I have received the following objection to the Pre-Trib Rapture from a brother named Jerry Parks. Jerry is a good man who blogs here. He states his argument thus (I have brought together his main assertions from several comments etc.): “Paul makes clear in his discussion of the resurrection in 1 Cor. 15 that it is being in Christ that is the only means to the resurrection of which Paul is speaking. Specifically he says: ‘For since by man came …
Category: Biblical Studies
Part Nine Is the Rapture in 2 Thessalonians 2:3? On a related note, some Dispensational writers have believed that the catching up of the saints is what is in view in 2 Thessalonians 2:3: Let no one deceive you by any means; for that Day will not come unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sinis revealed, the son of perdition. I shall revisit this text further on in my remarks about the future antichrist …
Part Twenty-Six Covenant Theology and the Bible In an article at TableTalk Stephen G. Myers writes, “Covenant theology seeks to use the biblically prominent covenants to inform our knowledge of God and of His work. Specifically, covenant theology contends that God has been working throughout history to gather His people to Himself through covenantal relationship.” There is a problem here. The three theological covenants of CT are not prominent in the Bible. Moreover, the concept of covenantal relationship ,while part …
Part Twenty-Five Looking Deeper into the Problems with Covenant Theology 12. CT is implicitly supercessionist in its eschatology. This final problem with Covenant Theology is vehemently denied by more and more who adopt its ideas. They will feel aggrieved by the accusation that CT teaches replacement theology. That is, CT’s today will object strongly when they are characterized as teaching that the Church has taken over the covenant blessings God gave to the nation of Israel. According to Sam Storms, …
Part Twenty-Four Looking Deeper into the Problems with Covenant Theology 11. CT interprets the Bible from an anthropocentric rather than a Theocentric point of view. From what has been said before about CT’s redemptive-historical hermeneutic based upon the primacy of the covenant of grace it becomes clear that although it seeks to glorify God in its overall approach, CT comes from a perspective which is man-centered. Because it casts its net around the salvation of the elect and not around …
Part Twenty-Three Looking Deeper into the Problems with Covenant Theology 10. CT reads Christ into passages where He is plainly not in view and employs Him (particularly His first coming) as the lens through which Scripture must be understood. Covenant Theology is grounded in an overarching approach to reading Scripture as a redemptive-historical story. This entails reading the OT in light of the NT, and especially in light of the Gospel. Because of this procedure the OT is often used …
This is something I wrote about ten years ago. I thought it could do with a rerun. It is a common feature of discussions with some fellow believers to hear them say that the New Testament interprets the Old. This maxim, which is almost a cliché in some circles, is seldom explained. It is usually taken for granted. “Surely,” we are told, “you understand how the NT throws light on passages in the OT?” “Surely you see how NT authors …
Part Twenty-Two Looking Deeper into the Problems with Covenant Theology 9. Though they would consciously deny the charge, it is undeniable that CT ‘s way of reading the Bible (as above) creates a major problem philosophically in that it strongly implies that God equivocates. More seriously still, the manner of equivocation means that equivocation belongs to the essential nature of the Godhead. Imagine that several years back I promised you in writing that once I turned sixty you could have all sixty …
Part Twenty One Looking Deeper into the Problems with Covenant Theology 8. CT thus interprets the Bible with different rules of hermeneutics depending on the aforementioned presuppositions. Covenant theologians will often display a varied array of hermeneutical practices, sometimes in the same passage. This is because the theological covenants require conformity to their dictates. The conformity includes the OT being interpreted on the basis of a particular understanding of the NT; a first coming hermeneutic when dealing with most prophetic …
Part Eight The Transformation of Our Bodies The mention of the transformation of our bodies calls to mind the mystery of 1 Corinthians 15:50-52: Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed—in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the …
