Things to Come: A Journal of Biblical Literature,

Transcription

1 1 Sunday, May 13, 2012 Grace Life Schl f Thelgy Grace Histry Prject Lessn 67 When Was the Mystery n Lnger a Mystery? Advancements in Pauline Truth , Part 3 Things t Cme: A Jurnal f Biblical Literature, The first issue f Things t Cme: A Jurnal f Bible Literature with Special Reference t Prphetic Truth was first published in July The gal f the mnthly peridical was t be the special rgan f the prphetic Bible cnference mvement in Great Britain. Accrding t the first issue, It is clear that just as ther Cnferences and Subjects have their wn rgan, s these Cnferences need, and shuld have their wn special rgan. The prmters are unable t use any existing jurnal, and feel strngly that such an rgan ught nt t be the private prperty f any individual, hwever excellent... its prperty and its editrship under a Trust, s that the maintenance f fundamental truth may nt be jepardized... The dctrines cnnected with the Lrd s cming are as liable t perversin as any thers in Scripture. Hence ur need f guarding, as far as we can, against any pssible departure. (Vl. 1:1) Accrding t E.W. Bullinger s chief bigrapher, Juanita S. Carey, the mnthly publicatin f Things t Cme engaged the effrts f Bullinger frm the publicatin f the first issue in 1894 until his death in June His wn writings were printed in its pages befre they were printed elsewhere; many f his bks appeared there in serialized frm. The clumns Signs f the Times and The Editrs Table became barmeters f his cncerns, prejudices, and views n current issues. The twenty-ne vlumes (nineteen edited during his lifetime and tw published psthumusly) f Things t Cme are tday the richest surce f infrmatin n Bullinger. (Carey, 111) Things t Cme was funded under a trust, with Sir Rbert Andersn, Rev. Shlt Duglas, James E. Mathiesn, and Dr. Bullinger as trustee. Bullinger was als editr in chief f the publicatin. (Carey, ) Due t the cnstraints f time, mney, and accessibility the Grace Histry Prject has nly been able t cnduct a dctrinal analysis f the first tw vlumes (July, 1894 t June, 1895; and July, 1895 t June 1896) f Things t Cme at this time. Despite this limited sample, it is quite clear that Pauline Dispensatinalism was a key theme f the peridical since its inceptin in The fllwing summary f ur analysis is but further prf that mid-acts Pauline dispensatinalism was knwn, in print, and being widely disseminated befre the year The magazine s first article in the inaugural issue titled, Things t Cme shws a clear understanding f the mystery as a unique Pauline revelatin. And lastly, if we wuld knw the things t cme cncerning the Church f Gd, the Bdy f Christ, we must remember that the Lrd Himself expressly said f the Hly Spirit that He wuld reveal things t cme (Jhn 16:13). If we d this in bedience t the Lrd and the Hly Spirit, we shall nt lk fr, in the Gspels and the Acts, that which is revealed in the Epistles alne, cncerning the Church which was the Mystery, r the secret hidden in Gd till revealed in Rm. 16:25, Cl. 1:26, Eph. 3:1-10. Nr shall we s mix up the Epistles, the Gspels, and the Prphets as t cnfuse instead f edifying the children f Gd, as many d wh darken cunsel with wrds withut wisdm. Pastr Bryan Rss

2 2 T rightly divide the Wrd f Truth cncerning things t cme we must nt mix up things new and ld, earthly and heavenly, in hpeless cnfusin... (Vl. 1:2) The Purpse f the Ages is the text frm a sermn delivered by E.W. Bullinger at a prphetic cnference in May, The August, 1894 issue f Things t Cme includes the fllwing text fr that message. What are we t d with it then as the wrd f truth? T rightly divide it. The secret f all ur differences is fund in the fact that we d nt rightly divide the Wrd. In prprtin as we rightly divide it we shall learn, and agree in its truth. Study t shw thyself apprved unt Gd a wrkman that needeth nt t be ashamed, rightly dividing the wrd f truth. What a precius study this is. The praise f men is ur great snare, and fear f man is anther great snare. Gd deliver us frm bth... Nw this wrd f truth is ccupied with three great subjects. One cncerns the Jews, the ther cncerns the Gentiles, and the third cncerns the church f Gd; and every prtin f the wrd cncerns ne f these three. Unless we rightly divide the wrd we are apt t cmmit rbbery. There is already a gd deal f rbbery in the chapter headings. The blessing which Gd prnunced upn the Jews and Jerusalem have been rbbed in many cases, and given t the church f Gd; and there is ne peculiar thing abut this rbbery; viz, that the judgments are never stlen in that way. The Judgments f Gd prnunced ver the Jews and Jerusalem are all left t them. We shall never cmmit such rbbery if we rightly divide the wrd, and interpret f the Jews the scriptures that relate t the Jews... The Jew is baptized by the Hly Ghst int the bdy f Christ, and thus becmes a member f the church f Gd. He ceases t be a Jew as t his standing, his hpes, and his destiny. The Gentile is baptized by the Hly Ghst int the bdy f Christ. He becmes a member f the church f Gd. He ceases t be a Gentile as t his standing, his hpes, and his destiny... That is the secret which was never made knwn in the Old Testament scriptures; viz, that Gd was ging t save bth Jews and Gentiles, and make f the tw ONE new bdy, which he was ging t call the church f Gd...That is t say, Gd is using the church f Gd nw, i.e., the bdy f Christ, t make knwn t these principalities and pwers in heavenly places whever and whatever they may be in rder t unfld t them His wn manifld wisdm. (Vl. 1:22-23) The August 1894 issue als cntains the first essay in a series titled, The Epistle t the Rmans: And the False Gspels f T-Day. Paul s epistle t the Rmans is viewed as being the mst cmplete expsitin f the gspel f the Grace f Gd in all the inspired writings... The epistle t the Rmans sets frth the gspel f Gd s grace n the basis f justificatin by faith alne, and t fall away frm the truth f this prtin f Gd s wrd in ur dctrinal teaching r scial r ethical systems is t fall frm grace. (Vl. 1:33) In September, 1894 Things t Cme printed the text frm anther sermn f Bullinger s titled, Rightly Dividing the Wrd f Truth. Nt nly des this essay clearly teach that the bserved cnfusin in Christendm stems frm a failure t rightly divide the wrd f truth, it als tuches n the mechanics f psitinal truth fr members f the bdy f Christ. Yu have need t d this (rightly divide) with regard t the tw natures. The ld nature and the new nature, I mean. The ld heart and the new heart. The ld nature which can never be imprved, and the new nature which is created in righteusness and true Pastr Bryan Rss

3 3 hliness. The ld nature which cannt d right, and the new nature which cannt d wrng. Unless yu rightly divide the wrd f truth with regard t what is said f these tw things, yu must have errr, and cnfusin, and shame. (Vl. 1:49) The August 1894, issue als cntains part tw f The Epistle t the Rmans: And the False Gspels f T-Day, in which Bullinger is cmpletely clear n the fact that the Gspel f the Grace f Gd was cmmitted t Apstle Paul. It is essential t remember that the trial f man had cme t end when Gd cmmunicated the Gspel f the Grace f Gd t the Apstle Paul. He did nt receive it thrugh the Twelve Apstles, nr by reading the Fur Gspels, fr the earliest f them was nt written until years afterwards. He received his Gspel by special revelatin (Gal. 1:12). Evangelists wh preach nly frm the Fur Gspels r the Acts f the Apstles, altgether ignring the gspel f the Grace f Gd as set frth in the Pauline Epistles, apparently frget that the Fur Gspels and the Acts f the Apstles describe histrically hw Christ and His teaching were rejected, and hw after His crucifixin and resurrectin the testimny f the Hly Spirit was rejected als. The Fur Gspels and the Bk f Acts belng t the histrical prtin f Hly Scripture, and are as integral a part f Jewish histry as the Bk f the Kings r the writings f the Prphets. The Gspel f the Grace f Gd is nt fund in Matthew, indeed the wrd grace des nt ccur nce in Matthew r in Mark. (Vl. 1:53) December, 1894 saw the publicatin f a shrt essay titled, St. Paul and Prphecy. S lng as the mystery cncerning the bdy f Christ, which was the subject f a special revelatin t the Apstles St. Paul, is nt spiritually understd, the study f prphecy will remain, as at present, a cnfused and ften unedifying thelgical ccupatin...nt until Christian teachers bediently take the psitin t which we are called by Gd s infinite mercy and wndrus grace in the Pauline Epistles, will their expsitins f prphecy be prfitable, either fr instructin r edificatin... After He (Christ) was rejected, as related in all fur Gspels, the special testimny thrugh the Hly Ghst was given, as in the Acts f the Apstles; but the Hly Spirit was resisted, and the ffer f frgiveness and restratin f the kingdm was refused. Then came Gd s great lve and mercy in sending a special gspel f grace and frgiveness t lst man, when every muth was clsed and all the wrld guilty befre Gd... T begin therefre with the fur evangelists and the Acts f the Apstles, which belng t the histrical prtin f Hly Scripture, instead f with Gd s specially declared Gspel f His Grace in the Epistles, is t disregard the clearest directin f the Lrd Himself, as well as t cnfuse the Gspel f the Kingdm with the subsequently declared Gspel f the Grace f Gd... N, nt until the first eight chapters f the Rmans are accepted as Gd s present message t a lst wrld, will it be pssible t shw men the crrect way t divide the Prphetic Wrd, r t give them a clear utline f Scripture Eschatlgy. (Vl. 1: ) Pastr Bryan Rss

4 4 Many ther articles n a hst f dispensatinal subjects culd be quted frm the first Vlume f Things t Cme alne. Time and space will simply nt allw us t share everything f significance. Interested parties are encuraged t seek these writings ut fr further cnsideratin. The Rejectin f the Gspel f the Kingdm: As Related in the Fur Gspels and in the Acts f the Apstles (Vl. 1: ) Hw t Study Prphecy (Vl. 1:154) Will the Church, Or Any Part Of It, G Thrugh the Great Tribulatin? by F.E. Marsh (Vl. 1: The Epistle t the Rmans (Vl. 1: ) Divine Healing by William G. Carr (Vl. 2:52-54) The Grace Histry Prject is hpeful that in the future we will be able t cnduct a systematic dispensatinal analysis f all 21 Vlumes f Things t Cme. Fr nw, we humbly submit t the abve findings as further testimny as t the state f Pauline truth prir t the year Mid- Acts Pauline Dispensatinalism was being disseminated wrldwide thrugh the distributin f the Things t Cme jurnal fr many years befre the turn f the century. E.W. Bullinger s, The Mystery: Secret Truth Revealed, 1895 The chief cntributin f the Secnd Vlume f Things t Cme was E.W. Bullinger s The Mystery: Secret Truth Revealed. Originally published as a series f articles fr Things t Cme between September, 1895 and March 1896, this cllectin f essays was eventually cmpiled and published as ne bk. (Vl. 2:41-156; Carey, 237) In The Mystery, Bullinger articulates virtually all f the majr dctrines f the mid-acts dispensatinal psitin befre there year The Mystery demnstrates clear dctrinal prgressin in understanding beynd that f even Hlden and Mackintsh. Mst imprtantly, The Mystery is sundly mid-acts in its apprach. At this time in his ministry (1895), Bullinger shws n hint f the Acts 28 psitin that wuld cme t define his later writings. Fr the secnd paragraph f the intrductin, The Mystery clearly differentiates between prphecy and mystery. Gd s Gspel cncerning His Sn Jesus Christ had been prmised thrugh the Prphets in the Hly Scriptures, as we read in Rmans 1:1-3, but the Mystery f the Bdy f Christ had never been revealed, and did nt therefre frm the subject f Old Testament Prphecy. It was the subject f a special revelatin t Apstles, and Prphets, and Saints thrugh Paul, t whm and by whm this Mystery was first annunced in mrtal ears. It was cmmunicated nly t the Saints wh had been redeemed by the precius bld f Christ, wh had been justified by faith, and sealed with the Hly Spirit f prmise; nly t thse whm Gd, wh is rich in mercy, was pleased t make knwn that which had Pastr Bryan Rss

5 5 hithert been hidden in Himself, and was never previusly revealed unt the sns f men. (9-10) Accrding t Bullinger, the revelatin f the mystery was the first truth that Christendm lst sight f as it descended int apstasy. When Christians left their first lve in the earliest days f the histry f Christendm, this precius revelatin was apparently the first which became bscured and lst sight f. Then the true teaching cncerning the Hly Spirit in the Church became less and less clear, especially while the simple fundatin f the truth f justificatin n the principle f faith alne was als being departed frm. These precius truths - by the Lrd s lngsuffering patience and mercy, have been partially recvered in these last days ut f the wnderful treasury f His Wrd, but never, perhaps, in their pristine freshness and clearness. (10) Bullinger includes in the intrductin t The Mystery, a brief histry f the usage f the Greek wrd musteerin. Thus, it is perfectly clear and certain that the wrd Mystery, as used in the Scriptures, is simply a secret. But by the end f the secnd century after Christ the wrd musteerin had acquired an additinal use. It was used nt nly f a secret, but f a secret sign r symbl. In this sense the Greek fathers emplyed it t dente any such sign, whether f wrds r actins. They spke f the ffering f Isaac as a musteerin, i.e., a sign r symbl f the secret purpse f Gd cncerning His Sn Jesus Christ. They als used it interchangeably with the wrds tups, type; sumbln, symbl, and parablee, parable. It has a sense, therefre, similar t these wrds... It is remarkable als that sn after we find the Latin versin translating the wrd mystery (in Eph. 5:32) by the wrd sacramentum, i.e., sacrament. Frm this it is psitive that at that time the wrd sacramentum r sacrament meant merely a secret sign r symbl! It had nt then acquired its later thelgical use; but the wrd sacrament had reference merely t a symbl, r a symblical act, a secret sign, shewing frth the Lrds death... Thus, in ur search fr truth, tw great errrs are, at the utset, crrected: 1) The true meaning f the wrd Mystery in the Scriptures is nt smething that cannt be understd, but smething kept secret a secret truth r sign, revealed t thse wh are initiated; and 2) the thelgical wrd Sacrament is nt sme act f ecclesiastical jugglery, but a simple symblical act, by which the Lrd s peple shw frth their Lrd s death. (12-14) In Chapter One titled The Secret f the Interval, Bullinger distinguishes between the many secrets cntained in Scripture and the ne great secret, cmmitted t the Apstle Paul. Bullinger views this distinctin as the key t understanding hw the suffering and glry f 1 Peter 1:10-11 fit tgether. There are several secrets which are there spken f, and there is ne that is called the great secret. They are all f them cnnected with the present interval between the first and secnd Advents f the Lrd Jesus. That there was t be an interval at all between the sufferings f Christ and the glry that shuld fllw was nt revealed in the Old Testament. The sufferings themselves were n secret; neither was the glry that shuld fllw. Bth were subjects f Old Testament prphecy. Bth are there fully and plainly revealed. What is very remarkable abut thse prphecies is this: that while we have many prphecies f the glry withut any reference t the sufferings, we never have Pastr Bryan Rss

6 6 a prphecy f the sufferings withut finding, in the immediate cntext, a reference t the cming glry. (15) In a sectin titled, The Secrets f the Kingdm (Matt. 13:11, 35) Bullinger is explicitly clear that the parables describe the curse f the kingdm and therefre have nthing t d with the church the bdy f Christ. In the Old Testament we have the kingdm prphesied. In the Gspels and Acts we have the kingdm rejected. In the Epistles we have the interval between this rejectin; while future setting up f the kingdm in Divine pwer, judgment, and glry is freshewn in the Apcalypse. In the Epistles we have the interval, but chiefly in its relatin t the Church. We d nt learn in them what was t happen t the kingdm; the secrets cncerning this are nt there revealed. It is in Matthew 13 that the Lrd Jesus, in seven parables, describes the curse f the kingdm frm the first swing f its seed by the Sn f Man, t the final setting up f the thrne f His glry, and this withut any reference whatever t the Church. The Church, as we shall presently see, is nt the subject f these parables, being itself anther secret, emphatically called the great secret. These parables cncern the kingdm, and we are clearly tld why they were spken, and what was their subject as well as their bject. In verse 10, the disciples came and said unt Him, Why speakest Thu unt them in parables? He answered and said unt them, Because it is given unt yu t knw the mysteries (i.e., f curse, the secrets) f the kingdm f heaven, but t them it is nt given,... It is clear, therefre, that we are nt t lk fr the Church in these parables, but that, whatever we may learn frm them, we must distinguish between these secrets f the kingdm and the great secret cncerning Christ and the Church. (19-20) Als in Chapter One, in a sectin titled The Secret f the Ecclesia, Bullinger plainly states that the great secret refers t the Church which is the Bdy f Christ, r Christ Mystical. After discussing the varius uses f the Greek wrd Ecclesia, in the final sectin f Chapter One The Great Secret Bullinger expunds upn the three great passages that frmally make knwn the revelatin f the mystery. Clssians 1:24-28 Here we learn that this secret had never befre been made knwn, and that t make it knwn was t fully preach the Wrd f Gd. Hence, tday, the Wrd f Gd is nt fully preached unless the Secret be prclaimed. Rmans 16:25-26 Here bserve, that the same secret is referred t as being made knwn by a special revelatin, and as having been kept in eternal silence, nt a wrd having been breathed cncerning it befre. Ephesians 3:1-11 Gentile blessing was n mre a secret than Israel s blessing. The same wrd that revealed the ne, revealed the ther als. It is impssible, therefre, fr us t believe that the great secret, specially revealed with s much slemnity, and s Pastr Bryan Rss

7 7 frmally in the New Testament, referred merely t Gentile blessing, as such. This was nt hid in Gd; this was nt hid frm ages and frm generatins; this was nt kept in silence thrugh times eternal; it culd nt be said f this that in ther ages it was nt made knwn. Language is useless if such expressins can pssibly refer t that which was never hidden; never kept in silence; but was made knwn frm the earliest times. NO! this was the secret: that a peple shuld be taken ut frm amng bth Jews and Gentiles, wh shuld with Christ be made a jint-bdy in Christ: (Eph. 3:9) a peculiar ecclesiastical wrd which ccurs nly here; it des nt mean that there was a bdy already previusly in existence and that thers became afterward in due time members f it, a Bdy f which Christ shuld be the glrius Head in heaven, and His peple-the members f that bdy n the earth ne new man. This was the secret which was revealed t Gd s hly apstles and prphets by the Spirit, and which never entered int the heart r mind f mrtal man Christ Mystical. (28-29) Chapter Tw, The Bdy f Christ cvers the cnstitutin, grwth, and end f the bdy f Christ. Accrding t Bullinger, the bdy f Christ is cmprised f thse wh have reckned themselves as having died with Christ in His death and resurrectin. This is the truth which is bund up with the meaning f the Bdy f Christ. (Bullinger, 32) Therefre the unity and neness f the Bdy springs frm the spiritual realities f I Crinthians 12:13. There is n ther way f being in Christ. We cannt be in Christ Persnal; we can be in Christ nly by being members f His Mystical Bdy. Therefre, if we are in Him - when He, the Head, died, then we, the members must, in the eternal purpse and judgment f Gd, have died in Him. When He, the Head, rse again, then we, the members, must be risen in Him. If He, the Head, is in Heaven, then we, the members, are seated in the heavenlies in Him... Our aims and mind, and thughts will be heavenly nt earthly. Fr ye are dead, and yu are nw, as t yur standing befre Gd, living in anther sphere, and n anther plane where all is spiritual. Carnal rules and rdinances d nt enter int the grwth f the Bdy at all. All is spiritual, heavenly, and eternal. (Bullinger, 32-36) Bullinger states the fllwing regarding the end f the bdy in Chapter Tw: The secret f the Bdy has s far been revealed, as t its place in the purpses f Gd, as t its cnstitutin, and as t its grwth. Nw, as t its end, anther special revelatin is needed, and it is given. It flws naturally frm its relatin t Christ as shwn in Clssians 3. Seeing that the members died jintly in Christ, and rse in Christ, ur life is in Christ. Thugh we may fall asleep, ur life is hid with Christ in Gd. Therefre, the next thing is when Christ wh is ur life, shall appear, then shall ye als appear with Him in glry (Cl. 3:3-4). It were impssible t be therwise, inasmuch as the Head and members cannt be separated. Hence, the secret is revealed in I Crinthians 15:5, Behld, I shw yu a Mystery i.e., Behld, I tell yu a Secret. What is it? We shall nt all sleep. What? Nt thugh it is appinted unt men nce t die, and after this the judgment (Heb. 9:27)? Must we nt die? N, blessed be Gd. It is nt necessary! The members f the Bdy were judged with the Head, and were crucified with Christ, and therefre there is n reasn why they shuld ever die at all, and n reasn why they shuld ever cme int judgment. They may fall asleep, but nt all.... This, then, is the end f Christ Mystical. The perfect man is frmed; the Bdy is cmplete, and when it becmes cmpleted, it is received up in glry! (Bullinger, 36-38) Pastr Bryan Rss

8 8 Wrks Cited Bullinger, E.W. The Mystery: Secret Truth Revealed Carey, Juanita S. E.W. Bullinger: A Bigraphy. Grand Rapids, MI: Kregel Publicatins, Things t Cme Vl. I. July, 1894 thrugh June, Things t Cme Vl. II. July, 1895 thrugh June, Pastr Bryan Rss