by CBTS Student | May 13, 2024 | Biblical Theology, Hermeneutics, Old Testament, Systematic Theology
Introduction
In another sphere of life, the present author was privileged to sit under the teaching of a well-known veterinary cardiologist, Robert Hamlin. Professor Hamlin was a gifted researcher and clinician with a unique teaching style: case scenarios were laid out in all their gory detail––the relevant and the peripheral––with complexity often followed by confusion! Hamlin would famously break through students’ quiet cogitation with the helpful question, “What bothers you?” The question was really this: “What does not fit the pattern?” “What stands out as strange?” He asked the question because years of diagnostic experience taught him that information that seems to break with the pattern may be the key to solving the problem––it may be the very thing that makes sense of the whole case.
As in medicine, so in hermeneutics:[1] the texts most challenging to the interpreter––with elements that do not seem to “fit,” and which force him somewhere unexpected––are the very texts that often make sense of many other texts. Ezekiel 40-48, often called the “temple vision,” is a difficult case. “What bothers you?” The gory details are sometimes relevant and sometimes peripheral (e.g., Ezek. 40-42). “What does not fit the pattern?” Somehow, there are priests and Levites in what seems like an eschatological setting making sacrifices. “What stands out as strange?” The prince and priests are different people. If this is the end-time temple, where is the Lord Jesus? Questions could be multiplied.
The present study proceeds in three sections, trusting that interaction with difficult questions in Ezekiel 40-48 will lead to correct contextual and redemptive-historical interpretation. First, the problems are presented, then three possible solutions are outlined, and finally, the problem is solved. The thesis is simple: Ezekiel 40-48, though bothersome in the beginning, is only prophetic idiom pointing to the true Temple, the Lord Jesus, and His Spirit dwelling in His church. This text shapes the interpreter’s box into a Christ-centered box; what does not seem to fit at first blush becomes perfectly fitting, in Christ.
The Problem
In the most important sense, there is no problem with the text of Ezekiel 40-48. It is the inerrant, inspired, infallible, authoritative, and perspicuous Word of God. While it is here necessary to summarize the textual data, any discussion of problems “with the text” more properly concerns problems with the interpretation of the text. As Keith Stanglin observes:
Exegesis can go wrong in all sorts of ways . . . we want to see how landing on one side of the spectrum between literal and spiritual can lead to imbalance. In other words, very few interpreters are all letter or all spirit, but the closer they come to either extreme, the more liable they are to err.[2]
It may be even better to say that the problem is with the interpreters themselves. The noetic effects of sin are painfully clear as one approaches Ezekiel’s temple Vision.[3]
Ezekiel begins: “In the visions of God he brought me to the land of Israel” (Ezek. 40:2). In the first three chapters of this vision (40-42), the temple architecture is described exhaustively (it seems). Ezekiel spends ninety verses relating his angelic tour guide’s precise temple measurements in two dimensions. Although much larger, the dimensions of Ezekiel’s temple complex are analogous to Solomon’s temple (cf. 1 Kings 6:1 ff.). Beale points out that several key pieces of temple furniture are missing from this vision when contrasted with Solomon’s temple and the tabernacle in the wilderness. Nine items are not described: the large bronze basin (sea), the golden lampstand, the table of showbread, the altar of incense, the veil separating the holy of holies, the high priest, the anointing oil, the ark of the covenant, and the cherubim.[4] Suddenly the glory of God returns to the temple in chapter 43: “the Spirit lifted me up and brought me into the inner court; and behold, the glory of the Lord filled the temple” (Ezek. 43:5). God then instructs Ezekiel to tell the people in exile in Babylon all about this vision, and Ezekiel proceeds to describe the exact dimensions of the altar of burnt offering in the inner court. Ezekiel introduces the idea of sacrifice into a seemingly eschatological context.
The gate of the prince is introduced in chapter 44, “Only the prince may sit in it to eat bread before the Lord. He shall enter by way of the vestibule of the gate, and shall go out by the same way” (Ezek. 44:3). The reader understands that there will be a prince, and he has somewhat limited access to God’s presence in the heart of the temple. General temple access is restricted: “Thus says the Lord God: No foreigner, uncircumcised in heart and flesh, of all the foreigners who are among the people of Israel, shall enter my sanctuary” (Ezek. 44:9). There are Levites and priests, ceremonially clean, to minister in the sanctuary.
Chapter 45 briefly moves beyond the temple complex to the area just outside of the temple walls, the “holy district” (Ezek. 45:1-6). The prince is also given a portion of land (Ezek. 45:7-9). If earlier allusions to sacrifices related to consecration were not clear, the remainder of chapter 45 concerns itself with all kinds of sacrifices, and even the yearly rehearsal of the Passover celebration (Ezek. 45:18). Chapter 46 continues the discussion of important feasts celebrated in the visionary temple, even describing where the Levitical priests are to boil particular offerings (cf. Ezek. 46:20).
There is a river flowing from the center of the sanctuary. Strangely, it has no tributaries, but always increases in depth and is even able to reverse the salinity of the Dead Sea (Ezek. 47:8). Now outside the temple complex in chapters 47-48, Ezekiel relates the divisions of the land of Israel according to the tribes in perfect parallel allotments with the temple complex and the holy city centrally located north-to-south. Finally, the name of the city from that time on shall be, “The Lord Is There” (Ezek. 48:30).[5]
The analogy of faith refers “to the principle that any interpretation must be in accord with the teaching of the Scripture taken as a whole.”[6] The author of Hebrews is very clear:
And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified (Heb. 10:11-14)
The need for sacrifices to take away sin is over after the coming of Christ. John presents Christ as the fulfillment of the temple: “Destroy this Temple and in three days I will raise it up” (Jn. 2:19). Christ breaks down the dividing wall between Jew and Gentile––there is no privileged access to God (Eph. 2:11-22). Ezekiel 40-48 does not fit the pattern. If Ezekiel presents a literal eschatological temple, “What does not fit?” is the apparent disregard for the finished work of Christ. “What bothers you?” is an apparent backward step in redemptive history. The very horns of Ezekiel’s altar put the interpreter on the horns of a dilemma!
The Problem Examined
G.K. Beale is correct in affirming, “The main lines of interpretation are, at least, fourfold.”[7] First, some understand Ezekiel 40-48 as describing a literal, physical temple built in geographical Israel. Second, at the other extreme, it may be posited that the temple is purely visionary and figurative, with no corresponding physical reality or structure. Somewhere in the middle is the position that Ezekiel is figuratively describing an ideal temple; it has reality somewhere but only in miniature or deescalated fashion, such as Zerubbabel’s “day of small things” temple (Zech. 4:10). A final moderating position understands a temple that is 1) real, but 2) figuratively described, and 3) corresponding to a non-structural physical reality (see Figure 1 below). Although the present author is certain that great men of God have held to the third view, the popularity of the first, second, and fourth views in the modern-day merit more detailed analysis.
Figure 1
|
|
Temple is a Structure |
Temple in Non-Structural |
| Temple is Real |
First, “Dispensational” |
Fourth, “Covenantal” or “Type-Antitype” |
| Temple is Figurative |
Third, “Miniature Realization”
|
Second, “Ideal Only” |
Charles Ryrie, John MacArthur, and John Walvoord are modern proponents of the first view. Ryrie writes, “Anyone who has a sensible view of reason would, it seems, have to admit that not to take literally and plainly the many specific details in the chapters (careful measurements, places, etc.) contravenes all reason.”[8] The temple and scarifies are future and concrete––they occur in the one thousand years between the return of Christ and the end of the world. Sacrifices have three general purposes in the millennial kingdom: theocratic forgiveness (as in the Mosaic economy), to prefigure or foreshadow deliverance since unbelievers will still be present in the millennial kingdom, and to show obedience in the Christian life.[9] Yet, Christ is present in Jerusalem physically, and Ryrie acknowledges (in part) the message of Hebrews, noting that millennial believers in his view “will certainly realize that the Day of Atonement is no longer necessary.”[10] Responding to objectors, Ryrie concludes, “These are all worthy purposes and in no way backward steps in the progressive revelation of the glory of God.”[11]
The MacArthur Study Bible note on Ezekiel 40:5 echoes Ryrie’s position:
This could not be the heavenly temple since Ezekiel was taken to Israel to see it (v. 2). It could not be Zerubbabel’s temple since the glory of God was not present then. It could not be the eternal temple since the Lord and the Lamb are its temple (cf. Rev. 21:22). Therefore, it must be the earthly millennial temple built with all of the exquisite details that are yet to be outlined.[12]
By process of elimination, the author of this study note affirms the first view (see Figure 1). When the question of temple sacrifice is raised in the subsequent note on Ezekiel 40:38-47, the reader learns that sacrifices, “will exist as vv. 39–43 indicate, but will be no more efficacious then than they were in OT times. No sacrifice before or after Christ saves. They only point to Him as the one true Lamb who takes away sin.”[13] So, the sacrifices serve to point backward to Jesus as a memorial for MacArthur. In a recorded question-and-answer session at Grace Community Church where he pastors, MacArthur was asked about Ezekiel 44. After affirming the physical construction of a temple in the millennial kingdom, the further transcript of his answer reads, “And I also believe that, according to Ezekiel 40 to 48, in that millennial temple, there will also be a reenactment symbolically of the significance of the worship of the old covenant. So what you have there, in a symbolic form, is the activity of the temple.”[14]
John Walvoord, although more conciliatory in his language, nonetheless believes:
Inasmuch as the specifications are very specific and imply a literal temple and inasmuch as having a temple in the millennium would coincide with a period of joy and peace and worship of the Lord, it would seem best to consider this temple a literal temple, though problems of interpretation remain.[15]
Walvoord recognizes the sacrifices as physical blood-letting along with Ryrie and MacArthur, and is comfortable with the view that “the sacrifices will be memorial, much as the Lord’s Supper is a memorial in the church age for the death of Christ.”[16] Uniquely he goes on to say that the sacrifices will be necessary in the millennial kingdom because ideal circumstances “will tend to cause people to gloss over the awfulness of sin and the need for bloody sacrifice.”[17]
Representing the second view (see Figure 1 above) is Daniel Block. After a careful consideration of ten factors which ought to influence the interpreter’s understanding of Ezekiel 40-48, Block states his position:
Nevertheless, in view of the considerations cited above, it seems best to interpret chs. 40–48 ideationally. The issue for the prophet is not physical geography but spiritual realities. As in his earlier vision, historical events are described from a theological plane, and the interpreter’s focus must remain on the ideational value of that which is envisioned.[18]
Although Block is not happy with a full eschatological understanding of the text, his ideal view leaves very little daylight between this second view, and the fourth view (discussed below). “Ezekiel’s final vision presents a lofty spiritual ideal: Where God is, there is Zion . . . Ezekiel hereby lays the foundation for the Pauline spiritualization of the temple.”[19] Block has no problem explaining sacrifices: this is Ezekiel’s perfect idea of the old Jerusalem temple, now operating at its peak efficiency––of course there is bloody sacrifice! Although this may foreshadow the new creation, a fully eschatological analysis “is weakened considerably by the absence of eschatological language.”[20]
The fourth view is the position of G.K. Beale (see Figure 1). Like Block, Beale is very concerned with understanding intertextual connections within Ezekiel and across sacred Scripture (a tendency not as prominent in the proponents of the first view), but he goes further than Block: “Ezekiel 40–48 foresees an ideal heavenly temple that already has existence and that will descend to earth at the end of history.”[21] In other words, Ezekiel is using figurative language familiar to his audience to paint a picture of present heavenly reality––God dwells there––that will be an earthly reality––God dwells here. Again, in Beale’s words:
Hence, it is not incorrect to say that Ezekiel speaks in the language and images familiar to his audience in portraying sacrifices in a temple to prophesy about the escalated redemptive-historical realities of Christ’s sacrifice and the church’s imitation of that sacrifice.[22]
Against Block, Beale argues that “expression of eschatological ‘concepts’ does not always depend on the use of technical eschatological ‘terms.’”[23] This is something like the word-concept fallacy.[24] And yet, as noted above, there is not much daylight between Block and Beale: “Despite some minor disagreements with Block’s view, we believe that his view of an ideal temple could be combined with an eschatological approach.”[25] The line of demarcation between Block and Beale is essentially the notion in Beale that Revelation 21 is the fulfillment of Ezekiel 40-48. Beale is comfortable with the concept of Ezekiel’s temple vision as inaugurated (not consummated) eschatology. “While Ezekiel’s temple portrays end-time conditions, these conditions are part of an inaugurated, but not a consummated, eschatology.”[26] It seems best to understand Beale’s view of the vision as pertaining to the church age, and pointing beyond.
The Problem Solved
It seems that the proponents of the first view are more bothered by deviation from a “literal, grammatical, and historical” hermeneutic than by deviation from analogia fide:
Anyone who consistently uses a normal, plain, historical-grammatical, or literal hermeneutic will reject those interpretations [second and fourth in our discussion] out of hand. Also, anyone who has a sensible view of reason would, it seems, have to admit that not to take literally and plainly the many specific details in the chapters (careful measurements, places, etc.) contravenes all reason.[27]
One is disappointed to watch scholars and shepherds confuse literal with literalistic interpretation. Interpreting Ezekiel as if it were a historical narrative forces one to say that Christians will slaughter animals in a Jerusalem temple after the Lord Jesus (the Temple, the Priest, the Lamb) returns to reign. It entails the idea of a new Levitical priesthood, thereby disconnecting Ezekiel from redemptive history. That does not fit! May it never be!
On the other hand, as the second and fourth views are considered, the question “What bothers you?” about Ezekiel’s temple vision disappears. While Ryrie, MacArthur, and Walvoord are allergic to perceived “allegorical leaps,” Block and Beale have allowed Ezekiel himself and the authoritative interpretation of the New Testament to shape their analysis. Indeed, “Prophecy is the language of judgment, anguish, longing, and celebration . . . it is filled with poetic pictures and exaggerated expressions.”[28] The second and fourth views account for the prophetic genre of the temple vision. Generally missing in the first view, genre analysis and Bible-wide view of the temple and its development are considered here.
Again, when “careful measurements” in 40-42 do not “seem to fit,” rather than forcing a literalistic view, the concept of prophetic idiom must be applied. As Lee Irons explains, “When the prophets spoke of the Messiah’s reign, they described it in terms and figures of speech drawn from their Israelite context.”[29] Ezekiel (the priest come prophetic author) uses temple imagery to prefigure a non-structural reality in a way that would make sense to an exiled audience longing for temple worship! (cf. Ps. 137:5).
Proper attention to context correctly allows Beale to find parallels between Ezekiel’s temple vision and earlier theophanic visions in chapters 1 and 8-9: the same introductory formulae are used, and on all three occasions the vision of the glory of God is central. This “bind[s] them all together.”[30] Beale argues elsewhere that chapter 37 already discusses “temple” in the sense of God’s presence with His people (not in a building).[31] Ryrie et. al. do not interpret chapters 1 and 8-9 literalistically which seems to be an interpretive contradiction. Further, exegetical features of 40-48 such as the use of mountain imagery and the divine stream of ever-increasing depth point one to a symbolic, eschatological interpretation.
Both Block and Beale move beyond the book of Ezekiel, finding canonical and redemptive-historical connections. Block recalls John 7: “Ezekiel’s vision of the stream also lives on in the NT. One may recognize a veiled allusion in Jesus’ words in John 7:38: ‘As the scripture has said, “Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.”’”[32] Beale finds the imagery of Revelation 21 to be an escalation of Ezekiel 40-48:
The broad structure of the city from 21:12–22:5 is based on the vision of Ezekiel 40–48. Ezekiel 40–44 prophesies the pattern of the final temple, and Ezekiel 45–48 primarily depicts the future arrangement of the eschatological city and the divisions of the land around the temple compound. Revelation 21:12–22:5 further interprets the yet-future fulfillment of Ezekiel by collapsing the temple, city, and land into one end-time picture portraying the one reality of God’s communion with his people.[33]
If one remains confused by the description of bloody sacrifices in the temple vision, Beale responds that this “may be solved by seeing them beginning fulfillment in Christians who offer themselves to God by suffering for their faith” [34] There is sacrifice of praise, and sacrifice of blood in the Christian church, to which the vision points.
Ezekiel’s temple vision in 40-48 is a figurative description of the heavenly reality of God’s presence in His heavenly temple––it is ideal (second interpretation). This temple has come to earth in non-structural form through the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2). Ezekiel’s vision therefore describes inaugurated eschatology, or the church age where suffering and sacrifice remain. Yet there are fantastic elements that point well beyond the present church age to the new creation in the age to come (fourth interpretation).
Conclusion
Ezekiel 40-48 exposes the deficiency of the so-called literal, grammatical, and historical hermeneutic, much like a difficult case may expose the incomplete training of a medical student. At base, the first view does what no experienced interpreter ought to do: it misses Christ, His finished work, and His church. On the other hand, Beale and Block do not force theological gymnastics related to memorial sacrifices and detailed measurements. “What does not fit the pattern?” When one allows Scripture itself to set the pattern, with attention to near and far context, intertextual connections, and genre analysis, Ezekiel 40-48 is not a “problem text.” The diagnosis is straightforward: this is about the Lord Jesus and his church in this age, and in the age to come. “What does not fit?” It is all perfectly fitting, in Christ.
About the Author
Brandt Athey is a 2024 graduate of the Master of Arts in Theological Studies program (historical/systematic emphasis). In his other life, Brandt is a small animal veterinarian practicing in Lakewood, OH. He is the grateful husband of Stephanie and father of his son, Lawson, and daughter, London. The Athey family worships with God’s people at Olmsted Falls Bible Church near Cleveland, OH.
[1] “Hermeneutics may be defined briefly as the theory of interpretation.” Sinclair B. Ferguson and J.I. Packer, New Dictionary of Theology (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2000), 293.
[2] Keith Stanglin, The Letter and Spirit of Biblical Interpretation: From the Early Church to Modern Practice (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Publishing Group, 2018), loc. 4958, Kindle.
[3] “The ‘noetic effect of sin’ is one aspect of the doctrine of ‘total depravity’ which declares that the fall reaches deep down into a man’s very being.” Gary DeMar, Pushing the Antithesis: The Apologetic Methodology of Greg L. Bahnsen (Powder Springs, GA: American Vision, 2007), 278.
[4] G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission: A Biblical Theology of the Dwelling Place of God, ed. D. A. Carson, vol. 17, New Studies in Biblical Theology (Downers Grove, IL; England: InterVarsity Press; Apollos, 2004), 354.
[5] The ESV Study Bible has very helpful diagrams of the city, temple complex, and land divisions in Ezekiel’s vision. David J. Reimer, “Ezekiel,” in The ESV Study Bible, English Standard Version, ed. Wayne Grudem (Wheaton: Crossway, 2008), 1578.
[6] Kelly M. Kapic and Wesley Vander Lugt, Pocket Dictionary of the Reformed Tradition, The IVP Pocket Reference Series (Downers Grove, IL: IVP Academic, 2013), 13.
[7] Beale, Temple and the Church’s Mission, 335.
[8] Charles C. Ryrie, “Why Sacrifices in the Millennium?,” Emmaus Journal 11, no. 2 (2002): 300.
[9] Ibid., 304.
[10] Ibid., 307.
[11] Ibid., 309.
[12] John MacArthur Jr., ed., The MacArthur Study Bible, electronic ed. (Nashville, TN: Word Pub., 1997), 1210.
[13] Ibid., 1211.
[14] John MacArthur, Bible Questions and Answers, Part 32, Grace to You, GradeToYou.org, accessed April 20, 2024, https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/70-4/bible-questions-and-answers-part-32.
[15] John Walvoord, Every Prophecy of the Bible: Clear Explanations for Uncertain Times (Colorado Springs, CO: David C Cook, 2011), 191.
[16] Ibid., 196.
[17] Ibid.
[18] Daniel Isaac Block, The Book of Ezekiel, Chapters 25–48, The New International Commentary on the Old Testament (Grand Rapids, MI: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1997), 505.
[19] Ibid., 506.
[20] Ibid., 504.
[21] Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 335.
[22] Ibid., 343.
[23] Ibid., 346.
[24] “word-concept fallacy. n. The erroneous notion that each word in a language corresponds to a precise concept, one that remains stable in every context. See also dynamic equivalence.” Matthew S. DeMoss, Pocket Dictionary for the Study of New Testament Greek (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 129.
[25] Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 346.
[26] Ibid., 349.
[27] Charles C. Ryrie, “Why Sacrifices in the Millennium?,” 300.
[28] Robert L. Plummer, 40 Questions about Interpreting the Bible, ed. Benjamin L. Merkle, 2nd ed., 40 Questions Series (Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Academic, 2021), 218.
[29] Charles Lee Irons, “Prophetic Idiom,” The Upper Register (blog), accessed April 21, 2024, https://www.upper-register.com/papers/prophetic-idiom.pdf.
[30] G. K. Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 338.
[31] Ibid., 110.
[32] Block, The Book of Ezekiel, 698.
[33] Beale, The Temple and the Church’s Mission, 350.
[34] Ibid., 343.
This blog post is authored by a student of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
by CBTS Student | May 13, 2024 | Church History, Historical Theology, Practical Theology
“God shall alone the refuge be”:
The hymn of Samuel Medley (1738-1799)[1]
In 2004 a little-known eighteenth-century hymn, was modified and set to a modern tune by Drew Hodges and recorded by the Christian Rock group Kanon.[2] Only two of the original verses and a new refrain made up the new song entitled How Wise and Good, but the original author was given credit and it was enough to stir interest in discovering the song’s origin. The original hymn, in its entirety, has made an appreciated resurgence in recent years.[3] It is sometimes referred to as Too Wise to be Mistaken, Too Good to be Unkind, or simply Too Wise but its title is God alone shall the refuge be and its author is Samuel Medley, a Particular Baptist pastor, hymnwriter, and poet. The hymn can be found in at least nine hymnals, published as early as 1809 in A Selection of Hymns and Spiritual Songs and as recently as 2016 in the Primitive Baptist Hymn and Tune Book[4] and Medley’s own Hymns. The Public Worship and Private Devotions of True Christians Assisted in Some Thoughts in Verse: Principally Drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God published in 1800, the year following his death.[5]
Today, Medley is best remembered as a hymnwriter. He wrote more than two hundred hymns.[6] Among his best-known hymns are I know that my redeemer lives,[7] Awake, my soul, in joyful lays,[8] and O could we speak the matchless worth.[9] William Rawson Stevenson[10] wrote of “the warmth and occasional pathos” of Medley’s hymns, specifying that twenty of them had gained considerable vogue in his day.[11] Yet Medley was more than a hymnwriter; he was also a well-known, greatly admired and beloved pastor for nearly thirty years and he was one of the Particular Baptist’s gifted poets.[12] He was a man who understood God’s grace. Robert Halley[13] ranked Medley as a “great pastor and a small poet.”[14] Medley’s poetic skill with the pen, his love and trust in God, his zeal for preaching the gospel, and his pastoral devotion to his flock are all founded on his discovery of his refuge in Jesus Christ, his Savior.
In the multitude of my thoughts within me, thy comfort delight my soul. Ps. xciv. 19.[15]
In a sermon delivered on May 23, 1875, Charles H. Spurgeon referenced a minister and hymnwriter who is little known today, but was well-known in his own day.
I know that God hears the sincere and earnest prayers even of unregenerate persons concerning common things. I read, yesterday, a story of Mr. Samuel Medley, of whose hymns we have many in our hymn books, especially that one about God’s loving-kindness. Mr. Medley, in his younger days, was an officer on board one of his majesty’s men-of-war. There was a very sharp fight in which a number of French vessels were destroyed and young Medley was busy taking the minutes upon the quarter deck. One of the officers, passing by the place where he was sitting, said, “Mr. Medley, you are wounded.” He had not perceived it, but the blood was streaming down his leg and he had to be taken down to the hospital. After the surgeon had examined him, he said to him, “You will have to lose your leg. I am afraid you cannot live unless amputation takes place.” Now Mr. Medley had a godly mother and father, and other gracious people in his family, but he was a godless, Christless sinner—as wild as he could be. Yet he turned his face to the wall of his little bedroom and sought the Lord to spare him that leg. When the doctor came to him the next morning, he said, “I never saw such a case as this before. There has been more healing done in the last twelve hours than I ever knew to take place in a leg in my life! I think you will not need to have it off, after all.” That remarkable answer to prayer made a deep impression on young Medley’s heart and I believe that biographies will show that, in many cases, God has heard the prayers of unregenerate persons because He meant to eventually save them—and hearing their prayers led them to believe in Him and helped them to exercise that real spiritual faith which brought salvation to their souls.[16]
And save Samuel Medley, God did. His injury occurred during the Battle of Lagos between Britain and France which took place over two days, on the 18th and 19th of August 1759, during the Seven Years’ War. His fleet being ordered home, Medley was permitted to leave the service until he was completely recovered.[17] He planned to return to naval service but God was to take him another direction.[18] During his recovery Medley stayed for many months in London with his godly grandfather, William Tonge, a retired schoolmaster. It was Tonge’s custom to read some religious tract to Medley on the Lord’s Day. Inwardly Medley dreaded these occurrences but he was prudent enough to be outwardly respectful toward his grandfather,[19] for even in his unsaved state, Medley “held a respectful notion of the piety of his father and grandfather, never doubting but they were honest and sincere in their religious professions.”[20]
On this particular Lord’s Day Medley’s grandfather chose to read a sermon of Isaac Watts[21] on the passage Isaiah 42:6-7.[22] At first Medley was indifferent to the sermon but as his grandfather read on Medley was awakened to his Christless state. With a heart broken under a sense of his guilt and impenitence, and the astonishing forbearance of God towards him he appealed to God for mercy. Medley now began to accompany his grandfather to hear George Whitfield and Andrew Gifford preach.[23] Evident from a few lines in his manuscript, dated July 5, 1760, Medley soon “received the comforts of the Gospel, by a believing view of the fullness and sufficiency of the atonement of the Lord Jesus, a sense of which followed him through all his labors to his dying day.”[24] Medley wrote in his manuscript a passage he modified from a writing of Isaac Watts:
In all my troubles sharp and strong,
My soul to Jesus flies,
My anchor hold is firm in him,
When swelling billows rise.
His comforts bear my spirit up:
I trust a faithful God.
The sure foundation of my hope
Is in a Saviour’s blood.
Loud hallelujahs sing, my soul,
To my Redeemer’s name
In joy and sorrow, life and death,
His love is still the same.[25]
In December 1760 Medley made his public profession of faith and joined the Particular Baptist church in Eagle Street, Holborn, pastored by Dr. Andrew Gifford. A lively, zealous, and warm-hearted Christian, Medley began studying the Scriptures in Hebrew and Greek. He already possessed an exceptional education in the classics. Few men in his day had Medley’s advantages, that of having the assistance of his grandfather-schoolmaster and his grandfather’s excellent library.[26] Medley gave up the idea of returning to the navy and, being fond of teaching youth, began a boarding school which flourished until 1766 when he left London. During this time, he married Mary Gill in April 1762. Together they would have one son and seven daughters.[27]
Andrew Gifford believed Medley possessed the abilities for ministry and approached him about it. Medley revealed the subject had been weighing on his mind, so in 1764, while continuing his boarding school, Medley began to study under Gifford with a view to public gospel ministry, which he formally entered into in Aug 1766. In 1767, he accepted the call to become the pastor of a Particular Baptist Church in Watford, Hertfordshire, then the town’s only dissenting congregation.[28] Here he was ordained on July 13, 1768 and had a challenging ministry as it was necessary for him to continue his boarding school to provide for his family. His due diligence to both the pulpit and his boarding school caused him great stress and physical fatigue.[29] He sought God in prayer and determined to follow where Providence led him.
In 1771, Medley was invited to the small Baptist church at Byrom Street, at Liverpool, a place “destitute of the gospel.”[30] In the invitation requesting Medley visit, the church joyfully expressed her intent to meet Medley’s financial needs, “desirous to make you happy and easy in temporal matters, without the fatigue of a school”[31] if he were to become her shepherd and then in her letter calling Medley to be her pastor, the church emphasized again,
…that it is the will of the great head of the church, you should be employed in this part of his vineyard: and knowing, that it is the will of God, that they, who preach the Gospel, should live of the Gospel, so we, as the Lord shall enable us, do purpose to provide a comfortable maintenance for you and yours.[32]
God had answered Medley’s prayers. He accepted the call to take up the struggling cause and moved to Liverpool in April 1772 where he served the congregation at Liverpool faithfully for the next 27 years until his death to “an affectionate people, whose piety, unaffected love, and Christian zeal, were equaled only by their mutual confidence and attachment to each other.[33] It was not long before Medley’s gospel work began bearing fruit. The congregation increased so considerably that in 1773 it was necessary to enlarge the place of worship. The enlarged space was soon filled with “attentive and constant hearers.” [34] The Liverpool congregation continued to grow, and in 1789 a new meeting-house was erected. John Fawcett’s son recorded that Medley’s “popular talents and zealous ministerial labours attracted the attention of multitudes,” many of them becoming “lively, active members, and steady promoters of the cause of Christ in that populous and flourishing town.” The “great accessions to the congregation” meant that frequent enlargements to the church building were necessary “and new ones were successively built.”[35] The once little Baptist congregation at Byrom Street, that seemed hopeless of revival before Medley’s arrival, had become one of the country’s biggest congregations.[36]
No longer required to teach to support his family, Medley was able to focus his time to studying the scriptures in his “regular and methodical manner,”[37] to regular prayer and to frequent preaching of the gospel. Medley’s son summed up his father’s ministry this way:
It pleased God, also, powerfully to attend the word preached by the influences of his Holy Spirit, to the revival, comfort, and encouragement of his people, and for the conversion of many others; and this success, blessed be God, was uniform to the last year of his life. …preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, which was at once his occupation and delight.[38]
Medley’s popularity continually increased not only in Liverpool and neighboring towns but in London also. He regularly visited London to preach at Tottenham Court Road and Rowland Hill’s Surrey Chapel, and when he did large numbers gathered to hear him preach.[39] Medley spoke “with an affection and impressive energy peculiar to himself.”[40] Given his naval career, Medley’s ministry focused on working among the sailors, talking to them in the streets, preaching to them on the wharves, and especially in the chapel. Medley was well-respected by the sailors who came to hear him because he knew their ways and thoughts and took special pains to instruct them in his preaching.[41]
Of his covenant-keeping God, of whose dispensations he was wont to say, “He is too wise to be mistaken, and too good to be unkind.”[42]
Medley’s son wrote that “the general scope and object of all his [Medley, Sr.] labours,” in preaching and in hymn-writing, was to “humble the pride of fallen man, to exalt the grace of God in his salvation, and to promote real holiness in heart and life.”[43] Many of his letters to friends and family are written in an impromptu verse that stirs the heart of its reader. His poetical talents were usually exercised as a recreation, during the intervals of more important labours, and with a view of contributing to the consolation or amusement of his friends. He “conveyed his sentiments in the plainest and most unstudied language.”[44]
Medley’s sermons were vivid, sometimes on a single word, and adorned with hymns and paraphrases to match. He wrote several hymns for young people, many on prayer, and a series on the Beatitudes; he was one of the first to print them on separate pew-sheets rather than ‘lining out’ for a congregation to follow.[45] His hymns first appeared in pamphlet form but from 1785 began to appear in bound volumes. Most likely the hymn, God shall alone the refuge be, was written prior to 1790 and published as a broadside in any number of missionary newspapers of the day. Later it was published as No. 7 in Gadsby’s Hymns: A Selection of Hymns for Public Worship (1814).[46]
The attraction of Medley’s hymns consists less in their poetry than in the warmth and occasional pathos with which they give expression to the Christian experience. They are characterized by the feature of the last line of each verse being entirely or nearly the same.[47] This requires a particular writing skill, because it risks the thought being dominated by the need to repeat the rhyme each time. By their very predictability these repeats were effective aids to teaching and memory.[48]
The hymn, God shall alone the refuge be, is a statement of Medley’s faith that, even in the deepest of temptation and trials, God is, as the repeated refrain says, “too wise to be mistaken, he, too good to be unkind.”[49] Medley reflects on scripture that teach us that Jesus Christ is wisdom; “I have counsel and sound wisdom; I have insight; I have strength.” (Prov. 8:14). Medley is also reminding believers of the wisdom and goodness of God as found in Exodus 34:6: “…The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, …”[50] is still the same God for believers today. (The following reflections are taken from Medley’s Memoirs and his sermon The Spiritual Merchant. The bold italics are added for emphasis.)[51]
Stanza 1
God shall alone the refuge be,
And comfort of my mind;
Too wise to be mistaken, He,
Too good to be unkind.
There is only one comforter and true refuge at times of sorrow, our God and Saviour, Christ Jesus, who alone bears us through all life brings.[52] Only the true Christian can be more than a conqueror at such times, solely because of the One who loves us. Medley experienced such comfort and refuge in his pursuit for holiness. It was reflected in his sermons for Christians to make their calling and election sure, “May the true believer, the heavenly merchant, have his heart comforted, his hands strengthened, and be enabled with renewed vigor and delight to pursue his holy, heavenly trade and calling.”[53]
Stanza 2
In all his holy, sovereign will,
He is, I daily find,
Too wise to be mistaken, still
Too good to be unkind.
Medley reminds Christians that the present daily comforts they possess or do not possess depends entirely upon God’s holy, wise, sovereign and good pleasure, for God affords believers what he sees and knows will be best for them. The child of God shall have a sufficient supply of sensible comforts to support him while on this earth, and more is not needful; but he shall be sure at last to possess a blessed happy eternity.[54] This does not mean that Christians should not ask for earthly blessings; Christians are encouraged by God himself to ask for “sensible comforts, but then leave your gracious God to bestow them when and how he sees needful and best for you.”[55]
Stanza 3
When I the tempter’s rage endure,
Tis God supports my mind;
Too wise to be mistaken, sure,
Too good to be unkind.
The Christian should expect the tempter’s rage to be showered on him and trust that God is available to support him with grace-filled endurance. The sinner who has never sensibly suffered from the tempter’s attack should fear that he knows little or nothing of being truly saved. “If the world and Satan never rob thee, to thy sorrow, shame, and grief, before the Lord, it is justly to be feared it is because they [Satan and his minions] think thou has nothing to be robbed of, but thy precious soul and that they have in possession already.”[56] Jesus, seeing how likely his children would be overcome by temptation, commands them to pray, “Lead us not into temptation,” (Matt. 6:13).[57] Christian, watch and pray to receive God’s promised support and rejoice that though the Wicked are permitted to rob the believer they cannot destroy him. Blessed be God for this!
Stanza 4
When sore afflictions on me lie,
He is (though I am blind)
Too wise to be mistaken, yea,
Too good to be unkind.
Medley reminds us that because of the Holy Spirit, believers can have complete peace in the midst of afflictions even though they don’t make sense to our natural minds. Presently, we are blind to their benefits. The Lord gives us this peace so that we don’t have to fret through life worrying about what may come next. His peace gives us confidence that our prayers are heard and answered according to His will. I believe Medley could easily be referring to Psalm 94:16-19 with this verse.
16Who rises up for me against the wicked? Who stands up for me against evildoers? 17If the LORD had not been my help my soul would soon have lived in the land of silence. 18When I thought, “My foot slips,” your steadfast love, O LORD, held me up. 19 When the cares of my heart are many, your consolations cheer my soul.[58]
Stanza 5
What tho’ I can’t his goings see,
Nor all his footsteps find?
Too wise to be mistaken, He,
Too good to be unkind.
Medley is clearly referring to Romans 11:33-36 when he reminds us that we can’t his goings see or trace his footsteps with perfect understanding.
33Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable his ways! 34“For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” 35“Or who has given a gift to him that he might be repaid?” 36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.[59]
Despite our finite abilities, true believers possess the promises of God and can consider them already fulfilled. The true believer has only to look to his Bible to know and grasp onto those promises. The Christian’s:
comfort is the comfort of God, and comes from the God of all comfort; his joy of the holy Ghost, and his assurance is founded in and built upon the free, faithful and unchangeable love and grace of God, who he knows abideth faithful and neither will, nor can, break his promise, or deny himself. And therefore, he is emboldened to say that because Jesus lives he shall live also.[60]
Stanza 6
Hereafter he will make me know,
And I shall surely find,
He was too wise to err, and O,
Too good to be unkind.
Medley is reminding Christ-filled sinners that this time of being unable to understand the ways and mind of God, will soon come to an end. The reference found in 1 Corinthians 13:12 is aptly applied to this verse, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known.”[61] We will know, and find God did not err, he is too wise and good.
Stanza 7
Thou art, and be thy name ador’d,
And be my soul resign’d;
Too wise to be mistaken, Lord,
Too good to be unkind.
Medley preached to the believer, the wisdom of Christ is certain, unerring and infallible. His name should be adored by his children. The soul should gladly be resigned to that wisdom which comes “from above” (Jam. 3:17).[62] This Wisdom, is “either the LORD Jesus Christ himself, or the work of the Lord the Spirit in their souls, making them wise unto salvation.”[63]
The Lord Jesus Christ is said in scripture to be made unto his people wisdom, and he it is who does, and who only can, make them wise unto salvation, through faith in him.[64] Neither natural wisdom, nor what is in scripture called the wisdom of the flesh; nor the wisdom of this world, are sufficient for the carrying on this [Christian life]. It must and only can be carried on by what the apostle James calls, “the wisdom that is from above;”[65]
Too wise to be mistaken, he, too good to be unkind
Medley preached and wrote hymns and poetic verse “to glorify his God and Redeemer, whose glorious person, precious name, heavenly love, and everlasting salvation, are the subjects” of his work.[66] His preaching, hymns, and verse illustrated the sincerity of his character, as a Christian, a devoted shepherd of his flock, and as an affectionate and sympathizing friend. Knowing the true character of God was a great comfort to Medley. Many of his sermons, hymns, and letters, referenced God and Redeemer being too wise to be mistaken, he, too good to be unkind.[67]
For some years Medley’s health declined, so gradual that it was not obvious to those around him because he delighted in his spiritual work, which “acted the part of a salutary medicine.”[68] In his last year of this earthly life, Medley’s poor health demanded he stop preaching. His last sermon to his beloved congregation was on Easter Sunday, 1799. He chose the passage Deuteronomy 8:2, “And thou shalt remember all the way, which the Lord thy God led thee these forty years in the wilderness.”[69] From the first of Medley’s illness he struggled with depression, but his hope and expectation from God was unshaken.[70] His final words until his voice faded were “Dying is sweet work! Sweet work! My Father! My heavenly Father! I am looking up, I am looking up to my dear Jesus, my God! My portion! My all in all! Glory! Glory! Home, home!”[71] He yielded up his Spirit with a smiling countenance on the evening of July 17, 1799, at age 61.
Perhaps the verse, too wise to be mistaken, he, too good to be unkind, especially as it is found in his hymn, God shall alone the refuge be, originated with Medley.[72] Some have asked the question formally over the subsequent centuries. It’s possible the verse became a catchphrase used by eighteenth-century Baptists in England prior to Samuel Medley but as far as I can tell it is traced to Medley as its author about 1777. Whether this is true or not, Samuel Medley is, at least in part, responsible for its popularity today. Praise our God, who is too wise to be mistaken, too good to be unkind.
HYMN CXXVIII
The Wisdom and Goodness of God.
1 God shall alone the refuge be,
And comfort of my mind;
Too wise to be mistaken, He,
Too good to be unkind.
2 In all his holy, sovereign will,
He is, I daily find,
Too wise to be mistaken, still
Too good to be unkind.
3 When I the tempter’s rage endure,
Tis God supports my mind;
Too wise to be mistaken, sure,
Too good to be unkind.
4 When sore afflictions on me lie,
He is (though I am blind)
Too wise to be mistaken, yea,
Too good to be unkind.
5 What though I can’t his goings see,
Nor all his footsteps find?
Too wise to be mistaken, He,
Too good to be unkind.
6 Hereafter he will make me know,
And I shall surely find,
He was too wise to err, and O,
Too good to be unkind.
7 Thou art, and be thy name ador’d,
And be my soul resign’d;
Too wise to be mistaken, Lord,
Too good to be unkind.[73]
About the Author
Nettie SouVonna Miller completed her Master of Arts in Theological Studies at CBTSeminary in 2020. She is a member of Covenant Baptist Church of Clarksville, TN, where her husband serves as pastor. SouVonna desires a deeper understanding of all the biblical doctrines found in the Scriptures through the sound teaching of men who hold a high view of Scripture, possess a genuine passion for the gospel, and adhere to the great historic confessions of faith. Completing her MA at CBTS was part of SouVonna’s journey to grow spiritually. Her husband’s passion for Baptist history provides SouVonna an extraordinary home library for study and spiritual edification.
[1] For the life sketch that follows I am indebted to the following sources: a reprint of Medley’s memoirs compiled by his son, Memoirs of the Late Rev. Samuel Medley, Compiled by His Son: to which are annexed two sermons and a variety of miscellaneous pieces in verse. (London: T. Bensley, 1800); and an original of Medley’s Hymns, Hymns. The Public Worship and Private Devotions of True Christians Assisted in Some Thoughts in Verse: Principally Drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God. (Great Turnstile, Lincoln’s Inn Fields: Luke Hanfard, 1800), 3-292.
[2] See Drew Hodge and Samuel Medley, How Wise and Good (n.p.: Vital Communications, 2004), www.desertspringschurch.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/How-Wise-and-Good.pdf.
[3] See ‘Appearance of this hymn’ in hymnals timeline. “God Shall Alone the (My) Refuge Be,” Hymnary.org, accessed July 22, 2018, https://hymnary.org/text/god_shall_alone_the_refuge_be.
[4] See list of hymnals. “God Shall Alone the (My) Refuge Be,” Hymnary.org, accessed July 22, 2018, https://hymnary.org/search?qu=textName%3Agod%20shall%20alone%20the%20refuge%20be%20in%3Ainstance.
[5] See HYMN CXXVII. Samuel Medley, Hymns. The Public Worship and Private Devotions of True Christians Assisted in Some Thoughts in Verse: Principally Drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God (Great Turnstile, Lincoln’s Inn Fields: Luke Hansard, 1800), 151-52.
[6] The number of Medley’s hymns included in his hymnal is 232. Medley, Hymns.
[7] See HYMN LXXIII. Medley, Hymns, 87.
[8] See HYMN CLXXXI. Medley, Hymns, 221.
[9] Christopher Knapp, Who Wrote Our Hymns (Oak Park, Ill: Wilson Foundation, 1925), 99-100.
[10] William Rawson Stevenson is a British author of 19th-century Baptist hymnals.
[11] Alexander Gordon, Dictionary of National Biography/Vol 37 Masquerier – Millyng (London: Elder Smith & Co, 1894), s.v. “Samuel Medley,” https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Medley,_Samuel_(1738-1799)_(DNB00).
[12] John Cargill, “Psalms, Hymns: Hymnology of Christians Known as Particular Baptists,” The Faith of God’s Elect, accessed July 13, 2018, http://www.the-faith.org.uk/sbhymnology.html.
[13] Robert Halley is an early 19th-century English Congregationalist minister and abolitionist.
[14] Gordon, Dictionary of National Biography, “Samuel Medley.”
[15] See title page. Medley, Hymns.
[16] Charles Spurgeon, Spurgeon’s Sermons Volume 51: 1905 (Grand Rapids, MI: Christian Classics Ethereal Library, n.d.), under “No. 2950 True and Not True,” https://www.ccel.org/ccel/spurgeon/sermons51.xxxv.html.
[17] Samuel Medley, Memoirs of the Late rev. Samuel Medley, Compiled by His Son: to which are annexed two sermons and a variety of miscellaneous pieces in verse. (London: T. Bensley, 1800), 73.
[18] “The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps” Proverbs 16:9 (ESV).
[19] Medley, Memoirs, 75.
[20] Ibid, 67.
[21] Isaac Watts was a close friend of Medley’s father, Guy Medley. Medley, Memoirs, 43.
[22] 6I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; 7to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house. (KJV).
[23] Medley, Memoirs, 76-77.
[24] Ibid, 77-78.
[25] Ibid, 77.
[26] Ibid 78-79.
[27] Ibid 115.
[28] Alexander Gordon, Dictionary of National Biography/Vol 37 Masquerier – Millyng (London: Elder Smith & Co, 1894), s.v. “Samuel Medley,” https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Medley,_Samuel_(1738-1799)_(DNB00).
[29] Medley, Memoirs, 82.
[30] Ibid, 84.
[31]Ibid, 86.
[32] Ibid, 89.
[33] Ibid, 90.
[34] Ibid, 91.
[35] John Fawcett Jr, Life of John Fawcett, 188-89. See Anthony Cross, Useful Learning: Neglected Means of Grace in the Reception of the Evangelical Revival Among English Particular Baptists (Eugene OR: Pickwick Publications, 2017), 133.
https://books.google.com/books?id=p2PdDgAAQBAJ&pg=PA487&lpg=PA487&dq=Samuel+Medley+-+Preacher,+Pasto.
[36] Praise Trust, “Medley, Samuel: Author,” Praise! accessed August 8, 2018,
http://www.praise.org.uk/hymnauthor/medley-samuel/.
[37] Medley, Memoirs, 82.
[38] Ibid, 90.
[39] Ibid, 91-92.
[40] Ibid, 93.
41 Cross, Useful Learning, 135; Medley, Hymns, 1-292; and Samuel Medley, Hymns. By the rev. S. Medley, of Liverpool. The Second Edition, Enlarged, 2nd ed., Gale’s Eighteenth Century Collections Online Print Series (1789; repr., n.p.: Gale Ecco, 2018), 1-125.
[42] Medley, Memoirs, 106.
[43] Ibid, 95.
[44] Ibid, vi-vii.
[45] Praise Trust, Medley, http://www.praise.org.uk/hymnauthor/medley-samuel/
[46] “Ketcham Didn’t Say It,” Regular Baptist Churches, October 9, 2007, http://www.garbc.org/news/ketcham-didnt-say-it/.
[47] The British Controversialist and Literary Magazine, The Inquirer: Questions Requiring Answers, 1870, 473.
[48] Praise Trust, Medley, http://www.praise.org.uk/hymnauthor/medley-samuel/
[49] See hymn. God shall alone the refuge be. https://hymnary.org/text/god_shall_alone_the_refuge_be.
[50] Often times this verse is referenced with the hymn, God shall alone the refuge be. See page scans of hymnals. https://hymnary.org/text/god_shall_alone_the_refuge_be.
[51] Medley, Memoirs, 1-351; and Samuel Medley, The Spiritual Merchant Described and the Gain of Godliness Proved (London: J. W. Pasham, 1778), 1-56.
[52] Ps. 18:2 The LORD is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer, My God, my rock, in whom I take refuge; My shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold.
[53] Medley, The Spiritual Merchant, 2.
[54] Ibid, 33.
[55] Ibid, 49.
[56] Ibid, 25.
[57] KJV
[58] ESV
[59] ESV
[60] Medley, The Spiritual Merchant, 43.
[61] ESV
[62] James 3:17, But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere. (ESV)
[63] Medley, The Spiritual Merchant, 2.
[64] See Prov. 8:14.
[65] Medley, The Spiritual Merchant, 16.
[66] Medley, Hymns, iii.
[67] Medley, Memoirs, 106-293. See confirmation, sermon and correspondence examples on pgs. 106, 150, 201, 264, 268 & 290 respectively. Medley was always ready to encourage believers with the unfailing love of God.
[68] Ibid, 96.
[69] KJV
[70] Medley, Memoirs, 96-99.
[71] Ibid, 121.
[72] The British Controversialist, The Inquirer: Questions Requiring Answers, 398; and “Ketcham Didn’t Say It,” October 9, 2007, http://www.garbc.org/news/ketcham-didnt-say-it/.
[73] God shall alone the refuge be as written in Medley’s Hymns. The Public Worship and Private Devotions of True Christians Assisted in Some Thoughts in Verse: Principally Drawn from Select Passages of the Word of God, 1800.
This blog post is authored by a student of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
by CBTS Student | May 13, 2024 | Missions, Practical Theology
*Editors Note: This article was originally printed in Pro Pastor: A Journal of Grace Bible Theological Seminary 2, no. 1 (Spring 2023): 42-48. It is used by permission of the Editor of Pro Pastor.
It was a hot day in early December 2016. My family and I had just moved from Texas to a small farming village in western Kenya, and we went to do some shopping in the nearest town, Bungoma. While in a market there, we saw several young boys with ill-fitting clothes, torn and dirty from weeks of continuous wear. They wore no shoes and carried clear plastic bottles with a yellow gel-like substance inside that I later realized was glue. Protruding out of the bottles were sticks that they would occasionally use to stir the glue, then they would put the opening of the bottle to their mouth and inhale. The boys were crowding around us, all holding out their hands. “I am hungry,” they said, using the little English that they knew. A security guard soon came rushing over with a large stick and chased them away. This was our first encounter with street boys.
There are many physical needs throughout the world; countless people go to sleep at night hungry, millions are addicted to substances that are destroying their lives, human beings are being trafficked every day, babies are being murdered in their mothers’ wombs, and the list feels endless. What is a Christian to do in such a world? What is the Church to do in such a world? As Christians with a love for our neighbors, our hearts are often broken as we survey the darkness in the world and so many people suffering due to their own bad choices and/or the bad choices of others. We can be overwhelmed, even depressed, at the thought of trying to help “fix” so many burdens. We can even question if mercy ministry is biblical. I mean, the Great Commission is about saving souls and teaching them, right? The Church should be focused on proclaiming the Gospel of Jesus Christ, not getting distracted by feeding hungry kids, right? Jesus said the poor will always be with us. So shouldn’t we just accept that and stop trying to fix their physical problems and just focus on their spiritual ones? But then Jesus tells us that the second greatest command is to love others. Surely part of “loving others” includes helping to alleviate their suffering in the world. If we are Christian, shouldn’t we want to do something? I think the answer is an emphatic, “Yes!” But what? And how? In a time when so many seem consumed by issues of justice and mercy, it seems prudent to take a step back and take stock of how God commands us in His Word to approach the issue of mercy ministry.
There really can be no question as to whether or not God expects Christians to help the poor. In Deuteronomy 15 we read the command “you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but shall freely open your hand to him . . .” Elsewhere in the Old Testament God reveals to us His special concern for the poor, like in Proverbs 14. That concern is further expounded for us in the New Testament. Jesus was moved with compassion for the helpless (Matt. 9:35-36) Jesus later reveals that acts of mercy and charity are evidences of a holy life (Matt. 25:31-46) We read accounts of the early church which show the needs of the poor were a constant priority (Acts 4:34-35; 11:30; Gal. 2:10) And we are commanded to love one another, not only in words but in deeds (James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:16-18).
No question, God cares about the poor, and He expects us to also. In the words of Jonathan Edwards, “it is the absolute and indispensable duty of the people of God, to give bountifully and willingly for supplying the wants of the needy.”[1] Not only can mercy ministry be biblical, but it is commanded by God. By His grace, we must strive to love others in word and deed, and to do so in such a way that pleases Him and brings glory to His name. God has given His Church the Great Commission, and God commands believers to works of mercy. The two are not the same, yet they are inseparable. God’s Church is made up of bodies of localized believers under the headship of the Lord Jesus Christ, and every believer in God’s Church should have concern to help the poor. With this truth in view, it is my intention in this article to use some of our experience in Kenya as a case study to give you some things to consider as you seek to be part of biblical mercy ministry.
Mercy Ministry Must Be Prayerful
Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. Hebrews 4:16
After my first experience with street boys in Kenya, I went back to the home of our hosts with lots of questions. My wife and I had made the commitment to move along with our seven youngest children primarily to start and run a home for needy children, called Mercy Home, and for me to work with local churches. Though we were moving there to work with children, we were not aware of the widespread problem of street boys. I learned several things about them that day and the days that followed. There are thousands of boys living on the streets in Kenya, and several hundred are in Bungoma Town, which is about a 30-minute drive from our village. Many of the locals refer to street boys by the derogatory term “chokora” which is Swahili for “scavenger.” They are looked upon by most as dregs of society. There are street girls in Kenya too, but the numbers are much fewer and they tend to be much less visible. The children who live on the streets are there for a variety of reasons. Some are total orphans whose extended families did not want the burden of raising them. Some come from various situations of abuse. Some are there because the “street life” appeals to them. Whatever the reason they find themselves on the streets, nearly all of them are addicted to sniffing glue, and many are addicted to other drugs and alcohol as well. When first turning to the streets, they are taught by other street boys that the glue diminishes the pain of hunger. What they view as a necessity quickly becomes a brain-cell destroying addiction. Without some kind of intervention, most street boys turn to a life of crime that gets worse as they get older.
The more my family and I learned about these boys and their living conditions and the government’s lack of resources for them, the more we wanted to help. We started making trips to town to meet with many of them and buy them lunch. We would gather large groups of boys and give them bread and milk. We would pass out laundry soap and other basic necessities. But as we got to know many of them better, things started to not seem right. We would make a bunch of sandwiches and I would go into town with a translator and we would pass out the food and proclaim the gospel to them and try to have conversations with them about God. This was difficult because so many of them were high and only interested in free food. We would buy several loaves of bread and try to get the boys to make an organized line to receive the bread and a Bible tract. However, the older boys would steal bread from the smaller boys. Shoving and fighting would ensue and on top of that, we realized many could not read the Swahili tracts we were giving out.
After a conversation with a local government official, I realized our efforts to try and help these boys were only making it more comfortable for them to remain on the streets. Many of the boys were there by choice and we were just making it easier for them to make that bad choice. Other boys who really needed help were harder for the government and others to identify and assist because they blended in with the boys who wanted to be there. All the boys were struggling, but for many, handouts were just making it easier for them to live a sinful lifestyle far from God. But even beyond that, I began to be convicted that I had been distracted by the physical needs before me and lost sight of their eternal needs. The phrase first coined by Rogers Morton came to mind as I realized my unbalanced focus was like “rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic.” The boys we were trying to help were on the path that leads to destruction and all we were managing to do through all our efforts to help them was to make it a little more comfortable for them on their way to hell. I knew we had to do something different.
The first step for me was confessing that I had been trying to address the issues in my own power and in my own way without seeking the Lord first. My heart broke for these boys and I wanted to help, so I just jumped in and started doing something. I later realized I had not considered that God is more concerned for the poor than I am and that I should seek His will instead of trying it alone. I went to God asking for wisdom, believing that He gives it to all who ask generously without reproach (James 1:5). I recognized that “loving my neighbor” in this case had to mean more than just distributing some bread, what I really longed for was for them to know the Bread of Life.
Mercy Ministry Must be Christ-Centered
Only one life; ’twill soon be past—And only what’s done for Christ will last. – C.T. Studd
After time spent with the Lord in prayer and hearing from Him in His Word, I became more and more convinced that if we were going to be part of God’s eternal impact on some of those boys, we needed to be in a situation where we could keep Christ at the center, feeding them a steady diet of God’s Word and raising them up in the way that they should go. It is the Gospel that is the power of God for the salvation of those who believe (Rom. 1:16). The church is to be concerned with making disciples. This is done through Gospel proclamation. That is the means God uses to save those who belong to Him. Once God takes a heart of stone and gives a heart of flesh, that person repents and believes the Gospel. They are adopted into the family of God, and at that point it is the responsibility of the church to teach them all that Christ has commanded. I came to the realization that it would be more biblical for us to take some of these hardened street boys out of that environment and bring them into the children’s home that we had started. This would be a way for us to help them get off the drugs, regularly proclaim to them the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and raise them up in the admonition of the Lord through a family and through the church that we had planted at our mission. Instead of making them more comfortable in their life of sin and rebellion against God, we would welcome them into a God-fearing, child-loving home and a Bible-teaching church.
Mercy Ministry and Good Works
I pastor a church that affirms the 1689 London Baptist Confession of Faith. Therefore, as my desire grew for a more biblical mercy ministry approach for the street boys, I turned to the Confession for guidance. The LBCF refers to what I call “mercy ministry” as “good works” and so I will use the two terms interchangeably throughout the remainder of this article. The Confession addresses the doctrine of good works in chapter 16. Paragraph 1 states:
Good works are only such as God has commanded in His Holy Word, and not such as without the warrant thereof are devised by men out of blind zeal, or upon any pretense of good intentions.[2]
The will of God determines what a good work is, not the blind zeal of men nor anything we may consider as good intentions. One of the proof texts given for paragraph 1 is Hebrews 10:21, “[God] equip you in every good thing to do His will, working in us that which is pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen.” Calvin says in his commentary on this verse:
For we know that the spirit of regeneration and also all graces are bestowed on us through Christ; and then it is certain, that as nothing can proceed from us absolutely perfect, nothing can be acceptable to God without that pardon which we obtain through Christ. [3]
It is those who have received the pardon through Christ who seek to live lives obedient to the will of God, and works are acceptable to God only through Christ. I confessed to the Lord that in my desire to do something, anything, to help alleviate the suffering of the street boys, I jumped in head first with blind zeal and a pretense of good intentions. Yes, I was a Christian desiring to do good works, but I had not really sought the Lord’s will through prayer and His Word, and in reality acted as if I could do good apart from God. Any unbeliever can feel sorry for kids living on the street and buy them some food. I realized that my attempts to do good works in the name of Jesus looked way too similar to what someone who does not follow Christ might do.
Of course, living in a society that viewed the “chokora” as deplorable, we knew there would be some pushback on our decision to bring street boys home with us. Some of the locals we were working with were very upset that we had brought street boys to live in our village and some of the teachers and parents at the boys’ school treated them like trash. Eventually I was physically attacked and my wife and I were even imprisoned for a short time. But we thank God as He used those trials to help us gain trust with the community as well as our boys and to lead us into opening a school at our mission. Through all this we have even greater opportunity for Gospel proclamation throughout our community. Though we went through some great difficulties, God sustained us by His grace. But at the same time, it is not the results that prove whether or not mercy ministry is biblical. It is the Word of God that should ground us in our thinking through much prayer. Our works are good in Christ, and God alone is sovereign in all things, including the results of our good works. We are simply to walk in the good works God prepared beforehand (Eph. 2:10) and leave the results up to Him.
Why is Mercy Ministry Important?
The LBCF defines for us biblically what good works are, and it also helps us gain a biblical understanding of why mercy ministry is important. Paragraph 2 states:
These good works, done in obedience to God’s commandments, are the fruits and evidences of a true and lively faith; and by them believers manifest their thankfulness, strengthen their assurance, edify their brethren, adorn the profession of the gospel, stop the mouths of the adversaries, and glorify God, whose workmanship they are, created in Christ Jesus thereunto, that having their fruit unto holiness they may have the end eternal life.[4]
Wow! What an important statement describing what God’s Word has to say on the importance of good works in the life of the Christian. Biblical mercy ministry is the fruit and evidence of a faith which is true. This is why James says “I will show you my faith by my works” (Jam. 2:18). They also “stop the mouths of the adversaries.” I love this! 1 Peter 2:15 says, “For such is the will of God that by doing right you may silence the ignorance of foolish men.” I mentioned earlier that my wife and I ran into some trouble because we had made some people angry simply by doing what we believed was right in the sight of God. Our Mercy Home children had all been removed from the home and we were imprisoned. But we were quickly vindicated by the courts and the children were ordered to be returned to us. In an area dominated by the “prosperity gospel,” our good works in Christ shut the mouths of our adversaries, and continue to do so many years later. I believe the most important part of mercy ministry is that it glorifies God. We are all God’s creatures living in God’s world, but so few give God the glory that He alone deserves. God’s people are to be filled with the fruit of righteousness which comes through Christ Jesus, to the glory and praise of God (Phil. 1:11). Biblical mercy ministry is important because it can only be done in Christ, as we depend upon Him. Anyone is capable of doing things the world calls “good,” but only Christians can do good works. Then notice what is said at the end of paragraph 2 in the Confession, “that having their fruit unto holiness they may have the end eternal life.” Mercy ministry is not the way to justification, but there is a connection between good works and eternal life. As I have heard Dr. Sam Waldron say, “Eternal life is not to be expected in the future, where good works are not done in the present.”
Mercy Ministry, the Local Church, and Missions
The primary duty given to the Church universal is to make disciples of Jesus Christ (through Gospel proclamation) and to teach His disciples all He has commanded. This is accomplished through local churches. Local churches are made up of believers, all of whom are to be concerned with helping the poor. Churches are to meet not only spiritual needs but also physical needs. First and foremost, churches should provide for those in their spiritual family. The New Testament gives many examples of this (Acts 2:45; 4:32-37; 6:1-6; James 2:15-17; 1 John 3:16-17). We also see examples in the Bible of churches being commended for their generosity toward other churches with greater physical needs. Furthermore, Paul says that we are to do good to all people (Gal. 6:10).
These biblical truths are what have shaped our ministry in western Kenya. We are focused primarily on meeting the spiritual needs of our growing church family and our community, but we also meet many physical needs in our church. We also strive to be a trustworthy way for churches in the west with more physical means than we have to make an impact on a congregation whose vast majority of members and attendees live below the poverty line (less than $1.25 in earnings per day). Beyond that, we are thankful for some opportunities to do good to unbelievers around us as we pray asking God to give us Gospel opportunities in our unbelieving community, which He has been faithful to do.
Since our decision 5 years ago to start bringing street boys into our Mercy Home family, we have brought in more than 50 homeless boys. Some are part of the group of boys we met on that hot December day right after our move to Kenya in 2016, others were rescued over the following years. Some of the boys have remained with us, others have left. It has not always been easy, but by God’s grace we make it work. We try very hard to raise them as a loving family, training them up in the way they should go and regularly sharing with them the Gospel of our Lord. They attend our school which starts each day with chapel service where they learn the Baptist Catechism and hear the Gospel, are taught from a biblical worldview, and finish each school day with a Bible study. Most nights at home we finish the day with a time of family worship. Every Sunday they attend the Lord’s Day service at Mercy Baptist Church, and every Wednesday they attend the church prayer meeting. Some of them have been baptized, and we are asking God to save them all if that be His will. Some have expressed desire to become pastors or missionaries, others teachers, some enjoy farming or construction. None who are still with us have touched glue or any other illegal drugs since coming to live at Mercy Home.
Some Final Thoughts
I want to give a few more things to consider when seeking to be part of biblical mercy ministry.
- In chapter 7 of the book Missions by the Book, Chad Vegas talks about what he calls “Gospel privilege.” In a time when more and more churches are concerning themselves with “being woke,” “white privilege” and “social justice,” let us remember that every believer has the privilege of eternal salvation which God has given us through the power of His Gospel. It is good that disciples of Christ would desire to do good works, but by God’s grace may we not lose sight of proclaiming the Gospel as He gives opportunity.
- Consider partnering through associations of churches. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul commends the Macedonian churches for collecting money to send to the poor saints at Jerusalem. Local churches partnering together can usually get more Gospel ministry and mercy ministry done working together rather than alone.
- Whatever you do with regards to mercy ministry, be in it for the long haul or be part of people who are. Worthwhile mercy ministry is rarely completed in the short-term. I have seen in the field many good intentioned people who did not have a solid, biblical long-term plan and who threw a lot of money at a problem only to pull out quickly, having little effect or even negative effect.
- Be part of sending out biblically qualified missionaries, or support some already in the field; such men as have biblical accountability. I have often seen good intentioned people with blind zeal try to support good works overseas without being able to fully vet the people on the ground. I have never seen a case where this has worked out well.
- Be skeptical of missions programs that sound like “get rich quick” schemes. We should have at least the same level of discernment for such things as we do with financial “get rich quick” schemes. Great Commission work and mercy ministry tied to that typically takes time.
- Biblical mercy ministry provides the saints opportunities to grow in Christ-likeness. Do not fear that you are “woke” if you are showing concern for others through ministry work. Rather fear that you are not Christian if you are not.
In closing, I just want to say I have not written this article from a heart of feeling like I have mercy ministry all figured out, nor do I claim to be any sort of expert on missions. I have made many mistakes out of a desire to make Christ known. But I do want to encourage other believers, even through my mistakes, to be involved with biblical mercy ministry. Prayerfully ask God for wisdom to know what to do (Jam. 1:5). Hear Him answer through His Word, the Bible (2 Tim. 3:16-17). Trust that God directs the steps of those who belong to Him and desire to make His glory their end (Prov. 16:9). Then depend upon God in order to be not a hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts (Jam. 1:25).
About the Author
Jeff Bys is a student at CBTS, as well as a missionary and president at Mercy Ministries – AFM Africa, serving in western Kenya where he pastors Mercy Baptist Church, and is co-director of Mercy Children’s Home and Mercy Christian Academy. He and his wife Stephanie have 10 children, 2 grandchildren, and are raising many more at Mercy Home.
[1] Jonathan Edwards, The Works of Jonathan Edwards, vol. 2 (Banner of Truth Trust, 1974), 164.
[2] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2485–2486.
[3] John Calvin and John Owen, Commentary on the Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Hebrews (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2010), 357.
[4] R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 2486.
This blog post is authored by a student of Covenant Baptist Theological Seminary.
by Sam Waldron | May 13, 2024 | Eschatology, Preaching, Systematic Theology
If you were to judge from Christian bookstores, TV Bible teachers, the Left Behind movies, and popular Christian writing, you would think that Pretribulationism, the Secret Rapture, and the Pretribulational coming of Christ were taught plainly and everywhere in the Scriptures. Here is the fact of the matter. Not only is there no clear support for such a doctrine in the Bible, but the most explicit and clear passage on the subject appears to contradict it. I want to preach on that passage this morning, and I will leave you to judge if what I am saying is correct. Please turn in your Bibles to that passage. Please turn to 2 Thessalonians 2:1-12 and follow while I read that passage.
Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him, 2 that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things? 6 And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. 8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
My goal is simply to work through this passage verse by verse and exhibit its clear teaching on the Tribulation and Second Coming. It has three sections, which we will look at in order.
I. The Familiar Subject.
II. The Threatening Deception.
III. The Apostolic Teaching
I. The Familiar Subject
2 Thessalonians 2:1 makes the subject which Paul wishes to address very clear: “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our gathering together to Him …”
You must understand that Paul takes up a subject about which he had already written the Thessalonian church. I refer, of course, to the well-known passage in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and following. It is quite important to a right understanding of this passage that you understand that Paul is here addressing the very same subjects and events he has dealt with there. Let me mention several things that confirm the identity of the subjects and those addressed there.
Paul uses the same peculiar word for Christ’s coming as in 1 Thessalonians 4:15. It is the word Parousia, which refers to Christ’s coming as His arrival.
1 Thessalonians 4:15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. (1 Thess. 4:15 NAU)
Paul couples the same event with the Parousia that he couples with it in 1 Thessalonians 4. He speaks here and there of the gathering of Christ’s people to Him at His Parousia. The gathering and the coming are inseparably linked. The gathering takes place at the coming.
16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord.
Paul identifies these two events closely by the grammatical construction he uses in 2 Thessalonians 2:1. He speaks of the coming and gathering—not the coming and the gathering. He does not repeat the article because the two things are closely identified in his mind. This close identification of the two things is natural given what he has already said in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and following.
As we move on into the passage, the fact that the coming and gathering are inseparably related will become very important. When Paul speaks of the Day of the Lord in verse 2, he refers to the familiar subject he has just identified in verse 1. Interestingly, Paul transitions from the coming and gathering to the day of the Lord in the same way in 1 Thessalonians 5. Please look at that passage with me.
15 For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord, will not precede those who have fallen asleep. 16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. 17 Then we who are alive and remain will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we shall always be with the Lord. 18 Therefore comfort one another with these words.
1 Thessalonians 5:1 Now as to the times and the epochs, brethren, you have no need of anything to be written to you. 2 For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night.
Having spoken repeatedly in chapter 4, verses 13-18 of the coming of the Lord, he calls it the day of the Lord in chapter 5. The day of the Lord is the day of the coming of the Lord when His people are gathered to Him in the rapture and resurrection. Several things require this:
- The contextual flow of 1 Thessalonians 5 and 2 Thessalonians 2 requires this identification.
- The fivefold use of “Lord” in 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18 prepares this phrase to describe the Second Coming in 1 Thessalonians 5. The same transition takes place in 2 Thessalonians 2:1-2. The coming of our Lord in verse 1 is called the day of the Lord in verse 2.
What does this mean? Why is it important? The prevailing Dispensational view of eschatology thinks that the day of the Lord is something different than the coming of the Lord. That is why I have made such a point of this. The point in seeing that they are the same thing is important practically. The fact that the day of the Lord does not come unless certain things happen first means that certain things must happen before the coming and gathering mentioned in verse 1.
But why does Paul now have to address this familiar subject again? Hasn’t he said all of this already in 1 Thessalonians? The answer to those questions is found in the next verse I have entitled …
II. The Threatening Deception
Verses 2 and 3 read: “that you not be quickly shaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you …”
Our understanding of Paul’s concern must begin by understanding that the church’s faith in Thessalonica was immature. Likely, Paul’s ministry in Thessalonica lasted longer than the three sabbath days he ministered in the Jewish synagogue mentioned by Luke in the Book of Acts. Nevertheless, several factors make clear that he was forced to leave that city long before he felt the new church was well-established.
- Acts 17:10 speaks of the hasty and secret departure which was forced upon him by the persecution of the Jews: “The brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea, and when they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.”
- Because of his forced and premature departure, Paul felt considerable anxiety for the church in Thessalonica. Paul speaks plainly of his anxiety for them in 1 Thessalonians 3:1: “Therefore when we could endure it no longer, we thought it best to be left behind at Athens alone.” Consequently, he sent Timothy to find out how they were doing.
- Paul feels the necessity in 1 Thessalonians 4:13 and follows to tell them that they should not “grieve as the rest who have no hope.” They were in danger of grieving like the rest, who had no hope for their dead loved ones. This concern of the Apostle also tells us how immature their understanding was of the last things when Paul was forced out of Thessalonica.
Now, even though he had written them with clear teaching in 1 Thessalonians, their immature faith was being undermined once more by false teaching. Paul does not seem sure of the exact source of this false teaching. He mentions several possibilities in verse 2. He was unsure whether it was “by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us.”
- The term, spirit, probably refers to a supposed prophecy.
- The term, message, possibly refers to a rumored or reported verbal instruction or preaching by the Apostle.
- The term letter (It is the word epistle.) even contemplates the possibility of a forged letter from Paul. The point is that whichever of these it was—or even whether it was all of these—what was conveyed was false and did not represent the views of the Apostle.
But what was the false teaching that threatened the infant church in Thessalonica? It was the report that the day of the Lord had come. But what could such a teaching have meant? This question requires a careful answer and some careful consideration. Think about several things:
- The Day of the Lord refers here to the Parousia and the Gathering of Christ’s people to Him at that event. I have emphasized this already. It is what the context demands we understand the day of the Lord to mean.
- Paul says that the day of the Lord—literally—has set in. The verb used here means to be present or to be here. And Paul puts it in the perfect tense. Thus, it may be translated, “the day of the Lord has become and is now present.” Or it may be translated “the day of the Lords stands present.”
- Now, can you see the difficulty? There is more than one problem.
First Problem: Paul can scarcely mean to imply, and it seems unlikely, that the false teachers were saying that the Second Coming, Resurrection, and Rapture were already happening. No Christian would believe that. That falsehood was too obvious to have any credibility. Paul must mean that the false teachers said these things were impending or imminent. But there is another problem.
Second Problem: Paul himself, at times, taught that the coming of the Lord was near and, in this sense, imminent. There is a sense in which the coming of the Lord was imminent. But here, Paul is saying that it is not imminent. How are we to put these two things together? I think that Paul must have meant to contradict the false teachers by saying that the day of the Lord was not imminent in such a way as to be in the immediate future. It was not imminent in such a way as to warrant Christians giving up their day jobs. It seems from 2 Thessalonians that some Christians in Thessalonica were doing this. Cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:6-15. They were waiting for the day of the Lord, which they thought could be any day now. Nothing intervened, and no prophesied event must occur between the present day and the day of the Lord. Paul will now refute this false teaching by saying exactly the opposite.
III. The Apostolic Teaching (regarding the Christ’s coming and our gathering to Him)
There are several components in Paul’s teaching to remedy this false doctrine of the immediate imminence of Christ’s return. He is going to speak of …
A. What Must Happen First
B. What Prevents This Now
C. What Will Happen Then
A. What Must Happen First
Paul teaches explicitly that there are some things that must happen before Christ comes back and we are gathered to him. He says that the day of the Lord: “will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself above every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, displaying himself as being God. 5 Do you not remember that while I was still with you, I was telling you these things?”
Paul here reminds the Thessalonians of something he had touched on even in his short ministry there. Notice verse 5, where he says that he had taught them this. He had said that certain events were appointed and predicted to precede the day of the Lord. There were two such events, and they were closely related.
- The first was “the apostasy.” Here is how one Greek dictionary defines the word: “as a condition resulting from changing loyalties revolt, desertion; as a religious technical term; (1) apostasy, rebellion (2TH 2.3); (2) defection, abandonment (AC 21.21).” The word probably refers to religious apostasy but may also connote rebellion against the true God. Though apostasy takes place all the time, this apostasy from the true religion and the true God would be so widespread that it would be clearly seen by genuine Christians.
- The second and closely related event was the revelation of “the man of lawlessness.” This is the person commonly known as the antichrist in popular prophecy.
Yes, this language most naturally means that he is an individual person and not some sort of movement or institution. The mystery of lawlessness may be such a movement, but it produces an individual who leads in the apostasy from God and the holy religion. He is apparently at the center of the great apostasy and leads it. Hendriksen is right when he says: “He is not an abstract power or a collective concept, but definitely and eschatological person.”
Paul also tells us that he claims for himself divine honors. He claims to be god. Thus, he calls men to worship him and forsake the true God. I think it is likely that the language of his taking his seat in the temple of God is not to be taken with crass literalism. Nor does it refer to the church as Hendriksen and others think. It just means that he claims the worship given to any god men worship in whatever temple they worship him.
Let me now focus your attention on the most important things Paul assumes in these verses about what must happen first.
- He assumes that the apostasy and the revelation of the man of lawlessness are obvious events.
- He assumes that the Thessalonians know that they have not happened yet.
- He assumes that they will know when they do happen.
- He tells them that until they do happen, they must not think that Christ’s coming and our gathering to Him are immediately imminent.
- He directly implies that, when they do happen, the coming of Christ will be in the immediate future.
B. What Prevents This Now
Verses 6 and 7 read as follows: “And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he will be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way.”
Paul says that the Thessalonians knew what and who the restrainer was. But most Christian commentators have been trying to figure out what the Thessalonians knew ever since Paul wrote these words. There are many different views of this restrainer. If you want to ask me about other views than the one I will suggest, you may.
My view is that the restraint is angelic power and the restrainer is a mighty angel. This view is suggested to me by Daniel 10:13, 20, and 21 and Revelation 20 where angels restrain demonic power. This view is also suggested to me because it makes sense that fallen angels (Satan who is behind the mystery of iniquity) would be restrained by unfallen angels.
But to me the important thing to realize is that there is a restrainer and a restraint upon the mystery of lawlessness throughout this age. This restraint lasts till the very end of the age. You should carefully note that there are three consecutive events laid out this passage. There is (1) the time of restraining; (2) a removal of restraint and the coming of the apostasy, man of lawlessness, and time of delusion; (3) after a short time the destruction of the antichrist and his followers. That series of events is strangely parallel to another we have seen and which I will point out in the application.
C. What Will Happen Then
Verses 8-12 describe what happens at the end of the gospel age when the restrainer is removed.
8 Then that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming; 9 that is, the one whose coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, 10 and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. 11 For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, 12 in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.
During those terrible last days of this age, three things will happen.
- The lawless one will be revealed. This is a reference to the personal antichrist or man of lawlessness mentioned in verse 3.
- The world will be subjected to a tremendous, deluding activity by Satan. False miracle and signs will be given to support the claims of the antichrist. Satan, however, is the unwilling agent in God’s hand to judge a world which rejected the truth by causing them to believe a lie. Thus, the world in delusion will follow the false god of the antichrist to their destruction. This is the apostasy of which Paul has spoken earlier.
- The Lord will return in glory. The word used is Parousia the very word used in verse 1. Apparently, the seeming triumph of the antichrist will be only a short time. Then the supernatural judgment of the Lord will fall on him and the world following. They will be totally destroyed.
IV. Practical and Doctrinal Observations
A. We must distinguish a true and a false doctrine of imminence according to this passage.
Paul’s warning in this passage that the day of the Lord is not immediately imminent is a straightforward rebuke of a false doctrine of imminence that is widespread among Christians today. This false doctrine of imminence is that no prophesied event remains before Christ’s pretribulational coming and that Christ may come at any moment. This false doctrine is based on false deductions from the commands of the Bible to be alert to and to watch for Christ’s coming. We must watch for and stay awake for Christ’s coming, but such watchfulness does not imply that Christ’s coming may be at any moment.
I have a friend who once was ministering in a foreign country. When he came to the end of that ministry, he was eager to go home. He knew that his plane left early in the morning at a certain stated time, but he was so concerned not to oversleep and miss his plane that he stayed awake all night. He did not stay awake because his plane could leave at any time. He stayed awake because he was afraid he might oversleep. Similarly, we must stay awake not because Christ could come at any moment but because falling asleep spiritually may lead to us not being prepared for His coming.
The delicate thing about all this—as I have been implying—is that there is a biblical doctrine of the imminence of Christ’s coming. In many places, the New Testament teaches that Christ’s coming is near and is drawing nearer. But something may be near and yet not be ready to occur at any moment. We are told that in the gospels, certain feasts of the Jew were near, but this did not mean that they could occur at any moment. They fell on certain set dates.
The point is this: There is a true doctrine of Christ’s imminence and a false doctrine of it. The true doctrine of imminence is defined as nearness. The false doctrine of imminence is defined as any-moment-ness. Our passage shows you that Christ’s coming is not imminent in the sense of any-moment-ness. Paul explicitly says that certain prophesied events must happen first.
Maybe it will help if I put it this way. Christ’s coming is imminent, but until the apostasy and revelation of the man of lawlessness, it will not be immediately imminent. With all the talk about imminence, it is interesting to note that in the NASB, the word imminent or imminence only occurs once. Would you like to know where? Of course, you would. It is 2 Peter 1:14: “knowing that the laying aside of my earthly dwelling is imminent, as also our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me.” Jesus had prophesied that in his old age Peter would be martyred. Peter was now in old age and knew that his death was immediately imminent—sure to happen in the next few days or months. Peter’s death was immediately imminent. The Parousia of Christ is not imminent in that way. And that is what Paul is saying in 2 Thessalonians 2.
B. We must reject the unbiblical doctrine of Pretribulationism.
I have just emphasized to you that one of the main pillars of Pretribulationism is unbiblical. It simply is not the biblical teaching that no prophesied event is due to occur before Christ’s return. If that were the case, then we Pretribulationism would be correct, but it is not true. The fact is, however, that no passage in the Bible teaches a Pretribulational coming of Christ. Let me just briefly recite the evidence for Post-tribulationism in the Bible.
- In Matthew 24, it is clear that the coming of Christ comes after the tribulation. Whatever the tribulation is in that passage, the coming of Christ occurs after it. Cf. Matthew 24:9, 21, 29f.
- In the Book of Revelation, there is no coming of Christ until after the breaking of the seals, the blowing of the trumpets, and the pouring out of the bowls of plagues. If these things depict the great tribulation, as Dispensationalists think, then the coming of Christ depicted in Revelation 19 after all of those things is not pre-tribulational but post-tribulational.
- In 1 Thessalonians 4-5, the Second Coming of Christ, the rapture of the living saints, and the resurrection of the dead saints brings sudden destruction on the wicked. Note carefully! It does not bring seven years of tribulation but sudden destruction. 1 Thessalonians 5:2-3: “For you yourselves know full well that the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night. 3 While they are saying, “Peace and safety!” then destruction will come upon them suddenly like labor pains upon a woman with child, and they will not escape.”
- In 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10 one and the same Second Coming of Christ brings relief to the saints and eternal destruction to the wicked. There is no secret rapture ushering in a period of tribulation for the world, but a public and glorious coming bringing immediate destruction to the world. Cf. 2 Thessalonians 1:5-10. The same coming glorifies the saints and destroys the wicked.
Simply put, the Bible everywhere else teaches the very same Post-tribulationism we find in 2 Thessalonians, and nowhere teaches Pre-tribulationism.
C. We must refuse the false hope that the church will not go through the tribulation.
It is more than a little ridiculous that the notion that the church will not go through the tribulation should have been so attractive to the Christian church. Where did the Bible ever promise Christians deliverance from tribulation in this world? Again and again, it actually says the opposite.
John 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”
Acts 14:22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”
1 Thessalonians 1:6 You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit
Revelation 1:9 I, John, your brother and fellow partaker in the tribulation and kingdom and perseverance which are in Jesus, was on the island called Patmos because of the word of God and the testimony of Jesus.
Here is my theory. The pretribulational promise of not going through the tribulation is part of a whole system of easy Christianity that has spread through the Christian world. Easy believism, the notion that you can make a one-time decision for Christ and without perseverance in the faith expect to go to heaven, and other such doctrines lead directly to the idea that Christians do not have to suffer the tribulation. All of these things are part and parcel of an Easy Christianity which infects the church today. Easy Christianity is not biblical Christianity. The Bible never promised a salvation which delivers us from tribulation in this age.
D. We must notice the parallel between 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 20 and reject Premillennial “diplopia” or double vision.
I pointed it out in my exposition of Revelation 20. But let me point it out again here. There is a fascinating parallel between Revelation 20 and 2 Thessalonians 2.
- In Revelation 20 you have the binding of Satan for a thousand years, then you have the loosing of Satan and the deception of the nations for a short time, then you have the burning of Satan by fire from heaven.
- In 2 Thessalonians 2 you have the restraining of the mystery of lawlessness, then you have the removal of the restraint and the deception of the world through the antichrist, and then you have the destruction of the antichrist and his forces by the Parousia of the Christ.
The parallels are striking; and they point directly to the idea that in both passages we have the same series of events simply described in different language.
But in Premillenialism you have the view that these two very similar series of events are not the same. The one series takes place in this age; and the other series takes place in the millennium which follows this age. Jay Adams calls this Premillennial Diplopia. Do you know what diplopia is? It is double vision. He is saying that Premillennialism is guilty of double vision. It sees two things when there is really just one. He is right!
E. We must accept the truth of a short time of global tribulation for the church and of a personal antichrist emerging at the end of the gospel age.
When we compare 2 Thessalonians 2 with Revelation 20, it becomes clear that there is a short period of specific, concentrated, and terrible tribulation for the church at the end of the gospel age. I think other passages also suggest this truth as well, but these are the two we have studied; and they make the matter clear enough. Revelation 20:3 speaks of a “short time” of Satan’s loosing following the thousand years in which Satan was bound. 2 Thessalonians speaks of a period of apostasy and delusion following the time of the restraint of the mystery of lawlessness. This is brought to an end by the Parousia of Christ.
We are not by this committed to all the mythical ideas associated with the so-called “Great Tribulation” by Dispensationalism. I am not saying this is a seven year period of time. I am not saying that it is necessarily a time of widespread war and natural disaster. It is clear, however, that it is a time of terrible spiritual delusion for the world and of global persecution for the church.
Let me proceed, then, to the matter of the antichrist. If there is a specific time of tribulation, it also makes sense that there is a specific man is who is the antichrist or the man of lawlessness. This is the most natural interpretation of 2 Thessalonians 2’s reference to the man of lawlessness. If there is a specific, global attach on the church at the end of the age, it makes sense that it would be led by a personal antichrist. This is also the most natural interpretation of a passage like 1 John 2:18: “Children, it is the last hour; and just as you heard that antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have appeared; from this we know that it is the last hour.”
Once more let me clarify that in asserting this, I am not affirming all the mythology developed by Dispensationalism about the antichrist. Nor am I endorsing all the fallacies of the “Left Behind” movies. I am only saying that there will be a personal antichrist who leads the attack on the church of Christ at the end of the age.
F. We must see the implication of the world-wide spread of the gospel through the building of the church in this age.
Let me point out that there is an implication found in both 2 Thessalonians 2 and Revelation 20 that is often overlooked. If there is an apostasy after a lengthy period of restraint, and if there is a thousand years in which Satan is bound, the necessary implication is that the gospel does spread successfully throughout the world. How could there be an apostasy if the truth was not first accepted? How could there be a rebellion if the rule of Christ was not first accepted?
Often, when the end times are taught today, a terrible pessimism about the church is encouraged. If the age will end with such a tribulation and man of sin, then the conclusion would seem to be that things will only get worse and worse until the end. Evil men will become worse and worse. That is true, but it does not contradict another truth. Good will grow. The gospel will be preached. The church will be built across the world.
The parable of the wheat and weeds contains the true statement of what will happen in this age. It is not true that we must become spiritual pessimists about the church with Dispensational Premillennialism. It is not true that we must become spiritual optimists with the Postmillennialists. What we must look for is epitomized in the words of Jesus in Matthew 13:30: “Allow both to grow together until the harvest …”
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
by Sam Waldron | May 6, 2024 | Systematic Theology
We are thankful for the blessings of CovCon 24. In particular, we thank God for the blessings that came from the public ministry of the Word.
But a couple of things happened, which might be the occasion for questions and speculation. What am I talking about? First, when the question was raised about the “Great Tribulation” in the Q&A, all of us speakers responded with “crickets.” Why? Someone might ask. Second, in the last session, I was scheduled to preach on the Tribulation and the Second Coming. But then I changed my subject to Conquering and to Conquer—The Eschatology of Revelation 6. Again, someone might ask, Why? And it might be easy to connect this with our failure to respond to the question about the “Great Tribulation.” Is there some issue or doubt about the Tribulation and the Second Coming?
I decided to blog to prevent anyone from putting two and two together and getting five. I want to answer the questions raised by the two events just mentioned.
Why the Failure to Answer in the Q&A
Concerning our failure to answer the “Great Tribulation” question in the Q&A, I must take some of the blame. In a panel like that we had in the Q&A, nobody wants to appear like Mr. Talkative or Mr. Know-It-All. Everybody wants to defer to their esteemed brothers. I know that this was the case with me. The problem was that this was the subject I was scheduled to address in the conference program. I should have laid aside my diffidence and responded to the question.
But there may have been another reason for our failure to answer. Perhaps the issue of the “Great Tribulation” is, well, complicated. Let me explain why.
- First, this phrase occurs in Matthew 24:21. The interpretation of that passage is famously difficult. In particular, the identity of its “Great Tribulation” is controversial. The Futurists believe it is a future tribulation before the end of the age. The Preterists believe that it was the “Great Tribulation” of AD 66-70 in which Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed under the judgment of God. The advocates of a double fulfillment view think that it is both. For myself, though I am not a Preterist, I believe that it was descriptive of the “Great Tribulation” of AD 66-70, in which Jerusalem and the Temple were destroyed under the judgment of God. But in all of this you can see that the answer to this question is in this way debatable.
- Second, affirming a “Great Tribulation” immediately associates one with the mythology of popular eschatology. Even asserting a special period of tribulation before the end of the age seems to do this. This makes us, like those on the panel who reject such sensational nonsense, reluctant to affirm a future tribulation in any sense. None of us subscribe to Pretribulationism and its trappings, which is often associated with the “Great Tribulation.”
- Third, as one of our speakers made clear, this entire age is one of tribulation for God’s people. Even if one affirms a future period of intense tribulation for the church, this further truth must not be denied.
- Fourth, I affirm a future period of global tribulation for the church and the appearance of a personal antichrist before the return of Christ. But I hope you can see how carefully I need to qualify my view so that I am not associated with the sensationalism and doctrinal nonsense that is associated with such a view.
Why the Change in Subject for the Last Session
Why did I change my mind? It was not because of any doubts about the Post-tribulational Second Coming of Christ that I argue from 2 Thessalonians 2, but because it seemed to me that someone should actually address the meaning of the text that provided the title of our conference. That was, you remember, provided by Revelation 6:2: “I looked, and behold, a white horse, and he who sat on it had a bow; and a crown was given to him, and he went out conquering and to conquer.” Addressing this, our theme text seemed a greater priority than preaching my message from 2 Thessalonians 2.
But to remove any doubt about my view of this subject, in my next blog, I will publish the manuscript of that unpreached sermon.
Dr. Sam Waldron is the Academic Dean of CBTS and professor of Systematic Theology. He is also one of the pastors of Grace Reformed Baptist Church in Owensboro, KY. Dr. Waldron received a B.A. from Cornerstone University, an M.Div. from Trinity Ministerial Academy, a Th.M. from Grand Rapids Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. From 1977 to 2001 he was a pastor of the Reformed Baptist Church of Grand Rapids, MI. Dr. Waldron is the author of numerous books including A Modern Exposition of the 1689 Baptist Confession of Faith, The End Times Made Simple, Baptist Roots in America, To Be Continued?, and MacArthur’s Millennial Manifesto: A Friendly Response.
