The General Resurrection Part 2

THE GENERAL RESURRECTION
Samuel Davies (1723-1761)

My brethren, realize the majesty and terror of this universal alarm. When the dead are sleeping in the silent grave; when the living are thoughtless and unapprehensive of the grand event or intent on other pursuits—some of them asleep in the dead of night, some of them dissolved in sensual pleasures: eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, some of them planning or executing schemes for riches or honors, some in the very act of sin—the generality stupid and careless about the concerns of eternity and the dreadful Day just at hand, and a few here and there conversing with their God and "looking for the glorious appearance of their Lord and Saviour" (Ti 2:14); when the course of nature runs on uniform and regular as usual and infidel scoffers are taking umbrage from thence to ask, "Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation" (2Pe 3:4)—in short, when there are no more visible appearances of this approaching Day than of the destruction of Sodom on that fine clear morning in which Lot fled away, or of the deluge, when Noah entered into the ark—then in that hour of unapprehensive security, then suddenly shall the heavens open over the astonished world; then shall the all alarming clangor break over their heads like a clap of thunder in a clear sky! Immediately the living turn their gazing eyes upon the amazing phenomenon: a few hear the long-expected sound with rapture and lift up their heads with joy, assured that the day of their redemption is come, while the thoughtless world is struck with the wild est horror and consternation.

In the same instant, the sound reaches all the mansions of the dead. In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, they are raised and the living are changed! This call will be as animating to all the sons of men as that call to a single person, "Lazarus, come forth" (John 11:43). Oh, what a surprise will this be to a thoughtless world! Should this alarm burst over our heads this moment, into what a terror would it strike many!...Such will be the terror, such the consternation, when it actually comes to pass. Sinners will be the same timorous, self-condemned creatures then as they are now. Then, they who are deaf to all the gentler calls of the Gospel now will not be able to stop their ears. Then, the trump of God will constrain the—to whom the ministers of Christ now preach in vain—to hear and fear. Then they must all hear, for

MY TEXT TELLS YOU: ALL THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES, ALL WITHOUT EXCEPTION, SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE. Now the voice of mercy calls, reason pleads, conscience warns—but multitudes will not hear. But this is a voice that shall, that must reach every one of the millions of mankind, and not one of them will be able to stop his ears. Infants and giants, kings and subjects, all ranks, all ages of mankind shall hear the call. The living shall start and be changed, and the dead rise at the sound! The dust that was once alive and formed a human body, whether it flies in the air, floats in [the] ocean, or vegetates on earth, shall hear the new-creating fiat. Wherever the fragments of the hu man frame are scattered, this all-penetrating call shall reach and speak them into life. We may consider this voice as a summons, not only to dead bodies to rise, but to the souls that once animated them to appear and be reunited to them, whether in heaven or hell. To the grave, the call will be, "Arise, ye dead, and come to judgment!" To heaven, "Ye spirits of just men made perfect, descend to the world whence you originally came, and assume your new-formed bodies!" To hell, "Come forth and appear, ye damned ghosts, ye prisoners of darkness, and be again united to the bodies in which you once sinned, that in them ye may now suffer!" Thus will this summons spread through every corner of the universe. Heaven, earth, hell, and all their inhabitants shall hear and obey. Devils, as well as sinners of our race, will tremble at the sound: for now they know they can plead no more as they once did, "Torment us not before the time" (cf. Mat 8:29). For the time is come, and they must mingle with the prisoners at the bar.

The General Resurrection Part 1

THE GENERAL RESURRECTION
Samuel Davies (1723-1761)

"Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil,unto the resurrection of damnation."—John 5:28-29

EVER since sin entered into the world and death by sin, this earth has been a vast graveyard or burying place for her children. In every age and in every country, that sentence has been executing, "Dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return" (Gen 3:19). The earth has been arched with graves, the last lodgings of mortals, and the bottom of the ocean paved with the bones of men. Human nature was at first confined to one pair, but how soon and how wide did it spread! How inconceivably numerous are the sons of Adam! How many different nations on our globe contain many millions of men even in one generation! And how many generations have succeeded one another in the long run of nearly six thousand years!

LET IMAGINATION CALL UP THIS VAST ARMY: Children that just light upon our globe and then wing their flight into an unknown world; the gray-headed that have had a long journey through life; the blooming youth and the middle-aged—let them pass in review before us from all countries and from all ages. How vast and astonishing the multitude! If the posterity of one man (Abraham) by one son was, according to the divine promise, as the stars of heaven or as the sand by the seashore innumerable, what numbers can compute the multitudes that have sprung from all the patriarchs, the sons of Adam and Noah? But what is become of them all? Alas! They are turned into earth, their original element. They are all imprisoned in the grave, except the present generation, and we are dropping one after another in quick succession into that place appointed for all living. There has not been perhaps a moment of time for five thousand years, but what someone or other has sunk into the mansions of the dead. In some fatal hours, by the sword of war or the devouring jaws of earthquakes, thousands have been cut off, swept away at once, and left in one huge promiscuous carnage.

The greatest number of mankind beyond comparison is sleeping under ground. There lies beauty moldering into dust, rotting into stench and loathsomeness, and feeding the vilest worms. There lies the head that once wore a crown, as low and contemptible as the meanest beggar. There lie the mighty giants, the heroes and conquerors, the Samsons, the Ajaxes, the Alexanders, and the Caesars of the world! There they lie—stupid, senseless, inactive, and unable to drive off the worms that riot on their marrow and make their houses in those sockets where the eyes sparkled with living luster. There lie the wise and the learned, as rotten, as helpless as the fool does. There lie some that we once conversed with, some that were our friends, our companions. There lie our fathers and mothers, our brothers and sisters.

And shall they lie there always? Shall this body, this curious workmanship of heaven so wonderfully and fearfully made, always lie in ruins and never be repaired? Shall the wide-extended valleys of dry bones never more live? This we know, that it is not a thing impossible with God to raise the dead (Act 26:8). He that could first form our bodies out of nothing is certainly able to form them anew and repair the wastes of time and death. But what is His declared will in this case? On this the matter turns, and this is fully revealed in my text. "The hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves," all that are dead, without exception, "shall hear his voice, And shall come forth" (Joh 5:28-29). And for what end shall they come forth? Oh! For very different purposes: some to the resurrection of life and some to the resurrection of damnation..."All that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation."

THEY THAT ARE IN THE GRAVES SHALL HEAR HIS VOICE. The voice of the Son of God here probably means the sound of the archangel's trumpet, which is called His "voice" because [it is] sounded by His orders and attended with His all-quickening power. This all-wakening call to the tenants of the grave we frequently find foretold in Scripture. I shall refer you to two plain passages. "Behold," says St. Paul, "I show you a mystery," an important and astonishing secret, "we shall not all sleep" (1 Co 15:51); that is, mankind will not all be sleeping in death when that Day comes. There will be a generation then alive upon the earth. Though they cannot have a proper resurrection, yet they shall pass through a change equivalent to it. "We shall all be changed," says he, "in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound" (ICo 15:52). It shall give the alarm! No sooner is the awful clangor heard than all the living shall be transformed into immortals, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible. We, who are then alive, shall be changed (1 Co 15:52). This is all the difference: they shall be raised, and we shall be changed. This awful prelude of the trumpet is also mentioned in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-16: "We which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep," that is, we shall not be beforehand with them in meeting our descending Lord. "For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God," that is, with a godlike trump, such as it becomes His majesty to sound. The dead in Christ shall rise first, that is, before the living shall be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. When they are risen and the living transformed, they shall ascend together to the place of judgment.

In Thy Presence is Fullness of Joy Part 2

In Thy Presence is Fullness of Joy
Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664)

4. CHRIST WELCOMES THEM INTO HIS GLORIOUS PRESENCE.

If the father could receive his prodigal but repenting son with hugs and kisses, how will Christ now receive His saints, when they come as a bride to the solemnization of the marriage? His very heart springs (as I may say) at the sight of His Bride! No sooner [does] He see her and salute her, but He welcomes her with such words as these: "O my love, my dove, my fair one—come now and enjoy thy Husband! Many a thought I have had of thee: before I made the world, I spent my infinite eternal thoughts on thy salvation. When the world began, I gave thee a promise that I would betroth thee unto me in righteousness, in judgment, in loving kindness, in mercy, and in faithfulness (Hos 2:19-20). [For thy sake I] was incarnate, lived, died, rose again, and ascended. And since My ascension, [I] have been interceding for thee and making ready the bride-chamber, where thou and I must live forever and ever. Now I come hither into the clouds to meet thee more than half the way. My meaning is to take thee by the hand and to bring thee to My Father. Now do I take thee for My own—O My sister, My spouse, thou art as dear to Me as My own dear heart! Come, see into My bosom, and see here love written in the golden letters of free grace. Come near, for I must have thee with Me...Sometimes thy sins have made a wall of partition between Me and thee. Sometimes I withdrew and was gone; I hid Myself beyond the curtains. And for a time, thou hast lain hid in the closet of the grave. But now we will never part more: Anon, I will bring thee to My Father, and I will say to Him, 'Father, behold! Here [is] My spouse that I have carried unto Myself.' In the meantime, welcome to thy Jesus. I have purchased thee with My blood, I have paid dear for thee, and now I will wear thee as a crown and ornament forever."

5.CHRIST SETS THEM ON HIS RIGHT HAND...

This is the sign of Christ's love and respect to His saints: when He Himself ascended up into heaven, then said the Father to Him, "Son, sit Thou down at My right hand." No sooner are the saints ascended up to Christ, but He speaks the same to them, "Sit thou down at My right hand." Christ entertains them, as God the Father entertained Him—He at the right hand of God, and they at the right hand of Christ. And herein is set forth the great exaltation of the saints: Christ being set at God's right hand, God highly exalted Him and gave Him a name above every name. So now are the saints highly exalted by Jesus Christ, now are they filled with unmatchable perfection, now is the fullness of perfection, [the] fullness of honor and glory conferred upon them. "Upon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold of Ophir" (Psa 45:9), i.e., in the best, richest, finest gold. The Lord now puts upon His saints heaven's glory. He adorns them with all His ornaments fit for the marriage day...All the glory of this day is for nothing else but to set out the solemnity of the marriage. As the bridegroom on the day of nuptials comes forth in his glory; as the bride on the marriage day comes forth in her best array; and as the servants, parents, friends, and all appear on the marriage day in as much glory as they can, so Christ on this day comes forth in His glory with all His angels in their glory and the saints, the Lamb's wife! The King's daughter is all glorious without and within (Psa 45:13). Though stars may lose their shining when the sun ariseth, yet the glory of the saints shall be no less because of the Sun of Righteousness, but rather more.

This is the day that Christ shall honor His saints before all the world. "Come," He will say, "and sit you down at my right hand. As a shepherd divideth his sheep from the goats, so will I separate you from wicked reprobates. Why, you are they for whom the eternal counsels of My Father did work. You are they in whom I am now to be glorified forever. Therefore, now will I exalt, advance, and honor you. Sit here or stand here on My right hand. O come! Come hither to the right hand of your Savior!"

6. HEREUPON CHRIST FULLY AND ACTUALLY JOYS IN THEM AND THEY IN HIM.

He joys in them because now He sees of the travail of His soul (Isa 53:11). He sees the issue of all His doings and sufferings here on earth. He sees now the great work He hath brought about, to wit, the glory of His saints; and He cannot but rejoice therein. As a man that makes a work that is very curious and glorious, He takes abundance of delight to look upon it. When God made the world, He looked upon what He had made, He saw it was good, and He delighted in it. So Christ looks on His saints, and when He sees what He hath done in raising so poor a worm to so high an excellence, He takes infinite delight therein. Now He sees that He hath attained His end in the great design and deepest counsels that He had before the world! He was then resolved to save a number of sinners and to bring them at last to Himself that they might behold Him in His glory and manifest the riches of His grace. To that purpose hath He still been carrying on the great work of souls' salvation...and now that He sees it accomplished and fulfilled in them, He must needs delight: "In that day it shall be said to Jerusalem, Fear thou not: and to Zion, Let not thine hands be slack. The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing" (Zep 3:16-17).

And as He joys in them, so they cannot but rejoice in Him; as He delights in their glory, so they cannot but delight in His glory. Are they not at Christ's right hand? Is not that the place of pleasure, the Paradise of God? "In thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore" (Psa 16:11). The very setting of them on Christ's right hand is the beginning of heaven's joy. The presence of Christ makes joy, "exceeding joy" Qude 24). Oh! But what joy? What fullness of joy? What exceeding joy will it be to be set at Christ's right hand? Now begins that joy that never, never shall have an end! O the complacency that the blessed feel in their seeing, knowing, loving, and being loved of Jesus Christ! "O my Christ! Let me have tribulation here, let me here spend my days in sorrow, and my breath in sighings; punish me here, cut me in pieces here, burn me here, so that I might there be placed at Thy right hand." For then will joy come and sorrow will vanish; sorrow is but for a night, this night of life. But joy will come in this morning of the resurrection, and it never shall be night again.

In Thy Presence is Fullness of Joy Part 1

In Thy Presence is Fullness of Joy
Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664)

For Christ and the saints meeting at the Judgment Day: No sooner are the saints lifted up and set before the Judge, but these things follow,

1. THEY LOOK, GAZE, DART THEIR BEAMS,' AND REFLECT THEIR GLORIES ON EACH OTHER.

Oh, the communications! Oh, the darlings of beams between Christ and His saints! When two admirable persons, two lovers meet together, their eyes sparkle! They look on as if they would look through one another. So Christ and His saints at first meeting: they look on as if they would look through one another. Such is the effect of these looks that they give a luster to each other...Did not Moses' face shine when he had been with God? And shall not the faces of the elect glitter and shine when Christ also looks on them?...As they shine by Christ, so shall their shine reflect on Christ and give all glory to Christ! This I take to be the meaning of the Apostle [Paul], "When he shall come to be glorified in his saints" (2Th 1:10). Not only in Himself, but in His saints also, whose glory, as it comes from Him, redounds also to Him. "For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things" (Rom 11:36).

2. THEY ADMIRE THE INFINITE GLORY, BEAUTY, DIGNITY, AND EXCELLENCE THAT IS IN CHRIST.

The glory they reflect on Him is nothing to the glory that is in Him. Oh! When these stars—the saints—shall but look upon Christ, the Sun of Righteousness, they exceedingly admire [Him]. So the Apostle: "When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe" (2Th 1:10). All that believe shall break out into admiration of Jesus Christ. At the first sight, they shall observe such excellence in Jesus Christ that they shall be infinitely taken with it. Here [on earth] we speak of Christ, and in speaking, we admire. But how they will admire [Him] when they shall not only speak or hear, but also see and behold Him, Who is the express image of God, and the brightness of his Father's glory (Heb 1:3)! O the luster that He casts forth each way! Is not His very body more sparkling than the diamond before the sun? Yea, more" than the sun itself now shining at noonday? How should the saints but wonder at this sight? Oh! There is more beauty and glory in Jesus Christ than ever their thoughts or imaginations could possibly reach! There is more weight of sweetness, joy, and delight in Jesus Christ than either the seeing eye, hearing ear, or the vast understanding heart (which can multiply and add still to any former thoughts) can possibly conceive (ICo 2: 9)! Every soul will cry out then, "I believed [I would] see much glory in Jesus Christ when I saw Him. I had some twilight or moonlight glances of Christ on earth: but—O blind I! O narrow I!—[I] could never have faith, opinion, thought, or imagination to fathom the thousand thousandth part of the worth and incomparable excellence that I now see in Him!"

Why, when we see more than ever we could expect, this causeth admiration. The saints shall then cry out and say, "I see more, ten thousand times more than ever I expected! I see all the beauty of God put forth in Christ, I see the substantial reflection of the Father's light and glory in Jesus Christ, I see thousands of excellencies in Jesus Christ that never were revealed to me before!"...The glory of Christ will then exceed all former apprehension. O they admire to see the King in such a beauty! They admire to see the Judge in such a glittering and glorious robe of majesty! They admire, and they cannot but admire.

3. THEY ADORE AND MAGNIFY THE GRACE AND GLORY OF JESUS CHRIST.

As it is said of the twenty-four elders that they fell down "before him that sat on the throne, and worship him that liveth for ever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying, Thou art worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honour and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created" (Rev 4:10-11). So all the saints, [who have] now advanced to come up to Christ and to stand before the throne, fall down before Christ. They worship Him that lives forever, shouting and singing about Jesus Christ, setting out His glory, grace, and goodness! "After this I beheld," saith John, "and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. And all the angels stood round about the throne, and about the elders and the four beasts, and fell before the throne on their faces, and worshipped God, Saying, Amen: Blessing, and glory, and wisdom, and thanksgiving, and honour, and power, and might, be unto our God for ever and ever. Amen" (Rev 7:9-12). Saints and angels will both give glory to Jesus Christ that day. Every elect man will then acknowledge, "Here is Christ that shed His blood for me! Here is the Savior that laid down His life for me! Here is the sacrifice that gave Himself a propitiation3 for me! Here is the Person that mediated, interceded, and made peace for me! Here is the Redeemer that delivered and redeemed me from the wrath to come!" Then they begin those hallelujahs that never, never shall have an end: "Hallelujah!" And again, "Hallelujah! Amen, Hallelujah!"—"for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready" (Rev 19: 7).

The Last Judgment!

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Eschatology

• The Last Judgment - It's General Character
  Sam E. Waldron
• The Last Judgment - It's Incalculable Time
  Sam E. Waldron
• The Last Judgment - Its Eternal Punishment
  Sam E. Waldron
• The Last Judgment - It's Blessed Fruition
  Sam E. Waldron

The Church, Israel and Sovereign Election Pt. 3

(In the interest of being fair and honest, I tried to find this message on the Grace to You web site (gty.org) so anyone who would like to hear it could listen to it, but it apparently is not posted. I did find many other messages on the subject of Eschatology and I have no doubt that Pastor MacArthur says many of the same things in some of these other messages if you’re interested in hearing it for yourself.)

While dealing with the subject of Hermeneutics Pastor MacArthur compares the interpretation of Genesis chapter 1-3 with the interpretation of prophecy and asks; if we don’t want people tampering with the beginning of the Book, why do we tolerate tampering with the end of the book? He then adds “especially the book of Revelation.”

The clear implication is that we should interpret Genesis 1-3 in the exact same manner as we interpret the book of Revelation. This is the same thing that is so often implied when it is said that we must interpret everything literally or “read it like a newspaper.”

Does this even make sense? What about literary genre? Shouldn’t we take that into consideration? Should we really interpret an historical narrative of the days of creation in the exact same manner we interpret an apocalyptical vision? Should we interpret prose in the exact same manner that we interpret poetry or parables? Should we interpret Zechariah 5:1-11 in the exact same manner that we interpret Romans 5:1-11? Should we?

What about figures of speech? What about symbolism, metaphors, hyperbole, parables, poetry, irony, analogy, metonymy, oxymoron, paradox, personifications, anthropomorphisms, similes, synecdoche, and other such manners of speech?

Does the Bible teach us to interpret it all the same? Does it teach us to interpret each word in its most literalistic sense? Where does it do so? Does it always use words in their most literalistic sense?

Absolutely not! Jesus spoke to his disciples in figurative language until it exasperated them. They were thrilled when He finally spoke to them in plain (literalistic) language (John 16:29). Daniels visions needed to be interpreted (Daniel 7:16) indicating that they could not be taken in their most literalistic sense. And the New Testament frequently interprets the Old in ways that can hardly be called literalistic as we shall see.

To insist that we interpret everything in its most literalistic sense, or to say, as Pastor MacArthur does in this message, that all of the prophecies concerning Christ’s first coming were fulfilled literally and therefore we should interpret all those concerning His second coming in the same manner, is absolutely without any Biblical foundation at all.

The Church, Israel and Sovereign Election Pt. 2

Naturally, one of the things that Pastor MacArthur brings up on several occasions is the subject of Hermeneutics. He makes several accusations concerning those who do not hold to his own beliefs and mentions on several occasions that we must use the literal or “normal” hermeneutic.

Perhaps one of the most disturbing statements that he makes in this regard was something to this effect: if the Scriptural statement that “the dessert is going to blossom like a rose” does not literally mean that the dessert is going to blossom like a rose then he has nothing more to talk to such people about. Now I’m not going to argue about the dessert blossoming like a rose, but if he is not going to talk to those who do not share his view of hermeneutics then he has effectively shut down any debate right at the starting point.

As I have mentioned already I have listened to hundreds of Pastor MacArthur’s messages and when dealing with other subjects he has frequently taught that debate is good for the Church and that the Church will wither under false doctrine were there is no debate. So why the sudden change of attitude when it comes to Eschatology and more specifically hermeneutics? Such a statement seems very hypocritical to me.

Pastor MacArthur also declares that his opponents abandon the perspicuity of Scripture when it comes to Eschatology, that they set aside the tested and true rules of interpretation when it comes to texts dealing with Eschatology in order to protect a preconception. And he also asks who gets do decide the new rules of interpretation when we abandon the literal meaning of words and on what page of Scripture are they found.

His argument goes something like this: If we can’t take every last word of Scripture in its most literal sense, then how can we ever know exactly what any of the words of Scripture really mean? This is a very good question but we can’t shut down the debate without giving the other side the opportunity to answer the question.

So here is the first part of my answer: First of all, the so called “literal” hermeneutic is not the tested and true hermeneutic of the church. This is an erroneous and misleading statement. The “literal” hermeneutic seems to me to be a mythological hermeneutic brought forward at certain times by Dispensationalists to discredit their opponents.

When Dispensationalists talk about the literal hermeneutic they will often say that we must “read the Bible like we read the newspaper” and “take the words at face value according to the natural, normal sense of words.” Two examples that Pastor MacArthur mentions is that 1000 always means 1000 and Israel always means Israel.

I could ask Pastor MacArthur his own question here: Who decided this rule of interpretation and on what page of Scripture is it found?

The historic hermeneutic of the church is that the Scriptures interpret the Scriptures, this is often called the “Analogy of Faith.” This is the tested and true historical hermeneutic of the church and this is the hermeneutic (or something similar) that Dispensationalists themselves normally use unless it fits their purposes not to.

For instance, in Revelation 13:1 we are told of a beast with seven heads and ten horns. No Dispensationalist that I have ever listened to taught that this was a literal beast with seven literal heads and ten literal horns. Why not? Because this is found in a book full of symbolism and they let other parts of Scripture help them to interpret this passage. They use the analogy of faith at this point. They use my hermeneutic at this point and then deride me for using it in other parts of the same book.

Such examples could be multiplied all day long. Dispensationalists themselves will teach that the woman in Revelation 12:1,6 is not a literal woman but symbolic of Israel. The chain in Revelation 20 is not a literal chain with a literal lock on it and the pit with a door on it in the same verses is not a literal pit with a literal door. The woman in Revelation 17 is not a literal woman, Babylon in Chapter 18 is not literal Babylon and the weapons in Ezekiel 39:9 are not literally bows, arrows, swords and spears but are symbolic of modern weaponry. And we could go on and on and on. They frequently use their opponents hermeneutic and then blast their opponents for using it when they don’t like it.

The literal meaning of Scripture is that which God intended to convey, interpreting every word in its most literalistic sense does not necessarily help us to understand that meaning. And as we will see, the most literalistic interpretation of Eschatological passages in many cases is contrary to common sense and at odds with the hermeneutic that the Scriptures themselves force upon us.

As I think we will see, it seems impossible to avoid the conclusion that the Dispensational demand to use the “literal” hermeneutic, or rather to interpret every word in its most literalistic sense, is a sort of logical slight-of-hand trick. It might appear to make sense when phrased in a certain manner, but under some cross-examination it can be shown to be completely unbiblical, untenable and something they themselves often don't even use.

The Church, Israel and Sovereign Election

A Pastor of a local Church recently gave me a copy of a message from the 2007 Shepherds Conference put on by John MacArthur. The message was by Pastor MacArthur and it was on the subject of Israel, the Church and the Doctrine of Election. Knowing that I hold to more of an Amillennial Position, he asked me to listen to it, take some notes and explain to him why Pastor MacArthur could not be right.

So I’ve been listening to it repeatedly and taking notes and I thought it might be good to address some of the things that Pastor MacArthur says here as they are things that I commonly hear about those who reject the Dispensational/Premillennial view of Scripture.

As I have said before, I have a great deal of respect for Pastor MacArthur. I have literally listened to hundreds of his sermons, read a great many of his books and I learned a great deal from him as a new Christian. In fact I became Reformed in some measure because of his teaching and that of some of the elders at his Church. You might say he pointed the way but didn’t get on the bus with me.

I really do enjoy a great deal of Pastor MacArthur’s teaching but when it comes to Eschatology he seems to be too committed to Dispensational presuppositions to even think objectively through other points of view. If there is one thing I’ve learned about polemics it’s this: you better understand the position of those you are trying to correct and argue against or you completely discredit yourself in their eyes and you don’t even know it.

Personally I have found this message to be full of logical slight-of-hand and what seems to be a surprising lack of careful thought by a man who frequently urges his fellow Christians to pursue careful and critical thought. All I can figure is that Pastor MacArthur just hasn’t given his own views in this area a careful cross-examination.

So anyway, if you are one of those of the Dispensational persuasion who thinks that it is wrong to listen to other points of view on this subject you might want to close your eyes for the next dozen posts or so.

One Return of Christ

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Eschatology
Dispensationalism
Audio Links

• The Day of the Lord #3 -One Return of Christ
  Albert N. Martin
  

Pre-Tribulationism Part 3

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology #41 Pre-Tribulationism Part 3
  Sam E. Waldron

Pre-Tribulationism Part 2

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Eschatology
Dispensationalism
Audio Links

• Eschatology #40 Pre-Tribulationism Part 2
  Sam E. Waldron
  

Pre-Tribulationism Part 1

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Eschatology
Dispensationalism
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• Eschatology #39 Pre-Tribulationism Part 1
  Sam E. Waldron
  
  

The Wrath of God Revealed

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology #11- The Wrath of God Revealed
  Sam E. Waldron

The Kingdom in Parables

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology # 15- The Coming of the Kingdom Part 2
  The Kingdom in Parables
  Sam E. Waldron

The Certainty of the Parousia

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology #12- The Certainty of the Parousia
  2 Peter 3
  Sam E. Waldron
  

The Coming of the Kingdom

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Eschatology
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• Eschatology # 14- The Coming of the Kingdom Part 1
  Sam E. Waldron

What do you mean by "literal"?

I was listening to a Bible teacher insisting that we must interpret the Bible “literally”. He was saying that we should “read the Bible like a newspaper” and “take the words at face value according to the natural, normal sense of words”. Israel always means Israel, 1000 always means 1000, etc.

I heard such things frequently as a new Christian, and for a time it seemed to make complete sense to me. My thinking went something like this: How could we ever hope to know for sure what the Scriptures were saying if we didn’t take them “at face value” or “literally”? How could we interpret them objectively? How could we ever test the interpretations of others? It seemed to me that if we were not going to interpret the Bible “literally” it would become a useless and confusing book and we could never know for certain if we had understood it correctly or not.

But yet these very same teachers who told me to interpret the Bible “literally” and “read it like a newspaper” would also tell me that the woman in Revelation 12:1,6 was not a literal woman but symbolic of Israel. The stars in 12:4 were not literal stars, but figurative or symbolic of fallen angels. They would tell me that when Christ said “this is My body” that it wasn’t literally His body, that the woman in Revelation 17 is not a literal woman, Babylon in chapter 18 is not literally Babylon and the weapons spoken of in Ezekiel 39:9 are not really bows and arrows, swords and spears but are really symbolic of modern instruments of war, and so on.

As I turned to Scripture, I saw that Jesus Himself spoke in non-literal terms until it exasperated His disciples! They were thrilled when He finally spoke in plain language (John 16:29). I saw that Daniel’s visions in Daniel 7 needed to be interpreted (7:16), indicating that He could not simply take them “literally”. And I saw the New Testament do strange non-literal things with the Old Testament Scriptures (Acts 15:13-17 for example).

These things naturally led me to wonder, exactly what do my teachers mean by “literal”?

Is this really how we should approach the entire Bible? Did they really mean to tell me that I should not take literary genre into consideration? What about figurative language? What about symbolism, metaphors, hyperbole, parables, poetry, irony, analogy, metonymy, oxymoron, paradox, personifications, anthropomorphisms, similes, synecdoche, apocalyptic visions and other such manners of speech?

Did they really mean to tell me to interpret Zechariah 5:1-11 in the exact same manner that I interpret Romans 5:1-11? Were they really going to tell me that they are written in the exact same manner? Did they really mean to tell me that we should read a historical narrative in the exact same manner that we read poetry? Are we to interpret prose in the exact same manner we interpret a vision? Do we interpret a parable full of symbolism in the same manner we interpret the historical account of the six twenty-four hour days of creation?

It seemed to me that many of my teachers would often abandon their own hermeneutic in practice while at the same time demanding that it is the only legitimate hermeneutic. I was told that the key in the angel’s hand in Revelation 20:1 is not a literal key and the chain is not a literal chain and that the bottomless pit referred to in 20:1and 3 does not literally have a door on it with which to “shut“ the Devil in with. But yet these very same teachers insisted that the 1,000 years spoken of in these very same verses are literally one thousand, 365-day years and they would even ridicule anyone who would dare to interpret them in a figurative manner.

But brethren, if some words are not literally what they say, how can we make a blanket statement demanding that the Bible be interpreted “literally” or “read like a newspaper”? If we cannot take some of the words of Scripture at face value, how can we demand that all of Scripture should always be taken at face value “according to the normal sense of words“?

In an attempt to explain this obvious contradiction I have been told that “although the Bible occasionally uses figures of speech and symbolic language, they are literal figures of speech and literal symbols.” But what in the world does that mean? Whether you call them “literal figures of speech” or just plain old “figures of speech”, they are still figures of speech! You still do not take them according to the normal, natural sense of words. The true meaning of the figure or symbol must be searched out a little further.

Charles Ryrie, a popular defender of Dispensationalism, gives us a good example of just such an argument in chapter 16 of his “Basic Theology”, page 112. Here, while defending the idea of a literal hermeneutic, Ryrie tells us that “no one denies that the Bible uses figures of speech, but they convey literal truths and often more vividly and literally than if they were not used. They enhance rather than change the plain meaning behind the figures.”

While baffling double talk may confuse some, it still doesn’t change the fact that figures of speech are not interpreted literally. We are often told that we can take the Bible literally or non-literally, but we never stop to consider that there may be another more biblical option. Just because we are presented with two options, that doesn’t mean that that is all there is.

So what exactly do such teachers mean when they say we must take the Bible “literally’? It seems to me that what they really mean is that we must only interpret certain parts of Scripture literally; the parts that fit with what they want to believe.

The Dividing Line- The General Judgment

Eschatology
Audio Links

• Eschatology #10- The Dividing Line- The General Judgment
  Sam E. Waldron

The Two Ages Pt. 4

Eschatology
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• Eschatology #9- The Two Ages Pt. 4
  Sam E. Waldron

Eschatology #8- The Two Ages Pt. 3

Eschatology
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• Eschatology #8- The Two Ages Pt. 3
  Sam E. Waldron

Eschatology #7- The Two Ages Pt. 2

Eschatology
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• Eschatology #7- The Two Ages Pt. 2
  Sam E. Waldron

Eschatology #6- The Two Ages Pt. 1

Eschatology
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• Eschatology #6- The Two Ages Pt. 1
  Sam E. Waldron

The History of Eschatology Pt. 5

Eschatology
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• Eschatology #5- The History of Eschatology Pt. 5
  Sam E. Waldron