Plato in the Pews

Both heaven and earth were created by God and He said "it is good." Both eternity and time were created by God and that also was, and is, a good thing. In Adam’s fall, sin came into the world, but it was sin, and not creation, that was bad. Creation is cursed because of sin, but creation is not inherently sinful. This is an either/or problem. We tend to think it is either heaven or earth. I do think we need to prioritize eternity over time and heaven over earth but I do not think we have to (or even should) choose either one or the other. Fallen man tends to always go to one extreme (so heavenly minded, no earthly good) or the other (so earthly minded, no heavenly good).

The problem we have in Christianity today is that so much Gnostic or platonic thinking has permeated the Church. Plato taught that the body and all things physical were a distraction and a disadvantage to reason and the other so-called "real" world of forms and essences. Death, according to him, was not an enemy (as the apostle Paul taught 1 Cor 15:26) but a friend that released you from your prison of flesh and earthliness. If the material world is inherently bad there is no reason for Christians to redeem it. This is why monasticism and a dangerous form of pietism entered the church. Many retreated and withdrew from this present physical world. They were not seeking to claim the material world for Christ the King. They were escapists rather than stewards of God’s world.

We see this today in Dispensationalism and the "Left Behind" phenomenon. Christians are supposed to rebuild, not retreat. We are redeemed for dominion, not desertion. One of the reasons or results of the first coming (incarnation) of Jesus was "that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us" (Luke 1:71). Jesus, the Head of the Church, is sitting at the right hand of God and He is ruling and reigning right now putting all enemies under His feet (1 Cor 15:25). Again, "The last enemy to be destroyed is death" (v. 26). The Christian Platonists are not seeking victory, they are seeking escape. Jesus did not tell us to pray "Our Father in heaven… your will be done in heaven when we get enough people saved and escape from earth" No, He told us to say "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, ON EARTH as it is in heaven." We should be more concerned about the Kingdom of God being "Left Behind" than ourselves being left behind. We must have a zealous passion for the advancement of God’s Kingdom in the earth and not just a fear of being left behind on earth

C. S. Lewis wisely wrote: "Aim at Heaven and you will get earth ‘thrown in’: aim at earth and you will get neither." The problem is that many Christians wouldn’t know what to do with the earth after it was "thrown in." In the parable of the ten minas it is said: "Well done, good servant! Because you have been faithful in a very little, you shall have authority over ten cities" (Luke 19:13). The problem is that many Christians, I fear, might reject the ten cities and say "oh no, this world is not my home; I’m just passing through. I can’t be involved with cities; I’m just waiting for the heavenly city." In the same parable it says "Engage in business until I come" (v. 13). Christ is coming back, but He has already gained the victory. It’s time for us to start acting like it. He is seated on the throne right now and "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (Rev 11:15)

We, Christians, look forward to a new heaven and a new earth; not just heaven. The thing that gets us through the hard times is not just heaven, but resurrection. "Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead" (Phil 3:8-11). Platonic Christianity sees our hope in escape from all things physical. The Gospel of the Kingdom puts our hope in resurrection and restoration. "For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God" (Rom 8:19). Christians are not called to be mere survivors but more than conquerors.

The Gnostics hated the doctrine of resurrection. Some taught that Jesus only appeared to have a physical body. They could never believe that God would put on something as evil as human flesh. John warned about these Gnostics when he wrote, "For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist" (1 Jn 1:7). In eternity, we will not be disembodied spirits floating around heaven. We will inhabit our glorified, resurrected bodies as we enjoy the new heaven and the new earth. "The heavens are the Lord's heavens, but the earth he has given to the children of man" (Ps 115:16). "Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth" (Matt 5:5). As N.T. Wright said, "Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world."

Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world

The following quote is written by N. T. Wright from an article entitled The Road to New Creation:

"God is not going to abolish the universe of space, time and matter; he is going to renew it, to restore it, to fill it with new joy and purpose and delight, to take from it all that has corrupted it. ‘The wilderness and the dry land shall be glad; the desert shall rejoice and blossom, and rejoice with joy and singing; the desert shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water.’ The last book of the Bible ends, not with the company of the saved being taken up into heaven, but with the New Jerusalem coming down from heaven to earth, resulting in God’s new creation, new heavens and new earth, in which everything that has been true, lovely, and of good report will be vindicated, enhanced, set free from all pain and sorrow. God himself, it says, will wipe away all tears from all eyes. One of the great difficulties in preaching the gospel in our days is that everyone assumes that the name of the game is, ultimately, to ‘go to heaven when you die’, as though that were the last act in the drama... Heaven is important, but it’s not the end of the world; God will make new heavens and new earth, and give us new bodies to live and work and take delight in his new creation. And the ‘good news’ of the Christian gospel is that this new world, this new creation, has already begun: it began when Jesus of Nazareth rose from the dead on Easter morning, having faced and beaten the double enemy, sin and death, that has corrupted and defaced God’s lovely creation"

Looking Back - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

"It would be easy to show that at our present rate of progress the kingdom of this world never could become the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ. Indeed, many in the Church are giving up the idea of it except on the occasion of the advent of Christ, which, as it chimes in with our own idleness, is likely to be a popular doctrine. I myself believe that King Jesus will reign, and the idols be utterly abolished; but I expect the same power which turned the world upside down once will still continue to do it. The Holy Ghost would never suffer the imputation to rest upon His holy name that He was not able to convert the world."

~ Charles Haddon Spurgeon (Quoted in David Chilton's Paradise Restored which can be read here)

Joy To The World

An email has been circulating concerning the great hymn "Joy To The World" and Christmas. I couldn't believe what I was reading. Someone was really suggesting that it was wrong that we sing "Joy To The World" to celebrate the birth of Christ. The person who wrote the email actually said "the song is better suited for acknowledging the Second Coming of Christ when he truly will Rule the World”. That philosophy or theology or eschatology is not only disgusting, it is destructive. The email went on to say "next time you hear the song, think of the glorious time when Christ will return..." That is just pathetic. "Joy to the World" is a perfect song to celebrate the incarnation; it's a wonderful song to commemorate the blessed and glorious birth of our King.

When Christ came and took on human flesh in the form of a baby He was beginning His once-and-for-all accomplishment of redemption. There was His birth, His life, His death, His resurrection, His ascension to the throne of Heaven and His sending of His Holy Spirit at Pentecost. The first coming of Christ, not the Second, was successfully intended to enthrone Him as King. As Zechariah's prophecy made crystal clear: "Blessed be the Lord God of Israel, for he has visited and redeemed his people and has raised up a horn of salvation for us in the house of his servant David, as he spoke by the mouth of his holy prophets from of old, that we should be saved from our enemies and from the hand of all who hate us; to show the mercy promised to our fathers and to remember his holy covenant, the oath that he swore to our father Abraham, to grant us that we, being delivered from the hand of our enemies, might serve him without fear, in holiness and righteousness before him all our days." (Luke 1:68-75)

He came as a child to deliver His people from their enemies. Believe it or not, we actually have enemies who hate us. We don't have to wait for the Second Coming. We celebrate the birth of Christ who is "the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." His birth marked the beginning of His enthronement. He now reigns as King of Kings and He "he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet." (1 Cor 15:25) Joy to the world the Lord IS come. We do not have to wait till He comes again. He has already gained the victory. He is coming again for His bride but only after all enemies have been put under His feet.

Christmas is a celebration of the incarnation. It is a celebration of the embodiment of the Second Person of the Trinity. Those of us who have a postmillennial view of eschatology (an optimistic view of the future of the world) can celebrate all the more. We can truly sing that He now "rules the world with truth and grace..." He is seated on the throne right now and "The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever." (Rev 11:15) We have a greater desire and more of a hope to see the embodiment of the kingdom in time and in history. Christ taking on flesh was the beginning of Christ taking on the world. This Christmas, let's remember that He reigns and He has all dominion and power and authority. Merry Christmas!

R. J. Rushdoony wrote this: "One of the most important prophecies concerning the birth of our Lord is in Isaiah 9:6–7. Christ, eight centuries before His coming, is hailed as the “Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, the everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace,” and it is declared that “the government shall be upon his shoulder.” This is the first great declaration concerning Christ and all government: the ultimate and absolute government of all things shall belong to Christ. The second great declaration is that “[o]f the increase of his government and peace there shall be no end.” Christ, coming into a sinful and rebellious world to establish His dominion as Lord and Savior, will in the face of all enmity and warfare increase His power, government, and peace."

Left Behind (The Rapture Song)

A lap down yet winning!

If we know and believe that Christ has already secured the victory for us in the world and that He will eventually put all things under His feet, our attitudes and actions will reflect that. If I watch a videotaped Nascar race and I already know my favorite driver won, I never get discouraged even if my guy is a lap down. Our Eschatology (belief about future events) will govern our actions right here and now. The Kingdom of God will fill the whole earth and Christ will come down for His bride the Church victorious. It might seem like the church is losing the battle or a lap down but she wins in the end. We will inherit the earth; we need to believe that and start living with the confidence in the victory that Christ already secured on the cross. “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.” (Rev 11:15) We, the church, don't lose the battle for the earth only to be raptured out of here. Christ is King and He wins the race!

(Thanks Troy for the idea for this post)

Kingdom Victory or Sinking Ship?

The ascension of Jesus was not a vacation. Christ ascended up to heaven to sit at the right hand of the Father far above all rule and authority and power and dominion (Eph 1:22). He must reign until all enemies are under His feet and the last enemy that will be destroyed is death (1 Cor 15:25-26). He is more than a Saviour on a cross. He is the resurrected King on a throne.

When He ascended into the clouds everyone was looking up into the sky for obvious reasons. But what I find very interesting is what happened when they were looking up… “And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven?” (Acts 1:10-11)

Even though, to us, that might sound like a stupid question, I think the two men in white wanted to make a point loud and clear. It was as if they were saying, “Men of Galilee, he’ll be back—but, in the meantime, don’t you have something to do? Didn't He tell you to DO something?" Didn't he give you an assignment? You saw the plane leave now get out of the airport and get busy. Jesus will come back but in the meantime “occupy” or “engage in business" till He comes. (Luke 19:13)

The problem with staring into the clouds and being worried about being “Left Behind” is that you can’t see what’s happening on earth. As the saying goes, “you’re so heavenly minded your no earthly good.” Some might object and say “this world is only getting worse… all we can do is look up and hope that Jesus might come to rescue us at any moment.” That’s just like the guy who said “You don’t polish brass on a sinking ship.” The problem with that phrase is that it assumes two faulty things. First, that the world is nothing more than a “sinking ship”; second, that “occupying” or “engaging in business” or rebuilding would be nothing more than “polishing brass.”

We should not inwardly rejoice when we see crime on the rise and wars abounding and the family unit collapsing. We should not see our world falling apart as progress. We should not have as our goal the complete collapse of civilization, a sign that Jesus might come to rescue us at any moment. We need to be about our Father’s business. We should be taking dominion and advancing His Kingdom in the earth. Why do you stand looking into heaven? Look around; make a difference; get busy! Christians are not called to be mere survivors but more than conquerors.

Conservative Humanism or Rebuild?

In a sermon on Psalm 11 titled “Restoring the Foundations,” Joe Morecraft III says: “If we are going to win America back for our children, we must analyze and confront the critical issues before us as Christians and not simply as conservatives. Conservatism is impotent. Conservative humanism is as devastating to this republic as Liberal humanism —it just takes longer.”

Referring to the bad advice given to David by his friends —- that he should flee and not fight —Morecraft says they were… “…short-sighted, cowardly and despondent regarding their dangerous situation. They were not malicious enemies; they were cowardly friends, whose perspective was one of unbelief. Cowardice is always dangerous and deadly; and any advice to desert a post of duty is unwise and wicked.”

Morecraft also said: “So then, if the foundations are being destroyed, what can the righteous do? What should he do? What must he do?” Rebuild the foundations! Give all his life, resources and energy to the restoring of those foundations with the help of God. And for us today, this work must go on regardless of the difficulties, threats and set-backs.”