would cleanse her and give her His Holy Spirit: “For I will take you out of the nations; I will gather you from all the countries and bring you back into your own land. I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws” (vv.  24–27 ). The Holy Spirit will indwell them in that day, in contrast to the Mosaic dispensation when only a few were indwelt.

     In that day when the Israelites again live in their Promised Land, they will belong to God, and God will be their God (v.  28 ). God will make their grain plentiful and they will no longer have famine (vv.  29–30 ). When God will prosper them in their day of the restoration, they will think back to their wickedness and know that God has shown them His grace.

     The land is described as resettled, rebuilt, no longer desolate but like the garden of Eden (vv.  33–35 ). This will be a testimony to the nations that God has restored Israel (v.  36 ). Most important, Israel will know that the Lord is her God and that He has restored her.

     This entire chapter requires a future millennial kingdom after the second coming of Christ for its complete and literal fulfillment ( Jer. 23:5–8 ). Just as the prophecies of judgment were literally fulfilled in connection with Israel and the nations, so her future restoration will be literally fulfilled and she will experience the marvelous grace of God.

Division of the Dry Bones: The Restoration of Israel

     Ezekiel 37:1–10. Ezekiel was given a vision of a valley filled with dry bones. The Lord asked him the question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (v.  3 ). Ezekiel was cautious in replying, indicating that only the Lord would know (v.  3 ).

     Ezekiel then was instructed to prophesy that these dry bones would come to life, that the bones would come together, that flesh would cover them, and finally that they would have the breath of life much like Adam ( Gen. 2:7 ).

     Then God spoke to Ezekiel, “Prophesy to the breath; prophesy, son of man, and say to it, ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: Come from the four winds, O breath, and breathe into these slain, that they may live’” ( Ezek. 37:9 ).

     When Ezekiel obeyed the Lord and prophesied, “breath entered [the bones]; they came to life and stood up on their feet—a vast army” (v.  10 ).

     Ezekiel 37:11–14. Having given Ezekiel the vision, the Lord now interpreted it for him. In the interpretation, Ezekiel was informed that the bones represented Israel. Her hopeless, dried condition illustrated her hopelessness of ever being restored. In response to this, God promised to bring her back from death and to the land of Israel. God would put His Holy Spirit in her, and she would be settled in her own land.

     The Lord said, “Son of man, these bones are the whole house of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’ Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign LORD says: O my people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel. Then you, my people, will know that I am the LORD, when I open your graves and bring you up from them. I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the LORD have spoken, and I have done it,’ declares the LORD” (vv.  11–14 ).

     In biblical interpretation today, many affirm that Israel will never be restored. They share the hopelessness that gripped the Israelites as they were scattered from their land to Assyria and Babylon. Contradicting this hopeless situation, God promised to restore Israel and in the strongest possible terms indicated that He would bring new life to her, and she would be restored as a nation, that she would be indwelt by the Holy Spirit, and she would settle in her own land in safety.

     The prediction that she would be brought up from the grave is partly symbolic in that the nation seemed to be dead and will be restored to physical life. But it is also to be considered literally, because according to  Daniel 12:1–3, at the close of the great tribulation when Christ returns in His second coming, there will be a resurrection of Old Testament saints. Both figuratively and literally Israel will be restored and given new life. Those who have died and who were saved will be resurrected to share in the millennial kingdom as resurrected saints.

     The promise that His Holy Spirit would be in Israel goes beyond her experience under the Law, when the Holy Spirit was with her but not necessarily in her ( John 14:17 ). Beginning on the day of Pentecost ( Acts 2 ), all genuinely saved people are indwelt by the Holy Spirit, a situation that will continue until the rapture of the church. Though there is no clear revelation of what will be true between the rapture and the second coming, this and other Scriptures make clear that the Holy Spirit will indwell the saints in the millennial kingdom ( Ezek. 37:14; Jer. 31:33 ).

Sign of the Two Sticks

     Ezekiel 37:15–17. Ezekiel was commanded, “Son of man, take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Ephraim’s stick, belonging to Joseph and all the house of Israel associated with him.’ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand” (vv.  16–17 ).

     The situation being addressed was that of the divided kingdom. After Solomon, the ten tribes following Jeroboam became the kingdom of Israel; the two remaining tribes in Jerusalem, Judah and Benjamin, became the kingdom of Judah. The ten tribes were carried off to Assyria in 722 BC, and the two remaining tribes were carried off by Babylon between 605 and 586 BC. The situation where these two kingdoms were divided will end, and as this and other prophecies predict, the two kingdoms will become one nation (cf.  Jer. 3:18; 23:5–6; 30:3; Hosea 1:11; Amos 9:11 ). No fulfillment has ever been recorded in history, and the future regathering of Israel will occur in the millennium.

     Ezekiel 37:18–23. Ezekiel was instructed to answer the questions of those who asked the meaning of the two sticks, and he was to tell them, “This is what the Sovereign LORD says: I am going to take the stick of Joseph — which is in Ephraim’s hand — and of the Israelite tribes associated with him, and join them to Judah’s stick, making them a single stick of wood, and they will become one in my hand” (v.  19 ).

     God then further interpreted this, saying, “I will take the Israelites out of the nations where they have gone. I will gather them from all around and bring them back into their own land. I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel. There will be one king over all of them and they will never again be two nations or be divided into two kingdoms” (vv.  21–22 ). God promised He would keep Israel from defiling herself as she has done in the past, and He declared, “I will save them from all their sinful backsliding, and I will cleanse them. They will be my people, and I will be their God” (v.  23 ). This will be fulfilled in the millennial kingdom.

      Ezekiel 37:24–25. As predicted in  34:23–24, so here again the prophecy was given, “My servant David will be king over them, and they will all have one shepherd. They will follow my laws and be careful to keep my decrees. They will live in the land I give my servant Jacob, the land where your fathers lived. They and their children and their children’s children will live there forever, and David my servant will be their prince forever” ( 37:24–25 ).

     Though some have attempted to take this prophecy in less than its literal meaning, the clear statement is that David, who is now dead and whose body is in his tomb in Jerusalem ( Acts 2:29 ), will be resurrected. This will occur at the second coming ( Dan. 12:1–3 ), indicating plainly that the restoration of Israel will be subsequent to, not before, the second coming. This requires Christ’s coming before the millennium or in fulfillment of the premillennial promises. The promise that David would be her prince forever must be interpreted as being fulfilled in the thousand-year reign. Actually, the word forever is a translation of an expression “to the ages,” which may be interpreted as forever or until eternity begins.

     Ezekiel 37:26–28. As  Jeremiah stated, God predicted here a covenant of peace with Israel that will be “an everlasting covenant” (v.  26 ). Though announced in the Old Testament, it will replace the Mosaic covenant and will have its primary fulfillment for Israel at the time of the second coming when Israel is restored nationally and spiritually.

     Scholars have puzzled over the precise meaning of the new covenant, earlier announced by Jeremiah ( Jer. 31:31–34 ). Probably the simplest explanation is that in dying on the cross, God made possible a covenant of grace for those who would trust the Lord. This covenant of grace is the basis for the salvation of every individual, from the time of Adam to the last person who is saved. It is preeminently illustrated in the present age when God saves the church by grace and the Lord’s Supper commemorates the new covenant. The new covenant as applied here to Israel primarily has a prophetic meaning, which is indicated here as being fulfilled in the peace, righteousness, and restoration that will characterize the millennial kingdom.

     At the time of the fulfillment of this covenant, the number of Israelites in the land will increase greatly, especially during the millennial kingdom. A preliminary prophecy that God will provide a sanctuary ( Ezek. 37:28 ) referred to a millennial temple that will be described later in  Ezekiel 40 - 48 .

     God promised to be with Israel and dwell among her in the millennial kingdom (v.  27 ). This will also be true in the new earth in eternity.

     The restoration of Israel will be a sign to the world so that the nations will know that it will be accomplished by the holy Lord, who is able to cleanse Israel and make her holy.

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Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times