Adapted from a lesson given at the 2nd Annual Carlsbad Eschatology Conference   I Cor. 15 is among the chief eschatological passages – any discussion of Christ’s second coming sooner or later will end up here.  Not surprisingly, there is a fair amount of disagreement about its meaning among Preterists.  This aritlce will attempt to help clear things up.  I Cor. 15 is divided into three parts: vv. 1-34 deal with the fact of the resurrection and consequences of its denial. Verses. 35-50 deal with the nature of the resurrection body – natural and corruptible vs. spiritual and incorruptible. Verses 50-57 deal with the “mystery” of the eschatological change.  Let’s look briefly at each of these.  Fact of the Resurrection  I  Cor. 15:1, 2 - Moreover brethren I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand, by which also ye are saved.  We think of I Cor. 15 as being predominantly eschatological, but we see here that soteriology and eschatology are inexorably bound together up.  Last things grow out of first things, and first things are completed in last things.  The gospel that begins with the birth of the savior, culminates in his resurrection from the dead.  This resurrection – its authenticity, its historicity, its gospel verity – is the message by which God has chosen to save man.  Rom. 1:16 – For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.    God chose the “foolishness” of preaching, the silliness, the absurdity of a message scorned by proud and worldly-minded men, to save those that believe.  Faith is tied to man’s moral faculty.  It is not as if men cannot believe, as if the evidence were wanting, were weak, or insubstantial; it is not that men cannot believe, but that they will not believe!  Unregenerate man does not like the reality of God; the pride of the human heart rebels against God’s lordship over his life; man wants to be self-determinative, to choose what to do, when to do it, and if to do it. Unregenerate man despises his “creature-liness.” He rages against God; God is a reality he is unprepared to live with or submit to, and so thrusts the very knowledge and consciousness of God from his heart.  Rom. 1:19-21 - For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed [it] unto them.  For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, [even] his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:   And so God has chosen the moral faculty of faith as the measure by which to sift the hearts of men.  Those that receive a love of the truth – who own to their creatureliness, who own to their sinfulness, who own to their utter helplessness in the face and inevitability of death – will find salvation in the gospel of Jesus Christ.  But those that are contentious and do not obey the truth, indignation and wrath upon every soul of man that doeth evil – to the Jew first and also the Greek.  More....

The Great Persecution under Caiaphas, Pilate, and Paul   Introduction  The book of revelation depicts two persecutions against the church: the persecution of the dragon and the persecution under the beast, harlot, and false prophet.  In this article, we want to identify the time and circumstance of the first of these two great persecutions.  The Dragon, the Woman, and the Man-child  The persecution under the dragon is portrayed in Revelation twelve where it attempts to destroy the man-child at the time of its very birth:     And there appeared a great wonder in heaven; a woman clothed with the sun, and the moon under her feet, and upon her head a crown of twelve stars.  And she being with child cried, travailing in birth, and pained to be delivered.    And there appeared another wonder in heaven; and behold a great red dragon, having seven heads and ten horns, and seven crowns upon his heads.  And his tail drew the third part of the stars of heaven, and did cast them to the earth: and the dragon stood before the woman which was ready to be delivered, for to devour her child as soon as it was born.    And she brought forth a man child, who was to rule all nations with a rod of iron: and her child was caught up unto God, and to his throne.  And the woman fled into the wilderness, where she hath a place prepared of God, that they should feed her there a thousand two hundred and threescore days.  Rev. 12:1-6   The basic imagery is taken from the garden where the dragon appears in the form of the serpent, which tempted the woman.  The serpent was not a demonic being; it was a serpent, just as the text says.  It was chosen as the medium by which the woman was tempted because of the symbolic value associated with the venom of its bite. Just as the bite of the serpent produces physical death, so sin produces moral, spiritual, and eternal death.  From an actual serpent that was given man’s voice to tempt the woman, the serpent is thence abstracted and made a symbol for sin and death and those that act in obedience to their command; the woman a symbol for the people of God.  The scripture’s then foretell the conflict between offspring of the woman and the serpent:    And the Lord God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this, thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field; upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy life: and I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel. Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee.  Gen. 3:14-16       The woman’s Seed is Christ; the promised Kinsman Redeemer; the serpent would “bruise the heel” of the promised Seed (strike a nonfatal blow) in the crucifixion, but the Seed would crush the serpent’s head by the power of his cross and resurrection.  (Cf. Col. 2:14, 15)  The enmity between the woman and the serpent is manifested in the struggle between the people of God and their worldly oppressors. The symbol of the serpent was appropriated upon by the prophets, where it was merged into the symbol of Leviathan, the world civil power opposing God and oppressing his people:    In that day the Lord with his sore and great and strong sword shall punish Leviathan the piercing serpent, even leviathan that crooked serpent; and he shall slay the dragon that is in the sea.  Isa. 27:1   In the Old Testament, Leviathan most often stood for Egypt, but similar imagery was also used for other world powers.  (Cf. Isa. 14:29; Jer. 51:34 – Assyria and Babylon)    In Revelation, the dragon is Imperial Rome.  The seven heads of the serpent symbolize the seven Caesars that would rule unto the eschaton; the ten horns represent Rome’s ten provinces.  (Rev. 17:10-12)  The woman is the mother church in Palestine to whom the promised Seed was given.  Most will concede that Christ is symbolized by the “man child” brought forth by the woman.  This is made certain by the reference in v. 5 that he would “rule the nations with a rod of iron” and was “caught up to God and to his throne.”  Jesus uses this language about himself in Rev. 3:21; however, the ultimate source of the language is the second Psalm, where it describes the risen and ascended Messiah:    Ask of me and I shall give thee the heathen for thine inheritance, and the uttermost parts of the earth for thy possession.  Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel. Ps. 2:8, 9   The dragon’s attempt to devour the Christ-child at his birth refers to Herod’s slaughter of the Innocents.  (Matt. 2:16-18)  Catching up of the man child to the God and his throne is prospective, and looks to the ascension of Christ following his death and resurrection. Christ’s earthly ministry is depicted in the imagery of Michael and his angels (Christ and the apostles) doing battle with the dragon and his angels (Sin, Rome and the Jews).  The victory over the dragon was obtained by the blood of Christ and the testimony of the gospel:    And they overcame him by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony; and they loved not their lives unto the death.  Rev. 12:11   When the dragon saw that he was defeated, he turned his wrath upon the woman, pouring out persecution from its mouth like a flood.  (vv. 13-15)  This persecution, following as it does fast upon the heels of the man-child’s ascension, is readily identified with the persecution that arose over St. Stephen.  Stephen was arraigned before the Sanhedrin on charges of blasphemy for teaching that Christ would come and destroy the city and temple and change the customs delivered by Moses.  (Acts 6:14, 15)  This had been the substance of Jesus’ Olivet Discourse (Matt. 23:34-39; 24, 25); Christ had also foretold of his coming while on trial before the Sanhedrin (Matt. 26:64), and the destruction of Jerusalem when led to Calvary.  (Lk. 23:37-41)  The destruction of Jerusalem by Rome had also been prophesied by Daniel (Dan. 9:24-27) and Isaiah (Isa. 66:1-1-6, 15), the latter whom Stephen quoted in his defense, exciting the counsel to murder him. (Acts 7:48, 49)  With the death of Stephen, the persecution of the woman began.  The narrative relates that the woman was given wings for flight and a place to hide in the wilderness, where she was sustained for a time, times, and half a time, or one thousand two hundred three score days.  (vv.6, 14)  This refers to the scattering of the church upon the persecution.  Driven from Judea, the disciples carried the gospel to foreign cities among the Gentiles (“the wilderness”).     As for Saul, he made havock of the church, entering into every house, and haling men and women committed them to prison.  Therefore they that were scattered abroad went every where preaching the word. Acts 8:4; cf. 11:19   Not content to persecute the church in Judaea, Saul sought letters from the chief priests to go unto foreign cities and arrest those he found that professed the name of Christ.  (Acts 9:1, 2, 14)  Unlike today, when jurisdiction is based upon territory and the place where an act occurs, in ancient times, jurisdiction was also based upon citizenship.  This is nowhere more apparent than in the case of Paul.  As we read Acts, we encounter several instances where Paul’s Roman citizenship protected him against the whim and caprice of  local laws and officials, and entitled him to certain procedural and substantive rights, including the right to be tried before a Roman magistrate.  It was Paul’s Roman citizenship that enabled him to appeal to Caesar, and thus escape the wrath and power of the Sanhedrin.      I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged: to the Jews have I done no wrong, as thou very well knowest.  For if I be an offender, or have committed any thing worthy of death, I refuse not to die: but if there be none of these things whereof these accuse me, no man may deliver me unto them.  I appeal unto Caesar.  Acts 25:10, 11   This facet of Roman law, which recognized jurisdiction based upon citizenship, lay behind Saul’s ability to travel to foreign cities and there arrest Jews professing faith in Christ.  For it had been a right granted the Jews from the time of Julius Caesar that they were allowed to keep their own laws, were exempt from military duty and certain taxes, recognition of the Sabbath day, the right of living according to the customs of their forefathers, and full jurisdiction over their own members.   Josephus records numerous edicts by the Romans on behalf of the nation, securing them various privileges and immunities.  One in particular testifies to the fact that Jews were allowed legislative bodies and courts in foreign cities with power to make decrees and adjudicate cases binding their members.   Lucius Antonius, the son of Marcus, vice-quaestor, and vice-praetor, to the magistrates, senate, and people of the Sardians, sendeth greeting. Those Jews that are our fellow-citizens of Rome, came to me, and demonstrated that they had an assembly of their own, according to the laws of their forefathers, and this from the beginning, as also a place of their own wherein they determined their suits and controversies with one another.  Upon their petition therefore to me, that these might be lawful for them, I give order that these their privileges be preserved, and they be permitted to do accordingly.            More....

 

Bishop Bell's Tomb Carlisle, England \It hasn't required special attention for us to notice which section of TrueAuthority.com has been the most popular. And it's not surprising, simply because the idea that man lived alongside dinosaurs in our not-so-distant past is fascinating to most folks. Yes, Dinosaurs In History has enlightened many readers to the prospect that millions of years may actually not have separated the two "species," but that they co-existed, often inharmoniously, to the culmination of what we know today as myths and legends of dragons and monsters. Some evolutionists accept the idea, and some creationists accept the idea. To be more specific, few evolutionists accept the idea, whereas most creationists accept the idea. Why? From the evolutionary perspective, dinosaurs would have had to survive for millions of years, part of which time involved a long and tedious ice age. Not only that, they would have had to do so without undergoing any great deal of evolutionary change. Indeed, if a living apatosaurus today still looks like its fossil grandparents, one question ensues. "Where's the evolution?" From the creationist perspective, dinosaurs existed with man from the beginning, later dying off from climatic changes and human hunting, until by the time of knights, maidens, and heraldry, only a few stragglers were left. But let us take you now back to the 15th century to examine a particular tomb. On this tomb, we trust, you will find something quite remarkable. The Tomb Of Richard Bell He was bishop at Carlisle until shortly before his death in 1496. His tomb lies underneath a protective carpet along a main aisle of the Carlisle Cathedral (UK), inlaid with brass. Richard Bell, born in 1410, became a monk at the tender age of 16 and would remain so for the next 50 years, during which time he was ordained a priest and earned a degree at Oxford University. Because he was a monk, he was not allowed to write a will, but historians agree that he died in 1496, and date the tomb as such. The brass on the tomb shows Bell, dressed in his vestments, with his bishop's cap and hooked staff. Mystery In The Brass   Contained in the brass fillet running around the edge of Bell's tomb are two interesting animal engravings. What makes them even more interesting is their placement . . . next to various fish, a dog, an eel, a bird, a pig, a weasel, etc. Whatever creatures they are, the tomb designer clearly intended them to be taken as literally as the other animals carefully portrayed. The first one shows two animals seemingly engaged in a struggle. The one on the right has a long neck positioned horizontally, much like a sauropod dinosaur (i.e. apatosaurus). Amazingly, paleontologists, only until recently, believed that sauropods held their necks vertically aloft, somewhat similar to the way a giraffe does. Now, popular belief is that they held them horizontally, just as the brass fillet shows. Also, the tail of the animal on the fillet is suspended in the air. Sauropod reconstructions only up until recently portrayed the tails as lying lazily on the ground. Yet again, the fillet was correct. The animal on the left possesses appendages near the end of its tail that resemble large spikes. As most any kindergartner could tell you, the stegosaurus also sported spikes, while the ankylosaurus had a large clubbed tail. Both animals portrayed in the brass, in fact, may have had spiked tails, but the one on the right unfortunately had its worn away. The other engraving on the tomb also seems to be unlike any animal alive today. It is worn, but one still can discern a well-defined head and mouth that appear similar to those of a crocodile. Unlike a crocodile, however, the legs are large, allowing the creature to stand in the same way a hippopotamus can stand. What is it? We don't know, but it does seem to resemble a large, reptilian creature that could be a type of dinosaur. Impossible? Illogical? Perhaps we should have a brief review of what we've learned. 1. The creatures were portrayed next to known, living animals 2. The neck of the sauropod was held horizontally, not raised aloft 3. The tail of the sauropod was suspended, not lying on the ground Could they, in the 15th century, have known of such creatures from fossils, and decided to portray them on their tombs, walls, etc? Although it is possible, it is highly improbable. Until Richard Owen invented the name "dinosaur" in 1841, only a few scientists were aware of their existence. True, large bones had been found before the 19th century, but they were never scientifically categorized. Furthermore, how could they have known to place the neck of the animal horizontally, or suspend the tail above the ground? Lucky guesses? Most unlikely. Rather, the evidence suggests that they were eye-witnesses. It is interesting to note that males of some long-necked animals, such as the giraffe, engage in tests of strength by "necking." They do so to establish dominance, whereby they have access to breeding females. As we can clearly tell from the brass engravings, these creatures were engaged in something very similar. Amazingly, Bell's tomb isn't the only artifact that shows two long-necked creatures vying for dominance in this manner. An ancient Roman mosaic, dated around the 2nd century A.D. (shown above-right), portrays the exact same behavior. Coincidence? You be the judge. Conclusion Coincidence. Is it all lucky coincidence? Logic tells us otherwise, desperately crying out for the minds of the masses to reconsider what they've been taught . . . what they've grown up believing and have always believed for as long as they can remember. Dinosaurs with man? Could it be true? Is it possible? We've done our best to share the facts, and now it's time for you to decide. References: 1. Philip Bell, Bishop Bell's Brass Behemoths, Creation, pp. 40-43, September-November, 2003.