Tag: Apostasy

Ecclesiastical Apostasy and Civil Apostasy

.These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth. But the saints of the most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever. … Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces. And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings.

‘After These Things’ Chapter 4.6 Ecclesiastical and Civil Apostasy

From our book ‘After These Things – Summaries of John Nelson Darby’s Papers on Prophecy – and more…’ Compiled by Daniel Roberts. For more about this book click on the picture or CLICK HERE

Beast, Antichrist and False Prophet

 

A summary of the First Lecture by J N Darby on the Present Hope of the Church – Geneva 1840 entitled ‘The Two Characters of Evil: Ecclesiastical Apostasy, and Civil Apostasy‘

4.6 Ecclesiastical and Civil Apostasy

The Two Characters of Evil

The Beast

The Antichrist

The False Prophet

The Mystery of the Woman and the Beast

Ecclesiastical Wickedness is always the Worst

Civil apostasy will have its time of manifestation

Relationship with the Jews

Persecution of the Jews

The War in Heaven

Armageddon

A Word to the Believer

 

The Two Characters of Evil

There are two characters in the evil which manifests itself on the earth:

  1. Ecclesiastical apostasy, that of the Church
  2. Civil apostasy, that of human government and organisation.

The angel gave Daniel the interpretation of the vision of the four beasts

  1. The lion Babylon
  2. The bear Persia
  3. The leopard Greece
  4. The ‘dreadful and terrible beast’ Rome

‘These great beasts, which are four, are four kings, which shall arise out of the earth.   But the saints of the Most High shall take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and ever.  … Thus he said, The fourth beast shall be the fourth kingdom upon earth, which shall be diverse from all kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, and shall tread it down, and break it in pieces.  And the ten horns out of this kingdom are ten kings that shall arise: and another shall rise after them; and he shall be diverse from the first, and he shall subdue three kings’ (Daniel 7:16-27).

The principal subject of the above scripture is  fourth great beast.  This represents the Roman Empire who exalts and elevates itself against the Most High God.

The Beast

The civil power will rise against Christ, whom God will establish King over the earth because all government belongs to Him.

‘I … saw a beast rise up out of the sea, having seven heads and ten horns, and upon his horns ten crowns, and upon his heads the name of blasphemy. … And I saw one of the heads, as it were wounded to death.’  (Revelation 13:1-3).  Although the imperial form of the Roman Empire collapsed centuries ago, the wound has been healed.  The governing institutions the Roman empire can be re-established.[1]. The imperial beast will reappear, and the European ‘kings’ (whether monarchs or presidents) will willingly hand over their power to the beast.

The Antichrist

The course of Christianity takes place during the time of the fourth beast, Rome.  At the same time, there is moral rebellion.    The ecclesiastical power assumes the position of God.  It takes away faith, putting aside natural religion, corrupting and perverting the revelation of God, so that men should have no other objects than themselves.

However, the ecclesiastical power will itself fall victim to the violence of the human will.  By its pretensions to religion, it will  openly serve Satan.  It will provoke crimes which the the civil power will execute.

The corruption of the church is the worst of all corruptions.  The Antichrist will deny that Jesus is the Christ; he will ‘deny the Father and the Son’ (1 John 2:22).  Satan will work directly by him. It will be a sort of satanic imitation of what God has done.

In the way that the Father has given the heavenly throne to the Son; the dragon (Satan) will confer the throne in the evil world to the beast.

The Spirit acts in the church, according to the power of the Son before Him; similarly, the second beast, the Antichrist will exercise all the power of this last beast (civil authority) before him.  ‘And he exerciseth all the power of the first beast before him and causeth the earth and them which dwell therein to worship the first beast, whose deadly wound was healed’ (Revelation 13:12).

Christendom is practically apostate. Darby said this in 1840 – what is its state now?

The False Prophet

There is also another beast (not the Roman Empire) which exercises all the power of the first beast before him.

‘I beheld another beast coming up out of the earth; … And he doeth great wonders, … and deceiveth them that dwell on the earth’ (Revelation 13:11-14). This second beast, the false prophet, will seduce the inhabitants of the earth (the Jews accepting a Satanic form of Christianity[2]).  This has the appearance of Christ’s power, but it is Satan’s.   The false prophet, who will have lost secular power, will cause them to follow the first beast, that is the civil power of the Roman Empire.

Satan, having been cast out of heaven, will come down to the earth in great wrath.  Then, under his influence, the beast (the Roman Empire, the civil power) will resume his strength and form.  Instead of being in submission to God, it will take on the character of Satan in open revolt against the power of God.  Instead of replacing it, ten kings ‘shall give their strength and power unto the beast’. (Revelation 17:13).  ‘Neither shall he regard the God of his fathers, nor the desire of women[3], nor regard any god: for he shall magnify himself above all’ (Dan 11:37).

There will be the eighth king, yet to come.  In essence, this will be the beast himself, the imperial head under a new form.  He will re-unite ten kings, who will give him their power.  The kingdoms will continue in existence but as a confederation.  After dealing in an idolatrous and apostate way in Jerusalem, he will find his end with that first beast – they will go down to destruction.  (See Revelation 13, Daniel 11:36-45).

The Mystery of the Woman and the Beast

We get the woman clothed with scarlet (the whore).  She represents the ecclesiastical power.  She is mounted on the beast, which is the civil power.  After that, ‘the ten horns[4] which thou sawest upon the beast, these shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to … give their kingdom to the beast.’ (Revelation 17:12-13)

The civil power turns on the ecclesiastical, resulting in the evident destruction of the latter

‘I will tell thee the mystery of the woman and of the beast that carrieth her, which hath the seven heads and ten horns. The beast that thou sawest was, and is not[5]; and shall ascend out of the bottomless pit, and go into perdition: and they that dwell on the earth shall wonder, whose names were not written in the book of life from the foundation of the world, when they behold the beast that was, and is not, and yet is[6]’. (v. 7-8)

Ecclesiastical Wickedness is always the Worst

The ecclesiastical power will no longer be wielding the secular arm, riding on the beast, and ruling it.   It will take on a more mysterious and dangerous form.  Its occult influence will continue, deprived of its outward splendour.   The church’s revolt begins when, instead of being subject to Christ, it gives itself over to the will and power of man, leans upon man for aid, and renounces truth to follow error.  When the church is not guided by the Holy Spirit, it is not subject to Christ, Christendom becomes completely apostate.

Because the ecclesiastical power is no longer a political power with the ability to depose kings and presidents, there is a temptation to suppose that it has disappeared.  However, its moral influence survives.  It seduces the inhabitants of the earth so that they acknowledge and worship the beast, at the same time urging the civil power to revolt against God.  This will lead to its ultimate destruction (see below).

Civil apostasy will have its time of manifestation

Scripture teaches us that civil power is of God. ‘Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God’ (Romans 13:1) – also 1 Peter 2:13-18.

Now, in the same way that the church will rebel against God, the civil government will be found in a state of revolt and apostasy.  Instead of confessing allegiance to God, the source of its authority, it sets itself up against Him.

At the end of the present dispensation, the civil power will be found in this same state of revolt as the church.  In the civil power, apostasy will be more manifest and prominent than it is in the church.   This will take place in the bosom of Christendom, and ecclesiastical wickedness will be its motivating power.[7]

Those who will have revolted ought to have instructed the church and represented the wisdom of God, reminding governments of their duty towards God.   They will conceal the truth, seduce the world, and lead the civil power to depart from God[8].

Relationship with the Jews

The beast, or the civil power of the fourth monarchy, sets himself in revolt against God.  But this monarchy will establish a relationship with the Jews.   This re-introduces the history of God’s people.

The unconverted Jews will have returned to their own land, though without being converted[9].  The Jews will find themselves in a relationship with the fourth beast who exalts himself against God, putting himself in direct opposition to Christ.  Indeed, he will assume the rights that rightly belong to Christ, namely those of being the King of the Jews.

Persecution of the Jews

If we consider the history of the Roman beast comprehensively, both in its pagan form under the Roman emperors such as Tiberias Caesar, or in the form of the corrupted Christianity of the Middle Ages, we see there have always been persecutions against the faithful Christian saints.  ‘And in her was found the blood of prophets, and of saints, and of all that were slain upon the earth,’ (Revelation 18:24).

However, after the Rapture of the church and the breaking of the Antichrist’s covenant with the Jews, the civil power will revolt openly, and persecutions will fall on God’s earthly people, the Jews.  Remember, Christ remains King of the Jews.  Of course, the church will be entirely out of the scene at the time of these persecutions.

The War in Heaven

The Word of God puts in contrast

  1. The world and the Father,
  2. The flesh and the Spirit,
  3. Satan and the Son of God.

Satan is now in heaven accusing the children of God.  He aims to destroy Christ, and in doing so, destroy the church.  However, Satan has no power over our consciences, his accusing power being rendered null by virtue of the blood and work of Jesus Christ.  However, half-way through the seven years between the Rapture and the Appearing, there will be a battle in heaven – see Revelation 12:7-9.   Michael will prevail; Satan will be cast out into the earth but will not yet be chained to the bottomless pit.   It is said, ‘the devil is come down unto you, having great wrath, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time.’ (v.12)

Having been cast down to the earth, Satan will act through the terrestrial agency of the Roman Empire, though he will unite all the characters of the three previous beasts.

The authority of the dragon (Satan) becomes established in the Roman Empire. It is seen in the beast with seven heads and ten horns.

 

Armageddon

At Armageddon, the false prophet falls along with the beast. From the beginning to the end, there is always a beast, and with the beast a false prophet. It is the one or the other who guides the rebellion. But in the end, the beast takes the lead, as being able to act more directly and freely: thus, it is the beast that becomes the direct object of judgment.

Christ will finally exercise His rights as King of the Jews.  He will come down from heaven, destroy the fourth beast together with the Antichrist.

A Word to the Believer

In the short time there, Paul had spoken a good deal about what was coming to the saints in Thessalonica.  He had taught them to expect the Lord’s coming.  After his departure, Satan tried to terrify them, by telling them that the day of the Lord had already arrived.  So Paul said,  ‘Now we beseech you, brethren, by the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and by our gathering together unto him, that ye be not soon shaken in mind’   (2 Thessalonians 2:1)

Those who love the truth will not be deceived by Satan’s activities.  When the Lord calls His own, they will be caught up into the air.   In time, the false prophet, (the second beast), will be thrown into the lake of fire along with the first.  Then all those who have ‘not received the love of the truth’ (2:Thessalonians 2:10) will be judged.  We need to warn people: may some be led to consider the word of God.

We may ask the question as to why all this is announced to us, the children of God, who thankfully, will see none of these things.  It must surely serve to wean us from involvement with, and the influence of, what will come under judgment. May we be separate from all that drags men on to destruction!

May God make us attentive both to the character and the end of man’s pride!  May God’s name of grace and glory be eternally blessed; and may He engrave these things upon our hearts! He will preserve His church from all these evils which menace the world for His church is united to Him.

 

 

[1] One can see that this would be quite easy when erstwhile sovereign states have already ceded much power to the European Union (established by the Treaty of Rome).  However, let us not mix current affairs with prophecy – they are NOT the same.  Darby likened Napoleon’s efforts to the Roman empire and that fell apart.

[2] I ask – what about the Muslims too? – Darby makes the point that the false prophet could not be Mohammed.

[3] An interesting question – what is meant by the desire of women? 

[4] i.e. the ten kings.

[5] i.e the Roman civil power.  The bottomless pit is the positive power of Satan.

[6] Darby reads ‘shall be present’, a better translation of the Greek παρέσται/parestai/Strong 3918 meaning present or near.

[7]When Darby says ‘the end of this dispensation’ it can be confusing as to the period he is referring to.  Whereas most would see this dispensation ending at the Rapture, and the seven years either another dispensation or a transitional period, Darby considers this dispensation (as Savage did – see Chapter 1.3) to ending till the Lord’s coming to reign.  That is why he refers to the ultimate apostasy of the professing church as belonging to this time.

[8] This is what Darby described when living in in Victorian England.  How much more apt are these things now when ‘alternative lifestyles’ are promoted and offered to young children, homosexual marriage, abortion and divorce on demand have all gone in the face of God’s thoughts for mankind.  And the church acquiesces to all of this.

[9] It is easy to regard the establishment of the Jewish state in 1948 as the fulfilment of prophecy.  Whilst you could say that it was laying the scene for what is to come,  there is no reason why this event along with the revival of the ten lost tribes could not be have been fulfilled after the Rapture.  After all, the nation is in unbelief as to Christ, is secular in constitution and comprises only two of the twelve tribes.

Click on icon to download PDF

 

The Judgment of Evil

e must expect evil to increase in the world, particularly in Christendom, both secularly and religiously.

However evil does not come under judgment until the end of this age; that is, of the dispensation closed by the coming of Christ.

The knowledge of God will then fill the earth. How? By the judgment of God, which must begin at the house of God.

Three sorts of apostasy are brought together typified by Cain, Balaam and Korah. The beast will exalt himself above all that is called God. This must happen before the day of the Lord comes.

‘After These Things’ Chapter 4.5 – The Judgment of Evil

From our book ‘After These Things – Summaries of John Nelson Darby’s Papers on Prophecy – and more…’ Compiled by Daniel Roberts. For more about this book click on the picture or CLICK HERE

Evil on the Earth Increases

A summary of the Fifth Lecture by J N Darby on the Present Hope of the Church – Geneva 1840 entitled ‘The Progress of Evil on the Earth’

4.5  The Judgment of Evil

A summary of the 5th Lecture by J N Darby on the Present Hope of the Church – Geneva 1840 – entitled The Progress of Evil on the Earth

4.5  The Judgment of Evil

The Progress of Evil on the Earth

Evil increases, especially in Christendom

The Wheat and the Tares

The Apostasy

The Beasts or Gentile Empires

The Rejection of Christ

The Lord coming to Judge

Little Result from Preaching the Gospel

Signs of the Times

Darby’s Conclusion

 

Evil on the Earth Increases

We must expect evil to increase in the world, particularly in Christendom,  both secularly and religiously.  However, evil does not come under judgment until the return of Christ at His Appearing.  The knowledge of God will then fill the earth.  How?  By the judgment of God, which must begin at the house of God.

As evil increases, Christians see the proximity of judgment, piety increases and Christians withdraw from evil.  They preach the gospel, but there is little result.

Evil increases, especially in Christendom

The notion that things will continually improve is totally contrary to what we are taught in scripture.  We are deluded if we think that the earth will be filled with the knowledge of the Lord before He exercises judgment.   Instead of hoping that good will continue to progress in the world and the church, we must expect evil increase.  We are to expect increasing evil until it becomes so flagrant that it will be necessary for the Lord to judge it.  Sadly, this is the received wisdom in much of Christendom at large  and in secular society.[1]

This is the character which this wickedness will take, as an external, secular power:

  1. Evil will go on increasing until the end.
  2. Satan will urge it on until the Lord destroys his power.
  3. The apostasy will take place in Christendom.
  4. The Antichrist will fall and be ruined.

The Wheat and the Tares

We should draw on the parable of the wheat and the tares (Matthew 13:24-30).   Satan had put evil in the field where the good seed of the word had been sown.  This will remain there and ripen.  Christians will not enjoy the result of its removal, because the evil is to remain until the day of judgment:  ’Let both grow together until the harvest.’  The harvest is at the end of this age; that is, of the dispensation closed by the coming of Christ.

The tares are evil things such as heresy or the corruption of the truth.  The enemy sows these after Jesus Christ had sown the good seed.   But the Lord says it should remain until the harvest. The evil which Satan has produced by a corrupted religion will exist until the end. Our efforts ought to be directed – not to pluck out the tares but to gather in the children of God – to assemble the co-heirs of Jesus Christ.

It is worth remarking that the tares were already sown in the days of the apostles; and in one sense it is a happy thing for us since we have both the warning and the evidence in scripture.

Now, in God’s dealings, we have to do with grace and not with judgment.  It is not for us to judge the world.

The Apostasy

Apostasy will be fully developed in the ‘last time’; when the Antichrist also will have been revealed. (See 1 John 2:18).  This development will be after the departure of the Church and the restraint of the Holy Spirit.

God says:

  • ‘The Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; speaking lies in hypocrisy … .’( 1 Timothy 4:1).
  • ‘This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come … .’( 2 Timothy 3:1-5).

In Timothy. ‘Men shall be lovers of their own selves,’ etc. These are not pagans; they are nominal Christians.  It is written about them, ‘Having the form of godliness, but denying the power thereof. … They shall wax worse and worse.’ (2 Timothy 3:5,13)

‘For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God.’ Compare these words with Acts 20:29-31: ‘I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock; also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them.’   1 Peter 4:17.  This state of things began during the lifetime of the apostles.

Jude’s epistle is a treatise on the apostasy. We get three sorts of apostasy brought together upon which last judgment will fall.  We are told of those who have ‘crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ’ (v.4).  These have brought in (v.11):

  • Natural apostasy – the character of Cain – hatred and unrighteousness.
  • Ecclesiastical apostasy – e.g. Balaam – teaching wrong things for reward.
  • Open revolt – g. Korah, who set himself up against the rights of the priesthood (Aaron) and of royalty (Moses).

The great whore (the ecclesiastical system) will rule the beast whose self-will and blaspheming character will be fully manifested in the last apostasy.  Meanwhile, Christians desire the destruction of the whore’s influence.   In 2 Thessalonians 2:3-12 it says, ‘That day shall not come except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God.’

All this must happen before the day of the Lord comes.

Darby points out that it is evil – not the gospel – that will unite the characters of wickedness which have appeared from the beginning:

  1. Man has always wanted to have his own will.
  2. He has exalted himself against God.
  3. He has put himself under the guidance of Satan

The Beasts or Gentile Empires

There are four successive beasts in Daniel 7.




      1. The empire of Babylon (lion with eagle’s wings).
      2. The empire of the Persians (bear).
      3. The empire of the Greeks, or Alexander in particular (leopard – split into four heads).
      4. The Roman Empire (a dreadful and terrible beast with marks altogether peculiar to itself).

     

    Following the destruction of the last king of the Jews (Zedekiah in BC599), earthly dominion passed to the Gentiles in the person of Nebuchadnezzar. He began by establishing a false religion by force.  He made a statue that all the world was to worship, and he became lifted up in heart and ravaged the world to satisfy his will.   So, he was made to become like a beast for seven years.

    The Rejection of Christ

    The chief priests, who were in God’s view, the representatives of religion upon earth, and Pontius Pilate, the representative of earthly power, joined in league together to reject and put to death the Son of God. Thus, the fourth monarchy became guilty of rejecting the Messiah.

    The Jews are set aside.  If God permits the Jews to return to their country for a short time, it is that His Son might appear at the re-commencement of the fourth monarchy.

    But as to that which concerns the church on earth, we have seen it marred by the seed of the wicked one, and the apostasy which resulted from it;  (Dan. 7:9,11), ‘I beheld till the thrones were cast down and the Ancient of days did sit…. I beheld then, because of the voice of the great words which the horn spake; I beheld, even till the beast was slain, and his body destroyed, and given to the burning’.  The Roman Empire has continued; it has even become ‘Christian’.

    The Lord coming to Judge

    Daniel 7:13-14: ‘I saw … one like the Son of man came with the clouds of heaven, and came to the Ancient of days, and they brought him near before him. And there was given him dominion and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.’

    The kingdom is given to the Son of man when the fourth beast is destroyed. The judgment and destruction of the fourth monarchy have not yet taken place, as we know from Daniel 2:34-35: ‘Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and day, and brake them to pieces…. and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain and filled the whole earth.’

    It is after the total destruction of the statue that the stone begins to grow; which signifies that the knowledge of the glory of Jehovah, which is to fill the whole earth, will not begin to spread until after the fourth beast has been judged and destroyed.

    ‘The beast that thou sawest was, and is not’ (Revelation 7:8): is the Roman Empire.[2] As an empire, it no longer exits. However, it will come out of the pit, with a diabolical character; it will be a full expression of the power of Satan.  This king will assume all the rights and privileges of Christ, arrogating them to himself: ‘I will ascend into heaven’ – what Christ only has done; ‘I will exalt myself above the stars of God.’ (Isaiah 14:13-14).  Even the Jewish nation will receive him who comes in his own name.

    Little Result from Preaching the Gospel

    The church’s task was to proclaim the glory of Christ everywhere.  Many evangelical Christians, therefore, hope that, through better evangelical endeavour, the gospel will spread itself all over the world during this dispensation. However, in these times, we can only expect poor results.  There will be blessing, but there will be those who slip away

    God told Noah that He was going to destroy the world.  Did this prevent his preaching to his fellow mortals?   This animated him, so that he might gain those who had ears to hear.   And the result – eight, just his family.

    Yet we preach the gospel – the only means of causing men to escape the righteous judgments which threaten them.   God gives, at the same time, the power to the testimony that would separate the good from that which is under judgment.  I believe this to be God’s usual mode of procedure.

    When we see evil increasing, and God drawing away believers from that evil, it may be taken as a sign that the judgment of God is nigh.

    Signs of the Times

    There are two signs of the proximity of judgment:

    1. Piety increases
    2. Christians withdraw from evil

     

    In the word of God, we see that the present economy will have an end.  Evil will progress to a greater and greater height until the wicked one is destroyed by the coming of Christ.

    Let us conclude with the warning which the Saviour gives us: ‘Behold, therefore, the goodness and severity of God: on them which fell, severity; but toward thee, goodness if thou continue in his goodness; otherwise thou also shalt be cut off.’ (Romans 11:22.)

    Darby’s Conclusion

    ‘Has the church kept itself in the goodness of God?  Christendom has become completely corrupted; the dispensation of the Gentiles has been found unfaithful, with no hope of restoration. As the Jewish dispensation was cut off, the Christian dispensation will be cut off too. May God give us the grace to continue steadfast in our hope, and to rest upon His faithfulness.

    [1] Darby wrote in the 19th century – he saw the trend.  Now we in the 21st century see the prevalent religious view that we should labour to build the kingdom of God here.  Apart from being futile, it sets aside what Christ has done.  It is depicted in that rousing , popular (at least in Britain) but doctrinally perverse song by William Blake, ‘Jerusalem’.

    In secular society progress has been regarded in the throwing aside of moral values promoting ‘alternative lifestyles, indiscriminate abortion, sexual perversion to the point where Christians can be criminalised for doing or teaching what is right, and much of the public church supports it.

    [2] One cannot escape thinking of the liberal, Godless view of the European Union.  Satan will take control of this institution.

     

    Click on icon to download PDF

     

The Rapture

Heir of all things, of the church as co-heir with Him, and of the coming of Christ to reign before the thousand-year millennium.

In this lecture, Mr Darby distinguishes between the resurrection of the just and the resurrection of the wicked. The first takes place before the millennium; the other afterwards. The first resurrection, the resurrection from among the dead was a thing that really gripped the early church.

The truth of the resurrection of the church should become bound up in our minds, with the precious truths of our salvation.

‘After These Things’ Chapter 4.4 – The Rapture

From our book ‘After These Things – Summaries of John Nelson Darby’s Papers on Prophecy – and more…’ Compiled by Daniel Roberts. For more about this book click on the picture or CLICK HERE

The Truth and Reality of Resurrection

A summary of the Fourth Lecture by J N Darby on the Present Hope of the Church – Geneva 1840 entitled ‘The First Resurrection – or The Resurrection of the Just’.

4.4  The Rapture

The Truth and Reality of Resurrection

What the Greeks Taught – Resurrection vs Reincarnation

The Two Resurrections

The Resurrection of the Just (or The Resurrection of the Church Apart)

The Judgment of the Wicked

Those who Sleep in Jesus

Conclusion

 

The Truth and Reality of Resurrection

The resurrection of Christ was the foundation of the preaching of the apostles,  In Acts 1:22, they said,  ‘One must be with us a witness of his resurrection’.  Peter said, ‘This Jesus hath God raised, whereof we all are witnesses.’ (v.32).

Resurrection is therefore at the core of Christianity: it was the seal of Christ’s ministry.  Romans 1:4 says He was, ‘declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead[1]’ – The Jews had no difficulty – they accepted a general resurrection but did not understand resurrection from among the dead.   Resurrection links our hopes to Christ and the whole church, to the counsels of God in Christ; it makes us understand that we are entirely set free in Him.  We are united to Him by the Holy Spirit, so He is also the source of our strength: we can glorify Him now.  We are introduced into a new creation: the power of God places us, in the second Adam, beyond the sphere of sin, of Satan, and death.

‘Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.’ (Colossians 2:12).  Our union with Jesus raised gives us acceptance with God. We ought to see ourselves already as beyond the tomb.

The word of God is simple, clear, and convincing; but preconceived ideas often rob us of its natural sense. We have habits of thinking apart from Scripture.  Sadly, prejudices and human teachings have taken the place of the word of God, and the power and expectation of the resurrection have ceased to be the habitual state of the church.

What the Greeks Taught – Resurrection vs Reincarnation

In Athens, Paul announced, among the learned Gentiles, the doctrine of resurrection (Acts 17:18-30).   This was the stumbling-stone of their carnal wisdom. Socrates, Plato and other philosophers believed, after a fashion, in the immortality of the soul (metempsychosis or reincarnation).   The idea of the immortality of the soul, although recognised in Luke 12:5 and 20:38, is not, in general, a gospel topic[2].

When these scientifically minded men heard of the resurrection of the dead, they mocked.  An unbeliever can discuss immortality; but if he hears about the resurrection of the dead, he turns the subject into derision.  And why?  Because in talking of the immortality of the soul, he may exalt himself and elevate his self-importance and power.

God can reconstitute a body that has been reduced to dust into a living and glorified man because nothing is hidden from His power.  The leading truth, however, is the resurrection of the body, not the immortality of the soul.

 

The Two Resurrections

The Lord says, ‘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)

Paul says, ‘There shall be a resurrection of the dead, both of the just and unjust’ (Acts 24:15).  But they are not the same, though accomplished by the same power.

The resurrection of the just[3] is altogether distinct from the resurrection of the unjust.  The resurrection of the just, which we await, precedes the Millennium.  It takes place at the ‘Rapture’.  The church will participate in the coming of Christ to reign.  There will be a resurrection of life for those who have been already quickened in their souls; and a resurrection of judgment for those who have rejected Jesus.

We must not confuse the resurrection of the just with that of the unjust, and the judgment before the Great White Throne.  The resurrection of the unjust will not take place until after the Millennium.

None of the passages concerning the resurrection speak of a simultaneous rising of just and unjust; and those which refer to the resurrection of the just always talk of it as a distinct thing.  All will rise. There will be a resurrection of the just and a resurrection of the unjust, but they will not take place together[4].

Because Jesus said that those who are in the graves shall hear his voice, it may be alleged that the wicked and the just will rise together.  But three verses earlier it said, ‘they that hear shall live.’ So evidently, there is a time of quickening and a time of judgment; there is a period during which souls are quickened, and a period when bodies shall be raised.

‘That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death; if by any means I might attain unto the resurrection of the dead’ (Phil 3:10-11).   Paul would not speak thus if the good and bad rose together, and in the same manner. This resurrection from among the dead is the first resurrection that Paul had in mind.  The resurrection from among the dead was a thing that concerned the church exclusively.  We should say, like the apostle, ‘I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus’ (v.14).

The Resurrection of the Just (or The Resurrection of the Church Apart)

In the work of making alive or vivification, the Father and Son act together.  Those to whom life is given are put into communion with the Father and Son.  The bodies of the children of God will participate in the life that has already been communicated to their souls (the life of Christ Himself).

Several scriptures bear on this, making this resurrection clear to all:

  • 1 Corinthians 15 sets forth very clearly the connection which exists between the coming of Christ and the resurrection of the dead. The sequence of events is precise.
  • Christ is become the firstfruits of them that slept’ (v. 20).
  • The trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible (v.52).
  • We shall be changed (v.52).
  • This mortal shall have put on immortality (v 54).
  • Death is swallowed up in victory (v 54).

The Appearing of Christ will therefore take place before the end;

  • Also, 1 Thessalonians 4 – The Lord himself shall descend from heaven (v. 16).
  • With a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God (v. 16).
  • The dead in Christ shall rise first(v. 16).
  • We which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds (v. 17)
  • We shall meet the Lord in the air (v. 17).
  • So shall we ever be with the Lord. (v. 17).

God is the ‘God who raiseth the dead’ (2 Corinthians 1:9) – or  ’quickeneth the dead’ (Romans 4:23-25).  We are called upon to believe that the resurrection of Jesus is the power, or the efficacy, of our justification.  The resurrection of Jesus was the great proof.

In Colossians 2:12, it says ‘Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.’ The Church is raised now because Christ is raised as its Head.

Our resurrection is the consequence of the abiding of the Holy Spirit in us ‘if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you’  (Romans 8:11).  It therefore is on account of the Holy Spirit who is in us, that we shall be raised.  The presence of the Holy Spirit in the church is that which characterises our position before God.

– The world does not receive the Holy Spirit, ‘because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him,’ (John 14:27) – an essential difference.

What to do?

‘Our body is the temple of the Holy Ghost’ (1 Corinthians 6:19).  Therefore, our souls are filled, or at least it ought to be, with the glory of Christ.  Our bodies will be raised through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. This can never be said of the wicked.

The Judgment of the Wicked

Scripture presents two acts of Christ as the attributes of His glory:

  1. to make alive.
  2. to judge.

‘All who are in the tombs shall hear his voice, and shall go forth; those that have practised good, to resurrection of life, and those that have done evil, to resurrection of judgment.’ (John 5:28 Darby).

All judgment is entrusted to Christ, so that all, even eventually the wicked, should honour the Son, confessing Him Lord to the glory of God the Father (see Philippians 2:11).

Jesus was treated shamefully down here.   Therefore, the way of obliging the wicked to recognise the rights of Jesus is place the process of judgment in the hands of Jesus Himself.    The Father does not judge: it was not He who was wronged, but the Son.  For the wicked, the time of the judgment will be at the Great White Throne.

Those who Sleep in Jesus

‘Christ has become the firstfruits of them that slept…. They that are Christ’s shall rise at his coming. Then cometh the end, when he shall have delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father’ (1 Corinthians 15:23).  When He comes, He will take the kingdom; at the end, He will deliver it up.  The Appearing of Christ will therefore take place before the end; it will be for the destruction of the wicked. He will come to purify His kingdom.

‘Them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him’; ‘and the dead in Christ shall rise first.’ (1 Thessalonians 4:14-16).  It is the fulfilment of our hopes;  the fruit of our justification and the consequence of the Holy Spirit dwelling in us.

The resurrection of the just will be the consummation of our happiness; after having given life to our souls, He will give life to our bodies.   We never read in the word of God of glorified spirits, but always of glorified bodies.  There is the glory of God, and the glory of those who will be raised.

In the Lord’s answer to the Sadducees, He said, ‘They which shall be accounted worthy to obtain that world, and the resurrection from the dead, neither marry, nor are given in marriage:  neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels[5]; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection’. (Luke 20:36). This proves a resurrection which concerns the children of God alone – we have a title in sonship.

Conclusion

Darby concludes, ‘ The knowledge of this truth, by the power of Christ, will strengthen us in our hearts.  For this knowledge is that to which the scripture applies the word ‘perfection.’  (i.e. being fit, or qualified for an office).  Christ was thus made perfect as to His state and position before God; so we, ourselves, are now made perfect by faith.

‘May our bodies, souls, and spirits, be preserved blameless until the coming of our Well-beloved!  May the truth of the resurrection of the church become bound up, in our minds, with all the precious truths of our salvation.’

 

 

 

 

[1] νεκρῶν/nekron/Strong-3498 – this is plural so indicates ‘dead persons’; or as in Mark 9:9, – f’rom among the dead.

[2] In the expression ‘Brought life and immortality to light’ (2 Timothy. 1:10),  ‘immortality’ signifies the incorruptibility of the body and not the immortality of the soul.  The Saviour adds, ‘Neither can they die any more … for they are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection.’

It was just when the coming of Christ was denied in the church or at least began to be lost sight of, that the doctrine of the immortality of the soul came into displacing that of the resurrection about the time of Origen (d. c253).

[3] JND refers to this as ‘the resurrection of the church apart’

[4] Note that in scripture, as in Darby’s writings the term ‘resurrection of (or from among) the dead’ refers to Christians who have died in Christ – or who have fallen asleep, their resurrection is at the resurrection of the just, (or the resurrection of the church apart).

 

[5] Note they do not become angels, as some would teach.

Click on icon to download PDF

 

%d bloggers like this: