The Brethren told us that in order to interpret these prophecies, one must maintain two governing principles. First, in Daniel 2 there is a great image, the head of which is of fine gold; the arms, of silver; the belly, of brass; the legs, of iron; and the feet, partly of iron and partly of clay. It also has ten toes. This image represents the history of the world. Babylon is represented by the golden head, Medo-Persia by the arms, Alexander’s Greece by the brass belly, and the Eastern and Western Roman Empires by the two iron legs. With the passing of the Roman Empire, the idea of democracy began to spread. The French Revolution represents the coming of clay, when kings could no longer practice totalitarianism. Gold, silver, brass, and iron are metals which signify emperors. Clay signifies the people, the common man. But clay contains iron, which is stronger than clay. This is today’s situation, partly of iron and partly of clay. Although democracy has been promoted, the practices of dictatorship and totalitarianism still prevail. This great image is the principle by which the Bible explains the world situation, and we cannot go beyond it.
The second principle is the matter of the seventy weeks in Daniel 9. One week represents seven years. Seventy weeks are four hundred ninety years. The first sixty-nine weeks, totaling four hundred eighty-three years, began from the day Artaxerxes the king commanded the rebuilding of Jerusalem and ended with the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. According to history, the day of the Lord Jesus’ crucifixion was exactly the last day of the four hundred eighty-three years. In summary, we must have the great image in Daniel 2 and the seventy weeks in Daniel 9 as two lines; then we can properly interpret the prophecies of the Bible.
In addition, there are also two theological schools. One is the Calvinist school of predestination, which I call the revelation of God’s predestination. Calvin saw that our salvation was not initiated by ourselves, but rather that we have been selected and predestinated by God before the foundation of the world (Eph. 1:4-5). This predestination is eternal and unchangeable; therefore, the saved ones will never perish. On the other hand, those of the Arminian school believe that whether we are saved eternally or not depends upon ourselves, that is, that we are responsible for our salvation. Therefore, we must do our best to walk according to God’s will, or else we may still perish. I call this “elevator salvation”: when we are saved we are up; when we sin we are down. The Baptist church accepts Calvin’s revelation of God’s predestination, and so do the Presbyterians. The Pentecostals, holiness groups, and the Assemblies of God are mostly Arminian in that they emphasize human responsibility and ignore God’s selection. This is heresy. Calvin saw the revelation of God’s predestination, and this is right.
These two schools are always in conflict with each other. The Arminian doctrine is mainly based upon the five warnings recorded in Hebrews and the warnings given by the Lord Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew. For example, if we fail to be a faithful servant, when the Master comes back, we will be punished and cast into outer darkness, where there will be the weeping and the gnashing of teeth (Matt. 24:45-51; 25:14-30). Based upon these verses, they claim that even a saved one can perish.
Later, people like Govett, Panton, and Pember rose up. Their doctrine stands between the revelation of God’s predestination and the teaching of human responsibility. They saw the truth concerning the kingdom. They said that after being saved, we are saved forever and will never perish. But we must follow the Lord faithfully; then when the Lord comes back, we will receive the kingdom as a reward. If we are not faithful, we will not be able to enter the kingdom and we will suffer loss. This is based on 1 Corinthians 3, which says that we should be careful about how we build (vv. 10-15). Are we building with gold, silver, and precious stones, or are we building with wood, grass, and stubble? If we build with gold, silver, and precious stones, when the Lord comes back, we will be rewarded in addition to our salvation. On the other hand, if we build with wood, grass, and stubble, our work will be burned by the fire of judgment, and we will suffer loss but not eternal perdition: “But he shall be saved, yet so as through fire” (1 Cor. 3:15). Many proofs in the New Testament concerning the kingdom reward and punishment were initially seen by Govett and Panton.
What I have mentioned thus far is not my imagination. I am also a student of the Bible. I have studied this book for sixty years; this is why I am able to explain it to you. The Bible expositors of the past can be grouped into these several schools. We have studied them and would like to present them to you for your learning. When we began to expound the Bible, we profited a great deal from the saints before us. We have seen that the highest theology is that held by the Brethren. Once you have their theology, you can put aside all the others. What I have said is based on this high theology. Brothers and sisters, all that I have spoken to you describes the way of studying the Bible which we have learned during the past sixty years.
Home | First | Prev | Next