A son’s tribute

Part 1: Our Father: Avinu Shebashamayim

A much-neglected name of God

Amidst threats of hell and terror on all sides, heaven awaits those who trust in the Lord!

Simon Pease reviews ‘The Unseen Realm’ by Michael Heiser (Lexham Press, 2015).

In this extensively researched book, Dr Michael Heiser tackles the ambitious subject of explaining the entire biblical narrative in terms of the supernatural realm. Seeking to do so from the theological and cultural perspective of the original authors, he offers insights which have largely been overlooked by mainstream Christianity, stimulating interest in a neglected field of study.

According to Heiser, God has a “divine council” (Psa 82:1) of spiritual beings (elohim in Hebrew) who rule with him and are superior to the angels (who serve as messengers). God’s intention was always for his divine family to be mirrored on earth and for the two to live in harmony. The Bible charts the history of rebellion within this ‘divine council’, the corruption of humanity and God’s unfolding plan of salvation and ultimate triumph.

Thought-provoking Conclusions

Within this narrative, Heiser presents many thought-provoking, perhaps controversial conclusions. For example, he suggests that the serpent in the Genesis Creation account was a powerful spiritual being, not a literal animal.

He claims that humanity’s rebellion against God at the Tower of Babel provoked the Lord to split mankind into nations and subject them to the rule of the rebellious elohim, ‘disinheriting’ them and choosing to start afresh with Israel.

Dr Michael Heiser tackles the ambitious subject of explaining the entire biblical narrative in terms of the supernatural realm.

Joshua’s military campaign in Canaan was, in Heiser’s view, targeted specifically at eradicating the anakim, the surviving giant offspring of the union between elohim (the ‘sons of God’, Genesis 6) and women which started at Mt Hermon. As a result of this union, God’s spiritual ground had to be reclaimed, which is why Jesus was transfigured on this same mountain – in which vicinity he also described his followers’ mission as an assault on the “gates of Hell” (Matt 16:18).

Similarly, Jesus sending out the 70, the traditional number of nations in Jewish religious belief, signified the commencement of reclaiming the nations for Yahweh.

A Systematic Theology

At just over 400 pages, this is a big book in every way. Heiser holds a PhD in Hebrew Bible and Semitic languages and is the academic editor for Logos Bible Software, but succeeds in making his research accessible to scholars and lay-people alike. Always keeping his overall theme in view, he builds his case in clear and logical steps, breaking down his message into groups of short chapters, each followed by a section summary, and assigning more academic content and references to footnotes.

The book proceeds chronologically and is split into eight parts. The first three establish Heiser’s overall view about God’s ‘divine council’ and the way the supernatural realm is structured, particularly with regard to Creation and the Fall. The second three sections consider the Old Testament narrative, from the calling of Abraham through to the Babylonian exile. The final two sections look at the New Covenant and the situation for believers today, including Heiser’s own interpretation of the end times.

Altogether, the book amounts to a systematic theology of the supernatural - and Jesus features prominently throughout (including in earlier chapters through his pre-incarnate appearances).

Some Problems

Heiser’s basic approach, outlined in the introductory chapters and epilogue, is to allow Scripture to speak for itself. He takes Zechariah’s prophecy of Jesus returning to fight at Jerusalem literally, and believes Armageddon is actually a reference to the city. However, these interpretations are perhaps surprising in light of his statement that not all prophecy is to be taken literally – as well as his apparent commitment to Replacement Theology.

According to Heiser, God has a “divine council” (Psa 82:1) of spiritual beings who rule with him.

For instance, he says that the “sordid” history (p216) of Israel (the Jews) has ended in “release” (p159), and that God’s eternal promise to Jacob concerning the Land is fulfilled by Jewish and Gentile conversion to Messiah. Heiser asserts that believers are now the “true Israel” (p158), meaning that Romans 11:28, which states that “all Israel will be saved”, can be interpreted in terms of the Church. His idea that Jesus’ incarnation and sacrificial death were only necessary because of Jewish failure to establish God’s kingdom on earth is more concerning.

Eye-opening Overview

Notwithstanding these points, the book contains much valuable and eye-opening material, providing a generally coherent and helpful overview of a complex subject and bringing to the fore the idea of God’s ‘divine council’ and its importance to the entire meta-narrative of Scripture.

Heiser is to be commended for the sheer scale and thoroughness of his research – the book includes a 12-page index of Scripture references. For the less ambitious reader, he has published Supernatural, a shorter version which he describes as including practical applications.

The author’s claims, though not always comfortable, deserve attention; The Unseen Realm will undoubtedly prompt widespread debate for years to come.

‘The Unseen Realm: Recovering the Supernatural Worldview of the Bible’ (hardcover, e-book, audiobook, 413pp) is available on Amazon for £17.99 (hardcover). Find out more on the book’s companion website: www.moreunseenrealm.com.

A study on eternal judgment.

In our final article on the basic principles of Hebrews 6, Campbell MacAlpine turns to the subject of eternal judgment.

We now come to the last of the six truths which should be absorbed into our lives if we are going to continually advance to maturity. We considered in the previous two articles the glorious prospect and hope for the Christian who dies before Jesus returns. However, as well as a resurrection of the just, there is also a resurrection of the unjust. As well as salvation, there is condemnation; as well as heaven there is hell; as well as there being eternal bliss, there is also eternal judgment.

Why should this teaching be so important? How should it affect our lives? There are various answers:

• We should be continually grateful to God that he ever saved us. Daily we should be thankful for his mercy to us, and that he has “delivered us from wrath to come”. “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him” (Rom 5:89).
  
• We should continually desire to see people saved. The truth is that man without Christ is lost, and lost forever. We are called to be signposts to Jesus, to intercede for the lost, and to be available to bring the good news of the Gospel so that people can be saved from eternal judgment. As the old hymn puts it, “Rescue the perishing, care for the dying.”
  
• We should present the truth of the Gospel. Paul could boldly declare, “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew; then for the Gentile. For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith’. The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness” (Rom 1:16-18).

Paul states that the Gospel reveals two things: the righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

The Righteousness of God

First, the Gospel reveals that for man, who is totally unrighteous and can do nothing to make himself righteous, Christ's righteousness has been imputed to him when he believes in the Lord Jesus. “There is no-one righteous, not even one” (Rom 3:10); “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21) and “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5).

Paul states that the Gospel reveals two things: the righteousness of God and the wrath of God.

What a powerful, life-changing message is contained in the Gospel. How gracious of God to pronounce a ‘not guilty’ verdict on us when we came to him. How merciful of him to look upon us as righteous because on the Cross Jesus took our unrighteousness.

The Wrath of God

The second thing the Gospel reveals is God’s wrath; his holy and just anger against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. “Your throne, O God, will last for ever and ever, and righteousness will be the sceptre of your kingdom. You have loved righteousness and hated wickedness; therefore God, your God, has set you above your companions by anointing you with the oil of joy” (Heb 1:8-9).

How is the wrath of God revealed?

• It is revealed in man’s conscience. If a man does something wrong, he knows it, and although he may not agree, knows his wrong deserves punishment. Therefore, his first impulse is to hide his sin.
  
• God’s wrath is revealed in history when Adam and Eve were cast out of the Garden of Eden. The wickedness of mankind increased and increased, until God in his holy justice had to intervene and everyone was destroyed when the Flood came, with the exception of eight people who were saved in the ark. God’s wrath on cities rife with immorality was revealed in Sodom and Gomorrah.
  
• As well as nations and cities, God's wrath against all ungodliness has been revealed in his judgments on individuals such as King Belshazzar, Korah, Gehazi, King Uzziah, King Herod, Ananias and Sapphira and the Corinthian believers failing to discern the Lord's Body during communion.
  
• God’s wrath is revealed in death. Satan lied to our first parents and assured them that if they disobeyed God they would not suffer – “you will not surely die” he whispered to them. “By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin.” Every time we pass a cemetery, or see a funeral, or read an obituary, we need to remember that the word of God declares, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom 6:23).
  
• However, the greatest revelation of God's wrath against sin is seen at the Cross. There we see what it cost the Lord Jesus, sinless, holy, spotless, pure, taking the punishment for our sins, taking the judgment, taking the wrath, that we might become the righteousness of God in him. Hallelujah, what a Saviour! “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).

The greatest revelation of God’s wrath against sin is seen at the Cross.

Importance of Warning

There are two essential contents of good teaching. One is feeding, and the other is warning. When you study the ministry of the Lord Jesus you find that his teaching was punctuated by warnings. “Watch out for false prophets”; “Be on your guard against men”; “Watch out! be on your guard against all kinds of greed.”

You also find this content in the teaching of Paul and the other Apostles. When Paul was visiting the leaders in Ephesus for the last time he exhorted them to “Keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers”. Then he said, “…for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears” (Acts 20:28, 31).

So it is with the message of the Gospel. There is the proclamation and teaching of its glorious message which is “the power of God unto salvation.” It brings the wonderful invitation “whosoever will may come”, although the late Dr Tozer, in one of his wonderful writings, said the Gospel is not an invitation but an ultimatum: “God commandeth all men everywhere to repent.”

However, the message also brings a warning. The verse that says, “Whoever believes in him is not condemned”, is the same verse that says, “whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son” (John 3:18).

We do not seem to hear much warning today. When did you last hear a sermon on hell, or the wrath of God, or eternal punishment? I am not speaking about preachers taking delight in dangling their congregations over the hot flames or hell to try and scare them into the Kingdom of God. In years gone by that kind of preaching seemed to be quite prevalent. However, I think the pendulum has swung in the other direction.

Years ago I asked God never to allow me to preach about judgment unless my heart was filled with his love for the lost. In his faithfulness he has answered that prayer, sometimes causing others embarrassment. Although I have not been embarrassed, I have had to pause and weep.

In the same way that we cannot fully anticipate the joy awaiting the Christian, neither can we understand the desperate loss for those who reject the message of his love and grace. At a conference in Belgium some years ago, I sat next to a lady from a Middle Eastern country one lunch-time. In conversation I asked her how she came to know the Lord Jesus. She told me it was the result of a dream. She dreamt that she was in hell and described some terrors and horrors that were shown her. One thing that so impressed her was that there was fire but there was no light. She never rested until she came to the place of yielding her life to Christ. Yes, the message speaks of the righteousness of God, and the wrath of God.

In the same way that we cannot fully anticipate the joy awaiting the Christian, neither can we understand the desperate loss for those who reject the message of his love and grace.

What Then is Eternal Punishment?

There is no need to conjure up some human description or pass one’s personal opinion. The safest thing to do is simply take what the word of God says. Eternal punishment is:

• Eternal separation from God: “This will happen when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven in blazing fire with his powerful angels. He will punish those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will be punished with everlasting destruction and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the majesty of his power” (2 Thess 1:7-9).
• Being in the company of the devil and his angels: “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” (Matt 25:41).
• Darkness and sorrow: They “will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt 8:12).
• Everlasting shame: “Multitudes who sleep in the dust of the earth will awake; some to everlasting life, others to shame and everlasting contempt” (Dan 12:2).
• A place of no return: Jesus gave one of the most revealing insights when he told the story in Luke 16, of the rich man and Lazarus. To the rich man who lived without God, and died without God, he said, “And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us” (Luke 16:26).

Who Will Be There?

Those who do not believe in the Lord Jesus: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him” (John 3:36). “If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire” (Rev 20:15). “But the cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practise magic arts, the idolaters and all liars - their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulphur. This is the second death” (Rev 21:8).

In the light of this sobering truth it is good to know that God does not want “anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Pet 3:9). How great is the love and grace of God in sending the Lord Jesus to die and rise again that we might be delivered from wrath to come. What confidence we can have in the Gospel. It is the power of God for salvation to all who will believe it. So let us be thankful for his salvation and his keeping power. Let us proclaim the good news of a Saviour, and let us go on to maturity.

Therefore, leaving the discussion of the elementary principles of Christ, let us go on to perfection, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God, of the doctrine of baptism, of laying on of hands, of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgment (Heb 6:1, NKJV).

Let us take as our resolve the words of the next verse, “This will we do…”

Questions

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is an invitation, and also a warning. Why is the warning so important?
   
2. Why is it, do you think, that so little is preached about God’s wrath?
3. How will this teaching affect your life in the future?
4. Why do you think that Jesus preached more about hell than anyone else?

This article is part of a series. Click here for previous instalments.

Charles Gardner reviews RT Kendall’s new book.

‘Whatever happened to the Gospel?’ is a question I have been asking for some time. And it is now the title of a brilliant new book by much-loved author and preacher RT Kendall, published by Charisma House.

In a very timely expose of the superficiality and error of much of Western Christianity, RT (short for Robert Tillman) attempts to rouse the Church from its slumbers with a passionate wake-up call.

Eternity Matters

Wielding his sharp, perceptive pen with the skill of a writer very much in tune with the Bible’s Author, he shows how the fear of God has been largely lost, with heaven and hell hardly ever mentioned from the pulpit.

John the Baptist, who prepared the way for the ministry of Jesus, spoke of the “wrath to come” when people flocked from miles around to hear him.

The neglect of preaching on hell, in particular, has lulled generations of believers and would-be Christians into a false sense of security, and to a lack of urgency in proclaiming the Gospel to a dying world.

This is a timely expose of the superficiality and error of much of Western Christianity.

We are too often allowed to bask in the sunshine of our Western comfort and prosperity with teaching about making the most of life in the here-and-now, rather than urgent calls to rescue those in danger of perishing in eternal fire.

After all, RT argues, “God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish, but have eternal life” – the words of Jesus himself (John 3:16, my emphasis added). It’s surely a matter of everlasting life or death. The wrath of God is coming upon all ungodliness and wickedness, and the only way of escape is through the blood of Jesus. This is the Gospel – not health and wealth, prosperity, social outreach or even happiness on this earth.

Not Ashamed

It’s a thrilling read – punchy, shocking, beautifully written, honest and full of fascinating anecdotes. The author is not afraid to tell stories against himself; he owns up to having made many mistakes but, as he says, he would stake his life on the truth expounded in this volume.

The Church urgently needs to rediscover the main thing!

I am greatly indebted to friends from London who sent me a copy, but not before travelling across the capital to get RT to sign it. Alongside his signature, he noted down the Bible reference Romans 1:16, which says: “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes; first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.”

‘Whatever Happened to the Gospel’ (240pp) is available on Amazon and elsewhere online, in paperback, Kindle and audio forms.

Please note that a review from Prophecy Today UK concerns the book only: in no way does it constitute support for official book endorsers such as shown on the image above.

Paul Luckraft reviews ‘A New Heaven and a New Earth’ by J Richard Middleton (Baker Academic, 2014).

In writing this book, the author has performed a great service for scholars, clergy and lay people alike, by providing a comprehensive analysis of what the Bible teaches on the final destiny of the redeemed.  

Middleton’s contention is that the traditional view that we ‘die and go to heaven’ does not have its origin in the biblical texts rather it comes from the Greek thinking that permeated Christian doctrine from the 2^nd Century onwards. His aim is to replace this error with the more Hebraic understanding of how God’s plan to redeem the whole of Creation culminates in a new heaven and a new earth.

Accessible Theology

After a preface and an excellent opening chapter which serves as an introduction, the book divides into five parts containing a further 11 chapters. The book concludes with a substantial appendix entitled ‘Whatever happened to the new earth?’ in which the author attempts a historical review of how the biblical teaching of a redeemed cosmos had to battle against other views which emerged during the course of Christian history, views which promoted an eternal bodiless existence in an ethereal realm.

Finally, the book is well indexed both in terms of subjects and scriptures.

The first part, ‘From Creation to Eschaton’, sets up the plot of the biblical story, and is followed by a sections on ‘Holistic Salvation in the Old Testament’ and ‘The New Testament’s Vision of Cosmic Renewal’. Don’t be put off by these rather theological titles. There is nothing stuffy or overly academic in the way he writes.

Middleton’s contention is that the traditional view that we ‘die and go to heaven’ does not have its origin in the biblical texts.

Part 4 examines ‘Problem Texts for Holistic Eschatology’ before in the final part, ‘The Ethics of the Kingdom’, the author basically asks ‘So what?’ How does this make a difference to the individual Christian life and the way the Church should operate in the world today?

Separating Truth from Myth

The author is a lecturer and professor of theology, but his writing style suggests he is more than capable of putting things across in a way that is accessible to anyone keen to listen and learn.

He tells in an amusing way how he frequently offers a monetary reward to anyone in his classes who can “find even one passage in the New Testament that clearly said Christians would live in heaven forever or that heaven was the final home of the righteous” (p14). He is happy to report that he still has all his money. “No one has ever produced such a text, because there simply are none in the Bible” (p14).

For the author the key question is, “Where, then, did the idea of ‘going to heaven’ come from? And how did this otherworldly destiny displace the biblical teaching of the renewal of the earth and end up dominating popular Christian eschatology?” (p30).

The answer, he suggests, lies in the innovative teaching of Plato in the late 5^th and early 4^th Centuries BC. This Gnostic emphasis on ‘physical bad, spiritual good’ laid the foundation for redemption being simply an escape policy from a material existence into an other-worldly ‘heaven’.

One eye-opening section of the book makes us realise how our Christian songs (hymns, carols and modern choruses) have, perhaps unwittingly, endorsed this. Wesley’s Love Divine, All Loves Excelling tells us we will be “Changed from glory into glory, Till in heaven we take our place”. In one of our favourite carols, Away in a Manger, we sing “And fit us for Heaven, to live with Thee there”.

It was Plato who laid the foundation for redemption being simply an escape policy from a material existence into an other-worldly ‘heaven’.

What Happens When We Die?

The author does take seriously the question of whether we go to heaven temporarily once we die. He asserts that the hope of a period of blessedness while awaiting our new bodies does not contradict the final hope of being part of a restored cosmos.

He also tackles the thorny question of the rapture, cutting through the speculation and confusion of more recent times and providing a simple explanation of what it meant in biblical times.

Overall there is much in this book to commend. It promotes a view of God who is committed to his original plan and its full restoration. It shows how eternity in a new body, in a new heaven and a new earth, is a better hope to live for, a better future to move toward, and a better Gospel to proclaim.

The author’s exegesis of Biblical passages is sound and compelling. The result of his considerable labours is a resource that will inform, inspire and correct. Highly commended.

A New Heaven and a New Earth: Reclaiming Biblical Eschatology (332 pages, paperback) is available on Amazon for £11.42. Also on Kindle.