Archive for E.W. Bullinger
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).
Rev. E.W. Bullinger, D.D.– The Cause of The “Present Distress”
Departure from the teaching of the Pauline epistles was the beginning of apostasy in the church — the commencement of the dark ages. The Reformation was an awakening to a sense of this disobedience, but it was only “in part,” and the condition of the Protestant Evangelical Churches today exhibits as sad a condition, from another point of view, as the church before the Reformation, and needs another Reformation, as great, though of another kind and in a different direction.
To see the root causes of this confusion we shall have to go back to the beginning, and see what Paul’s ministry really was, and was intended to be. It is recorded in Acts 13-28. It is not taken up until after the record of Peter’s ministry is closed.
Paul (Acts 13-28) proclaims to Jews and Gentiles alike, perfection, apart from all ordinances, in union with Christ, in Whom dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. He preaches Christ as Head of the body, the church. He declares “all the counsel of God” (Acts 20: 27). He “fully preaches the word of God” (Col. 1: 25, margin). Paul’s ministry completes the testimony which thus, in connection with the parable of the great supper, ends in grace; while the ministry of Peter and the twelve, in connection with the parable of the dinner, ends in judgment; see Matt. 22: 7, where we have these significant words: “He sent forth His armies, and destroyed those murderers, and burned up their city.”
This refers to the destruction of Jerusalem, while the third ministry (begun by Paul) to the Gentiles is carried on after that destruction, during the National rejection, and while Jerusalem lies desolate. No words could more distinctly express the present Dispensation of Grace to the Gentiles given to the apostle Paul.
After speaking of the Parable of the Great Supper, the Lord first lays down the great truth that those who receive Him must be prepared to give up all connected with Judaism (Luke 14: 26-27), as exemplified by Paul in Phil. 3, where all that he once counted as “gain,” he counted as dross and loss for Christ’s sake.
This is followed by three solemn illustrations as to this coming change in the dispensation, ending with the words (v. 35), “he that hath ears to hear, let him hear.” They are the “Tower,” the “King,” and the “Salt.” These are given after the rejection of Israel had been spoken of in verse 24. Three solemn warnings are conveyed by these as to the folly of claiming apostolic commission and authority when not possessing apostolic power: the warning which Christendom did not heed, and the error into which it has fallen.
THE BUILDING OF THE TOWER (Luke 14: 28-30)
The Lord gave authority and power to His apostles to gather a people to His great supper (Luke 9: 1; Mark 16: 15-18; Luke 24: 47-49; Acts 2: 38 & 15: 14). This was connected first of all with Jerusalem (Acts 1: 4) and with Himself as King of Israel and Lord of all. This authority and power ceased with the apostles to whom they were given, and they never were and never could be transmitted by them to others.
The apostles exercised this authority and power. They baptized; and, by laying on of hands, they conferred miraculous gifts; but they could not transmit to those recipients the authority and power to give those gifts and signs to others. And when the ministry of the kingdom ended, Paul’s ministry of the “gospel of the grace of God” was to be continued and carried on among Jews and Gentiles alike, calling out the members of Christ’s spiritual Body until that body should be complete.
By this illustration of the “Tower” the Lord warns us not to claim this apostolic authority, unless we have the power to complete the work by the laying on of hands, and the bestowal of miraculous gifts, which were the insuperable signs of that power and that authority.
In other words, we are not to begin to “build,” unless we are able to finish.
Instead of this, men soon began to build the church upon the foundation of the kingdom; they began to build this tower, and they went to war with the great enemy. They assumed to act in “apostolic succession,” but were destitute of its authority and power. The result of the attempt to build this tower is another Babel (Gen. 11), and it will soon end in another Babylon (Rev. 17). That which claims to be the continuation of the ministry committed to the twelve apostles becomes “Babylon, the mother of harlots and abominations of the earth.”
The Lord Jesus sent forth His apostles to proclaim the Kingdom of God, with power and authority over all devils (Luke 9: 1). This was the proof that the kingdom of God was come to Israel (Luke 11: 20). The Lord warns men not to proclaim the King and the kingdom unless they have the power to cast out Satan, the great king who is opposed to them. If they have not this power, their true course is to act as ambassadors, seeking the peace of those who are afar off.
The parable teaches plainly the change in the character of the gospel as sent to the Gentiles by Paul from its character as addressed by Peter and the Twelve to Israel. To Israel it proclaimed the Lord Jesus as the King, by His apostles as the heralds of His authority and power; but now to the Gentiles, afar off, the ministers of the Gospel are ambassadors of Christ, desiring His enemies to be reconciled to God.
Those, therefore, who in any sense lay claim to the figment of “Apostolic Succession,” and those also who, while they reject it, yet ignorantly assume the continuation of the apostolic ministry (after the authority, and power, and sign-gifts have alike ceased), are trying to build this Tower, but are unable to finish it. Nay, worse, far worse than this, this building results in another tower of Babel – for confusion is the meaning of its name, and confusion is what we see everywhere around us. They are unable to cope with the great king with whom they contend: they “forsake” not those things that they have (v. 33), and they cannot be, the Lord Jesus Christ says, “My disciples.” They may pretend to be the Apostles’ successors, but are not Christ’s disciples.
The great lesson for us lies in the fact that the apostasy of Christendom began in the departure from the teaching committed to Paul concerning “The Mystery,” or the great secret concerning the Church of God as Body of Christ, “the pillar and ground” of all Church truth.
ORDINANCES ARE THE TEST!
Paul’s “teaching” declares that Christ is made the Head of the Church, which is His Body, and that true believers are the “members” of Christ,” indwelt by “one Spirit,” wherewith, by the “one baptism,” they have been baptized by the “one Lord” in to the “one Body” (Eph. 4); and that these members of Christ are sanctified in Christ; and are called by God into fellowship with His Son; that they are one Spirit with Him, and are “the temple of the living God.”
For these, “Christ hath abolished in His flesh, the law of commandments contained in ordinances.” Col. 2 gives us their true standing. They are “complete in Him” (v. 10). hence, their circumcision is that which is “made without hands,” being “the circumcision of Christ” (v. 11); and if their circumcision is effected without hands, then, of necessity their baptism must be of the same character. Their baptism is Christ’s burial (v. 12): for them, ordinances are “blotted out” and “taken out of the way” (v. 14), and they are asked Why, if they died with Christ from the rudiments (i.e., religious ordinances) of the world, Why are they “subject to ordinances after the commandments and doctrines of men?” (v. 20, 21). Thank God, there are those who thus know their completeness and perfection in Christ.
But there are thousands who have not this wondrous knowledge. The eyes of their understanding are not enlightened (Eph. 1: 8). They are led by those who claim to be successors of the Apostles, and who claim to continue — not Paul’s ministry, but that of the Twelve!
And what was
“THE TEACHING OF THE TWELVE APOSTLES?”
In 1883 there was published, under this title, a MS., then recently discovered in the library of the Patriarch of Jerusalem, at Constantinople. The date of the MS. was June 13th, 1056: but all scholars are agreed that it is a copy of a work which was originally written in the last quarter of the first century. Its existence had long been known, for it had been quoted by the Sub-Apostolic Fathers, Barnabas (A.D. 71), and Hermas (A.D. 100), and by Clement of Alexandria (A.D. 192). Eusebius (H.E. iii. 2), A.D. 330-340, mentions it as well known in his day, and classes it among the “controverted books” of the Canon.
The work consists entirely of moral precepts, and rules as to prayer, fasting, baptism, and the Eucharist, and ends with a solemn reference to the coming of the Lord and the resurrection of the dead.
We cannot, of course, believe that this was the actual teaching of the Twelve. But this is what it had degenerated into before the close of the first century. We can well understand why all Sacramentarians should hail the appearance of this ancient writing: and, instead of seeing in it the corruption of Christianity, and the commencement of the Apostasy, should welcome it, and make it the ground of their “teaching.” But it shows a lack of discernment indeed for others to speak of this Didache, or “Teaching of the Twelve,” with approbation, and to see in it a model for the present day, instead of a departure from Primitive Christianity.
Alas! The teaching of Paul was soon apostasized from! and even the teaching of the Twelve “was corrupted“! That corrupted teaching may be summed up in two words,
MORALITY AND ORDINANCES.
Is not this exactly what we see around us on every hand today? Holding fast to these two, the other two have been abandoned and practically lost, viz., (1) the coming of the Lord, and (2) resurrection as the hope of the church!
This was the cause, the beginning, of the apostasy of Christendom: this it was that led up to and brought on “the dark ages:” and this is the secret cause of “the present distress of the churches.”
The ministry of Paul is rejected, and the ministry of the Twelve is still carried on by those who, though destitute of the Apostles’ authority and power, impose on their hearers “the commandments and doctrines of men,” and put them in subjection to “ordinances:” and, worse than that, they add “commandments… touch not, taste not, handle not“!
Christianity, today, has woefully degenerated. Ordinances have become more and more positive in their character; preaching is being everywhere set aside, while even morality itself is becoming more and more negative. For the most part it consists in abstinence from this or that; and in vows and pledges and badges. It is “touch NOT, taste NOT, handle NOT:” but “all are to perish with the using“; and all are characteristic of the ministry which is now being everywhere exercised.
Rev. E.W. Bullinger, D.D.– The One Great Object Of The Word
(from How To Enjoy The Bible, 1907)
The first great and essential principle which must be ever present with us, when we study the Word of God, as a whole, is not to treat it as something which we have to interpret, but as being that which God has given in order to interpret Himself and His will to us.
i. This applies to Christ; as the Living Word.
When we speak of the “Word” we can never separate the Living Word, the Lord Jesus Christ; and the written word, the Scriptures of Truth.
Each of these is called the “Word,” because the Greek word Logos is used of both.
Logos means the spoken or written word, because it makes manifest, and reveals to us the invisible thoughts.
It is used of Christ, the Living Word, because He reveals the invisible God. “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, He being in the bosom of the Father, This one [hath] declared [Him]” (John 1:18).
It is not that we have to explain Christ, but that His mission is to explain God to us. He interprets the Father. And we have to believe Him.
The word “declare” in John 1:18 is important in this connection, and deeply interesting. It is from ek (ek), out of, or forth, and hgeomai (hegeomai), to lead. Hence the whole compound verb means to lead forth, to make known, to guide, interpret, unfold, reveal, and expound (Luke 24:35).* It is from this verb that we have the cognate noun Exegesis which means Exposition. Wycliffe renders it “He hath told out.” The best Meaning is to make known.
* The word occurs only in Luke 24:35; John 1:18; Acts 10:8, 15:12,14, 21:19.
This is why Christ is called “The Word of God,” because He makes known, reveals, and explains the Father.
This is why the Scriptures are called “the Word of God,” because they make known the Father and the Son, by the Holy Spirit, the author of the Word.
Christ is “the Way” to the Father (John 14). He makes God known to us in all His attributes, will, and words. “I have given them Thy Word.” It is always “THY Word” (John 17:8,14,17).
ii. In like manner the Written Word, the Scripture, is given in order to interpret, and to testify of Christ; and this is why (as we shall see as our next essential principle) Christ is the one great subject of the Word.
This is why the Holy Spirit is the interpreter of both. His mission is to glorify Christ (John 16:14). He receives and shows the “things of Christ” (John 14:15). But He shows them in the Written Word (1 Cor 2:9-14). And this is why it must be He and He alone who enables us to preach that Word.
Thus we have the Word in three manifestations:—
The Incarnate Word,
The Written Word,
The Preached Word.
There is no other. Christ reveals the Father. The Scripture reveals Christ. The Spirit reveals both in the written and in the preached Word (1 Cor 12:7,8).
How wonderfully does this magnify the preached Word; and show the solemnity of the charge in 2 Timothy 4:2, “Preach the Word.”
It shows how small and worthless are all the schemes, tricks and contrivances of present-day evangelists and mission preachers with their ever-new fashions and modern methods, when we see what a high and dignified place God has given to the Preached Word.
How careful should we be that nothing in our manner or matter should lower that dignity, or imply in the slightest degree that the Written Word has lost any of its power; or needs any handmaids or helpmeets.
“I HAVE GIVEN THEM THY WORD“
is the all-sufficient assurance of the Lord Jesus Christ, speaking to the Father. He did not say I have given them Aids to devotion. He did not say I have given them a Hymn-book, or I have given them thy Word AND something else.
He did not give anything instead of, or in addition to, that Word.
And that being so, we are assured that the Word which He gave is all-sufficient, in itself, to accomplish all the purposes of God.
Tribute To E.W. Bullinger
As part of my self-imposed summer reading program, I’ve been leafing through the revised and expanded edition of Juanita S. Carey’s book entitled “E.W. Bullinger: A Biography.” This book is one of the most thoughtful and well-written biographies I’ve read to date, as it showcases the life and learning of one of the foremost names in Dispensational theology.
Ethelbert W. Bullinger was born in 1837 in Canterbury, England. He was the direct descendant of Heinrich Bullinger (1504-1575) the Swiss Reformer – one whom Dr. Mal Couch credits as the co-founder (with Johannes Cocceius) of “Covenant Theology.”
Although E.W. Bullinger was a Dispensationalist for most of his life, he started out in the Anglican church as a covenant theologian. Though he was very familiar with the history of organized Christendom, he never let tradition mold his views of doctrine, but, like his Reformed predecessors, plodded steadily forward, amending his views as he advanced in doctrine, and writing books that are today considered masterpieces of theological acumen.
His first major work appeared in 1877, and is titled “A Critical Lexicon and Concordance To The English and Greek New Testament.” For this work he received a Lambeth doctorate of divinity at the recommendation of the Archbishop of Canterbury. On Sept. 9, 1881, Queen Victoria of England issued a proclamation affirming Bullinger’s doctorate, after he had taken an oath of allegiance to the Monarch and the Thirty-Nine Articles of the church of England.
From this time forward, Dr. Bullinger’s literary productions began to flow from his pen. Not only was Bullinger fully acquainted with the Biblical languages, but his incisive scholarship allowed him to advance upon doctrines developed during the Reformation.
One of Bullinger’s fields of expertise was the literary analysis of the Scriptures. To gain the true meaning of any passage, he affirmed, it is necessary to first determine the scope of the passage. The scope can only be learned from examining the literary structure. Of course, most readers do not know anything about literary structures. And so Bullinger made it his life’s work to teach these principles more clearly. Detailed structures of every passage in Scripture are provided in his magum opus, “The Companion Bible” (available from Kregel Books).
Bullinger was a staunch Dispensationalist. But his form of Dispensationalism is not that of C.I. Scofield or Clarence Larkin. Bullinger, contrary to popular and traditional belief, affirmed that the church of the “One Body” did not actually begin until after Acts 28. Interestingly, this doctrine was one that developed over time, and reached full fruition in a series of articles written during 1911-1913, and published in the periodical “Things to Come.” The articles were later published in book form as “The Lord Hath Spoken: Foundations of Dispensational Truth.”
While not its original purpose, this book really serves as systematic refutation of Preterist theology. Dr. Bullinger was familiar with the arguments put forward by Preterists, and after studying their system he discovered that they had some valid points. Yet after further study, he concluded that they were wrong in placing Christ’s parousia in A.D. 70, as the hope of Israel had already been set aside in Acts 28, and a new parenthetical Dispensation inaugurated. The parousia, once imminent during the Acts period, now lies on the other side of this present Dispensation.
Bullinger’s theology was not a fanciful concoction, but based on painstaking literary analysis of the New Testament. The doctor’s successor, Charles H. Welch, developed and refined his prophetic approach, the results of his studies being later published (in systematic form) in his flagship book “Dispensational Truth” (1912).
While few follow the Bullinger/Welch system today, there are many scholars who have been influenced by, and come under the spell of, Bullinger’s method. During his lifetime, the doctor received a great deal of criticism from colleagues and rivals. However, he did not let this stop him from following in the footsteps of his forebear Heinrich Bullinger, and attempting to construct a cohesive system of Bible-prophecy and eschatology for the edification of the church.
In one of his last books, Dr. Bullinger wrote:
“Alas that so many who call themselves Protestants today are witnesses only against error, and not for truth. They are “Anti-Romanists” instead of witnesses FOR the Word of God which Rome at once both hates and fears. If this lesson could be written in our hearts, we should soon render more effective service. We should not merely be opposed to the varied and outward forms which Rome’s errors take; but we should understand, and be able to witness for the truth which those errors have displaced, and the doctrines of the Word of God which must replace the traditions of men” (Great Cloud of Witnesses, pg. 337).
Like Moses and the prophets in their day, Bullinger bore witness to a perverse and rebellious generation in his own — a generation tainted by rationalism, skepticism, and higher criticism. It is to his credit that he unflinchingly defended the Bible against the attacks of liberals and free-thinkers, allegorists and spiritualizers. Speaking of the binding of Satan during the Millennium, Bullinger wrote:
“We are asked, with a triumphant air: ‘Do you really believe Satan will be bound with an iron chain?’ Our answer is, that there is not a word said about an ‘iron chain!’ Our imagination and knowlegde are so limited, that when God says ‘a great chain,’ we can think only of an ‘iron’ chain, because the chains that we know of are mostly iron. But we are having great and wonderful facts and realities revealed to us here; and it behoves us to believe, where we cannot understand. [...]
”We believe that the war is literal; the taking of the beast and false prophet is literal; Satan is literal, and his binding is literal. [...] There are such things as Figures of Speech; but this not one, nor is it what commentators call ‘figurative language,’ that cannot bind anyone, except themselves and others, to their false system of interpretation.” (The Apocalypse, pg. 609-610).
Despite how others may view him, E.W. Bullinger was a Reformer who raised Dispensationalism to an academic level which it has never before (or since) enjoyed. His love for the pure Word of God, unsoiled by human traditions, and his unrelenting stance on the literal fulfillment of prophecy, and the defense of Israel’s future hope, has made him a target for the arrows of misguided saints, as well as infidels. But the doctrines for which he fought still stand as firm as ever.
Exemplifying his love for the Bible is one of Dr. Bullinger’s last remarks, made on his deathbed to a visiting nurse. When asked by him if she had read any of his books, she replied: “No, I never read any religious books.” Although weak and failing, Dr. Bullinger, roused by these words, replied:
“I never write religious books. Religion may mean anything. What you and I want is not religion, but Christianity. CHRIST.”
It is from adherence to the principles laid down by Dr. Bullinger that this blog exists. Therefore, the very least we can do is give tribute (however small) to a Christian saint whose writings have done perhaps more to reform prophecy and eschatology than anyone else in the history of the church. As a Dispensationalist, it is my privilege to be able to follow in the footsteps Dr. E.W. Bullinger.
Rev. E.W. Bullinger, D.D. — Death, No Gateway To Heaven
In the Christian realm today there is unscriptural teaching concerning the death of the believer in the Lord Jesus Christ.
We are constantly being told by well-meaning Christians that at death, “We go to be with the Lord.” This phrase is used especially at funerals where preachers misquote or take the Scriptures out of context to reassure the sorrowing that their loved ones are not really dead, but are really enjoying Heaven in God’s presence. This teaching promotes belief in the lie of Satan, rather than what God told Adam and Eve when He placed them in the Garden.
In Gen. 2:17 God said, “But of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt not eat of it, for in the day that thou eatest of it thou shalt surely die.” In the Hebrew this could read “Dying thou shalt die.” This was a certainty.
In Gen. 3:1, Satan speaks for the first time in the Scriptures. He asks Eve (by the Figure Erotesis for emphasis), “Yea, hath God said,” or “Can it be that God hath said…?”
In Gen. 3:4, Satan’s second utterance, we read, “And the serpent said unto the woman, ‘Ye shall not surely die’….” This is a plain contradiction of God’s Word in Gen.2:17. As one has said long ago, “This has become the foundation of spiritism and traditional belief as to death.”
Let us search the Scriptures for ourselves and see what God has said and inspired His saints to record regarding the dead.
After the fall of Adam in Gen. 3:6, when he deliberately disobeyed what the Lord had commanded in Gen. 2:16-17, we read in Gen.3:19 God saying to Adam, “In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken; for dust thou art, and unto dust thou shalt return.”
Notice that there is no mention of the traditional “hell.” The sentence is that man returns to dust.
In Job 14 we read in verse 10, “But man dieth and wasteth away: yea, man give up the ghost, and where is he?” Verse 12 reads, “So man lieth down and riseth not: till the heavens be no more, they shall not awake, nor be raised out of their sleep.” Vs. 13-15 reads, “O Thou that wouldest hide me in the grave, that Thou wouldest keep me secret, until Thy wrath be past, that Thou wouldest appoint me a set time, and remember me! All the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Thou shalt call, and I will answer Thee…“
These verses in Job 14 teach us that Job, a believer, in God, acknowledges that man is but dust and returns to the dust at death. In that state, Job, as a believer, awaits a resurrection when God will call him to awake, and Job will answer. Death is but a sleep to the believer. This is what our Lord taught in John 11, and what Paul taught in 1Thess.4 and 1Cor.15. We shall speak of these passages later.
In Psalm 89:48, the writer says, “What man is he that liveth, and shall not see death? Shall he deliver his soul (himself), for the hand (power) of the grave?”
We read in Psalm 115:17, “The dead praise not the Lord, neither any that go down into silence.”
Psalm 49 teaches that man is not able to redeem himself, but is doomed to corruption. He is like the beasts that perish, (v. 12 &20). God alone redeems us from the grave or dust (v. 15).
In Ecclesiastes 9:5 we read that the dead know not anything, neither have they anymore a reward (advantage); for the memory of them is forgotten (ceases to exist). See also v.10.
The context of Eccl. 12 concerns the approaching old age of the individual. The once strong body is now like a frail trembling person unable to help himself. Verse 7 tells us that dust (body) returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit shall return to God who gave it. The word for spirit is the Hebrew word “ruach“, not nephesh (soul).
According to Gen. 2:7 the Lord God formed man of the dust of the earth, or ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath (Heb. neshamah) of life and man became a living soul (Heb.-nephesh). So man is a soul, and without life (given by God) man is-or becomes-a dead soul. It is the spirit, or life, that God gives and takes away. There are no souls (as separate parts of the person) in Heaven.
What did our Lord say just before He died in Luke 23:46? “And when Jesus cried with a loud voice, He said, Father, into Thy hands I commend My spirit: and having said thus, He gave up the ghost.” Jesus breathed life and it was committed into the Father’s care. Jesus for 3 days and three nights was dead.
Now back to the Old Testament again to see what God caused to be recorded.
In Gen. 25:8, we read, “Then Abraham gave up the ghost, and died in a good old age, an old man, and full of years; and was gathered to his people.” This last phrase is an idiomatic figure of expression for death and burial. Abraham’s people were idolaters. See Joshua 24:2. So Abraham, the man of God, the man of faith, at his death went to the grave (dust of the earth), just as his people did who were idolaters.
In Gen. 35:29, we read, “And Isaac gave up the ghost, and died, and was gathered unto his people, being old and full of days: and his sons Esau and Jacob buried him.”
In Gen. 49:29 we read, “And he (Jacob) charged them, and said unto them, “I am to be gathered unto my people; bury me with my fathers in the cave that is in the field of Ephron the Hittite.” Verse 33 reads, “And when Jacob had made an end of commanding his sons, he gathered up his feet into the bed, and yielded up the ghost, and was gathered unto his people.”
Again we say that this expression “gathered unto his people” was a Hebrew idiom used for death and burial. There is no suggestion here of any one going to a place of bliss. It will take the resurrection power of God to raise the dead ones.
In Deut.32:49 the Lord told Moses to go to Mount Nebo to view the land of Canaan. In verse 50 God said, “And die in the mount….and be gathered unto thy people; as Aaron thy brother died in Mount Hor, and was gathered unto his people.”
In Deut.34:5-7 we have recorded the burial of Moses by the Lord, which is said of no other. Verse 5, “So Moses the servant of the Lord died there in the land of Moab, according to the Word of the Lord.” Verse 6, “And He buried him in the valley in the land of Moab, over against Beth-Peor; but no man knoweth of his sepulchre unto this day.” Verse 7, “And Moses was an hundred and twenty years old when he died: his eye was not dim nor his natural force abated.”
In Psalm 6:5, David in his prayer said, “For in death there is no remembrance of Thee. In the grave who shall give Thee thanks?” Also, in Psalm 30:9, “What profit is there in my ‘blood’ (or life), when I go down to the pit? Shall the dust praise Thee? shall it declare Thy truth?” Lev.17:11 says,”For the life of the flesh is in the blood…”
Turning now to the New Testament we see in John 3:16“…that whosoever believeth on Him (Christ) should not perish, but have everlasting life.” And in John 3:36, “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life…” Again in John 5:24, “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word and believeth on Him that sent Me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.” These verses do not teach us that the believer will not die, for in the next verse the Lord tells us, “..The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.” This living is in the resurrection. The eternal life promised us will be fulfilled completely in the resurrection.
In John 11 we see the glory of God shown by the raising of Lazarus from the dead. In verse 11 Jesus said to His disciples, “…Our friend Lazarus; but go, that I may awake him out of sleep.”
Take note here that Lazarus, the brother of Mary and Martha, was already dead. He was not in heaven. Verses 13 and 14 tells us exactly what the Lord meant in verse 11 when He said, “Lazarus sleepeth.” Verse 14 reads, “Then said Jesus unto them plainly, ‘Lazarus is dead.’ Now Lazarus is seen here as already decaying (verse 39). In verse 24, Martha says to the Lord, “I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day.” She did not believe that her brother was in some place of bliss, such as Abraham’s bosom. This is the error that the unbelieving Pharisees taught the Jews. It was a false teaching that the Lord exposed in Luke 16 when He addressed these unbelieving Pharisees.
We remember the Old Testament teaching that man is a soul (Gen.2:7), and that at death his spirit, or life, goes back to God who gave it.
In John 11:33, when Jesus saw Mary weeping, and the Jews which came with her, He groaned in the spirit (or Himself), and was troubled. The word ‘groaned’ has the meaning to snort as a horse does from fear or anger. Hence, to feel strong emotion or to be indignant.
The grave, or death is the realm of Satan, and Christ was about to remove Lazarus from this realm ahead of the resurrection time. The Lord was soon to go to the cross and die and be raised to break the power of the grave which Satan held. Of course, Lazarus had to die again as he did not have a resurrected body.
This whole context of chapter 11 was to show forth the glory of God as Jesus said in verse 40. If you, as a Christian, one who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ as your personal Savior, believe that upon death a part of you can exist apart from the body, (which is exactly what the unbelieving Pharisees taught the Jews) and this part of you is enjoying himself in this state, then tell me: why did the Lord bring back Lazarus to this realm of woe and sorrow?
Also, why was the command given to the 12 in Matt.10:8 to raise the dead? And again, why did Elijah the prophet raise from death the widow’s son in 1Kings 17:17-24? And why did Paul in Acts 20:10 bring to life Eutychus, who was taken up dead? There is no place in the Scriptures where who were raised from death ever spoke of being in Heaven, or in a place of bliss.
Turn to Acts 2:29. Peter, speaking to Jewish people shortly after the day of Pentecost, said, “Men and brethren, let me freely (or frankly) speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre (or tomb) is with us unto this day.” Can anyone truthfully say that David, in some form, has gone to heaven to be with Christ? What does verse 34 tell us? “For David is not ascended into the heavens…”
Peter had just received the promise of God spoken of in Luke 24:49 by the resurrected Christ. This promise was to be endued (or filled) with power from on high. Peter received this on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2:1-4. We must believe this Spirit-filled man when he said David has not ascended up to the heavens. David is seen as still sleeping in the dust. He is awaiting the call to life by his Lord.
In Acts 13, we find the apostle Paul speaking in Antioch (in Pisidia) to men of Israel, and those that fear God. In verses 16-37 Paul is giving forth a short summary of the history of Israel as a nation. The climax of this discussion is that God sent His son to Israel to be their Savior; they crucified Him, but God raised Him up. In verses 35-37 Paul writes, “Wherefore He saith also in another psalm, ‘Thou shalt not suffer Thine Holy One to see corruption; For David after he had served his own generation by the will of God, fell on asleep, and was laid unto His fathers, and saw corruption. But He, whom God raised again, saw no corruption.”
Here we see the contrast between David and God’s Son, Jesus Christ. The expression “fell on sleep” is used by Paul for David’s dying and remaining in the grave, or state of death, until resurrection. David’s body experienced decay and corruption. Christ’s body did not see corruption as he was raised the third day. So Paul’s teaching agrees with Peter concerning the state of David.
Paul, the apostle of God, and chosen by God to preach good news to the nations concerning His Son Jesus Christ, was inspired to reveal more light on death of the believer and his resurrection from the state of death.
In 1Cor.15:12-23, Paul answers the objection of some in his day who said that there is no resurrection of dead ones. Paul said, “…if there be no resurrection of dead ones then Christ never was raised.”
In verse 17, Paul carries the case one step further and said, “…if Christ be not raised, then is our preaching vain (to no purpose), ye are yet in your sins.” Note here, the believers who have died (fallen asleep) are also perished. If believers go immediately to Heaven at death, could Paul have uttered this strong statement-”are also perished“? In verse 20 Paul shouts forth the the truth: “But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.” Note how often in these Scriptures we read of them that sleep, have fallen asleep, asleep in Christ. We cannot ignore these words which the Holy Spirit inspired, and say of the dead that they are not really dead, but immediately ushered into God’s presence.
Paul tells us in verse 22, “For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive.” Verse 23 “But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at His coming.” Christ is and has to come again. Verse 26 tells us the last enemy to be destroyed is death. Death has not yet been put down, but because of Christ’s death and resurrection Satan’s hold on the power of death will eventually be put down.
We as believers in Christ are yet mortals, but we have the promise of immortality. In 1Tim.6:16 Scripture says that God only has immortality.
In 1Cor.15:51-55 we see more of God’s truth being revealed or made known. In verses 51 and 53 Paul says, “Behold, I show you a mystery (secret); We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed. For this corruptible must put on corruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.”
Paul then says that when all the above happens, when shall be brought forth to pass the word that is written, “Death is swallowed up in victory. O death where is thy sting, O grave where is they victory?” See Isa.25:8 and Hosea 13:14.
When Paul wrote these truths to the Corinthians during the Acts period, Israel as a nation was on trial before God. The rulers and high priests had rejected their Messiah who had come according to their prophets. God answered Christ’s prayer on the cross, “Father forgive them for they know not what they do.”
So, Israel had a second chance to repent as a nation and turn to Jesus their Messiah as Peter states in Acts 2 and 3. But stubborn Israel refused and God started to deal with individuals rather then the nation of Israel. The time element was such that Israel’s Great Tribulation, the time of Jacob’s Trouble spoken by Daniel the prophet, was very close at hand.
Paul’s message in 1Co.15 includes truths concerning this period of Israel’s tribulation as seen in versed 51 and 52. Paul expected that he could be one of those that would be alive at the end time of Israel’s Great Tribulation.
In verse 51 Paul said, “Behold, I shew (or tell) you a mystery (secret); We shall not all sleep (but be actually alive), but we shall all be changed (that is we shall instantly put on a resurrected body). Verse 52, “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumped shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we (the living) shall be changed. “Verse 53, “For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality.” Verse 54, “So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, ‘Death is swallowed up in victory.’ “Verse 55, “O death where is thy sting? O grave where is thy victory?”
These verses teach us that at this time, the living believer, as well as the dead believer in Christ, must put on a resurrected, glorified body in order to be partaker in Christ’s second coming. The dead ones have to be made alive and be clothed in an incorruptible body, and the living mortals must put on immortality, or instantly be changed with a spiritual glorified body.
Another area in Scriptures that is constantly used by both preachers and laymen is 2Cor. 5:8. This verse is taken out of it’s context to show that at death the believer is immediately alive in Heaven. This is not what the verse or context teaches us.
The subject matter form 4:14 to 5:8 is the believer’s resurrection and his present body and resurrection body. We have the Apostle Paul explaining to the Corinthians in 5:1 that there is a spiritual body that God has in His power to give at the time resurrection.In verse 2 Paul says, “For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house (habitation) which is FROM Heaven.” Paul expected and looked for the return of the Lord in his own lifetime during the Acts. He earnestly wanted a changed body ( the on spoken of in 5:1). Paul did not want to die, but rather the opposite, he wanted to be alive at Christ’s coming.
Paul said in 5:4 “For we that are in this tabernacle (or body) do groan, being burdened; not that we would be unclothed (dead and naked state with no body), but clothed upon (with that new or resurrected spiritual body of v. 1), that mortality might be swallowed up by life (eternal life). “
Paul was looking for the return of Christ in his lifetime, and so while still living in the flesh he could groan at for that new body. He could not groan at all if he were dead. He did not want to be found naked, or dead at Christ’s coming, but hoped to be alive, or clothed.
In v. 6 Paul explains that if we are at home (alive) in this body, we are absent from the Lord (without a change taking place or resurrection we do not see Christ). Verse 8 is often taken out of context of resurrection, to tell people that their loved ones who have died are now with the Lord. This is not what Paul is saying at all.
He sums up the context from 4:14 to 5:8 which concerns the earthly body (mortal) and the spiritual body (resurrection body).
Paul in verse 8 would be well pleased and delighted to leave this body (mortal body) and to present with the Lord (in his resurrected body). Now the error that is prevalent is, that apart from resurrection one at death can be immediately with the Lord. This error is taught in spite of what Paul teaches in 1Tim 6:16, that God only has immortality, but only in resurrection, not at death. Paul said in 1Cor.15:53, “This mortal must put on immortality.” This is in the context in resurrection.
At almost every funeral we find the preacher contradicting his message in which he has assured the bereaved that their loved one is now in God’s presence. After he quotes 2Cor.5:8 and not the previous verses of the context, he will most likely turn to 1Thess. 4:14-18. These verses flatly contradict the teaching that at death the believer departs to be with the Lord. Let us examine the context of this passage more closely.
Both epistles to the Thessalonians contain teaching concerning the soon coming of the Lord as predicted by the Lord himself in Matt.24 and Acts 1:1-7. The exact time of Christ’s second coming was not for His disciples to know, but the signs of that early period of Acts pointed to His soon appearance. Paul taught these things during all of missionary journeys, and wrote them to 1 & 2 Thess. and also 1 & 2 Cor. In Thess 1:10 Paul admonishes the believers who turned from idols to serve the true and living God, “…to wait for His Son from Heaven, Whom He raised out from the dead, even Jesus which delivered us from the wrath to come.” These believers in Christ were told to wait, to look for Christ’s coming in their lifetime.
But now since Paul had first visited them, some of the new converts had died. This had caused much sorrow among them, for now their dead ones would miss Christ’s coming.
So Paul had to write words of comfort to these people and he does this in Thess. 4:13-18. In verse 13 Paul writes, “I would not have you be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep (have died), that you sorrow not, even as others (unbelievers) which have no hope.” Notice the expression Paul uses here as he does so much else where, ‘them which are asleep.’ For Paul this meant that death is likened to sleep. Now in verse 14 Paul is showing the bereaved ones why they should not sorrow over their dead ones. “For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God (through Jesus) bring with Him.”
Here are the comforting words of Paul for the bereaved saints. They will come with Jesus at His coming to earth. But, you say, they are sleeping in death. Yes, but the next few verses explain how they will come with the Lord.
Verse 15: “For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive (have not died) and remain unto the coming of the Lord, shall not precede (go ahead) of the sleeping ones to meet the Lord.”
In verses 16 and 17 Paul explains just how this takes place and the sequence of events. “For the Lord Himself shall descend from Heaven with a shout (word of command), with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive, and remain (the living believers at this event), shall be caught up (snatched away) together with them (the risen dead ones) in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air: and so (by this order of events) shall we ever be with the Lord.”
This context the reveals the truth of God for this great event and the sequence in which it unfolds. These words of Paul were given in comfort to believers in verse 13.
Do you not see the contradiction of words of those who tell us our loved ones are already enjoying the bliss of Heaven? Friends, it takes a resurrection time to unite dead believers unto a living spiritual or resurrection body. The Scriptures demand such an explanation.
It seems to me that it is high time for the scriptural truth to be taught regarding the state of the dead that the Holy Spirit has given us to understand.
To sum up this teaching regarding the state of the believer who had died in Christ, we offer the following points:
1. Adam was created by God and was or became a living soul when God breathed into his nostrils the breath of life. (Gen. 2:7). There is no basis for teaching that the man Adam had a soul in this or any other passage of Scripture.
2. If Adam disobeyed God by eating of the tree of knowledge of good and evil, Adam would die. (Gen 2:17).
3. Satan told Eve that she would not surely die. (Gen. 3:4)
4. The penalty of death was to return to dust of the earth. (Gen. 3:17-19).
5. The Old Testament teaches us that at death, the believers in God, gave up the spirit and were gathered to their people. This was and idiomatic expression for dying and being buried, just as their people before them had done. (Gen.49:29-33, 35:29, Deut.32:48-50).
6. The Psalms and Ecclesiastes teach that at death the spirit (that which is life) goes back to God who gave it. Also, in death, there is no memory, for the dead know nothing (Psalms 89:48, 115:17, Ecc.9:5, 12:7).
7. Our Lord taught His disciples that belief in Him would assure them of eternal life. They had this hope and joy within them, but it was in the resurrection that this promise was to be fully realized (John 10:27-28, 11:25-26, 5:24, 3:14-18, 3:36).
8. The expressions asleep, asleep in Christ, fallen asleep, and dead in Christ, were used by Christ and the Apostle Paul to show that the believer who had died was not to remain in the grave or death state forever. The time in the grave for the believer is so short that it is likened to going to sleep and awakening in the morning. Time for the dead believer does not exist (John 11:11-15, Acts 13:36, 1Cor.15:18-20, 1Thess.4:13-18).
9. Paul teaches us that only in the resurrected body can the saint, or Christian, be at home with the Lord. No one can live eternally with the Lord apart from his resurrection body. Paul strongly affirms that only God has immortality in Himself. We as living or dead believers have to put on immortality, and this is not when we die, but when Christ gives us a resurrection body in that day. (1Cor.15:42-44, 5-1-55, 2Cor.5:1-8; 1Tim.6:14-16).
