High Time to Address These Crucial Questions

By

B. E. Kimball

Man always makes known his personal belief-systems (doctrines) according to his expertise in the knowledge and understanding of the Scriptures. As he progresses in this knowledge, there must be a willingness to change when new truths are realized. Thus, we, like the reformers of old, must always be willing to embrace new and fresh insights of the Scriptures when presented to us and not continue holding to man's dogmas because of peer pressure or any other sort of personal influence that may arise by way of church, family, employment or even for the sake of unity.

I would like to suggest to you that it is high time to reconsider some doctrinal issues that you may believe were settled long ago. Let me pose just a few of these for you to keep in mind as you continue in this quest for a better understand of the Scriptures

1. Was Jesus mistaken when He promised He would return the second time in that generation? Why are some still waiting for His return after it has been 2000 plus years since He promised that He would return? Was Jesus lying or could it be that He was a false prophet as Scripture would suggest when a prophecy does not come true? Did He have to come up with an alternative plan for a future arrival date or perhaps even the teaching of a future coming is in error? Could this inconsistency be one of the reasons why some, if not most, brilliant people do not believe in or trust the Bible?

2. Do you find it interesting that Daniel’s prophecy was to occur in less than 600 years (586 BC) and he was told to seal up his prophecy because it was still a long time away. In contrast, the prophecy of the second coming was not to be sealed because that time was at hand, not 2000 years later (and still counting) as many are claiming today? Could God be as confused about time as we apparently are?

3. Is Jesus coming back again in our future - or has He already come? What about the spiritual gifts today? What is left for preterists to look forward to? What portions of the Scripture have not yet been fulfilled?

4. Did you seek the Lord and choose salvation or did the Lord perform a work in your heart first that opened your eyes unto the truth of salvation as He called you? If man’s free will is true, would it then have been a possibility that no one would have accepted the Lord, making His sacrifice on the cross to none effect? Did Jesus have to look into the future to be sure that someone would will to choose His plan of salvation? Can your will really override God’s will?

5. Is salvation by grace alone or are some works needed, such as water baptism? If even the smallest portion of works were to be added to saving grace, would it still be grace or just another system of works? Is Christianity different from all other religions because man’s works are not needed for salvation? Does not the Bible tell us that the good works come after salvation, because it is the Lord’s power working in us that causes us to do these good works?

6.  Was the flood during Noah’s time global, or was it a regional flood? Does the Book of Genesis explain the Book of Revelation and visa-versa? Are these two books tied together in a most impressive and needful way? Is it probable that the same wording that is found in the local event of Sodom and Gomorrah holds the key to understanding that the flood and second coming of Jesus were physically local events too?

7. Should we let the Bible reveal truths by using Scripture to understand Scripture or dare we use the speculations and traditions of others instead? Would the best way be to let Scripture define Scripture on a spiritual level, but not to the degree where it would deny proven observable and scientific facts in the physical level? Wouldn’t we need both the spiritual discernment of the Bible and the physical observations of science, so that we as Christians would not make nonsense of the Bible to those we are witnessing to? Is this one reason why learned infidels scorn the Christian faith? How did geocentric ideas get started?

8. Is the world only about 6,000 years old or is it actually much older as scientific studies demonstrate? In Jesus’ time, was the world (this earth) thought of as a sphere? And did they understand the workings of our solar system?

9. Can you rightly believe in an old earth and a future second coming of Christ at the same time and still have consistency and truth in your conclusions? Can you rightly believe in a young earth and also hold to a past view of the second coming? If not, why not? Is it because both of these two views are inconsistent? Shouldn’t we believe in an old earth and a past second coming?

10. Was the Old Testament plan so faulty that a totally New Testament had to be introduced? Did God have to come up with a Plan B? Should there be a gap between the Old and New Testaments? Is the gap theory of Genesis correct? Shouldn’t both testaments be read as one continuous covenantal event?

11. If you were to believe in a young earth, would this theory, because of the very short time span to date, even make Darwin shake his head in unbelief?

12. If you took every word in the Bible in an absolutely literal sense, would you find Scripture contradictory to other passages of Scripture? Shouldn’t we then use Scripture and God’s physical creation, mixed with personal humility, to discern truth and establish our conclusions?

13. Are some translations more accurate than others? Should their origins be of any concern? Are some of the most popular translations taken from corrupt manuscripts? Do you understand why dynamic equivalence is used by modern translators, but a word-for-word method was used by the King James Version translators? Why are the oldest texts available to us today corrupt?

     14.Do all of the Bible translations into the English language reflect the true    meaning of words, and are they being used as they were originally intended and understood? Haven’t we in our short lifetime already seen many word meanings change?

15. When we talk in phrases, peoples of other languages and dialects do not understand what we mean, because they take those exact words literally. Should we be doing the same thing when understanding the Scriptures?

16. Will this world/earth ever end? Must the world become evil in order to usher in the second coming? Is this belief why Christians have left their civic responsibilities to the ungodly? Should we be waiting for the rapture to end our problems? Isn’t this still the same world physically that God called a very good creation? Did Adam’s sin really change the physical world as seen now?

17. Are there special groups of people today, such as the Jews, or are all believers under God’s one and only covenant? What about futurist dispensations?

18. If the global flood doctrine is in error, does this mean that the world/earth will still be consumed by fire sometime in our future? Is the tribulation still in our future? Has all of Scripture been fulfilled? What prophecies still await us?

19. Are you aware that if you logically take the doctrine of a young earth to its conclusion, it would have to prove evolution, which is a false belief? Actually, wouldn’t it have to be a hyper-evolution? And the doctrine of a global flood, wouldn’t it also have to prove this same conclusion of evolution? Wouldn’t the length of time since Noah, be one of the major keys in understanding this truth?

20. If a hyper-literal interpretation distorts the intent and meaning of the Bible, shouldn’t we then embrace all of the Scriptures as covenantal statements and not as scientific documents of the physical world and of our future events?

21. Could those who favorably use futurist and young earth teachings to evangelize others, actually be bringing God’s Word under an unfortunate and needless rebuke by those who can see doctrinal errors in these teachings, such as the Muslims? Can we witness to Muslims if they see how these doctrines cause us to be unfairly partial to the Jews? Do these false teachings also cause some to remain Bible skeptics and atheists? By espousing these false doctrines of futurism and young earth teachings, are we then also standing with the modern day cults that teach these same errors? How about the liberals who also treat God’s Word carelessly and unjustly? Are we literally teaching them that Jesus was in error and that the Bible can not be trusted?

22. If we had the answers to these and other questions, might we then have a wholesome brotherly unity instead of the false ecumenical unity of today? Can we sacrifice biblical doctrine for an empty unity? Would this be the correct way to ‘‘build bridges” between opposing religious groups? Would you agree that we can not simply have unity on the premise of “no doctrines at all” as many liberals understand fellowship? Nor can we have unity solely in a belief in Preterism as are only criteria. Can we have unity in a preterist movement when some of the members hold to an Arminian theology that insists on man’s good works for salvation, such as baptismal regeneration and a faith that allows man’s will preeminence over Gods? Others are of the Calvinistic persuasion that correctly teaches and proves God to be God and gives explanation as to why man’s will and works are only a secondary work or means in God’s sovereign plan? The differences between these two diametrically opposed faiths are where the battles should be centered and not in trivial differences of eschatology, that pale in comparison to such doctrines as salvation by God’s grace alone.  Is this not correct?

23. It may very well be true that Preterism, a fulfilled eschatology of all biblical prophecies, has the ability to prove all of the Scriptures in the Bible to be correct to the liberals, skeptics, atheists and the like, which is very fortunate for us that are witnessing to these people. However, if the truth is that God does His own choosing of men for salvation, then we must keep these basic truths and fundamental doctrines strong and in tact, honoring our Sovereign Lord’s ability to do His own work. We are only messengers of God’s Word; God will make the changes in the hearts of men, not us. Should we not then keep our priorities in order and build our unity with the brethren on sound exegesis in such a manner that is pleasing to God?

The Scriptures, my brethren, are provided, inspired and preserved by the Lord. It is our responsibility to uphold, rightly discern and comply. May the Lord, through His Holy Spirit, give us the strength and determination to continue with this struggle in search of divine truth!

THE END…

Or 

THE BEGINNING?