Archive for a.d. 70
Rev. I.M. Haldeman, D.D. — Cain: A Type Of The Jews
(From How To Study The Bible, The Second Coming, and Other Expositions, 1904)
Cain is a type of the Jew, Abel, of Jesus. Proof of this may be found from reading Hebrews 12: 24.
Here the blood of Jesus is contrasted to that of Abel; the blood of Abel cried aloud from the ground for judgment. The blood of Jesus speaks from the Mercy-seat in heaven for better things, for grace towards the sinner.
Now the point common to Jesus and Abel is the fact that both were slain, and their deaths the results of fratricidal blows: this commonalty is the basis of the type.
Abel slain by his brother after the flesh, is a type of Jesus slain by His brother after the flesh, that is by the Jew. And that the Jew is intended in this contrast is evident from the fact that it occurs in the epistle to the Hebrews, an epistle written especially to the Jews; it sets forth the idea that although the blood of Christ was upon the people even as they invoked it according to Matthew 27: 25, it was not upon them for judgment, but for grace.
The story of Cain’s punishment confirms the thought that Cain is a type of the Jew. Note:
1. He was driven from his home.
2. He could get nothing from tilling the ground.
3. He was to be a wanderer on the face of the earth.
4. A mark was to be put upon him by the world, that all might know him.
5. All hands were to be against him.
6. Although punished of God, God would punish those who killed him.
See how wonderfully these characteristics have been fulfilled in the Jew:
1. Forty years after the crucifixion the Jew is driven out of his own land.
2. He has never succeeded in tilling the ground, he has never succeeded as a farmer.
3. For twenty centuries he has been a wanderer on the face of the earth.
4. For twenty centuries he has been marked by the hand of God, that no matter aamong what nation he may dwell, he cannot hide himself, a Jew is known on sight everywhere.
5. All hands were to be against him.
6. While God punishes him, he is to punish all who maltreat him. Jeremiah 30: 11; Zechariah 2: 8.
All history is in evidence of this. Nations persecuting him have passed away, he remains.
A fearful retribution yet awaits European nations on account of him. (See Matthew 25: 31, 32, 40).
The Ecclesiology Of I.M. Haldeman
A few months ago on Ebay, I was fortunate enough to snatch up an old harcover reprint of I.M. Haldeman’s 1904 book entitled “How To Study The Bible, The Second Coming, and Other Expositions.” It was originally published as “Friday Night Papers,” but when he issued a second edition, Haldeman changed the title and added over 200 extra pages of material. The book is a classic of Dispensational theology.
I.M. Haldeman (1845-1933) was the longtime pastor of First Baptist Church in New York City. Although mostly forgotten today, he wrote a lengthy response to Philip Mauro’s “Gospel of The Kingdom,” a bitter diatribe against Dispensationalism. During the course of a busy ministry, Haldeman also produced countless expositions, some of which are included in ”How To Study The Bible.”
What makes this title so interesting, is Haldeman’s ecclesiology, which he must have developed and refined over a long period of years. Since I myself hold to certain aspects of Haldeman’s teaching on the nature, intent, and commencement of the Christian church, a review of certain elements of his system are in order.
Contrary to most Dispensational interpreters, who believe that the church began at Pentecost, Haldeman understood the bride of Christ as having two beginnings. The church age commenced secretly in John 20: 22-23 and publicly in Acts 2.
“On the day that Christ arose from the dead, He breathed on His disciples, and by that act quickened them into vital union with Himself as the Risen One, thus uniting them to one another in Himself, and forming the living, mystic, and spiritual body, the Church; this hour was the birth hour of the Church.
” ‘He breathed on them, and said unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost.’ John 20: 22, 23.
“On the day of Pentecost the Spirit was made manifest in the earth, as the witness of the Risen Christ; and then, and there, the Lord baptized His disciples, in the Spirit, into the Body in which, and through which, He was henceforth to manifest Himself on the earth. On that day the Spirit deposited in this spiritual body all the gifts and powers required for service in the name of an ascended Lord” (pg. 354).
Haldeman’s concept of Pentecost was not that it marked the beginning of the church itself. The church officially began in John 20: 22-23, when the Holy Spirit came as the “Comforter.” The Holy Spirit did not come as the ”Comforter” in Acts 2, but as the ”Enduer.” Thus, on the evening of the resurrection the birth of the church took place in secret. On the Day of Pentecost, the church was endued with the gifts of the Spirit, and given power to fulfill its commission.
Such a doctrine as Haldeman’s would appear to solve some of the problems related to cessation of the charismata. While spiritual enduement applies to all believers today, the special gifts must have been in force only so long as they served as testimony to the Jews (see 1 Cor. 1: 22). When the Jews failed to repent, in response to Peter’s admonition in Acts 3: 19-21, their city was destroyed and the second coming postponed.
With the close of the Jewish Dispensation ended the charismata, or the general period of enduement with miraculous gifts. It did not, however, end the Holy Spirit’s role as Comforter. Because the Church really began prior to the miraculous outpouring of power from on high, the cessation of charismatic gifts in A.D. 70 was no indication that the Body of Christ was “complete” in any sense. The Holy Spirit still comes as Comforter today, sealing the hearts of all whosoever believe in Jesus Christ the Son of God, to the saving of their souls.
Although there is no record that Haldeman held the particular conclusions inferred by myself, he did lay the foundation of what I believe is a better understanding of Christian ecclesiology. If Haldeman’s system were followed, certain difficulties relating to the Dispensational transition between the Jewish and Christian economies would be cleared up.
Because Haldeman conceived that the parenthetical church age (which he calls the “Holy Ghost Dispensation“) had two beginnings, he concluded that it must have two endings. It will end secretly with a pre-tribulational rapture, and publicly, with the return of Christ from the Mount of Olives with all His saints (see Zech. 14: 5). These facts can be gleaned through a careful reading of Haldeman’s book. Although it is no longer in print, I’ve heard that it is currently available on the “SwordSearcher” Bible software.
The First Baptist Church in New York City presently has one of Haldeman’s prophecy charts hanging in its hallway. The digital scan above is somewhat difficult to read. However, it is clear that Dr. Haldeman was an ardent student of prophecy, and one of the great pioneers of 20th century Dispensational studies. Although his works have been eclipsed in recent years, they contain hidden riches that will surprise and delight those who seek them out.
E.W. Bullinger And The Rapture
One of E.W. Bullinger’s greatest attributes was the ease with which he amended his views in light of his acquisition of fresh truth. He once said: “If anyone would know what I believe upon a subject, he must find out what I believe now.” Never claiming to have all the answers, Bullinger worked over a period of many years to produce a system of theology that is still airtight against the arguments of rationalism, Higher Criticism, and Replacement Theology. During the closing years of his ministry, he grappled with the doctrines of Preterism; and his researches in this field produced the monumental work, “The Lord Hath Spoken: Foundations of Dispensational Truth” (1913). Although hastily written, the amount of scholarship poured into this work is amazing.
But because Bullinger modified his views on the rapture, many Dispensationalists steer away from his books, thinking that perhaps he capitulated on his stance toward pre-tribulationism. Well, this is not the case at all! While Bullinger revised his views concerning the timing of 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians 15, he never wavered from his belief that the church would not enter into the tribulation. In fact, Bullinger did more than any other writer to retain the distinction between the church and Israel. This comes into play more explicitly in his later writings, in which he draws a Dispensational frontier at Acts 28.
Bullinger believed that the Book of Acts describes the transition from the kingdom to the church. In his scheme the church of the “one body” actually begins after Acts 28. The Acts Dispensation chronicles the final offer of the kingdom to the children of Israel upon the one condition of national repentance (see Acts 3: 19-21). When Israel rejected this offer in Acts 28, the nation was temporarily set aside by God as unuseable, and salvation sent to the Gentiles. A new body began to be formed at this juncture, designated by Paul as “one new man” (Eph. 2: 15). According to Bullinger, this is where the church age officially begins.
Although I do not agree with Bullinger’s teaching concerning the commencement of the Christian church, I tend to agree that the Book of Acts is transitional in nature, and that the present parenthetical Dispensation begins after Acts 28: 28. However, in my understanding the ‘pure parenthesis‘ does not officially begin until A.D. 70, when the “people of the prince” sacked Jerusalem (Dan. 9: 26). The period between this desolation of the city and the sanctuary and the advent of the “prince” himself, is filled up by the present Dispensation of Grace. Not that grace didn’t have a place before A.D. 70. But that from A.D. 30-70 the Israel question was being settled — ”Let the children first be filled“ (Mark 7: 27). The Gentile economy did not come into full swing until Israel lost its dispensational advantage over the Gentiles. This was in A.D. 70.
Clarence Larkin seemed to hint as much when he wrote: “This Dispensation [i.e., the church age] is a parenthetical Dispensation thrown in between the ‘Dispersion’ of Israel, and their ‘Restoration’ to their own land. The purpose of this Dispensation is to gather out a ‘People for His Name,’ called the church, composed of both Jew and Gentile” (Dispensational Truth, 1920 edition, pg. 39).
If Larkin saw the parenthesis of the present age as connected with the destruction of Jerusalem in A.D. 70, then it quite possible that he derived his views from Bullinger. Even modern scholars such as Randall Price, have marked on their prophecy charts the significance of A.D. 70 in God’s purpose to call out the church (see Jerusalem In Prophecy, pg. 234, 239, 257). Larkin, however, does mention that the Dispensation of Grace extends from the Cross (A.D. 30) to the Crown (Second Coming of Christ). Perhaps he saw the 40 years between the Cross and the destruction of Jerusalem as transitional in nature. We’ll probably never know.
Anyhow, because Thessalonians and Corinthians were written prior to the Acts 28 council, Bullinger construed that the rapture of saints described therein must be tied to Israel’s kingdom blessings (which were forfeited and postponed in Acts 28), rather than to the church age proper. I would, again, disagree with him on this point. However, far from denying the pre-trib rapture, Bullinger saw Paul’s later revelation of the “ex-anastasis” and “calling on high” (see Phil. 3: 11, 14) as entirely pre-tribulational in nature.
In the Companion Bible, he writes:
“The term ‘resurrection of the dead’ (anastasis nekron) is of frequent occurrence (Matt. 22: 31; Acts 17: 32; 23: 6; 1 Cor. 15: 12, 13, 21, 42; Heb. 6: 2, etc.), and includes the resurrection to life, of the just, and the resurrection to judgment, of the unjust (John 5: 29; Luke 20: 35; Acts 4: 2). Resurrection from the dead (ek nekron) implies the resurrection of some, the former of these two classes, the others being left behind. See Luke 20: 35; Acts 4: 2. Paul had no doubt of attaining to this, as as may be seen from 1 Thessalonians 4: 15-17, written some ten years before. The exanastasis must therefore mean a further selection of some before the anastasis of 1 Thess. 4: 14, and Paul was not yet sure of attaining to this. Perhaps he had the assurance when he wrote 2 Tim. 4: 7. It is noteworthy that there is no reference to any living ones being caught up, or any parousia of the Lord, as in 1 Thess. 4: 15, 16.” (note on Philippians 3: 11, Companion Bible, pg. 1778).
In his later books, Bullinger seemed to relegate the rapture of 1 Thessalonians and 1 Corinthians 15 to the close of Daniel’s 70th week. But since he held that Acts 28: 28 commenced a new economy, he saw in Philippians 3: 14 the church’s charter for a pre-tribulational up-calling. As he came to this view gradually, his books must be diligently studied in order to see exactly how his understanding of the rapture evolved.
In later years, theologians such as A.E. Knoch corrected Bullinger on some of his views. Whereas others took the more unique elements of Bullinger’s theology and ran them out into what is now known as “Acts 28 Dispensationalism.” Interestingly, however, all of Bullinger’s works are still in print today; and though he exercises little influence in modern Dispensational circles, his contributions to Biblical and exegetical scholarship are never downplayed. It is hoped that in future months his work will be seriously studied afresh by all who love the “sure word of prophecy” (2 Peter 1: 19) and look for that “blessed hope” (Titus 2: 13).
The Fulness Of The Gentiles
“For I would not, brethren, that ye should be ignorant of this mystery, lest ye should be wise in your own conceits; that blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fulness of the Gentiles be come in” (Romans 11: 25).
Contrary to the tenets of Replacement Theology, Paul’s understanding of Israel’s future was Dispensational. Although it pained him to see so many of his own kinsmen turn away from God, rejecting His Son as the true Messiah, Paul knew that Israel’s blindness was part of God’s hidden purpose, and that it was to result in a period of untold blessings for the Gentiles.
Writing to the saints at Rome, his words foreshadowed the coming destruction of Jerusalem’s temple, and the scattering of the Jews into all nations. This happened in A.D. 70. At this crisis officially began the period during which the Gentiles would be grafted into the root and fatness of the olive tree. Gentiles now partake of Israel’s religious privileges (which are symbolized by the olive tree) until the end of the age, when the Gentile nations apostasize (2 Thess. 2: 3; 1 Tim. 4: 1; 2 Tim. 4: 3-4 etc.). Then the broken off natural branches (the unbelieving mass of the nation) will repent, turn to Christ, and be grafted in again (Romans 11: 23, 26-27). This will occur during Daniel’s 70th week (see Revelation 7: 4-8). The national repentance will consist of a firstfruits and a harvest (see Isaiah 66: 7-8; cf. Rev. 12: 5; 14: 1-5).
Writing in A.D. 58, Paul referred to the coming destruction of Jerusalem using three phrases:
1. “Their fall” (Romans 11: 11). The Greek word translated “fall” is “paraptoma.” It denotes a falling aside, when one should have stood upright.
2. “The diminishing of them” (Romans 11: 12). In the original text, the word for “diminishing” is “hettema.” It signifies a diminishing of that which should have been rendered in full measure; hence, a diminution or decrease.
3. “The casting away of them” (Romans 11: 15). The word for “casting away” is “apobole.” It implies a rejection, loss, or deprivation. The same word appears in Acts 27: 22. It is translated “loss.”
As we see, Paul was not alluding to the then-present status of Israel’s national or religious existence. He was referring to a coming change of dispensation, brought about by the nation suffering a great loss. This occurred in A.D. 70. The wild-olive grafting, then, has been taking place since A.D. 70. At the time when Paul wrote his epistle, the Jews still had pre-eminent status in the eyes of God. Whenever Paul went into a new city, he always brought the Gospel of Grace to the Jews first (Acts 13: 5, 14, 42, 43; 14: 1; 17: 1, 10, 17; 18: 4, 7, 19, 26; 19: 8).
But when the “people of the prince that shall come” (Dan. 9: 26) destroyed the city and sanctuary in A.D. 70, God’s principles of administration were necessarily altered. Paul speaks of the present Dispensation as:
1. “The riches of the world” (Romans 11: 12a). Here “world” is “kosmos” in the original Greek. It means the world as created, ordered, and arranged: the Adamic world. It always refers to the planet earth as a whole.
2. “The riches of the Gentiles” (Romans 11: 12b). Gentile riches accrue through Israel’s failure. Let not Gentiles be high-minded, but fear.
3. “The reconciling of the world” (Romans 11: 15). Again, the word for “world” is “kosmos.” The world could not be reconciled until the “Israel question” had first been settled. Would the nation accept of reject God’s proclamation of pardon, and restoration upon national repentance, as heralded by Peter in Acts 3: 19-21? The 40-year period from Calvary’s cross to the destruction of Jerusalem was given to ensure Messiah’s return, and the fulfillment of all prophecy – if only the nation would repent (see also Hosea 5: 15). Because they failed to repent, their city was destroyed, and salvation sent to the Gentiles (Matt. 22: 1-10; cf. Acts 28: 25-28).
Thus, Paul distinctly taught that Israel’s fall would result in the reconciling of the world. But he also taught that their blindness would not last forever. After the “fulness of the Gentiles” has entered in, Israel’s blindness will lift like mist before the rising sun. Those Gentiles who boast of having replaced Israel in God’s great scheme, will themselves be blinded by the wiles of Antichrist (The “Prince” of Dan. 9: 26-27) and eagerly lock hands to bring about a one-world religion. They will even agree to stand under Rome’s banner in order to maintain a specious unity. Then will “Mystery Babylon” (Rev. 17: 5) come into play, and the final countdown will begin.
The Prince That Shall Come
Most Christians who read their Bibles know that the Scriptures predict the rise of an individual known as “the prince that shall come.” Who this person is, has been the topic of fervent debate for centuries. However, it is pretty clear that he is the equivalent of Paul’s “man of sin” and John’s “the antichrist” (1 John 2: 18). That he will seat himself in the temple at Jerusalem and demand divine honors and worship, is conceded by almost all futurist students of prophecy.
What some folks don’t know, however, is that the “people of the prince” already came to destroy the city and the sanctuary in A.D. 70. The people are none other than the Roman armies, who under Titus destroyed Herod’s temple and led 97,000 Jews into captivity. Because this happened at the close of the 40 year probationary perdiod allotted to Israel, prophecies concerning the parousia were necessarily postponed at that time. Meanwhile, the secret administration given to the apostle Paul, which he calls the “dispensation of the mystery” (Eph. 3: 9) fills up the present interval between the desolation of the city and sanctuary by the people of the prince, and the defilement of the temple by the prince himself.
Obviously, the temple must be rebuilt in order for Scriptures concerning Antichrist to be fulfilled. This also applies to all prophecies concerning the return of Jesus Christ. When Christ returns He will destroy the desolator, and bring in His 1000 year reign from the rebuilt city of Jerusalem (Jer. 3: 17; Zech. 6: 12-13). This is the familiar subject of Old Testament prophecy.
Daniel 11: 21-45 gives a rundown of the events which will take place in connection with Antichrist’s rise to power. From this passage it is evident that he will make some kind of “league” with the Jewish people (v. 23). This league will be ratified with a representative of the Jewish people, whom Daniel calls “prince of the covenant” (v. 22). The league will be made prior to the actual seven-year covenant which Antichrist will break. The League will allow him to get his foot in the door, and enter the arena of Middle-Eastern politics (v. 24).
The covenant will involve the rebuilding of the Jewish temple. It is likely that the sacrifices will begin 220 days into the commencement of the 70th week (see Dan. 8: 14). In the middle of the week, Antichrist will break the covenant and stop the daily sacrifices, setting up the abomination of desolation in the holy place (Dan. 9: 27; 11: 31; 12: 11). From this point until the return of Christ, there will be “great tribulation” (Dan. 12: 1; Matt. 24: 15-21). Israel will be tried and tested during this time, and many will fall (Dan. 11: 33, 35; 12: 10). However, the nation shall be saved at the end (Jeremiah 30: 7), when Jesus Christ returns from heaven with His mighty angels (2 Thess. 1: 7-8), taking vengeance on the heathen (Zech. 1: 14-15) and casting the beast and his confederate, the false prophet, into the lake of fire (Rev. 19: 20).
The minor prophets often speak of the “man of sin“ by means of cryptic (and sometimes hard to understand) allusions to his destructive power. In Nahum he is likened to a “wicked counsellor“ (see 1: 11). Habakkuk calls him a ”proud man… who enlargeth his desire as hell, and is as death, and cannot be satisfied, but gathereth unto him all nations, and heapeth unto him all people” (Hab. 2: 5). His invading armies are compared to an influx of locusts (Joel 1: 4-7; 2: 2-10).
During the Great Tribulation, this individual will be given power to rule over “all kindreds, and tongues, and nations” (Rev. 13: 7). He will “make war with the saints” and “wear out the saints of the Most High” until the last three-and-a-half years of the age have run their course (Dan. 7: 25). Then his dominion shall be taken away, and the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, given to the people of the saints of the Most High (Dan. 7: 27; cf. Rev. 11: 15).
Many prophecy students feel that the time is nearing when Antichrist shall step on the scene. We know not how long it will be. But as the world plunges deeper and deeper into the abyss of moral stagnation, and as human failure becomes all the more evident, we thank God for the mercy He has showed us. Let us remember we have a commission to carry out (2 Tim. 2: 2). And let it not be said “in that day” that we succumbed more to strife and division than to the awesome power of God’s grace in Christ Jesus.
Charles H. Welch– Israel and The Mystery
(from Grapes Of Eschol, 1956)
When we consider all that God has said concerning the place that Israel occupies in the outworking of His purposes, when we remember that the Lord Himself acknowledged that ‘Salvation is of the Jews’ (John 4.22), any failure on their part to live up to their high destiny, must inevitably bring about catastrophic consequences, and whether we believe that at Acts 28, that great dispensational rupture occurred or not, the events that happened both to Israel and Jerusalem in A.D. 70 make a change of the attitude of God to the Gentile imperative if salvation is not to die out of the earth.
What God would do, should Israel fail, no one could tell, for such an event is neither foreshadowed nor discussed. No one living before Acts 28 became history, except possibly Paul himself, knew that before the foundation of the world, God had foreseen and provided against such a condition, and until this new truth was revealed to Paul as the Prisoner of Jesus Christ for us Gentiles, it necessarily remained a ‘mystery’ in the fullest sense of the term. That aliens and strangers, Christless, Godless, hopeless Gentiles could ever be the objects of such superlative grace, that of such it could be written:
‘And hath raised us up together, and made us SIT TOGETHER in heavenly places in Christ Jesus’,
never entered the mind of man, and even today is received by comparatively few.
