EVENTS OF THE ADVENT
By
A. G. TINLEY.
There
are Christians who are certain that no believers can pass through THE
Tribulation, THE GREAT Tribulation; they may admit - as indeed they not
only may, but must, that through much tribulation we [Christians] must enter the
Kingdom of God: Acts 14: 22; looking
into the original, however, they discover that what it really says is Through many afflictions ('dia pollon
thlipseoon'). They may then recall Paul's words to the Philippians (1: 29):
Unto you it is given in the behalf of Christ not only
to believe on Him, but also to suffer for His sake [true
only of the joint-heirs of Romans 8: 17, 18, though but few
have noticed this!]; having the same conflict ('agoona') which ye saw in me, and now hear to be in me.
They may recall too, the feelings - convictions, rather - of the Apostles Peter
and John (beaten, yet unbeaten!) rejoicing that they were accounted worthy to suffer shame for His Name - forbidden and threatened, yet
they ceased not, but daily in the Temple, and in every
house, there ceased not to teach and declare Jesus as the Messiah.
But
particularly, our friends may remember that the Great Multitude, in white robes
triumphant before the Throne of God in heaven had come out of (Gk. 'ek') 'the affliction
the great.
To
me, at any rate, and to some others, it is thus clear and conclusive that some
[regenerate] believers
will pass through and be brought out of The Great Tribulation.
But
does that prove that all believers
will have to - must - pass through it? Definitely
not!
Did
my father pass through The Great Tribulation? Or your
grandfather?
The
answer lies in the fact that there are two kinds of tribulation, even two kinds
of Great Tribulation. What two kinds are these?
Just
as there are two kinds of martyrs ('witnesses') - life-long and death-short, so
to speak, so there are two kinds of tribulation, chronic, and acute. You
can give up your life in 5 minutes, or in 50 years.
Many
Christians have never suffered much, either for Christ, or with Christ. But even in this country there were Christians
who suffered, even unto death, a few centuries ago; even in this century there
are Christians who are suffering terribly in Communist countries; but not every
where, all down the centuries.
However,
we are told specifically how we may (not evade, but) avoid even The Great
Tribulation - when it comes, short and sharp, under anti-Christ. The
Philadelphian angel was granted a provisional
and consequential or contingent escape, an escape of reward (rather than of
grace), a sort of quid pro quo, a keeping for having kept, because ... therefore;
to quote Rev. 3: 10; Because thou didst keep My word
about (?) endurance, I also will keep thee from ('out of') the hour of temptation ('trial')
- c.f. John 12: 27 - which shall come upon all the world to try them that dwell
upon the earth. That retrospective commendation and prospective
promise is individual; here is the more general but equally contingent
consequence: Watch ye
therefore and (because of the world-wide snare),
pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all
these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of
man (Luke 21: 24-36).
As
so often, the truth lies between two extremes: Not all believers will escape
The Great Tribulation; not all believers will have to endure it.
Our
Lord (it is agreed) is the Nobleman going into a far country, to receive for
Himself a Kingdom - and to return (Luke 19: 12-28),
with the command to His ten servants: Occupy till I
come ('erchomai').
Left on their own - on probation, to test alike their loyalty and fidelity,
their devotion and industry, in making the most, by trading, of the ten pounds entrusted to them, they
were to be rewarded on His Return with positions of authority -
ruling with Him - in His [millennial] Kingdom. When He
returned, having received the Kingdom, then He commanded these servants
to be called unto Him, to whom He had given the money, that
he might know how much every man had gained by trading. This is an adjudication Parable, a Pre-view
of the Bema (or Judgement Seat) of Christ.
This
parable of the pounds in Luke is paralleled
in Matthew by the very similar parable of
the talents in chapter 25: 13-30. Here
we have the introduction of the investigation and adjudication with a reference
to the Lord's long absence, now very close on 2,000 years (or [after] two thousand-year
days by the parable of the Good Samaritan: Luke. 10,
[verse 35] - where the penny,
or denarius [two denarii], represented
in the wherewithal of life for the morrow, for the reward or wage of the
Labourers in the Vineyard was a denarius, the
livelihood of the coming day: Matt. 20: 2 - (earned by determined and
energetic 11th. hour workmen in the little time left at their
disposal). In Luke 19: 16 we hear
the industrious servant confessing: Lord, thy pound
hath gained ten pounds - and his reward was authority
over ten cities (cf. Deacapolis); in Matthew 25: 20 we hear the correspondingly
enterprising servant saying - without boasting, for the reward is not of grace, but of works: Behold, I have gained ... five talents more. The Lord's Well of Luke 19: 17
is rightly rendered in Matthew
25: 21, 23 by Well done!
Rule over many things, and entrance into the Joy of enthronement at the Right
Hand of the Father in Heaven: Rev. 3: 21-22.
The Race of endurance is set before us, and The Good Agony (Gk.) with its Love
of His Appearing, and the Crown of Righteousness, awarded by the
Righteous Judge, the Umpire and Adjudicator, Who has Himself already been awarded
Crown and Throne and Sceptre: Heb. 1: 8, 9;
Ps. 2: 6-9; Rev. 2: 26,27; 3: 21,22. He has also been anointed
(in Messiahship) with the oil of gladness (Joy) above
His Fellows.
Here
then, is the much needed incentive that is so rarely taught, to spur [regenerate] believers on; it is a Prize indeed, a
Heavenly Calling - inspiring the Apostle Paul: Phil.
3: 10-14, to intense and all-absorbing concentration of devotion. So
very many Christians drop out of the race (and even get off course) because they fancy all is of grace, and that
they will be alright, though mere babes, born again, indeed, yet as being saved without works, and without hope - or knowledge
- of this special Joy of the Lord - His Joy, set before Him, as the
Incorruptible Crown - that Paul strove for - is set before us: 1 Cor. 9: 24-27 (were castaway
- rendered rejected in Heb. 12: 17 - means disqualified for the Crown (as Israel -
our danger-signal in the following chapter: 1 Cor. 10: 1-12. - forfeited the Kingdom [Num. 14.; Heb. 4: 1]).
Here then, also, is the much
needed sanction, warning, threat - the possibility of positive loss at the
Judgment Seat of Christ, His Bema of adjudication, that
most evangelists avoid.
In
the two parables quoted from, more space is given to the fearful and
unprofitable, the wicked and slothful servant (whom some expositors declare was
no servant at all!!), who, again perhaps relying on 'all
of grace', hid his Lord's money, fancying it would be acceptable, when
it represented to Him serious loss. The Lord Who gives the increase of
harvest, is hard - upon the lazy, presumptuous, cowardly, profitless servants: but very few Christian teachers will agree
with this, or with me (who do not matter, except that I have to be faithful as
a steward, and not a mere man-pleaser). So I repeat, disagreement with me will not prove you are right!! The
coming [millennial]
kingdom is a kingdom of reward: Rev. 2: 12; 11: 18,
entrance into it being the prize for good works - as distinct from the Eternal
Kingdom of Grace that follows - but who would [be
so spiritually blind, disbelieving and misunderstanding of this truth to] deliberately choose darkness [in Hades] for the
Thousand Years? Here, then, are the sanction and the incentive that
the flagging and flabby Church of [God] today so badly needs.
1 John 2: 28 tells us of the possibility of our being ashamed away from Him at His
Appearing, if we do not abide in Him,
with His words abiding in us.
Now
the Lord Jesus Christ - the Messiah, and Jehovah -
informs us as to those of whom He Himself will be ashamed at His Return.
He Who is the Word of God identifies Himself with His
words concerning the historicity and Creation (not Evolution!) of Adam and Eve
(Mark 10: 6), concerning His Lordship, and
the everlastingness of His utterances.
Do
we make the Word of God of none effect through our (evangelical) traditions,
and our denominational slogans? ('all of grace'; 'by faith alone').
What
does hiding in a napkin mean? or light under a bushel? or under a bed?
Could
it mean that we have kept the sacred deposit of salvation to ourselves, never using our testimony to win others to
the Lordship of the Messiah? or that we have allowed business
interests and advantages to seal our lips, and stop our witness? We
ought to be proud of God, and of His word; we ought, too, to qualify ourselves
to defend it, make it known as error-free - even free of alleged scientific
mistakes, declaring it to be worthy of fullest acceptance, in view of the
erroneous theories, and changing apathy and fear.
It is very clear that not all believers will win Christ's Kingdom of
Reward, and earn His approval at His Judgment Seat: there are repeated
catalogues of excluding sins: sexual impurity, anger, sectarianism and
erroneous separatism that will shut believers out of the Kingdom of Reward for
suffering and good works: 1 Cor.
6: 9,10; Gal. 5: 19-21; Eph. 5: 3-7; 1Tim.5: 9,10. The teacher who asserts that these are impossible to Christians is,
consciously or no, a deceiver, or even worse. Once a [regenerate] believer gets out of touch with God, he can become guilty of
almost anything. Be not
partakers implies that we can partake of sins, and of judgment. Where are the informed and fearless
teachers who dare proclaim these warnings? The watchmen who are afraid to declare the whole counsel of God may suffer loss because of their lukewarmness, timidity, and disloyalty.
Will
any one - any believer - presume when about to be beaten with many, or few,
stripes, to oppose 'all of grace', boast of his freedom, by new birth, or at a
great price, and his citizenship of the Heavenly Jerusalem? but
if so, will his threatened beating be averted? (Luke
12: 45-48). We mostly use a
little Bible within the Bible - full of promises, devoid of warnings, whether specifically to believers, or awful examples
given in the Old Testament; therefore, unhappy surprises - as well as
happy ones - are in store for us. But how little do we know the full revelation
of God! Why did I have to leave typewriter for concordance to get the
reference to degrees of stripes? Thank
God for the exceeding great and precious promises - but do let us note any conditions attached, and make
sure we qualify to inherit
the blessing!
And
why is all this indisputable Scriptural teaching unpopular, and unpalatable?
Why
do we call our righteousnesses filthy rags, when they are nothing of the kind?
These words were spoken on behalf of Jewish religious hypocrites two or three
thousand years ago (Isaiah. 54); in contrast
the good deeds of the people of God are called fine
white linen: Rev. 19: 7-9. Did
the Lord call Mary's deed a good work - or a
filthy rag? Surely that would
hardly be an incentive or an encouragement to doing good - which we can do, and
many Christians actually do, some occasionally, some all the time, as the Word
of God repeatedly affirms. Teachers have no right - in fact they are quite
wrong, to declare, stretching Romans 3: 12
unwarrantably and limitlessly, that no one ever did, does, or will do - indeed
cannot ever do, good.
The
other way round, the broad way - easy, crowded, popular, pleasant - is removed from Christian responsibility,
together with stripes and darkness, and every threat and warning that even a blind outsider can clearly see
are needed for believers - The
broad way is made non-applicable to the
Church, so that she is robbed of challenging sanctions, as well as of stimulating
incentives, and so that every encouragement is given to 'harmless' backsliding and unattractive drop-outs. Yes, spiritual drop-outs, who once ran
well! The Pharisees 'will be offended' at
that saying; yes, but what was the Lord's reply? What was Paul's example?
I
for one, I hope, am taking no risks. Paul was not sure of his Crown or
Septre, or Throne when the angelic heads abdicate (Rev.
4: 10; Heb. 2: 5), in favour of Christ's Fellows and Joint-Heirs, I - [by the grace of God, the power of His Holy Spirit
and in obedience to Christs commands] - shall
certainly not cast that Crown down; so I have tried to encourage our people to
sing: 'Till we take our crowns before Thee'.
My Incentive or Prize is thus approval at Christ's Judgment Seat, it is being accounted worthy
to live and reign with Him for The Thousand Years
before Eternity proper begins: Heb. 4: 11; 1Thess.
1: 5-7; 1Cor. 9: 24 and; Phil. 3:13,14; Rev. 2: 25-27; Rev. 3: 21.
My Sanction or Deterrent is that no man take thy Crown, The rest of the dead lived not again till
The Thousand Years were finished':
Rev. 3: 11; 20: 5.*
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Mr.
Tilney concludes:-
"So must we reconcile any seeming
discrepancy between Free Gift
and Reward, which are taught so clearly, so emphatically, and so
repeatedly, in Gospel and Epistle, though so rarely distinguished by Christian teachers and evangelists.
The latter, often out for quick
decisions, often secure superficial and temporary results, unable to provide
either incentive or sanction, since they
make sweeping promises without conditions, warnings or threats, and ignore 'cautionary tale' and 'awful
example' of Israel's history, and their failure to enter (or retain) the
Promised Land.
Where is the challenge (taken up
by the Apostles, especially Paul) to forsake all,
and follow the Christ, the King?
Where is the distinction, indeed,
the contrast, between faith and works, between gift and reward, between the shaken and the unshakeable Kingdoms: Heb. 12: 28, in our evangelical campaigns?"
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