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- S - Salvation. God’s saving man from the horrible
consequences of sin. Because
Adam’s sin has been imputed to all
mankind; because man has been contaminated with a sin nature
that he has inherited from Adam; and because each man personally commits acts of
sin, he is under a death sentence. This
death sentence includes, in the first place, a separation of man from God (Spiritual Death); in the second place an eventual
separation of man’s soul from his body (Physical Death); and in the third place an ultimate
eternal separation of man from God in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone (Second Death).
Since man is hopelessly dead in his trespasses and sins, cruelly
energized by Satan, helplessly ensnared by his own sinful flesh, and inevitably
influenced by the corrupt world in which he lives, God has had to take the
initiative in rescuing man from his hopeless plight. From
eternity past God reached out to mankind.
In His great love for man, He sent His Son to become man, to live a
perfect life, to die a perfect death for the sins of all, to be resurrected,
and to ascend to heaven to be seated at God’s right hand in a position of great
power and prominence. Man is saved from the
deadly consequences of sin by accepting God’s viewpoint on the evil of his own
sins, by believing in the efficacy of Jesus Christ’s sacrifice for his sins,
and by placing his faith in Jesus Christ alone.
In consequence of this faith God grants to him forgiveness and the gift
of eternal life. In its ultimate form,
salvation (Rom. 1:16; Acts 4:12; 1 Tim. 2:3-4;
Tit. 2:11-14; Heb. 1:14; 9:28; 1 Pet. 1:5; 2 Pet. 3:15) includes salvation of one’s soul and
one’s body from the guilt, consequences, and presence of sin in a saved global
community on New
Earth and in its capital city, New Jerusalem in
eternal fellowship with God, Christ, and the redeemed of all ages. There are a number of terms that refer to
different aspects of salvation. From
the standpoint of God,
some of these terms include foreknowledge, predestination, calling, drawing (John 6:44), justification, glorification, election (Eph. 1:4), inseparability (Rom. 8:29-39), adoption (Eph. 1:5), and reconciliation (2 Cor. 5:18-19).
From
the stand point of Jesus
Christ, some of these terms include atonement, ransom (Mark 10:45), redemption (Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 1:18), forgiveness (Acts 10:43; 13:39), inheritance (Eph. 1:11), advocacy (1 John 2:1), propitiation (1 John 2:2), and intercession (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24).
From
the standpoint of the Holy
Spirit, some of these terms include conviction (John
16:8-11), baptism (1
Cor. 12:13), indwelling (John
14:17; Rom. 8:9; 1 Cor. 6:19), regeneration (Tit.
3:5), and sealing (Eph.
1:13-14; 4:30). From
the standpoint of the individual Christian and his response, some of the
related terms include repentance (Matt.
3:2; 4:17; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31), faith / believe (Mark
1:15; John 3:16, 18, 36; 5:24; Acts 10:43; 13:39), receive (John
1:12), and perseverance (Matt.
13:20-22; Rom. 5:3-4; Heb. 6:1; 10:22-23). Salvation History. The
view of certain nonconservative Bible scholars that the Bible conveys a
history of redemption that is to be distinguished from actual or
factual history. The technical German term Heilsgeschichte
is often used as a synonym for Salvation History. Sadly, this skeptical
view of the Bible takes the position that very little in the Bible can
be taken as factual history, but only as a meaningful,
theologically-oriented story that is to be believed regardless of its
historical authenticity. In effect, they say, "We cannot trust the
historical statements of the Bible unless they can be confirmed by
extra-Biblical history. Many even question the value of archeology in
establishing the historicity of the Bible. This skeptical view actually
destroys the validity of Scripture, since so much theology is wedded in
events presented as historical reality in the Old Testament. "For as in
Adam all die, so also in Christ all will be made alive" (1 Cor. 15:22). If
there was no historical Adam, there is no assurance either that in
Christ, all will be made alive. See Bernhard W. Anderson's "The Problem of Old Testament History" for an illustration of this corrosive dogma regarding Scripture.
Return to the Top.
Sam Storms. An amillennial online publisher. WordExplain is always searching for resources to illustrate particular theological and eschatological points of view that are accessible online. Sam Storms is one such resource. Dr. Storms is unusual in that he received his Master of Theology degree from Dallas Theological Seminary, a bastion of dispensational premillennialism, but does not subscribe to that viewpoint. Unfortunately, in my view, he either became, or else remained, an amillennialist. I document that by referring the reader to his New Testament Commentary Recommendations on Revelation, in which his top recommendations for commentaries are amillennial. It perhaps goes without saying, but I will say it anyway: I do not believe amillennialism accurately reflects God's kingdom program. It does not do so because it refuses to employ a consistently literal hermeneutic to the Scriptures. Consequently, there are a great many areas in eschatology
in which I strongly disagree with Dr. Storms. However, Storms at least
has the advantage of being able to portray accurately the dispensational premillennial
point of view. Storms is a scholar and writes in a reasoned fashion
with a non-polemic tone. [He probably succeeds better at that than I
do.] Since he is a prolific writer,having posted a great many articles
online, he is a good resource for amillennialism on the internet. His website is enjoyinggodministries.com. Of particular interest to WordExplain is his index page on Eschatology,
which includes studies on the Hermeneutics of Eschatology, as well as
studies on Daniel, the Olivet Discourse in Matthew 24-25, an
extensive series of articles on the Book of Revelation, and studies on
"The Church, Israel, and 'Replacement' Theology." His Theological Studies index page links to studies on The Kingdom of God: Already but Not Yet," and "The Amillennial View of the Kingdom of God." Reader Beware! Satan. The ultimate adversary (from Satan, Hebrew, and Satanas, Greek) of God, also called the devil (diabolos, which means “overthrower” or “slanderer,” “the dragon,” and “the serpent” (Rev. 12:9). Originally a powerful, beautiful, and trusted cherub with access to the heavenly Mount Zion (Ezek. 28:12-15), he was named “Star of the Morning” and “Son of the Dawn” (Isa. 14:12). But he was corrupted first by his pride in his own beauty, and God cast him out of the holy mountain (Ezek. 28:16-17). Satan’s five-fold rebellion against God is detailed in Isaiah 14:13-14. From the very beginning of earth’s creation, Satan attempted and succeeded in corrupting man (Gen. 3:1-7), earth’s ruler (Gen. 1:26-28), and as a result became de facto ruler of earth. He is the ruler of this world (John 12:31), the god of this world (2 Cor. 4:4), a liar and murderer (John 8:44), who appears as an angel of light (2 Cor. 11:14). Untold numbers of unchosen angels (1 Tim. 5:21) were duped by him into joining his rebellion (Rev. 12:4). These are variously called demons or unclean spirits (Luke 8:27-30). Satan is forced to give an accounting of himself periodically (Job 1:6-7; 2:1-2). Some time in the future he will attempt to storm heaven, but Michael and his angels will overpower him (Rev. 12:7-9). During the Tribulation, he will set up and empower the man of sin, the False Messiah (2 Thess. 2:8-12; Rev. 13:1-4, 11-17), who will briefly rule the world before his demise. Satan will be chained in the abyss during Christ’s one thousand year reign (Rev. 20:1-3). Released from the abyss at the end of the Millennium, Satan will deceive millions. He will gather these from the four corners of the earth and attempt to besiege Jerusalem and destroy King Jesus and His administration and all the saints in the city. Fire will descend from heaven and incinerate them (Rev. 20:7-9). Satan himself will be deposited in the Lake of Fire and Brimstone along with all his angels for eternity (Matt. 25:41; Rev. 20:10). Second Coming of Christ. Jesus Christ's return in power and glory to judge the people of the earth, quell all rebellion, and reign over all the earth for a thousand years from His Davidic throne in Jerusalem (Psa. 2:4-9; Zech. 14:1-9; Matt. 24:29 - 25:46; Rev. 19:11 - 20:6). Technically, Christ will return in two stages, first, to retrieve His Bride the Church from Earth to Heaven to purify her and make her spotless (the Rapture) (John 14:1-3; 1 Thess. 4:13-18), and second, after her purification (Rev. 19:7-9), to return with her to earth in power and glory. Since these two stages of His return are separated by a minimum of seven years, during which the inhabitants of earth are judged by the catastrophic Tribulation (Rev. 6-18), we popularly consider the term "Second Coming" to refer to Jesus' return all the way to earth to set up His Kingdom. See a more extensive discussion of the Second Coming of Christ. Return to the Top. Song of Ascents. The superscription or title of fifteen psalms (120-134) in the Psalter. These psalms were to be sung by worshipers ascending to Zion to worship Yahweh in His sanctuary. Most of the psalms are anonymous (120, 121, 123, 125, 126, 128, 129, 130, 132, 134). Four were composed by David (122, 124, 131, 133), and one by Solomon (127). At least one of these psalms is post-exilic. The anonymous author vividly recalls the joy he and others experienced when Yahweh brought him and other exiles back from Babylon to Zion (Psalm 126). Many of these psalms are decidedly nationalistic. There are seven references to Zion (Psa. 125:1; 126:1; 128:5; 129:5; 132:13; 133:3; 134:3), five to Jerusalem (Psa. 122:2, 3, 6; 125:2; 128:5), and nine to Israel (Psa. 121:4; 122:4; 124:1; 125:5; 128:6; 129:1; 130:7, 8; 131:3). Six of these psalms are overtly nationalistic: 122, "A Joyful, Heartfelt Prayer for Jerusalem"; 125, "Assurance of Deliverance from the Evil Inherent in Foreign Domination"; 128, "The Blessings of Those Who Fear Yahweh!"; 129, "Israel's Acknowledgment of Yahweh's Deliverance from Haters of Zion"; and 132, "Yahweh's Revelation, in Response to Prayer, of His Choice to Reside in Zion, Blessing it through His Davidic Messiah". See the titles and links to all fifteen psalms with the superscription, "Song of Ascents." Supersessionism. The view of Amillennialists, that the Church has permanently superseded the nation of Israel in God's redemptive program. According to Michael Vlach, there are three different forms of supersessionism - punitive, economic, and structural. Punitive Supersessionism.
In this view, God has punished Israel for her disobedience. In
particular, Israel's rejection of Jesus as her Messiah has eliminated the nation from God's covenantal love. Correspondingly, Israel is now the
object of God's punishment or retribution. Punitive Supersessionism has
been the view of Hippolytus, Origen, Lactantius, and Martin Luther. Economic Supersessionism. In this model, the issue is not so much that Israel's disobedience culminating in her rejection of her Messiah warrants God's retribution. Rather the issue is that, in the providence of God, His eternal plan has always been to displace Israel with the Church. In this view, the term "economic" has nothing whatever to do with finances, but everything to do with God's plan for administering His redemptive program. In this view, Israel's role on the stage of human history has expired. Now God has administered His superior plan to redeem the world through the Church. With Christ's advent, God's program for physical, material Israel has been rendered obsolete. The Church now constitutes the true Israel. Adherents of Economic Supersessionism include Rudolf Bultmann, Vern S. Poythress, Karl Barth, and N. T. Wright. Structural Supersessionism. This view is based upon a supposed treatment of the canon of Scripture and the whole Biblical narrative by the Christian community. P.Kendall Soulen has stated that the whole canonical narrative, since the time of Justin Martyr and Irenaeus, has hinged on four key episodes - 1) The creation of our first parents (Gen. 1-2); 2) the fall of man (Gen. 3); 3) the incarnation of Christ and the inauguration of the Church (the Gospels and the Epistles); and 4) the final consummation (apocalyptic passages such as Matthew 24-25 and Revelation 6-22). In this view, Christendom essentially overlooks the vast portion of the Hebrew Scriptures. This view minimizes the explicit statements of Scripture, particularly in the Old Testament, and focuses merely on how the great bulk of the Church has treated those Scriptures. If the Church has permanently superseded Israel, a number of questions remain eternally unanswered. What did God mean when He said He would establish an "everlasting covenant" with Abraham and his descendants that included the land of Canaan as an "everlasting possession" (Gen. 17:8-9)? What did God mean when He told Abraham He would establish His covenant with Isaac "for an everlasting covenant for his descendants after him" (Gen. 17:19)? Why did Jacob, near his death, relate that God had personally promised to give to him and to his descendants "this land" "for an everlasting possession" (Gen. 48:3-4)? If God is through with Israel, why did He name the eternal capital of New Earth "New Jerusalem" (Rev. 21:2, 10)? Why not New York or New Delhi? Why are the gates of New Jerusalem named after the twelve sons of Israel (Rev. 21:12)? If there is no eternal distinction between Israel and the other nations, then who are the nations (ethne) that live and work on New Earth, governed by kings, and who walk by the light of New Jerusalem and bring their glory and honor into the city and there benefit from the restorative qualities of the leaves of the Tree of Life (Rev. 21:24-26; 22:2)? If distinctions between the Nation of Israel and the other nations no longer exist, why even use the term "nations" at all since it has ostensibly become outmoded? And finally, can God be trusted to keep His promises? If God cannot be trusted to keep His land and people promises to the sons of Israel, why do we Gentiles in the Church think God will keep His promises of eternal life to us? Isn't that more than a little arrogant of us (Rom. 11:17-21)? See also Replacement Theology. Dr. Michael Vlach has written some excellent articles on Supersessionism. Foremost among them is "12 Reasons Why Supersessionism / Replacement Theology Is Not a Biblical Doctrine." If you have difficulty locating a file, please contact the Web Master. Updated January 23, 2012 Background and Button Image Credit |
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