1 Saturday, May 25, 2013 Great Lakes Grace Bible Cnference The Line, The Wheel, and the Hill: A Scriptural Mdel fr Understanding Histry Intrductin Galatians 1:4 is there anyne here hw dubts that wrld we live in is evil? We see crruptin and injustice n all sides. We bserve a creative rder that graning under the strain f sin. We see defectin frm the truth n the part f thse wh used t stand with us in the truth f Gd s Wrd rightly divided. In the recent past Richard (2009, Welcme t Winter) has tried t help us understand what is ging n arund us by talking abut the cycles f histry and where America is at within ur natinal cycle. Even a nvice student f histry is familiar with Gerge Santayana s famus qute, thse wh cannt remember the past are cndemned t repeat it. Santayana s statement encapsulates ne f histry s great debates regarding the philsphical nature f time itself. Is time and therefre histry cyclical like Hinduism and indigenus religins teach, r linear pssessing bth a beginning and ending tward which humanity is advancing? A thughtful reading f Santayana highlights the fllwing paradx; histry is bth cyclical and linear. Implicit within Santayana s cmment is the ntin that if humanity frgets abut their past mistakes, their frgetfulness will cndemn the species t a cyclic fate f revisiting past mistakes. Cnversely, cyclical reccurrence can be avid and linear prgress cntinued by acknwledging past mistakes thereby allwing mankind t avid the same missteps in the present as well as future. Are time and histry cyclical r linear? Or are bth true? If s hw? What d the Scriptures teach abut these issues? Herein lies the gal f this study, I want t present a cmplete Biblical paradigm fr understanding histry and try t explain hw it helps us understand what is ging in this present evil wrld. It is nly when yu cmbine these cncepts that a cmplete mdel Scriptural mdel cmes int fcus. The Line Genesis 1:1 time and by extensin histry have a pint f rigin in the creative activities f almighty Gd. There was a big bang. There was nthing, Gd spke and Bang there was smething. Gd brught time and matter int existence ut f nthing. Revelatin 21:1 the earth as we knw it will cme t an end. Cnnecting these tw pints establishes a line with bth a beginning and a predetermined ending. When we speak abut hw Gd has wrked in the past (time past), hw Gd is wrking in the present (but nw), and hw Gd will wrk in the future (ages t cme), we are utilizing a strictly linear view f histry. Pastr Bryan Rss
2 Ephesians 2:11-12 Time Past Ephesians 2:13 But Nw Ephesians 2:7 Ages t Cme Ephesians 1:10 time riginated in Genesis 1 and is advancing frward in linear fashin tward a prphesied end, the establishment f the new heavens and new earth. When the Dispensatin f the Fullness f Time arrives the purpse fr which Gd created time will have been fulfilled. One culd argue that mid-acts dispensatinalists are the mst linear thinkers arund. The Wheel Virtually all gentile scieties have viewed time as cyclical in nature. Regardless f their gegraphic lcatin r despite their lack f cntact with each ther, pagan cultures all pssessed a circular view f life linked t the seasnality bservable in nature. Pagan hlidays and festivals cincided with seasnal ccurrences such as the winter and summer slstices as well as the spring and autumnal equinxes. After the s-called cnversin f Emperr Cnstantine t Christianity in 312 A.D., the Rman Cathlic Church slwly began the prcess f trying t Christianize pagan hlidays. As a result, the Church psitined Christmas, Easter, and All Saints Day r All Hllws Eve t cincide with pagan festivals that celebrated the seasnal changes f nature. Where did the gentiles btain this seasnal celestial view f the universe? The ntin that early men were primitive (e.g., cave men) is an evlutinary suppsitin that Bible believers shuld reject. Adam, the first man, was nt a half man/half animal creature as evlutinary pseudscience teaches. Rather, Adam was created in the image f Gd as a fully functining adult male pssessing superir physical, mental, spiritual, and emtin faculties as yu r I. Mrever, Adam was placed int a mature, fully functining, and perfectly created envirnment. Genesis 1:14-19 befre Gd created Adam and placed him in the Garden f Eden, He created the planetary bdies f the universe. Nte a few significant details. First, the alignment and psitin f the planetary bdies serve the purpse f prviding light upn the earth. Secnd, the relatinship between the earth and the celestial bdies f the firmament wuld nt nly accunt fr the differences between day and night but wuld als serve as a mechanism fr rendering seasns as well as fr cunting days, weeks, and years. Third, the dividing f day and night, seasnal differences, and the cunting f days and years were designed in verse 14 t serve as signs t the inhabitants f the earth. Accrding t Strng s Cncrdance, the Hebrew wrd translated signs in the King James Bible means a signal, a distinguishing mark, banner, remembrance, miraculus sign, men, r warning. Therefre, Adam was placed in an envirnment in which the planetary bdies served as signs f Gd s existence and handiwrk. Pastr Bryan Rss
3 Genesis further reprts f humanity s fall int sin, which nt nly wreaked havc n Gd s pristine creatin but als cluded and distrted man s willingness t see Gd s handwrk in the natural wrld. Rmans 1:19-23 the Apstle Paul reprts hw mankind s fall int sin distrted his willingness t see the witness Gd placed within creatin. The fllwing pints abut pst-fall man are clearly bservable frm this passage. First, mankind clearly knew wh Gd was thrugh his creatin. Secnd, based n the testimny f creatin alne, mankind is withut excuse fr nt desiring t retain Gd in his knwledge. Third, the ultimate result f nt glrifying Gd as Gd, lack f thankfulness, and vain imaginatins is the changing f the glry f the uncrruptible Gd int an image made like t crruptible man. In shrt, mankind tk the witness f Gd thrugh creatin and perverted it in an attempt t escape accuntability. The end result was that humanity changed the truth f Gd int a lie fr which Gd gave them ver t a reprbate mind, t d thse things which are nt cnvenient. Therefre, frm the very beginning mankind was aware f the seasnal nature f Gd s creatin. After the fall, the sns f Adam, in an attempt t remve Gd frm their knwledge, tk the signs and seasnal markers Gd established when he created the planetary bdies and hijacked them as part f their religius systems. Herein lays the explanatin fr why virtually all pagan scieties in the ancient wrld viewed time as cyclical. They were simply fllwing the curse f this wrld, a perversin f the knwledge f Gd authred by Satan and his lie prgram. Acts 14:16-17--when Gd allwed the gentile natins t fllw after their wn flishness, he did nt rerganize r restructure the physical mechanisms f his creatin. Rather, Gd still uses the seasnality f his creatin as a testimny t the natins f his existence. Genesis 8:22--ntice that Gd left the signs f seasnality in place t serve as a witness t the gentiles f his existence despite their perversin f it. Sin has nt disrupted the seasnal patterns f creatin but has instead distrted mankind s understanding f them. Ecclesiastes 3:1-8--while linearism remains the predminant mdel fr understanding histry, we must als recgnize that Gd is als the authr f cyclical seasnality. Cnsequently, t arrive at a cmplete paradigm f histry, we must embrace the reality that as time mves frward linearly twards its prphesied end, cycles are als ccurring. In secular terms we can bserve this cyclicality in the fllwing ways: The business cycle in ecnmics: peak, cntractin, trugh, expansin. The rise and fall f natins thrughut wrld histry. A well-rted and established culture seeks t take advantage f its surrunding less sphisticated neighbrs. Perhaps peaceably at first, ften fllwed by military cnquest, ne sciety emerges and expands their pwer base by subjecting their enemies until they reach a summit f sustainable pwer. While sme cultures where able t maintain their zenith lnger than thers, crruptin and entrpy ultimately creep in leading t slw decline and decay, which in the end result in the lss f pwer. Eventually thrugh the cmbinatin f bth internal prblems and external threats, the civilizatin falls nly t be replaced by a new sciety that fllws the same prgressin. Pastr Bryan Rss
4 The Chinese Dynastic Cycle Judges 2:10-19 the same cyclical phenmenn is bservable within the nly natin that Gd frmed n earth, the natin f Israel. The middle sectin f the bk f Judges presents seven cycles f apstasy, ppressin, cry fr deliverance, salvatin, and rest. Israel vacillates between bedience and apstasy as the peple cntinually fail t learn fr their mistakes. Eventually, bth Israel and Judah were cnquered by gentile pwers thereby ushering in the times f the gentiles plitically and cmpleting Israel s fall int plitical irrelevance due t her habitual unbelief. Despite having succumbed t the same cyclical cllapse as the gentile natins surrunding Israel, time marched n. The linear was driven frward by the cvenants and prmises that Gd made t his natin that have nt yet cme t pass. Therefre, while the natins are rising and falling in predicable fashin, histry is being pulled alng a linear plane twards Gd s prphesied end. II Timthy 4:2 we need t cntinue t preach the wrd regardless f the seasns we find urselves in. The Hill Nw that we have seen that bth cyclical and linear cncepts are bth Scriptural all that remains is t cmbine them int a single explanatry mdel. Fr accuracy s sake, the trajectry f ur line is best illustrated by a dwnward slping line. Drawing the line in this fashin sets the Christian view f histry apart frm ther linear prgressive mdels discussed in previus pstings. Unlike the evlutinary r Marxian views f histry, humanity is nt imprving but finding new ways and methds t rebel against Gd. Daniel 2:35-44 within Nebuchadnezzar s dream we see the entire duratin f the times f gentiles plitically fretld in stunning detail. The nly thing nt fretld in Daniel 2 was that Gd was ging t interrupt the prgressin f gentile pwer and usher in an unprphesied perid f grace and peace, namely the dispensatin f grace. The mineral degeneratin seen in each part f the statue reflects the Law f Human Cllapse. Mankind has n hpe withut Gd. It is nly the revelatin f Jesus Christ at his secnd advent t establish his kingdm that stps humanity s descent int blivin. II Timthy 3:13 this are getting wrse and wrse nt better. II Thessalnians 2:7 the mystery f iniquity is already wrking. It is nly the presence f the bdy f Christ n earth that is retraining mankind s slide int blivin. Putting It All Tgether In shrt, a cmplete Biblical view f histry must cntain the fllwing three characteristics. First, it must reflect the Gd-rdained methd f Bible study by adhering t linearism as its predminant explanatry mdel. Secnd, it must recgnize that Gd is als the authr f the cyclical and make rm fr seasnality as Gd s linear plan unflds. Pastr Bryan Rss
5 Third, the linear prgressin and imbedded cyclicality must be understd t prgress alng a line that is dwnward slpping in its trajectry, thereby taking int accunt the Law f Human Cllapse. This is best illustrated by envisining a tire rlling dwn a hill. When the tire reaches the bttm it will crash in catastrphe. This is where the curse f this wrld is headed and nly the return f Christ can remedy the situatin. As believers we need t understand that we cannt alter r fix what has already been set in mtin. All we are called t d is preach the wrd regardless f where the wheel is in its rtatin r hw far dwn the hill we are. What Abut Us? Prphetically we knw where this is ging and hw it will end because Gd has revealed his plans n the pages f Scripture. These things are predetermined and revealed in the Bible. We knw hw the dispensatin f Grace will end but we d nt knw exactly when it will end. We d knw that it must be befre the 70 th Week f Daniel because f a prphetic statement made by the Apstle Paul. I Thessalnians 4:15 ntice the phrase Paul uses when first teaches abut the catching away f the saints, by the wrd f the Lrd. This phraselgy is cnsistent with that f the Old Testament prphets when they were fretelling future events. When Paul fretells the end f the dispensatin f grace he emplys the technique f the Old Testament prphet t reassure his audience that this event will happen because Gd has predetermined that it wuld ccur. The expressin by the wrd f the Lrd ccurs 10 times in Scripture and nly 1 time in the Pauline Epistles. In cmparisn the phrase the wrd f the Lrd ccurs 255 times in the Bible. The vast majrity f which are in a prphetic cntext. I Kings 13:1-5 I Chrnicles 11:3 David is aninted king ver Israel accrding t the wrd f the Lrd. I Samuel 16:1-13 II Chrnicles 36:21-22 the wrd f the Lrd spken by the prphet Jeremiah was fulfilled in the 70 year Babylnian captivity. Jeremiah 19:3, 25:9-12, 27:6-8, 29:10 Isaiah 39:5-6 Isaiah by the wrd f predicts the Babylnian captivity. Ezekiel 25:1-4 the wrd f the Lrd prphesied against the Ammnites. Ezekiel 28:20-23 the wrd f the Lrd prphesied against Zidn. Ezekiel 29:1-2, 30:1-2 the wrd f the Lrd prphesied against Egypt. Pastr Bryan Rss
6 When the wrd f the Lrd is spken with respect t individuals, cities, r natins what is predicted will surely cme t pass. By the wrd f the Lrd is a prphetic cnstructin used thrughut the Old Testament by Gd t predict future events. I Thessalnians 4:15-17 as an apstle, Paul is using the language f prphecy t fretell the end f this dispensatin. That Gd will ne day return t meet the saints in the air cannt be fund in the Old Testament prphets because it was part f the revelatin f the mystery (I Cr. 15:53) cmmitted t the Apstle Paul. I Timthy 2:6 as the due time testifier f Gd s secret plan t frm the bdy f Christ, Paul fretells hw this dispensatin will end. The rapture f the church must ccur befre the tribulatin because the next prphetic event t be fulfilled is the ne fretld by the Apstle Paul as part f the revelatin f the mystery. The saints will be caught away t meet the Lrd in the air. There are tw ways we can escape this present evil wrld: 1) by death, 2) by rapture. Between nw and rapture the predetermined end f this dispensatin we cannt rightly attribute any event t the direct physical interventin f Gd because he has nt tld us in his wrd they wuld ccur. We can, hwever, rest assured that by the wrd f the Lrd he will catch away his waiting t church t meet him in air. Pastr Bryan Rss