Trusting in the Sun of Righteousness

30 MAY

But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in His wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow  up as calves of the stall. Malachi 4:2

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: John 1:1-18

"Sun" is an appropriate name for Christ, for God the Father has given a much clearer light in the person of Christ than He did formerly by the law and all its appendages.

Christ is called the light of the world, not because the fathers wandered as the blind in darkness and were content with the law as with the dawn or with the moon and stars. We know how the doctrine of the law was so obscure that it may truly be said to be shadowy. When the heavens at length were opened and the gospel was made clear, it was through the rising of the Sun, which brought the full day. Hence it is the peculiar purpose of Christ to illuminate us.

On this account, the first chapter of John says that the true light which illuminates every man that comes into the world existed from the beginning. Yet this light shone in the darkness, for some sparks of reason exist in men, however blinded they became through the fall of Adam and the corruption of nature. Christ is specifically called the light with regard to the faithful, whom He delivers from the blindness by which all by nature have been afflicted, and whom He undertakes to guide by His Spirit.

The meaning, then, of the word, "Sun," when applied to Christ, is that without the Light of the World we can only wander and go astray. But by His guidance we shall keep in the right way. Hence He says, "He who follows me walks not in darkness" (John 8:12).

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION: 

Without Christ and His light, we would be doomed to wander in darkness. If you are a Christian, thank Him particularly for dispelling the darkness in which you were determined to remain. You could not see the light until the Spirit opened your eyes.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Postmillennialism (6)

The Postmillennial Interpretation of Revelation 20 (cont.)

In the past, the majority of postmillennialists explainedRevelation 20:7-9 as teaching that the millennium will be followed by a final apostasy from the gospel and law of Christ and by a worldwide rebellion against the kingdom of Christ. Towards the very end of history, Satan will be loosed to deceive the nations and marshal them against the church. Among those who taught this final apostasy were the Presbyterian J. Marcellus Kik and the Christian Reconstructionist Gary North.¹ Kik's interpretation of the passage is representative: "For the thousand-year period he [Satan] was bound. He could no longer deceive the nations.... At the end of the millennium period he is again to be released to deceive the nations. That will be a woeful day for the world."²

Recently, prominent postmillennial Christian Reconstructionists Rousas J. Rushdoony and Martin G. Selbrede have rejected the teaching of a final apostasy as pessimistic. According to Selbrede, the millennium of Revelation 20 (which he understands as the glorious reign of the church over all her enemies in a "golden age") will climax in the salvation of every living human. To such a world, Christ will return. No worldwide rebellion against the kingdom of Christ will intervene between themillennium and the coming of Christ. Selbrede calls his doctrine of the last things "eschatological universalism" and praises it as a teaching of "unbounded optimism." He acknowledges that he is dependent for both the teaching and its name upon the noted Presbyterian theologian Benjamin B. Warfield.

The Optimistic Interpretation of Revelation 20:7-9

Optimistic though this rejection of a final apostasy and rebellion may be, it still must reckon with Revelation 20:7-9: "And when the thousand years [the millennium] are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth...to gather them together to battle...[against] the camp of the saints...and the beloved city." Even optimism must be "bounded" by the word of God.

Selbrede, the contemporary Christian Reconstruction postmillennialist, relies entirely on Warfield's exegesis of the crucial passage on a final apostasy.³ Warfield's explanation is a denial that the "little season" of Satan's loosing (Rev. 20:3) follows the thousand years in history. Rather, the "little season" is contemporaneous with the thousand years. While the saints are living and reigning with Christ in heaven, Satan is constantly opposing the church on earth. According to Warfield, the binding of Satan for a thousand years (Rev. 20:2) refers to his inability to trouble the saints in heaven. The loosing of Satan for a little season refers to his warfare against the church on earth (during much of the same time that he is bound with regard to the saints in heaven). In Warfield's explanation of the binding and loosing of Satan, time is not in view. It is a mistake to think in terms of before and after, as though Satan is bound before the millennium and loosed after it.

The chaining of Satan is not in the event a preliminary transaction, on which the security of the saints follows: nor is the loosing of Satan a subsequent transaction, on which the security of the saints ceases. The saints rather escape entirely beyond the reach of Satan when they ascend to their Lord and take their seats on His throne by His side.... But while the saints abide in their security Satan, though thus "bound" relatively to them, is loosed relatively to the world—and that is what is meant by the statement in verse 3c that "he must be loosed for a little time." ...We must here look on the time-element...as belonging wholly to the symbol and read in the interpretation space-elements in its place.4

Although Warfield does not make this explicit, his explanation of Revelation 20:7-9 includes that gradually Satan's assault on the church during the "little season" (which for Warfield is the entire present age up to the beginning of the "golden age") will weaken as the gospel converts more and more members of the nations, Gog and Magog. Then will be realized the "golden age," which will culminate in the conversion of every living human (Warfield's and Selbrede's "eschatological universalism"). Finally, Christ will return to a "converted earth."

Evidently, the "golden age" with its eschatological universalism must be inserted into Revelation 20 between verse nine and verse ten. The falling of fire from heaven upon the enemies of the church in verse nine cannot refer to the second coming of Christ, for according to Warfield and Selbrede no enemy of Christ remains at His coming. But the casting of the devil into the lake of fire in verse ten must occur at Christ's second coming. The "golden age" of postmillennialism must, therefore, be found between verse nine and verse ten.

This is the exegesis of Revelation 20:7-9 that Selbrede recommends to his postmillennial comrades, who hitherto have been afflicted with the dread malady of pessimism inasmuch as they have allowed the passage to convince them of a final apostasy. Selbrede's recommendation of Warfield's exegesis of the passage comes with a high cost to postmillennialism. The cost is giving up Revelation 20 as proof of postmillennialism's "golden age." As I pointed out earlier in this series on the last things, Warfield demonstrated that the millennium of Revelation 20 refers to the intermediate state. The living and reigning of the saints with Christ take place in heaven, not on the earth. According to Warfield, there is nothing of a "golden age" on earth in the whole of Revelation 20(Warfield finds the "golden age" of postmillennialism elsewhere in Revelation).5 It is very much to be doubted that postmillennialism is willing, or can stand, to pay this cost, even in order to rid itself of the incubus of a final apostasy.

Erroneous Interpretation

Warfield's interpretation of the loosing of Satan, inRevelation 20:7-9, is erroneous. It is so egregiously erroneous as to betray that Warfield's exegesis is driven by his postmillennial theology. A loosing of Satan towards the end of history resulting in a worldwide rebellion against the kingdom of Christ contradicts the dearest tenet of postmillennialism, namely, that history must come to a close with an earthly, visible, and complete victory of the Messianic kingdom. Therefore, the loosing of Satan must be explained away, regardless that the explanation violently conflicts with the plain language of the text and regardless that the explanation is burdened with insoluble difficulties regarding other elements of the passage, as Warfield himself admits.

The truth is that the loosing of Satan from his chain and prison follows the thousand years during which he had been bound: "When the thousand years are expired (Rev. 20:7)." "When" is a particle of time. The words "are expired" translate the Greek verb that means "were ended," or "were brought to [their] end." It is the same word used of the ending of the thousand-year period in verse three of Revelation 20 and there translated, "should be fulfilled": "that he [Satan] should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled." The thought is that Christ has a purpose with the binding of Satan for a thousand years. This purpose is the gathering of the elect church out of the nations by the preaching of the gospel. This purpose would be impossible of realization, if Satan were not bound and thus prevented from deceiving the nations under Antichrist. Only when Christ's goal, or end, with the thousand years has been reached, in the salvation of the entire church, will He loose Satan for a little season, to do his damnedest.

The element of time is very definitely in the passage, both grammatically and with regard to the doctrine.

That the loosing of Satan follows the millennium in time is clearly taught also in verse three. Satan is bound for a thousand years "that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled[that is, ended, in the sense of having been brought to their appointed goal]: and after that he must be loosed a little season." Time is everywhere in the text. Time is prominent. Time is of the text's essence. Satan is bound at the beginning of the thousand years. During the long period of the thousand years, Satan remains bound. Only when the thousand years have ended is he loosed: "after that." And he is loosed "a little season [of time]."

In opposition to Warfield's assertion that the little season of Satan's loosing is the same period of time as the thousand years during which he is bound, verse three sharply distinguishes the time of Satan's binding from the time of his loosing. A thousand years is a long time. It is the time from Christ's ascension until shortly before His coming again. In contrast, the time of Satan's loosing is very brief: "a little season" (literally: "a little time"; time is in the passage literally). And this will be a great comfort to the church that must suffer the consequences of Satan's loosing.

If further evidence of the falsity of Warfield's (and Selbrede's) interpretation of the loosing of Satan were required, it would be that this interpretation forces Warfield to explain the "nations" mentioned in verse three as the elect church in heaven. According to Warfield, the binding of Satan refers strictly to his inability to trouble the saints in heaven in the intermediate state. When verse three, then, teaches that Satan is bound "that he should deceive the nations no more," the meaning must be that he is bound so that he will not deceive the elect in heaven. Warfield recognizes his problem: "The only real difficulty lies in the word 'nations' [in v. 3]. Should we not expect 'saints' instead—for is it not merely with reference to the saints that Satan is supposed to be bound?"6 Half-heartedly, Warfield suggests as the solution to his problem that "nations" in verse three "may include Christians also."7 But he quickly admits that his attempt to explain "nations" in verse three is unsatisfactory. "It cannot be pretended that a real solution of its ['nations' in v. 3] difficulties has been offered in any case; it remains a dark spot in an otherwise lucid paragraph and must be left for subsequent study to explain."8

Apart from the usage of the word "nations" elsewhere in the book of Revelation, the word "nations" is used in verse eight of Revelation 20 to refer to masses of ungodly men and women on the earth. The "nations," identified as Gog and Magog, are the reprobate, ungodly enemies of the true church, whom Satan unites in the little season of his loosing to attack the church. The "nations" of verse three are the ungodly in the world whom Satan cannot deceive during the thousand years, but whom he does deceive during his little season after the thousand years. The "nations" in verse three are the same as the "nations" in verse eight. They are not the elect, believing church, much less the elect in heaven. They are the reprobate wicked, who are always susceptible to Satan's influence. One thing, and one thing only, prevents them from being deceived during the thousand years, and this is Christ's binding of Satan so that he cannot deceive them before Christ has accomplished His great purpose of gathering His church.

Warfield's interpretation of the loosing of Satan, let it be noted, completely distorts the prophecy of Revelation 20:7-9. The passage teaches a loosing of Satan towards the end of history that culminates in an all-out, worldwide attack on the church of Jesus Christ. The church will finally be delivered from this attack and from her ancient foe by a wonder. Fire will come down from God in heaven to devour the hordes of ungodly that assail the church. At that time, Satan will summarily be cast into hell. And then the final judgment will sit (Rev. 20:10ff.).

What is the explanation of the passage by Warfield (and presumably by the Christian Reconstructionist Selbrede)? Satan's attack on the church throughout this present age concludes with the total conversion of the nations, Gog and Magog, that had been attacking the church. Gog and Magog will be saved, to the last man or woman. The camp of the saints and the beloved city will go up on the breadth of the earth, compass the nations that are on the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, about, and successfully evangelize them so that every human then living will be saved. Then will follow a long period of earthly dominion by the saved human race, the "golden age." Where Satan will be during this "golden age," and what he will be up to, we are not told. To this "converted earth," Christ will one day return.
Revelation 20:7-9 is turned on its head.

David J. Engelsma  
http://sb.rfpa.org/articles/chapter-four-postmillennialism-6 

---

1 See the previous installment in this series on the doctrine of the last things.

2 J. Marcellus Kik, An Eschatology of Victory (Phillipsburg, New Jersey: Presbyterian and Reformed, 1971), 246.

3 See Martin G. Selbrede, "Reconstructing Postmillennialism," The Journal of Christian Reconstruction: Symposium on Eschatology 15 (Winter, 1998), 187, 188.

4 Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield, "The Millennium and the Apocalypse," in Biblical Doctrines (New York: Oxford University Press, 1929), 655, 656.

5 See David J. Engelsma, "The Millennium (2)," Standard Bearer 85, no. 15 (May 1, 2009): 345.

6 Warfield, Biblical Doctrines, 656, 657.

7 Ibid., 657.

8 Ibid.

Why Animals Suffer

29 MAY

I will utterly consume all things from off the land, saith the LORD. I will consume man and beast; I will consume the fowls of the heaven, and the fishes of the sea, and the stumbling blocks with the wicked; and I will cut off man from off the land, saith the LORD. Zephaniah 1:2-3

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Genesis 7

Why does God pronounce vengeance on the beasts of the field, the birds of the heaven, and the fish of the sea? For no matter how much the Jews have provoked God by their sins, innocent animals ought to be spared. If a son is not to be punished for the fault of his father (Ezek. 18:4), but only the soul that has sinned must die, why does God turn His wrath against fish and birds and animals? This seems to be a hasty and unreasonable infliction.

To answer that, let us first bear in mind that it is preposterous for us to estimate God's doings according to our judgment. Proud and perverse people do that today, for they are disposed to judge God's works with such presumption that whatever they do not approve of they think it right to fully condemn. It behooves us to judge God's ways with modesty and sobriety, confessing that His judgments are a deep abyss. When a reason for God's ways does not appear obvious, we ought to reverently and with deep humility look for the day in which that revelation comes.

Second, it is wise for us to remember that because animals were created for man's use, they must undergo much along with him. God made the birds of heaven and the fishes of the sea and all other animals subservient to man. Why, then, should we wonder that the condemnation of the one who has sovereignty over the whole earth should also extend to the animals?

The world was not willingly or naturally made subject to corruption, but because the corruption from Adam's fall diffused itself through heaven and earth.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION:

The horrifying cruelty sometimes found in the animal kingdom is not natural, but is the product of our sin. Though the animals did not sin against their Creator, they too were destroyed in the flood. The next time that we are tempted to think lightly of sin, let us reflect on the incredible suffering that we have brought upon this earth and tremble at the seriousness of sin.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Judging Self Before Others

28 MAY

Shall not all these take up a parable against him, and a taunting proverb against him, and say, Woe to him that increaseth that which is not his! how long? and to him that ladeth himself with thick clay! Habakkuk 2:6

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 119: 161-176

Not one of us wants to say the same thing about himself that he brings forward against others. For when a greedy man gathers things, whether right or wrong, or an ambitious man by unfair means advances himself, we instantly cry, "How long?" Though everyone is quick to say this about others, yet no one wants to say that about himself.

Let us therefore take heed that when we reprove injustice in others, we come without delay to ourselves and are impartial judges to our own actions and intent. Let us not be so blinded by self-love that we seek to absolve ourselves from the very faults that we freely condemn in others.

In general, people are more correct in their judgment of matters in which they are not involved, but when they consider matters in which they take part, they become blind. Honesty vanishes and all judgment is gone.

The prophet offers us this teaching based on the common feeling of nature, so that every one of us may restrain ourselves when we presume the office of a judge in condemning ourselves and restrain our desires when we find them advancing beyond just bounds.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION:

It is so easy to see the faults of others while remaining completely ignorant of our own. But ignorance is no excuse. We must diligently examine ourselves and our lives to dispel our ignorance and find any sin that has not been dealt with.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Receiving Comfort in Judgment

27 MAY

I will bear the indignation of the LORD, because I have sinned against Him, until He plead my cause, and execute judgment for me: He will bring me forth to the right, and I shall behold His righteousness. Micah 7:9

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 103:1-12

After the church confesses her sin against God, she turns her eyes elsewhere. She says she was unjustly oppressed by her enemies, and they were led to do wrong by cruelty alone. She thus entertains the hope and expectation that God will defend her innocence and punish the wicked. Yet she humbly acknowledges that she too has sinned against God.

Whenever our enemies do us harm, let us lay hold of the truth that God will be our defender, for He is the patron of justice and equity. He will not abandon us to the violence of the wicked. He will at length heed our pleading, undertake our cause, and be our advocate.

In the meantime, let us be mindful of our sins so that in true humiliation before God we may not hope for the salvation that He promises to us except through His gracious pardon.

Why, then, are the faithful bidden to be of good comfort in their afflictions? Because God promises to be their Father. He receives them under His protection and testifies that His help to them shall never be wanting. But how can they be confident of this? Is it because they are worthy? Is it because they deserve something like this?

By no means, for they acknowledge themselves to be guilty when they humbly prostrate themselves before God and willingly condemn themselves before His tribunal, so that they may anticipate His judgment. 

We now see how the prophet connects these two things, comfort and judgment, which might otherwise seem contradictory.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION:

The wonder of grace is clearly demonstrated in God's willingness to protect and preserve those who have grievously sinned against Him. Though we are sinners, we may confidently plead for the justice of God - the very justice that we have offended - against our enemies for Christ's sake.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

Looking to the Lord

26 MAY

Therefore will I look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: Psalm 73

The only way the faithful may be preserved from being led away by bad examples is to fix their eyes on God and to believe that He will be their deliverer.

Nothing is more difficult for us than to refrain from doing wrong when the ungodly provoke us, for they seem to offer us good reason for retaliation. Even when no one injures us, the custom of retaliation seems just. We think that what is sanctioned by the manners and customs of our time is lawful, so that when the wicked are successful, this becomes a very strong incentive for us to follow their example.

Thus it happens that the faithful can hardly, and with no small difficulty, keep themselves within proper bounds, for they see that wickedness reigns everywhere and with impunity. Even more, when they see those who encourage wickedness increase in esteem and wealth, immediately the corrupt lust of emulation creeps in.

But when the faithful themselves are provoked by injuries, there seems to be a particularly just reason for following the example of the wicked. They say that they willfully do harm to no one, but they are only resisting an injury done to them. Or they are merely retaliating from fraud with fraud, which only seems just.

To prevent this temptation, the prophet bids the faithful to look to God. It is the same thought that is often expressed in Psalm 119; the faithful must not allow themselves to be led away by bad examples, but must continue to walk in obedience to God’s Word, however great and violent the provocations they receive.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION:

If we find ourselves defrauded, our minds quickly justify fraudulent dealings in return. But that is not how we are called to live, nor does it bring glory to God. Instead, we should look to God for our salvation and for His justice to prevail in whatever way He sees fit. Vengeance is His.

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke

What the Lord Requires

25 MAY

Wherewith shall I come before the LORD, and bow myself before the high God? Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings, with calves of a year old? Will the LORD be pleased with thousand of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shown thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God? Micah 6:6-8

SUGGESTED FURTHER READING: 1 Samuel 15:13-35

When men litigate one with another, there is no cause so good but what an opposing party can undo. But, as the prophet suggests here, men lose all their efforts at evasions when God summons them to trial. The prophet also shows what deep roots hypocrisy has in the hearts of all people, for they will forever deceive themselves and try to deceive God.

Why do people who are proved guilty fail to immediately and in the right way come to God in repentance, but instead seek elaborate, winding excuses? It is not because they have any doubt about what is right, unless they willingly deceive themselves, but because they willfully seek the subterfuges of error. It hence appears that men perversely go astray whenever they fail to repent as they ought and fail to bring to God true integrity of heart.

It is also true that the whole world, which continues in its superstitions, is without excuse. For if we scrutinize the intentions of men, we eventually understand that people carefully and anxiously seek various superstitions because they are unwilling to come before God and to devote themselves to Him without deceit and hypocrisy. Since it is so, all who desire to pacify God with their own ceremonies and other trifles cannot by any pretext escape judgment.

God has clearly and distinctly prescribed what He requires of us, but the ungodly wish to be ignorant of this. Hence their error is at all times willful. We ought to note this in the words of the prophet.

John Calvin

FOR MEDITATION:

It is much easier to render to God anything other than a broken heart and an upright life. Sacrifices are easily obtained, but they can serve as no substitute for what the Lord really requires of us. Are we striving, by grace, to live justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with God?

365 Days With Calvin

Selected and Edited by Joel R. Beeke