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CHURCH LETTER
` We ask you, brothers, not to become easily unsettled
or alarmed by some prophecy . . . '
Controversy has been with mankind since the beginning of the ages, for we read in the Book of Genesis that the serpent said to Eve, `did God really say . . .?' Indeed we may go back to the age before that time, when again in Genesis it says, `In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . .' and Isaiah records that at this `beginning' there was one who is described as, `Lucifer, star of the morning', who said in his heart `I will ascend into heaven . .'.
With this understanding we see there was this controversy concerning the Word of God, our closed Canon of Scripture, at the time of the Rabbis of Israel when great controversy raged over the question of the inclusion of the Book of Esther in the Hebrew Canon of Scripture. The controversy centered on the fact that no mention of God could be found in that scroll. Therefore they said the Book of Esther was not inspired by God and should not be included in their Scriptures - until a Scribe said: `You ask the wrong question. Ask not, where is God in Esther, but rather, where is Esther in Torah', the seedbed of all revelation. And so the Rabbis searched the Scriptures and they found in the Book of Deuteronomy the words:
" This people will rise up and go after the gods of the strangers of this land . . .
and will forsake me . . . . in that day I will hide My face from them. "
The Rabbis searched again in Esther and they did find that hidden in the script, through an unusual use of the Hebrew letters, was the Name of God. He was hidden in the heart of His Word, hidden because of the sin of His people but always in the heart of His Word. Even though they were in captivity in Babylon He was still protecting His people, caring for them and revealing Himself to those who searched for Him until the appointed time for their return to the Land. We now move into contemporary times and the controversy concerning the apostle Paul's words to the Thessalonians, urging them not to be unsettled or alarmed over prophecies stating that `the Day of the Lord had already come . . '. Paul's warning follows on from his First Letter to the Thessalonians, when he wrote: `after that we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with the Lord in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air'. The Thessalonians, alarmed by the thought that they had been left behind, needed the assurance that `that time' had not yet come and they should wait patiently for His Coming.
And so at last we come to the controversy concerning `the Rapture', for although the `Great Deceiver' cannot destroy the heart of Christian belief - that of Christ's finished work in His death and resurrection - he can nibble away at the edges of that belief, causing discord and division. It is said by some disciples that this controversial doctrine of the Rapture entered the life of the Church in the mid-19th century through the work of J.N.Darby, and later, in the early 20th centry, by C.I.Scofield, who published Darby's work in the Scofield Reference Bible. J.N.Darby was a Church of England priest living in Ireland who was later ordained into the Church of Ireland. He finally renounced his early calling into the priesthood and became involved in forming the Brethren Movement, their understanding of `the priesthood of all believers' centered around a meal of remembrance. Darby came to understand that the Church of England had lost its way through too close an engagement with the State and that it was time for a new Church to emerge centered on the imminent return of the Lord. This had been the central belief of the early Christians but had been lost for the past 1500 years! Darby also taught what he saw in Scripture of distinct `Ages', that is, divisions of time, which he largely based on the seven days of creation in the Book of Genesis. He came to understand that there was a progressive revelation of Scripture culminating in the seventh day, the Millenium Day of Rest - although that too is a fine point of controversy for in the Book of Genesis there is no talk of a created seventh day, for that Seventh Day Rest is our Eternal Hope, the Person of our Lord Jesus.
But we must return to Darby. His work not only gave us his understanding of `Dispensationalism' but also of the separation of two distinct peoples of God, Israel and the Church, and of a Rapture before the Day of the Lord - that is, preceding His Second Coming, that He comes first for His saints and then in the Second Coming He comes with His saints. Of course like all the Lord's disciples Darby could only `see through a glass darkly', that is, he could only see what was required by God for him to see at that particular time, but he has left us with some issues which have been carried over into our present times. First there is the issue of the Rapture, then that of two `Comings', which has led to two distinct people of God. We will look first at the issue of `two distinct people of God', for such a concept is not found in Scripture. Scripture records only Israel as being His chosen, called-out people, with some branches broken off from the Olive Tree through unbelief, and since the release of the New Covenant at Pentecost some branches have been grafted and re-grafted into the Olive Tree, which is Israel, forming the `one new man' Paul wrote of, Jew and Gentile, now the Body of Christ. If this is true the `grafted in branches' (the Lord's redeemed people) should have a deep love and praying concern, together with action, for those `broken-off branches' to be re-grafted into the Olive Tree which is Israel and then `all Israel will be saved . . . for God's gifts and His call are irrevocable'.
Next comes the question of `the Rapture': Opponents of Darby's understanding say there is no mention of a Rapture in any of the early Church Fathers' writings, but as we set out in our study of the history of the Church entitled, `I will build My Church', neither was there any mention in the early Church Fathers' writings of the Tri-une Nature of the Godhead and many other points of Doctrine established through the Great Church Councils of the 2nd and 3rd centuries. Neither in the Church of the 2nd and 3rd centuries was there any understanding of the imminent Return of the Lord as had been expected in the early Church following that Pentecost experience. The Lord has `a season and a time for every purpose under heaven', and at His appointed time He either hides or reveals His purpose. In the words Jesus spoke to His disciples, `I will build My Church', there is an implication of a `work in progress' or of continuous revelation at appointed times. In God's Purpose the Church is already fully built as the Body of Christ, but it is revealed to the world and to His people as being continually built as He layers another course of `stones' onto what He is building. The Temple of Living Stones will not be fully seen until Jesus returns with His Bride as she reflects the Glory of the Lord in all her beauty. As one age moves into another the revelation of the new age - which revelation always lies within Scripture - will be given and will cause controversy as the `new' criticises the `old partly formed structure' and they in their turn condemn the `new layer of stones'. But if `a season and a time for every purpose under heaven' can be understood by them both, criticism and condemnation will give way to praise as we all see the Capstone of the Temple He is building, the Capstone, the Crowning Achievement of His work when He returns as King of Israel with His radiant completed Bride.
Such a season came through J.N.Darby with the controversy of the Rapture and, therefore, a spiritual awareness of the imminent return of the Lord. However if we return to the Rabbi's words - `You ask the wrong question. Ask not where is God in Esther, but rather ask where is Esther in Torah' - and then ask the correct question concerning the Rapture, we too will find the answer in Torah, the seedbed of all Scriptural revelation. First, the word `Rapture'; both the Greek and Latin words for this have the same meaning of `being carried away from one place to another'. The word is also seen in Acts 8:39 where `the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Phillip away'. And again in 2 Corinthians 12 we find Paul writing of how he `was caught up to the third Heaven . . '. So with that Scriptural understanding of the word we see it again used in Paul's words in his First Letter to the Thessalonians, where in chapter 4 he writes: `So we who are still alive and are left will be caught up with them in the clouds'. The `we' are carried away from this natural earth to a spiritual heaven, so the question to be asked is why is there this `carrying away' to another place? For the answer we turn, as did the Scribes of old, to Torah.
" In the beginning (of this age) God created the (present) heaven and earth,
and (at that time) the earth was without form and empty and darkness was
upon the face of the deep. "
It is well known that the words `without form' are also seen in Isaiah 34:11 where it means `emptiness'. Again in Jeremiah 4:23 it says, `without form and void'. The context of those two Scriptures reveals a judgement upon a rebellion against a Holy Righteous God, resulting in His people being carried away from their Land to another land, and included in that judgement were also the nations which had plundered the Land. Therefore to use the Rabbi's wisdom, those who question the validity of a Scriptural Rapture are looking at the `effect of the cause' rather than looking at the cause (rebellion) leading to the effect (judgement), that is, they ask the wrong question! The LORD God reveals Himself in the natural world in a `Temple' wherein He dwells `in unapproachable light' - as Paul says in his Letter to Timothy. Isaiah 14 and Ezekiel 28 reveal to us the Temple (or Shrine) that was before this Age, and for that we turn first to Ezekiel: (28:14-15)
" You (O morning star) were anointed as a covering angel, for so I
ordained you. You were on the Holy Mount of God . . . . You were
blameless in all your ways . . . . till wickedness was found in you. "
We now turn to Isaiah, who reveals this anointing and rebellion: (14:12-13)
" How you have fallen from heaven, O morning star, son of the dawn! You
have been cast down to the earth . . . . . You said in your heart, `I will
ascend to heaven; I will raise my throne above the stars of God'. "
That early rebellion against a Holy Righteous God led to Judgement, and so `in the beginning (of this Age) the earth was formless and empty'. The `morning star' had been caught away, raptured, from God's Holy Mount and all was destroyed in that Judgement. In that early Garden Sanctuary in Eden there was
The Glory of God in His Temple
but rebellion against a Holy Righteous God again led to Judgement and
The Glory of God left the Temple
resulting in desolation through rebellion and pride. Genesis 1 now reveals the Grace and Mercy of a Holy Righteous God, for `the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. And God said, `Let there be light'. The continuing verses of chapters 1 and 2 record the creation of a new Garden in Eden, that is, a Temple, and in it was the Glory of God, that is, His Sabbath. `Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array, and on the Seventh Day (the Day that is begotten, not created) God had finished the work He had been doing, and so He rested from all work'.
The Temple on earth in His Garden was now built
and the Glory of God, His Finished Work, filled the Sanctuary
The fallen `morning star', now called in Hebrew Nachash, the shining one, (which has been translated as `the serpent') was in this newly-formed Garden and was still revealing some of his early glory and his deceiving tongue. Genesis records: `The shining one was more subtle than any beast of the field, and he said to the woman . . . ' And so once again through believing the subtle lies of the shining one pride and rebellion entered the Garden in Eden . . . `and so God banished him (Adam) from the Garden in Eden', that is, He carried away, raptured, Adam and Eve from one place to another, and as
The Glory of God left that polluted Garden
Judgement fell upon the earth
Nevertheless God's Providence carried away the remnant Adam and Eve into a different new world, one in which sin, evil, wars and desolation would continue over the long centuries of man's experience. But this remnant was needed for God's Purpose to continue to be seen and talked about, for God's Grace, His unfathomable Mercy and Faithfulness to His given Word, gave that fallen world a Hope of the One who would come and `bruise the head of the shining one, who would bruise His heel'.
And so we come to that `unfathomable Grace and Mercy', as recorded in the Book of Exodus, wherein we read of the Hebrews being brought forth from `the womb of Egypt' and formed into the Nation of Israel - a people called forth by God to be His special people to declare to the world the One True God. There in the Wilderness of Desolation He instructed them to build a Tabernacle according to the Pattern He gave them through Moses. It was to be the building of a Tabernacle rather than a Temple, for His chosen people had a jouney to complete before they came to His resting place in Jerusalem. Exodus 40 tells of:
The Return of His Glory in His Sanctuary in the desert
The pattern of man's rebellion continued however, and still continues to this day, for pride and rebellion would once again lead to the removal of His Glory and to Judgement. Deuteronomy tells of this carrying away that was to come to His rebellious people: `Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give to your forefathers, except Caleb, Joshua and others'. Joshua and others did cross over into the Land, but the rest of their generation who had seen and known the Glory of the LORD in their Wilderness walk found death in the desert - a carrying away from life into death through their pride and rebellion. In that rapture God's Providence once again kept a remnant through whom He would continue His work, but:
The Glory of the LORD had left the Tabernacle and Judgement fell
However God's Providence was still outworking His Purpose, and His Presence was still with His people for we see that in His own good time God raised up David, who would lead God's people on their journey to Jerusalem. David, a man chosen by God to be a prophet, priest and king, understood that it was time to bring to Jerusalem the Ark of the Presence of God from `the house of Obed-edom . . . and they brought the Ark of the LORD and set it in place inside the Shrine that David had made for it'. But it was Solomon who built the Temple wherein the Presence of the Glory of God would rest, built according to the pattern his father David had given him. We read of this in 2 Chronicles 5:
" They brought up the Ark . . . the priests then brought the Ark of the
LORD's Covenant to the place in the Inner Sanctuary of the Temple . . .
Then the Temple of the LORD was filled with a cloud . . . . "
The Glory of the LORD filled the Temple
It did not last, but all was within the LORD's Providence!
With that we move to the time of Jeremiah, where we read of the continuous idolatry of God's people. The armies of Nebuchadnezzar finally carried the people away into captivity, leaving judgement to fall on the Land. To see that we turn to Ezekiel chapter 10. Ezekiel, already in captivity together with King Jehoiachin, saw the results of the final captivity of the Ark: `I looked, then the Glory of the LORD departed from over the Temple' and the people were now all caught away from the Land into captivity:
The Glory of the LORD had left the Temple
Judgement fell, but in God's faithfulness to His Word a remnant - seen in such people as Ezra and Nehemiah - were in that catching away as that judgement fell, and in the fulness of time a new and better Temple would be revealed wherein the Glory of the LORD would be seen. Luke tells us:
" And there were shepherds abiding in the fields . . . . An angel of the LORD
appeared to them and the Glory of the LORD shone around them. "
Later Matthew continued: `As soon as Jesus was baptised He went up out of the water. At that moment Heaven was opened and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lighting upon Him'.
The Glory had returned and filled the Temple of Messiah!
But the previous patterns were soon revealed for rebelion and pride were not far behind. The return of the Glory and the events of the following thirty years culminated in the crucifixion of Israel's Messiah. The inevitable judgement was delayed for fourty years through the cry of Jesus on the Cross. `Father, forgive them for they know not what they do', giving time for a new remnant to be born at the Feast of Pentecost. But judgement did evantually fall when in AD 70 the armies of Rome destroyed Jerusalem and its Temple. And so began the Great Diaspora of Israel:
The Glory of the LORD had left the Temple
Now would come the mystery of God's Providence, for as in previous times of judgement a remnant would be taken into captivity - but this captivity would be like none other for that remnant. In past judgements the remnant was taken into national captivity, but the remnant of this judgement would be scattered into the surrounding nations and would have been revealed before that Great Diaspora for they, as with all the other `Remnants of Captivity' would be needed to lead the people out of captivity by encouraging and reminding Israel of the Promises of God. (We need to be reminded that all Paul's Epistles were written within the Fourty Year Probation Period of that delayed judgement for he wrote: `And so all Israel shall be saved . . . for God's gifts and call are irrevocable'.) Fifty days after the death and resurrection of the Messiah came the Feast of Pentecost - known by the Jews as the Closing Feast of Passover: (Acts 2)
" When the Feast of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place.
Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and
filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be
tongues of fire that came and separated and came to rest on each of them,
and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit . . . . "
The Glory had returned to the Temple
As we have said before, this `Return' was like no other. At this Pentecost the New Covenant, promised thrugh Jeremiah and Ezekiel, was released. At this Pentecost this New Covenant was initially the First Fruits of the Wheat Harvest, released for both Jew and Gentile - or as we have expressed it, the `New' was brought to the `point of birth'. The Body was seen, indeed expressed, but could not be fully brought to birth until Judgement had fallen upon the `Old'. This Pentecost was not the occasion of `the Birth of the Church' - as it is commonly called and understood - but was the fulfilment of the Promise of a New Covenant `with the House of Israel and the House of Judah'. This is the correct understanding of the words of Jesus when He said, `upon this Rock I will build My Church (My gathered people, Jew and Gentile who have believed and accepted Me as the Promise of God)'. This Church is the Body of the Lord Jesus, the `one New Man' Paul wrote of, not a separate unscriptural man-made edifice. It is built of Living Stones with `a new heart and a new spirit' within each Living Stone, for as Ezekiel wrote much earlier concerning that remnant who were in captivity, `I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh'.
The Church, as some understand it, is not the `New Israel' but the Body of Christ. It is `even (to) the Israel of God', the mystery Paul wrote of, with believing Jew and Gentile regrafted and grafted into the `Olive Tree', which is Israel. Unbelieving Israel, the broken-off branches would now face dispersion and judgement, but within that dispersion would be the First Fruits of the Body of Christ ready to reveal to all nations the Gospel of the Kingdom of God and `the mystery' that Paul wrote about, for `consequently you (Gentiles) are no longer foreigners and aliens but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household'. The Glory had returned to a Temple made without hands but of Living Stones, as Peter wrote:
" . . . a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation belonging to God,
that you may declare the praises of Him who has called you out of darkness
into His glorious light'.
But still Judgement had to come
For the Church, which is His Body, that judgement will come, and come soon, for when writing to the Corinthian Church Paul said, `We must all stand before the Judgement Seat of Christ, that each may receive what is due to him for the things done in the body, whether good or bad'.
Here Paul was drawing upon his knowledge of the Greek Games where all participants in the race stood at the Bema Seat of Judgement and received a prize, whether large or small, for each was judged according to the race run. In both Jewish and Greek terms the Bema was a series of tiered platforms - the higher the tier upon which the participant stood the greater the prize of position. Paul raises this natural event into the spiritual realm where all, whether high or low, who run in the Heavenly race receive the prize for running the race of faithfulness to our calling. But as in all previous Scriptural judgements it comes with a catching away, a Rapture of people. In this coming judgement those within the nations who belong to the Lord Jesus will be caught away, that is Raptured, to stand together with all the saints who have `gone before' at the (Bema) Seat of Judgement of Christ, leaving behind all others to face the Judgement of `the Day of the Lord', that is, the Tribulation.
The Glory of God in the Living Stones will be caught away, raptured
A terrible judgement then faces the earth, during which time many will come to the Lord Jesus through the faithful work of `the 144,000 who have His Name and the Father's Name upon their foreheads'.
Selah!
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PS:
Aware that any mention of judgement concerning true Believers in Christ Jesus causes alarm, we have added this PS and a further PPS rather that incorporate them into the Letter so as not to disturb the flow of the narrative.
Regarding the judgement for Believers: There are two direct mentions of such an event and a further two which imply such an event. The two direct mentions are found in 2 Corinthians chapter 5 and Romans chapter 14. The implied mentions are to be found in 1 Corinthians chapter 3 and 1 Peter chapter 1.
Firstly we would bring in 1 Corinthians 3, where we find Paul writing a corrective word to `mere babies in Christ . . . fed with milk . . . and still not ready. Amongst you there is jealousy and quarralling . . . acting like mere men'. In verse 8 Paul writes, `and each will be rewarded according to his own labour'. In verses 10-11 he continues:
" I laid a foundation as an expert builder . . . each one should be careful how
he builds, for no-one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid,
which is Jesus Christ'.
He then continues with the judgement that faces all the Believers' works and lists six materials which man builds with; gold, silver, precious stones, wood hay and straw. All work of a Believer will be judged according to the materials he uses and `will be shown for what it is because the Day will bring it to light': (verses 13-15)
" It will be revealed with fire and the fire will test the quality of each man's
work. If what he has built (using gold, silver or precious stones) survives,
he will receive his reward. If (using wood, hay or straw) it is burned up,
he will suffer loss (of a prize). He himself will be saved, but only as one
escaping through the flames. "
Clearly Paul is speaking of a Believer's works, not his salvation through acceptance of Jesus, for he writes in Ephesians: `we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works which God prepared in advance for us to do'. In short, all the works of a Believer will be judged and only those built on the Foundation of Christ Jesus will stand the test of fire. All else will count as nothing when `on that Day' our `works' will be judged. At the Judgement Seat of Christ it is our faithfulness to our calling in Him which will be tested and prizes given for our prevailing trust that all has been built on the Foundation of Christ Jesus.
Secondly we turn to 2 Corinthians 5 which is still a `corrective Letter'. In verse 7 we read, `we live by faith, not by sight (that is, our works)' and in verse 10 Paul tells us that `we must all appear before the Judgement Seat of Christ' - and here he is drawing upon his knowledge of the Greek Games where all who are called to run in those races receive a prize for running in and completing them. Some runners using `gold, silver or precious stones' will receive a greater prize, but all runners will receive a prize for works built on the Foundation of Christ Jesus. It is not for others to judge the quality of another's works - that judgement is reserved for `that Day'. Paul's Letter to the Romans (14:10-12) mentions the Judgement Seat of God, but those words are secondary to Paul's intention to talk of God's faithfulness to His Word in all His righteous acts towards His people. Do not judge another's works; that is for God alone: (verses 10-12)
" For we will all stand before God's Judgement Seat . . . .
each of us will give an account of himself to God. "
This comment is not `opened up' as Paul has already dealt with it in his Letter to the Corinthians which was written some ten months earlier, around AD 57-58.
Finally in 1 Peter 1:7 we find the last mention of the Judgement Seat of Christ:
" . . . your faith(fulness), more precious than gold,
which perishes even though refined by fire. "
All these Scriptures point to our faithfulness to Christ Jesus, for that is more precious than all else, even man's precious gold. Yes, we press on into our calling. Yes, prizes are given for our works built on the Foundation of Christ Jesus, but at that Judgement we shall say:
" Lord, You are more precious than silver;
Lord, You are more costly than gold . . . . "
PPS
A brief mention must be made concerning the `great White Throne Judgement', as recorded in Revelation 20. This Book is of course wholly Hebraic in thought and words and concerns the judgement of all of those outside of Christ Jesus, and although `those in Christ Jesus' are in that final judgement they do not appear for their names are written in `the Book of Life' and they are secure in their salvation. Verses 12-13 reveals `the dead, great and small, standing before the Throne, and books were opened'. This refers to the Levitical Rosh Hashanah (Trumpets) calling all men to the judgement of Yom Kippur (the Day of Atonement). In between these two Levitical `Days' are what is known as the ten `Days of Awe', based on Leviticus 23:26, "The LORD said to Moses . . . `the tenth day of this seventh month . . .'. Talmudic tradition then filled in these ten days between Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur with rituals concerned with putting right any wrongs committed during the past year to ensure their names would be found in `the Book of Life', thus escaping being recorded in `the Books of the Dead'. These religious rituals are not found in Torah and are totally Talmudic, although they are based on mentions of the Book of Life and the Books of the Dead which are scattered throughout Scripture from Exodus, Daniel, Ezekiel, Psalms and on into Luke, Philippians, Hebrews, and of course Revelation.
We mention this in our PPS only to reiterate that the names of all Believers in Christ Jesus are found in the Book of Life, written by `the Blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony'. We leave this Letter `urging the brethren not to be unsettled by some prophecy of other'. For true understanding concerning the Rapture we need to heed the words of the old Rabbis, looking not at the effect of the Rapture but for the cause that brings about that judgement. Yes, there is a Return of His Glory but that is for another Letter.
Selah
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