Social Network Links
Powered by Squarespace
Search the Riddleblog
"Amillennialism 101" -- Audio and On-Line Resources

 

Living in Light of Two Ages

____________________________

Monday
Feb252008

Who Said That?

question%20mark.jpg“They have church on TV down here [MLB Spring training in Florida], you don’t have to leave the couch.”

You know how this works, leave your guess in the comments section. 

Saturday
Feb232008

Now Hear This . . .

David%20VanDrunen.jpgIf you've got an hour or so, you simply gotta hear this lecture, which deals with two kingdoms and justification.

Dr. David VanDrunen was installed last week as the Robert B. Strimple Professor of Systematic Theology and Christian Ethics at Westminster Seminary California.  His inaugural address was entitled "The Two Kingdoms and the Ordo Salutis: Life Beyond Judgment and the Question of a Dual Ethic."    

You can find it here:  Click here: Westminster Seminary California newsevents.

Congrats are certainly in order to Dr. VanDrunen! 

Saturday
Feb232008

Anyone Interested in a URC in Las Vegas?

Las%20Vegas%202.jpg

Here's the scoop . . .

What does a Reformed Church believe? Please join us for an eight-week Bible study as we consider planting a Reformed Church in Las Vegas. Presented by Rev. Tom Morrison, pastor of High Desert United Reformed Church (URCNA) in Victorville, CA

Fridays, March 7–April 25, 2008
7:00-8:00 PM

Meeting at:
La Quinta Inn—Las Vegas Tropicana
4975 S Valley View Blvd.
Las Vegas, NV

For more information, see Pastor Morrison’s contact information on the High Desert United Reformed Church website.

Friday
Feb222008

"Truth, Error, and End Times" -- Part II of My Interview with Rev. Martin Downes

martindownes.jpgAs I mentioned, previously, I recently completed an interview on the subject of end times ("Truth, Error, and the End Times"), with Rev. Martin Downes, who is the pastor of Christ Church, North Wales (UK).

You can find part two of the interview here:  Click here: Against Heresies: Truth, Error, and the End Times: An interview with Kim Riddlebarger, part 2

Thanks again, Rev. Downes! 

Friday
Feb222008

Tonight's Academy Class

a%20case%20for%20amillennialism.jpg

I am continuing my series entitled "Amillennialism 101."  My second lecture is entitled "Interpreting Bible Prophecy" and deals with how our hermeneutical presuppositions influence the way we interpret prophetic passages. 

Throughout this series we will be setting forth the basic case for "Reformed Amillennialism."  For more information,  Click here: Christ Reformed Info - Schedule of Academy Classes and Author's Forums

Academy lectures begin at 7:30 p.m., are held at Christ Reformed Church in Anaheim, and are free of charge.   There is  a time for discussion, and refreshments are served.

Friday
Feb222008

Some Interesting Links on a Friday . . .

Links.jpgAn American helicopter made an emergency landing in Afghanistan.  Since it was carrying three US Senators, one of whom was John Kerry, no doubt, he'll demand another Purple Heart.  Click here: Senators in Emergency Landing.

What happens when Word-Faith pastors lack faith, or have unconfessed sin in their lives?  They have to sell of one of their jet airplanes.  I hate it when that happens!  Click here: wcco.com - Financial Woes Force Church To Sell Private Jet.

Man, I feel old enough as it is.   The peace sign is fifty years old?  Click here: Peace sign turns 50 tomorrow, man.  I can just hear the Chambers Brothers singing "Time," or the Grateful Dead singing "Touch of Grey."

The religion of peace is spreading good cheer and blessings again.  Click here: A Kinder, Gentler Shari'ah? | Christianity Today | A Magazine of Evangelical Conviction.

If my wife learns that she might find a 20 ft, 250 lb python, in her garden, we'll be moving to the mountains, or to Canada, or to Greenland.  Click here: USGS Release: USGS Maps Show Potential Non-Native Python Habitat Along Three U.S. Coasts (2/20/2008 10:45:00 AM)  

Thursday
Feb212008

The Canons of Dort, First Head of Doctrine, Article Twelve

Synod%20of%20Dort.jpgArticle 12: The Assurance of Election

Assurance of this their eternal and unchangeable election to salvation is given to the chosen in due time, though by various stages and in differing measure. Such assurance comes not by inquisitive searching into the hidden and deep things of God, but by noticing within themselves, with spiritual joy and holy delight, the unmistakable fruits of election pointed out in God's Word–such as a true faith in Christ, a childlike fear of God, a godly sorrow for their sins, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on.

__________________________________________

We now come to one of the most troubling aspects of the biblical teaching about election, and that is the question, “how do we know that we are numbered among the elect?”  Assurance of salvation is one point where the rubber hits the road for many struggling saints.  The authors of the Canons are careful to point out that “assurance...is given to the chosen in due time, though by various stages and in differing measure.”  Assurance of salvation is a struggle for some, and not at all for others.  Not all Christians have the assurance of their salvation at all times.   Yes, this is a difficult struggle for many.

The primary reason for a lack of assurance is human sinfulness.  Although we were chosen before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4), and we are called to faith in Christ at a particular point in time (Ephesians 1:13), and are then justified, and have the hope of heaven and glorification, the sinful nature is not eradicated until death (Romans 7:14-25; Galatians 5;17).  In fact, the sinful nature (the flesh) puts up a fierce struggle until we take our last breath, and finally enter into the presence of God.  When we are disobedient to God’s commands, or when we are indifferent to the things of the Lord, we may indeed feel God’s displeasure with us, and we may, for a time, question whether or not we are among the elect. 

Lest this be too big a burden for us to bear, we need to remind ourselves that a non-Christian never once worries about whether or not they are numbered among the elect!  Only a Christian regrets his or her actions, and feels what we call “the conviction of sin.”  In these cases, the law does its work, and the Spirit moves us to repent.  As every Christian knows, this is a very miserable place to be.

As Paul points out in Romans 7:14 ff., only the Christian desires to obey God’s law, and then struggles with his or her repeated inability to do so.  Only the Christian struggles with desiring to do what is right, and only the Christian desires to avoid doing what is wrong in the sense described by Paul.  Only the Christian feels this misery when we fail to do things we know that God requires of us.  According to Paul, this struggle is the normal Christian life!  Paradoxically, the fact that we struggle with sin is not a sign that we are not numbered among the elect.  Rather, it is just the opposite!  The struggle with sin is the sign that God is working in us to will and do of his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).  This is a struggle which a non-Christian never experiences.  Thankfully, God does not leave us where we are, he sanctifies us.  At times, his work within us can be an intense, and difficult struggle.  But it is his work.

A second reason we may lack the assurance of our salvation is to be found in the unbiblical teaching and false doctrine about the nature of the Christian life, which so many of us learned in our evangelical or Roman past.  In much of the evangelical world, assurance of salvation is often based upon performance, obedience, and external acts of piety.  If it was a good week, then we feel God’s favor.  If we have a good devotional time, if we witnessed to our co-worker, then we are doing just fine.  If it was a bad week, then we need to worry!  We have not let Jesus become Lord over every area of our lives, and we are not living in victory.  When this happens, we are told that we are in real trouble.  The voice in our head starts to tell us, “we might not be Christ’s . . . . If we were, we’d be doing better.”

At this point, the Canons pointedly remind us not to seek the assurance of our salvation in our own performance.  Instead, we must seek our assurance through those things taught in Scripture—“such as a true faith in Christ, a childlike fear of God, a godly sorrow for their sins, a hunger and thirst for righteousness, and so on.”  In other words, we are not to look within to find assurance of our salvation, but instead we are to look outside ourselves to the promises made in Scripture about the sufficiency of saving work of Christ.  God’s word says that Christ saves sinners, even the worst!  Do we believe that promise, regardless of our own performance?  That is where assurance begins–but not necessarily where it ends.

This is why the authors of the Canons direct us to those promises in the word which need to be repeatedly declared to us audibly by our minister, our elders, and fellow Christians.  When we lack assurance, we must learn to quickly run to the promises of Christ in his word. 

Our fear of failure--that we might eventually fall and come under the wrath of God--often manifests itself in displeasure at our own performance.  We take our failures as a sign that God hates us.  Ironically, our displeasure with our progress is actually a sign of God's favor toward us!  God is convicting us of our sin.  God is bringing his work in us to fruition.  But far too many times, we have this completely backwards.  We take our poor performance in the Christian life as a sign that we are not elect, when, in fact, our sorrow over our poor performance, is actually a sign that we are among the elect!  No non-Christian has ever experienced this struggle.  No non-Christian ever worried about this.   But every Christian struggles with sin.

Let us not forget that the closer we grow to God, and the more we know his word, the more dissatisfied we may be with our present level of sanctification.  Not one of those whom God passes over and leaves in their sin will ever worry about their level of sanctification.  Are we sorrowful at our sins?  Do we hunger and thirst for righteousness?  These, too, are signs of assurance, not signs of God's wrath toward us.

Another reason why so many lack assurance, is because we are looking for it in all the wrong places!  When we seek assurance of our salvation in our feelings and opinions, our religious experience, our performance, we are setting ourselves up for a gigantic disappointment.  God does not promise to give us assurance through these things.  Rather, he gives us assurance through his word and sacraments.  Through these means of grace, God’s Spirit bears powerful witness to us that we are the children of God. 

But how does he do this?  He does this through the promise of forgiveness of sins given in his word, and through the strengthening of our faith given to us through the sacraments.  Through the promise of the gospel, and through water, wine, and bread, God promises us that we are his.  Yet, if we fail to take avail of the means of grace that God has graciously given to us, of course, we will suffer, and the loss of assurance is one of the first things that may go, especially if we we start looking for assurance in the wrong place--i.e., our own obedience or performance.

At the end of the day, how do we know that we are among the elect?  The answer is simple.  Do you believe the promise in Scripture that Christ saves sinners, even the worst?  Do you believe that Christ's death can even save you?  Are you unhappy with your present level of sanctification?  Are you sorry for your sins? 

If you can answer these questions with a “yes,” then take heart, for you are certainly numbered among the elect!

Thursday
Feb212008

Blown Away! Literally and Metaphorically!

Aegis%20Cruiser.jpgI don't know about you, but this sure makes me proud to be an American! 

Hitting an object the size of a school bus, which is moving @ 17,000 mph while orbiting the earth, with a missile launched from a ship in the North Pacific, from 130 miles away?  This is absolutely amazing!

Throughout the years, I've known a lot of guys who work in the defense/aerospace industry.  You guys should all take pride in this one.

Click here: Navy Scores Direct Hit on Spy Satellite

Thursday
Feb212008

"Truth, Error, and End Times" -- My Interview with Rev. Martin Downes

martindownes.jpgI recently participated in another interview on the subject of end times ("Truth, Error, and the End Times"), this time with Rev. Martin Downes, who is the pastor of Christ Church, North Wales (UK).

You can find the interview here:   Click here: Against Heresies: Truth, Errors, and the End Times: An interview with Kim Riddlebarger, part 1.  While you are there, be sure to check out the rest of Rev. Downes' stellar blog. 

Thanks, Rev. Downes!  

Wednesday
Feb202008

Eschatology Q & A -- Discerning the Signs of the End

eschatology%20q%20and%20a.jpgNick asks (February 17, 2008):  

Dr. Riddlebarger:  How do we/should we discern the times without either, falling into error,(as the cults or some eschatological schemes) or becoming complacent or paranoid and so avoid deception?


______________________________________

Nick:

Another great question.  Before I tackle it, let me just say, "OK, I know that some of you are thinking, at last, a practical question!”  Actually, I think most questions dealing with eschatology are quite practical.  But thanks Nick, for asking us to deal with a very important and practical matter.  "How do we discern the signs of the times?"

The place to start is with the biblical boundaries.  Let me say from the outset that  Jesus is crystal clear that no one knows the day and hour of his return (Matthew 24:36).  So, whenever anyone sets a date and claims to have figured out when and how Jesus will return, we can almost be certain that will be the one date upon which the Lord will not return.  (Are you getting that Harold Camping?  No, of course not).  

Yet, in the very same discourse when Jesus tells us that we cannot know when he is coming back, Jesus gives his disciples a whole list of signs of the end in response to a series of questions they have put to him.  Jesus does this to make a very important point.  

First, Jesus warns his disciples to be on guard for false teachers who will deceive the people of God.  This warning is very much like that given to the church by John regarding that series of antichrists who will come and deny that Jesus is God in human flesh (1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 1:7).  The presence of false teachers is a sign of the end, and they will be present with us until Christ returns.  The very fact that Jesus warns us of this means that we cannot be complacent about orthodoxy.  The church will always be under attack from within by those who will attempt to draw followers unto themselves, and away from Christ.  In this case, the presence of the sign (false teachers), carries with it the warning to be diligent (oppose them with the truth).  

But Jesus also warns the disciples of great upheaval among the nations.  “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars.”  Furthermore, he tells us that there will be famines and earthquakes, which Jesus describes as birth pains (Matthew 24:8).  I believe that these signs of the end, which began in the lifetime of his apostles, will continue until our Lord’s return (cf., Hagner, Matthew 14-28, Word Biblical Commentary, 33B, 692).  Since Jesus speaks of these signs as birth pains, I take him to mean that there will intermittent periods of turmoil and peace and then when the tumult reaches its zenith, our Lord will suddenly return.  This means that it will be nearly impossible to figure out when Jesus will return, because a time of great tumult and distress for the people of God, might be followed by a period of great blessing.

But why would Jesus speak of those signs which precede his coming, and then in the parables of Matthew 25, tell us that his coming will be delayed (Matthew 25:5)?  Here, the implication is that Jesus’ coming is off in the distant future.  The reason is simple.  Wars and rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, and false teachers will be present the entire time from our Lord’s death and resurrection until his Second Advent.  The signs of the end are exactly that.  When we see them, we know our Lord will return.  But as Jesus told his disciples, “
the bridegroom was delayed,” so that God’s people must keep watch (Matthew 25:5; 13), because they do not know the day or the hour of our Lord’s return.

In other words, the signs of the end are the guarantee that our Lord will come again.  But these signs are like birth pains, so there will be alternating times of trouble and peace, increasing in intensity before the end.  Our inability to know when the Lord will return becomes the incentive to watch and wait in expectation.  The tension between signs which precede our Lord’s return and the suddenness of his coming is certainly deliberate.  Our Lord’s warning to keep watch means that we cannot set dates, and the signs of the end warn us not to be idle before that day comes.  There is much to do.  As Luther once said, “even if I knew that tomorrow the world would go to pieces, I would still plant my apple tree.”

Adding to Jesus’ teaching on this, we have Paul’s discussion of the mysterious man of sin in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12.  Paul speaks of a principle of evil which was already present when he wrote this epistle (vv. 6-7).  Paul also speaks of a mysterious restrainer, who keeps this evil in check until being taken out of the way (v. 7) when the end is finally at hand (v. 8).  At that point, the man of sin (whose appearance is tied to a great apostasy, v. 3), is revealed, so that he might be destroyed on the day of judgment.  This passage is very similar to what John describes in verses 7-10, of Revelation 20.  When Satan is released from the abyss, the nations are again deceived, and then revolt against Christ and his church, only to be destroyed at the Lord’s coming.

All of that is to say, the signs may all be present, but God’s time for Christ to return is not yet.  Remember, the entire Reformed tradition saw in the papacy and in the geo-political events of the late sixteenth-early seventeenth century, all of the signs of the end.  They were right.  All the signs were there!  But the preaching of the gospel (the restraining power) kept Rome in check, and after the days of Cromwell and the restoration of the Stuart monarchy, the gospel flourished for a time and postmillennial expectations became commonplace.  

That is why we must be very careful to keep the proper perspective on these things.  When we identify the signs of the end, we have every reason to hope that our redemption draws nigh.  But with Luther, we plant that apple tree knowing that only our Father in heaven knows the date of Jesus’ return!