Grace Journal 5.2
(Spring 1964) 3-9.
[Copyright © 1964
Grace Theological Seminary; cited with permission;
digitally prepared for use at
Gordon and
GOD'S MESSAGE TO MAN THROUGH THE PROPHETS
THE COMMANDING IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES
CHARLES L. FEINBERG
Dean and Professor of
Semitics and Old Testament
Talbot Theological
Seminary
The fact that for many centuries the
study of eschatology suffered immeasurably
from those who held and enthusiastically propagated
extreme and wild notions
concerning the future, should not blind our eyes to
the importance of eschatology.
It
is a matter of common agreement between both the Church and the world that we
are living in perplexing times. It is not
surprising to find that, although the greatest
minds of the world are engaged with the state of
world affairs, they have been able
to come to no final nor satisfying conclusion as
to either the cause of or the cure for
present conditions.
The rank and file of the world are interested only as their own lives are touched
by these circumstances, and, sadly enough, many
untaught Christians are to be found
in this group. The latter ask: "Why worry
about present conditions or future events?
If
we live for Christ and testify for Him here and now, He will take care of the
rest."
Is
it, then, merely a fancy on the part of some Christians to find out something
not
meant for them, when they seek to learn the things
that lie ahead? We think not for
several reasons.
It was the Dutch theologian van Oosterzee who succinctly wrote: "All true
Theology
is at the same time Teleology, which must of itself lead to Eschatology."
From
a general examination of the Word of God it will be found that there are
seventeen books strictly prophetic in the Old
Testament, besides the many portions
of eschatological import in other books. Further
study will reveal that fully one quarter
of the Bible is prophecy, which rightly includes
all that was predictive at the time of
its utterance. With such a large place given to
eschatology in the Word by the Spirit,
it not only deserves, but commands our faithful
and prayerful study. It certainly was
never in the purpose of God that such a large portion
of His Word should be neglected.
But if possible, the believer of this age has
more reason to be interested in
prophecy and its themes than ever before, because
it is one of the purposes for which
Christ
sent the Spirit into the world. The Scriptures reveal an eightfold ministry of
the
Spirit in this age. He restrains evil in
the world; He is said to reprove the world of sin,
righteousness, and judgment; it is
through His agency that regeneration is effected;
He
dwells in every believer who becomes a temple of the Holy Spirit by faith in
Christ;
it is His office work to baptize all believers into the body of Christ; the
Spirit
of God seals every believer, Himself being the
seal;
3
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the obedient and yielded believer is filled with
the Spirit; and the Holy Spirit guides into
truth.
It is with this last phase of the Spirit's
ministry that we are here particularly
interested. John in writing to believers reminds
them that the anointing they have
received of God abides in them, so that they have
no need that man should instruct
them. The anointing suffices to teach all things.
Moreover, before His departure from
this world the Lord Jesus in the upper room
discourse recorded by John, declared to
His
disciples that, although He had been with them for some time, there were yet
many
things which they could not bear at that time. But,
they are told, when the Spirit of
truth comes into the world, He will guide into all
truth and will show (lit. disclose)
them "things to come." With the Spirit
present and willing to teach us, we ought to
be willing to listen to His teaching.
Eschatology is of inestimable value and
importance, furthermore, because of
the testimony it yields to the omniscience and
omnipotence of our God. When Isaiah
was exhorting
the gods of
land, he pointed out among other things that the
gods of heathen
incapable of showing and declaring; future events
to prove their claim to worship.
But,
on the other hand, the true God can say, "Before they spring forth I tell
you
of them " (Isa.
42:9). Again and again God is represented by the prophet as saying,
"Yea,
I have spoken it, I will also bring it to pass; I have purposed it, I will also
do
it" (Isa. 46:11).
Another reason for the significance attached to
eschatology is that it is an
indispensable ally of a normal
Christian walk and service. As in former times, much
is heard these days in religious circles, of the
great task lying before the Church of
bringing in the kingdom. Such energy is misdirected, and were better
utilized along
lines consonant with the eternal purposes of God in
Christ Jesus for this present age.
Others
are laboring in the Church to make the world a better place in which to live,
to
mitigate as far as possible the line of cleavage
and separation between the Church and
the world. The result is a Satanic
social gospel and a situation in which the Church is
to be found in the world and the world in the
Church. Eschatology furnishes the answer
to the question as to the work of the believer in
this age.
But there is more than this. A knowledge of
prophecy, particularly of the
imminent return of the Lord, is conducive to a
proper Christian walk. Values are
seen in their relative importance. There is not a
dissipating of purpose and energy
between the things of this world and those of
heaven. A wise teacher once attributed
the suffering and misery of man to the fact that he
has one foot in the finite and one
in the infinite, with the result that he is torn
asunder between two worlds. Many Christians
are attempting to walk with Christ, while they
consort with the world. The cause is often
to be found in their lack of knowledge of
prophetic things, which would have a strong
tendency to draw their eyes from the things of
this world, and to fix them upon Christ
and His future purposes.
Quite a substantial benefit that accrues to
those who study the prophetic
word is that of comfort. When believers at
Thessalonica were mourning for their
loved ones as those who
THE COMMANDING IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES 5
have no hope, Paul directs their attention to one
eschatological event in the possibly near
future. At another time when these same Christians are
perplexed as to the meaning of
their present sufferings in the faith, Paul points
out to them clearly and convincingly that
their fears are unfounded, and that they do well to
rest in the security which God has
provided for them in a coming day. And it has
ever been thus. Church history recounts
time and again instances where groups during the
Middle Ages found comfort and
consolation in the contemplation of the millennial
hope, notwithstanding the fact that
most of the time their conceptions were grossly
materialistic. Assuredly, he spoke wisely
who aptly said, "Only he who knows prophecy
can dwell in the calm of eternity now."
Probably the most cogent reason for the
importance of eschatological study is to
be seen in the position or place of the present
age. In his valuable work, The Progress
of
Dogma, James Orr shows with
his usual ability and clarity that Christian doctrine has not
only a chronological development, but a logical one
as well. For instance, it follows the
accepted lines of systematic theology: first, Bibliology (the fixing and defining of the
canon of Scripture); then, Theology Proper (Arian,
Nestorian, Eutychian, Monophysite,
and Monothelite
controversies); then, anthropology (Pelagian
controversy); and so on.
Has it ever struck you, then.
. . what a singular parallel there is be-
tween the historical course
of dogma, on the one hand, and the scientific
order of the textbooks on
systematic theology on the other? The history of
dogma. . . is simply the
system of theology spread out through the cen-
turies--theology, as Plato
would say, "writ large"--and this not only as re-
gards its general
subject-matter, but even as respects the definite succes-
sion of its parts. The
temporal and logical order correspond. The articu-
lation of the system in your
textbooks is the very articulation of the system
in its development in
history. Take, for example, any accredited theologi-
cal textbook, and observe
the order of its treatment. What we ordinarily
find is something like this.
Its opening sections are probably occupied with
matters of Theological
Prolegomena--with apologetics, the general idea of
religion, revelation, the
relation of faith to reason, Holy Scripture, and the
like. Then follow the great
divisions of the theological system--Theology
proper, or the doctrine of
God; Anthropology, or the doctrine of man, in-
cluding sin (sometimes a
separate division); Christology, or the doctrine of
the Person of Christ; Soteriology (objective), or the doctrine of the work of
Christ, especially the (p. 22) Atonement;
Subjective Soteriology, or the doc-
trine of the application of
redemption (Justification, Regeneration, etc.);
finally, Eschatology, or the
doctrine of the last things. If now, planting
yourself at the close of the
Apostolic Age, you cast your eye down the
course of the succeeding centuries,
you find, taking as an easy guide the
great historical
controversies of the Church, that what you have is simply
the projection of this
logical system on the vast temporal screen.1
What
now shall I say of the remaining branch of the theological system, the
Eschatological? An Eschatology, indeed,
there was in the early Church,
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but it was not
theologically conceived; and a Mythical Eschatology there was
in the Mediaeval
Church--an Eschatology of Heaven, Hell, and Purgatory
. . . But the Reformation swept this away, and,
with its sharply contrasted
states of bliss and woe, can
hardly be said to have put anything in its place,
or even to have faced very
distinctly the difficulties of the problem, as
these force themselves upon
the modern mind, with its larger outlook on
the ways of God and
providence. Probably I am not mistaken in thinking that
. . . the modern mind
has given itself with special earnestness to eschato-
logical questions, moved
thereto, perhaps, by the solemn impression that
on it the ends of the
world have come, and that some great crisis in the
history of human affairs is
approaching.2
Such
has been the case until now there are before the minds of men who
Scriptures, the great themes of predictive
prophecy as never before.
The prophet Daniel was told at the end of his
prophecy to close up and seal the
words until the time of the end (12:9). The time of
the end is, according to verse 4, to
be characterized by two features. Many will run to
and fro, and knowledge will be
increased. It has been suggested that the prophet
is foretelling the tremendous increase
in travel and communication, and the growth in
knowledge, which are so characteristic
of this century. We are inclined to believe,
however, that the meaning of the prophet
is otherwise. Our interpretation of the passage on
the basis of the Hebrew is: the time
of the end is to be characterized by the perusal
of the contents of the prophecy of
Daniel
(other prophecies are not necessarily excluded, because they would aid in the
interpretation and understanding of
this prophecy), and the knowledge of the contents
of the Book of Daniel will be increased. Such is
the case today, and is ample reason
that, since we are in the time of the end, much
emphasis should replaced upon eschatology.
Since there are so many reasons that can be
brought forth in favor of the
necessity and significance of prophetic study, one
would expect that eschatology would
hold a prime place works of theologies and in the
curricula of theological seminaries. But,
despite what we have said in regard to the
increase in prophetic study in recent times,
eschatology remains a much neglected field of
theological study and research.
Furthermore, there is distinct peril in
neglecting the study of prophecy.
prophecy results in:
DISOBEDIENCE TO THE
LORD'S WILL
To
neglect prophecy is to neglect large segments of the Word of God which we are
com-
manded to preach in its
entirety (II Tim. 4:1-4). In preaching Christ we must preach
prophecy (Rev. 19:10). Prophetic truth throws
light on all the other doctrines of the
faith. Prophecy is part of the ministry of warning
(II Tim.
the ministry of comfort (I Thess.
prophecy is to fail to heed: the charge to hearken to the prophetic
Scriptures as a
light in a dark place (II Pet.
only, cause of
THE
COMMANDING IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES 7
A minister once went from a town into the
backwoods to preach to the settlers,
and had "to return at night, when it was very
dark. A backwoodsman provided him
with a torch of pitch-pine wood. The minister, who
had never seen anything like it,
said, "It will soon burn "out."
"It will light you home,” said the other. "The wind will
blow it out,” said the preacher. "It will light
you home," was the answer again. "But
what if it should rain?” "It will light you
home, " was the answer again. Contrary to
the minister's fears, the little torch gave ample
light all the way home. God's prophetic
light is sufficient to light our pathway home to
glory.
DISREGARD OF PROOF OF THE BIBLE'S DIVINE
INSPIRATION
Read such passages as Isa.
45:21; 41:21-23; 46:9-13; Dan. 2:47; and II Pet.
1:20-21.
God alone can predict; prediction is a miracle of utterance. These texts
settle for all time the truth that the Bible is
inspired of God. Prophecy is a confirmation
of divine omniscience and omnipotence--His word
relative to
No
movement of world importance, but what the Word has predicted it long
beforehand:
world conflicts; spiritual declension; rise of
dictatorships; widespread fears and calamities.
ALTERATION OF THE
CHURCH'S PREACHING
If the Church neglects prophecy, she will
invariably fail to conform to God's
revealed plan in her
preaching. It will be "convert the world," "reform the social
order,"
"bring in the kingdom, " "do away with all war and
lawlessness." Think of the effort
expended to bring about world peace. God's
purpose is found in Acts 15:14, 15, 16. The
Lordship
of Christ must be preached or man will try to be that Lord himself. Compare
Hitler, Nietzsche, Stalin, and others. When prophecy is
neglected, the Church invariably
turns to a solely ethical interpretation of
Christianity, and begins to stress morality instead
of regeneration, new birth, and conversion. Never
forget; just the preaching of morals
does not bring about morality. We have had that kind
of message in this country for
some forty years, and the plane of morality
according to secular estimates and authorities,
is, lower today than then (the Exchange Club in
the East for the exchange of wives).
When
Christ’s kingdom and coming are neglected or rejected, the result is a social
gospel.
Men
put their energies into communal and world reform. Preaching then comes from
the
Sermon on the Mount, and not on the fact and
accomplishment of the Cross. When the
Cross
is preached, society never fails to feel the effect of
it. Dr. Walter Rauschenbush
wrote this amazing statement: "The worst thing
that could happen to God would be to
remain an autocrat while the world is moving toward
democracy. He
would be dethroned with the rest of the rulers.” He
was a foremost social gospellizer.
If
the Church had kept in view the authority and coming of Christ, we should not
be
hearing a liberal theologian say:
"Democracy demands a God with whom men can c
ooperate and not to whom they
must submit."
LOST MISSIONARY INTEREST
AND ZEAL
When prophetic truth is soft-pedaled, then
missions suffer. Soon we hear
of attempts for World amalgamations of all
religions. The Laymen's Inquiry and
"Rethinking
Missions” are
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indicative of the havoc wrought. E. Stanley Jones
wrote in his Christ's Alternative
to Communism: "When the western
world was sunk in armaments and the Church
seemed a part of that war spirit, God reached out and
laid hold of Mahatma Gandhi,
and through him let us see some of the meanings
underlying the Sermon on the
Mount!"
When the prophetic Word is laid aside, every straw is grasped at to spell
out the coming of the
the unsaved elements in the visible Church will
sweep on the contribute their weight
to the establishment of an anti-Christian kingdom
on earth.
A Christian leader of
he spoke in a modernistic church in
young college student asked this question: "Why
should we export Christianity to
three reasons. First of all, Confucius was a teacher,
and Christ is a Savior.
needs a Savior more than she needs a teacher. In the
second place, Confucius is
dead, and Christ is alive.
is some day going to stand before Christ to be
judged by Him.
Christ
as Savior before she meets Him as Judge." How true!
CHANGE IN THE CHURCH'S
OUTLOOK AND TESTIMONY
As a matter of history, when the Church shut her
mouth on prophecy, the
Church
became wedded to a worldly system and a dead Churchianity
in the Middle
Ages
(it is still with us), emphasizing form and externalities to the detriment of
the
core of the matter. If the hope of the Lord's coming
had been kept bright, the Church
would have achieved a greater degree of unity,
purity, and power. Many more would
realize the truth and reliability of the whole
Word, viewing the marvels of fulfilled
prophecy. Its message to
concerning her in the proper Scriptural light,
relative to her glorious future (Isa. 60:1 ff.).
This
is still one of the best methods of winning Jews to Christ as Savior.
When the Church is lulled to sleep in these
matters, it is disastrous. It is a standing
reproach to the truth of the Word. A French
dramatist read his latest production to a circle
of critics, and while he was reading, one of the
critics fell asleep. The reader stopped long
enough to say, "How can you criticize my
production when you are sound asleep?" Rubbing
his eyes, the critic said, "I submit that
sleep is a criticism." And so it is. If Christian truth is
worth anything, it means everything, and a Christian
asleep on the vital matter of prophecy
is a perpetual argument against the truth. Prophecy
will not put us to sleep but work.
From the positive angle a study of the prophetic
Scriptures will accomplish several
things for the
willing heart:
(1) It will bring us near to God (Gen. 18:17 and
Jn.
servants, are told confidences. In prophecy God
invites us into His deepest plans.
What
attitude is that which cares much for God to provide our daily need, but will
not
listen to Him disclose His plans?
THE
COMMANDING IMPORTANCE OF THE PROPHETIC SCRIPTURES 9
(2)
It affords a knowledge of world-wide purposes. What
vast subjects are handled! The
greatest in the world: the destiny of
or hell, the reign of Christ on earth. What a cure
for narrow-mindedness or limited vision!
(3)
It brightens hope (Rom. 8:24a). This element plays a large part in the
believer's
life. It has a relation to all he is, hopes to be,
and will experience in realization. Faith
looks up and back; love looks around; hope looks
onward.
(4)
It presents the words and speech of God, as does the rest of the Word (Deut.
29:29).
God
has spoken in prophecy. This is paramount. Whenever and wherever and however
God
speaks, it is our duty to listen and obey.
(5)
It affords the true perspective of history (Rom.
the affairs of life our vision gets blurred and out
of focus. It is prophecy that gives us the
proper perspective of history. Only in its light can
we know our day (II Pet.
(6)
It purifies the life (I Thess. 3:11-13; II Pet. 3:11,
14; I Jn. 3:1-3). It is a mighty
force to shape the life in conformity with God's will
for our sanctification. Chief
Sekomi said to Livingstone in
medicine to change it, for it is proud, proud and
angry, angry always." He would
not hear of God's way but wanted an outward means.
God has provided cleansing
by the blood of Christ in salvation and through
the believer's experience. Prophetic
truth is an aid to this end.
(7)
It influences our service (I Thess.
one way or other to influence or affect our
service. If it has not or does not, we
have misunderstood it or willfully failed to apply
it. If the study of prophecy has
not and does not affect our service for God, we
have not felt the full power and
force
of it. We have not permitted it to touch our lives.
DOCUMENTATION
1.
James Orr, The Progress of Doctrine, p.
21.
2.
Ibid., pp. 29, 30.
This
material is cited with gracious permission from:
Grace Theological Seminary
www.grace.edu
Please
report any errors to Ted Hildebrandt at:
thildebrandt@gordon.edu