1689 London Baptist Confession (part 70)

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Our Father in heaven what a delight it is to be here this morning to think about What we deserve and yet what you've granted us in Christ Jesus how you transferred us from the
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Kingdom of darkness and made us children of light brought us into your son's kingdom
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Father we rejoice in that truth, and we just pray that as we look to your word this morning what it says about Death what it says about Your eternal kingdom would strengthen us and Father we would pray for just discernment as we talk about difficult issues this morning.
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We pray for these things in Jesus name Amen Well, so we've been talking about Yeah, we oh
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I see yeah flipped around on me We've been talking about death not not something that we
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Like to talk about very much, but the truth is everybody's going to die and after we die
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We're all gonna go to heaven or we're going to go to Hell, there's no purgatory.
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We talked about that last week And I want to just wrap this up because I do want to you know it's funny
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When you have weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks and weeks of the 1689 And then you know you sit down last week, and you figure you've got two more weeks to cover
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You know finish death and then get to eschatology, and then you realize that a missionary is coming in next week
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So you have this morning to finish eschatology? so All right death
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At the last day this is from the confession such of the Saints as are found alive shall not sleep
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But shall be changed and all the dead shall be raised up with the self same bodies and none other although with different qualities which shall be united again to their souls forever now
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When it when the Bible talks about sleep or when the confession talks about sleep. It's not talking about soul sleep
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You know this I don't I can't even define soul sleep because it's not a biblical term And I don't really understand it, and I don't want to understand
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Sorry When the Bible talks about sleep, it's talking about I mean in terms of other than you know regular sleep.
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It's talking about death okay So they shall not sleep if you're alive at the last day when
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Christ returns You shall not sleep meaning you shall not die, but be changed And then it says the bodies and my ties wanting to twist again
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The bodies of the unjust shall by the power of Christ be raised to dishonor The bodies of the just by his spirit and to honor and be made conformable to his own glorious body.
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You'll be like Christ Okay, so both the bodies of the Saints and the unjust will be remade they will both be immortal
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While the bodies of the Saints will be glorious the bodies of the unjust will be made to withstand the awful torment that awaits them
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Shed said There can be no rational doubt that in this class of Old Testament texts talking about Sheol and and all that the wicked and sensual are warned of a future evil and danger
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The danger is that they shall be sent to Sheol the connection of thought requires therefore that Sheol in such passages have the same meaning as the modern hell or you could view it as a way station on the way to hell
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But it doesn't really matter right if you're just in a holding place until you go to hell or you're in hell
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You're going to hell And like this have an exclusive reference to the wicked
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Otherwise, it is not a warning to give it a Meaning that makes it a common resonance of the good and evil is to focus or destroy its force as a divine menace
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Anyway, he just wants us to understand that Sheol when the Bible talks about is talking about a place of punishment so With that said we come to the last judgment.
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We come to eschatology and before I start that I want to just say this about Eschatology our
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Before our statement of faith. We have a little preface an escape clause if you will What a proviso like they say in Aladdin a proviso
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And what does that mean it means that there what we say there is We're in I think it's like general agreement or broad agreement or we you know, we agree with most of the confession a place where we disagree with it is
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Is eschatology First of all, I'll say this that we believe in ethical eschatology, which means what you should live in light of the
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Lord's Returning and then they can return at any time. Thank you for helping me with that.
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I Mean here here's the thing with You know as a dispensationalist I can say this here's the thing with dispensationalism
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What do you think one of the major flaws of dispensationalism is weak spots?
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I don't even want to call it a flaw Charlie Okay, there's a lot more overlap in the dispensations, but but that's not what
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I'm just talking about as a System. Well here. Let me just cut to the chase. Why do you suppose that books like left behind like the late great planet
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Earth? Which is not very timely these days since but anyway, why are those books so popular?
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Janet tabs, although 14 or 17
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Okay Other thoughts
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I I hear I think I could settle it this way or drive to what I'm trying to get at by giving my own example
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When I first got saved I was in a Bible study taught by someone At you know,
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John MacArthur's Church who didn't like John MacArthur very much It was an odd thing But we would literally go from the book of Daniel to the book of Revelation to the
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Los Angeles Times Why to figure out how the current events fit into the end times?
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Okay. Now, is it possible that the current events in the LA Times fit into the end times? Maybe but maybe not.
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I mean if the Lord carries another three or four hundred years You look pretty dopey if you're looking at it, you know
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In LA Times from 1998 or whatever, right? It's not very helpful.
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I remember a Sunday night John would do these Q &A's pastor John would do these Q &A's and I Had a specific question that I wanted to ask and I was a super, you know energetic younger man
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So I was like first in line at one of the microphones Well, somebody else was at first in line in the other microphone and they called on that guy first and his question
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And I'll never forget it because I just thought what a weird question. He says Pastor John, could you explain how
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Benjamin Netanyahu fits into the end times and Maybe he does and maybe he doesn't but unless you find the words
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Benjamin Netanyahu in the Bible You can't say for sure that he has anything to do with the end times so it one of the one of the
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Weaknesses is in my mind. Anyway, is it focuses people so much on trying to figure out?
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What's going on in the world and how that fits into Revelation how it fits into Daniel how it fits into all these prophetic books
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That they're consumed by that and they forget Hey, that's not what's really important, right?
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What's really important is how am I living now? What am I doing now? Not when's the
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Lord coming back times of wasting? so with that said
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We'll kind of talk about this a little bit. I I would say For the most part
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I would say it's easier to understand the 1689 and and with an all -mill perspective than it is with a premillennial perspective
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It says God hath appointed a day wherein he will judge the world in righteousness By Jesus Christ to whom all power and judgment is given of the
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Father now anybody want to dispute that and the answer is no You don't want to dispute it because it says in multiple places including acts 17
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Mars Hill where Paul is preaching. He says he's appointed a man to judge the world, right? He's going to judge the world through a man the man
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Christ Jesus To him all power and judgment is given of the Father in which day not only the apostate angel shall be judged
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But likewise will all persons that have lived upon the earth Shall appear before the tribunal of Christ to give an account of their thoughts words deeds and to receive
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According to that which they have done in the body whether good or evil Now Problem from a premillennial perspective is what?
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Premillennialism says that Christ will return his second coming will be what the inauguration of The millennial kingdom is earthly kingdom where he will rule and reign on the earth and it's not the final judgment
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Confession goes on to say this the end of God's appointing The end the purpose of God's appointing this day is for the manifestation of the glory of his mercy in the eternal
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Salvation of the elect and of his justice in the eternal damnation of the reprobate again. We have no problem with that who are wicked and disobedient for then shall the righteous go into everlasting life and receive that that fullness of Joy and glory with everlasting rewards in the presence of the
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Lord But the wicked who do not know God and obey not the gospel of Jesus Christ Shall be cast aside into everlasting torments and punished with everlasting destruction
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From the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his power last paragraph as Christ would have us to be certainly persuaded that there shall be a day of judgment both to deter all men from sin and for the greater consolation of the godly in their adversity
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While you're suffering Persecution, let's say you can know this that God will straighten things out in the end
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So he will have the day unknown to men the day of his return unknown to men that they may shake off all carnal security and Always be watchful because they know not at what hour the
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Lord will come and may ever be prepared to say Come Lord Jesus come quickly.
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Amen so With that said I have a couple handouts. I want to give out in the beginning.
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I thought I was just gonna give this one Don't you know if I made enough so you might wind up having a sure
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I you know, I made exactly the biblical number of 46 Don't ask me why
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I just randomly selected the first one is just charts and these will be kind of helpful to you and you know
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Just Understanding here. Here's what I would say regarding these four different positions, which are Dispensational pre -millennial ism, which is what we are there's historic pre -millennial ism and Then there's a millennial ism and post millennial ism and I would say this the major difference between the four positions is simply simply this that It's timing they all they all agree that Similar things are going to happen.
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They don't agree on the timing and they don't and they don't agree on the
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The definition of certain events as well and I I don't know we'll see
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I may just do a Series on this in the fall when I really seize the control of the
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Sunday school class never But when you see pre -tribulational pre -millennial ism, that's dispensational pre -millennial ism that's what we are, you know,
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I I think if you I believe in the rapture But I wouldn't take a bullet for the rapture.
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What does that mean? I just mean it's not I just don't think it's an issue to die over Okay, so you've got the chart there the church age which is what
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Pre -tribulational pre -millennial ism dispensationalism pre -millennialism
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Millennialism, that's what we would say that we're in right now the church age and then interestingly when the rapture occurs we have
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The catching up of believers. We have a seven -year rapture. We have the resurrection of believers.
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We have the tribulation believers returning with Christ and Then we have a millennium now,
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I was just reading a book about our millennial ism and you know, you know what's really hard and the reason why I I May or may not go into this it's hard to find a book.
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That's really fair if you read most books about Millennialism They caricature
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That is to say they don't present a fair picture of dispensationalism. If you read a book on dispensationalism
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It's not always fair to a millennial ism, you know does the same thing and so finding books that are good and fair Toward both it's like so if I want to understand a millennial ism.
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I have to read a book on a millennial ism and My goal here this morning is just kind of briefly give you some of the some of the issues here some of the things that separate us let's turn for a moment to Revelation chapter 20 because this is a big one.
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I was reading Kim riddle Barger's book about our millennial ism and You know, he has his own understanding of this chapter and I just find it, you know
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They think pre millennial ism is odd. And I think I'm millennial ism is odd and I'll tell you why in a moment
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Revelation chapter 20 and by the way, you know again eschatology is not something we spend a lot of time on here
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Mostly because it can for a couple reasons. One is it we can can become an obsession Secondly, it really is a secondary or tertiary issue.
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You don't get the gospel wrong just because you get the end times wrong and thirdly because it it's just not a a
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Major feature of most books. I mean it appears I mean if you're gonna teach through Revelation, you have to know what you believe in terms of eschatology, but other than that you can kind of muddle it
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Okay revelation chapter 20 Verse 1 then I saw an angel coming down from heaven
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Holding in his hand the key to the bottomless pit and a great chain and he sees the dragon that ancient serpent who is the devil and Satan and bound him for a thousand years and Threw him into the pit and shut it and sealed it over him
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So that he might not deceive the nations any longer until the thousand years were ended After that, he must be released for a little while Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those to whom the authority to judge was committed also,
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I saw the souls of those who had been beheaded for the testimony of Jesus and For the
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Word of God and those who had not worshipped the beast or its image and had not received its mark on their foreheads
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Or their hands they came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were ended.
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This is the first resurrection Blessed and holy is the one who shares in the first resurrection
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Over such the second death has no power But they will be priests of God and of Christ and they will reign with him for a thousand years
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Now how many times did we see the term a thousand years in those six verses? several
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That's a precise answer. Thank you. How many? Close enough.
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Okay exactitude Okay, so the the idea here is that is from the pre -millennial perspective that is a literal 1 ,000 years
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And if we read it, we'd see no reason to think that it's not a literal thousand years.
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We have a literal Satan. We have him Literally bound etc, etc, etc.
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And you know when you see something like They will be priests of God and of Christ and they will reign with him meaning with Christ for a thousand years so the
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Amillennialist says well, that's not really what it says and they base it on this a few things.
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First of all, they say that If you take this view literal view of Revelation 20, then you're going to have resurrected bodies saints ruling and reigning with non resurrected bodies who are also saints and That's a little
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Confusing right and they also say Revelation 20 is a recapitulation of Revelation 19 in other words, it says the same thing as Revelation 19 did
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But what's interesting is, you know this recapitulation theory this understanding of Revelation as being the same thing said over and over and over again, it's a key to Understanding on millennialism and again, maybe
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I'm just not that smart but when I look at Revelation, I turn to the beginning of the book and I would like John to say somewhere maybe at the end of Let's see
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Revelation Chapter maybe at the end of Revelation chapter 3 somewhere in there
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That what I'm what I'm about to say to you is the same thing over and over and over again
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So don't get all twisted up trying to understand it all I'm telling you the exact same thing over and over and over again
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Well, then I'd go. Okay now I understand how to interpret Revelation But it doesn't say that right you have to go in with a predisposition
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To find recapitulation to find it Am I right so far pastor
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Bob help me out. Okay. Thank you. Just want to make sure I was tracking correctly so Now there there are some
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You know, like there are some strengths to the on millennial argument and I'm not gonna you know dispute that there are some strengths and some weaknesses to the
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Pre -tribulational, I'll just call it dispensational pre millennial ism because two peas in a row is too much for me
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So those are those are really the two biggest kind of chunks of evangelicalism today
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Another one and this would be like al moeller and and you know in the handout I gave you the the second one, which is actually the first one
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If you notice it's numbered pages 1 through 5 and the charts which I handed out first are actually the second hand out
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That's helpful because those are pages 6 and 7 You know if you read through the text and those which
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I'm sure you're probably already doing because you're cheating You know, they they list some people in the pre -tribulational thing that are
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Kind of wacky, but it's just something I grabbed offline and it's not necessarily the best thing
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But you know what it when MacArthur describes himself as a dispensationalist. What does he call himself?
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leaky dispensationalist Because if you go to old -school Dispensationalism they have you know, seven dispensations or they have
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X number of dispensations and they believe that the old -school Dispensationalists believe that people got saved in different ways and Ultimately, even that some people got saved by obedience to the law.
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What's the problem with that? It's works, right We believe that salvation is always by faith alone and you know, we can prove that pretty easily
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How would you prove the salvation is always by faith alone even in the Old Testament? How was
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Abraham saved? Okay, which is I think Romans chapter 4, right? How else would you prove it? I think
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Hebrews chapter 11 right the Hall of Faith and if we look down the list of people in Hebrews chapter 11 where we see a bunch of scoundrels and scallywags
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You know who are pronounced? Faithful. Well, I mean, you know, you can't look at somebody like Samson or the other
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Judges that are listed or a lot of those people even Abraham. I mean if If let's put it this way if I did to my wife what
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Abraham does to his wife There be issues, you know And I've said for the moment on that There are a lot of bad people
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You know in terms of what they did in Hebrews chapter 11 and yet they're saved by works or by faith, right
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Salvation has always been by faith alone. The difference is in the Old Testament was looking forward to the cross they didn't know it was
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Jesus, but they knew that God would provide a lamb God would provide a Savior God would provide a sin -bearer one who would take away the punishment of their sins.
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They didn't know who it was and Then he is revealed. And so we look back at the cross.
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They looked forward to the cross But salvation was always by faith alone, so when MacArthur says he's a leaky dispensationalist what he's saying is
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He doesn't agree with everything that some of the older dispensationalists believe
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They were also of the school of easy Believism, you know meaning that you could just profess
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Christ and then live any which way you wanted and that is not a biblical View and that's not
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MacArthur's view either So And MacArthur isn't even listed in their list of dispensationalists.
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They have some Some good ones and some not so good ones Back to the charts here for a moment classic pre -millennial ism
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If you look down on that one says Christ comes before the Millennium But after the Tribulation and if you've read much about the
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Tribulation, I mean honestly Why you know part of me wants to be pretty pre -tribulational why because I don't want to be here during the
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Tribulation I'm really like I Want I want the
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Rapture, you know Says after the
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Tribulation the chair in this and following illustrations represents the judgment seat of Christ. Okay. So here you have
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The Church Age Tribulation, so now is the Tribulation and then the classic and and I think
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Like Al Mohler would be this is like this historic pre -millennial ism
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So, you know with the resurrection of believers renewed earth believers taken up and Then brought back to rule and reign with Christ for a thousand years and then the eternal state
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But no Rapture per se, you know, it's a different Rapture. It's redefined and No rebellion by Satan at the end so a little bit different understanding of end times
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Okay moving to post -millennial ism Which is so easy.
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Look at that Church age which ended already
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Millennium which were they say we're in right now. They say we're in the Millennium and Then Christ just returns and then eternal state that's easy.
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All right, that's just easy peasy There's a problem with it this overall theory and we'll may we'll have time to develop a little bit but the idea of post -millennial ism is that the world's gonna get better and better until Christ returns and then we go to heaven
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The problem with that is doesn't really seem like it's working out too. Well Post -millennial ism was quite popular until at least in the
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United States. It was quite popular until the Civil War and then it declined in popularity Okay, I'm millennial ism which ah
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Just negation of that right? So no future Millennium and then we see that we're actually they believe we're in the church age now
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They believe that Revelation 21 to 6 which we just read is happening right now
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And they believe that all that has to happen is Christ returns resurrection of believers
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Resurrection of unbelievers everybody gets who's dead gets raised those who are alive. This is what we just read in the confession
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All those who are alive receive perfect bodies Right, then there's a judgment new heaven new earth eternal state.
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So no Millennium whatsoever And like I said that it really hinges on understanding
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Revelation 20 versus 1 to 6 in a non Literal fashion they would say it's literal.
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I would look at it and say that's not literal They have a bunch of things that they do to try to demonstrate.
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It's literal Well, well, let's talk about hermeneutics for a moment. Excellent point Hermeneutics the art and science of Bible interpretation.
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That's what the word means and pastor Bob said what the on Millennials do is they they're inconsistent in their practice of hermeneutics because they say they have a grammatical historical
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Hermeneutic, but they don't interpret the Old Testament the what same way they do the New Testament And I was just reading about it
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Again in Riddle Barger's book because here's what they do. They interpret the Old Testament in light of the
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New Testament Right, so they take the New Testament and they import that meaning back into the
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Old Testament Which seems And and here's
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I'll say seems for a moment and then I'll explain their side a little bit. It seems to be
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Inconsistent with what we call authorial intent Right if I'm preaching through John or pastor
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Mike is preaching through Hebrews or even if I'm doing a one -off in first Peter I want my understanding of the text to be consistent with what
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Peter meant or What the writer of Hebrews meant or what Isaiah meant? What the on Millennialist does like even in the
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Old Testament instead of trying to figure out exactly what Isaiah meant? Which they will try to do but then they will say well, wait a minute we have to understand this book these 66 books this one book and We have to understand there's one author
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Right and his consistent meaning is this therefore I have the right to go back to Isaiah and to impose that consistent meaning on Isaiah which sometimes leaves
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Old Testament, especially Old Testament prophetic passages Almost indiscernible in other words when
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Isaiah says something like when he's looking forward to The the nation's gathering on the mountain of the
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Lord, etc, etc, etc and on Millennialist will say often that this is the gathering of Many nations into the church
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And I'm like is that what Isaiah meant when he wrote that down? Is that what he was thinking is that what he was seeing and the answer is no
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He literally saw an eschatology where the nation's gathered to the
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Lord and were taught on the mountain of the Lord That's what he saw But for a moment,
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I want to turn to Genesis chapter 15 Because this is another key text and it seems a rather odd text to say oh, that's a key text for Understanding a her an eschatological system
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But it is pretty important and I want to I'm just gonna read verses 17 to the end of the chapter
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And this is as we know the Abrahamic Covenants Abram and it's still
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Abram but Abram goes into a deep sleep the Lord puts him into a deep sleep and we see that in verse 12 back there, but let me read 17 when the
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Sun had gone down and it was dark Behold a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch
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Passed between these pieces the animal pieces. This is the cutting of a covenants
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On that day the Lord made a covenant with Abram saying to your offspring. I give this land
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From the River of Egypt to the Great River the River Euphrates the land of the
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Kenites the Kenizzites the Kadmonites sounds like batteries or something the
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Hittites the Perizzites the Rafaim The Amorites the Canaanites the Girgash sites and the
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Jebusites. Okay, all these people I'm giving that to you Abram Okay Israel and we
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I don't have the time to go through this you'll you could trust me or call me a liar later It doesn't matter
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They've never occupied all the land Because this is talking about from the Nile to the Euphrates They've never owned it all at one time and this is
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God's promise. Remember Abrams like in a coma. He's in a stupor He's not doing anything. He's not passing through these pieces
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This is a unilateral covenant that God cuts with Abram where he says if I don't fulfill this promise
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Then may it be done unto me as is done to these animals Right what he's saying.
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May I die? May I cease to exist if I don't fulfill my promise
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So he's going to fulfill his promise They've never owned that land and the
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Amillennialist says well it is fulfilled. And how is it fulfilled? I was just reading this and you're like,
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I have no idea. How was it fulfilled? Well, I'm going to show you turn to Romans chapter 4 and I I just you know,
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I read this and I'm like, I I don't know I I Find this a pretty thin read to To base the fulfillment of this on Chapter 4 verse 13 for the promise to Abraham and his offspring that he would be heir of the world
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Did not come through the law but through the righteousness of faith so they say
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It's fulfilled through Christ because ultimately all the world
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Excuse me is given to Christ and so it is fulfilled in him this promised
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Abraham Abram and then Abraham and I I think that's
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Kind of skirting the issue that's my opinion So, I mean, I think there are some issues and Anybody familiar with panmillennialism
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John it means It all pan out in the end, I don't I don't know that I've ever read a book on Eschatology with which
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I agreed with every single nuance of how things are going to unfold and my own personal conviction is
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I think that Pre -trib is right. I think the Millennium is right
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But I think when all these things happen, I think there are going to be some things where everybody just kind of goes I Didn't see that or I didn't understand that part or that fooled me or whatever, you know
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I don't think anybody's got it. So nailed down that it's easy III think it ultimately
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I think it's a it's the quest to know exactly when
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Christ is going to return in my mind is sinful why because Nobody knows
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Well, we have all these signs and they're telling us it okay, but nobody knows So why are you pursuing the knowledge that nobody will know?
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You know, it's like it just reminds me again of Deuteronomy 29 29 the secret things belong to the
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Lord This is one of those secret things. When's the Lord coming back? We don't know right? But the things revealed are for us and our children why?
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so that we can obey them now, right and And people get so consumed with trying to figure out, you know, well, is it a week from Thursday that he's coming back
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Am I gonna be able to see the last Star Wars? Movie before right and I think that's right be mindful, but not obsessed and you know simian
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Is an interesting thing because he he cherished the coming of the Lord, but it was because he wanted to see the
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Savior Right, and we should want to see the Savior We should want to see this incoming and all those
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I mean even so come Lord Jesus, right? I mean, what do you want to happen before the Lord returns and for me?
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It's nothing I mean what I like to see people get saved and everything. Yes, but I trust that the
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Lord because he says He's going to redeem all of his elect. I trust that he's going to do that and whatever eschatological system you fall into Or you cling to and even if you're pan mill, you know
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You should just trust that the Lord is working all things out according to the counsel of his will
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I Feel sorry for him right the post -mortem people
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I feel sorry for him because if things are getting better and better Whoo, you know,
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I mean it seems like when it comes to social issues. It seems like It's not the slippery slope.
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It's the slippery cliff, you know, and things can't go much faster downhill, but it is a comfort
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Because we know that God is coming with the the Lord is coming back to Set things right, right and even there, you know people have taught
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I Think in different places first Corinthians, you know 15 where he he wants people to know that they haven't missed the resurrection and you know in Thessalonians he's talking to them and it's for the even talk of The rapture is for their comfort which is exactly right, you know
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Trying to assure them that these things are going to take place and you know part of what you said about the complexity
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Listen, I mean, I've seen some flow charts on eschatology. They just kind of make me go
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You know, they give me the wobbles. I I just I don't have that much Yeah, it's it's it's all too much, you know, and I'm just like I I just Trusted the
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Lord's gonna come back. He's gonna set up his kingdom He's gonna make everything right and we're gonna have judgment and then we're all gonna go have lunch, you know, so Lucky where was
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I talking about on millennialism? I think we did that we did postmill. Okay, so I cover these charts I Don't even want to ask are there any questions?
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Like I said, I mean if I I don't know maybe
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I'll do a class of this but it's like I'd have to really fully deal with all the
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Separate Positions and there they are quite different but I mean there are good and godly men who've who believed even if you go to the if you follow this
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Hand out here down to the end And You know, they're they're disputes,
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I mean all these things can be disputed Dispensationalism was largely popularized popularized through Schofield.
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It's on page 2 Schofield reference Bible and is now represented for example notes in the rivalry study
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Bible how Lindsay's book blah blah blah blah well, you know, there are books that indicate that Premillennial dispensationalism existed
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You know hundreds and hundreds of years ago, so And then they they go leading dispensational theologians include and this is true
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Walvoord Ryrie Pentecost Geisler Charles Feinberg is at least a formidable person there
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Charles Swindoll Dave Hunt is not a formidable You know, it should say
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Charles Stanley and Chuck Smith Cavalry Chapel movement charismatic side of dispensational, but also the non charismatic side
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S Lewis Johnson, you know, John MacArthur others But if you look at some of the other lists here like historic premill on page
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It starts on page two several at the bottom several on the right column Several evangelical seminaries have historic premillennial ism representation such as fuller not impressive
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Trinity impressive Surprisingly a number of the faculty of covenant theological seminary in st.
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Louis hold to a covenantal form of premillennial ism and then they list some people here jail buzzwell, which if you familiar with The What's the word
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I'm looking for well 20th century I was looking for What's the word for People who will
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Oh fundamentalists, you know several of them in this list here And then post mill, you know, they list different people and the post mill and all mill
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Lists, I mean there's some pretty impressive You know people on these lists, you know, you get people like J .i.
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Packer Mike Horton RC Sproul You're gonna wind up with BB Warfield and different people like that so And it's funny if you look at page for the bottom of that And I'll just mention this and then we'll need to close
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Theonomy anybody familiar with that term if you see that there it says the theonomic form of postmillennial ism originally presented by whatever his name is and Known as theonomy or reconstruction ism
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The business of the church was to work to see a theocracy restored Upon the earth and this is page 5 at the top upon the earth by emphasizing the continuity of Old Testament law civil ceremonial and moral with the
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New Testament once established this victorious church would be the divine vehicle from which the ever -advancing kingdom of God would bind
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Satan and subdue all evil in the world and I mean, there's some pretty smart guys who belong to that too.
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Greg Bonson very was a very smart man but it's kind of Interesting because the idea that we're going to impose say the
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Ten Commandments And make them the law of the land and we're going to impose those on unbelievers
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Interesting times, you know, that would be very interesting. So I mean this that's just kind of an overview of the different Positions we are pre -trib pre -mill and that is not
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Really consistent with what the confession says so I have a
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I have a zillion notes here, but any any questions or Concerns see now.
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I'm pretty happy because we've really kind of gone through the whole confession Yes, it is even so come
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Lord Jesus Okay, well, let's uh, let's close our father in heaven
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Lord, we don't pretend to know everything. We look at your word and we can understand many of the things here
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Eschatology we think we understand but we want to be humble about it. I I think there are many brilliant men who would not agree with the idea of a pre -tribulational rapture of the church or a thousand year
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Millennium in which We will rule and reign with the Lord Jesus Christ And nevertheless, that's what we believe.
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That's our understanding of Scripture, but we want to be charitable to those who disagree with us and understand that we get when we get the gospel, right when we have
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The understanding of so many things in common with our brothers and sisters We had to rejoice in these things and not pick at the small
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Aspects the secondary tertiary aspects of biblical understanding father, let us be avid students of your word and not such avid students of headlines news events
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It's plain to see that the world is going from worse to worse that men are becoming more and more rebellious against you and Inventing new evils seemingly on a daily basis
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Rather than let us Struggle over those things. Let us rejoice that you are coming back
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That the Lord Jesus Christ is coming back that he will set up his kingdom that he will judge all men
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And that we will Spend eternity with him father bless each one here.